Showing results by narrator "Jonathan Sleep" in All Categories

They rode into town like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Four armed outlaws bringing their own brand of hell to Paris, Texas. First they rob the First National Bank. Then they take a woman hostage as insurance. When Perley Gates learns that local waitress Becky Morris is in the hands of these tough customers, with only his friend Possum he rides to get her back. Problem is, the outlaws are heading toward the Red River--straight into Indian Territory. That's where the ranch hands draw the line. But Perley won't give up.

The conquest of the Erasi has begun and fleets clash over Erasi worlds. But while the alliance of the Shara Daim, Empire, and Krashinar has an advantage, the war is far from won. The Erasi industrial capacity as well as their population and size make it hard to conquer and harder to hold. And while the invasion across the outer Erasi systems is going well, the alliance is yet to clash with the Erasi core fleets.

The truce with the Erasi allows the Empire and the Shara Daim to grow, expand, and develop new technologies. But the Erasi have a long memory, and the Weaver of the Erasi will not allow the alliance more time to become a greater threat than it already is. Lord Sentinel Adrian Farkas-Reiss and Kar Daim Anessa plan for the inevitable Erasi attack. Their only chance is to strike first, and Adrian reaches out to an enigmatic alien race that could be the key to ending the Erasi threat. Massive fleets are preparing for the end of the truce and an all out war.

Captured and sold to the Kurian-allied Maynes Conglomerate to work as a slave in the coal mines of Appalachia, Ahn-Kha is angered and appalled by the dangerous working conditions and the brutal treatment inflicted upon his fellow miners. When a protest against shortages is deliberately and bloodily suppressed, Ahn-Kha sets himself against the ruling Maynes family and sets out on a trail of vengeance through the Coal Country.

The Shara Daim Legions stopped the Erasi fleets from pushing further into their territory, and with the invasion halted a lull in the war gives the Empire time to seek a diplomatic solution on behalf of their new ally. But the Erasi are stalling the diplomatic talks, and the Shara Daim are not willing to wait for long before launching an offensive to take back their systems. The Erasi are master manipulators, and while they feign interest in a peaceful resolution, a massive force from their core is gathering, commanded by one of the founders of the Erasi.

At Sol, Adrian Farkas—Lord Sentinel of the Empire, prepares the defenses for the inevitable attack by the Legions of the Shara Daim—the third race created by the human and Nel ancestor Axull Darr. The Shara Daim come for the device left by their common ancestor, their Elders planning to use it to fulfill their goal of ruling the galaxy. But Adrian has plans of his own. But even as the Shara Daim Legions assemble for their invasion of Sol, Adrian and the Empire's fleets move to fulfill a promise made long ago to the race that had enslaved and destroyed Earth—the Ra'a'zani.

The end of the Sowir Dominion draws near as the Empire resumes its offensive. The retaking of Guxcacal home-world begins, as the Empire's fleets invade the remaining Sowir territory. But the Sowir still have surprises up their sleeves. Adrian Farkas awakens new abilities, buried deep inside the human genetic code by their ancestor Axull Darr. And with them the Empire gains all the knowledge contained inside the device left by their ancestor, the sum knowledge of the People, the first intelligent race in the universe and the ancestors of Humanity and the Nel.

I took control of the Shadow Clan, giving the district's residents something they hadn't had in years—a chance to breathe freely. Independence, protection, and a shot at a normal life. But to the rest of society, the Shadow Clan was still nothing more than a den of killers, criminals, and thieves. They despised us. They refused to leave us alone. And worst of all? They underestimated us.

The stage is set, and the battle for the fate of the galaxy is about to begin. Adrian and Anessa, their daughter Ryaana, and Lurker of the Depths prepare for the final fight against the Enlightened. Meanwhile, Emperor Tomas Klein gathers a great alliance from races across the galaxy, building another Great Fleet. His intention is to fight the Enlightened, but his plan might not be the same as Adrian's.

The Empire and its allies struggle to find a way to strike back at the Enlightened, who are employing raiding tactics to set the galaxy on fire. And with their new ability to travel through access points, the job of the galactic alliance is that much harder. Meanwhile Adrian, unable to force a confrontation with the three Enlightened turns his eyes to the Custodian, the ancient AI that had until recently kept the Enlightened contained. Now the AI had joined the Enlightened side, allowing them the use of access points. 

Tomas Klein and Levisomaerni are working together to gather as many galactic powers together as they possibly can, hoping that they can form a galaxy wide alliance before the Enlightened decide to make a move. But their efforts are being hampered by a mysterious and dangerous foe. Meanwhile, Adrian and Anessa have finished constructing the Nomad Fleet, and are preparing for their mission to find the Enlightened, waiting only for Tomas to convince the core powers to allow them passage through their territories.

This is a collection of the ninth six short stories in the Caverns & Creatures series. It includes the following titles: Look Before You Leak, Bred Dwarf, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Alcoholic Gnome, Don't Get Too Athached, Fool's Gold, and Kiss My Cloaca.

Thirty years after the events in the Solar system, the Empire had entered a time of expansion and advancement. Six hundred light years from Earth, humanity starts again. But, their safety and peace are threatened when a hostile force is detected in one of the systems close to the Empire's border.

Alone in a frontier town in the nineteenth-century Pacific Northwest, Gentle Montgomery is grieving his best friend. Liam was an alchemist, killed when he tried to capture a creature that shouldn’t exist: a giant salamander that drives men mad. When Gentle’s nephew, Kitt, arrives at his doorstep, the two set out together to track the monster down so they can use its blood in an alchemical formula that will bring Liam back to life.

Christmas has served as a fertile background for mystery fiction for a very long time, perhaps because it has the appearance of a time of peace and love while being so deeply at odds with violence, crime, and even murder. Many of the stories in this anthology have been written by some of the greatest Golden Age authors, undoubtedly inspired by the juxtaposition of the disparate elements of love and hate.

The Boss of the Shadow District has fallen, and the Clans who seized power aren't happy—especially those whose interests I inadvertently disrupted. Now the list of people who want me dead has grown, with a second offended Grand Prince joining the first. But will that be enough to stop the rising Paladin of Darkness? Well, let them try.

Cars are killing people and making the planet uninhabitable. Crashes take the lives of more than a million people each year. Air pollution linked to motor vehicles contributes to even more untimely deaths. Highways and unsafe streets have devastated cities, yet traffic congestion still swallows up countless hours. And carbon emissions from transportation are a key driver of climate change, which threatens to make the world unlivable. Why do we still worship at the altar of the car? How can we find alternatives that are healthier for the planet and ourselves?

Victory against the Sowir at the battle for Nuva gave Olympus and their new allies time to fortify their positions. Meanwhile Olympus stretches its already limited resources on a mission to aid their home planet—Earth, which had been enslaved by an alien race called Ra'a'zani. On Earth, resistance prepares to retake their world, daring to reveal themselves for the first time in years. Risking everything for the chance to liberate their world.

Tomas Klein, founder of Olympus had brought his people to a new world, freed them from the constraints of Earth and its governments. But a new world brings new dangers. Tomas Klein will need to set aside past regrets and rise up to the challenge.

Having established leverage over Mordred and influence in the Cardinian government, Tim is ready to move forward with the next phase of his plan. But Mordred has an ace up his sleeve that could shift the balance of power back in his favor. Cooper and Nabi attempt to reunite with the rest of the gang. Stacy and Dave are forced to put their differences aside and work together to avoid capture and execution. Julian tries to find something productive to do while Chaz goes a little too far with the rockstar lifestyle. Katherine is done taking shit from old foes.