Showing results by narrator "Andy Smith" in All Categories

There is no ancient evil to defeat, no orphan destined for greatness, just two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out...and so begins this tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. Avempartha is the second of a six book series entitled the Riyria Revelations.

War has come to Melengar. To save her kingdom, Princess Arista runs a desperate gamble when she defies her brother and hires Royce and Hadrian for a dangerous mission. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce's suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own game. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past - what he discovers may end their friendship and break Riyria in two.

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come.

Do you love the idea of Appreciative Inquiry, but you’re not sure how you would put it into practice? This book is the step-by-step guide to get you started using it confidently with teams and small groups. Author Andy Smith has over 15 years’ experience of facilitating Appreciative Inquiry processes. He has trained hundreds of people in how to put the theory of Appreciative Inquiry into practice – now let him share with you practical tips and formats for implementing each stage of the process.

When children go missing, and the Humans have no leads, I’m the one they call. I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot. Underestimating demons is a bad idea, and it’s a mistake that may cost me not only my own life but the life of a missing child. If I can swallow my pride, and allow Agent O’Shea to help me find a way to deal with the demon, we might be able to save the child.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But Jason Trapp is losing his taste for it. For six months, his personal crusade has taken him around the world, mopping up the last of the Bloody Monday conspirators. There's only one left, and after the crooked financier Emmanuel Alstyne meets his maker, Trapp's debt will be paid in full. He vows he's done with the business of death.

Humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction. Each night, the world is overrun by demons - bloodthirsty creatures of nightmare that have been hunting and killing humanity for over 300 years. A scant few hamlets and half-starved city-states are all that remain of a once proud civilization, and it is only by hiding behind wards, ancient symbols with the power to repel the demons, that they survive. A handful of Messengers brave the night to keep the lines of communication open between the increasingly isolated populace.

The old races have perished. Across the 15 planes of reality, the ceaseless struggle between Law and Chaos continues. Corum, the Prince in the Scarlet Robe, has destroyed two of the company of Chaos, but Mabelode the Faceless will not see his actions go unpunished. The Eternal Champion must call upon the power of other incarnations - Elric and Erekosë - and travel to the last five planes to defeat the King of the Swords. At stake: not only the balance of forces at the crux of existence but also a personal vendetta....

It starts with a shipwreck following a magical storm at sea. Horace, a soldier from the West, had joined the Great Crusade against the heathens of Akeshia after the deaths of his wife and son from plague. When he washes ashore, he finds himself at the mercy of the very people he was sent to kill, who speak a language and have a culture and customs he doesn't even begin to understand. Not long after, Horace is pressed into service as a house slave. But this doesn't last.

There is a sword, forged by the master swordsmith Goffanon the Dwarf, imbued with powerfully magical properties. But this magic can be wielded by only one man. And there is a stallion - a fierce animal that allows only those pure of heart to ride it. The only man worthy of taking up this sword and climbing into this saddle is Prince Corum - the Eternal Champion. The struggle for dominion between the races of good and evil is reaching an epic crescendo. Corum’s most desperate quest yet will see treachery, betrayal, wizards, dragons, and brutal battle.

Vampires don't exist, do they? That is a question Private Detective Tony Mandolin finds himself pondering as the evidence piles up in a case involving a string of dead redheads and the usual dose of weirdness San Francisco has to offer. To complicate things, Mandolin has to deal with the perception that he has become the latest golden boy of the fog city's crime boss. Then there's his cross-dressing friend Frankie.... Just another day in San Francisco.

Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny have been summoned to remote Cardavan House, home of the world’s largest private collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, for the unveiling of George Cardavan’s latest acquisition: a bone fide Egyptian mummy. When a bloodstained body is discovered beside the empty sarcophagus, Ishmael is dismissive of the theory that the mummy’s curse is to blame.

Spring has turned to summer, the hottest and most abundant summer ever remembered in the Mabden lands. But in the mists lurks an insidious coldness - the icy presence of the Fhoi Myore. Despite being slowly decayed by the warmth of the world, these harbingers of death will stop at nothing to overwhelm the Earth. The High King of the Mabden, Amergin, must unite the race in the fight against the Fhoi Myore. But Amergin is in thrall to the dark magic of the Gods of Limbo.

Many books teach the mechanics of using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to compete in business. But no book addresses how to harness the incredible power of social media to make a difference. The Dragonfly Effect shows you how to tap social media and consumer psychological insights to achieve a single, concrete goal.

Chicago, 1932. Mick Oberon may look like just another private detective, but beneath the fedora and the overcoat, he's got pointy ears and he's packing a wand.

Carol, Sarah, Samira and Mac were best friends at university. They were the bright young things who had the world on a string and shining futures ahead. Now, as they find themselves tipping into their 30-something lives of work, relationships and responsibilities, they meet up for a big reunion night out, ready to recapture their shared past.

Two decades ago, the United States invaded Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to fumigate a rat's nest of international terrorists. And then it left. If there's one thing Trapp has learned, it's the more things change, the more they stay the same. IS-K has to be stopped. The problem is, not everybody agrees...

Abandoned by her allies, the Republic of Venice holds out as the last beacon of resistance against the hobgoblin armies. Armed with new weapons the Southern Horde drives upon the floating city by land and sea. The Northern Horde drives deep into the heart of Europa and all fall before it. The Horde is vast beyond measure. Assassin daggers lurk in every shadow. Necrotic evil seeps and infects.

Abandoned by her allies, the Republic of Venice holds out as the last beacon of resistance against the hobgoblin armies. Armed with new weapons the Southern Horde drives upon the floating city by land and sea. The Northern Horde drives deep into the heart of Europa and all fall before it. The Horde is vast beyond measure. Assassin daggers lurk in every shadow. Necrotic evil seeps and infects.

Bianca Xing has spent a lifetime on a provincial planet, dreaming of travelling the stars. When her planet is annexed by the Barony of Letnev, Bianca finds herself being taken into custody, told that she’s special–the secret daughter of a brilliant scientist, hidden away on a remote planet for her own safety. But the truth about Bianca is stranger. There are secrets hidden in her genetic code that could have galaxy altering consequences.