Showing results by narrator "Kevin R. Free" in All Categories

Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. An introverted young man from Alabama, Black and queer, he has left behind his family without escaping the long shadows of his childhood. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends - some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness.

All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.

You know that feeling when you’re at work and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable AI you’ll listen to this century.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is on a mission to tackle one of the most stubborn health problems in the country: chronic disease in the African American community. 

Rufus and his snooty cousin Abigail soon become entangled in the tantalizing world of the feylings, mischievous fairy-like creatures desperate to find their way home. In helping the feylings, Rufus tumbles down a dark path rich with age-old secrets and difficult truths. Any move he makes might be his final fatal error - or perhaps, his most spectacular beginning. Award-winning author Dashka Slater spins a tale of friendship, magic, and eternal life in this evocative and witty middle-grade fantasy.

King, Kayla, and Grandma find a dog who has lost his human family. What does Kayla know? This dog doesn't have a collar or any tags. He can sit, lie down, and shake hands. No one around here knows who he is. What does King know? The dog's family is staying at a campground. Can they figure out who he is and where his family is?

Sci-fi's favorite antisocial AI is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is. And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good. Martha Wells' Rogue Protocol is the third in the Murderbot Diaries series, starring a humanlike android who keeps getting sucked back into adventure after adventure, though it just wants to be left alone, away from humanity and small talk.

A lovable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. Kayla lost a tooth, but now it's missing! What does Kayla know? Her tooth is not inside the tooth fairy pillow. It's not inside her backpack. It's not inside the car. What does King know? Mason's hand smells like the tooth fairy pillow. How will they solve the mystery? 

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah - its former owner (protector? friend?) - submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit. But who's going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it's caught?

It has a dark past - one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself "Murderbot." But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don't want to know what the "A" stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

A spider, blown by the wind to a fence post near a farm yard, begins to build her web and cannot be distracted from the task at hand - not by the horse, cow, sheep, goat, or dog. But when the rooster asks if she wants to catch a pesky fly, the busy spider is able to catch it in her web immediately! 

This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy - Jason Reynolds conjures 10 tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life. 

A deeply informed and unflinching look at the way corporations have slyly rebranded themselves as socially conscious entities ready to tackle society's problems, while CEO compensation soars, income inequality is at all-time highs, and democracy sits in a precarious situation.

In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, 15 award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.

One of Silicon Valley's top leadership trainers distills his proven framework that has empowered teams at the world's most innovative companies - from Google and Facebook to Cisco Systems and biotech giant Genentech/Roche - to do the best work of their lives. Richard Lee has worked with thousands of ambitious leaders and their teams, and has found that they all share the same frustration. Whether it's because of communication breakdowns or systemic complexity, people at every level of an organization feel like their results fall short of their expectations.

A lovable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. King and Kayla are playing fetch with their friends, Jillian and Thor. Jillian throws King’s favorite ball too hard, and now it’s gone missing! King and Kayla must put together the clues to figure out where it went - and who has it. 

A lovable dog helps his human girl solve a mystery. Kayla and Mason both got mysterious letters, written in code. What does Kayla know? The same person left both letters. It's someone she and Mason both know. The two letters are the same, except for the second word. What does King know? Jillian left the letters. What do the letters say? 

One day, a little cricket is born and meets a big cricket who chirps his welcome. But the little cricket cannot make a sound. The cricket meets many insects, but it isn't until he meets a beautiful female cricket that he can finally chirp "hello!" 

An in-depth exploration of the pivotal Cassius Clay transformed into Muhammad Ali, exploring the events, relationship, and experiences that shaped him.   

A mysterious letter alluding to a secret in her parents' past brings Genevieve Woodward back to her Blue Ridge Mountains hometown, but she's also in need of a break from a high-profile career that has left her dangerously burned out and concealing a powerful secret of her own. When she wakes inside an unfamiliar cottage to find the confused owner staring down at her, she can no longer ignore the fact that she needs help.