Showing results by narrator "Michael David Axtell" in All Categories

This volume is the definitive collection of the best science fiction novellas published between 1929 and 1964, containing 11 great classics. No anthology better captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field. Published in 1973 to honor stories that had appeared before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country.

On his shoulders, he carries a heavy rifle that digs into his burned flesh. Worse still is his load of loot. In mass, it amounts to dozens of pounds. But in worth, it is weightier than a palace. Only the luckiest of geniuses could manage to escape a dangerous wilderness, where he is hunted with every step, with such riches on his back. Luck, of course, is something Cheater has plenty of. Genius, though, is less clear. He watches his haul grow with each new place he visits, adding to the physical and emotional strain of his pilgrimage.

One rainy night fifteen years ago, a knock at the door changed Liss Kehoe’s life forever. On that night, Ashley Hay stood on Liss’s front porch and handed over her brand-new baby Callan. She was never seen or heard from again.

Jason and his best friend, Michael, are finding out just how different things can be...and that magic isn’t as limited as previously thought. What will he do? The God Bradard now wants him to be his champion, but can he do it? He feels trapped. Can he keep Earth safe? Will the dungeon he found and the people he recruits be enough? Will adventure, love, and faith be enough to keep Jason going and to do what he doesn’t want to do: gain power and fight the Gods themselves?

For decades, statisticians, social scientists, psychologists, and economists (among them Nobel Prize winners) have spent massive amounts of precious time thinking about whether streaks actually exist. After all, a substantial number of decisions that we make in our everyday lives are quietly rooted in this one question: If something happened before, will it happen again? Is there such a thing as being in the zone? Can someone have a "hot hand"? Or is it simply a case of seeing patterns in randomness? Or, if streaks are possible, where can they be found?

Few people are aware that John Moses Browning - a tall, humble, cerebral man born in 1855 and raised as a Mormon in the American West - was the mind behind many of the world-changing firearms that dominated more than a century of conflict. He invented the design used in virtually all modern pistols, created the most popular hunting rifles and shotguns, and conceived the machine guns that proved decisive not just in World Wars I and II but nearly every major military action since. Yet few in America knew his name until he was into his 60s.

Sex education today generally falls into one of two categories: abstinence-only or abstinence-based education—both of which tend to withhold important, factual information and leave young adults ill-equipped to make safe decisions. Al Vernacchio, a high school sexuality educator who holds a Master’s degree in Human Sexuality from the University of Pennsylvania, has created a new category: sex-positive education.

Forced to grapple with the loss of his emotions and having found a new unlikely ally, he struggles to ascend to power faster than ever before. The Navalon Autarchy and the Elean Empire move with no hesitation in the background. Liam is supported by the Primordial Essence and his people, pushed to the brink and left with no other choice but to fight for survival. Continue to follow Liam's journey to its conclusion. The final part of his adventure has arrived.

Roun was born clanless, depriving him of a future in an empire where bloodlines and reputation mean everything. His only hope for escaping the life of an outcast lies in being awakened by the Eldest Throne and becoming a guardian of humanity.

When Phoebe, goddess of the moon, is killed by the knights of the sun god, Hyperion, all who follow her are branded heretics. With Phoebe gone, the souls of the dead are no longer ferried to the underworld, and instead linger on as shades who feast on the blood of the living. Raef is a child of the night. He lives in the shadows, on scraps, eking out a meager existence as a thief. But when an ornate box is sequestered in the Temple of Hyperion, the chance of a big score proves too great to resist. What he finds within propels him on an odyssey across the sea and back again.

I’ve been betrayed. I spent years hiding my magic from the world, but now I've got new powers I can’t control. Everyone around me is at risk, and if my secret is revealed, I’ll be hunted. But I don’t have time to worry about the monster I might become. Someone has stolen a dangerous artifact that could turn my world upside down. It could get me and my friends killed and bring destruction down on my city.

Fed up living under the oppression of monsters, Clara kills a vampire to rid the world of at least one of the beasts. But when her father’s gambling debts rage out of control and put her sister in harm’s way, she offers herself up to pay the debt. Thrust into a world of darkness and chaos, Clara does what she must to survive Alaric, her new master, who is determined to make her pay for what she did.

It seems that Jason is about to bring down something that has stood for eons in secret, controlling the universe. The Primes have worked in the background for ages, ruling the universe as they saw fit, but not always to the benefits of the races. But Jason is taking them out, since to him, they are nothing more than petty gods who are choosing to use the people of the universe as pawns.

Harbor Lights is a story collection from one of the most popular and widely acclaimed icons of American fiction, featuring a never-before-published novella. These eight stories move from the marshlands on the Gulf of Mexico to the sweeping plains of Colorado to prisons, saloons, and trailer parks across the South, weaving together love, friendship, violence, survival, and revenge

On August 5th, 2003, Ryan Atwood found himself a long way from his home in Chino—he was in The O.C., an exclusive suburb full of beautiful girls, wealthy bullies, corrupt real-estate tycoons, and a new family helmed by his public defender, Sandy Cohen. Ryan soon warms up to his nerdy, indie band-loving new best friend Seth, and quickly falls for Marissa, the stunning girl next door who has secrets of her own. Completing the group is Summer, Seth’s dream girl and Marissa’s loyal—and fearless—best friend.

On New Year's Eve in 2012, Matthew Schrier was headed home from Syria, where he'd been photographing the country's civil war. Just 45 minutes from the safety of the Turkish border, he was taken prisoner by the al-Nusra Front. Over the next seven months he would endure torture and near starvation in six brutal terrorist prisons. And, eventually, he would escape. In this gripping, raw, and surprisingly funny memoir, Schrier details the horrifying and frequently surreal experience of being a slight, wisecracking Jewish guy held captive by the world's most violent Islamic extremists.

Mikey Callahan, a 30-year-old who is suffering from the clouded vision of macular degeneration, is reconnecting with "The Gunners", his group of childhood friends, after one of their members has committed suicide. Sally had distanced herself from all of them before ending her life, and she died harboring secrets about the group and its individuals. Mikey especially needs to confront dark secrets about his own past and his father. How much of this darkness accounts for the emotional stupor Mikey is suffering from as he reaches his maturity?

Three years ago, a car accident landed him in a wheelchair. After two experimental surgeries, he still can’t walk. Now broke and living as a ward of the state, Jason Morgan wants nothing more than to walk again and to get out of this hellhole of a hospital. Enter Games For Life, a gaming company that runs a massive VRMMORPG system. They invite Jason to test their groundbreaking pod technology. In their gaming world, destiny, time, and reality are not what they seem. There, he can even walk again! What could possibly go wrong?

Some fall prey to those holding a gun for the first time. Others cannot be defeated even by the most experienced shooters in the world, unless their luck comes to save the day. Cheater’s accuracy is unparalleled, and Lady Luck is on his side. He has all the marks of a champion, and champions never miss. The true aim of his heart, though, is not one that can be hit with a single fortunate shot. No, she is far to the west, beyond several of the Continent’s most dangerous locations: the bleak boundaries dividing regions from one another.

Skree loved playing Massively Multiplayer online role-playing games. When he becomes the first player to reach level 100 in his favorite game, he is offered the chance to test a brand new game. Never one to read the fine print, he jumped at the chance to be the very first player to see the brand new game. But some opportunities are just too good to be true. Awaking to find himself trapped in a brand new world and struggling to survive, James must find a way to master the game and escape the world of Raiya.