
Luck Is Not a Factor
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $29.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Patrick Cronin
-
Dina Pearlman
About this listen
Nineteen outstanding authors. Nineteen extraordinary stories. One best-selling universe.
It’s the 22nd century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: We are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.
What do you do when the odds are stacked against you? Mercs plan, strategize, and sometimes even scheme, but there is one thing they all believe - luck is never a factor. Unless it is.
Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates humans from the majority of the other races. Edited by best-selling authors and universe creators Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey, Luck Is Not a Factor includes all-new stories in the Four Horsemen universe by a variety of best-selling authors - and some you may not have heard of...yet. The 19 authors take on various aspects of the universe, giving you additional insight into a galaxy that isn’t at war, but definitely isn’t at peace. There’s only one thing for sure - anything’s possible for a fistful of credits!
Full list of authors includes:
JR Handley
Kacey Ezell
Jon Del Arroz
Michael Ciaravella
Philip Wohlrab
T. Allen Diaz
Terry Maggert
Terry Mixon
Chris Kennedy
Mark Wandrey
Jon R. Osborne
Paul E. Cooley
Joseph Capdepon
Christopher Woods
Thomas A. Mays
Jamie Ibson
Rob Howell
Lee Dunning
Brad R. Torgersen
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Legend
- Four Horsemen Tales, Book 1
- By: Christopher Woods
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when Humans were just starting to venture forth into the Galactic Union as mercenaries, Martin Quincy survived long enough to do something no one else had - he retired. There was only one problem: He got bored. After battling aliens for many years - killing aliens and getting paid - retirement didn’t suit him, and he decided to strap on the combat armor and go back to the stars. Along with his old friend Kal, Martin joined Cartwright’s Cavaliers, humanity’s best merc company. Life was exciting! But he got bored. Again.
-
-
??
- By Brent on 04-08-21
-
A Fiery Sunset
- The Omega War, Book 1
- By: Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The plot by the Galactic Union’s Mercenary Guild against the Four Horsemen has culminated in an invasion of Earth. Faced with an overwhelming force, the human mercs had no choice. They’ve fled, leaving Sansar Enkh to go to the Mercenary Guild headquarters on Capital Planet to stand trial for humanity. On the run, Jim Cartwright and Nigel Shirazi have travelled to the Winged Hussars’ secret base of New Warsaw, in an effort to convince Alexis Cromwell to join the fight, while the other mercenaries who escaped the fall of Earth have gone to the perceived safe haven of Karma.
-
-
had a hard time finishing
- By Connie Uriarte on 05-17-20
By: Chris Kennedy, and others
-
Storm Clouds
- The Guild Wars, Book 1
- By: Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Peacemaker-enforced ceasefire brought an end to the hostilities, but not a resolution, and now it’s up to the Four Horsemen to forge a lasting peace. Alexis Cromwell, despite her pregnancy, heads off to Capital with Nigel Shirazi to obtain justice from the enigmatic Mercenary Guild Council, but when they arrive, they’re quickly embroiled in galactic politics, and find out the situation is far, far worse than they could possibly have imagined.
-
-
wow I can't wait for the next installment!!!!!
- By Mike on 06-24-20
By: Chris Kennedy, and others
-
Gunboat Diplomacy
- Four Horsemen Sagas Series, Book 1
- By: Jason Cordova, Jamie Ibson
- Narrated by: Graham Rowat
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Hr'ent Golramm became a legendary Enforcer for the Peacemaker Guild, he was a mere candidate. Granted, he was a particularly unusual candidate - only six Oogar had ever successfully graduated from the Peacemaker Academy on Ocono, and Hr'ent would be the seventh. Every candidate must pass a commissioning mission in order to graduate, though, and Hr'ent's is unsolvable. The Pushtal of Vorrhurna were once one of the Mercenary Guild's 37 races.
-
-
oh no...
- By Bill T on 05-31-20
By: Jason Cordova, and others
-
Redacted Affairs
- Rise of the Peacemakers, Book 1
- By: Kevin Ikenberry, Kevin Steverson, Chris Kennedy - editor, and others
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peacemakers. The Galactic Union’s most capable enforcers and resolute negotiators, their name alone elicits fear and awe among the Union’s citizenry. It is a time of upheaval throughout the Galactic Union. As the effects of the Omega War ripple outward, a Peacemaker falls silent at the outpost mining colony of Parmick. Sensing danger, the Peacemaker Guild dispatches two new graduates of the Academy to investigate and report. They are a new breed of Peacemaker, perfect for the clandestine infiltration mission.
-
-
God I loved this one
- By Daniel on 02-29-20
By: Kevin Ikenberry, and others
-
This Fallen World
- By: Christopher Woods
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world has Fallen, but life goes on.... Matthew Kade was a corporate assassin - one of the best agents Obsidian Corporation had. But then the bombs began falling, and the old world ended. Now he must navigate the new world he finds himself in, a world where the strongest survive, and the weaker do their bidding...or die. Kade was always one of the strongest, though, so when a rich man’s daughter goes missing, he turns to Kade to find her and bring her back. But she has already been gone three days, and in the Fallen World, that is an eternity.
-
-
A series of death-defying short stories
- By Sailfish on 04-29-20
-
Legend
- Four Horsemen Tales, Book 1
- By: Christopher Woods
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when Humans were just starting to venture forth into the Galactic Union as mercenaries, Martin Quincy survived long enough to do something no one else had - he retired. There was only one problem: He got bored. After battling aliens for many years - killing aliens and getting paid - retirement didn’t suit him, and he decided to strap on the combat armor and go back to the stars. Along with his old friend Kal, Martin joined Cartwright’s Cavaliers, humanity’s best merc company. Life was exciting! But he got bored. Again.
-
-
??
- By Brent on 04-08-21
-
A Fiery Sunset
- The Omega War, Book 1
- By: Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The plot by the Galactic Union’s Mercenary Guild against the Four Horsemen has culminated in an invasion of Earth. Faced with an overwhelming force, the human mercs had no choice. They’ve fled, leaving Sansar Enkh to go to the Mercenary Guild headquarters on Capital Planet to stand trial for humanity. On the run, Jim Cartwright and Nigel Shirazi have travelled to the Winged Hussars’ secret base of New Warsaw, in an effort to convince Alexis Cromwell to join the fight, while the other mercenaries who escaped the fall of Earth have gone to the perceived safe haven of Karma.
-
-
had a hard time finishing
- By Connie Uriarte on 05-17-20
By: Chris Kennedy, and others
-
Storm Clouds
- The Guild Wars, Book 1
- By: Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Peacemaker-enforced ceasefire brought an end to the hostilities, but not a resolution, and now it’s up to the Four Horsemen to forge a lasting peace. Alexis Cromwell, despite her pregnancy, heads off to Capital with Nigel Shirazi to obtain justice from the enigmatic Mercenary Guild Council, but when they arrive, they’re quickly embroiled in galactic politics, and find out the situation is far, far worse than they could possibly have imagined.
-
-
wow I can't wait for the next installment!!!!!
- By Mike on 06-24-20
By: Chris Kennedy, and others
-
Gunboat Diplomacy
- Four Horsemen Sagas Series, Book 1
- By: Jason Cordova, Jamie Ibson
- Narrated by: Graham Rowat
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Hr'ent Golramm became a legendary Enforcer for the Peacemaker Guild, he was a mere candidate. Granted, he was a particularly unusual candidate - only six Oogar had ever successfully graduated from the Peacemaker Academy on Ocono, and Hr'ent would be the seventh. Every candidate must pass a commissioning mission in order to graduate, though, and Hr'ent's is unsolvable. The Pushtal of Vorrhurna were once one of the Mercenary Guild's 37 races.
-
-
oh no...
- By Bill T on 05-31-20
By: Jason Cordova, and others
-
Redacted Affairs
- Rise of the Peacemakers, Book 1
- By: Kevin Ikenberry, Kevin Steverson, Chris Kennedy - editor, and others
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peacemakers. The Galactic Union’s most capable enforcers and resolute negotiators, their name alone elicits fear and awe among the Union’s citizenry. It is a time of upheaval throughout the Galactic Union. As the effects of the Omega War ripple outward, a Peacemaker falls silent at the outpost mining colony of Parmick. Sensing danger, the Peacemaker Guild dispatches two new graduates of the Academy to investigate and report. They are a new breed of Peacemaker, perfect for the clandestine infiltration mission.
-
-
God I loved this one
- By Daniel on 02-29-20
By: Kevin Ikenberry, and others
-
This Fallen World
- By: Christopher Woods
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world has Fallen, but life goes on.... Matthew Kade was a corporate assassin - one of the best agents Obsidian Corporation had. But then the bombs began falling, and the old world ended. Now he must navigate the new world he finds himself in, a world where the strongest survive, and the weaker do their bidding...or die. Kade was always one of the strongest, though, so when a rich man’s daughter goes missing, he turns to Kade to find her and bring her back. But she has already been gone three days, and in the Fallen World, that is an eternity.
-
-
A series of death-defying short stories
- By Sailfish on 04-29-20
-
The Lyons' Pride
- The Phoenix Initiative, Book 1
- By: Chris Kennedy, Marisa Wolf
- Narrated by: Daniel Wisniewski
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the African savanna, the male lion is the lord who watches over his family, while the females of the clan do the real work. Joel “The Lyon” Lyons thought that owning a mercenary company would be similar—he could sit back and allow the Lyoness to run the Pride. Everything would go well, money from successfully completed contracts would flow like water into his bank accounts, and everything would be as easy as it had been for him when he’d owned a chain of highly successful restaurants.
-
-
Lyons and felines and rats ... Oh My!
- By Sailfish on 08-10-24
By: Chris Kennedy, and others
-
Drop Trooper Books 1-4
- A Military Sci-Fi Box Set
- By: Rick Partlow
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Go to war or go to jail. For small-time street hustler Cam Alvarez, the choice is simple.... He has no family, no friends, no place in the world...nothing to lose. When his latest con results in the death of a cartel hit man, Cam opts to join the Marines and leave Earth to fight a vicious alien enemy. Drafted into the Marine Drop-Troopers, Cam discovers there’s one thing he’s even better at than running street-con games, and that’s killing the enemy.
-
-
Of you’re a fan of Galaxy’s Edge, Buy This.
- By Shawshank on 12-24-21
By: Rick Partlow
-
Monster Hunter International
- By: Larry Correia
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 24 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
-
-
Suprizingly entertaining
- By Konstantin on 02-17-12
By: Larry Correia
-
Not Alone: First Encounter
- By: Craig A. Falconer
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Not Alone: First Encounter is a prequel to the globally acclaimed Not Alone series, set several years before two worlds collide under the weight of the grandest conspiracy of all time. For the first time ever, First Encounter lifts the curtain on a deadly series of events surrounding the initial meeting between the ruthless Richard Walker - untouchable head of the controversial Interspace Defense Agency - and a young truth-seeker from Birchwood, Colorado....
-
-
Already part of Not Alone: Origins
- By Danny on 07-25-21
-
Federation Marine: Recruit
- Federation Marine, Book 1
- By: J.N. Chaney, Jonathan P. Brazee
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What would you do to change your life? How far would you go? How hard would you fight? Rather than work his bones into dust toiling away on a barren world, Ryck Lysander chooses to enlist in the Federation Marine Corps. But as he quickly finds out, this path isn't just a job...it's a calling...and not everyone is suited to wear the uniform.
-
-
Like an old engine in winter, took a bit to warmup
- By RJSTORLIE on 10-14-23
By: J.N. Chaney, and others
-
Genesis
- Arisen, Book 0.5
- By: Michael Stephen Fuchs
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tucked away in a high-tech Tactical Operations Center, inside an isolated safehouse in the Horn of Africa, sits Agency analyst Zack Altringham. He is Kenyan-born, Princeton-educated, badly burnt-out - and condemned by his language and cultural skills to a lifetime of fighting America's shadow counter-terror wars.
-
-
Maybe better to read this after books 1-3?
- By Tilo on 04-18-15
-
Taken to the Stars
- By: J.N. Chaney, Rick Partlow
- Narrated by: John Pirhalla
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charlie Travers figures his life can’t get much worse. He lives over a pizza restaurant, he’s lost his girlfriend, and has no prospects for a career. Then, he’s abducted by an alien robot and taken across the galaxy. When he wakes up, he finds himself stranded thousands of light-years away, and about to be killed by space pirates.
-
-
This book is for middle schoolers
- By David Jacob Heino on 07-28-24
By: J.N. Chaney, and others
-
Backyard Starship: Origins 2
- By: J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
- Narrated by: Neill Thorne, John Pirhalla
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Get ready to experience two more origin stories in the Backyard Starship universe.
-
-
Character of main person is environment dependent.
- By George Riley on 12-28-24
By: J.N. Chaney, and others
-
Scourge
- Territory Wars, Book 1
- By: Devon C. Ford
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A simple distress beacon.... A mining colony in the outer reaches.... Supposedly another routine deployment for Mike Barton of the Combined States Marine Corps, but what they find on the surface is unlike anything anyone had ever encountered. Horribly wounded in a battle with an unknown quantity, Barton only survives through a chance encounter with two special operators. As if the skirmish wasn’t enough, what comes next will be beyond his imagination.
-
-
Pretty darn good..
- By Trish R. on 11-25-21
By: Devon C. Ford
-
Genesis
- The Holy War Series, Book 1
- By: Rick Partlow
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was every starship captain’s nightmare, and for Travis Miller, it was his own personal hell. He’d done everything by the book, but when the Tahni had attacked him and his crew, there was no choice but to return fire and destroy the first alien vessel humans had ever encountered. Excoriated in the press, his career in shambles, Travis is exiled to a long patrol of the outer colony worlds. Forgotten, except as a bad example...until the Tahni prove him right by declaring war on the human commonwealth.
-
-
Six Stars
- By David T. on 05-27-21
By: Rick Partlow
-
First Command Box Set: Spacers, Books 1-6
- By: Scott Bartlett
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 43 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Out of the blue, a young Space Fleet officer's dream becomes reality: He's made captain of a starship. Just in time for the return of humanity's most terrible enemy, after 50 years of peace. To survive against this enemy, Captain Tad Thatcher will have to do more than learn how to become an effective commander, or how to wrangle his wayward crew. He will need to reinvent space combat. From scratch.
-
-
One of my favorite series!
- By Julia Monzon on 08-10-22
By: Scott Bartlett
-
Deathtrap
- Expeditionary Force Mavericks, Book 1
- By: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The human soldiers stranded on the planet Paradise have been recruited into an alien legion to do the dirty jobs that the high-tech species won't do. Their first mission is to kick the enemy off a backwater planet no one cares about. It's a simple assignment, except everyone has a hidden agenda, and the planet could become a deathtrap.
-
-
What a great spinoff!
- By Cliff on 05-13-19
By: Craig Alanson
What listeners say about Luck Is Not a Factor
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ian McCranie
- 07-13-19
Another amazing addition to the 4HU
Great stories that help expand the 4HU. Each author did an amazing job staying true to the known characters and creating new ones that i want to know more about. Performances were equally outstanding and made the characters and emotions feel real. Keep up the good work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joe F.
- 07-03-23
Decent Anthology
Entertaining anthology. Given the nature of anthologies - different authors, performers - it is uneven in its quality. Still, a good introduction into the Four Horsemen universe. I would have rated it higher, but Audible does not allow readers to provide fractional ratings (e.g. 4.1 stars).
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LmSchul
- 11-17-22
not bad bad
narrators on this recording were lackluster. though my mains issue was with the female narrator, her emotions didnt seem to match those in the stories as she read, if you could even feel them at all. the stories though were wonderful!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leif Wright
- 05-10-24
Boring
Just a bunch of disconnected short stories. Most were not worth the effort. I like the books that are one story and build the characters and situations but these don’t do that.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!