Showing results by narrator "James Patrick Cronin" in All Categories

We've secretly lived among the humans for centuries. Anonymity is our weapon of choice. But that's about to change. An altercation between were-animals was caught on video and went viral. Now a vital member of our pack is sitting in jail, and if I can't get him out before he shifts during the full moon, then our existence will be discovered. If we are outed, there is a risk we'll take the rest of the supernaturals with us. They'll do anything to prevent this from happening, including ridding the world of were-animals. We were once a pack of hunters. Now we are the hunted.

It's the final showdown between Cam and a rogue Tahni general.... And it might be the end of everything. Cam and Vicky are chasing down Zan-Thint to his last fortress, a lifeless world deep in Tahni space. If they can't take him down before he activates an ancient alien weapon, a swarm of biomechanical killing machines will wipe out all life in the Commonwealth.

Beware the shadow of many faces, but fear the master of many places.... It’s Monday morning, and I’ve recovered a strange glyph-covered chest from a landfill. By Monday afternoon, someone’s stolen it from my warded loft. Before I can suss out who, why, and most importantly how, I’m neck-deep with the NYPD on a murder case. A bigshot CEO is dead in his penthouse, his kidneys harvested in a way that screams black magic. Only there’s no magic in evidence. Before I can suss out who, why, and most importantly, how, I’m neck-deep with the NYPD on a murder case.

Rade Galaal and his team of special operators are deployed to a colony under attack by a strange new alien race. Their mission: find the extraterrestrial base and destroy it. The operation should be easy, given that his men pilot Brigand mechs: massive, 25-foot-tall war machines armed to the teeth with electrolasers, rockets, incendiary throwers, and more. But it's not easy. Rade and his team soon find themselves in over their heads. Surrounded by an entire world of enraged aliens, they must rely on their wits, their training, and their mechs to survive.

The philosopher Jacques Barzun thought that "whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball". And whoever wants to know baseball had better learn about umpires. As Larry Gerlach points out in The Men in Blue, these arbiters transform competitive chaos into organized sport. They make it possible to "play ball", but nobody loves them.Considering the abuse meted out by fans and players, why would any sane person want to be an umpire? Many reasons emerge in conversations with a dozen former major-league arbiters.

Alone and weaponless, with a remote controlled bomb in his neck, Ajaya Gurung must plan and fight better and harder than ever before. The last Spider is out there, in the Zone, plotting the end of man, and man is ignoring the danger. Left with only his skills, wits, and courage, he must adapt and overcome before it's too late. If only he had an ace in the hole...oh wait...he does!

As the relentless approach of a truly gargantuan mothership sparks chaos on Earth, many believe the end times are here. The unknown beings are more technologically advanced than humanity can even comprehend, let alone match. For the first time since Dan McCarthy's initial contact with aliens a full 16 years earlier, the whole world is united against an existential threat. But while billions understandably cower in fear, a few stand defiant. A showdown is coming. And be it on Earth or in space, the McCarthys will be there.

Steven Whipp, a normal, poor college student, is kissed and shot on the night of his 20th birthday. He realizes three things: He’s bulletproof, he’s a dragon, and everything he’s ever wanted is within his reach. But the attempts on his life are just the beginning of his troubles. Steven is a Dragonsoul—a magical race of beings who have thrived, hidden from the eyes of humans, in control of the world. And not just any Dragonsoul, but the last in a long line of Arch-Sorcerers, thought long dead.

They reach the shore, barks and joyful laughter swallowed by the crashing waves. Suddenly, an odd-looking object in the sky draws closer. As dark clouds loom, a flicker of unease crosses Scotty’s face. Before he can react, an eerie glow surrounds both boy and dog. In an instant, they vanish without a trace. Now aboard an alien ship, Scotty faces a reality far from home. The walls breathe, the corridors pulse and his fear deepens.

Sean Tennant and Molly Winter are living quietly and cautiously in Houston when a troubled, obsessive stranger shatters the safety they have carefully constructed for themselves. Sean is at a shopping mall when Henry Alan Keen pulls out a gun at a store and begins shooting everyone in sight. A former soldier, Sean rushes toward Keen and ends the slaughter with two well-placed shots - becoming a hero with his face plastered across the news. But Sean's newfound notoriety exposes him to the wrath of two men he thought he had left safely in his past.

Hausos is a peaceful farming colony. Once controlled by the Tahni, it's now settled by a collection of homeless refugees and war veterans, among them Cam and Vicky. Their life is pleasantly boring, quiet enough for demons from the war to nag at the corners of Cam’s mind on lonely nights. He fights the demons back with willpower and alcohol, determined to make this place home. But the peace doesn’t last.

After five grueling years, Robert Worth is just days away from making partner at a powerful Santa Monica law firm. When a client confides in him that senior partner Jack Pierce sexually assaulted her, Robert breaks two of his mentor's cardinal rules: Never let yourself get emotional about clients. And never make an enemy of Jack Pierce. Robert crosses Pierce and is fired on the spot, losing not only his job but also his reputation. Advised to go quietly, Robert vows revenge against the ruthless man who betrayed him.

When Sky decided not to join our pack, I thought that would be the end of our dealings with the enigmatic wolf. But she's pulled back into pack business when Sky's the first one on the scene of a murder attempt of one of our pack members. At first, I mark it off as a coincidence but I'm proven wrong. After more attacks are made on the pack and assassins go after the vampires, Chris, my ex, discovers a link between Sky and the person behind the attacks.

Here are 16 chilling, never-before-published tales that explore every aspect of our darkest holiday, Halloween, coedited by Ellen Datlow, one of the most successful and respected genre editors, and Lisa Morton, a leading authority on Halloween. Included are stories about scheming jack-o'-lanterns, vengeful ghosts, otherworldly changelings, disturbingly realistic haunted attractions, masks that cover terrifying faces, murderous urban legends, parties gone bad, cult Halloween movies, and trick-or-treating in the future.

Jeremiah Trent works as a Seattle homicide detective. When he’s contacted by a friend from his childhood, he packs his bags and heads to a mansion in remote Colorado. As he arrives at the best-selling author’s home, Jerry can’t shake the feeling it was a mistake visiting the people from his past. The mystery deepens when Jay offers them a chance to read his newest manuscript, one chapter at a time. He finds the story is their own from 25 years ago, only with different character names and a changed setting. Then a body is discovered by the local police.

With her deceased sister’s Route 66 bucket list in hand, California girl Joy Evers sets out on a cross-country road trip to meet up with her fiancé, checking off the bullets along the way. Singer-songwriter Dylan Westfield has a serious case of wanderlust and a broken-down car. Stuck at a diner between LA and Flagstaff, he meets Joy, his complete opposite. She’s energetic. He’s moody. She’s by the book. He’s spontaneous. She believes in love at first sight. He thinks love is a complicated mess. But Joy has a brand-new convertible.

After a period of brutal isolation in a CIA black-site prison, former Marine and gifted hacker Gibson Vaughn is free - but with no idea where he was or how much time he's lost. Struggling to maintain his grip on reality, he races to return to the life he left behind. Angry and disoriented, his thoughts turn to vengeance and the man responsible for his rendition. But Gibson's drive for retribution and the ghosts of his violent past plunge him back into a world he wants only to escape.

Cam Alvarez is lost in the depths of the galaxy…and the only way home is through a horde of alien monsters. Cam and the others in the task force have followed Zan Thint through the Predecessor Gateway to another spiral arm of the galaxy. There, they are stranded…unless they can find another of the gateways. Following the trail of the Predecessors, who’d fled our space millennia ago, they discover one lost civilization after another…but will they find the Predecessors?

Robert A. Heinlein wrote The Number of the Beast, which was published in 1980. In the book Zeb, Deety, Hilda, and Jake are ambushed by the alien "Black Hats" and barely escape with their lives on a specially configured vehicle (the Gay Deceiver) which can travel along various planes of existence, allowing them to visit parallel universes. However, unknown to most fans, Heinlein had already written a "parallel" novel about the four characters and parallel universes in 1977.

The thrilling conclusion to Ed Greenwood's latest epic! Florin Falconhand and his friends have always wanted adventure - but when it finally finds them, it turns out to be a lot more than they bargained for. Over the course of The Knights of Myth Drannor, the Knights learn the true meaning of adventure, honor, and what it means to be a hero.