Showing results by narrator "Richard James" in All Categories

When a DEA drug raid on a New Jersey warehouse goes fatally wrong it shouldn't be that big a deal. But who's pulling the strings behind the scenes and what is the connection to "Raffair," a mysterious company that's just gone public? As Raffair's stock goes through the roof, more bodies begin to pile up. The outgoing president has decided to strike up an odd relationship with a CIA analyst. Has the president decided to mount and 11th-hour attack on CURE?

An earthquake in the Arkansas dust bowls leaves the companions for dead, until they are all reunited except for armorer J. B. Dix. Alive, though with no memory of the past, he is in the uncertain employ of the iron fisted ruler of a vital outpost along the routes that traverse the wastelands. Duma is the biggest, most dangerous ville in all of Deathlands, where jolt, jack, booze, and sex are worth more than human life. Stalking Duma and preparing to attack this orgy of firepower is a crazed band of inbred worshipers of Nagasaki...and their unwilling new sec force led by Ryan Cawdor.

Steeped in legend, the Pearl of Palawan has a history marked by destruction, vengeance, and love. But more important, the mythical black pearl is rumored to grant a power long coveted by mankind - immortality. It is a power men would risk dying to achieve. Sun, sand, and scuba diving in the Philippines certainly sounded like and ideal vacation. But after a way-too-close-for-comfort encounter with a tiger shark, Annja Creed finds herself drawn into a group of German divers. They are treasure hunters searching for the fabled pearl.

Thanks to Chiun's "emptying basin" technique, past U.S. presidents remember nothing about CURE, America's most secret defense organization. Now a former head of state believed to have lost his mind suddenly finds it - and calls Dr. Harold Smith to say hi. But before Remo and Chiun can redo their amnesia trick, the old guy is kidnapped by bumbling eco-terrorists eager to sell him to a desert despot with a grudge.

Taken captive on a ship in the former Caribbean, Ryan and his companions must work as part of the crew or perish at the hands of the captain. But the mutant in charge of the vessel is the least of their worries. Each day is a struggle as they face rivalry among the sailors, violent attacks, and deadly storms. Worse, a powerful enemy is hunting the ship to destroy everyone on board. Fighting for their lives and those of their shipmates, the companions must find unity within the chaos or die in the attempt.

While working on a dig in the California wilderness, archaeologist-adventurer Annja Creed uncovers evidence of a tragedy that's linked to Chinese miners during the days of the Gold Rush. A sudden attack on the site by shadow figures drives Annja to find the connection to a mysterious buried city in China. Lured by legends of gold, betrayal, and the vengeance of a Han Dynasty overlord, Annja travels on the Orient Express, battling avaricious treasure hunters and a modern-day descendant of an ancient league of assassins.

In her chrysalis state, Baroness Beausoleil was a betrayer, a murderer, an arch foe of mankind. Now, her metamorphosis into Overlord Lilitu poses a far greater menace. But she needs human help in a plot to overthrow her brethren and seize control of the last remaining Anunnaki stronghold on Earth. Buried deep in the sands of the Sinai, a secret port can unleash the dangerous mysteries of an alien race — unless the Cerberus rebels can outwit a she-god with an army at her disposal...and the cunning and cruelty to wrest Earth for herself.

Two centuries after Armageddon, the eternal battle between order and chaos continues. Pockets of fortified city states are ruled by powerful barons, plenipotentiaries of humanity's secret enslavers. Half human hybrids, these inheritors carry out an ages-old conspiracy of mankind's domination. But there are those who fight this insidious horror.

Ozark Free Territory, 2071: The Kurian Order has reigned for 50 years. Using the dreaded power of their Reaper avatars, the alien vampiric Kur hold dominion over the Earth and its inhabitants. Yet there are those who would rather die fighting than surrender to the unquenchable thirst of the enemy - those like David Valentine. Returning to the Ozark Free Territory, Valentine is shocked to find it overrun by Kurians under the command of the merciless Consul Solon.

Three weeks before Christmas, the little town of Chug Water in Wyoming Territory is stunned by a brutal crime. The mayor's family has been slaughtered in cold blood on their ranch outside of Raw Hide Butte. As the townsfolk gather to pay their last respects, Duff MacCallister saddles up to go after the killers. He returns with two outlaws - a cold-blooded, nasty pair of snakes, Jesse and T. Bob Cave.

Meet the Boss Camelus-Whitus, affectionately known as BBQ to the genetic engineers at Boston Bio. Brainchild of the beautiful but sociopathic Dr. Judith White, this homely, sad-eyed creature is a bio-masterpiece of gene splicing and billed as the world's most promising new food source. A bungled kidnapping of the BBQ by animal rights activists results in the unfortunate discovery that these slow, silly-looking creatures might actually be bloodthirsty killers.

A single superheated zap from an invisible object in space literally vaporizes the Biobubble habitat scientists. More sizzling attacks are followed by eyewitness sightings of giant Cyrillic letters in the sky. As the White House and Pentagon hastily cover up in reflective tinfoil to ward off the deadly rays, Remo and Chiun are dispatched to Russia to stop these stealth attacks before World War III really scorches the planet.

Esmay Suiza wasn't a member of a great Navy family like the Serranos. She'd had to make her way on grit alone, which meant it wasn't likely she'd ever make admiral and "hoist her own flag." Well, that was fine with her: all Esmay wanted was a secure berth where she could be part of something greater than herself, and otherwise just live her life in peace.

World War III was just practice for what's coming. And even those who survived the original firestorm — like John Thomas Rourke — won't have a chance when the next round of carnage begins. But Rourke, ex-CIA Covert Operations Officer, weapons specialist, and survival expert didn't struggle to stay alive in this brutal world only to die in a final holocaust of fire and blood.

After decoding an ancient scroll — one that purports to pinpoint the treasure of the Jewish Temple, lost for 2,000 years — archaeologist Annja Creed agrees to lead the party to recover the find in Judea. It’s a perilous desert journey through sandstorms and bandits, and complicated by mysterious sabotage within the group, to arrive at a long-forgotten fortress deep beneath a mountain.

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. This anthology includes brand-new stories by: Tommy Moore, Jessica Breheny, Naomi Hirahara, Calvin McMillin, Liza Monroy, Elizabeth McKenzie, Jill Wolfson, Ariel Gore, Jon Bailiff, Maceo Montoya, Micah Perks, Seana Graham, Vinnie Hansen, Peggy Townsend, Margaret Elysia Garcia, Lou Mathews, Lee Quarnstrom, Dillon Kaiser, Beth Lisick, and Wallace Baine.

The Lord Protector of Portland has continued to press his rule into every corner of the Willamette. Both Juniper and Havel know that war is coming, but their allies in the Free-state of Corvallis are less convinced. Sir Nigel continues his escape from mad King Charles with the aid of his new found Tasmanian allies, having to out race the legendary sailing ship the Cutty Sark and battle pirates off the coast of Africa.

Billy Bane is a prophet who got it all wrong, and the galaxy has been burning ever since. All he wants is to waste away in the darkest corner of space with his best pal Dust, a supercharged Fuq bot. But when a new prophet comes calling, Billy is summoned to save the galaxy he's at least partially responsible for destroying. Too bad he couldn't care less.

Carrying a sealed message from the war-hero Dragon King to the queen, Quentin and his outlaw companion, Theido, plunge headlong into a fantastic odyssey and mystic quest. Danger lurks everywhere in the brutal terrain and particularly in the threats from merciless creatures, both human and not-so-human. While at the castle, the wicked Prince Jaspin schemes to secure the crown for himself and an evil sorcerer concocts his own monstrous plan. A plan that Quentin and Theido could never imagine.

King Malcom of the kingdom of Redhart is dead. The kingdom has been overrun by the forces of the Unreal. Statues live, corpses walk and nothing is as it seems. One of Malcom's three sons may assume the throne, but two will have to die. Jordan, the great actor, is hired to impersonate Prince Viktor, who is ill, but can't be seen in public as weak. Jordan's skills are great, but there is much he doesn't know about the prince and his ignorance could kill him if he doesn't acquire allies and learn the truth about life at Castle Midnight.