Showing results by narrator "Michael Messner" in All Categories

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint. But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

The specter of civil war haunts a ravaged land. And a specter even more fearsome gains power; for the demon, though defeated, was not destroyed. And now its vengeful spirit has found an unholy sanctuary at the very heart of the Abellican Church. As the elf-trained ranger Elbryan Wynden presses north to reclaim the savage Timberlands from retreating goblin hordes and his companion, Pony, mistress of gemstone magic, turns south to the civilized—but no less perilous—streets of Palmaris, they find themselves caught up in a ruthless power struggle to decide the fate of all Corona.

In the bustling streets of St. Louis, two cousins have a dream: to travel west with a wagon train of supplies and make a fortune in trade. Preacher needs a job and is heading west anyway. But he doesn't bargain on the beautiful woman who sneaks her way into the wagon train and the trouble she brings on board.

My name is Hedi Peacock and I have a secret. I'm not human, and I have the pointy Fae ears and Were inner-bitch to prove it. As fairy tales go, my childhood was damn near perfect, all fur and magic until a werewolf killed my father and the Fae executed my mother. I've never forgiven either side. Especially Robson Trowbridge. He was a part-time werewolf, a full-time bastard, and the first and only boy I ever loved. That is, until he became the prime suspect in my father's death....

The Loner didn’t just bust out of jail, he busted out twice. The third time might be the charm — or a bullet in the belly. He didn’t want much — just the chance to drift out of Texas into New Mexico Territory. That’s when the Loner discovered there was a price on his head. A victim of mistaken identity, he broke out of Hell Gate Prison a few years back. Now, he’s behind bars again, until a sheriff’s love-struck daughter decides to come to his aid and a beautiful bounty hunter — who also has eyes for the Loner — joins in.

Years ago, a weird mask of unknown origin and limitless power was buried in the cement of an apartment building's basement floor. Edge City and its residents have all but forgotten the mysterious green-faced killer known only as "Big Head." But now, decades later, the bizarre Tex Avery-style killings are happening all over again and are on a collision course with a bizarre political campaign where a homicidal maniac wants to "Make America Green Again"!

With his legend dogging him everywhere he goes, Frank Morgan longs for a place to settle down. His choice is a remote corner of untamed Northern California, a land of towering trees and rugged hills. But for Frank, the haven is a hell. A man who is his exact look-alike has been terrorizing the local population and when the townspeople get their hands on Frank, a hangman's rope is sure to follow. If he's going to be taken for an outlaw, Frank Morgan is going to act like one.

In a small Texas town in 1950, a man from the Pinkerton Detective Agency interrupts an old-timer's daily game of dominos to learn the truth about Butch Cassidy - who is still alive and well and sitting right in front of him.... So begins the novel of the West's most legendary outlaw - as told by America's master storytellers, William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone. Butch Cassidy: The Lost Years reveals the stunning secret behind that infamous shootout in Bolivia that claimed the lives of the Sundance Kid and, allegedly, Butch himself.

When X attacks the notoriously corrupt narcotics squad known as "The Dogs of War," the manipulative Lt. Setter fights back by pitting him against the last few honest cops in Arcadia... and X's battle escalates into a war for the soul of the city!

Somewhere in his past, Smoke crossed paths with a lowlife who has now built a little kingdom as a frontier sheriff. For the corrupt lawman, holding Smoke's friend hostage is the perfect way to lure Smoke into a deathtrap. Now there's no choice for the mountain man. He knows how many guns are waiting up ahead. But he won't ever leave a brother behind. And this time, there won't be an enemy left standing — or a bullet left in Smoke's gun....

Butcher's full vendetta is revealed as is Vought-American's part in the events on 9/11. Gregg Mallory tells Hughie the history of the Boys and Hughie later confesses his real identity to Annie, Hughie returns to the fold as he and Butcher investigate a murder that may involve Jack from Jupiter. Butcher then returns to London to view the body of his deceased father and Butcher's full back-story as a one-man reckoning is revealed.

From the Hugo Award-winning hosts of the Writing Excuses writing advice show comes a collection of all-new stories of the fantastic, with beautiful illustrations and a behind-the-scenes look at each story’s creation.

Notes from the author: The following is a short story I wrote in the Elantris world back in January of 2006. There were always a few holes in Elantris where I decided not to include viewpoints or sections of explanation in the name of streamlining, particularly at the end. In the back of my mind, I knew what happened. This story talks about one of those holes; it is meant to be heard after you’ve finished the novel and takes place during the events of the climax.

A gunshot wound has robbed Audubon, Texas, of its top lawman at the worst possible time. Clete Lanagan and his band of outlaws have hatched a scheme to plunder the town bank of a small fortune in railroad money. When the acting sheriff, Dalton Conyers - half-brother of Smoke’s niece Rebecca - is unable to raise a posse to hunt down Lanagan’s gang, he calls on Smoke for help. But with so much cash at stake, Lanagan won’t go down without a fight.

A wagon train of pioneers is struggling Westward toward Oregon through the howling winter and a band of Arikara warriors are hot on their trail. Little do the Arikaras suspect that they're about to come face-to-face and gun-to-gun with a ferocious fight they never expected, courtesy of the wily mountain man called Preacher. As Preacher struggles to bring the settlers to safety, he learns the real reason they were attacked and begins to suspect that the secrets they've been keeping equal a worse kind of danger.

Arcadia descends into chaos as old villains return to town and new ones are born! While X faces down suicidal psychos, superstitious mobsters, and thrill-junkie assassins, Leigh uncovers the secrets of his past . . . before he locked on his mask and became X!

There were some who knew Smoke Jensen as a hero...and there were others who believed the dark side of the legend — that he was an outlaw who'd killed over 300 men. But when Smoke wakes up with a gut-wrenching headache in a New Mexico jail cell, he feels as helpless as a newly whelped cougar cub — with a lease on his life shorter than the blink of an eye.

Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends and new profession. But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?

When children go missing, and the Humans have no leads, I'm the one they call. I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot. The FBI wants me on their team. Bad enough that they are dangling bait they know I can't resist. The catch? It’s on the other side of the ocean. And if I want what they’re offering, I have to help them with a salvage gone terribly, terribly wrong. But this time, I have no back up. I have no Plan B. And I have no O’Shea.

Logan Gyre is king of Cenaria, a country under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance - a desperate gamble, but one that could destroy his kingdom. In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to stop him. Kylar Stern has no choice. To save his friends - and perhaps his enemies - he must accomplish the impossible: Assassinate a goddess.