Showing results by narrator "John Pirhalla" in All Categories

Xavier’s rise through the Tower of Champions has been meteoric, and on his return to Earth, he hits the ground running, clearing dungeons, claiming titles, and gaining mastery over forces that should be beyond his control. But with Earth’s exposure to inter-planetary warfare, threats from the Bellaran Confederation, Tri-World Imperial Army, and vengeful foes threaten to tear everything he’s fought for apart. With his companions by his side and the weight of the world on his shoulders, Xavier must protect his world at all costs.

Stephanie and Jessica have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane heading to California. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic. And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy?

Mickey Barnes is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous—even suicidal—the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right. He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire.

The resistance has been playing defense too long. Now that Charlie knows about the Imperial Redoubt, a starship the size of a planet that guards the Emperor and the bloodline families from all threats, he's decided it's time to take the fight to them. And if trying to infiltrate the heart of the enemy's stronghold is a suicide mission, Charlie, Laranna and Gib can't think of a better way to go out.

After an unstoppable ascent through the Tower of Champions, Xavier has cemented his place as the True Progenitor of Earth by attaining the top leaderboard records on floor after floor. Now he finds himself on the fifth floor, defending Queen Alastea and her castle from the infinite waves of the Endless Horde. They say the Endless Horde can't be stopped—but Xavier has always been bad at listening.

Get ready to experience two more origin stories in the Backyard Starship universe.

Summer has come to Niflheim. The lichens are growing, the six-winged bat-things are chirping, and much to his own surprise, Mickey Barnes is still alive—that last part thanks almost entirely to the fact that Commander Marshall believes that the colony’s creeper neighbors are holding an antimatter bomb, and that Mickey is the only one who’s keeping them from using it. Mickey’s just another colonist now. Instead of cleaning out the reactor core, he spends his time these days cleaning out the rabbit hutches. It’s not a bad life. It’s not going to last.

Last time we saw Jake, he was [redacted to avoid spoilers] with [redacted] in order to travel to [redacted]. He had finally learned [redacted] and [redacted]. He was just starting to [redacted]! So join him now on his new adventure as he [redacted! redacted! redacted!]. Ok, no spoilers allowed, but be prepared for a life-changing, world-spanning, time-twisting conclusion to Jake's story!

Something wicked is going on in the village of Ascension. A mother wasting away from cancer is suddenly up and about. A boy trampled by a milk cart walks away from the accident. A hanged man can still speak, broken neck and all. The dead are not dying. When Rabbit and Sadie Grace accompany their friend Rose to Ascension to help take care of her ailing cousin, they immediately notice that their new house, Bethany Hall, is occupied by dozens of ghosts. And something is waiting for them in the attic.

Xavier Collins was sitting in class when the System integrated Earth into the Greater Universe, where countless vast kingdoms, empires, and collectives battle for domination. He didn't know what choosing to be a Champion would entail. He just liked the sound of it. But when he's teleported to the aptly-named Tower of Champions, he must face challenges against those who have known about the System since birth.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes.

The long-awaited sequel to Jake’s Magical Market is finally here—and now with more market! Well, not quite yet. First, Jake has to survive a perilous trek through time if he ever hopes to return home to his friends, his market, and his former world. The last time we saw our intrepid hero, Jake had barely managed to escape being trapped on a dead version of his own world. Using a combination of his new powers, he threw himself backward through time, back to when the god that trapped him first rose to power.

Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft, dead (or alive). And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect the bounty on her head, including bonafide witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward Rabbit. On the road to Burden County, they’re joined by two vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure–but no sense of purpose–and a recently widowed schoolteacher with nothing left to lose. And as their posse grows, so too does the danger.

It's 1900, and Louise Wilk is taking her dying husband home to Buffalo, where he grew up. Dr. Edward Wilk is wasting away from an aggressive and debilitating malady. But it's becoming clearer that his condition isn't exactly a disease but a phase of existence that seeks to transform and ultimately possess him.

The Starship Atlantis takes you on an unforgettable journey through the extraordinary. From alien civilizations and rogue AI to desperate missions on the brink of collapse, these stories will transport you across the stars into the heart of the unknown. This anthology features six never-before-published novellas and short stories, plus two exclusive bonus tales.

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.

Sanctuary. The perfect refuge from the enemy, the most closely held secret of the resistance, the planet has never been found, never been attacked. Until now. Charlie Travers has been preparing to strike at the Anguilar with the help of the US military, intent on going on the offense, but no battle plan survives contact with the enemy...particularly not when that enemy is General Zan-Tar.

Unlock the gates to a world of fear with Short Horror Stories Vol. 1-27. Perfect for both horror aficionados and newcomers to the genre, this collection of over 80 meticulously crafted short stories promises an intense experience of pure, unrelenting fear. Each story is a journey that will take you to a maelstrom of dread and suspense. From sinister urban legends and eerie encounters to unsettling tales of psychological horror, this anthology delivers an array of nightmares that will grip your imagination and refuse to let go.

In California, Sonny Boden, fresh out of prison for killing his grandparents, hides behind a mask of normalcy while luring hitchhikers to their deaths. But when paranoid schizophrenic Dwight Paulson witnesses one of Sonny's murders, he believes they share a twisted bond and begins his own killing spree. Meanwhile, Joe Wilder, a shattered family man plagued by apocalyptic voices, is drawn into the carnage. As their paths intertwine, bodies amass, and Sonny’s carefully constructed lie begins to unravel. He’s caught between two killers—each one threatening to expose his crimes.