Showing results by narrator "Steve Richards" in All Categories

Subterfuge and compromise walk hand in hand for an agent of the Throne. On the blighted world of Dustcorn, an assault on an Inquisitorial target goes badly awry, forcing Ianthe and her associates into a pact with an unscrupulous ally, the mysterious Zand. With her mission in tatters, Ianthe has little choice but to agree to Zand’s terms, the assassination of a perfidious traitor. But nothing is simple where Zand is concerned, and Ianthe soon finds herself in a situation that will have far-reaching consequences for her and her team.

In The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and best-selling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters - many of them set in their authors' best-loved worlds. Join today's finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do.

Centuries ago, when Earth's Darkfolk - vampires, werewolves, witches, and other creatures - were threatened by humanity, they departed our planet's dimension and journeyed to a shadowy realm, where they built the great city of Nekropolis. Matt Richter is an Earth cop who came through a portal to Nekropolis on a case, died, and was resurrected as a zombie. Unable to return home, he works as a private investigator on the very mean streets of this shadowy, dark city.

Most men today are sent off into society with a broken belief system, which they use to make choices that get them terrible results with life and women. Men have been conditioned to be the quintessential “nice guy.” They’re trained to be overly humble, kind to a fault, and that just “being themselves” is enough to attract the women of their dreams. Men are told to believe that conventional masculinity is toxic, and to put women ahead of their own interests, passions, and purpose.

Rector “Wreck ‘em” Sherman was orphaned as a toddler in the Blight of 1863, but that was years ago. Wreck has grown up, and on his 18th birthday, he’ll be cast out out of the orphanage. And Wreck’s problems aren't merely about finding a home. He’s been quietly breaking the cardinal rule of any good drug dealer and dipping into his own supply of the sap he sells. He’s also pretty sure he’s being haunted by the ghost of a kid he used to know - Zeke Wilkes, who almost certainly died six months ago. Zeke would have every reason to pester Wreck....

On the West Texas border, a behemoth is bellowing smoke, fire, and death. This monster is the infamous Abaddon Cannon Foundry, whose weapons of war have spread death and destruction around the world — and made a few men in Big Buck, Texas incredibly rich. Now, a Mexican-born teenager has disappeared into this fortress factory, where men work and sweat as slaves. This boy’s sister wants to learn her brother’s fate, and she just happens to know a man named Shawn O’Brien, the town tamer.

When Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny are asked to escort a VIP on the late-night train to Bath, it would appear to be a routine case. The Organisation has acquired intelligence that an attempt is to be made on Sir Dennis Gregson’s life as he travels to Bath to take up his new position as Head of the British Psychic Weapons Division. Ishmael’s mission is to ensure that Sir Dennis arrives safely. How could anyone orchestrate a murder in a crowded railway carriage without being noticed and with no obvious means of escape?

Hank is walking home from the bar when the Model T pulls alongside him. It's been decades since he saw a car this old, and the sound of it takes him right back to his 20s. The door is open, and when he climbs in, the car takes off - without a driver. Before he knows what's happened, Hank is right back at Big Spring Pavilion, where he spent his youth drinking bootleg whiskey and chasing pretty girls. He will find the past is not quite as he remembered it, but still a lovely place to go for a drive.

Over 50 years, Charles M. Schulz created a comic strip that is one of the indisputable glories of American popular culture. Some 20 years after the last strip appeared, the characters Schulz brought to life in Peanuts continue to resonate with millions of fans, their beguiling four-panel adventures and television escapades offering lessons about happiness, friendship, disappointment, childhood, and life itself. Here, 33 writers and artists reflect on the deeper truths of Schulz’s deceptively simple comic, its impact on their lives and art and on the broader culture.

When iron clears leather, anything can happen. In Frank Morgan's case, a sudden duel with an assassin has left an innocent woman with a bullet in her back - and a friendship between Frank and a young Texas Ranger in tatters. Wanting to make up for his part in the tragedy, Frank rides to central Texas to help Ranger Tyler Beaumont put down the so-called Fence-Cutting War. But as big ranchers battle small ones, an outlaw gang has hellish plans of its own.

Frank Morgan has drifted down to Idaho after a wild range war in Montana and his fame as a gunfighter is traveling fast and far ahead of him. With his face on the covers of newspapers and dozens of dime novels, he's got nowhere left to hide. And now It seems that gunning down a legend like Frank has become more than an obsession to some men — it's a high stakes sport.

In the lower reaches of Necromunda's Hive Primus, countless hired guns and bounty hunters seek to make their fortune by using their deadly skills to bring in criminals, outlaws and those unlucky souls who've fallen foul of the Guilders. Each of these rogues and killers is different, with particular skills that put them on their path. Neither heroes nor villains, they live in the grey areas - and in these three audio dramas, a trio of bounty hunters have their tales told.

Eric Carter has a lot on his plate. He's hunting the Oracle of Las Vegas, a literal talking head that manipulates the future to make its prophecies come true. But it has a new trick. It can change the past, too. Now Jazz Age Los Angeles is invading the present. Long gone buildings suddenly restored, decommissioned Red Car trains appearing on paved over tracks, miles of the city changing back to orange groves. Throw in a hundred-year-old doomsday cult, time magic, and a terrifyingly powerful spell to raise the dead and it makes for a busy week.

Although he hasn’t seen Robert Bergin for 40 years, Ishmael feels duty bound to respond when his old friend calls for help. Robert’s daughter Gillian is about to be married, and he is afraid she’ll fall prey to the ancient family curse. Arriving in rural Yorkshire, Ishmael and his partner Penny learn that the vicar who was to perform the ceremony has been found dead in the church, hanging from his own bell rope.

Susie Bright, founder of Best American Erotica, presents a classic, taboo-breaking collection of men’s erotic fiction - featuring the most unrepentant gay literary heroes of our generation. Legendary writers like John Preston, Samuel Delany, Steven Saylor/Aaron Travis, Lars Eighner, Dennis Cooper - who can imagine men’s intimate and transgressive lives without them?

Outlaws had smashed his life, left his wife dying, and carried off his son. Now all Frank Morgan wants is to hang up his guns and settle down in peace. But all that changes when he rides into the middle of a Montana range war, where a valley has been ripped apart by hatred and fears...and where his legend proves to be as dangerous as his gun. The blood of innocent men, women, and children has been shed. On one side is a small army of ranchers; on the other a stubborn band of farming families.

Glory returns to Fenris. Magnus the Red and his traitorous legion are defeated upon the icy cliffs of the Space Wolves’ home world, their hollow remains scattered into the darkest depths of the World Sea. Yet Ragnar Blackmane, the youngest Wolf Lord in his Chapter’s noble history, does not feel victorious. He is uneasy. Uncertain of his purpose and place in the great war for the Imperium. Until a vision strikes him of a terrible beast, one greater than any he or his warriors have faced before.

During the turbulent Reign of Blood, a great schism in the Imperial Ecclesiarchy threatened all of Terra and promised a darkness to rival the terrors of Old Night. Fell times have come again to the Imperium, and a War of Faith appears inevitable. Standing in the way of catastrophe is Celestine, the Living Saint and one of the greatest heroes of the age. Only she can reunite the warring factions of the Ecclesiarchy and prevent a second Reign of Blood.

Hounded by the Sons of Horus, legendary Blackshield Endryd Haar battles enemies from within and without his ranks. Betrayed by his second in command, Erud Vahn, Haar finds himself imprisoned and facing a slow death. Determined to escape and stay one step ahead of the traitors, Endryd must enact his riskiest gamble yet if he is to fulfil his oath to kill the Warmaster Horus.

Sister Adamanthea is an oddity among the Adepta Sororitas - a Sister Repentia who has been cleansed of her sin and returned to her duty, rather than finding penance in death. Seen by the faithful as a living miracle, she herself is unsure. Still feeling the weight of her crime, she wonders if she belongs in the sisterhood at all. When she is forced to appear with a famed priest on a most holy day, Adamanthea's doubts itensify...until disaster strikes.