
A Guide to Useless Sidekicks
A Collection of Short Stories
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Shannon Yseult
About this listen
The 518 Publishing Company’s fourth anthology A Guide to Useless Sidekicks contains 19 short stories by many first-time published authors from the US and Canada. The tales include creepy dolls, inspiring adventures, a few superheroes, one princess, and some unwitting villains, not to mention awesome sidekicks!
©2020 518 Publishing Company LLC (P)2021 518 Publishing Company LLCListeners also enjoyed...
-
Running from Destiny
- New Beginnings, Book 1
- By: M.A. Rothman
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighteen-year-old Jason Rogers’ life is turned upside-down when he finds himself in the custody of an unnamed government agency that is falsely accusing him of being responsible for the explosion that caused the death of his parents. Anya is 17 - a teenager who wishes she could be normal for once - but she’s not. A secret government agency, headed by none other than her father, knows how to leverage the dangerous capability she was born with. All goes well for her until one of the agents turns on her.
-
-
Classic bait and switch.
- By Brian on 09-02-23
By: M.A. Rothman
-
Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light
- By: Stan Lee, Kat Rosenfield, Created by Stan Lee, and others
- Narrated by: Yara Shahidi
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is more real? A world we are born into or one we create for ourselves? Legendary creator, master storyteller, and cultural icon Stan Lee sets off into a new universe in search of answers to some of the most pressing questions of our time! The only question left: Will you join him on this journey?
-
-
About the narrator....
- By Helen on 07-03-19
By: Stan Lee, and others
-
Sprite
- By: Peter Meredith
- Narrated by: Marissa Parness
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Her name is Odd. Twelve-year-old Audrey Wyatt bears the unfortunate nickname "Odd", a name even her bar-hopping, alcoholic mother uses when she's sober enough to recognize the girl. Cowed by life, Odd doesn't protest, not when she's deformed as she is. Born with a combination of rare birth defects, Odd's eyes are a startling and dreadful red. Demon eyes is the first thought that springs to mind. The little girl takes care to hide them behind dark sunglasses, something her mother insists on, except when she's trading freak-show peeks for dollars or drinks.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Emily on 11-15-19
By: Peter Meredith
-
Cozy Witch Mysteries: Special Edition Box Set of 8 Books
- Angela Pepper Box Sets and Bundles
- By: Angela Pepper
- Narrated by: Tiffany Williams, Rosemary Benson
- Length: 77 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A small town with big secrets. A neighbor who bites. Plus a house with a mind of its own. Welcome to Wisteria.
-
-
Tech Problems
- By KKH on 06-29-23
By: Angela Pepper
-
Pawn
- Fae Games, Book One
- By: Karen Lynch
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jesse James is a normal 18-year-old, even if her parents are the best faerie bounty hunters in New York. Jesse’s only concern is how to pay for college, but that changes the night her parents disappear. Equipped with her parents’ weapons and her own smarts, Jesse enters the dangerous world of bounty hunting in search of her mother and father. In her quest, she encounters all manner of Fae, but the scariest is Lukas, the mysterious, imposing faerie who offers to help her find her parents.
-
-
Reluctant to try it but quickly fell in love!
- By Natalie on 06-06-20
By: Karen Lynch
-
A Witch of Edgehill Mystery Box Set
- Books 1-3
- By: Melissa Erin Jackson
- Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal
- Length: 25 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every town has its secrets, but no one has a secret like hers. Amber Blackwood, lifelong resident of Edgehill, Oregon, has earned a reputation for being a semi-reclusive odd duck. Her store The Quirky Whisker is full of curiosities, from extremely potent sleepy teas and ever-burning candles to kids' toys that seem to run endlessly without the aid of batteries. The people of Edgehill think of the Quirky Whisker as an integral part of their feline-obsessed town, but most give Amber herself a wide berth.
-
-
Nice witch cozy mysteries
- By Dami on 04-13-21
-
Running from Destiny
- New Beginnings, Book 1
- By: M.A. Rothman
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighteen-year-old Jason Rogers’ life is turned upside-down when he finds himself in the custody of an unnamed government agency that is falsely accusing him of being responsible for the explosion that caused the death of his parents. Anya is 17 - a teenager who wishes she could be normal for once - but she’s not. A secret government agency, headed by none other than her father, knows how to leverage the dangerous capability she was born with. All goes well for her until one of the agents turns on her.
-
-
Classic bait and switch.
- By Brian on 09-02-23
By: M.A. Rothman
-
Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light
- By: Stan Lee, Kat Rosenfield, Created by Stan Lee, and others
- Narrated by: Yara Shahidi
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is more real? A world we are born into or one we create for ourselves? Legendary creator, master storyteller, and cultural icon Stan Lee sets off into a new universe in search of answers to some of the most pressing questions of our time! The only question left: Will you join him on this journey?
-
-
About the narrator....
- By Helen on 07-03-19
By: Stan Lee, and others
-
Sprite
- By: Peter Meredith
- Narrated by: Marissa Parness
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Her name is Odd. Twelve-year-old Audrey Wyatt bears the unfortunate nickname "Odd", a name even her bar-hopping, alcoholic mother uses when she's sober enough to recognize the girl. Cowed by life, Odd doesn't protest, not when she's deformed as she is. Born with a combination of rare birth defects, Odd's eyes are a startling and dreadful red. Demon eyes is the first thought that springs to mind. The little girl takes care to hide them behind dark sunglasses, something her mother insists on, except when she's trading freak-show peeks for dollars or drinks.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Emily on 11-15-19
By: Peter Meredith
-
Cozy Witch Mysteries: Special Edition Box Set of 8 Books
- Angela Pepper Box Sets and Bundles
- By: Angela Pepper
- Narrated by: Tiffany Williams, Rosemary Benson
- Length: 77 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A small town with big secrets. A neighbor who bites. Plus a house with a mind of its own. Welcome to Wisteria.
-
-
Tech Problems
- By KKH on 06-29-23
By: Angela Pepper
-
Pawn
- Fae Games, Book One
- By: Karen Lynch
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jesse James is a normal 18-year-old, even if her parents are the best faerie bounty hunters in New York. Jesse’s only concern is how to pay for college, but that changes the night her parents disappear. Equipped with her parents’ weapons and her own smarts, Jesse enters the dangerous world of bounty hunting in search of her mother and father. In her quest, she encounters all manner of Fae, but the scariest is Lukas, the mysterious, imposing faerie who offers to help her find her parents.
-
-
Reluctant to try it but quickly fell in love!
- By Natalie on 06-06-20
By: Karen Lynch
-
A Witch of Edgehill Mystery Box Set
- Books 1-3
- By: Melissa Erin Jackson
- Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal
- Length: 25 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every town has its secrets, but no one has a secret like hers. Amber Blackwood, lifelong resident of Edgehill, Oregon, has earned a reputation for being a semi-reclusive odd duck. Her store The Quirky Whisker is full of curiosities, from extremely potent sleepy teas and ever-burning candles to kids' toys that seem to run endlessly without the aid of batteries. The people of Edgehill think of the Quirky Whisker as an integral part of their feline-obsessed town, but most give Amber herself a wide berth.
-
-
Nice witch cozy mysteries
- By Dami on 04-13-21
-
Destination Dark Zone
- Six Twisted Tales
- By: Susan May
- Narrated by: Hollis McCarthy, Steve Marvel
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Take your ticket and enjoy the thrills and chills awaiting those who dare journey into this exciting collection of short fiction and novellas. Savor six twisted tales, which will both delight and surprise listeners as they travel into the dark realms of supernatural and paranormal suspense.
-
-
Destination Dark Zone
- By Deedra on 12-31-19
By: Susan May
-
Ignorance Is Strength
- By: John Joseph Adams - editor, Hugh Howey - editor and contributor, Christie Yant - editor
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, Susan Hanfield, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. George Orwell once wrote of a world where abuse of power begins with an abuse of language and a bastardization of truth. Some of today's most exciting voices in speculative fiction explore the ramifications of those ideas in Ignorance Is Strength.
-
-
Decent stories, seemingly unaware of its own ironies
- By Amazon Customer on 06-14-21
By: John Joseph Adams - editor, and others
-
Noir Fatale
- By: Kacey Ezell - editor, Larry Correia - editor
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Bronson Pinchot, Erin Mallon, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the pulpy pages of Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s and '30s, through the film noir era of the 1940s, to today, noir fiction has lured many a reader and movie-goer away from the light and into the dark underbelly of society. Names such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain; titles like The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice...these have inhabited our collective consciousness for decades. Humanity, it seems, loves the dark. And within the dark, one figure stands out: that of the femme fatale.
-
-
Excellent Anthology.
- By Alex Sumner on 07-02-19
By: Kacey Ezell - editor, and others
-
Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen of the biggest names in weird literature come together to pay tribute to Hellboy and the characters of Mike Mignola’s award-winning line of books! Assembled by Joe Golem and Baltimore co-writer Christopher Golden, this anthology boasts 15 original stories by the best in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, including Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Chelsea Cain (Heartsick), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), and more! The new writer of Hellboy and the BPRD, iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson, pitches in as well!
-
-
An assortment of good times.
- By Chris E. on 02-28-20
By: Various
-
A Cosmology of Monsters
- A Novel
- By: Shaun Hamill
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Noah Turner sees monsters. His father saw them - and built a shrine to them with The Wandering Dark, an immersive horror experience that the whole family operates. His practical mother has caught glimpses of terrors but refuses to believe - too focused on keeping the family from falling apart. And his eldest sister, the dramatic and vulnerable Sydney, won't admit to seeing anything but the beckoning glow of the spotlight...until it swallows her up. Noah Turner sees monsters. But, unlike his family, Noah chooses to let them in....
-
-
BUY book, AVOID this awful Audio mishap
- By Keri McDonough on 12-07-19
By: Shaun Hamill
-
Goblin
- A Novel in Six Novellas
- By: Josh Malerman
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Goblin seems like any other ordinary small town. But with the master storyteller Josh Malerman as your tour guide, you’ll discover the secrets that hide behind its closed doors. These six novellas tell the story of a place where the rain is always falling, nighttime is always near, and your darkest fears and desires await. Welcome to Goblin....
-
-
Ugh…
- By Dave on 05-31-21
By: Josh Malerman
-
Fantastic Hope
- By: Laurell K. Hamilton - editor, William McCaskey - editor
- Narrated by: Kimberly Alexis, Holter Graham
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A child’s wish for her father comes true. The end of the world has never been so much fun. Conquering personal demons becomes all too real. It’s not always about winning; sometimes it’s about showing up for the fight. It’s about loving your life’s work, and jobs that make you question everything. In this anthology, 17 authors have woven together brand-new stories that speak to the darkness and despair that life brings while reminding us that good deeds, humor, love, sacrifice, dedication, and following our joy can ignite a light that burns so bright the darkness cannot last.
-
-
LOVE the concept
- By IreneMBBT on 04-20-20
By: Laurell K. Hamilton - editor, and others
-
I Did NOT Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence!
- Please Don't Tell My Parents Series, Book 0
- By: Richard Roberts
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being a superhero should be fun. After all, a world of super powers is a world where Amazonian juggernauts made of candy battle guys in spandex that drive talking cars. Irene loves that weirdness, loves the game of fighting, and loves being a four-foot-tall woman who still gets to drop big heavy objects on villains' heads. In 1980, that fun is in danger. A mad scientist who murders people for his research has everyone afraid. Two of the friendliest super-powered rivals around stop playing and go for the kill.
-
-
As good as, "I'm a super villain"
- By Michael on 01-31-17
By: Richard Roberts
-
Superhero Syndrome
- Solstice Survivors, Book 1
- By: Caryn Larrinaga
- Narrated by: Ruby Hankey
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tess McBray was dying. The solstice syndrome had no cure, and she resigned herself to an early grave. But just when she gave up on survival, all her symptoms mysteriously disappeared. All but one symptom, anyway. Something is wrong with Tess’ hands. They absorb any material they touch, and her skin turns to wood, steel, or concrete. It doesn’t take this comic book obsessed 21-year-old long to figure out what’s going on: somehow, she’s developed super powers. And she’s not the only one; across the country, people are coming forward and sharing their gifts with the world.
-
-
"Origin" story with great characters and narration
- By Kara on 08-17-19
By: Caryn Larrinaga
-
Indie Saint
- The Words of Power Series, Book 1
- By: VK Fox
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A godless miracle worker. A suicidal teenager. Can a young woman save the dying when the backlash whittles away at her life? Jane Davis isn’t a hero. A twenty-five-year-old rebellious vagabond, she’s stupefied when she discovers she’s developed supernatural powers. Desperate for answers, her search catapults her into the orbit of a disturbed teen carrying a devastating secret—magic and horrific monsters are spreading.
-
-
Cryptids and "Impossible Books" are my jam!
- By Lonnie-The GreatNorthernTroll-Moore on 06-16-21
By: VK Fox
-
Crystal Springs Cozy Witch Mysteries: Books 1-3
- Crystal Springs Cozy Witch Mysteries Series Box Set 1
- By: Paula Lester, M.E. Harmon
- Narrated by: Danielle Muething
- Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cascade Lorne is recently divorced and days away from turning 50, when she receives a strange gift that plunges her immediately into an entirely different world. A parallel one right alongside hers that she never saw before. The only problem is that witches are supposed to get their magic during puberty. And Cas is...well, past puberty. This is a box set that includes the first three books in the Crystal Springs Cozy Witch Mystery series.
-
-
A fun series
- By MJ on 02-12-22
By: Paula Lester, and others
-
Faith: Taking Flight
- By: Julie Murphy
- Narrated by: Joy Nash
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Faith Herbert is a pretty regular teen. When she’s not hanging out with her two best friends, Matt and Ches, she’s volunteering at the local animal shelter or obsessing over the long-running teen drama The Grove. So far, her senior year has been spent trying to sort out her feelings for her maybe-crush Johnny and making plans to stay close to Grandma Lou after graduation. Of course, there’s also that small matter of recently discovering she can fly....
-
-
Amazing
- By nayherr on 09-10-20
By: Julie Murphy