Showing results by narrator "Colby Elliott" in All Categories

From the bedroom terminals of teenagers isolated from their peers by their hyperactive intellects, to the nerve center of a nationwide long-distance phone company infiltrated by a hacker's hand, Masters of Deception offers an unprecedented tour of the murkiest reaches of the electronic frontier and a trenchant, blow-by-blow chronicle of the most notorious gang war in cyberspace.

Designers & Dragons: The 90s is a comprehensive picture of the heyday of the RPG industry. This 2nd edition expands the original single book into a series of four—beginning with the ’70s and ending with the ’00s—and we’ve added over 10,000 new words to this volume alone. In this volume, we profile an RPG titan—Wizards of the Coast—and cover the rise of storytelling RPG settings like White Wolf’s World of Darkness. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.

Often, we treat games like work. We buy shelves of thick books. We plan detailed adventures. We memorize rules. In Play Unsafe, Graham Walmsley explores what happens when you throw the serious stuff away: when you stop working, stop planning and start playing. This book explains how to make role-playing less like work and more like play; stop killing other players' ideas and build on them instead; and put stories at the heart of your game.

Jake Trapper isn’t your average organ acquisition specialist. He’s the best in LA. But Jake has a soft spot for underdogs, and his current case is Angel, a young girl from a broken home. She needs a kidney. So Jake makes a deal with a broker and gets seduced into the kidney business. When a potential organ donor is killed, Jake meets LAPD Homicide Detective Megan Densmore, who enlists Jake to help with the investigation.

Comic book superheroines bend steel, travel across time and space, and wield awesome forces. These mighty females do everything that male superheroes do. But they have to work their wonders in skirts and high heels. The Supergirls asks whether their world of fantasy is that different from our own. Are the stories of Wonder Woman’s search for an identity, Batwoman and Power Girl’s battle for equality, and Manhunter’s juggling of a crime fighting career and motherhood also an alternative saga of modern American women?

Depending on your point of view, Fender Benders is either a skewed look at the country music industry or a clear-eyed view of a damn screwy business. It's a Grand Old Opera complete with murder, treachery, greed, drugs, twangy music, a love triangle, and the best fried swimps you'll ever put in your mouth.

We think we know Betty and Veronica, but we don’t. Far more than just Archie’s girlfriends, the girls have grown beyond simple archetypes to become compelling, relevant characters for each new generation over the past eighty years.

Big-shot ad exec Dan Steele feels entitled to the best life has to offer - even if he has to live way beyond his means to acquire it. But there's hope on the horizon. Dan has just stolen what's sure to be an award-winning idea for a multimillion-dollar account. If he can keep the creditors at bay long enough, he'll get the keys to the executive restroom and all his problems will be solved.

First there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer; then its spin-off, Angel; then the cult hit Firefly and its follow-up film, Serenity. They all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon...and their surprising psychological depth. Revisit the worlds of Joss Whedon...with trained psychologists at your side. What are the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is neuroscience the Whedonverse's most terrifying villain? How can watching Joss' shows help you take on your own psychological issues?

Welcome to Comic-Con: where the future of pop culture comes to life. Every summer more than 130,000 comic fans, gamers, cosplay enthusiasts, and nerds of all stripes descend on San Diego to mingle with the top entertainment celebrities and creative-industry professionals in an unprecedented celebration of popular culture in all its forms.

Captain Sylvestre de Greybagges is your typical seventeenth-century Cambridge-educated lawyer turned Caribbean pirate, as comfortable debating the virtues of William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, and compound interest as he is wielding a cutlass, needling archrival Henry Morgan, and parsing rum-soaked gossip for his next target. When a pepper monger’s loose tongue lets out a rumor about a fleet loaded with silver, the Captain sets sail only to find himself in a close encounter of a very different kind.

The staying power of the world's most dashing secret agent and the evolution of the James Bond franchise are explored in this smart yet nostalgic collection of essays. Leading writers, including Raymond Benson, J.A. Konrath, Raelynn Hillhouse, and John Cox, discuss the 10 sexiest Bond girls, the best villains, and the controversy surrounding the latest actor to play James Bond. Topics covered range from the playful - how to build a secret lair and avoid the perennial mistakes made by would-be world dominators - to the thought-provoking.

Staggered by the terminal illness of his next-door neighbor and predecessor, Jack, the Stay at Home Shaman, finds himself unable to dream and enter the world of the Overlay. But with best friend Zeke’s help, the two embark on a mission to the dream realm to stop the corrupting chain-lightning and the mysterious flying V-shape menacing the neighborhood. But this challenge won’t be overcome without the greatest sacrifice of the Shaman’s career.

My Peculiar Family is an anthology of Gothic horror and unusual stories like none ever published before! Combining New York Times best-selling authors (Christopher Golden, Tracy Hickman), Amazon best-selling authors (William Meikle, Derrick Belanger, Rob Watts), award-winning authors (James A. Moore, Stacey Longo), and emerging talents, this anthology unites these authors, who have sold millions and million books between them, to come together for a common cause.

When Cole set something free in the dreamworld of The Overlay, he had no idea it could cause harm in the real world. But now someone is dead and the shaman must use all of his newfound powers to prevent another tragedy and rein in a new menace known only as Dark Beard.

Journey to the castle of the mad scientist and hear tales of imagination to both amaze and astound! In the grand traditions of the late night horror movie and 1950s scary comics comes an anthology for those who love Science Fiction. Hear unearthed classic tales from authors such as Fritz Leiber, Harry Harrison, and other masters of the genre. Your host may also let you poke around the lab a little. But be careful…those tanks contain beasties best left suspended in their animation!

Letters to a Young GM is the latest book of GM advice from award-winning author John Wick (Legend of the Five Rings, 7th Sea, Houses of the Blooded, Cat, Banners). In it, John provides his unconventional game mastering advice to both young game masters and those who are still young-at-heart. Looking beyond the usual topics, he offers not only tricks and tactics, but also inspiration to those who want to sit behind the GM screen, but are uncertain about their skills.

Mr. Jonathan Chambers senses that something is very wrong. The walk he takes every night is suddenly, slightly shorter. All around him things are vanishing. Is it because of the recent war or famine in the world? Does the scandalous theory that cost him his job hold the key? Or is it just the slowly unhinging mind of a recluse?

When Cole Ellis hits a coyote late one night on I-80, he has no idea how his life will change. Now he travels to a dream realm every time he falls asleep…but all is not well in the drowsing world. There’s mystical talking animals, mysteriously bruised houses, and massive hulking monsters to deal with. How can a stay-at-home dad hope to save the neighborhood by naptime’s end?

Even after getting bad news at the doctor’s office, Cole Ellis knows the kids still need to be picked up and the realm of dreams needs to be protected. Strange, that the foreclosure two blocks over is bustling with crows in The Overlay, and stranger still, why is the dream neighborhood filled with the delectable smell of cookies for blocks in every direction? It may be time for Cole to call on the most powerful member of his team yet. And time for another to make the sacrifice of a lifetime.