Showing results by narrator "Derek Shoales" in All Categories

When Peter finds himself on a strange planet, drafted into a war by alien abductors, his only goal is to be one of the few to survive the war and return home to Earth. Peter is one of thousands who get abducted every year, as payment to the aliens. The aliens have given humans portal travel, healing serums, and other advanced alien technology. The quality of life has improved, but everything has a price.

Space Piracy is a forward-thinking resource that considers, analyzes, and provides solutions to the influence of the ignoble side of humanity in the realm of outer space, where potential for crime, corruption, piracy, and war increases as the exploitation of space as a commercial resource continues to develop. This book blends the authors' knowledge with that of subject matter experts to deliver a holistic understanding of criminality in space and help listeners broaden their horizons beyond their own area of specialization.

An encounter with an old friend becomes tragically fatal, and Indrajit and Fix set out on a high-stakes, high-adrenaline quest across the ancient city of Kish to bring their friend back to life. At each step, the complications and the enemies alike pile up. The mysterious necromancers, the Vin Dalu priests, bind the heroes on an errand that sends them shuttling from one thieves' guild to the next, pitting Indrajit and Fix against the deadly House of Knives and embroiling them in a plot by the giant, wasplike Kattak to take dire revenge on Kish and all its great houses.

Beneath the storm clouds of a deadly war, three men are poised to unlock the secrets to redeem the world. The setting is Poland 1939, Germans are marching toward Warsaw running their armor, and devastating swarms of armed soldiers, along with their cavalry. Fighting against the Nazi military machine is a death wish realized all too clearly. Three young men are tasked with finding and extracting the German military communications device, Baby, that is kept under heavy guard. Polish patriots die to aid the three in getting the information and then fleeing with the prize.

Phillip Pliant is the wealthy opportunist plastics dealer, and CEO of Pliant Industries. He’s also a master thief—creating a pervasive threat to the manufacturing infrastructure in the Caribbean islands markets. With the cartel as his stealth client, the naïve city leaders have been seduced, enabling the production of more than 3-dimensional building materials.

Chen JieMin hypothesized the existence of hyperspace. The government of Arcadia put a project together to build a hyperspace probe. Chen ChaoLi managed the project to build a successful probe and transition it there and back.

The line of war elephants scattered the lightly armored Velites. In retreat, the skirmishers filtered through the Legion ranks. Not that it made a difference, but the First Maniple wore heavier armor and grasped bigger shields. But like the Velites, the Legionaries were no match for the enormous beasts. Tusks capped with bronze tips swung, defining the width of destruction expected by each Century. Archers on the backs of the animals launched arrows into the Legion ranks. Legionaries fell from the arrows, were pulled back and off their combat lines. Those were the lucky ones.

While intensely attentive to its own tradition, Japanese literature has also embraced the outside world, particularly the influence of China. Beyond this, Japan boasts a powerful literary culture, made up of cultivated reading publics, both aristocratic and bourgeois, literary salons, specialized presses, authoritative judges of talent who cultivated and celebrated particular writers and styles, and a canon consisting of classics. This Very Short Introduction traces the rich history of Japanese literature from its beginnings over a millennium ago to the present day.

A bounty hunting survivor. A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more. These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with classes, magic, and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong.

Indrajit Twang is the 427th epic poet of his people, the only person alive to carry their entire epic history and mythology in his head. His people are dwindling in number, and if he can't find a successor in the great city of Kish, their story will disappear with them. Fix grew up a foundling on the ancient streets of Kish and is making his living as a mercenary. The woman he loves married someone else, and Fix has turned to buying and selling risk on the black market - but is he trying to impress her, or prove something to himself?

Cornelius Scipio marched his outnumbered Legions south, and in a lightning assault, captured New Carthage. The ramifications rocked the confidence of the three Punic Generals in Iberia. They vowed to drive the Legions into the sea and kill Scipio just as they had his father and his uncle. Plus, the loss of a large commercial center hampered Hannibal's activities in the Republic. And throughout the government of Carthage, the young General's victory cast doubt on the future.

The disappearance of a wealthy Brazilian industrialist’s daughter, Lara, causes Thiago to hire the world's most elite information-gathering unit, the R-Group, to quietly locate and return her. Is the heiress in trouble and gone forever or merely hiding in plain sight to escape her destiny? The award-winning Breakfield and Burkey story draws you into a techno-thriller that focuses on overcoming opportunistic cyber-crime in the high-stakes world of information brokering in today’s 21st century.

The Second Punic War made gamblers of the Mediterranean world. Declare for Carthage or declare for Rome? The odds are 50/50 for life or death.

Niki is willing to do anything to protect her family. This time, she might have gone too far. In Italy, she got the job done, or did she? Her boss is asking pointed questions. Taylor has a new challenge with someone looking into his business, and this time it's a feisty reporter from a Cryptid-Inquirer magazine. Will she upset the balance between Marino and McFadden? Or will she uncover the whole truth and put it out for everyone to see? Will she even live to type up a report?

Maeve uch Robert, daughter of Robert ap Morgan, had always heard the stories of her family's connection to the emperors of old. Not that she really believed them. But her sister, Morgain, clearly did. She's been trying to claim the crown for herself ever since a coup attempt killed the current emperor and wiped out most of the court. To protect Maeve, Robert plans to enroll her safely in the Imperial Fleet Academy. Then Morgain strikes again . . .

When businesses try to "do AI", they place an abstract solution before problems and customers without fully considering whether it is wise, whether the hype is true, or how AI will impact their organization in the long term. Often absent is sound reasoning for why they should go down this path in the first place. Doing AI explores AI for what it actually is - and what it is not - and the problems it can truly solve.

A reluctant trio are forced to investigate a mystery city, but in doing so find themselves fighting a demonic atrocity. When three separate adventurers are hired to investigate the recent sealing of Thelgrim, the great Dunwarr dwarf city, all three have misgivings. One is a wanted criminal and the other two have no wish to work together - but when the money is this good, it's hard to refuse. As the three head to Thelgrim by secret path, none of them know what awaits them. Terrinoth is in upheaval: New threats are rising, and this one comes from the dark.

For nearly one thousand years, the Core Empire has held together thousands of star systems and billions of citizens. But a coup attempt has broken the empire into pieces. Some planets and systems have survived and still have law and order. Others have fallen to barbarism and piracy. For young Hugh Cascade, this is but a history lesson, even if the nightmares of kinetic weapons exploding have followed him through most of his childhood. Ten years later, the war finds Hugh, now a military cadet.

China's growing role in the global economy is showing no sign of retreat. Indeed, recent events have only increased China's influence - to the point where China is poised to edge out the United States and take the lead. For investors like you, this tectonic shift poses difficult challenges - along with tremendous opportunities. In China's Rise and the New Age of Gold, one of the 21st century's top economic experts, Stephen Leeb, lays out his compelling argument that explosive gains in gold lie ahead.

Once the Carthaginian forces were removed from Iberia, the reinforcements and supplies for Hannibal Barca dwindled to a trickle. Even so, Hannibal held onto the southwest quadrant of the Italian peninsula and remained a danger to the Republic. Although made rich from his conquests, the architect of the victory in Iberia retreated to Rome.