Showing results by narrator "Scott Aiello" in All Categories

Ten years ago, the Ark II departed on a long journey through interstellar space, but shortly after they reached their destination, all communications ceased. All attempts to re-establish contact have failed. Utilizing prototypical FTL technology that he invented, one brave man will lead a small expedition into the unknown to discover the colony’s fate.

This time it's with his friends, but something is amiss. Not everything is at it seems, and no one has found Gin Sonny...yet. Gin must test himself against any and all who beat him. He needs a new device to track down and help destroy one of the victims who got away. Will anyone realize that Gin hasn't left Earth? Will Kaiden understand what is different about this test he is undergoing?

Surviving in space was the easy part … I’m not alone anymore. I've made it down from the solitude of the station, all the way to an incredible underground bunker complex. Thousands of humanity’s best minds are by my side. I’m surrounded by secret cutting-edge technologies that almost defy belief. Too bad none of that is a match for what I’m up against now.

Endless fighting. Hopeless odds. Then things got worse. Jon Ryan has beaten the odds so far. He saved humanity from a sinister alien threat, and he stopped the insane android president of the United States three separate times. But the president won't stay dead, and a super race threatens to end Jon's hopes for a peaceful future. Jon's mind-boggling alien technology has been enough to keep everyone alive. But, just when there's reason for hope, a new, more deadly race sets its sights on him. This threat may just be unstoppable.

The end of the world brings out the best and worst in all of us. After a geomagnetic storm destroys the nation's power grid, Colt, Dani, and Melody must find a way to survive.

They destroyed the civilization of the ancient alien Elders thousands of years ago, and now they’re following Andy Clanton and the crew of the James Bowie back from the edge of the galaxy and into Alliance space, bent on wiping out all intelligent life in the galaxy. The Bugs probe for weakness, attacking new friends and old enemies, and forcing Andy and the others into union with forces that had tried to destroy them only months before and putting a wedge between the Earth and the Alliance.

Jon Ryan has some unfinished business. Since he caused the universe to reboot, well, he can't seem to find his wife of two billion years. That's one great big oops. He also can't find the massive time ship Aramthella and her human crew. Double oops. And then there's the matter of not knowing whey why there are several copies of key people in the new reality he must navigate. Triple oops. He actually knows one whole heck of a lot less about his current situation than seems healthy. But he's Jon Ryan, former fighter pilot turned android warrior for humankind.

Deadland Sentinel, book three: With the trafficking ring obliterated, Jack turns his attention to wiping out the dregs of the criminal empire. But when he arrives to take out a particular scumbag, he only finds the man's corpse. And he's missing a shoe. Deadland Protector, book four: With the Hand dead and the Ring mostly dismantled, Burner's team turn their attention to loose ends. The thing about loose ends is if you tug at them there is always a chance that you'll pull something else loose.

She has the city brought to its knees, a single death stroke away from victory, but in the same breath, she struggles with her own wavering loyalty. Haunted by the fate of her predecessors, who all turned against the Pale Lady—and nearly succeeded. Time is her enemy. Her elder brother, To'Aacar, has set his plans in motion. The city must be taken, and her treasonous thoughts must be handled soon, or else.

Humanity has seen its share of brutally oppressive regimes, but none have been by an artificial intelligence… until now. Unleashing its vicious star snakes, Glitch takes control of the system, killing thousands on Day One. Everyone loses someone. Captain Jack Hale and his crew are no exception. Outmatched by a corrupted AI, Jack Hale will need to change the rules if he’s to win. The odds are against him. But it's never a good idea to underestimate Captain Jack Hale.

Tales of blood, magic, and steel by masters of the craft!

Years ago, Main 54s brain-core had to flee his exploding planet-sized warship because of the treachery of Jon Hawkins. Later, Main 54 gained special processors, a new warship - something changed in him...greater clarity of purpose and superior combat skills. He has been taking over the AI Dominion around here ever since. Now, his brilliant calculations reveal it is time to destroy the Confederation with a super fleet. Jon is on a desperate mission in the void seeking clues for making the alien Subspace Teleport Device work.

Brand-new stories by: Daniel Woodrell, Matthew Eck, Catherine Browder, Nancy Pickard, John Lutz, J. Malcolm Garcia, Kevin Prufer, Linda Rodriguez, Nadia Pflaum, Phong Nguyen, Andres Rodriguez, and others. Kansas City: where East and West collide, where naked ambition meets broken dreams, where blues and the night go together like rye whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Yes, Kansas City is a surprising place of grit, gore, and betrayal, at least in the imaginations of our diverse lineup of contributors.

Humanity has much to rebuild in the aftermath of the star snakes. But before they can even get started, the Waymakers return, bringing their interstellar war with them. With the Waymakers and Glimmers battling it out across the solar system, humanity is caught in the middle. Colonies are put under lockdown. Any ship caught flying is destroyed. Millions starve. Even more die in the attacks. With humanity on the verge of annihilation, old enemies unite and prepare for war.

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.

Trurl and Klaupacius are constructor robots who try to out-invent each other. Over the course of their adventures in The Cyberiad, they travel to the far corners of the cosmos to take on freelance problem-solving jobs, with dire consequences for their unsuspecting employers.

When former soldier Everett Cole signed on to help colony planets prepare for joining the Federation, his employers were disconcertingly vague about their identity and his duties. Yet, the pay was good, and it got him off Earth and on the way to a fresh start. More reservations arose when, 11 light-years from Earth, he met his partner, Edgar Millen, an enigmatic man with a penchant for violent solutions and a fetish for the mythology and language of the American Wild West.

These fourteen science fiction stories reveal Lem’s fascination with artificial intelligence and demonstrate just how surprisingly human sentient machines can be.

Gloria Burtzlaff feared for her life one day back in April of 1991 when her abusive husband, Larry, drunk and violent, slapped her, hit her, and began pelting her with glasses. After he tried to drown her in a tub, she got the family shotgun and confronted him in his underwear. “Larry, I’m going to kill you,” she declared. Defense lawyers would later claim he lifted a glass as if to say, “Have at it, sister.” Have at It, Sister is a true-crime tale about Gloria, a South Dakota woman who shot her abusive husband and was put on trial in a precedent-setting case.

Encompassing nearly 2,000 years of heists and tunnel jobs, break-ins and escapes, A Burglar's Guide to the City offers an unexpected blueprint to the criminal possibilities in the world all around us. You'll never see the city the same way again.