Showing results by author "R. M." in All Categories

Unsafe by Design is a documentary-style podcast examining the real-world consequences of technology failures that harmed or killed people — not because systems broke, but because they worked exactly as designed.Each episode investigates a major technological disaster, from medical devices and aviation software to AI-driven decision systems, focusing on the engineering choices, organizational pressures, and human assumptions that turned innovation into catastrophe. We break down complex technical failures in clear, accessible language while centering the human cost behind every incident.From ...

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. The zenith of Empire is bookended by two catastrophic wars that slaughter vast swathes of humanity. And yet authors manage to record and create fragile libraries of humanity, its talents, its dreams and increasingly its nightmares.

Echo Paisley has been on her own since her fiancé, Nash, died three years ago. She soon discovered that she didn’t know the man she was going to marry. He had cheated on her with the one person she thought had her back. But that wasn’t the only secret. Echo is about to leave her past behind when she discovers one last secret Nash left behind, which threatens to turn her life upside down. Echo is forced to seek help from her estranged mother with no one else to turn to.

When the Royal Wizard of Westland poisons the king so that his puppet prince can take the throne and start a continental war, a young squire is forced to run for his life carrying the powerful sword that his dying monarch burdened him with from the death bed. Two brothers find a magic ring and start on paths to becoming the most powerful sort of enemies, while an evil young sorceress unwillingly falls in love with one of them when he agrees to help her steal a dragon's egg for her father.

A spectacular collection of outstanding half-hour short stories...perfect for commuters or bedtime listening. 'The Whistle' by Hugh Walpole, 'The Well' by W. W. Jacobs, 'The Scrupulous Father' by George Gissing, 'The Debt' by Edith Wharton, 'The Problem of the Five Marks' by Melville Davisson Post, 'The Purple Wig' by G. K. Chesterton, 'Pickman's Model' by H. P. Lovecraft, 'Humplebee' by Geroge Gissing.

This is an unabridged audio collection of the "best of the best" science fiction stories published in 2013 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster, as narrated by top voice talents. In "Zero for Conduct," by Greg Egan, an Afghani teenager, living in a near-future Iran with her exiled grandfather, makes a game-changing superconductor discovery. A young girl struggles to survive on a planet, with a stringent class structure, where Doors are used to go off-world in "Exile, Interrupted," by C. W. Johnson.

In England 1869, Lady Bronwen is murdered in a satanic ritual by 12 demon worshipers. She is sent to the Under-realm, where she meets Thanatos, its handsome and charmingly demonic ruler who wants Bronwen as his eternal companion. When Bronwen refuses him, Thanatos makes a deal. If she can track down all of her killers, he will release her from his possession. However, if she cannot resist his seduction, she will remain his forever. Bronwen accepts the deal, trusting herself and her moral upbringing to endure Thanatos.

A thrilling volume of short stories featuring great storytellers such as O.Henry, Edith Wharton and M.R. James to keep you on the edge of you seat.

Events on Naraka leave Grayson exhausted but hopeful. The invaders may not be as unstoppable as he thought, and the entire weight of the Alliance is about to enter the fray. Rejoining the Navy should bring closure to his ordeal and allow him to return to his life as a pilot. Except his mesh partner is still stranded on a freezing planet. Except his past refuses to let go of his future. Except the man he trusted to rally the defenses may have sabotaged them instead.

Here's a chilling ghost story about a young student taking up temporary residence at an out-of-the-way inn. The inn is well-tended by its elderly owners, all except for one room which stands unoccupied and securely locked. What is the mysterious secret of the room? The student, much to his horrified dismay, soon finds out.

As the most wanted criminal in a galaxy that’s about to be crushed in the iron fist of an evil tyrant, it’s fair to say things haven’t gone according to plan. Caught up in the middle of a looming intergalactic conflict and rejected by both sides, there’s only one thing left for him to do.

If Ben wants to prevent Duke Sedaya from gaining an iron grip on the Hegemony, his only hope lies in locating the missing Prince Hiro. Of course, it won’t be easy. And even if Ben can find him, it may already be too late.

Zain was just a dog walker. It was an unconventional job for a werewolf, even a brand new one, but he liked dogs and they liked him. It only seemed to make sense... right up until the point a vampire called him in to take care of his human pup. When his life collided with Liam and Caleb's, none of them were prepared for the directions it could take. Especially Zain. But between the sexy pup and the vampire's creativity, the power struggles pitting dominance against submission - and acceptance - the two might be too intriguing to just walk away from.

The devil is awake, and he’s claiming me as his. The war to take back the kingdom of Pura from the traitors is beginning…and I’ve been whisked away from everything that matters to me. He holds me prisoner at his castle, claiming nothing and no one else matters outside of us. That I’ll forget about it all as we start our eternal life together. The man is delusional if he thinks he can stop me from being on the front lines and with the people I love. With the lives of everyone on the line, I’ll play the devil’s advocate until it’s time to turn the tables on him.

Alliance Navy Commander Grayson Stone is patrolling a nearby space station, when a mysterious starship appears. It emerges from a storm of fire, its shields impenetrable, its weapons overwhelming, attacking without provocation and annihilating everything in its path. While his ship is badly damaged in the assault, Grayson manages to survive. Suddenly trapped behind the front line of the invasion and faced with gut-wrenching choices and near-impossible odds, he'll do whatever it takes to escape the grasp of the terrifying new enemy.

Reader Stephen Critchelow has spent a lifetime collecting and reading works like these and, with carefully chosen music, brings a strong sense of atmosphere to this recording. It provides a great listening experience for dark autumn evenings.

My name is Landon Hamilton. Once upon a time I was a twenty-three year old security guard, trying to regain my life after spending a year in prison for stealing people's credit card numbers. Now, I'm dead. Okay, I was supposed to be dead. I got killed after all; but a funny thing happened after I had turned the mortal coil...

When a strange message arrives through an even stranger channel, necromancer Conor Night is driven to discover its meaning, even if it takes a road trip that he might not be healthy enough to survive. Joined by his sexy partner and an undead wise-ass, he's about to rush headlong into a magic and mayhem-filled night in New Orleans that will leave his future riding on a roll of the dice.

The enemy marches on. While hope is fading, all is not lost. Grayson has information that could change the outcome of the war. He's beaten but not broken and ready to rejoin the fight. Except, his failing starship is weeks away from the nearest port. Except, slowing the aliens means convincing sworn enemies to join forces in a fight they cannot win. Except, his only chance at victory may rest in a derelict ship floating beyond the edge of space.

Alliance Navy Commander Grayson Stone is a prisoner. His encounter with the alien invaders is behind him, a reckoning years in the making ahead. War in the galaxy is about to explode in a way he never imagined. The fate of humankind rests on a razor’s edge. He won’t remain idle. One way or another, he’s determined to escape. To send warning of the imminent assault and sound the call to this new war.