Showing results by narrator "Benjamin L Darcie" in All Categories

In this stunning debut, Shawn Vestal transports us to the afterlife, the rugged Northwest, and the early days of Mormonism. From “The First Several Hundred Years Following My Death”, an absurd, profound vision of a hellish heaven, to “Winter Elders”, in which missionaries calmly and relentlessly pursue a man who has left the fold, these nine stories illuminate the articles of faith that make us human.

Three billion people died the day the Veech appeared. Forced to reconcile with the world-shattering fact that humanity isn’t alone in the cosmos, the resulting war for the future of mankind shaped humanity’s destiny and challenged it to grapple with its place in the universe. For the men and women who survived Invasion Day and the devastating war that followed, their stories paint a picture of the everyday struggle and experiences of the regular folk who carved out a living at a time when the very future of our species was uncertain.

Former DOJ cybercrimes prosecutor Chris Bruen walks into a dark apartment in Amsterdam to confront a hacker known as Black Vector. The hacker has stolen the source code for the world’s most ubiquitous operating system, which powers everything from personal computers to the NSA’s data centers. This should have been a routine assignment for Bruen, but instead of obtaining a confession, Bruen finds the hacker’s dead body and uncovers a hidden flash drive that contains the code for a remarkably sophisticated computer virus known as Lurker.

Set in New York City, Ship of Souls features a cast of three African-American teens: D, a math whiz; Hakeem, a Muslim basketball star; and Nyla, a beautiful military brat. When D’s mother dies of breast cancer, he is taken in by Mrs. Martin, an elderly white woman. Grateful to have a home, D strives to please his foster mother and succeeds — until Mercy arrives. Unable to compete with a needy, crack-addicted baby, D disappears into the nearby park and immerses himself in bird watching. At school, he unexpectedly makes friends with Nyla and Hakeem, but just when D thinks he has finally found a way to belong, an unexpected discovery in the park changes everything. A mysterious bird leads D and his friends on a perilous journey that will take them from Brooklyn to the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan, and into the very realm of the dead. Their courage and loyalty are tested every step of the way, but in the end, it is D who must find the strength to fulfill his destiny. Steeped in history and suspense, this inspiring urban fantasy provides an enriching experience that readers will find hard to forget.

They are four different people with four separate lives: Sue, a young woman distanced from her native roots; David, a traveler in search of a dream; Laura, a student seeking her parents’ understanding; and Peter, a rock star struggling to create a perfect sound.One looming fate threatens them all. And everything they love may be taken away in one fleeting second…

Since his father’s death, Adam Roussos, a preeminent sexologist and expert in religion, hasn’t set foot on Greek soil. But when archeologist friend Aquiles Vangelis urges him to come to Athens to witness a radical discovery - one that threatens to bring Christianity to its knees - it’s a siren song he can’t resist. When Adam arrives, Aquiles’s daughter, the Hellenistic beauty Alexia, reveals that her father has vanished.

Mark Noble plans a surprise proposal to his girlfriend during a Caribbean vacation. But before he can pop the question, she disappears, and his father - a world-famous celebrity doctor who seems to have perfected mind-control - is killed in a mysterious fire back home. While searching for his girlfriend, Mark finds himself chased by two thugs, and the race is on to find out the truth of her disappearance before it’s too late. Mark’s investigation uncovers a sinister connection and a secret he doesn’t even know he possesses.

Nestled in the Pennsylvania countryside, Florence University frames an idyllic college world, complete with cute coeds and handsome jocks - not to mention plenty of booze and sex with virtually no responsibility. For three seniors, the vagaries of life have rarely been so terrifying. Drawn together by their struggles for identity, the three students form a fateful friendship that will change the courses of their lives forever. Sexy, fast paced, and layered with intimate insight about life’s most formative years, The Fall is a compelling coming-of-age story.

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital, thirsty, terrified, and alone. Shorty is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule Site Solèy; men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that blazes inside him and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost seven years ago. And he is marked. Marked in a way that links him to Toussaint l’Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt.