Showing results by narrator "Liam" in All Categories

In this updated, companion volume to Merlin's Tour of the Universe, we visit again with Merlin, a timeless space traveler from Planet Omniscia, who answers a collection of imaginative questions about the cosmos from Earthlings of all ages. Whether waxing poetic about Earth and its environs, the Sun and its stellar siblings, the world of light, physical laws or galaxies near and far, Merlin's remarks are engaging, humorous, and clear as a starry night sky.

I used to be a cop, and now I kill people for fun. Yeah, yeah I know. Never admit to your crimes. But you don't know who I am. To you, I'm just words in a blurb. Besides, I don't plan on living that long anyway. The system has failed us. There is no justice. So, before I go, I'll be the justice. You know. AKAB. All Killers Are Bastards, or however the fuck the saying goes.

I'm young, carefree, and my job as the assistant to Holt, manager and owner of the Goliaths of Wrestling, means I'm surrounded by half-naked beefcake wrestlers all day. Of course, I'm going to be interested in… getting to know them all better. It would be, like, illegal for me not to lust after them all, right? There's just one hurdle I have to get over first before I can… get to know the wrestlers in the way I want. And that hurdle makes me really, really freaking nervous.

I know this is wrong, but I can’t help myself when it comes to him. My mom deserves to be happy after losing my dad to tragedy over a decade ago. But her blissful new relationship comes with a catch. His name is Emery, my new stepbrother, and he’s the most infuriating, impulsive, chaotic, and strangely intriguing man I’ve ever met. I’ve managed to avoid him for a year but then on our way to our parents’ cabin, we get lost alone in the snowy mountains of Utah.

I've lived a carefully cultivated life on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac. My anonymity and meticulous routine are all by design. No one knows of the monster that lurks inside me, this insatiable urge to commit murder, that thrives just beneath my pastel sweater vests and buttoned-up demeanor. No one, that is, until my tiny menace of a neighbor comes along and ruins everything.

How did "the West" come to be used as a collective self-designation signaling political and cultural commonality? Was the idea handed down from the ancient Greeks, or coined by nineteenth-century imperialists? Neither, writes Georgios Varouxakis in The West, his ambitious and fascinating genealogy of the idea. "The West" was not used by Plato, Cicero, Locke, Mill, or other canonized figures of what we today call the Western tradition. It was not first wielded by empire-builders.

Economic sanctions dominate the landscape of world politics today. First developed in the early twentieth century as a way of exploiting the flows of globalization to defend liberal internationalism, their appeal is that they function as an alternative to war. This view, however, ignores the dark paradox at their core: designed to prevent war, economic sanctions are modeled on devastating techniques of warfare.

During this rapturous adventure, you will become empowered to take that step you have been putting off for so long. Let the true you step forward and dazzle the world. Become what you were born to be.

Thara Celehar has lost his ability to speak with the dead. When that title of Witness for the Dead is gone, what defines him? While his title may be gone, his duties are not. Celehar contends with a municipal cemetery with fifty years of secrets, the damage of a revethavar he’s terrified to remember, and a group of miners who are more than willing to trade Celehar’s life for a chance at what they feel they’re owed. Celehar does not have to face these impossible tasks alone.

Sometimes the universe gives you exactly what you ask for. Even when you’re too scared to say it out loud. I came to Copper Creek to start over. What I didn’t expect was three masked cowboys to show up on horseback, turning my darkest fantasies into reality. They chased me like I’d asked them to and left me wanting more. I didn’t know who they were, only that they saw the real me. They gave me what no one else could.

After my honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, it only made sense to put my skills to good use as a personal bodyguard. The contracts keep me moving and traveling, and the money is good. All I've ever wanted was to make sure my mother and sister were taken care of after my father passed away. So when Anthony Costello, the notorious mob boss and my dad's ex-employer, asked me to take on a special job for his family, I couldn't say no. But not even my six-year stint as an elite Marine could have prepared me for the hellscape that is being trapped in a secluded safe house with his son.

For weeks, we retraced our steps back to Mistfell and the lingering shadow of the Veil at the boundary between realms. Traveling through the kingdom, I denied the evidence in front of me, unable to fathom that I wasn’t the lost princess of Faerie. Instead, it is Fallon who must fear the consequences of her heritage. Which leaves me with a single, unanswered question. Then, I awoke, caged high above the throne of the Queen of Air & Darkness.

Nina Anderson ruined me for all other women, launching into my world and anchoring herself to my core. She ran—she always ran. Now she's back, holding the tattered pieces of my soul in her fingertips and wanting more than I'm willing to give. I don't want her. I don't trust her. But I need her. Our love is toxic, our words lethal, our bond—unbreakable. But while we toe the line blindly, we both miss the demons we unveil with our light.

I have the revenge against my father that I've always wanted. All it cost me was to get married… and the demon I’ve come to care for. Or did it?

At first, I thought it would be an easy payday. A few pew pews for bad people, a couple of suitcases of cash for me. People have done worse for an honest living. The problem is that after a couple of jobs, I’ve never actually managed to unalive someone, and not for lack of trying. Apparently, a basic requirement of a hitman is being a good shot. Despite my constant duck-ups, I’m given another name, and I very nearly follow through. Only after obliterating this guy’s ear and his fervent pleading to spare him, I’ve sent him into hiding and collected the cash anyway.

I've been bred for success. As the CFO of my father's wealth management firm, I know exactly what's expected of me and the image I must uphold. To the outside world, my long-term girlfriend and I are beautiful, powerful, successful…and rich. However, the suit I wear hides more than my cut physique. Living a lie has been the norm since I was a teenager. Although not ideal, I have a great woman by my side and a promising future. Everything is as it should be. Until I cross paths with Dylan Ryder.

After being expelled from school for playing football for his country, fifteen-year-old Liam Brady travelled to London to join Arsenal, and soon became an indispensable part of their glorious 1970s team. Rightly considered one of the Republic of Ireland's best-ever footballers, he went on to enjoy successes with Juventus, Sampdoria and West Ham, as well as managing Celtic and Brighton and Hove, and becoming assistant manager of his national team. Today he is best known for his much-respected TV punditry and searingly intelligent insights into the game he adores.

Avi Mulvaney is many things. Son. Twin. Owner of the fashion label, Gemini. Murderous psychopath. Together, he and his brother, Asa, make one brutally efficient monster, ridding the world of predators who victimize the innocent. History proves Avi and Asa don’t do well apart, but their father has decided to test that theory. Felix Navarro knows exactly who he is. Baby brother. Fashionista. Vigilante. While he’s not happy that his big brother married a Mulvaney, the union has its perks.

A century before Britain became involved in this terrible business, whole villages and towns in European countries were being depopulated by slavers, who transported the men, women, and children to Africa, where they were sold. This is the forgotten slave trade, one which saw over a million Christians forced into captivity in the Muslim world. Starting in the ancient world, Simon Webb traces the history of slavery in Europe, showing that the numbers involved were vast and that the victims were often treated far more cruelly than black slaves in America and the Caribbean.

What was I thinking, trading my last painting for a "lucky" necklace? Instead of good fortune, the cursed trinket saddled me with a stocky, heavily tattooed ghost named Prudence. Determined to make the most of things, I struck a bargain: I'd help him with his problem if he'd help me with mine. En route to Oregon to help him shed his spectral existence, my ghostly companion becomes something more, and causes me to make a few unexpected discoveries about myself. Now I'm craving a connection that should send me running for the hills, and time is against me.