Showing results by narrator "Steven James" in All Categories

This anthology, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg, offers a sweeping survey of robots as depicted throughout literature. Since the Iliad—in which we are shown golden statues built by Hephaestus “with minds and wisdoms”—humans have been fascinated by the idea of artificial life. From the Argonautica to the medieval Jewish legend of the Golem and Ambrose Bierce’s tale of a chess-playing robot, the idea of what robots are—and who creates them—can be drastically different.

The town of Bury took up a piece of Idaho Territory that was still raw, untamed frontier. It was no place for the cowardly or faint-hearted, but Smoke Jensen was neither. Nor were Stratton, Potter and Richards, the three bloodthirsty outlaws who came there to live. Or, if Smoke had his way...to die! It had been years since hired gunhands had murdered Smoke’s wife and son, but the pain was as fresh as yesterday. And so was Smoke’s need for revenge. He's come a long way to find the bandit trio responsible for his family's brutal massacre. 

After a lifetime of robbing banks and holding up trains, Jimmy “Slash” Braddock, and Melvin “Pecos Kid” Baker are ready to call it quits — though not completely by choice. Sold out by their old gang, Slash and Pecos have to bust out of jail and pull one last job to finance their early retirement....

The final year at Lander has finally arrived for the Melbrook students and their peers, and with it comes a whole new set of challenges. Still reeling from the events of their junior year, the remaining students will have to push past their pain—and so much more—if they hope to be one of the ten to claim the title of Hero upon graduation. Constant tests and trials await the senior students. Beyond simulated missions and classes, they’ll also have to buckle down to learn about agents, prospective teams, internships, and other seemingly endless elements of being a Hero.

Although the exciting military career she hoped for never got off the ground, Ky Vatta ended up seeing plenty of combat when she took the helm of one of the commercial transport vessels in her family's fleet...and steered it into a full-blown war. Now the lessons she learned in that trial by fire are about to pay off - because this time, the war has come to her. Someone has launched a full-throttle offensive against Vatta Transport Ltd., Ky's father's interstellar shipping empire.

Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father's only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it's no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can't hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar cruiser. It's adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. And despite her family's misgivings, there can be no doubt that a Vatta in the service will prove a valuable asset. But with a single error in judgment, it all comes crumbling down. 

Matt Cavanaugh was 9 years old when a band of outlaws slaughtered his family. Now Matt is 18, honed by hardship, schooled in the mountain ways and carrying the last name of the man who raised him: Smoke Jensen. With Smoke's wisdom, Matt's own courage and just enough money to start a life, Matt Jensen begins a relentless hunt for the outlaws who murdered his family in cold blood.

In this new US edition, author Barry Eaton separates out the facts from the fiction regarding dominance in pet dogs, presenting the listener with the results of recent research into the behavior of wolves and the impacts of selective breeding on the behavior of dogs. The results may surprise you and will surely inform you.

Richard MacBlair has all the answers Idina Moorfield needs and is finally willing to share them. Well, most of them. Who knew there was a whole special forces division? Dedicated to people exhibiting magical powers to deal with unique challenges? Things are starting to make a lot more sense to Idina. But a lot more changes may be coming her way.

After the disappearance of a suspect and a hastily organized election, the power balance in Leadville and the friendship of Sheriff Gannon and Marshal Spencer are thrown into turmoil. But the unknown forces driving the election, push both men to decide on which side of justice they are willing to reside; lawman or outlaw.

Brave and beautiful Ranger Brynn Dharielle sets out on a daring mission to free her beloved homeland from tyrannical rule. But she cannot imagine the depth of chaos, corruption and betrayal that seethes amidst a ruthless sect of warrior priests, led and manipulated by an evil chieftain who conceals a dark, age-old secret. For Brynn and her trusted elven companion Belli'mar Juraviel, the way to Behren turns into a fierce and illuminating voyage beneath the Belt-and-Buckle mountains.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard MacBlair has appeared out of thin air. Idina Moorfield has far more questions than the few answers her Uncle is willing to give her. He wants her to wait and she’s tired of waiting. Does she have a choice? Not really when Uncle is also your boss. Why is he trying to ignore their family connection? Has he been helping her from the sidelines all along? Someone is gunning for Idina and has her in its sights. She just doesn’t know who or what it is.  

It is 1944. A message from Paris warns Allied Intelligence of something big in the works - something which might have serious implications for D-Day. The only way to get more information from the agent in Paris - now closely watched by the Gestapo - is to send in a personal courier. Russian émigré Michael Gallatin is picked for the job. In retirement as a secret agent since a grisly episode in North Africa, Gallatin is parachuted into occupied France, on a mission which will take him to the festering heart of the Third Reich on the scent of doomsday.

In the not too distant future, the Earth finds itself under constant threat from Zelda, a blood-thirsty android who, along with her fiendish family and monstrous creations, has established a base on Mars. The only thing standing between this evil queen and her quest for the ultimate annihilation of mankind are the Terrahawks - an intrepid band of heroes led by the stern but fair clone, Doctor Tiger Ninestein. In this new series, the Terrahawks defence grows all the more desperate when a terrifying new enemy joins the androids on Mars.

The Prince wants Dante. And he wants her now. And Dante and her lover, Japhrimel, have no choice but to answer the Prince's summons. And to fulfill a seemingly simple task: become the Devil's Right Hand, hunt down four demons that have escaped from Hell, and earn his gratitude. It's a shame that nothing is ever easy when it comes to the Devil. Because of course, he doesn't tell Dante the whole truth: There is a rebellion brewing in Hell. And there is a good chance that Lucifer is about to be pushed off the throne.

Paolo Bacigalupi's debut collection demonstrates the power and reach of the science-fiction short story. Social criticism, political parable, and environmental advocacy lie at the center of Paolo's work. Each of the stories herein is at once a warning and a celebration of the tragic comedy of the human experience.

In the depth of a cruel High Lonesome winter comes a cryptic message for Smoke Jensen. The letter tells of skullduggery by gold barons, railroad magnates, and Chinese tongs in San Francisco. Smoke knows only one person in the city by the bay: the well-rounded, open-natured Francie, mistress of one of the town's most notorious pleasure palaces.

There were some who knew Smoke Jensen as a hero...and there were others who believed the dark side of the legend — that he was an outlaw who'd killed over 300 men. But when Smoke wakes up with a gut-wrenching headache in a New Mexico jail cell, he feels as helpless as a newly whelped cougar cub — with a lease on his life shorter than the blink of an eye.

Some people don't know when to leave bad enough alone. Just when it seemed that Smoke Jensen's life had settled down to something resembling normal, he'd all but forgotten the vicious young gunfighter who called himself Sundance. Smoke had hoped to teach that twisted kid a lesson by shooting off his ear. But the lesson didn't take. Now, after years on the run, Sundance's hunger for revenge has pushed him over the edge.

Not everyone can take on the things that go bump in the night. Not everyone tries. But Jill Kismet is not just anyone. She's a Hunter, trained by the best - and in over her head. Welcome to the night shift....