Showing results by narrator "Kevin Collins" in All Categories

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.

Russia, 1940. Fifteen-year-old Misha’s life is about to transform when his father is offered a job in Stalin’s inner circle. They move into a luxurious apartment in the Kremlin, but doubts about the glorious new Russia quickly surface. Misha realizes that the secret police can do whatever they like. His own mother is arrested and sent to prison, but Misha and his father daren’t complain. Then as German troops advance on Moscow, the atmosphere in the Kremlin ignites.

The Supernaturals are destroying humanity. Meet Tristan Montague. Leader of the elite group of mages known as the Ordarum. The war against the Supernaturals has raged for years, and humanity is losing. When the Ordarum is given a suicide mission to recover an artifact that can end the war and hand victory to humanity - Tristan takes it, knowing it may be his last.

After departing from the Lang Tribal Clan of the Eastern Wilds, Feng Yu and the others had set out on a lone journey toward the Southern Wastelands, venturing toward the various routes of the Southern Pass separately. Feng Yu took on the temporary identity of a wandering swordsman, but will it be enough to shield him from the unyielding Midnight Temple assassins, or even the various Major Factions and bounty hunters that are out for his head?

It is the early months of the Arab Spring, 2011. But for three young men, two American and one Iraqi, their minds return again and again to 2006, to the bloodiest stretch of the Iraq War. Members of the same platoon, they were tasked with the often deadly job of repairing potholes in the roads of the Al Anbar Province: potholes that almost always concealed a home-made bomb. They have survived the war but now they must learn to live with themselves.

Without warning, something has gone terribly awry. In the remote and unnoticed places of the world, small pockets of death begin occurring. As the initially isolated extinctions spread, the world's eyes focus on this unimaginable horror and chaos. Out of the ecological imbalance, something new and extraordinary is evolving and surviving to fill the voids left by these extinctions. Evolution is operating in ways no one could have expected, and environmental damage may be the catalyst.

Michiko Nakatomi has led the Dark Council for over a century, maintaining the uneasy truce between humanity and the supernatural. But when an ancient enemy returns, the delicate balance is shattered, and vampires start dying. Now, Michiko must fight for her life and the survival of the council. She has no one to trust. Her inner circle is destroyed, the council is on the verge of collapse, and her only hope lies with Simon and Tristan.

Cory Friedman was an ordinary fun-loving little boy. That fateful March morning in 1989 started just like any other, but later that day, he started to feel very different, and the course of his life was set to change.

It started with an irresistible urge to shake his head, and before long, his body became a volatile, explosive, and unpredictable force. Overtaken by physical urges, tics, and compulsions, the bright young boy started to feel and look like a puppet on a string.

With the weight of expectation riding on Nyx's shoulders, the stakes have never been higher. She's got to save herself, her brother, and everyone else who's counting on her survival knowledge... if only she knew how to get them all out. It's back to the drawing board, but there's no way she's giving up her dream of freedom after coming so far, whatever the cost.

Broken bodies and bloody messages are appearing in the darkest corners of New York City. Infected werewolves are roaming the streets attacking innocents. The Dark Council demands answers. They summon Simon and Tristan to investigate. The evidence points to the work of a powerful mage, unfortunately, there is only one mage in the city powerful enough to cause this kind of infection - Tristan Montague. Now, Simon and Tristan must locate the source of the magical infection before the Dark Council declares Tristan a dark mage, destroys the werewolves, and shatters the fragile peace.

Montague and Strong have left the building. In fact, they’ve left the continent. When a teleportation circle sends them to London, The Penumbra Consortium - and older, darker version of the Dark Council - requests Montague an Strong look into the murder of the leading demonologist Mage Nigel Warrenton.

Michiko Nakatomi, an ancient vampire and leader of the Dark Council, is missing. After giving up control of the blood blades - weapons designed to destroy supernaturals - the Dark Council challenged Michiko’s leadership…and her right to exist. Rising tensions within the alliance of vampires, mages, and weres are threatening to tear the Dark Council apart.

With the events of the brutal Devil's Nest now behind him, Feng Yu had finally reunited with his allies Dai Lin, Lang Kuang, and the rest. Once more, having assembled, they begin their journey in the ever so dangerous dunes of the Southern Wastelands, striving to make the most of their limited time to prepare themselves before the rumored Ruin Openings. Nevertheless, as they travel across the unfamiliar southern sands, encountering both old and new adversaries, slowly they will discover that the south might be more than they could ever imagine.

The Challenge continues, and there is no end in sight to the bloodletting. It doesn't matter whether you are a "Brahmin" or a disenfranchised piece of meat, a popular top dog or the lowliest loser. You still don't know squat, and if anything, the questions just keep piling up. Yet, the new tier is also different, at least for some. You can go hard, or go easy, but the harder the going, the higher the loot. If you are lucky, you may even get a respite from feeding on your own kind. Instead, you'll be eating right. But don't rejoice finding yourself all alone on a deserted shore.

There’s no place like home...but they’re not headed to Kansas. The Sanctuary is the hidden home of the Golden Circle-a sect of powerful mages. It’s a sacred place of learning, magic, and deep secrets. When Tristan discovers his father, Connor Montague is being held prisoner, he vows to return to the Sanctuary and release him. There’s only one problem. The Sanctuary has been taken over by Mage Oliver. An Elder who has unleashed the magistrates and promises to destroy Tristan the moment he steps foot on the mountain.

How do you stop a God? Monty and Simon don’t know, but they better find out, and fast....The NYTF Command Hub has been destroyed, the Director is in critical condition, and a cryptic message has been left for the Montague and Strong Detective Agency - in blood....When Monty and Simon discover Mahnes, a Soul Renderer and Dark Mage, is behind the attack, they realize they are outclassed, and outgunned. Something or someone is controlling Mahnes, and they need help. Now, Monty and Simon must face an ancient god, one they thought they had defeated, and banished. They were wrong.

When the NYTF reports that a golem, a large rock creature, is terrorizing parts of the city and destroying hubs of power, Ezra calls on Montague & Strong to investigate and stop the creature. Their first reaction is to refuse. Except there’s one problem. No one refuses Ezra, a personification of death, without grave consequences. Now, Monty and Simon, together with Ursula of the Damned, must uncover how the golem was created and who would use it to destroy hubs of power, without being crushed in the process.

The Dark Council threatens everything Simon holds dear. They want to erase Monty, kill Peaches, and remove Simon's immortality - permanently. When Ken, Michiko's brother asks the Montague & Strong Detective Agency to find her, they must act - before the Dark Council implodes in violence. Now, Monty and Simon must travel to Japan, find Michiko, and stop the Blood Hunters before they eliminate an ancient vampire, without becoming the next target! Will they find Michiko in time? Will they stop the Blood Hunters? Jump into the next Monty & Strong adventure to find out!

After unleashing the power of the neutralizer, Tristan finds himself without the ability to cast magic. Assured this is a temporary condition, Tristan and Simon decide it’s the perfect opportunity to take some much needed time off. That is until a group of dark mages enters the city looking for Master Yat. Now the Montague & Strong Detective Agency must face and eliminate the threat. There’s only one problem. William Montague, Tristan’s lost brother, is leading the mages.

New York Times best-selling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps 15 short takes on the holiday season - interviews with holiday notables, "informational" articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s - and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.