Showing results by narrator "Vikas Adam" in All Categories

Relos Var’s final plans to enslave the universe are on the cusp of fruition. He believes there’s only one being in existence that might be able to stop him: the demon Xaltorath. As these two masterminds circle each other, neither is paying attention to the third player on the board, Kihrin. Unfortunately, keeping himself classified in the ‘pawn’ category means Kihrin must pretend to be everything the prophecies threatened he’d become: the destroyer of all, the sun eater, a mindless, remorseless plague upon the land.

Auras empowering the body to superhuman status. Invocations tearing the land asunder. The war has arrived. The necromantic armies are on the warpath and nowhere is safe—even the sanctuary of the flying dungeon has been threatened. The leadership of nearly all the sentient races has been wiped out, and only the people most suited to repelling the advancing darkness have an intact monarchy. Cal learns quickly that the primary threat is not the far-off war, but the actions of those entrusted with protecting the population.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017.

Aaron Jace had a normal life until they came for him. Now he's being hunted. Assassins will stop at nothing to find him. Aaron is from Earth; his family is not. He is the last scion of an ancient and powerful family. Thrust into another world, Aaron must find his way to the one man who can help him survive. The Safanarion Order includes the first three stories in the captivating epic fantasy series listeners describe as compelling and full of suspense.

Famine. Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the end of the world. In science fiction the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.

Jack doesn't like it, but he'll do what is necessary to honor the man who raised him. But surviving Darkthorn Academy won't be easy. Jack will have to make alliances, learn to harness magic, and face dangerous enemies - both alive and dead. If he's lucky, he might just make it to second year.

In Nebula Award-winning author Sam J. Miller’s devastating debut short-fiction collection—featuring an introduction by Amal El-Mohtar—queer infatuation, inevitable heartbreak, and brutal revenge seamlessly intertwine. Whether innocent, guilty, or not even human, the boys, beasts, and men roaming through Miller’s gorgeously crafted worlds can destroy listeners, yet leave them wanting more.

1242. On a dark night, travelers from across France cross paths at an inn and begin to tell stories of three children: William, an oblate on a mission from his monastery; Jacob, a Jewish boy who has fled his burning village; and Jeanne, a peasant girl who hides her prophetic visions. They are accompanied by Jeanne’s loyal greyhound, Gwenforte...recently brought back from the dead. As the narrator collects their tales, the story of these three unlikely allies begins to come together.

An energizing case for hope about the climate comes from Rebecca Solnit, called “the voice of the resistance” by the New York Times, and climate activist Thelma Young Lutunatabua, along with a chorus of voices calling on us to rise to the moment. Not Too Late is the book for anyone who is despondent, defeatist, or unsure about climate change and seeking answers. As the contributors to this volume make clear, the future will be decided by whether we act in the present—and we must act to counter institutional inertia, fossil fuel interests, and political obduracy. T

Raisa of Upper Earth has only lived a life of privilege and acquiescence. Ever dutiful, she accepts her father’s arrangement of her marriage to Lein, Crown Prince of the corrupt, volatile lands of Lower Earth. Though Lein is a stranger, Raisa knows the wedding will unite their vastly different worlds in a pact of peace: an infusion of Upper Earth technology will usher in the final age of enlightenment, ending war between humans forever.

When a cylinder is discovered on Horsell Common, inquisitive locals are fascinated and excited. They approach with caution and a white flag only to be struck down by alien creatures with heat-rays that destroy everything in their path. It soon becomes very clear that the only options are to flee…or die. As the creatures march towards the capital, can the forces of Earth survive the onslaught?

A compelling and growing body of research has shown music and arts therapies to be effective tools for addressing a widening array of conditions, from providing pain relief and alleviating anxiety and depression to regaining speech after stroke or traumatic brain injury, and improving mobility for people with disorders that include Parkinson’s disease and MS.

The seductive and relentless figure of Raymond Chandler's detective, Philip Marlowe, is vividly re-imagined in present-day Los Angeles. Here is a city of scheming Malibu actresses, ruthless gang members, virulent inequality and washed-out police. Acclaimed and award-winning novelist Joe Ide imagines a Marlowe very much of our time: he's a quiet, lonely and remarkably capable and confident private detective, though he lives beneath the shadow of his father, a once-decorated LAPD homicide detective, famous throughout the city, who's given in to drink after the death of Marlowe's mother.

On a road trip through Africa, two English people - Bobby, a civil servant with a guilty appetite for African boys; and Linda, a supercilious "compound wife" - are driving back to their enclave after a stay in the capital. But in between lies the landscape of an unnamed country whose squalor and ethnic bloodletting suggest Idi Amin's Uganda. And the farther Naipaul's protagonists travel into it, the more they find themselves crossing the line that separates privileged outsiders from horrified victims.

Exactly one year after the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, the very first pride parade kicked off on Christopher Street with a march up New York's Sixth Avenue and into the Sheep Meadow in Central Park. They marched to demonstrate against decades of systemic discrimination, inequality, and harassment. Fifty years later, New York City was preparing for the biggest pride celebration yet when COVID-19 struck. Undeterred, the global LGBTQIA+ community transformed this special anniversary into a global virtual celebration.

On the surface, I’ve got it all - a great job, good friends, a cute apartment, and a smart mouth. The only problem? I’m in love with a man who doesn’t know I exist. We’ve all had that crush. The one you dream about, even though he’s ridiculously out of reach. Well, my crush is a lot closer. Daniel Stryker is sexy, smart, handsome…and in a double-whammy "why me?" twist of fate, he’s also my boss and my best friend’s dad. But when a night out turns into a drunken admission of some uncomfortable truths, things change.

After thwarting the man behind the gruesome ironborn murders—and breaking several fae laws to do so—all Arlo wants is a quiet summer. As the deity of luck's Hollow Star, capable of bringing about endless possibilities, this shouldn't be too much to ask, right? But someone is still trying to summon the mythical Seven Deadly Sins. All signs point to immortal meddling, and if this is the gods' attempt at returning to the Mortal Realm, it's Arlo they're going to use to do it.

To save his family from his tyrannical mother, Julius had to step on a lot of tails. That doesn't win a nice dragon many friends, but just when he thinks he's starting to make progress, a new threat arrives. Turns out, things can get worse. Heartstriker hasn't begun to pay for its secrets, and the dragons of China are here to collect. When the Golden Emperor demands his surrender, Julius will have to choose between loyalty to the sister who's always watched over him and preserving the clan he gave everything to protect.

Life on the Waves isn't easy. Especially if you're a pickpocket with no education, no prospects, and no future. For Chase and his crew of low-lives, there is one real option. If they want a path out of poverty, they will have to unlock access to the magical card system that will change their lives for the better. Of course, nothing's free in life. And nobody higher up the chain is going to give them a hand up. But what they might lack in education, riches, and, let's face it, hygiene, they have in determination.

In 1957, Frank Kameny, a rising astronomer working for the US Military in Hawaii, received a summons to report immediately to Washington, DC. The Pentagon had reason to believe he was a homosexual, and after a series of humiliating interviews, Kameny - like gay men and women for generations - was promptly dismissed from the military. Unlike many others, though, Kameny fought back.