Showing results by narrator "Jack Nolan" in Fantasy

Storytelling was outlawed. Magic had all but vanished. That changed when the woman in black came to town. Branded with the black stamp at a young age, Brent thought he would end up a vagrant like his father. His craft was telling stories, but the Order had long forbidden any weaving of tales. When Brent sees the woman in black, she leads him into a menagerie of tunnels beneath the Earth where his life falls into the nauseating, but beautiful, mist of the dead. He finds friendship in Rho, a young woman who hides her face with a tree branch while roots and vines bow to her every whim.

Five gods are born into a world of absolute nothingness and have but one task to complete–build. Each of them have their own special powers and talents which they lend toward this effort, but before long, darkness takes root within the world that they construct. The gods struggle against their enemy throughout the ages and despite all of their power, they find that evil is a cunning opponent which comes in many forms. They care for the world as it grows to new heights and serve as champions for the people that live within it.

Meet Dave. Dave has been a vampire for two days. By accident. He thought the first day was fabulous; now, not so much. Dave is thirsty but can't stand the sight of human blood. Oh, what he wouldn't do for a pizza or a cheeseburger.... In his hunt, he meets James, a resident illusionist in one of the town's hotels. James has his own problem. He had met a witch at the local coffee shop, but in a moment of weakness, he refused her advances and fled. Now he badly wants to find her to ask for a second chance.

Five shorts from Theera. Six newbies tryout for entry into one of the fastest guilds on Theera. Things take a turn for the worst when the newbies first meet and realize they may not be compatible, not even for the single assignment they're tasked with.

One man's experiences of living with bogeymen and his struggle in the end to figure out who are family and who are the real monsters. A unique and humorous look at a ridiculous situation.

Cillian is a Shade, a man who walks among the world of Other Realm, spreading the seeds of discord and chaos into the Dreams of mortals as punishment for a life ill-lived. As he casts the sands of Nightmares into Everly Whitcombe's dreams, he finds himself taken with the haunted beauty. He defies his vocation by visiting her Dreams more often than he should and trying to comfort when he should destroy. As he commits his transgressions, he puts them both in danger.

Once upon an ancient time, a Grecian prince made the goddess Artemis angry by choosing the wrong prey in a hunt. As a consequence, Artemis and Apollo cursed the prince and others involved in the hunt with lives unaffected by time. In the present, Widower Carl Westmore leaves the cottage home he shares with his daughter Vella for a doctor's appointment in the city. When he gets lost, with no money for an Uber, he trespasses on a quiet cursed estate. However, the watchmen Hal and the gardener Kalen grant their guest hospitality. In the morning, Carl plucks a red rose from the cluster of white.

In the year 1991, on the island of Manhattan, just before starting ninth grade, Travis chose a glass diamond as his prize at an arcade. Angela was given her teardrop crystal by her grandmother after her mother was killed in action, and Angela gave Faye her crystal snowflake as a Christmas present last year. None of these three classmates and close friends have any suspicions that the three crystals would lead the three of them on a wonderous adventure hidden in plain sight, where carriage horses and museum statues are not always what they seem.

The Reality Beneath Book II Going Sideways on Life is a sequel to Johnson’s first book of short stories, The Reality Beneath - Old Fashioned Reality in the Modern word. It contains a completely new set of short stories written in the unique genre that he is known for. It is an insightful mixture of speculative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. The stories take things we believe we know and understand in a new way. This gets us to think about the world that surrounds us in a new way to reveal a new understanding.

Listening to this book is like going into a trippy play where animals talk and there are bizarre characters. It is a mind-bending listen with interesting characters and story plot. Believe it or not, it does have a lesson to the story: We all wear masks to hide our true selves.

Thousands of years had passed since man's patriarch, Adam, died. With his departure, humankind falls into a state of feuding tribes, competing for power and resources. As their communities developed, it attracted the envious meddling of their arch-nemesis, Azazeel, a condemned demon vowing to dedicate his life's purpose to destroying man. However, his goals are blocked by the Zodiac Guardians, an enhanced species, fashioned from the earth during the jinn's epic wars.

Alonso Truylos's saga continues on the garden island that saved his life. His arrival, coinciding with the partial solar eclipse of 1586, convinces Queen Ka-ikilani and King Lono-i-ka-makahiki to ennoble him, against the wishes of a jealous hierarchy. This new role places him in the front and center of an exotic culture, where men are Gods, gifted children are taught magic by priests, and recreation rules the day. After settling into this lifestyle and while attending a gathering of only the high-class, Alonso sets his eyes on a higher-classed woman, Lei.

"A pirate's life for me", that is Celeste's plan. Revenge drives her to be daring. Attacks by smoke demons, and the appearance of a swashbuckling rogue - a handsome rogue with magical powers - detracts her from the mission and reveals frightening truths about her family. Orion is a time walker - a protector of the human race - and warrior against the Underworld King and his minions. The shadowy creatures seek the young woman who has the blood of the gods running through her veins. Orion senses something mysterious - and wrong - in Celeste's blood.

Gallery of Death is a story collection which begins with "Coyote", where a Cherokee Plainclothes Detective has 12 hours to rescue a kidnapped woman and keep his spiritual nemesis, Coyote, at bay. In "Homeward Bound", two soldiers attempt to evade the enemy and a pending air strike to make their way to safety, and back home. "Catrina" is a personal essay describing an actual death scene investigation Dr. Harper performed, and his struggle to overcome the sterility of clinical terminology to accurately convey his findings.

Happy Endings aren't always guaranteed. Making of an Empress is the story of Stelaphina, a woman who would command an empire. It is the story of self-discovery. It is a story about the fragile nature of relationships. A story of love, betrayal, intrigue, and magic. A story that will follow the path from princess to empress, from innocence to maturity, from a foolish girl surrounded by admirers to an enlightened woman surrounded by no one. Happy endings aren't always guaranteed in fairytales.

Book two takes Olivia and Donnie to a world made out of paper. They are far from home and desperate to connect with someone. However, they soon learn of the history behind this world and the great leader that created it. Suddenly, Olivia is on the spot as everyone sees her as an incarnation of that leader. She struggles to accept this while Donnie begins to feel left out. They are soon separated again and the world of paper is in danger of coming undone.

At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a fantasy novel, the first in his series about the fictional "hollow earth" land of Pellucidar.

This story bundle includes three novellas and a bonus!

An otherworldly friendship is forged under stress and fear. Wyatt, a recently unemployed camper, is looking for an escape from responsibilities. Thunder Born is a wind esper looking to escape from those who want to murder him. Together they start something surpassing both of them.

These stories provide you with an invitation to traverse the boundaries of the known and unknown, to question reality as you know it, and to confront your deepest fears and desires. With each tale, you are transported into a different world, a different time, a different reality. From historical mysteries steeped in the supernatural to thrilling tales of science fiction, the Anthology of Strange Stories is your passport to the unimaginable.