Showing results by narrator "Tim Gerard Reynold" in All Categories

Lacking health insurance when he was diagnosed with cancer, Shawn Speakman asked friends in the science fiction and fantasy writing community to donate short stories he could use to counter mounting medical debt. The result was Unfettered, an anthology offering tales from some of the best authors working today. Now, in Unfettered III, Speakman continues to pay forward the aid he received, raising money to combat medical debt for SF&F artists and authors.

Will’s journey from naïve apprentice to a mature wizard is almost complete, and his ever-growing mastery has reached unseen heights. But his power does not exist in a vacuum. His rising star threatens to eclipse the existing powers and a new balance must be found, one that either accepts his primacy or extinguishes his light. After Will’s resounding successes in the war with Darrow, the king plots to eliminate his young rival. Driven to desperation, Will is forced to negotiate for scraps between four brokers of power.

The assassination of the chief judge has pushed the Capitol to the edge. The Great Extermination has spread to all the land. The casteless must be annihilated. Their only hope is the fallen Protector Ashok Vadal. But Vadal is being held prisoner on the island of Fortress. In order to save those who need him most, he must escape and find his way across the demon-infested sea and return to Thera, the prophet of an illegal and forgotten god. It is she who has sent the Sons of the Black Sword to war against the warrior caste, hoping to buy time until Vadal’s return.

The world of Rale is being consumed by Nolost, the entity of destruction. There are only days left to stop him, and only one man who can: the nethermancer Dante Galand. But the mentor who would have shown him how has just been slain by Nolost's armies. With his last hopes fading, Dante hatches a mad plan: travel into the afterlife, find his dead mentor, and finish training in the ancient technique to kill the entity.

After more than 500 years of exile, the heir to the empyre is wary about his sudden reassignment to active duty on the Goblin War’s front lines. His mission to rescue an outpost leads to a dead-end canyon deep inside enemy territory, and his suspicion turns to dread when he discovers the stronghold doesn't exist.

Not bound as a book. Free. Like Unfettered before it, the contributing writers of Unbound were allowed to submit the tales they wished fans of genre to hear - without the constraints of a shackling theme. The result is magical. Twenty-three all-original stories are sure to captivate you - some will move you to tears while others will keep you listening long into the night. The power of Unbound lies in its variety of tales and the voices behind them. If you are a fan of discovering new writers or hearing the works of beloved authors, Unbound is for you.

The publication of a new book by William Trevor is a true literary event. One of our finest chroniclers of the human condition, Trevor's precise and unflinching insights into the lives of ordinary people are evidenced once again in this stunning collection of twelve stories. Subtle yet powerful, these exquisitely nuanced tales of regret, deception, adultery, aging, and forgiveness are a rare pleasure, and they confirm Trevor's reputation as a master of the form.

Everything Ayrion has ever believed about his people is brought into question as an inconceivable heritage dating back millennia is revealed. Sent by the wizard Nyalis, Ayrion is tasked with not only returning to the Lost City—the one place that had forsaken him—but convincing his people to abandon who they are and leaving the only home they’ve ever known.

Artemio Volpe must contend with more than simple intrigue. The embers of war burn bright beyond the horizon of the northern steppes, his already estranged family has been hounded by the assassinations, and the shades of the dead pervade his body and mind, granting him their power at a terrible price.

War has come to Fireach Speur. The once forgotten Xoconai empire has declared war upon the humans west of the mountains, and their first target are the people of Loch Beag. Lead by the peerless general, Tzatzini, all that stands in the way of the God Emperor's grasp of power is Aoelyn, Talmadge, and their few remaining allies.

Ayrion has been training to fight since he was old enough to walk. As far back as he can remember he’s always had one dream - to be the youngest warrior of his clan. Unfortunately, Ayrion learns the hard way that being the best isn't always a good thing. After a tragic accident rips away his dreams and leaves him without a home, Ayrion heads south to the capital city of Aramoor in hopes of starting a new life. That journey will test him in ways he had never expected, forcing him to use every ounce of his training just to stay alive.

Now a student at Wurthaven, Will is confronted with the truth of the present. The powerful magic embodied by wizards like his grandfather is but a distant memory. Though the practice of the current day is timid and uninspired, Will needs the knowledge that’s preserved and managed by the college. At every turn he finds that sorcery is supreme, while wizards are trained merely to assist and support those who hold the real power - a power based on an evil so deep that few who are living know the truth of its foundation.

Civil War tore across the Union Empire, leaving countless dead in its wake. It was a war started by one man once beloved by the Empire. His betrayal still lingers in the memory of those who lived through it. Decades later, his son, Felix Drake, is a Warden tasked with both protecting the ruling members of the Union Empire and its Council and bringing those powerful and influential people to justice should they break the law.

Hump and his companions return to Sheercliff City to find a region plagued by monsters—bad news for most, but for a hedge wizard, it's just good business. With the gorger dead and the bond with his unhatched dragon growing quickly, Hump looked forward to some ordinary adventures. Yet trouble finds him as the Inquisition arrives, accusing him of his master's murder. It seems there is more to the old man's death than he believed.

Gray has a secret. He's a reborn legend called Ronin, an elemental guardian that protected one of the nine cities: wind, water, fire, stone, moon, sun, nature, metal, and flesh. The only problem? He's evil. Well, or at least, that's what everyone thinks. With his newfound power, Gray has plans to overcome this unfortunate stigma, unveil the true darkness, and reunite the other elemental Ronin. Considering they're feared as harbingers of chaos and destruction, however, it's...a bit of a tall order.

A great evil has awakened in the land of Corona, a terrible demon determined to spread death and misery. His goblin armies and fearsome giants ravage the settlements of the frontier, and in the small village of Dundallis their merciless attack leaves behind two shattered orphans: Pony and her lifelong friend, the youth Elbryan. Taken in by elves, Elbryan is raised to become a formidable ranger - a fateful role that will lead him into harrowing confrontation.

One of the genre's favorite pair return in a classic fantasy short for both Riyria veterans and first-time readers. Several years have past since the war-weary mercenary Hadrian and cynical ex-assassin Royce joined forces to start their thieves-for-hire organization better known as Riyria. Things have gone well enough for the team as they do "jobs" for various nobles throughout Elan. Usually, that means stealing something, but when a young heiress asks them to steal her…well, that's a first for the pair. All is not as it seems, but Royce is determined to get the bottom of what's actually going on. After all, he has his professional integrity at stake.

Legends speak of wizards with the power to rival Gods. To Hump, it’s just a story. Apprenticed to a wandering wizard, he grew up on the road, following the coin on whatever quest it took them. He always believed his master was just an ordinary hedge wizard, until the old man suddenly died, and his book of spells bound to Hump’s soul. Knowing no other life, Hump takes up his master’s staff and heads out alone into a world of dungeons and monsters. So begins the path of The Wanderer. The White Flame. The Hedge Wizard.

"The Golden Brat", Reinhard von Lohengramm, a military prodigy and admiral of the Galactic Empire, has ambitions beyond protecting the borders or even defeating the empire's enemies. He seeks to overthrow the old order and become a truly absolute - yet benevolent - dictator. His rival, the humble Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance, wishes to preserve democracy even if he must sacrifice his political ideals to defeat the empire.

Life can kick us when we are down. In Shawn Speakman's case, he is fighting back. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011, Speakman beat the disease as well as the massive medical debt he amassed from its treatment. He did this by publishing Unfettered, an anthology featuring short stories donated by some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers working today. Speakman has again collaborated with celebrated genre authors to publish Unfettered II.