Showing results by narrator "John Stewart" in All Categories

A warrior with nothing to fight for is paired with a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Together they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most valuable possessions. But it isn’t gold or jewels the old wizard is after, and this prize can only be obtained by the combined talents of two remarkable men. Now if Arcadius can just keep Hadrian and Royce from killing each other, they just might succeed.

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers. The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing.

They call him father, liberator, warlord, Slave King, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the war-torn planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-third of his life. A decade ago Darrow was the hero of the revolution he believed would break the chains of the Society. But the Rising has shattered everything: Instead of peace and freedom, it has brought endless war. Now he must risk all he has fought for on one last desperate mission. Darrow still believes he can save everyone, but can he save himself?

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger. As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to learn the true meaning of bad blood.

In Our Time is Ernest Hemingway's first collection of short stories, published in 1925 by Boni & Liveright, New York, and of a collection of vignettes published in 1924 in France. Its title is derived from the English Book of Common Prayer, "Give peace in our time, O Lord". The stories' themes of alienation, loss, grief, and separation continue the work Hemingway began with the vignettes, which include descriptions of acts of war, bullfighting and current events.

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come.

When Mycroft Holmes is murdered in London, it is up to retired shadow executive Smith to track down his killer—and stumble on the greatest conspiracy of his life. Strange forces are stirring into life around the globe, and in the shadow game of spies nothing is certain. Fresh from liberating a strange alien object in Abyssinia—which might just be the mythical Ark of the Covenant—young Lucy Westerna, Holmes' protégé, must follow her own path to the truth while, on the other side of the world, a young Harry Houdini must face his greatest feat of escape—death itself.

A video hits the Internet and quickly goes viral. A video showing a woman, attacked, bitten and dying...before rising again. Experts confirm the video as a fake. A prank. But all the expert denials count for nothing when the virus reaches the UK. Chloe finds herself left behind, abandoned by Steve who rejoins the army to fight the new enemy. She'll be forced to survive on her own. Whatever it takes. They must all make sacrifices to do what is right. To do what is right for the greater good.

Women warriors planned and led slave revolts on slave ships during the Middle Passage. They fought their enslavers throughout the Americas, and then they were erased from history. Wake tells the story of Dr. Rebecca Hall, a historian, granddaughter of slaves, and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery. The accepted history of slave revolts has always said that enslaved women were not involved, but Rebecca decides to look deeper.

It is 20 years in 2021 since Malorie Blackman's groundbreaking series began with Noughts & Crosses, which charted the deeply forbidden romance between Sephy (a Cross) and Callum (a nought) - a love affair which had repercussions for their families for generations. Endgame, the breathtaking conclusion to the series, influenced by the unprecedented global events of recent years, is full of twists and turns and emotions, with its incredible characters reaching a dramatic conclusions to their stories.

Forgiveness is essential if we are not to burden our minds with events that have passed. It is not always easy but it is essential. Gandhi said "The weak can never forgive it only comes from the strong," and it is so true. The ignorant, those who worship evil religions, and the stupid can never ever forgive as to them it's a lack of face so they harbour hatred and evil and carry it around with them as a moribund justification. Hence they are great failures in life as they can't move on. Anger within hurts yourself more than anything, it's like drinking poison and expecting others to die, it never works.

Whatever happens in life you are the one who has to experience it no one else. Your decisions come from your mind no where else. Even if you choose to follow someone else and it all goes wrong, it is still your decision that was enacted not theirs. Modern day blame culture is rubbish and pathetic. How you experience pain, pleasure, unfairness, love, selfishness, etc, it is all processed in your mind as that is where you live no where else.

A concise look at who we are. We are a "product of ourselves" no other. Despite who we may follow or admire, what we might spire to, it is our decision to do so. so we have to take ownership of the end result. Blame Culture (another topic in the series) is not an option. Regardless of our upbringing we get to a stage where we think for ourselves, unless we choose not to, but that's still our decision. An interesting brief six minutes on who you are and how you can change it - if you want to!

Happiness is not rocket science. Happiness is available to anyone regardless of their circumstances and situations. If you choose to demark happiness based upon any problems then by default you will be unhappy, where the mind goes the body follows.

Life Bite Series. Happiness is something that we all have within us, it is nowhere else in life. Despite endless books and CD's and such like happiness is well within our control, farming it out or outsourcing it is a stupid thing to do. Thinking that "out there" someone has the key to happiness is like admitting you are already brain dead. Life may not be swimmingly fabulous every day but that doesn't negate the fact that you have to be unhappy either, unless of course you choose to do so.

Nothing in life is ever that simple, and if you are "coming out", then you can have additional complications, because of outmoded race or cultural pressures which have no bearing on today's life whatsoever - other than being carried forward by ignorant minds. Taboos, ideologies, personal fears of "what others may think" all stem from redundant thoughts and times of the past. We can't choose who we are, nor how we are, nor indeed where we are.

Life Bite Series. Our Attitude is a culmination of how we think and feel as well as our perceptions in life. We are viewed by our attitude as we view others by theirs. Our attitude can make us or break us. Good attitudes always come out on top bad attitudes do quite the opposite. The good news is that you control your attitude so you can make it good at any time you wish. This concise 6 min bite deals with just that.