Showing results by narrator "Fred Wolinsky" in All Categories

These two fascinating pieces about the Mistress of the Copper Mountain come from Pavel Patrovich Bazhov's much larger collection of stories collected over many years and based on the lore of the Ural Mountains.

When the world was known as Avalyne, humans and magical beings lived in harmony. But over time, the elves retreated behind the Veil that separates the modern world from the magical realm. In present day New York, psychiatrist Doctor Dan Ellis finds himself treating an elderly homeless man, brought in for vandalizing the imposing Malcolm Industries building. The old man insists on calling Dan "War Dragon", but can recall nothing of his own past or identity.

Finn returns to Nesteryia...only to find an ancient evil threatens his friends. What will Finn do when faced with the Wraith King? A computer geek at school, Finn must learn how to harness his magic and unite the holders of the ancient artifacts before the entire world of Nesteryia is destroyed. Saving the world is hard, trying to do it together is even harder. Will Finn be up to the challenge? In a race against time, Finn and Audie must band together with friends both new and old to defeat the Wraith King.

Armed with only his father's sword and an ancient dragon pendant, Dagan, the son of the King, flees into the Highlands, where the dragon, Aurifer, rescues him. But Dagan's relief is quickly shattered when he accidentally injures one of the dragon younglings, Corylus. Faced with the loss of his kingdom and the shame of his act, Dagan vows to heal Corylus and quests for the healing spring of Apenninius. But standing between Dagan and the spring is the 12 kingdoms ruled by the ruthless Praetor Marius.

At school, Finn is a typical nerd. He wears glasses, loves fantasy games, and excels at science. But he has one flaw, a selfish streak that sometimes gets him in trouble. Trying to be cool has its price, especially if you make fun of your best friend, Audie, to try to impress the jocks. She is mad and hurt. Audie thought they were BFFs. But friends don't do that.

Scott is devastated when his wife is horrifically struck and killed by a car on their Caribbean honeymoon. In desperation, he gives into his grief and listens to a mysterious suggestion from a morgue janitor that he could have his wife "cured of death". Against all of his reservations and common sense, he feels he has nothing left to lose, but what he finds is that there are unnatural things worse than death.

Fourteen-year-old Icabus used to dream about dragons. That was before the nightmares about the man in the well began - before the red ships came. Now, Icabus’ island village is under siege by the Authian King, Furius, and Icabus must abandon everything he knows to the answer the hundred-year-old mystery of what happened to the dragons of Apenninus. But time is against Icabus, and he must act quickly before everyone he loves are transformed into monsters to serve the mad king.

The Wooden Guest is an odd little tale by Prince Vladimir Odoyevsky. It starts off as a kind of fairy tale for grown-ups and develops into a brief lesson in philosophy, with frightening implications when it comes to human nature.

In Babbling Brook Society, an old-timer reminds us that our future is linked with the past. A handful of Polar Caves Park staffers learn how climate change, pollution, and friendship influence hidden societies of tiny, ancient residents. Our relationship with the world and biodiversity go hand in hand with good manners and friendship. The Earth is our home, and how we treat it has far-reaching impact.

Landon and Broden have been successful in defeating Gage twice. With him safely trapped in the hourglass and locked away, they can go on with their lives without a care in the world. And the first thing they are going to do is enjoy a banquet with Slade and his Ifs where the brothers are the guests of honor. But it doesn’t take long for them to realize that something sinister is buried just beneath the surface of celebration and fun.

When James fell asleep, he woke up to find himself at an otherworldly library with two other strangers. Upon entering, they learn that they can read the lives and thoughts of those who have died. The catch? They have to review each story but aren't allowed to read their own. When James befriends Penelope, they both realize that the library isn't what it seems. Can James and Penelope unravel the secrets of the afterlife before the afterlife unravels them?

From television series writer and fiction award winner David Francis Curran comes a must-have collection of five Sherlockian pastiches: "The Adventure of the Monstrous Medium", "The Adventure of the Shanghaied Sailor", "The Adventure of the Chess Messages", "The Adventure of the Numerologist’s Cypher", and "The Adventure of Colonel Mustard’s Secret".

Enjoy strange and wondrous stories inspired by folklore from various corners of the world, carefully assembled and adapted by a Russian writer and political journalist Nikolai Teleshov.

Renick, the fifth son of a dragon breeder, crashes into an unexpected adventure that challenges everything he thought he knew about dragons, history, and himself. Stranded in the massive Helath forest, Renick meets two other passengers: Thane, a noble training to be a dragon knight, and Lainey, the orphaned niece of a healer.

Ahoy, mateys! If you're scared of pirates, witches, and goblins, read no further! But if you're a brave soul, come aboard for the ride of your life! It's an adventure on the high seas for Alamin's wizarding apprentices, Kay and Jerra, but it's definitely not a pleasure cruise. They are in a race against time to stop the witch, Krellia, from releasing an ancient evil from its thousand-year-old prison. Only the Ring of Carnac holds the key to stopping Krellia and her pirate and goblin minions.

We ran for a reason.

When the Vatican's top assassin, a Rhodesian merc, a pair of serial killer lovers, a dirty cop, and a professional sadist compete in a mad race for a pair of priceless magical artifacts, betrayal, theft, and murder are just the opening moves in a game of death.

Created by J. U. Giesy and J. B. Smith, Semi Dual was considered pulp's first occult detective. Semi Dual, also known as Prince Abdul Omar of Persia, was an astrologer, a mystic, a telepath, and a psychologist. Semi Dual's name was based, in part, on his methods of investigation: "by dual solutions - one material for material minds - the other occult, for those who cared to sense a deeper something back of the philosophic lessons interwoven in the narrative".

Phillip Aisling is just like any other boy, or so he thought. On the night of his 13th birthday he has a dream so vivid that he is convinced it was real! He soon learns that he has begun training with the Dream Masters. They practice lucid dreaming to be able to fully control their dreams, giving them immense power. But when his vivid dreams turn into nightmares he never wants to fall asleep again!

Dr. Demetrios Demopoulus and his gang of time traveling misfits are back, and this time they're trying really hard to keep the universe from going kaput. Or are they? Helping them stay alive is Erob, a robot who suffers from a split personality disorder. Service with a smile is not his strength, but if you need to threaten an unsuspecting humanoid or two, he's your man, er, robot. Their mission, should they wish to accept it, is to travel back to 1950s Iran and flush out alien meddlers. Why Iran? Iran so far way? Let's just say it's a mystery.