Showing results by narrator "Kevin R. Free" in All Categories

All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there's an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can't have the planet, they're sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize. But there's something wrong with Murderbot; it isn't running within normal operational parameters.

Sci-fi's favorite antisocial AI is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is. And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good. Martha Wells' Rogue Protocol is the third in the Murderbot Diaries series, starring a humanlike android who keeps getting sucked back into adventure after adventure, though it just wants to be left alone, away from humanity and small talk.

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah - its former owner (protector? friend?) - submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit. But who's going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it's caught?

You know that feeling when you’re at work and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable AI you’ll listen to this century.

Out in the far reaches of Los Angeles County, where the glamor of Hollywood fades into the long empty of the desert, two unlicensed private detectives are about to face a case that is larger and more complicated than any they’ve faced before. A ghost-hunting influencer disappears in the middle of a live stream. A beekeeper is murdered after telling his friends that he has come across a dangerous secret.

Remember that hunky guy on YouTube who caught your eye? The one with the awesome pecs and killer smile? I bet you couldn't stop watching his videos. Just imagine if you had a chance to meet him and all your fantasies started coming true. There's only one catch: Between you and your dream guy is his less-than-pleased boyfriend. They say that love conquers all, but can love conquer love?

It has a dark past - one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself "Murderbot." But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don't want to know what the "A" stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people - who knew?). Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans! Again!

When Xerxes, king of Persia, issues a call for beautiful young women, Hadassah, a Jewish orphan living in Susa, is forcibly taken to the palace of the pagan ruler. After months of preparation, the girl known to the Persians as Esther wins the king's heart and a queen's crown. But because her situation is uncertain, she keeps her ethnic identity a secret until she learns that an evil and ambitious man has won the king's permission to exterminate all Jews - young and old, powerful, and helpless.

Wyn and Remy Gastineau were perfect together. Until, without warning, Remy walks out on their life, love, and marriage. Wyn is blindsided and heartbroken. It takes her years to get over the loss of Remy. Sometime later, their children call a family meeting, and Remy is acting strange. Wyn refuses to hope. Remy has moved on. She must do the same. But she’s wrong. Remy wants her back, and he’s pulling no punches. He’s determined to do the work to piece together the marriage he shattered. Forced by circumstances to tell Wyn things he never wanted her to know, Remy reveals his tragic secrets.

Cam is planning to fly under the radar at his new school, which should be easy as a human among kids with super-cool paranormal powers. But after a very public psychic vision, he’s suddenly the centre of attention. With a mystery to solve to prevent a dark future, Cam teams up with handsome werewolf (and long-term crush), Mateo. As the two get closer and the mystery deepens, can they trust the sparks between them, or is Cam’s vision getting closer to coming true?

Ellery has never believed in magic. Everyone else may swear there’s a supernatural force about to save them from a five-year winter, but Ellery’s not convinced. If there were goddesses out there, wouldn’t they have put a stop to it by now? Knox hasn’t heard from his queen in years. A magical assistant, he’s been helping humans who have made crossroad deals with demons and is worried about what he’ll find when he returns home to the Other World. When a chance encounter finds Ellery coming to Knox’s rescue, they're suddenly face to face with a guy who claims to be a supernatural familiar.

Cate Kay is the most famous author on the planet. But it’s just a name. Somehow, despite her bestselling novels and the record-breaking film franchise, the writer has remained completely anonymous. Anne Marie Callahan is the name nobody knows. Only the people she left behind. And Annie knows there’s no one there anymore who could connect the dots between the girl who ran away all those years ago and the famous novelist.

He's the psychiatrist that the cops call when the case gets too weird. He specializes in unexplained mysteries of the mind. When the clues stop making sense and children's lives are at risk, he's the outside expert the Baltimore City Police have on speed dial. Gordon isn't afraid to dive headfirst into the paranormal world of the human brain, but sometimes, he needs a little help to pull himself back out again.

Noah Westwood is tired of life on the streets, so he turns to Marcello Maltese, a man who owns a small media empire...and a few covert businesses, such as an escort service. Noah volunteers for this, but he's playing a dangerous game. A secret from his past could turn his new friends into enemies, and he isn't sure he can perform the duties he signed up for, especially when he's more interested in falling in love than hopping into the beds of his clients. This is complicated further when his hunky coworker, Harold Franklin, seems to be interested. Or is he?

The first oral biography of John F. Kennedy Jr. is an extraordinarily intimate, comprehensive look at the real man behind the myth. Sharing never-before-told stories and insights, his closest friends, confidantes, lovers, classmates, teachers, and colleagues paint a vivid portrait of one of the most beloved figures of the 20th century, revealing how the boy who saluted became the man America came to know and love who still captures public imagination twenty-five years after his tragic death.

PLAYGROUND follows four lives – a marine biologist, an artist, a schoolteacher, and an AI pioneer – that intersect on an island in French Polynesia when it is chosen as a base for seasteading, humanity’s next great adventure.

Prince Tal has waited a long time for his coming-of-age tour—a chance to explore his family’s kingdom. When his ship’s crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a derelict vessel, Tal feels an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal is heartbroken. But it’s not long before Athlen turns up on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. When Tal is kidnapped in a plot to reveal his powers and destroy his family, Athlen might be his only hope. But can Tal trust him?

The most comprehensive and definitive biography of Muhammad Ali that has ever been published, based on more than 500 interviews with those who knew him best, with many dramatic new discoveries about his life and career. An epic tale of a fighter who became the world's most famous pacifist, Ali: A Life does full justice to an extraordinary man.