Showing results by narrator "Eric J. McAnallen" in All Categories

There are cultures that apparently flowered for thousands of years. Some of the cultures that we call primitive have already existed for so long that they seem to have no beginning and no end. Could they actually be immortal? Might not the truth be that during past ages, man has often tried to climb the rungs of the ladder that lead to a high immortal culture but has slipped and fallen? Perhaps we are even now in the process of building a culture that will know immortality on Earth and in heaven.

In The Meaning of Blood: and Other Tales of Perversity, award-winning author and Edgar Allan Poe scholar Chuck Caruso combines his deep roots in the American Gothic with his own contemporary sense of macabre humor. These 15 stories of dark fiction range from crime thrillers to western noir to grotesque horror. Each twisted tale displays Caruso's unique blend of wry prose, feverish storytelling, and tragically flawed characters discovering that even the most innocent encounter can lead to death. Or sex. Or both.

Tied to a tree in the midst of thieves, the Valkyrie Skogul wakes without memory of who she is or of the man she once loved. Using curiously deadly skills, she escapes. Injured and exhausted, a wolf befriends her and leads her to a house where the hunky owner's eyes look strangely familiar. Aidan Hall, former guardian of Hell's Gate, doesn’t trust anyone. So when a beautiful amnesia victim he’s never met appears at his door, why does he feel a connection?

Ericka Gilmore dabbles in life and death when she tries to conjure a ghost lover. But when Joe Reeves appears on her doorstep in the midst of a storm, she has to rethink her destiny. A car accident left the former cop with the ability to foresee death. No longer willing to watch people he cares about die, Joe goes in search of a shaman to remove his "gift". His remedy until then is to avoid all relationships. But like a lightning strike, he experiences a strong connection with Ericka. A nearby mystical ley line could be Joe's solution if he and Ericka combine their gifts.

In the not-too-distant future the convicted are sent to the world's most dangerous prison, the Gulag, to be fodder for a world starved for entertainment. The "marks" have only one chance to survive. Retrieve their stolen memories...or die. With an entire world watching the 30th season of The Amnesiac, and an entire prison trying to kill them as their only path to freedom, one such mark is set loose in an attempt for his freedom. In a game that has never had a single winner.

This is the autobiography of Solar Commander Thyron - whose mission it is to unite Earth with Universal Society. Thyron's Earth body is put into a slumber, and he is returned to his former Titan self for a trip home. His family reunion is short-lived in the face of a galactic crisis. Evil forces - knowing of his brief homecoming - steal what is most precious to him, luring him into direct combat. His only armor is courage and a powerful Crystal Light Sword of Truth, given to him by Archangel Michael, his sovereign, just before he is thrust into the most barbaric cosmic war ever recorded.

Roman Jackson continues his three-part series with this second installment. The trials continue as Mark tears his way through the Gulag. With Hanna by side Mark is a power to be reckoned with, however strength of body does not translate to strength of mind. Blood soaked and tired, Mark collects as many enemies as friends. So close to figuring out just who, and what he is, Mark must survive a psychotic brother, a fanatic gang, rabid creatures, and killer robots with him as their target...just another episode in the Amnesiac.