Showing results by narrator "Daniel Byshenk" in All Categories

This book is not here to comfort you. It does not promise hope, progress, or some tender reassurance about the nobility of the human project. It will not tell you that everything happens for a reason, or that there is meaning to be found in our collective struggle. Instead, it stands firmly within the logic of Jean Baudrillard’s simulacra—a philosophy that does not seek to reveal a hidden truth, but to diagnose the condition of our reality. We no longer live in the world; we live within our own perception of it.

Humanity is desperate, scattered amongst the stars at the mercy of the planets that will have us, but mostly we have nothing. No hope, no prospects, nothing. Poverty, crime, disease, we’re the running joke among the highly advanced alien species that surround us. We’re desperate, all of us, but we’re not entirely without worth… without use. Humans are still good for cheap labor and entertainment, oh and breeding. Human women are great for breeding. That’s where the Solar Breeding Agency comes in. For a hefty fee and a dowry paid to our families, an alien in need of a surrogate can buy us.

In the shadowy realm between dreams and reality, Makas awakens with no memory of his past. Thrust into a world he doesn’t understand, he’s told he has a divine purpose: to brawl against the nightmarish creatures born from human trauma. Welcome to Moonshade, a mysterious bar where the Night Brawlers gather. These chosen few are tasked with venturing into the subconscious minds of troubled souls, confronting the monstrous manifestations of their deepest fears and darkest memories.

Lorynthia: From the Western Sea to the Badlands, and from the Dragon Mountains to the Red Desert live a diverse people who, for thirty years, have enjoyed a tentative peace. King Rhyman Thimpor united them, holding them together by sheer force of will. But Rhyman is dead, felled by an unknown malady, and the throne stands empty. Lorynthia holds its collective breath. Who will rule them now? Will the peace Rhyman crafted survive his passing? They look to the capital city, Cyrinth, and await the coronation of the next monarch.

In her first few months on the Lorynthian throne, Tamyr Thimpor survived internal assaults to her reign, including two assassination attempts. Just when the internal difficulties have been brought under control, an external threat manifests. Tamyr is kidnapped and transported to the Badlands where she is held captive by a witch and seven demons who intend to take her to Nyv'ral, the mountain city, where she is to be executed.

Beth lived long enough to die a hero. She pulled a stranger from a bus’s path, felt the wheels, then opened her eyes beside a moonlit brook in a realm of fractured kingdoms, wizards, and beasts. Gifted—or cursed—by a capricious goddess, the sixteen-year-old can copy any magical talent she touches, but each new power scorches a silver-crystal scar into her flesh. Sed, a hot-headed adolescent dragon looking for water, finds the human before hunger can, and, on a whim as reckless as it is fateful, shields her instead of eating her.

Years later, Jonnie, Seth and Mikey are grown up. All three are very successful in what they do. But the entity that stalks them has also evolved. To destroy them it will build a monster.

Mikey, Jonnie and Seth, three prodigious 11-year-olds, and best friends, set off for a day of hunting rabbits. Little do they know that something so much more is waiting for them and that it will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

This book explores the fundamental concepts of fear and fearlessness as driving forces behind human behavior throughout the ages. It offers a philosophical and psychological examination of these emotions, tracing them from the earliest survival instincts to their lingering influence on modern society. The author considers how fears shape identity, cultural norms, and social structures, while also proposing ways to transcend them through awareness, inner freedom, and a creative approach to life.

When the owner and the chef of a popular diner in a small north Georgia town are found shot to death shortly before opening early one morning, Joseph Owens, a hot-tempered busboy, quickly becomes the prime suspect. District Attorney Paul Chastain, facing a serious challenge in his bid for reelection, charges Owens with the murders despite pleas from the lead detective for more time to investigate.