The Praxis (Dread Empire's Fall, Book 1)
Written by Walter Jon Williams
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone & Skyboat Media

The first book in the completed Dread Empire’s Fall trilogy, followed by The Sundering and Conventions of War.

All will must bend to the perfect truth of the Praxis.

For millennia, the Shaa have subjugated the universe, forcing the myriad sentient races to bow to their joyless tyranny. But the Shaa will soon be no more. The Dread Empire is in its rapidly fading twilight, and with its impending fall comes the promise of a new galactic order...and bloody chaos.

A young Terran naval officer marked by his lowly birth, Lt. Gareth Martinez is the first to recognize the insidious plot of the Naxid - the powerful, warlike insectoid society that was enslaved before all others - to replace the masters’ despotic rule with their own. Barely escaping a swarming surprise attack, Martinez and Caroline Sula, a pilot whose beautiful face conceals a deadly secret, are now the last hope for freedom for every being who ever languished in Shaa chains - as the interstellar battle begins against a merciless foe whose only perfect truth is annihilation.

For more information and to purchase your copy, please visit:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Praxis-Audiobook/B097HW8VY7?qid=1629142117&sr=1-9&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_9&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=VPV3JV56A3XPQYFH57DM

The Praxis (Dread Empire's Fall, 1) by Walter Jon Williams, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Sundering (Dread Empire's Fall Trilogy, Book 2)
Author's Preferred Edition
Written by Walter Jon Williams
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone and Skyboat Media

“Space opera the way it ought to be…Bujold and Weber, bend the knee; interstellar adventure has a new king, and his name is Walter Jon Williams.” (George R. R. Martin)

Following The Praxis, Walter Jon Williams’s critically acclaimed mix of space opera and military-science fiction, the conflict grows for the fate of humanity…and the universe.

The Dread Empire of the Shaa is no more, following the death of the last oppressor. But freedom remains elusive for the myriad sentient races enslaved for 10 centuries, as an even greater terror arises. The Naxids - a powerful insectoid species themselves subjugated until the recent Shaa demise - plan to fill the vacuum with their own bloody domination and have already won a shattering victory with superior force and unimaginable cruelty. But two heroes survived the carnage at Magaria: Lord Gareth Martinez and the fiery, mysterious gun pilot Lady Caroline Sula, whose courageous exploits are becoming legend in the new history of galactic civil war. Yet their cunning, skill, and bravery may be no match for the overwhelming enemy descending upon the loyalist stronghold of Zanshaa, as the horrific battle looms that will determine the structure of the universe - and who shall live to inhabit it - for millennia to come.

For more information and to purchase your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Sundering-Audiobook/B097HXTBVC?qid=1631726154&sr=1-5&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_5&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=EWJ9QJBPW0162MYMBE2Q

The Sundering (Dread Empire's Fall, 2) by Walter Jon Williams, read by Stefan Rudnicki

Vendetta: A Story of One Forgotten
Written by Marie Corelli
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone and produced by Skyboat Media

“I, who write this, am a dead man. Dead legally - dead by absolute proofs - dead and buried! Ask for me in my native city and they will tell you I was one of the victims of the cholera that ravaged Naples in 1884, and that my mortal remains lie moldering in the funeral vault of my ancestors. Yet - I live!… I, Fabio Romani, lately deceased, am about to chronicle the events of one short year....”

In the cholera-ridden Naples of 1884, Fabio Romani is prematurely buried and awakes to find himself in a coffin. After managing to free himself, Fabio rushes home to reassure his wife and child. While he expected to find his family deep in mourning, he instead discovers that his wife has been unfaithful to him and is having an affair with his best friend.

Utilizing a disguise and adopting a new identity, Fabio slowly works his way back into the trust, and home, of those who betrayed him, culminating in a frightful finale of revenge.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Vendetta-Audiobook/166506269X?qid=1637698383&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=B5GXMC5DKT02SJESQE4B

Vendetta: A Story of One Forgotten by Marie Corelli, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Star King (Demon Princes, Book 1)
Written by Jack Vance
Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone and Skyboat Media

Five intergalactic criminal masterminds raid the tranquil world of Mount Pleasant, leaving behind only ruin and slaughter - and the orphaned child Kirth Gersen, who comes to manhood swearing to take bloody revenge. Now Gersen roams the galaxy, bringing vengeance to the Demon Princes one by one, in Jack Vance's classic series of hardboiled space opera.

In a seedy tavern on Smade's Planet, Kirth Gersen picks up the trail of Attel Malagate, a member of an alien species called Star Kings, who masquerade as humans. Malagate maintains anonymity behind a screen of sinister henchmen, but Gersen will combine subtle guile and stark violence in a strategy to bring him face to face with the first of the Demon Princes.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-star-king?sp=579025

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The Star King by Jack Vance, read by Stefan Rudnicki

Barbarians of the Beyond
Written by Matthew Hughes
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Published by Blackstone and Skyboat Media

Twenty years ago, five master criminals known as the Demon Princes raided Mount Pleasant to enslave thousands of inhabitants in the lawless Beyond. Now Morwen Sabine, a daughter of captives, has escaped her cruel master and returns to Mount Pleasant to recover the hidden treasure she hopes will buy her parents’ freedom.

But Mount Pleasant has changed. Morwen must cope with mystic cultists, murderous drug-smugglers, undercover “weasels” of the Interplanetary Police Coordinating Company, and the henchmen of the vicious pirate lord who owns her parents and wants Morwen returned. So he can kill her slowly....

Barbarians of the Beyond is a return to “Jack Vance Space” and space-opera derring-do that follows in the science fiction Grandmaster’s footsteps.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Barbarians-of-the-Beyond-Audiobook/B09LKT63V4?qid=1645035644&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=DGY9CXK4D91JGSFJ76W8

Barbarians of the Beyond by Matthew Hughes, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

Frey (Frey Saga, Book 1)
Written by Melissa Wright
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Published by Skyboat Media

Nothing is as it seems.
Frey’s life is a lie. She doesn’t remember being bound from magic. She didn’t intend to discover this dangerous secret, to get entangled in Council business. But she did.

And now she’s on the run.
With the aid of a stranger, she discovers a world beyond the elves who bound her. But it’s a world of shadows and dark magic, a world she’s been warned not to trust. The farther she strays, the more she finds a forgotten past. As she fights to reclaim her true identity, Council trackers hunt her down.

If they find her, she will burn.
The stranger offers her a way out, but it’s a path of no return. How do you know who to believe when you don’t even know who you are?

To learn more and to purchase your copy, please visit:
https://www.downpour.com/frey?sp=587794

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Frey (Frey Saga, 1) by Melissa Wright, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

The Killing Machine (Demon Princes, 2)
Written by Jack Vance
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone and Skyboat Media

Five intergalactic criminal masterminds raid the tranquil world of Mount Pleasant, leaving behind only ruin and slaughter—and the orphaned child Kirth Gersen, who comes to manhood swearing to take bloody revenge. Now Gersen roams the galaxy, bringing vengeance to the Demon Princes one by one, in Jack Vance’s classic series of hardboiled space opera.

Someone is stealing the children of the galaxy’s elite, and Kirth Gersen suspects that the kidnapper is Kokor Hekkus—second of the Demon Princes. Deciphering a complex pattern of clues and coincidences, Gersen tracks his quarry to a barbaric world, where Hekkus is protected by an invincible war machine. To confront Hekkus, Gersen must resort to a desperate plan.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Killing-Machine-Audiobook/B09LKPVTNT?qid=1651252506&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=HX4QH60V18709Z3ZBG2M

The Killing Machine by Jack Vance, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle, Book 1)
Written by Agatha Christie
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Published by Blackstone

Intrigue, espionage, mystery, and murder collide at a British country home in this captivating thriller from Agatha Christie.

Eager to leave his job as a tour guide in Africa, international vagabond Anthony Cade meets an old acquaintance, Jimmy McGrath, who offers him a small sum to dispatch an errand in England. McGrath is in possession of the memoirs of the recently deceased Count Stylptitch, former Prime Minister of the Balkan state of Herzoslovakia—a man deemed a dictator, a patriot, or a statesman, depending on which newspaper you prefer. His task is to deliver the count’s manuscript to a certain firm of publishers in London and receive payment. Little does Cade suspect that a seemingly simple job will drop him right in the middle of an international conspiracy.

Just as the discovery of oil in Herzoslovakia creates extreme political turmoil between the nation’s republican and royalist factions, Prince Michael, presumed heir to the throne of Herzoslovakia, is found murdered at a party at Chimneys, the historic home of Lord Caterham, where Cade happens to be a fellow attendee. Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard arrives to lead the investigation, and although young Cade is cleared of suspicion, he has quite the role to play in the fallout of this assassination …

As much a murder mystery as it is a treasure hunt, the tale is chock-full of impersonators, inspectors, riddles, and intrigue. Superintendent Battle, and the spirited “it” girl in the character of Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent, are introduced into Christie’s canon for the first time in The Secret of Chimneys, a first-class romp and one of her best early thrillers.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Secret-of-Chimneys-Audiobook/B09TRRWWNT?qid=1651252608&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=JH5P19PXFC8FQ2NFMQ1Z

The Secret Of Chimneys by Agatha Christie, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

The Palace of Love (Demon Princes, 3)
Written by Jack Vance
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone

Five intergalactic criminal masterminds raid the tranquil world of Mount Pleasant, leaving behind only ruin and slaughter—and the orphaned child Kirth Gersen, who comes to manhood swearing to take bloody revenge. Now Gersen roams the galaxy, bringing vengeance to the Demon Princes one by one, in Jack Vance’s classic series of hardboiled space opera.

Among worlds populated by slave-takers and poisoners, Kirth Gersen is hunting the third Demon Prince, Viole Falushe, an Earthman who conceals his true identity while ruling a remote planet from his decadent Palace of Love. Posing as a journalist and accompanied by the mad poet Navarth, Gersen infiltrates the palace and uncovers a history of erotic obsession. Somewhere among the revelers lurks Falushe, whom Gersen schemes to identify, before delivering harsh justice.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Palace-of-Love-Audiobook/B09LKXLHJM?qid=1652805451&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=1552N7ZS3Y5BYSN7BTTB

The Palace of Love by Jack Vance, read by Stefan Rudnicki

American Exception: Empire and the Deep State
Written by Aaron Good
Read by Arthur Morey
Published by Blackstone Publishing

American Exception seeks to explain the breakdown of US democracy, in particular to understand the uncanny continuity of American foreign policy, the breakdown of the rule of law, and the extreme concentration of wealth and power into an overworld of the corporate rich.

To trace the evolution of the American state, Aaron Good takes a deep-politics approach. The term “deep state” was badly misappropriated during the Trump era. In the simplest sense, it here refers to all those institutions that collectively exercise undemocratic power over state and society. To trace how we arrived at this point, American Exception explores various deep state institutions and history-making interventions.

Key institutions involve the relationships between the overworld of the corporate rich, the underworld of organized crime, and the national security actors that mediate between them. History-making interventions include the toppling of foreign governments, the launching of aggressive wars, and the political assassinations of the 1960s.

In its long history before World War II, the United States had a deep political system, a system of governance in which decision-making and enforcement were carried out within—and outside of—public institutions. It was a system that always included some degree of secretive collusion and law-breaking. After World War II, US elites decided to pursue global dominance over the international capitalist system. 

Setting aside the liberal rhetoric, this project was pursued in a manner that was by and large imperialistic rather than progressive. To administer this covert empire, US elites created a massive national security state characterized by unprecedented levels of secrecy and lawlessness. The “Global Communist Conspiracy” provided a pretext for exceptionism—an endless “exception” to the rule of law.

What gradually emerged after World War II was a tripartite state system of governance. The open democratic state and the authoritarian security state were both increasingly dominated by an American deep state.

Aaron Good concludes by assessing the prospects for a revival of US democracy.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/American-Exception-Audiobook/B09V6T6L8V?qid=1654291792&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=T342DBYC8KWNVVP278KB

American Exception by Aaron Good, read by Arthur Morey

The Face (Demon Princes, Book 4)
Written by Jack Vance
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone and Skyboat Media

Five intergalactic criminal masterminds raid the tranquil world of Mount Pleasant, leaving behind only ruin and slaughter—and the orphaned child Kirth Gersen, who comes to manhood swearing to take bloody revenge. Now Gersen roams the galaxy, bringing vengeance to the Demon Princes one by one, in Jack Vance's classic series of hardboiled space opera.

The fourth Demon Prince, Lens Larque, combines murderous criminality with a taste for horrific practical jokes. Escaping Gersen once, Larque flees to his home world of Dar Sai, known for its strange mating rituals and the violent winner-take-all game of hadaul. Gersen follows his quarry to the milder world of Methel, where Larque plans a revengeful prank on a wealthy man. Gersen has a more final vengeance in mind.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Face-Audiobook/B09LKS39W9?qid=1654618569&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=C2KDQJBYTWASFBMBEM5V

The Face by Jack Vance, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Book of Dreams (Demon Princes, 5)
Written by Jack Vance
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone and Skyboat Media

Five intergalactic criminal masterminds raid the tranquil world of Mount Pleasant, leaving behind only ruin and slaughter—and the orphaned child Kirth Gersen, who comes to manhood swearing to take bloody revenge. Now Gersen roams the galaxy, bringing vengeance to the Demon Princes one by one, in Jack Vance's classic series of hard-boiled space opera.

In the fifth and final book of the Demon Princes series, Gersen trails Howard Alan Treesong, notorious for his imaginative and horrifying revenges. But Treesong has a sentimental streak and longs for a childhood composition called The Book of Dreams. Exploiting this weakness, Gersen lures Treesong into a final confrontation.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link: 
https://www.downpour.com/the-book-of-dreams-581181?sp=581187

The Book of Dreams by Jack Vance, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story (The Play
Written by Wilkie Collins
Performed by Gabrielle de Cuir, Kathe Mazur, Nan McNamara, John Rubinstein, and Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone Publishing and Skyboat Media

“In one respect, men are all alike; they hate to see a woman in tears.”

Blackstone Publishing and Skyboat Media present, paired together for the first time, both the novel and the play of The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins. Although both versions of the story were written at the same time, the play has never before been published and was only ever performed once on the stage. In fact, it is almost entirely unknown and is otherwise unavailable.

Miss Sydney Westerfield has been saved from a lonely life of teaching at her aunt’s school and taken into service as a governess for Kitty, daughter of Herbert and Catherine Linley. Kitty simply adores Sydney, and Catherine does as well for the governess’s warmth and kindness as a caretaker and a member of their household. But when Herbert and Sydney fall in love, it is only a matter of time before the truth must come out—helped along, of course, by Catherine’s mother, the fierce gossip and foremost meddler Mrs. Presty.

Infidelity, divorce, and child custody are at the forefront of this tale of domestic drama, but Wilkie Collins takes a most modern approach to the view of women in such situations. Not only does Collins offer sympathy—empathy even—for these women that was not at all common at the time, he also remembers to keep a spotlight on young Kitty, whose life will be forever shaped by the affairs of the adults around her.

This full-cast recording of both the novel and the play will fully immerse you in a truly forward-thinking portrait of love and betrayal.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-evil-genius?sp=603739

The Evil Genius (The Play) by Wilkie Collins, performed by a full cast

The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story (The Novel)
Written by Wilkie Collins
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone Publishing

“In one respect, men are all alike; they hate to see a woman in tears.”

Blackstone Publishing and Skyboat Media present, paired together for the first time, both the novel and the play of The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins. Although both versions of the story were written at the same time, the play has never before been published and was only ever performed once on the stage. In fact, it is almost entirely unknown and is otherwise unavailable.

Miss Sydney Westerfield has been saved from a lonely life of teaching at her aunt’s school and taken into service as a governess for Kitty, daughter of Herbert and Catherine Linley. Kitty simply adores Sydney, and Catherine does as well for the governess’s warmth and kindness as a caretaker and a member of their household. But when Herbert and Sydney fall in love, it is only a matter of time before the truth must come out—helped along, of course, by Catherine’s mother, the fierce gossip and foremost meddler Mrs. Presty.

Infidelity, divorce, and child custody are at the forefront of this tale of domestic drama, but Wilkie Collins takes a most modern approach to the view of women in such situations. Not only does Collins offer sympathy—empathy even—for these women that was not at all common at the time, he also remembers to keep a spotlight on young Kitty, whose life will be forever shaped by the affairs of the adults around her.

This full-cast recording of both the novel and the play will fully immerse you in a truly forward-thinking portrait of love and betrayal.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-evil-genius?sp=603739

The Evil Genius (The Novel) by Wilkie Collins, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

The Infiltrators (Matt Helm, 21)
Written by Donald Hamilton
Read by Stefan Rudicki
Published by Skyboat Media

Beautiful, intelligent, fresh out of prison—Madeleine Ellershaw is Matt Helm’s latest case. Madeleine may have been imprisoned as a spy, but Helm soon realizes that her story isn’t so simple. He’s got to figure out why she took the rap for her husband nine years ago, what secrets are hiding in her past, and, most difficult of all: keep her alive.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-infiltrators?sp=675811

The Infiltrators (Matt Helm®, Book 21) by Donald Hamilton, read by Stefan Rudnicki

Old Jules
Written by Mari Sandoz
Read by Stefan Rudnicki with Gabrielle de Cuir and Roxanne Hernandez
Published by Blackstone Publishing

First published in 1935, Old Jules is unquestionably Mari Sandoz’s masterpiece. This portrait of her pioneer father grew out of “the silent hours of listening behind the stove or the wood box, when it was assumed, of course, that I was asleep in bed. So it was that I heard the accounts of the hunts,” Sandoz recalls. “Of the fights with the cattlemen and the sheepmen, of the tragic scarcity of women, when a man had to ‘marry anything that got off the train,’ of the droughts, the storms, the wind and isolation. But the most impressive stories were those told to me by Old Jules himself.”

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/old-jules?sp=676383

Old Jules by Mari Sandoz, read by Stefan Rudnicki

Kill Me If You Can (A Mike Hammer Novel)
Written by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Skyboat Media

Mike Hammer hits his seventy-fifth anniversary hard, after the disappearance of Velda, in this brand new case between Kiss Me, Deadly and The Girl Hunters, based on an unproduced screenplay from Mickey Spillane’s archives.

Mike Hammer is on the case, this time hunting the murderer of his old friend and bootlegger-turned-legit-businessman Packy Paragon. Already torn up by the disappearance of Velda, his beloved secretary, Mike Hammer carves a brutal path for vengeance. Drinking heavily, his relationships fraying, his behavior self-destructive, Hammer has to track down Paragon’s black book, with the names of every corrupt official in town. With deception everywhere, and a whole host of reasons to want the ledger, Hammer has to pull himself together and solve the case before all hell breaks loose.

Celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of Mike Hammer, and including five brand new short stories, hear the lost story of Velda’s disappearance after Kiss Me, Deadly. A thrilling ride for fans new and old.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/kill-me-if-you-can-603289?sp=603322

Kill Me If You Can by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, read by Stefan Rudnicki

Touched by an Alien
Written by Gini Koch
Read by Justine Eyre
Published by Skyboat Media

Touched by an Alien is the thrilling first installment of the Alien novels.

Marketing manager Katherine “Kitty” Katt had just finished a day on jury duty. When she stepped out of the Pueblo Caliente courthouse, all she was thinking about was the work she had to get caught up on. Then her attention was caught by a fight between a couple that looked like it was about to turn ugly.

But ugly didn’t even begin to cover it when the “man” suddenly transformed into a huge, winged monster right out of a grade Z science fiction movie and went on a deadly killing spree. In hindsight, Kitty realized she probably should have panicked and run screaming the way everyone around her was doing. Instead, she sprinted into action to take down the alien.

In the middle of all the screeching and the ensuing chaos, a hunk in an Armani suit suddenly appeared beside her, introduced himself as Jeff Martini with “the agency,” and then insisted on leading her to a nearby limo to talk to his “boss.” And that was how Kitty’s new life among the aliens began …

For more information and to buy your own copy, click here:
https://www.downpour.com/touched-by-an-alien?sp=675512

Touched By An Alien by Gini Koch, read by Justine Eyre

A Binding of Blood (A Practical Guide to Sorcery, Book 2)
Written by Azalea Ellis
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Published by Seladore Publishing

To study magic at the university, Siobhan sacrificed her name.

She sacrificed her body and her past.

Magically disguised as a boy named Sebastien, she is learning wondrous secrets of the thaumaturgic sciences. As Sebastien, she mingles with the young nobles who will one day rule their country. But danger is closer than ever, and she cannot escape her past.

The coppers investigating the theft of Siobhan’s priceless transformation artifact have given her a new name: the Raven Queen. As Siobhan does favors for the gang that loaned her the university tuition, the Raven Queen’s mystique only grows.

And keeps growing...snowballing out of control until Siobhan’s other identity takes on a life of its own, a fear-inducing bogeyman well beyond the truth of her real capabilities.

With the whole city out to get her and trouble hounding both sides of her double life, how will Siobhan ever survive to become the world’s most powerful sorcerer?

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/A-Binding-of-Blood-Audiobook/B0B91976NY?qid=1660155334&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=58KJ6ZS66ZZSTPKN4TVF

A Binding Of Blood by Azalea Ellis, read by Gabrielle De Cuir

The Circus Pig and the Kaiser
Written by Carolyn Kay Brancanto
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Skyboat Media

A Russian circus in trouble. An animal trainer in love. Can the ensemble survive an international scandal?

Russia, 1907. Vladimir Durov has a prized pig he has trained for the circus. Dorov loves to make people laugh at his pig’s crazy antics. But he finds that when his pig performs for the recently widowed circus owner, Natasha, the most he can get is a smile. Desperate to capture her heart, the rough-hewn trainer comes up with a dangerous scheme to impress the woman he has come to love.

As the circus travels to Germany in pursuit of more paying customers, Durov decides to dress his prized pig as the war-mongering Kaiser himself. The Kaiser’s faithful dragoon is not amused. He warns Durov that if he goes ahead with his outlandish satirical taunt, prison will be the result.

The dilemma that confronts Durov is whether his, yes, pig-headed and hilarious spectacle could backfire or, on the other hand, bring him fame, fortune … and a woman’s heart. It’s a big decision facing man and pig.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-circus-pig-and-the-kaiser?sp=603309

The Circus Pig and The Kaiser by Carolyn Kay Brancanto, read by Stefan Rudnicki

Maelstrom (Return of the Elves Series, Book 9)
Written by Bethany Adams
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki

A dragon without a hoard

Dragon shifter Kezari gave up everything to stop the poison she’d sensed on Earth. Though welcomed by the Moranaian elves, she struggles to find her place in a land with different customs and expectations. Her situation only gets worse after she’s assigned to deliver healing potions with the annoying mind healer Tynan. How is she supposed to work with a man when she can’t decide whether to push him away or kiss him?

A mind healer on the brink

After a mishap in his youth, Tynan trained hard to hone his gifts of mind healing and empathy, but working at Braelyn is his greatest challenge. Between traumas and mystery plagues, his temporary assignment stretches from days to weeks. But his biggest problem? Kezari, the dragon shifter he’s certain is his soulbonded. Her nearness strains his control over his empathy—and he knows far too well that losing his grip on his gift means catastrophe.

A struggle between worlds

Kezari and Tynan must learn to work together quickly. Trouble is stirring with the dragons, and when a meeting with the ancient dragon Caeregas reveals the extent of the problem, Kezari feels honor bound to solve it. Too bad working with the mind healer might be her only chance at victory.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/maelstrom-682838?sp=682911

Maelstrom (Return of the Elves, Book 9) by Bethany Adams, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

The Story of Russia
Written by Orlando Figes
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone Publishing

From “the great storyteller of Russian history”, a brilliantly colored account of the myths that have shaped and reshaped Russia’s identity and politics from its founding

Who were the Rus, the ancient tribe from which the Russians trace their origins? Were they Baltic Slavs, hailing from within the territory that would become Russia? Or were they Vikings from Scandinavia, who came in from the outside to organize chaotic warring groups? Russians initially embraced the former theory, following a surge in nationalist sentiment, but autocrats, including Catherine the Great, came to trumpet the latter, which supported the notion that the Russian people are incapable of self-governance. Both sides were using history to create myths, narratives of national identity that could be deployed for their own political ends.

The Story of Russia is about how the Russians defined themselves―and repeatedly reinvented such definitions along the way. Moving from Russia’s agrarian beginnings in the first millennium to subsequent periods of monarchy, totalitarianism, and perestroika, all the way up to Vladimir Putin and his use of myths of Russian history to bolster his regime, celebrated historian Orlando Figes examines the ideas that have guided the country’s actions: the need for autocracy to rule Russia’s vast land; the veneration of the “Holy Tsar” and the cult of the leader; the belief in an essentially Russian collectivist spirit; and the oscillation between Russia’s European and Eurasian character.

With beautiful writing and alluring perspectives, The Story of Russia is as much about the myths and ideologies that have shaped Russian history―about the ways the Russians have interpreted their past―as it is about the events, institutions, social groups, and leaders that have made that history. And as modern Russia retreats from Europe, this authoritative account of Russia’s past might well elucidate its future.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-story-of-russia?sp=682847

The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Last Book Smuggler
Written by Birute Putrius
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Published by Blackstone Publishing

In 1902 Lithuania, a group of rebels armed with books triumphs against the mighty Russian Empire.

Part folktale, part thriller, The Last Book Smuggler tells the story of Ada and her grandfather Viktoras, an old book smuggler tired of his forty-year battle to keep his language alive despite the attempts of the Russian Empire to destroy it. Into their world steps Jonas, a young man in love with Ada and ready to join the underground book smugglers. But there is a traitor in their midst who must stop them or lose everything.

Based on the author’s grandfather, who was a book smuggler, the novel deftly captures the politics and dangers of the times while bringing to life an engaging and quirky family, with an element of the supernatural.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-last-book-smuggler?sp=676216

The Last Book Smuggler by Birute Putrius, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

Audio preview of VOLUME TWO of the Jonathan L. Howard series on Audio. Published and produced by www.skyboatmedia.com. Narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir with Nicholas Guy Smith as Ian Mears The Revenant.

Preview: GOON SQUAD VOLUME 2 Nicholas Guy Smith as Ian Mears

Raw studio sessions of the audiobook THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER by Harlan Ellison. Cast includes Paul Boehmer (Narrator), Stefan Rudnicki (The Guardian of Forever); John Rubinstein (Captan James Kirk) and Scott Brick (Mr. Spock). Directed by GAbrielle de Cuir. Kickstarter: http://kck.st/219ujCS More info at www.skyboatmedia.com

CITY Scene 44 GdC RAW SESSIONS(44)

Harlan speaks about his feelings on THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER. This is an unedited Studio Sessions.
Kickstarting now: Harlan Ellison Kickstarter http://bit.ly/1Pf2Vur Sc 44 Harlan's Original CITY http://kck.st/219ujCS #startrek
#adultlanguage #maturecontent #adultcontent

Harlan Ellison on CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER

Audiobook Excerpt. Chapter One. The King in Yellow. Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki of Skyboat Media Audiobooks.

01_The King in Yellow

The Arinthian Line Book 2

Augum, Bridget, and Leera want only to study new spells and make their legendary mentor proud. But when she unexpectedly departs on a crucial quest, they run afoul of a devious old witch and are forced to make a hasty getaway—straight into the hands of a notorious maniac known as the Blade of Sorrows.

Prisoners of the Blade and his sadistic apprentice, the trio must face their greatest challenge yet: escape using nothing but an ancient spell with some nasty side effects. But more than their lives are at stake, for an entire kingdom’s hopes rest with their mentor—and she’s heading for a deadly trap.

For more information, and to buy your own copy please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/riven?sp=266662

Riven (Arinthian Line, Book 2) by Sever Bronny, read by Stefan Rudnicki

In this original collection from Skyboat Media and Blackstone Publishing, Elizabeth Gaskell showcases the height of gothic fiction's ability to delight in the otherworldly and to dig deep into what truly haunts us. Set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials, "Lois the Witch" reveals much about the complicity of mankind. Recently orphaned, Lois is forced to leave the English parsonage that had been her home and sail to America. Though she is a God-fearing and honest girl, it seems her identity as the strange, new, English girl is all anyone can see and she becomes a target for the superstitious townsfolk. In "The Grey Woman", we follow a young woman who learns the true nature of her new husband and is forced to flee their isolated home. In "Curious, if True" we are given a peek into a party attended by some very familiar fairy-tale figures. And finally, in "The Doom of the Griffths", we must wait and see if the prophecy of an old family curse will be fulfilled. A collaborator and friend of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell is a leading figure in Victorian literature.

Full Contents:

“The Old Nurse’s Story” read by Justine Eyre
“Curious, if True” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Disappearances” read by Juliet Mills
“The Half-Brothers” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“The Grey Woman” read by Juliet Mills
“The Doom of the Griffiths” read by Justine Eyre
“Lois the Witch” read by Gabrielle de Cuir

Read by Justine Eyre, Juliet Mills, Gabrielle de Cuir, and Stefan Rudnicki.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link: https://www.downpour.com/lois-the-witch-and-other-gothic-tales?sp=357689

Lois the Witch, and Other Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

Dhalgren
Written by Samuel R. Delany
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone Publishing & Skyboat Media

Nominated for the 1975 Nebula Award

In Dhalgren, perhaps one of the most profound and bestselling science fiction novels of all time, Samuel R. Delany has produced a novel that rivals the best American fiction of the 1970s.

Bellona is a city at the dead center of the United States. Something has happened there … the population has fled. Madmen and criminals wander the streets. Strange portents appear in the cloud-covered sky. And into this disaster zone comes a young man—a poet, lover, and adventurer—known only as the Kid.

Tackling questions of race, gender, and sexuality, Dhalgren is a literary marvel and a groundbreaking work of American magical realism.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/dhalgren?sp=129972

Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Motion in Light of Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village
Written by Samuel R. Delany
Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Published by Blackstone Publishing & Skyboat Media

Born in New York City’s black ghetto Harlem at the start of World War II, Samuel R. Delany married white poet Marilyn Hacker right out of high school. The interracial couple moved into the city’s new bohemian quarter, the Lower East Side, in summer 1961. 

Through the decade’s opening years, new art, new sexual practices, new music, and new political awareness burgeoned among the crowded streets and cheap railroad apartments. Beautifully, vividly, insightfully, Delany calls up this era of exploration and adventure as he details his development as a black gay writer in an open marriage, with tertiary walk-ons by Bob Dylan, Stokely Carmichael, W. H. Auden, and James Baldwin, and a panoply of brilliantly drawn secondary characters.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-motion-of-light-in-water?sp=357035

The Motion of Light in Water by Samuel R. Delany, read by Stefan Rudnicki

Black God's Kiss
Written by C.L. Moore
Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Published by Skyboat Media

First published in the pages of Weird Tales in 1934, C. L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry is the first significant female sword-and-sorcery protagonist and one of the most exciting and evocative characters the genre has ever known. Published alongside seminal works by H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, the five classic fantasy tales included in this volume easily stand the test of time and often overshadow the storytelling power and emotional impact of stories by Moore's more famous contemporaries. A seminal work from one of fantasy's most important authors, Black God's Kiss is an essential addition to any fantasy library.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/black-god-s-kiss?sp=113087

Black God's Kiss by C.L. Moore, read by Gabrielle de Cuir

Take a seat in the court of ancient Athens as Socrates goeson trial for his life. Hear the philosopher face his accusers with histrademark wit, his cutting logic, and the courage of his ideals. Consider hisarguments on virtue, justice, politics, civic duty, love of life, and hope indeath, and make your own judgment.

Think. Question. Change.

Translated and directed by Yannis Simonides and Loukas Skipitaris.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/socrates-now?sp=94472

Socrates Now by Plato, read by Yannis Simonides

The Arinthian Line, Book 4

Warlocks Augum, Bridget, and Leera are finally able to relax after a grueling ordeal in Bahbell. But their fugitive mentor, the legendary Anna Atticus Stone, tasks them with a dangerous new quest—sneak into an ancient library and research an artifact that could devastate the Legion, and turn the tide in the war.

Their substitute mentor Leopold Harvus, however, is an obsessive and petty man with a distaste for anything untoward, particularly Augum and Leera’s affections for each other. As their studies suffer from his meddling, Harvus finally pushes Augum too far—leading to a brazen act of rebellion that plunges the trio and their quest into mortal peril, for Harvus quickly proves he is not a man to be trifled with.

For more information, and to buy your own copy please click the following link: https://www.downpour.com/clash-359012?sp=359029

Clash (Arinthian Line, Book 4) by Sever Bronny, read by Stefan Rudnicki

In this original compilation from Skyboat Media and Blackstone Publishing, Nikolai Gogol’s stories range from the whimsical and bizarre to the incisive and satiric, from the horrific and terrifying to the nonsensical and hilarious.

A lowly government clerk, Akay Akakiyevich, must scrimp and save to purchase a new coat for the cold Russian winter in “The Overcoat”. But after one night of basking in the warmth of his new coat and the respect of his colleagues, Akaky’s one-of-a-kind overcoat is stolen from him. In his pursuit of justice, Akaky receives no help and is consumed by the loss of his prized possession.

In “The Viy”, Gogol recounts a popular folk story in which a monstrous creature, known by the population of Little Russia as the king of gnomes, helps a witch get revenge on a young student who escaped from her trap years before.

“How the Two Ivans Quarrelled” begins as a merry farce, telling the story of the friendship-ending fight between Ivan Ivanovitch and Ivan Nikiforovitch. The two Ivans have been neighbors and best friends for years despite their numerous differences, but this fight infiltrates every facet of their lives, until they cannot stand the sight of one another.

Then finally in “The Nose”, we see the peak of Gogol’s humor and absurdity when a government official wakes to find his nose has disappeared. 

The Russian critic D.S. Mirsky (1890-1939) described the story as “a piece of sheer play, almost sheer nonsense. In it more than anywhere else Gogol displays his extraordinary magic power of making great comic art out of nothing.” This extraordinary power is woven throughout all the stories in this compilation, and it firmly establishes Gogol as a master of the peculiar and the surreal.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Overcoat-and-Other-Russian-Tales-Audiobook/179992775X?qid=1606767643&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=N587QEMQBDCGX2NXB0DS

The Overcoat and Other Russian Tales by Nikolai Gogol, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The King of Elfland's Daughter
Written by Lord Dunsany
Read by Stefan Rudnicki

A masterpiece of fantasy literature that shaped the high fantasy genre and influenced such authors as J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft

After 700 years of being ruled by man, the Parliament of Erl is ready to be ruled by a magical lord. Obeying the immemorial custom, the lord of Erl sends his son Alveric to fetch the King of Elfland’s daughter, Lirazel, to be his bride. Alveric makes his way to Elfland, where time passes at a rate far slower than the real world, wins her hand, and they return to Erl together. 

Alveric and Lirazel marry and have a son, but marriage between a mortal and a fairy princess is never simple. Lirazel struggles to adapt to the customs of humans. Torn between two worlds, Lirazel must decide whether to return to her home and live forever, or remain in Erl with her husband and son, doomed to die a mortal death. Meanwhile, the King of Elfland, missing his daughter greatly and fearing her demise, must utilize his limited sources of magic in order to get her back.

The King of Elfland’s Daughter is a love story for the ages and a fairy tale in the truest sense of the word. First published in 1924, it remains one of the most beloved novels of the genre.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link:
https://www.downpour.com/the-king-of-elfland-s-daughter-410938?sp=410977

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany, read by Stefan Rudnicki

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (The Hercule Poirot Mysteries, Book 1)
Written by Agatha Christie
Read by John Rubinstein. Directed by Gabrielle de Cuir
Published by Blackstone Publishing. Produced by Skyboat Media

Agatha Christie’s debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, features the first appearance of the eccentric Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot must use his unusual methods and his singular charm to solve the murder of the rich, elderly Emily Inglethorpe. Fortunately, Poirot’s old friend Arthur Hastings happens to be staying at Styles Court, an Essex country manor, at the time of the murder, and he is a ready right-hand man during Poirot’s investigation.

With suspects abound, Poirot employs all his wits to determine who did the deed. Could it have been Mrs. Inglethorpe’s much younger husband? Or perhaps her resentful stepsons? The family friend working as her nurse is not free of suspicion, nor is her maid of many years. It may even have been the poisons specialist who just so happens to be staying in a nearby village.

Everyone staying at Styles has secrets they are trying to keep, but Poirot cuts through these deceptions with the resourcefulness, exactitude, and attention to detail that has made him one of the most intriguing figures in literary history.

For more information and to buy your own copy, please click the following link: 
https://www.downpour.com/the-mysterious-affair-at-styles-410937?sp=410973

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, 1) by Agatha Christie, read by John Rubinstein

Grammy, Hugo and Audie winning audiobook publishers and production company since the turn of this century. Company owned by Stefan Rudnicki and Gabrielle de Cuir.

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