Modern Fiction

Mad scientists have never had it so tough. In super-hero comics, graphic novels, films, TV series, video games, and even works of what may be fiction, they are besieged by those who stand against them, devoid of sympathy for their irrational, megalomaniacal impulses to rule, destroy, or otherwise dominate the world as we know it. It’s just not fair. So those of us who are so twisted and sick that we love mad scientists have created this guide.

A dark epic fantasy inspired by The Prince and the Pauper, from best-selling author C. J. Redwine. Javan Najafai, crown prince of Akram, has spent the last 10 years at an elite boarding school, far away from his kingdom. But his eagerly awaited return home is cut short when a mysterious impostor takes his place - and no one believes Javan is the true prince. After barely escaping the impostor's assassins, Javan is thrown into Maqbara, the kingdom's most dangerous prison.

At 17, Anna K is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna's brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather a sexting scandal.

Based in part on Cheever's adolescence in New England, the novel follows the destinies of the impecunious and wildly eccentric Wapshots of St. Botolphs, a quintessential Massachusetts fishing village. Here are the stories of Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea dog and would-be suicide; of his licentious older son, Moses; and of Moses' adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly.

Seamus O'Mahony charts the realities of work in the 'ministry of bodies', that huge complex where people come to be cured and to die. From unexpected deaths to moral quandaries and bureaucratic disasters, O'Mahony documents life in the halls and wards that all of us will visit at some point in our lives with his characteristic wit and dry and unsentimental intelligence.

Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of 30 people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host - Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks’ third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, 1935).

Comfort for Isabella York is found buried in the pages of books. Bookended between two beautiful sisters, she is a different kind of princess, quiet and studious. Judged harshly on social media and in the tabloids, which compare her to her thin, outgoing sisters, a shy Bella has no desire to become a working royal for the House of Chadwick upon graduating from university, preferring to work in the family's dusty archives instead.

For her I risked it all, but was it worth her paying the price? She knows my secret. Now, what will she do to protect it and the crown? What will I be willing to do to protect her? That answer is easy . . . everything.

In the aftermath of the brutal attack on his family compound, Alex Fletcher embraces his rapidly expanding role within the New England Regional Recovery Zone (RRZ). Fueled by a limitless drive to protect his family and a rekindled sense of duty, he enlists the reluctant aid of a local militia commander - to ease the public's fears of a federal government takeover.

On a trip to visit his parents and siblings, Joe discovers a stash of drugs hidden in his younger brother’s room. He is forced to make a hard decision and hope that he chose correctly.

An accomplished poet and the author of Canadian Hungarian Literature (1897 - 2017), Frank Veszely brings to the English listener the rich treasure-house of folk, classical, and modern Hungarian poetry (1000 - 2020).

Sexual abuse, human trafficking, drug addiction, rape, prison, and domestic violence - Barbara Amaya experienced it all on first on the streets of Washington D.C., and then New York City, most of it before her 16th birthday. In Nobody's Girl she shares her journey from trafficking victim to human rights advocate, weaving together a story of loss, pain, courage, and transformation.

A courtroom drama of biological science versus transgenderism, The Wise of Heart updates the Scopes Monkey Trial for the twenty-first century. He wanted to test the new Gender Awareness in Academia (GAIA) Act, but high-school biology teacher, Mike Andrews got more than he bargained for.

On August 19, 2019, a rogue Chinese military cabal launches an opportunistic EMP attack against the United States, triggering a cataclysmic chain of events - with the potential to change world forever. With the United States crippled, belligerent powers rise to fill the void overseas, catapulting already volatile regions into chaos and war - hastening a worldwide collapse.

The name’s Crowley, but the fae know me as Fuamnach’s Hound. She’s the Tuath Dé sorceress who abducted me as a child, making me her slave in Underhill. For decades, I languished under her thumb, suffering torturous abuse while she molded me into her own personal magical assassin and saboteur. After years of slavery, I finally broke free, earning her ire and the attention of her death squads. Now, I'm searching for my human family and the doppelgänger who stole my identity. I intend to gain back what was lost by killing the faery who is living the life I was meant to have.

When Maleen King's father catches her naked in the hay loft with her high school sweetheart, he sends the 18-year-old away to receive a college education and rise above the humble beginnings of a Kansas dairy farm. Now, 14 years later, Mal comes home to run the farm after the death of her father. The stress of a disastrous marriage and being a NYC stockbroker made her long to return to a simple life.

After her troublemaker mother’s mysterious death, Kira fled her wealthy Texas town and never looked back. Now, decades later, Kira is invited to an old frenemy’s vow renewal celebration Though she is reluctant to go, there are things pulling her home. . . like chilled wine and days spent by the pool . . . like sexy Jack, her childhood crush. But more important are the urgent texts from her grandmother, who says she has something for Kira. Something related to her mother’s death, something that makes it look an awful lot like murder.

Set in Mississippi during the Civil War and Reconstruction, The Unvanquished focuses on the Sartoris family, who, with their code of personal responsibility and courage, stand for the best of the Old South's traditions.

Scratch Sullivan just wanted to survive the apocalypse in peace...but when the undead bring their war right to his doorstep, it's time to ranger up and rain hell down on his enemies! It's been eight years since the bombs fell and the dead rose, and the world has become a very dangerous place. But unlike most folks, former Army Ranger Scratch Sullivan is getting by just fine. Sure, it's hell on earth, but Scratch seems to fit in. He makes his living by hunting the dead, vampires and zombies alike, with the odd revenant thrown in for good measure.

When a catastrophic solar storm brings about the collapse of modern civilization, an Amish community in Pennsylvania is caught up in the devastating aftermath. Once-bright skies are now dark. Planes have plummeted to the ground. The systems of modern life have crumbled. With their stocked larders and stores of supplies, the Amish are unaffected at first. But as the English (the Amish name for all non-Amish people) become more and more desperate, they begin to invade Amish farms.