Showing results by narrator "Matthew Messner" in All Categories

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer; Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom; and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over. The time of rebellion has begun.

Sherlock Holmes is an unparalleled genius. Warlock Holmes is an idiot. A font of arcane power, certainly. But he’s brilliantly dim. Frankly, he couldn’t deduce his way out of a paper bag. The only thing he has really got going for him are the might of a thousand demons and his stalwart companion. Thankfully, Dr. Watson is always there to aid him through the treacherous shoals of Victorian propriety...and save him from a gruesome death every now and again.

In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone has to make sure the "supes" don't get out of line. And someone will! Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The Boys: a CIA-backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth - superpower! Some superheroes have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them - sometimes - need to be taken out of the picture. That's when you call in The Boys!

The Carnacki institute exists to do something about ghosts. Lay them to rest, send them packing, or kick their nasty ectoplasmic arses with extreme prejudice. The institute’s operatives are the best of the best. JC Chance: sharp, brave, charming, and almost unbearably arrogant; Melody Chambers: science geek, techno-wizard extraordinaire who keeps the antisupernatual equipment running smoothly; and Happy Jack Palmer: the telepath with the gloomy disposition, the last person anyone would want navigating through their head.

The Leath are fighting for their Gods, but Bethany Anne is fighting for freedom. Then, the Leath make a very fatal mistake. On another planet, the Leath dishonor the Etheric Empire's warriors and Bethany Anne unleashes her new avatar and there will be hell to pay.

Butcher's full vendetta is revealed as is Vought-American's part in the events on 9/11. Gregg Mallory tells Hughie the history of the Boys and Hughie later confesses his real identity to Annie, Hughie returns to the fold as he and Butcher investigate a murder that may involve Jack from Jupiter. Butcher then returns to London to view the body of his deceased father and Butcher's full back-story as a one-man reckoning is revealed.

I'm the last surviving member of my pack, and I'm running for my life. As the future pack leader of the Silver Wolves, my life was carefully planned: stay hidden, and learn to fight. In an instant, everything changes. My pack was slaughtered by an unknown enemy. Alone and unsure who to trust, I search for safety. Now, there's a pack leader who offers me something that no one else can—protection. He’s sexy, an absolute jerk, and my fated mate.

Everyone has something to get off their chest: Frenchie confronts the Female about her work with the Mafia, Mother's Milk goes to see his mom, Annie wants a word with God himself, and Butcher enjoys yet another ghastly tryst with CIA Director Rayner. The Legend, meanwhile, offers to tell Hughie everything he wants to know about The Boys - all Hughie has to do is take a walk with the dead.

The Spear of Lugh, one of the four Kingly Hallows of Ireland is in Chicago. And everyone, everyone wants it, for it is said that he who carries the spear into battle cannot be defeated. Among those who seek it are an agent of the infamous Wild Hunt; a mobster who knows far more about these things than he should; and of course both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts - the last people PI Mick Oberon would want getting hold of the spear....

Butcher discovers Hughie’s relationship with Annie the Starlight, and a new executive at Vought starts to climb up the ranks. Butcher decides to test where Hughie’s loyalties lie, but does it behind the rest of the team’s back. At a Christian/Supe convention, Hughie discovers Annie’s powers and The Homelander moves forward with his plans. Hughie then leaves for Scotland to see his family and decide if he should stay with The Boys.

After the massacre of the entire G-Men franchise, the company sends their supes on a bacchanalia of a vacation at an island getaway, and the Boys keep an eye on the festivities and the guests, some of whom are worming their way to the highest levels of government. The Boys are then targeted, and one is ambushed. And we get a clearer picture of the backgrounds of Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and The Female.

JC, Happy, and Melody are investigating a haunting at the long-abandoned Haybarn Theater, which is being renovated. But work has been thrown off-schedule by some peculiar and unnatural activities and a homeless man who appears to have been scared to death. After the potentially world-altering recent events of their previous assignment at Chimera House, the team thinks that a haunted theater (aren't they all?) will be a walk in the park.

I did a bad, bad thing. Thanks to a blank in my memory, I'm not sure what that thing was, but it was horrible enough to get me locked up in the mental ward for seven years. Horrible enough that my little sister won't even speak to me. But when I'm released back into a town determined to rub my unknown sins in my face, the past isn't the only thing that's haunting me. The four "imaginary" friends who made my childhood bearable barge into my life in a very real way.

The Homelander enacts his plan only to realize his motivations are unfounded. Butcher confronts him and makes the one who raped his wife and caused her death pay with his life. Butcher’s true desire for destruction is then revealed in the form of a WMD crafted for supes but will kill many others, and to be stopped, Hughie must face Butcher alone. As the dust settles the long-lasting damage and betrayals are still affecting the survivors.

A masked vigilante known only as ""X"" dispenses justice without mercy to the criminals who rule the decaying city of Arcadia. When muckraking blogger Leigh Ferguson snoops down the wrong alley, she gets swept into X's bloody war with a politically powerful crime lord.

Meet Lara Dominguez—a troubled Creighton cops reporter obsessed with the city's debonair vigilante—The Black Ghost. With the help of a mysterious cyber-informant named LONE, Lara's inched closer to uncovering the Ghost's identity. But as she searched for the breakthrough story she desperately needs, Lara will have to navigate the corruption of her city, the uncertainties of virtue, and her own personal demons. Will she have the strength to be part of the solution—or will she become the problem?

Michael is branded a traitor as a child because of the murder of the king’s nine-year-old son by his father, David Kingman. Ten years later on Michael lives a hardscrabble life, with his sister, Gwen, performing crimes with his friends against minor royals in a weak attempt at striking back at the world that rejects him and his family. In a world where memory is the coin that pays for magic, Michael knows something is there in the hot white emptiness of his mind. So when the opportunity arrives to get folded back into court, Michael takes it, desperate to find a way back to his past.

Frustrated by her pathetically useless powers, Larkspur can only dream of being accepted by true elementals. And as the bastard daughter of the king, she lives under the constant wrath of his jealous wife. When she’s falsely accused of attacking the cruel woman, she must choose between military service or banishment...and both lead to certain death. Seizing her slim chance for survival, Lark embarks on training as a soldier for the unforgiving kingdom. But though she excels in her new role, it may not be enough to stay safe from a queen out for her blood.

The ongoing battle between star quarterback Quentin Barnes and team owner Gredok the Splithead is coming to a head. Endless threats and promises of ultraviolence hang on their every word. With sentients of several groups trying to manipulate or kill him, Quentin must chart a new course if he is to survive and overcome his injury to once again lead his beloved Krakens into battle.