Showing results by narrator "Thomas Keegan" in All Categories

Aliens and humans alike play positions based on physiology, creating receivers that jump 25 feet into the air, linemen that bench-press 1,200 pounds, and linebackers that literally want to eat you. Organized crime runs every franchise, games are fixed, and rival players are assassinated. Follow the story of Quentin Barnes, a 19-year-old quarterback prodigy that has been raised all his life to hate, and kill, those aliens. Quentin must deal with his racism and learn to lead, or he'll wind up just another stat in the column marked "killed on the field."

In this epic fantasy sequel, Heloise stands tall against overwhelming odds - crippling injuries, religious tyrants - and continues her journey from obscurity to greatness with the help of alchemically empowered armor and an unbreakable spirit. No longer just a shell-shocked girl, she is now a figure of revolution whose cause grows ever stronger. But the time for hiding underground is over. Heloise must face the tyrannical Order and win freedom for her people.

Having taken a job shotgunning a stage coach, Yakima gets tangled in corrupt town where theft, lies and murder dog him at every turn. The deeper he gets involved with the townsfolk, the harder he struggles to make things “right,” Each choice making things more dangerous and deadly.

Earth remains the volatile prize of aeons of war and domination by two panterrestrial races. Returning the fight to these inhuman overlords, the Cerberus rebels are the champions of the planet's postapocalyptic dark ages. They spark a uniquely human resilience and courage to stand down the forces of infinitely powerful, perhaps unstoppable entities in the ongoing war to retake Earth for humanity.

A new religion is rising, gathering followers drawn by rumors of prophetess Jane Oden. Her sister, Cinzia - onetime Cantic priestess - is by her side but fears that Jane will lead them to ruin. For both the church and the Nazaniin assassins are still on their trail, and much worse may come.

A new religion is rising, gathering followers drawn by rumors of prophetess Jane Oden. Her sister, Cinzia - onetime Cantic priestess - is by her side but fears that Jane will lead them to ruin. For both the church and the Nazaniin assassins are still on their trail, and much worse may come.

It’s been 15 years since brothers Michael and Andrew Lewis came from Tennessee to Mexican-run Texas to hunt wild horses. They have settled and found wives, and they’re now joined by their brother and sister, James and Annie. James becomes a volunteer in a fledgling army of rebels led by Sam Houston. Michael and Andrew are separated from their families and each other, being drawn into the conflict as the drive toward independence from the government of Mexico City gains momentum.

When a new hellbreed comes calling, playing nice isn't an option. Jill Kismet has no choice but to seek treacherous allies - Perry, the devil she knows, and Melisande Belisa, the cunning Sorrows temptress whose true loyalties are unknown. Kismet knows Perry and Belisa are likely playing for the same thing - her soul. It's just too bad, because she expects to beat them at their own game. Except their game is vengeance. Nobody plays vengeance like Kismet. But if the revenge she seeks damns her, her enemies might get her soul after all....

The story of Michael and Andrew Lewis continues. Five years after the death of their father Mordecai at the hands of Spanish soldiers in Texas, Michael seeks revenge. He, in turn, is being hunted by the Blackwood family from Tennessee, who have declared a feud with the Lewises.

The Dragon King who rules the land of Mensandor is none other than Quentin, whose courage and heroism have slowly transformed him from an orphaned servant into a war hero, respected leader and a fierce man of faith. But even the powerful can fall prey to weakness. The world is turned upside-down when the dark sorcerer Nimrood - long thought dead after a battle with the previous Dragon King - returns with a fearsome plan.

Tom Dallas has changed his way of living. All the shootings in which he was involved were justified, but there are many who want his scalp which prompts him to make a vow that he will not pack bullets in his .45 for a year. Then a situation develops that can only result in breaking his vow.

Caprock, Texas is a sleepy cow town until oil is discovered in the 1920s. Suddenly thousands of people stream in to find their fortune. Some are honest folk like Elise and Victor Underwood, who pray for a little luck with their daily bread. But too many are two-bit swindlers. And then there’s frontier mobster Big Boy Daugherty. Sheriff Dave Buckalew faces a whole different set of circumstances as his town springs to life — in good and not-so-good ways.

On the trail west with his trusty horse and dog, the hapless gunslinger stops a mean, hungry bear from making lunch out of the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody. In turn, Cody grubstakes Dooley for the purchase of a silver mine in the lawless, violent boomtown of Leadville, Colorado. Dooley can’t believe his good luck. But when he guns down three deadly outlaws, the grateful townsfolk pin a sheriff’s badge on Dooley. And that’s when his luck runs out....

It has been 10 years since Quentin helped Eskevar, the Dragon King, battle the monstrous sorcerer Nimrood. Since that time, there has been peace in the land of Mensandor. But everything is about to change. An urgent message summons Quentin to Castle Askelon. The king, who is dying, wishes to name the brave young man his successor. But first, he sends him on an unfathomable mission.

Ozark Free Territory, 2071: The Kurian Order has reigned for 50 years. Using the dreaded power of their Reaper avatars, the alien, vampiric Kur hold dominion over the earth and its inhabitants. Yet there are those who would rather die fighting than surrender to the unquenchable thirst of the enemy - those like David Valentine.

Apropos is the unlikely noble whose life began in the lowest of ways: as the result of a gang assault by a group of drunken knights on a helpless tavern wench. Last time out, Apropos attempted to seize control of his own fate, and ended up with, appropriately, nothing. Time has passed since he fled the kingdom of Runcible, and Apropos leads a quiet existence as a tavern owner. All that changes abruptly, however, when the sorceress Sharee re-enters his life with the forces of the warlike Lord Bellicose hard on her heels. They want something they're convinced she has stolen.

Heloise and her allies are marching on the Imperial Capital. The villagers, the Kipti, and the Red Lords are united only in their loyalty to Heloise, though dissenting voices are many and they are loud. The unstable alliance faces internal conflicts and external strife, yet they’re united in their common goal. But when the first of the devils start pouring through a rent in the veil between worlds, Heloise must strike a bargain with an unlikely ally, or doom her people to death and her world to ruin.

Dark conspiracies bubble to the surface as war and zealotry spread across the empire. Old alliances are shattered, new vendettas are born, and all peoples - citizen and slave alike - must endure the ravages of storm and steel.

Original story published in Lariat story magazine - July 1947.

Seven thousand years ago, major climatic change was ushering in a 3,500 year drought. For a small band of pioneers in what is now Wyoming and the Montana Mountains, it was a time of fire. As they struggled valiantly to keep their ancestors’ dreams alive in an unforgiving, drought-stricken land, a heroic young dreamer and a fearless woman warrior united to lead their people to a magnificent destiny.