James Riley has 11 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 19 ratings. The most-rated is Story Thieves.
Story Thieves
Summary
This "clever opener likely to leave readers breathless both with laughter and anticipation" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) is the first in the New York Times best-selling series from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy. Life is boring when you live in the real world instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world's homework and chores. But everything changes the day Owen sees the impossible happen - his classmate Bethany climbs out of a book in the library. It turns out Bethany's half fictional and has been searching every book she can find for her missing father, a fictional character. Bethany can't let anyone else learn her secret, so Owen makes her a deal: All she has to do is take him into a book in Owen's favorite Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and he'll never say a word. Besides, visiting the book might help Bethany find her father.... ...Or it might just destroy the Kiel Gnomenfoot series, reveal Bethany's secret to the entire world, and force Owen to live out Kiel Gnomenfoot's final (very final) adventure.
©2016 James Riley (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
The Revenge of Magic
Summary
When long-dead magical creatures are discovered all around the world, each buried with a book of magic, only children can unlock the dangerous power of the books in this start to a thrilling new series from the author of the New York Times best-selling Story Thieves! Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of dragons. Only those born after “Discovery Day” have the power to use the magic. Now, on a vacation to Washington, DC, Fort Fitzgerald’s father is lost when a giant creature bursts through the earth, attacking the city. Fort is devastated, until an opportunity for justice arrives six months later, when a man named Dr. Opps invites Fort to a government-run school, the Oppenheimer School, to learn magic from those same books. But life’s no easier at the school, where secrets abound. What does Jia, Fort’s tutor, know about the attacks? Why does Rachel, master of destructive magic, think Fort is out to destroy the school? And why is Fort seeing memories of an expelled girl every time he goes to sleep? If Fort doesn’t find out what’s hiding within the Oppenheimer School, more attacks will come, and this time, nothing will stop them!
©2019 James Riley (P)2019 Simon & Schuster
Pick the Plot
Summary
An interactive audio experience where listeners choose their journey through the story! When Owen finds himself stuck in a Pick Your Own Plot story, things get more complicated than ever in this fourth book in the New York Times best-selling series Story Thieves - which was called a "fast-paced, action-packed tale" by School Library Journal - from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy. Being able to jump into books used to seem like the greatest thing in the world to Owen Conners. But now Owen's trapped in a time travel book where listeners - that would be you - decide how the story goes. As if that weren't enough, Owen's also stuck in a prison for time criminals in a prehistoric era. He's surrounded by bizarre fellow prisoners, including Kara Dox. How does Kara recognize Owen if they've never met before? She seems to think they're old friends, but that can't be possible. Still, Kara might just be the only chance Owen has to escape. And he has to find a way out to save his friend Bethany, who's still in grave danger. Because unless Owen can stop him, Nobody is going to split Bethany into two, separating the fictional and nonfictional worlds forever. Will Owen be able to convince you, the listener, to help him find his way back to Bethany? Or will you feed him to dinosaurs just to teach him a lesson? It's all up to you when you Pick the Plot.
©2017 James Riley (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Last Dragon
Summary
Fort Fitzgerald is determined to uncover the truth, but a new student at school and the secrets he has to keep complicate matters in this second novel in a thrilling new series from the author of the New York Times best-selling Story Thieves! Fort Fitzgerald can’t stop having nightmares about the day his father was taken from him in an attack on Washington, DC. In these dreams, an Old One, an evil beyond comprehension, demands the location of the last dragon. But other than some dragon skeletons dug up with the books of magic on Discovery Day, Fort has never seen a dragon before. Could there still be one left alive? And weirdly, Fort’s not the only one at the Oppenheimer School having these nightmares. His new roommate, Gabriel, seems to know more than he’s letting on about this dragon as well. And why does everyone at the school seem to do whatever Gabriel says? What’s his secret? Fort’s going to need the help of his friends Cyrus, Jia, and Rachel, if he’s going to have any chance of keeping the Old Ones from returning to Earth. Unless, the Old Ones offer something Fort could never turn down…
©2019 James Riley (P)2019 Simon & Schuster
The Stolen Chapters
Summary
Owen, Kiel, and Bethany confront secrets, stolen memories, and some very familiar faces in the follow-up to the second book in the New York Times best-selling series The Story Thieves - which was called a "fast-paced, action-packed tale" by School Library Journal - from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy. Owen Conners' whole life changed the day he found out his classmate Bethany was half fictional and could take him into any book in the library. Which story would they jump into next? Another fantasy, like the Kiel Gnomenfoot, Magic Thief books? Maybe something with superheroes? Owen's up for anything except mysteries - those just have too many hidden clues, twists that make no sense, and an ending you never see coming. Then Owen wakes up in a real-life mystery with a memory that's been erased and too many questions. How did Kiel Gnomenfoot lose all of his magic? Where is Bethany? And who's the annoying guy wearing the question mark mask and Sherlock Holmes hat, taunting Owen and Kiel that Bethany is in grave danger? Bethany is trapped in a hidden room that's slowly filling with water, and she can't escape until her friends find her. But is she imprisoned by more than just chains and a locked door? What's she hiding from Owen and Kiel? Mentions of "Missing Text" in this audiobook are intentional and are part of the story.
©2016 James Riley and Chris Eliopoulos (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
The Timeless One
Summary
Fort becomes entangled with legendary creatures and foes in this thrilling fourth novel in the fantastical series from the author of the New York Times best-selling Story Thieves! The future has been saved, but at a cost: Fort Fitzgerald has been expelled from the Oppenheimer School, and some of Fort’s friends have been lost in time. But time is the one thing Fort, Rachel, and Jia don’t have, as they’ll soon be facing one of the eternal Old Ones, the Timeless One, for the fate of the world. If they lose, the Old Ones will return, and humanity is doomed. If they win, the Old Ones will still return, and humanity is doomed. Because the Timeless One can see every possibility and plan for it. How can Fort and his friends defeat a creature like that? And what does this all have to do with the real-life Merlin, from King Arthur’s days?
©2020 James Riley. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
Secret Origins
Summary
Bethany travels to a new fictional world to rescue her father in this third book in the New York Times best-selling series Story Thieves - which was called a "fast-paced, action-packed tale" by School Library Journal - from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy. Owen and Bethany have sworn off jumping into books for good. But they didn't make any promises about not jumping through strange portals that lead to a comic book world. Jupiter City was once filled with brightly costumed superheroes and villains, but nowadays, there's nothing left but the Dark. Even the villains are terrified of the Dark's shadows, and most of the heroes have either disappeared or been lost to mind control. The one hero who might have stopped all of this, Doc Twilight, has been imprisoned by the Dark. But who is Doc Twilight really? And how can Bethany and Owen defeat the Dark without superpowers of their own? They'll definitely need the help of some old friends and new allies to bring the light back to Jupiter City, and find out the truth behind the Dark. It all comes back to Bethany's own secret origins. What really happened when her fictional father disappeared years ago? Who is Nobody, and why is he writing these Story Thieves books? And what kind of supervillain name is The Rotten Banana?
©2017 James Riley (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio
The Future King
Summary
Fort’s continued adventures take more surprising twists and turns in this third novel in a thrilling series from the author of the New York Times best-selling Story Thieves! Dealing with monster attacks and his missing father has been hard enough for Fort Fitzgerald in his first month at the Oppenheimer School. But there’s another school for magic, this one in the United Kingdom, that's about to create even bigger problems. Six of the Carmarthen Academy students found themselves lost in time when they first started learning magic. Now they’ve returned, with news of a coming war that the students claim only they can stop. But their new plan for the world might lead to an even worse future, one that Fort and his friends are destined to help bring about, no matter how much they might want to fight it. Can Fort change the future that the Time students have already seen play out? Or is he destined to pay for his past mistakes for all of time?
©2020 James Riley (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio
Worlds Apart
Summary
Owen and Bethany try to find their way back to each other after the fictional and nonfictional worlds are torn apart in this fifth and final book in the New York Times best-selling series Story Thieves - which was called a “fast-paced, action-packed tale” by School Library Journal - from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy. Bethany and Owen have failed. The villain they have come to know as Nobody has ripped asunder the fictional and nonfictional worlds, destroying their connection. Bethany has been split in two, with her fictional and nonfictional selves living in the separate realms. But weirdly, no one seems to mind. Owen and every other nonfictional person have lost their imaginations, so they can’t picture their lives any differently. Then Owen gets trapped in a dark, dystopian reality five years in the future, where nothing is needed more desperately than the power to imagine.
©2018 James Riley (P)2018 Simon & Schuster
Sufferings in Africa
Summary
In this classic tale of adventure, a young American sea captain named James Riley, shipwrecked off the western coast of North Africa in 1815, was captured by a band of nomadic Arabs and sold into slavery. Thus begins an epic adventure of survival and a quest for freedom that takes him across the Sahara desert. This dramatic account of Captain Riley's trials and sufferings sold more that one million copies in his day and was even read by a young and impressionable Abraham Lincoln. The degradations of a slave existence and the courage to survive under the most harrowing conditions have rarely been recorded with such painful honesty. Sufferings in Africa is a classic travel-adventure narrative and a fascinating testament of white Americans enslaved abroad, during a time when slavery flourished throughout the United States.
(P)2001 Blackstone Audiobooks
The Chosen One
Summary
Fort and his friends face more perilous ancient magic as they race toward the final battle to save humanity in this fifth and final installment in the fantastical series from the author of the New York Times best-selling Story Thieves! Fort Fitzgerald is finally reunited with his father and wants nothing more than for life to return to normal, the way things were before magic burst back into the world. But normal isn’t an option anymore. Not when the Old Ones could still return to enslave humanity and Damian is dead set on making that happen. Convinced he’s the Chosen One the prophecy says will save the world, Damian has mastered all six books of magic and plans to summon the Old Ones to destroy them. Fort knows better, though - Damian has no chance of defeating the Old Ones once they arrive. Maybe Fort could stop Damian if he could use the magic from the dragon dictionary, but he’s consumed with strange visions each time he tries. The only hope left is for Fort, Jia, and Rachel to recruit the help of old friends - and enemies. But how can they know who to trust? Because unless they can find the truth behind the web of secrets and lies surrounding the prophecy of the Chosen One, Fort’s visions, Arthurian legends, and even magic itself, they've already lost.
©2021 James Riley. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.