Lance Rasmussen has narrated 15 audiobooks on Listento.it by 8 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.1★ across 5 ratings. The most-rated is Childers: Absurd Proposals.
Childers: Absurd Proposals
Summary
The concluding two novels of the Childers trilogy, in one volume. Colony War The CSF has new technology coming online, but will it be ready in time to head off the attack by the Outer Colonies that Jan Childers and CSF Intelligence Division see coming? Galactic Mail With the overwhelming new technology of her own design in hand, can Jan Childers rewrite the rules of galactic politics and give humanity a future of peace, prosperity, and expansion?
©2017 Richard Weyand (P)2018 Richard Weyand
EMPIRE: Usurper
Summary
THE REFORMS MUST CONTINUE At the age of 27, Deanna Dunham Garrity has become the Empress of Sintar, absolute ruler of 150,000 worlds and their 300 trillion inhabitants. She would continue the reforms of her predecessor, but the Imperal Council stands in her way. How intractable will the Council be? How hard are they willing to push back to maintain their graft and corruption? Will the confrontation turn violent? And if it does, will the new Empress and her loyalists be able to prevail against the Council? And what of the Empire? Can even the sweeping Sintaran Empire survive the confrontation? The new series by the author of CHILDERS. This is the second book of EMPIRE. INTERVIEW WITH RICH WEYAND How long did it take to write EMPIRE: Usurper? About 55 days. Normally, I can write a novel in a month or so, averaging 2000 to 2500 words per day. I only averaged 1400 words a day on EMPIRE: Usurper, because it has a lot of moving parts, and because I didn't take a month off after completing it. I sort of took my time writing it instead. What's the basic plotline? Deanna becomes Empress of Sintar at age 27. We followed her in the first book, how she was cured of this terrible disease by Imperial medicine, how she got a scholarship to university, and how she became the Empress' assistant in trying to reform the corrupt bureaucracy. She feels she owes, literally, her whole life to the Empire, and she is determined to do right by it. This book follows her efforts to continue and step up her predecessor's reforms, against the plotting and machinations of the bureaucracy. Does the confrontation between Throne and Council turn violent? Yes, and that's all I'll say about it. Major spoilers are possible. Is there anything controversial in EMPIRE: Usurper? We would find their justice system strange. They have police, and courts, and rights of evidence, trial by jury, and all the rest, just as most Western countries do. That is the system of low justice. But the sovereign, in this case the Empress, also has a system of high justice. She can find anyone guilty of crimes against the Throne. She is judge, jury, and executioner. That is likely to be strange for someone raised on Western values. What about the cover? That’s another incredible original artwork by Aaron Griffin, an exceptional young artist in the UK I found via the net. It depicts Deanna - now the Empress Ilithyia II - on the day of her coronation. The storm clouds gathering behind her are emblematic of the coming conflict. What comes next in EMPIRE? The Throne strikes back against the Council. The Throne must prevail for the Empire to survive.
©2019 Richard F. Weyand (P)2019 Richard F. Weyand
Childers
Summary
This is the first volume of the Childers Trilogy
Jan Childers grew up orphaned in the slums of decaying post-diaspora Earth. She was raped, beaten, and starved. Yet she survived.
She escaped to become a citizen of the Commonwealth of Free Planets and joined the Commonwealth Space Force.
Over the next 20 years, she turned the CSF into the most powerful and dangerous space fleet that history had ever known.
Jan Childers rose to lead that fleet in the Commonwealth's darkest hour, against freedom's most deadly enemy - Earth itself.
©2017 Richard F. Weyand (P)2018 Richard F. Weyand
Charming
Summary
Lilou Adler is a student at the Bastan college for applied physics: a magic school focused on training adult witches and warlocks to become enforcers. As an enforcer-in-training, she is one of the many tasked with keeping each generation of fairy tale creatures on track with their fates.
There are just a few problems:
Being tasked with the all-important "Cinderella" tale as her first assignment had to be a clerical error.
Prince Charming is too busy chasing fairy "tail" to settle down.
Cinderella has sticky fingers and boundary issues.
A certain someone is hell-bent on taking her out of commission, but not even the high warlock of Bastan can stop this witch when she gets started.
Arlo Demarcus is the high warlock of Bastan and it’s his job to investigate magical crimes and to enforce magical law. It’s also his job to protect the next target in a string of magical murders: Lilou Adler.
There are just a few problems:
Lilou being tasked with the all-important "Cinderella" tale as her first assignment had to be a joke.
A certain someone is hell-bent on making his job a living hell, but there’s no way a twenty-something Enforcer-in-training is going to stop this warlock when he gets started.
This is a full, stand-alone novel. It is book number one of the Bastan Hollow Saga, but each book can be listened to as a stand-alone.
©2018 Jane Washington (P)2019 Jane Washington
Empire: Conqueror
Summary
Another interstellar war! The Empire has won the war against the Alliance. But at the close of that war, an invasion fleet from the Democracy of Planets sought to annex Jasmine. So Jasmine annexed to Sintar, and Sintar destroyed that fleet, causing resentment that is driving the Democracy of Planets to go to war with Sintar. The Democracy of Planets is a much more deadly enemy than the Alliance. They have a new navy, too, with powerful new warships, and are much more of a military challenge. The Emperor’s strategy from the Sintar-Alliance war won’t work on the DP. Will the Emperor’s new strategy work? And if he wins the war, how will he ever win the peace? The stunning conclusion to Empire. Interview with Rich Weyand It sounds like the Democracy of Planets government gets sucked into a war they don’t want in Empire: Conqueror. That’s right. The leadership doesn’t want a war, but they’ve been manipulating public opinion against Sintar for years. When the fleet sent to annex Jasmine is destroyed in Empire: Warlord, it inflames their public opinion, and they have no choice but to proceed to war. This sounds like a tougher war than the one in Empire: Warlord. Yes and no. The Alliance was a real threat to Sintar. Their strategy was good - to occupy portions of the Empire and force a peace on their terms - but their tactics were bad. In particular, they didn't know the Empire could see their forces mustering and already knew about the war vote. The Democracy of Planets is a different challenge. They have some structural weaknesses in their military posture. But it won't be enough to win the war. The Emperor has to fight the war in such a way as to win the peace. That's actually a tougher challenge. The Empress and the Co-Consul are there to help, though. Yes, and so is Saaret’s wife Suzanne. She’s the "everyman" inserted into their councils. She has given me, since Empire: Tyrant, a touchstone for the Emperor’s policies, as well as a person for the reader to use to learn what was going on. I see the new ideas group is back as well. They’ve been there all along, together with the business ideas group and the new ideas review group, as the Consulting function in Imperial administration. But you’re right, they’re explicitly back in Empire: Conqueror, to research how to win the peace long term. They’re critical in advising the Emperor how to ensure the peace. What is the cover scene this time? It’s one of the confrontations between a main Sintar formation of 32,000 ships and a main DP formation of twenty thousand ships. It’s more of a tactical display because the ships wouldn’t be anywhere near that close in a real confrontation. But the perspective did allow James Lewis-Vines, the artist, to showcase the difference between the new-design Sintaran warships and the new-design DP warships. How long did Empire: Conqueror take to write? Thirty-seven days, so five to six weeks, pretty par for the course for an Empire book. More interesting is that I finished the day before the first anniversary of starting Empire: Reformer, so I wrote all six books in a single year. You have an Author’s Afterword at the end of Empire: Conqueror. Yes, I wanted to talk to the reader a bit about the story, about how I write, and about my themes. In particular, I wanted to tell the reader the starting premise of the whole series. There’s a big reveal there.
©2019 Richard F. Weyand (P)2020 Richard F. Weyand
Empire: Warlord
Summary
Interstellar war! Their resentment of Sintar’s success fanned by the Democracy of Planets, the Alliance has voted to wage war on Sintar. They are mustering their fleets and gathering their strength to take on the Imperial Navy. Over three million warships are gathering to deliver the blow that will bring the Empire to its knees, with seven million additional warships in reserve. But Emperor Trajan, aware of their war vote, can see them mustering their ships in the Empire’s top-secret hyperspace map. And he has no intention of waiting for their declaration of war. The Empire brings up its new navy, seven million new design warships, plus eight million of the deadly little picket ships. Can the Empire prevail in this clash of titans? Interview with Rich Weyand Empire: Warlord is an ominous title. Yes, in this volume, the Emperor Trajan is forced to fight a war he doesn't want. The Democracy of Planets has been manipulating the situation, and everybody knows it. But the monarchs of the Alliance who don't want the war are being pushed by their own militaries into fighting Sintar. The Emperor, for his part, is sworn to protect the citizens of Sintar, and will fight the war because he has to. The war itself is on a huge scale, with millions of warships and billions of crew members in each fleet. Yes. My rule of thumb in Empire is to take anything that applies to the USA and multiple by a million. So there are 300 trillion citizens in Sintar, for example. For the navies, though, I actually held back a bit. With the USN having a couple hundred warships, the Imperial Navy should have a couple hundred million warships. Instead, it’s only about ten million warships. Still a lot, but not in scale to the size of the Empire. It’s all on a huge scale, and yet the war itself is only the first half of the book or so. Of course. Wars don't end with the end of major combat. You have all of what comes after. In this case, there's some of the Alliance monarchs who still want a piece of Sintar, there are others worried about the power vacuum resulting from Sintar's victory. When it’s all over, Emperor Trajan and the other rulers involved in the war have to pick up the pieces. There are some new minor characters as well. Yes, I have to give human scale to a story this big. What's it like to be caught up in something like this for individuals? People who are just trying to stay alive in the chaos brought on by the actions of the major players on the scene. It's not enough to describe huge battles. What's it like to be a cog in that machine? Were there any special difficulties in writing Empire: Warlord? No. It took about six weeks for 80,000 words, like all the Empire books. Like all the Empire books, for the first half I worried that it was going to be over too soon, and for the second half I worried it was going to stretch out too long. It's sort of a perennial worry, but in the end I simply wrote the story as it occurred to me and it worked out. Your cover this time continues with the action scenes. Which scene in the book is this? One of Sintar's first-wave attacks on the Alliance, with the little picket ships attacking the Alliance's battleships. James Lewis-Vines had cover duties again, and he did a marvelous job. He got the ships exactly right from the descriptions in the books. There's one more volume in Empire? What's next? There's one more volume in the story of the rise of Trajan. After that, I don't know. There's certainly plenty of room in the Empire universe for more stories. The central idea for the next series just hasn't occurred to me yet.
©2019 Richard F. Weyand (P)2020 Richard F. Weyand
The King's Scrolls
Summary
Following the harrowing events that brought them to Landale Forest, Jace and Kyrin have settled comfortably into their new lives and the mission of protecting those under the emperor's persecution. The fast approach of winter brings with it the anticipation of a quiet few months ahead. That is until the arrival of four mysterious, dragon-riding cretes who seek aid in a mission of great importance - not only to their own people, but to all followers of Elôm. Hidden in the vast mining valley north of Valcré, a faithful crete has spent years sharing his knowledge with the destitute miners and their families and is known to possess what may be Arcacia's last surviving copies of the King's Scrolls - the Word of Elôm. Joining the cretes, those in Landale must find the crete teacher and bring him to safety, but it is a race against time. Should Daican's men find him first, execution and the destruction of the Scrolls is certain. When disaster strikes, all seems lost. Could Elôm have a plan even in the enemy's triumph? About the series Ilyon Chronicles is a six-book, non-magical Christian fantasy series geared toward new adults (ages 18-25+).
©2015 Jaye L. Knight (P)2021 Jaye L. Knight
Resistance
Summary
"Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul." Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget but can never escape. Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair lives every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God. Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.
©2014 Jaye L. Knight (P)2019 Jaye L. Knight
Love Looks Back: The Search for Siblings
Summary
Still searching for his siblings after being separated 10 years before, Frank returns to his hometown only to find gruesome evidence of his past. Painful memories haunt him. Searching the old barn brings more mystery as signs point to a murder. The cross with his pa's name on it behind the barn confirms it. He suspects his older brother killed him, but why? With new fervor, Frank determines to prove his theory wrong and ends up with more surprises when he finds an old letter written to him by his brother. It may be more than he can handle in Love Looks Back: The Search for Siblings.
©2015 C.A. Simonson (P)2018 C.A. Simonson
Empire: Tyrant
Summary
The conclusion of the first Empire trilogy. The Council Revolt has started. The Council has struck at the Throne. As the Council plots to place their own candidate on the Throne, a single survivor is dragged out of the fires burning in the Imperial Residence. Hoping to take advantage of the capital’s chaos, enemies internal and external move against the Empire. With enemies without and within, can the new ruler hope to save the Sintaran Empire?
©2019 Richard F. Weyand (P)2019 Richard F. Weyand
Empire: Commander
Summary
The empire's new navy. Emperor Trajan is building a powerful new navy for the Sintaran Empire. Remotely piloted warships can accelerate faster than humans can withstand, and ships spend so much time in hyperspace, a single crew can man multiple ships, solving the perennial manpower problem. But even with the help of a genius young team of design engineers, there’s a lot of work to do to even get to the point of building new ships. It will take years, years the emperor may not have. Someone’s causing trouble, and war is coming. Will the empire’s new navy be ready in time? This is the fourth book of the Empire Series. Interview with Rich Weyand: The first trilogy of Empire pretty much left everything in order. What happens in the second trilogy? A. The first trilogy dealt with domestic issues, particularly corruption, which affected everything from the courts to military procurement, from who got promoted in the military to who got what commercial monopolies in the economy. The attempt to end that is what pushed the Council crisis and led to Bobby Dunham as emperor. Now, Sintar is being successful, its economy unleashed. Other nations are unhappy with that success and begin to cause trouble. And that trouble is going to get out of hand? Very much so. What is Empire: Commander about? Bobby Dunham - Emperor Trajan - takes over the military as commander-in-chief. The military will no longer be run out of the bureaucracy. He's a military man, an officer, and a combat veteran. He also knows to let the commanders do their jobs. His job is policy. He makes several important policy decisions, and we see where those go. Does military technology play a role in Empire: Commander? Yes, a big role. The empire, under the emperor's leadership, makes major changes in how it designs, purchases, and uses its warships. This is at the emperor's direction, and is enabled by a young team of very able engineers and designers. They remake the Imperial Navy. So, we have some people causing trouble, and the empire bringing up new technology at the same time? Yes. It's a bit of a race. Will the Empire have its new navy in place before it needs it? You've taken another turn with regard to covers in this second trilogy. Yes. Empire covers are all drawings, as opposed to photographs. Where the first trilogy's covers were portraits of the empresses and emperor, the second trilogy's covers are all of spaceships, and depict events in the books. James Lewis-Vines, another brilliant artist in the UK, is doing the spaceship covers, because my artist on the first trilogy, Aaron Griffin, is a portraitist, and he felt James could do a better job with the spaceship art. How long did Empire: Commander take to write? All of the Empire books are taking five to six weeks to write, for 80,000 words. I have to finish it while I can still hold the whole book in my head, or progress would slow down drastically. I would have to go back and read the whole thing over all the time to remind myself of where I was. But you do read them eventually, right? Oh, yes. When I finish the first draft, I go back and read the book. I've written it, but I haven't read it. So, I do go back and read them. How much re-work and re-write do you do on your first draft? None. I'll straighten out a clumsy sentence structure or pick a better word somewhere as I read it, but otherwise, what you are reading is my first draft.
©2019 Richard F. Weyand (P)2019 Richard F. Weyand
Flirtation
Summary
Performed by The Online Stage Set in Vienna at the turn of the 19th century, the romantic entanglements of four young individuals, Fritz, Theodor, Christine, and Mizi, offer a sharp social commentary and insight on the influence of personal and social morals on relationships. Cast: Theodor Kaiser: Tom Saer Fritz Lobreimer: Lance Rasmussen Christine: Sydnee Fullmer Mizi Schlager: Leanne Yau Theodor Kaiser: Tom Saer Hans Weiring: Graham Scott Katharina Binder: Danielle Cohen A Gentleman: Tomas Peter Servant/Lina: P. J. Morgan Stage Directions: Christianne Lupher Music by Marty Krz Audio edited by Leanne Yau
Public Domain (P)2021 The Online Stage
Galactic Mail: Revolution!
Summary
Military genius Jan Childers founded Galactic Mail & Defense to put an end to interstellar war by fielding an overwhelming military force. Funded by the universal provision of mail and freight services, Galactic Mail stood as the protector of all human star systems against interstellar incursions. Childers' one great fear was that Galactic Mail would sooner or later morph into a galactic government that would devolve into tyranny. One hundred and seventy-five years later, her fears are coming true. Galactic Mail has begun to come off the rails, interfering in the internal affairs of planetary governments, coercing them to follow its dictates or face its terrible military might. But what the leadership of Galactic Mail does not know is that Jan Childers put in place a mechanism to pull Galactic Mail back from tyranny. Twenty-four chains of its founders' descendants keep watch over Galactic Mail, ready to intervene if it strays from its charter. Twenty-four Watchers, pitted against the largest organization in human history. But one of them is Patricia Dawson, Jan Childers' seventh great-grandchild, and heir to her determination and strength. Dawson will destroy whatever she has to destroy, and kill whomever she has to kill, to pull Galactic Mail back from the descent into tyranny.
©2018 Richard Weyand (P)2019 Richard Weyand
Welcome to Your Future
Summary
Welcome to Your Future: Two Stories by Kurt Vonnegut. Presented by the Online Stage. In the not-too-distant future, 2185 AD, anti-gerisone is the new drug that stops ageing. People are now living into their hundreds until it's time to take their own big trip up yonder, and in the case of the Ford family and Gramps, the notable patriarch, families are living and fighting together in one home for much longer. Eventually there are no prisons, slums, asylums, poverty, wars, or disease. and 200 years later the population of the US is set at 40 million people. But since no one gets any older, someone must volunteer to die if a baby is born. To make an appointment, one need only call 2BR02B.... "The Big Trip Up Yonder" If it was good enough for your grandfather, forget it...it is much too good for anyone else! Cast: Narrator - Anna Grace Gramps - Jeff Moon Lou - Andy Harrington Emerald - Susan Iannucci Eddie - Tyler Hyrchuk Willy - Lance Rasmussen Morty - Ted Wenskus TV Commentator - Marty Krz TV Announcer - Marty Krz Turnkey - Ted Wenskus "2BR02B" Got a problem? Just pick up the phone. It solved them all - and all the same way! Cast: Narrator - Anna Grace Orderly - Tyler Hyrchuk Painter - Lance Rasmussen Leora Duncan - Aisling Gray Dr. Hitz - Jeff Moon Edward Wehling - Andy Harrington Hostess - Susan Iannucci Audio edited by Anna Grace
Public Domain (P)2020 The Online Stage
Exiles
Summary
Exiles by James Joyce Presented by The Online Stage Exiles is the only play written by James Joyce. It draws material from "The Dead", the final story in his famous short stories collection, Dubliners. It centers around four individuals - Richard, Robert, Bertha, and Beatrice - and the complex romantic entanglements between them as tensions rise and relationships are tested. Cast: Richard Rowan - Lance Rasmussen Berta - Jo Palfi Beatrice Justice - Elizabeth Klett Robert Hand - Graham Scott Brigid/Fisherwoman - Linda Barrans Stage Directions/Archie - Leanne Yau Copyright 2021 by The Online Stage
Public Domain (P)2021 The Online Stage