Share
House of Mystery Radio on NBC
Charles H. Fischer - The Eunuch
Why would a eunuch want to write a secret history of life in the court of ancient Babylon's most famous king? To get back at his brother: that's why. Abducted as young boys by soldiers during the conquest of Nineveh, the brothers Uruk and Nergal receive very different fates in the ancient kingdom of Babylon. Uruk enjoys favors and climbs the Ziggurat of power to become a trusted advisor and the chief propaganda minister of King Nebuchadnezzar II, while Nergal is castrated and assigned to keep records of the daily life of the King's harem. While Uruk's cushioned prosperity is enviable, his real life is anxious because the King is viewed as the Divine Plowman who must seed the land and bring forth a bountiful harvest -- in other words, make whoopie in the harem and father many children because as the King's virility goes, so goes the harvest -- but the King is both crazy and chronically impotent, and a severe drought has withered the grain fields of the kingdom, so Uruk works nervously to spin propaganda into the official court records to hide the real state of affairs. Mostly out of contempt for his brother and his brother's official history, but also partly because of a deep respect for truth, Nergal the eunuch decides to write his his own secret, eye-witness, tell-all account of the real life inside the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, in all of its hilarious and embarrassing unseemliness. All goes well until, at a crucial moment during a high festival orgy, the King calls for Nergal to assist him in performing a mating ritual with a harem concubine chosen to be the symbolic holy bride of Babylon. Eager to please the King his master, Nergal unexpectedly receives a caressing touch from the concubine, Siduri of Megiddo, and he nearly swoons with love for her. The moment turns Nergal's life upside down and tosses him in a nearly treasonous bind of mixed loyalties. Although he does not know it at the time, the moment changes not only Nergal's life but also everyone else's, because it is the first of a series of events that result in the collapse of the kingdom. So The Eunuch is a laugh-out-loud funny narrative that begins as an effort to extirpate the lies of the hagiographic official history of Babylon, becomes a story of a very peculiar love triangle between a King with mental health issues, an alluring and manipulative concubine, and an obsessive eunuch slave-scribe, and then ends by describing the fall of an empire.
More episodes
View all episodes
Liz Lazarus - Dawn Before Darkness
25:15|A psychological thriller inspired by real events revealing the treachery of a ruthless stalker, the alarming failure of the legal system and the unthinkable battle a daughter must face to protect her family.___________________________________________________________________________________________Dawn Smith, a vet tech living in rural South Carolina, catches her boyfriend in a series of lies and abruptly ends the relationship. Rather than accepting the break-up, he begins to stalk and harass her, forcing Dawn to seek a restraining order. Undeterred, he launches a deeply personal attack—suing for guardianship and conservatorship of Dawn’s infirm mother. In court, he manipulates the truth using evidence that he planted while the couple were still dating. And just when Dawn thinks things can’t get any worse, she is faced with an impossible choice: rekindle the relationship or lose her mother forever.Readers also enjoyed Liz's other books with these themes:Free of Malice (self-protection, racial tension)Plea for Justice (self/body-image, literacy)Shades of Silence (grief, sex trafficking)Complimentary excerpts at: www.lizlazarus.com
Kent McGowen - Reasonable Doubts
59:27|Texas Deputy Kent McGowen shot and killed Susan White after she pulled a gun on him. It seemed like an open-and-shut case of an officer acting in self-defense. But before his first court date, the Houston region was inundated with rumor, innuendo and speculation about the case. Many believed those fabrications and half-truths to be fact. And an unsubstantiated-but-persistent story of how McGowen allegedly set up White as a murder victim because they had a relationship, or that she refused to have one, sealed his fate. McGowen was found guilty, Twice. He's already done his years in prison, but his case is worth examining for all the ways criminal courts can be manipulated by media, fast-talking lawyers and dubious witnesses.
Christopher Golden - Carry Me To My Grave
25:34|From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden comes a high concept horror novel about a man trying to protect his dead mother's body from the evil that is hunting them.Maggie Wise will take your eyes.When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way
Chris McAuley - Ink, Blood, and Imagination
36:44|Chris is a writer of prose novels, magazine short stories, video and tabletop games and audio dramas. Together with Bram Stoker’s Great-Grand nephew Dacre Stoker, he has created the StokerVerse franchise. He has written the sequel to Dracula which will be released by Scar comics later this year. He has also created a science fiction universe with Babylon 5 actress Claudia Christian. This is coming to fruition in a series of games, novels and comic books. In addition to this he has worked on Doctor Who, Star Wars and most recently the Terminator franchise. Chris has been given the Reggie Bannister award for excellence in Horror writing and is nominated for a similar award in science fiction. He has greatly enjoyed the experience of working with Jeff and Dan, this is his first foray into the world of Lovecraftian poetry
Terrance Niedziela Jr. - Tales of Aras
23:16|Sometimes God leads us through fire before revealing the lightning within.Dr. Michael Jenkins thought his greatest battles were behind him. After surviving a terrorist attack that changed his life forever, he returns home determined to heal and reconnect with family. Instead, he is pulled into the mysterious realm of Aras, a world unlike anything he has ever known.There, danger lurks in the shadows, powerful forces stir, and the line between courage and fear grows thinner with every step. As Michael struggles to survive in this unfamiliar land, he begins to understand that his scars may hold purpose, his trials may carry meaning, and his faith may be the key to something far greater than he imagined.Tales of Aras: Becoming Fire & Lightning is the first installment in an exciting, clean speculative fiction series designed to entertain, build rich and memorable worlds, and introduce unforgettable characters who remind readers that God is always at work, even in the most unexpected places.Adventure awaits. Purpose calls. Faith endures.
Royce Wilson - Riley Scott Novels
42:18|Royce Wilson uses his vast law enforcement forensics experience like a master, weaving images from actual scenes into his novels, giving them a rich feeling of authenticity. After more than 40 years in law enforcement forensics with the sheriff's office in Tampa, Florida, Wilson writes detective mysteries and thrillers with plots that are compelling and entertainingly realistic, and characters we can all relate to and empathize with. You will either love them or hate them.The dialogue is authentic, as are the detectives' work, forensics, and crime scene investigations, and the plots. And, oh yeah, the twists will keep you guessing to the end.
Sandy Malone - Gem of the Golden Isles (5 book series)
17:17|When a young Caribbean wedding planner loses her home and job in Hurricane Maria, she tries to start over where she grew up on Jekyll Island, the gem of Georgia's Golden Isles. While she's trying to making her wedding planning company work, she falls in love with a state trooper who may have been "the one that got away." But her return to Jekyll unknowingly kicks a hornet's nest and there are people who don't want her to stay and be a success. It will take more than good event planning skills to overcome the evil that's headed her way.
J.M. Shaw - Callum Walker Novels
25:56|Expanding epic fantasy world and escalating stakes.In a realm where magic, monsters, and betrayal shape the fate of nations, one man must confront the forces gathering against him.Callum Walker survived the trials that would have destroyed most warriors—but survival was only the beginning. As ancient powers awaken and rival factions close in, the fragile balance holding the world together begins to fracture.A dark queen rises. Powerful forces gather. Armies move in the shadows.Callum and his allies must navigate dangerous alliances, primeval forces, and the growing realization that the war for the future of their world has already begun.But some battles cannot be won with steel alone.And the greatest threat may come from powers no one fully understands.The Convergence continues the Callum Walker saga with high-stakes adventure, sweeping fantasy worldbuilding, and a hero forced to face the cost of destiny.
Lawrence Kelter - Free Fall
25:19|Sonny Rojas is twenty feet from famous, rubbing elbows with rock gods like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix when his number is called. A night jump gone bad results in a devastating injury, followed by bungled surgery and dependence on painkillers.Busted at JFK after a stint working for George Harrison, Sonny is faced with a choice: prison or cooperation with the FBI in a drug smuggling operation.Thrust into a world he doesn’t belong, Sonny uses his near-famous status to infiltrate the operation of a rock star wannabe drug lord, in the process endangering his life and the lives of his loved ones.In way over his head, the desperate rocker sinks deeper and deeper into a world from which there is no return.