book_title stringlengths 1 96 | author stringlengths 3 33 | genres listlengths 0 8 | tags listlengths 0 12 | chapter_title stringlengths 1 990 | text stringlengths 0 29k |
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300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 73 | No trumpets sounded. No horn was blown. There were low-voiced orders from the officers and quiet nudges from the petty officers. The oars had been dipped in fresh fat to slide easily in the oarlocks. The sails were tied tight to the masts to avoid rustling. No lamps were lighted on the ships.
It was not yet midnight w... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | The Noose Tightens | Themistocles looked at the eastern horizon, where the sun had just risen. Then he turned his gaze to the empty sea stretching out for half a mile before him, in front of the first ships in the Persian armada. He looked at it carefully, searching for the signs the fishermen had told him about. When he saw dark bands beg... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 76 | Artemisia was taking her place on the east side of the Persian formation when she heard the voice of the lookout from the bow.
"Nothing yet, my lady. All their ships are still on shore."
She turned and looked over the mass of Persian ships. Behind her not an inch of sea was visible. The ships were crowded closely, in... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 77 | Xerxes sat on his shining throne on the mountainside and looked at the sea straits with shining eyes. He saw the retreating Greek ships as well, and his mind was already carried away by the brilliant victory and the glory awaiting him.
Next to him, General Mardonius amplified his enthusiasm, trying to increase his sha... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 78 | On his ship, the tallest and heaviest of the Persian fleet, Mervalos looked in puzzlement at the forty Greek ships sailing to the west.
"They are leaving, master" said the helmsman standing behind him. It was difficult for him to hide his joy. "They are running like rabbits!"
The Phoenician admiral did not share his ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 79 | Adeimantos and his division have withdrawn" said the messenger sent by the lookout on the hilltop.
"Is the Persian formation complete?"
"Some of their ships are still in the middle. All the rest are in position."
"Good…" Themistocles looked at the white clouds on the surface of the sea, where the water was not prote... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 80 | What is happening, Mardonius?"
"They have boarded their ships and started, my king."
"Finally…"
The emperor leaned forward, full of excitement.
The hour he had been waiting for so many years, had arrived.
"Finally…" he repeated and ordered the imperial scribes to open their papyri and record his triumph in detail. |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 81 | From the west end to the center were the ships of Athens, exactly opposite the Phoenician formation. If that broke, the rest of the Persian fleet would break up.
On the east side were the sixteen ships of the Spartans and next to them the ships from the island of Aegina. In the center of the Greek formation were the s... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 82 | "They are afraid. That's logical" said Xerxes, and laughed out loud. "Fear holds empires together. It destroys armies and fleets."
"That is true, my lord" Mardonius agreed cheerfully. But his eyes remained fixed uneasily on the western side of the Greek armada, where the ships of Athens were drawn up with their rams r... |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 53 | The road twisted up to Breckenridge. Back and forth, winding like a snake with a bellyache. It was summer, so there was no snow to fight, just vacationers in their oversized campers taking up both lanes. Jim supposed it should be a pretty drive, but the circumstances distorted the beauty of the scenery.
When she got a... |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 54 | She would go to the left, he to the right. But the place looked deserted.
She didn't look back at him. Her brain was already on her mission. Jim's brain was deciphering what his gut was screaming at him. Would Sophie leave her hostages unattended after so much careful planning? |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 55 | Ava moved out. That left him no choice. He turned and headed in his assigned direction, skirting just inside the tree line.
The yard was narrower on his side, bringing him closer to the house. Glare from the sun blocked his view inside the tall front windows. A cheerful spring wreath with white birds on it adorned the... |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 56 | No sound.
Jim was deafened. His legs were numb and he couldn't breathe. No way this was good.
He tried to breathe, drew in water. In a panic his lungs coughed out the fluid. Jim tried to move his arms. They answered.
In an instant his body returned to the normal responses to his mental commands. But his hearing was ... |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 57 | The cell phone on the dash started talking. A ring tone. The cartoon. Marvin the Martian. "Where's the Kaboom? There should have been an earth-shattering Kaboom."
No need to respond. It was an electronic message sent from the device planted under the cabin.
She closed her eyes, ignoring the road. The bastards had fou... |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 58 | A man came running around the back of the house. He was tall, red-headed, and had a dry phone in his hand.
He fell to his knees beside Ava. It was clear he was talking. Some sound was drifting through the haze of Jim's hearing. Not enough to understand completely.
Call maybe. Others? Jim shook his head no. At least h... |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 60 | Jim eased back in his seat. They should be getting close to the small town where they believed Sophie was holed up. Locals had done a drive by and someone was in the house. That's all they were asked to do.
The fruity smell of the Tahoe made his stomach turn. He was in the back seat. Maybe this had been a K-9 unit at ... |
19 Souls | J. D. Allen | [
"mystery"
] | [
""
] | Chapter 62 | "You stole a baton from a cop?" O shook his head.
They made their way past the property at 11103 Southwest Highway. Its driveway led into the dark. No way going in the front door was going to work.
They had gone to the next farm road and cut through the woods on foot. O held his gun at the ready. Jim had managed to f... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Prologue | [ Fifty eight years earlier ]
[ Babylon, 538 B.C. ]
Cyrus the Great, ruler of all Asia, grasped his gilt scepter and swept the landscape before him with a direct and focused gaze. He beheld the endless plain of Mesopotamia watered by the imposing river Euphrates. In the distance, a few miles away to the right and lef... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Athens, 514 B.C. | The music of kitharas could be heard in all the neighborhoods of Athens around the Acropolis, in all the narrow streets, in all the one-storied and two-storied houses. In every garden, in every temple and in every grove of sacred olive trees. The procession of the Sacred Veil of the great Panathenaia festival was about... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 6 | Dust and choking heat. The air was like the air in a blacksmith's workshop. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, foreheads were moistened with sweat and faces turned red from the burning rays.
And from excitement. Thousands of people were crowded together under the rock where the Persian fortress and the headquarters... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 7 | The bull bellowed frantically. Tied with five thick ropes of braided strips of hide and with a forged chain around its neck, it was dragged by ten men while several more goaded it on the rump with sharpened canes. The uproar and the dust kicked up by the maddened brute covered the whole of the little valley, because on... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 8 | The tenth bull had been sacrificed. The hour was approaching rapidly. Luckily her hands had stopped trembling. As the sun sank into the west, as the pits filled up with blood, the girl felt her body dry out and the beating of her heart slow down while her mind relaxed. It was not just that she was getting used to the s... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 10 | They moved with what little strength they had left in their stunned bodies. Their legs trembled from fatigue and from the trauma of the slaughter they had seen. They ran desperately, striding barefoot over fallen bodies and around those who were kneeling, about to die, without noticing the cuts on their soles from the ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 12 | The girl ran up to the first dead soldier. She quickly examined his helmet, his breastplate, his leggings and blue cloak. Then she looked at the other soldier. His breastplate was pierced by an arrow and so was his helmet. No, that wouldn't work. The first one was better, his gear was in better condition.
She quickly ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 83 | "They are afraid, it's obvious" muttered Mervalos, looking at the low Greek triremes bobbing up and down on the waves like walnut shells, and then at their own heavy vessels with the raised rails and the dozens of marines on their decks. "We'll make one mouthful of them…"
"They are afraid, my lady."
"How can you be s... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 84 | The Greek ships stayed still at the center of the straits, a position which is very difficult for a ship to hold without dropping its heavy anchor and with the wind hitting it from the side. The rowers did not pull the oars out of the water at all, but moved them back and forth in a short, rapid motion, their hands and... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 85 | "Avast and battle position!"
The white flags were taken down from the sterns and red ones were hung in their places. The Greek ships stopped abruptly and with the help of the helmsmen and the calm waters, they quickly drew up in a straight formation, one next to the other, with their rams pointing forward.
"Avast! St... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 87 | On the Cassiope, Artemisia was trying in vain to maneuver her ship into battle position. To port and starboard her other four ships were crowded, before her was the stern of a ship from Lycia and behind her the bow of another from Cyprus. If she rowed backward so as not to ram the ship in front of her, she was in dange... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 88 | Eyes narrowed.
Lips hermetically sealed.
Xerxes watched the sea battle with increasing discontent, unable to believe his eyes. His ships were crowded together and they were retreating, leaving an empty space to the Greeks, a space that was very useful in this narrow strip of sea.
"Who commands the Phoenicians?" he a... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 89 | With the help of the ships of Adeimantos that had suddenly returned, the Phoenician fleet was rapidly pushed back to the east. The last lines ran aground on the rocks off the coast and were smashed to pieces. The Persian marines sank straight to the bottom in their heavy armor, while the Phoenician rowers who tried to ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 91 | "It is the Cassiope, the ship of Artemisia."
The messenger had just returned from the eastern lookout, bringing the answer to the question the emperor had asked a short time earlier.
Xerxes nodded and told his personal scribe to note down the name on his papyrus.
"Why?" asked Mardonius, who had expected her to final... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 53 | "Wars are not won by repetition" Leonidas was saying at the same moment.
"What do you mean?"
"Wars are won by surprise. Tomorrow we will not draw up on the field of battle. Now the Persians know our tactics. Their generals will have studied our movements and taken their measures."
"So we're not going to fight?" Dien... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 54 | The next morning the Spartans did not gather their phalanx, did not raise their spears or go out before the wall. The Persian scouts looked for them in vain from their raised lookouts.
The sun was high in the sky but the area in front of the Spartan wall was still empty. Even the gate with the sliding wooden door at i... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 55 | He looked at the yellow cloth of the ceiling with the intensity of a priest before carrying out a ritual. His gaze motionless, his lips pressed together, lines of thought on his forehead. Not a word had come from his mouth for some time.
Artemisia sat and turned towards him, looking him in the eyes. "Can I be of servi... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 56 | The Immortals. The renowned, elite imperial guard. Professional soldiers, terrifically impressive, trained hard in many years of war from India to Egypt. But not all of them. It was only one of their battalions, one thousand out of ten thousand.
They resembled priests at a ceremony. They were wearing their colorful ga... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 58 | He withdrew, enraged and frustrated, to his apartments, and lay on his bed thinking about the unexpected, unheard of defeat of his enormous army by a handful of fighters for the second day in a row. He lay still while the tears drew lines and made paths over his dark face. Not from grief for the lost Immortals, but fro... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 60 | The moonlight gleamed on the ornaments as the figures walked hastily up the narrow path between the steep canyons of Mount Kallidromo.
A few hours earlier, immediately after the night's trumpets gave the signal for silence, half the force of Immortals, having in the meantime replaced the huge numbers of men they had l... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 61 | The small boy was still out of breath. The sheepskin he wore next to his flesh was soaked with sweat and the clay amulet hanging on his chest, carved with the form of the goddess Artemis, went up and down like a little boat on a stormy sea.
"Are you sure?"
"It is summer, my master's sheep are still high on the mounta... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | THEMISTOCLES | [ Athens, Greece ]
Dozens of voices sounded together, high up on the rock of the Acropolis, before the sanctuary of Athens. The eighteen-year-old youths of the city were giving the Ephebic Oath.
I will fight alone and with others
and when die I will leave my country
stronger than I received it.
I will willingl... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 16 | For the first thousand yards the whole group ran together like a pack of wolves falling hungrily on their prey. The eighty pounds of bronze armor seemed like a light sack and their feet flew over plants and branches, stones and pits. Besides, the first thousand yards were the easiest. They were still in the cleared val... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 18 | He sat without moving and watched the water in intense frustration. The large lake was an insuperable obstacle. His mind was paralyzed, he had fallen into a languor in which scenes from his childhood played before his eyes, sights he had seen in the Agora when he was going to his teacher's house and even earlier, in st... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 19 | He used the spear to push the boat, sinking the point to the bottom of the lake and poling steadily and firmly. The raft started to move towards the opposite shore. At that slow speed, though, it might take hours to cross the distance of half a mile.
While pushing on the spear with all the strength he had left, he rai... |
2040 Reconnection | Kris Schnee | [
"fantasy"
] | [
"virtual reality",
"Thousand"
] | Chapter 4 | Alma sped through her last 'vacation' week in a few days of subjective time. Preparing lesson plans was more important than questing for magic or seeking better housing, so she reluctantly put adventuring aside. Instead she did pretty much what she'd done on Earth: sit in restaurants, reading and writing.
Until the ro... |
2040 Reconnection | Kris Schnee | [
"fantasy"
] | [
"virtual reality",
"Thousand"
] | Chapter 7 | That night, or Tuesday or whatever the hell time it was outside, Alma slumped against the bar and smacked her empty milkshake glass down. It didn't break. "Another."
Kai was the only real person on duty right now. The dim bar-and-grill had a midnight feel with few customers and with the TVs muted. He backed his long c... |
2040 Reconnection | Kris Schnee | [
"fantasy"
] | [
"virtual reality",
"Thousand"
] | Chapter 10 | Hours later, she wished she could open that portal to the beach and dive through to escape. The students sat in front of her, fish-eyed, expecting nothing in particular. The school was only using her as a babysitter! The administrators hardly even cared what she supposedly taught.
She lectured, "What I'm trying to say... |
2040 Reconnection | Kris Schnee | [
"fantasy"
] | [
"virtual reality",
"Thousand"
] | Chapter 12 | Alma found Meg packing up a booth at the Newcomer Fair. "Meg, are you an evil harpy?"
The feather-armed lady grinned. "According to my ex-husband! Why?"
"The design on your coins matched some Forces of Evil ones. See, the other night I helped kill Gerard and looted his corpse. That's going to be awkward at our next b... |
2040 Reconnection | Kris Schnee | [
"fantasy"
] | [
"virtual reality",
"Thousand"
] | Chapter 13 | Meg vanished, leaving Talespace to do Earthside things. Alma stretched, letting her tail flutter, and walked over to greet Poppy. "What do you make of FoE? Meg and Gerard are with them."
Poppy, too, looked done selling for the day. She dumped a box of coins into a bag and hefted a backpack over one shoulder. "Are they... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 43 | Leonidas smiled for a long time. Then he looked away from the Persian. He looked first at the three respected elders of the city council who waited, standing a little farther back, for his decision. Then he turned and looked at his men, standing motionless in the lines of their phalanx like armored statues.
At an almo... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Come and Take Them | Besides the Thessalians, Thebes and the city of Argos that sided with the Persians out of long-standing enmity with Sparta, all the other Greek cities agreed to participate in the war effort. They sent soldiers and ships, and they swore to the gods to hold to their decision with all their might. The ships would gather ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 46 | A chorus of shouts came to their ears. Almost the whole Greek camp had climbed up on the wall or else the slopes of the mountain and was looking to the north, towards the depths of the plain. A large plume of dust rose from the low hills at its end. Just at the edge of sight, black dots moved in lines like great, super... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 47 | Then followed four days of waiting, with tentative moves by the Persian infantry and harassment from mounted archers who galloped up to the wall, shot a few arrows and then returned to their camp. The Spartans did not shoot back. They couldn't be bothered. Guerilla warfare was not warfare for them. They had not learned... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 48 | When he heard those words Leonidas clenched his fists to break his rage, as he had been taught to do in his training ever since he was a small child. For a Spartan, there was no failing worse than treachery.
Without saying another word, he strode firmly to the wall, the gaze of all his men fixed on him. He climbed the... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | The Gates of Fire | The waiting was over. Early in the morning, before dawn, the Three Hundred and their allies from Thespies got up from the ground, washed their bodies, arranged their hair, polished their shields and helmets with sand, rubbed them with oil, put on their clean tunics, offered libations to the gods and their ancestors, an... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 26 | Shall we call our own Mages, great king?"
"No. It is not necessary..."
The Persian Mages of the royal palace were not needed to explain anything. The meaning of the vision and the oracle's prophecy were clear for all to see. Everyone knew that the olive is a tree that does not grow in Persia but grows in abundance in... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 30 | Let me give you some advice, cousin…"
The voice that was heard in the royal hall of symposia with its colorful stones and gilded fountain, was not hoarse or heavy. It was not an old man's voice, like the voice of Sindos. It was as soft as light fabric fluttering in the breeze, tinkling and musical like the water of th... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 32 | He looked at the stars and thought about his life. Themistocles considered himself a lucky person, blessed by the gods. He hadn't been born an aristocrat, nor was he descended from noblemen, but he had lacked for nothing all his life. His father was a knowledgeable man, shrewd and circumspect. Although he came from a p... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 33 | The shapely figure stood upright next to two large couches. Lower down, on a wooden table decorated with ivory and terracotta, there were figs, walnuts, honey and sweet grapes, and a delicate amphora full of wine from Samos with two silver cups.
Farther back, the doors to the balcony stood wide open. The light veils h... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 34 | Themistocles felt as if one of Zeus's thunderbolts had fallen next to him. He forgot all of his witty replies. His eyes started out of their sockets, looking at Artemisia.
"What kind of game is this?" he asked, stunned.
"It's not a game. Our house has governed the city for three generations. I do not wish to put some... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 36 | Days later, on the way back from Sardis, Themistocles was surprised to find that instead of thinking about the terrifying mass of the army he had seen, he kept thinking about Artemisia.
Her moist eyes as she writhed in pleasure and her moist body that he pierced like the hard bronze ram of a warship. Her soft, full li... |
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