Showing results by narrator "John Banks" in All Categories

A heist story with a difference: Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Hobbit in this rollicking fantasy adventure. The dragons who once ruled over the land are dead. The motley crew that stole the dragons' gold and stumbled through a revolution are rich and praised as saviours. Everyone gets to live happily ever after, right? Well, it might have worked out that way if the dragons in Kondorra had been the only ones. If they hadn't been just the tip of the spear about to fall upon the whole world....

For the Western allies, 11 November 1918 has always been a solemn date - the end of fighting which had destroyed a generation and a vindication of a terrible sacrifice with the total collapse of their principal enemies: the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. But for much of the rest of Europe, this was a day with no meaning, as a continuing nightmarish series of conflicts engulfed country after country. In this highly original, gripping book, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War.

Contains books three and four of Descendants of the Fall. Age of Gods: Pursued by the inhuman Tangata, Lukys flees on foot through the wilderness. He and his companions make for the ocean, a stolen ship their only hope - but even that may prove fleeting. For should they reach the island of Perfugia, a war is brewing between the kingdoms of humanity. Dreams of Fury: On the distant shores of Perfugia, Lukys and Sophia have finally found sanctuary - and an unexpected power left by their ancestors. But their refuge cannot last.

"Dear Mervyn. If you want to prevent a murder, then you must attend the recording at the Sounderama studios on Thursday. Signed: a friend." Vixens from the Void is back! After twenty-five years, the popular leather-clad astro-erotic sci-fi television show is returning! Well, sort of. Actually, some devoted Vixens fans have got the licence to do some audios featuring the original cast, and they've invited Mervyn Stone to write an episode. But that's not the only thing he's been invited to do.

Charles Hayden has been fascinated by a strange Victorian fairy tale, In the Night Wood, since he was a child. When his wife, Erin - a descendant of the author - inherits her ancestor’s house, the couple decide to make it their home. Still mourning the recent death of their daughter, they leave America behind, seeking a new beginning in the English countryside. But Hollow House, filled with secrets and surrounded by an ancient oak forest, is a place where the past seems very much alive....

It's not easy to live in a world ruled by dragons. The taxes are high, and their control is complete. But for one group of bold misfits, it's time to band together and steal back some of that wealth. No one said they were smart.

History is written by the victors, and Rome had some very eloquent historians. Those the Romans regarded as barbarians left few records of their own, but they had a tremendous impact on the Roman imagination. Resisting from outside Rome's borders or rebelling from within, they emerge vividly in Rome's historical tradition, and left a significant footprint in archaeology.

The sharp, funny, entirely original and explosive debut novel by Adam Thirlwell – twice named one of the Best Young British Novelists by Granta magazine. In case you had not noticed, writes Adam Thirlwell in his first novel, Politics, in this book I am not interested in anything so small as the history of the USSR. I am not writing anything so limited. In this epic miniature, therefore, Politics tells the story of three kids in their twenties falling in love with each other in London.

These 16 short tales delve into realms of existential investigation, from dark horror and science fiction futures to fantastical flights of scientific wonder. Each story is a self-contained world of its own, a moment in time that illuminates a thought, a person, an experience or a curiosity.

In the year 2093, human consciousness has expanded to the point that man can visit the past using a technique called 'mind-travelling'. Artist Edward Bush returns from a lengthy 'trip' to the Jurassic period to find the government overthrown by an authoritarian regime. Given his mind-travel experience, he is recruited by the new regime to track down and assassinate a scientist whose ideas threaten to topple the status quo. However, the job of an artist is not to take orders but to ask questions.

Raised by his father in La Rochelle, France, Paul Plantavalu is known for his artistic nature, inquisitive mind and Christian faith. He also has an unshakeable love for his Muslim childhood friend, Alisha al Komaty. Courageous and outspoken, she returns Paul’s love. But their path is paved with obstacles: religion, war, political chaos and a mysterious enemy determined to destroy their family lines.

Rock and Roll is Life is a vastly entertaining, picaresque and touching novel inspired by the excess and trajectories of the great '60s and '70s supergroups, and of the tales brought back from the front line by a very special breed of Englishmen who made it big in the States as the alchemists and enablers, as well as the old making way for the new in the era of the baby boomers. At its heart is one man's adventure, and the poignancy of the special relationships that dominate his life. 

With enemies advancing on all sides and Cardinal Richelieu's health failing, France is at breaking point. Yet salvation may arrive in the most unlikely form.... Born into poverty and with terrible deformities, Sebastian Morra is a dwarf with the wit of Tyrion Lannister and three foot, four inches of brazen pluck.

I cannot go on like this. I feel such a burden to you. You are young and can start again. You deserve that chance. By the time you read this, I will be dead. Do not grieve for me, for I am now without pain. Yours truly forever, Monica. Monica suffers from chronic neuropathic pain. Every second of her life is spent in agony, and she is coping with it the best she can. However, there are whole years of her life which are a blur to her. But when she finds a suicide note, written in her handwriting, she begins to question everything.

The more I knew of Haffner, writes Adam Thirlwell in The Escape, the more real he became, this was true. And, simultaneously, Haffner disappeared. In a forgotten spa town snug in the Alps, at the end of the twentieth century, Haffner is seeking a cure, more women, and a villa that belonged to his late wife. But really he is trying to escape: from his family, his lovers, his history, his entire Haffnerian condition. For Haffner is 78. Haffner, in other words, is too old to be grown up.

George Simling has grown up in the city-state of Illyria, an enclave of logic and reason founded as a refuge from the Reaction, a wave of religious fundamentalism that swept away the nations of the 21st century. Yet to George, Illyria's militant rationalism is as close-minded and stifling as the faith-based superstition that dominates the world outside its walls. For George has fallen in love with Lucy. A prostitute. A robot. She might be a machine, but the semblance of life is perfect. And beneath her good looks and real human skin, her seductive, sultry, sluttish software is simmering on the edge of consciousness. To the city authorities robot sentience is a malfunction, curable by periodically erasing and resetting silicon minds. Simple maintenance, no real problem, it’s only a machine. But it’s a problem for George, he knows that Lucy is something more.

If you dream of launching your own business, but aren't sure what that business should be, microDomination has the answer. This new book from entrepreneur and communications guru Trevor Young shows you how to tap into your particular area of expertise and build a small business around what you know and love. No matter what particular subject you're knowledgeable about, from dog training to cooking to financial planning, microDomination shows you how to build a brand around yourself and turn that brand and expertise into profits even from the comfort of your own home.

Imagine if you had the blueprint to create an agile and intelligent organization that could handle anything that an unpredictable business world threw at it.... First Be Nimble is that blueprint, presented by best-selling author Graham Winter in an enthralling business story packed with easy-to-apply ideas and powerful tools linked to online resources. Learn how to: move, learn, and adapt - fast; replace change resistance with change resilience; thrive in ambiguity and uncertainty; break through business bottlenecks; and build a network of nimble, connected teams.

Shortlisted for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2021 ‘Rarely has family history been so vivid’ JENNY UGLOW ‘An extraordinarily original work’ AMANDA FOREMAN Like many well-to-do Georgian families, the Atkinsons’ wealth was acquired at a terrible cost, through the labour and lives of...

An extravaganza of suburban noir - complete with one orgy, one brothel and a series of firearms disputes - from Adam Thirlwell, twice selected as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists. This yarn takes place in the suburbs of a giant city. In Brasilia they’re coming off their night shift; in Tokyo they’re having their first whisky sours. That’s what’s happening elsewhere in the world when our hero wakes up. Together with his wife and dog, he lives at home with his parents.