Showing results by narrator "Nathaniel Priestley" in All Categories

When young programmer Alexander Ivanovich Privalov picks up two hitchhikers while driving in Karelia, he is drawn into the mysterious world of the National Institute for the Technology of Witchcraft and Thaumaturgy, where research into magic is serious business.

Peregrine Ashby, the newly and unexpectedly titled Earl of Rutland, is muddling through the affairs of becoming a suddenly wealthy and titled man of means. After the disaster of his parents’ loveless marriage, he’s sworn off wife-hunting. But when he stumbles quite literally into a mysterious beauty wearing a mask at a ball who begs for his help, he can’t deny her. After the magic of the night is over and the mysterious beauty has vanished, he remains haunted by her and what might have been.

Debby Morris, mother of two, goes to a Christmas party at historic Hollyhock Manor in Marlow, and never comes home. Her phone, handbag and Santa’s elf hat are found in a park near the River Thames. The police issue a nationwide search, but Debby is nowhere to be found. Three weeks later, Debby’s body, still in her elf costume, is discovered five miles downstream from where she disappeared. Detective Rob Miller is pulled from compassionate leave and put in charge. He’s still reeling from his last botched case, and he knows all eyes are on him—waiting to see if he’ll crack.

The Tour de France may provide the most obvious fame and glory, but it is cycling’s one-day tests that the professional riders really prize. Toughest, longest and dirtiest of all are the so-called ‘Monuments’, the five legendary races that are the sport’s equivalent of golf’s majors or the grand slams in tennis. Milan–Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris­–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy date back more than a century, and each of them is an anomaly in modern-day sport. Peter Cossins tells the history of these extraordinary races and the riders they have immortalised.

After barely escaping from his last project alive, Professor Elliot Brand wanted to spend a few calm months lecturing in London. But when a billionaire presents him with the perfect mystery, he can't resist and soon finds himself in a dangerous world of Nepali spies, ancient ruins, and a truth about humanity that might change the world forever... or end it.

Two Brits, George and Mark, set off from New York City to explore the back roads of America. In this calamity-ridden travel tale, George sets out in true clichéd fashion to discover the real America. Throw in plenty of run-ins with the police, rapidly dwindling finances, and Josephine - the worst car in the world - and you have all the ingredients for a classic American road trip. Will George and Mark make it all the way to California? And then there is Rachel, George's girlfriend, left back in England.

The Cure remain, 40 plus years into their career, one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Amidst the record-setting Shows of a Lost World Tour winding down, acclaimed music journalist Simon Price has crafted a first of its kind history of this band that will satisfy legion of fans eagerly awaiting The Cure’s new album. Curepedia is a career-spanning and in-depth biography of Robert Smith and company, chronicling their 40 plus year history with hundreds of entries organized in an A-to-Z fashion.

At first glance, Jellicoe Close seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together. But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing. It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before.

Recently widowed, Rebecca Parcell is too busy struggling to maintain her farm in Morristown to give a fig who wins the War for Independence. But rumors are spreading in the winter of 1780 that she's a Loyalist sympathizer who betrayed her husband to the British-quite a tidy way to end her disastrous marriage, the village gossips whisper.

Once a thriving city—now a foul necropolis, ruled over by the arisen dead. The fallen city of Brigganden now poses a threat to the neighboring lands, its demonic warlord slaughtering all who venture near. Reza, a member of an elite code of knights, leads the only troop willing to stand against the hellish army—risking not only her life to the vile arisen, but the lives of her only friends. As they struggle to survive the rising tide of evil, fulfilling their mission becomes the least of their priorities.

During their temporary research post on Apech—a planet ravaged by a time distorting illness—Wilhelmina Ming and four other elite students of the Crysthian empire have witnessed such illogical brutality that they’ve resorted to psychedelic antidepressants and group sex to take the edge off. After a night of indulgence following a gruesome execution, they wake to find an oblique warning in the form of an impaled corpse dangling from the exterior of their residence.

The Kingdom of Crowns has been compromised by demonic powers, infecting political and religious offices. Reza and Nomad, heroes of the neighboring Southern Sands region, enter the realm to investigate the depth of corruption. However, they quickly find themselves entangled in a web of darkness strung by an unholy god.

He's climbed Everest not long after a heart bypass operation, he's run seven marathons on seven continents, he's hauled loaded sledges across both polar ice caps and he's circumnavigated the earth. Ran Fiennes truly is the world's greatest explorer, and this book celebrates his 80th birthday by showcasing his greatest achievements in his own words.

It was supposed to be a simple case: a young man arrested for armed assault. But it was just the beginning. As Rodney Middleton awaits trial, Detective Jack Warr is warned by his mentor DCI Ridley that they have only scratched the surface of the man's crimes. Then DCI Ridley is suddenly removed from his post. No one is to contact him - and no one will say why.

Fleeing a cruel stepfather, Harriet Russell escapes into a stormy night, relying only on the mercy of servants to help her. Her coach overturns, leaving her and her driver injured. Seeking help from whoever lives nearby, she stumbles between a set of gates guarded by fierce demonic gargoyle statues. As she enters the shadowy, haunted lands belonging to the duke of Frostmore, she’s afraid of meeting with him, but she must in order to help her driver.

The year begins positively with George and Rachel running every single street of their local town. Just days before the country goes into lockdown, they take on the 20 miles of the Grizzly. A race so muddy that firefighters are stationed at the finish line to hose down runners. Then the year takes a dramatic turn. Food shortages, homeschooling, quiet roads, home haircuts, yoga, Rachel’s new marathon a month challenge and a walking holiday...in a different part of Devon.

1264. Storm clouds are gathering as Simon de Montfort and the barons of the realm challenge the power of Henry III. The barons demand reform; the crown demands obedience. England is on the brink of civil war. Adam de Norton, a young squire devoted to the virtues of chivalry, longs only to be knighted, and to win back his father's lands. Then a bloody hunting accident leaves him with a new master: the devilish Sir Robert de Dunstanville, who does not hesitate to use the blackest stratagems in pursuit of victory.

1265. England has a new master. Simon de Montfort's victory at the Battle of Lewes has made him king in all but name. He has vowed to restore the rights and liberties of the kingdom, but now even his friends grow wary of his power. As old alliances break down, new rebellions gather strength. The captive king's supporters muster, vowing to overthrow the new regime. Meanwhile Adam de Norton, who won the honour of knighthood on the field at Lewes, has reclaimed his ancestral lands. A peaceful and prosperous future lies before him - until he receives a summons he cannot refuse.

There are countless books on music with much analysis given to musicians, bands, eras and/or genres. But rarely does a book delve into what's going on inside us when we listen. Michel Faber explores two big questions: how do we listen to music and why do we listen to music? To answer these questions, he considers a range of factors, which includes age, illness, the notion of "cool," commerce, the dichotomy between "good" and "bad" taste and much more.

Teen spy Jason Steed is under surveillance. His every move is being watched. On what turns out to be his most dangerous mission yet, a nightmare reunion with a bitter enemy throws him, once more, in the path of death. Can Jason prevent his old nemesis’ dastardly plan? A woman who has lost everything she cared for and who just happens to have a deadly weapon and a serious grudge against the free world. She will stop at nothing and is after more than just his life.