Showing results by narrator "Gareth Richards" in All Categories

Alone, unprepared, and weak. These are generally the words used to describe Britain's position in 1940, part of a narrative that has been built up ever since the end of World War II. However, the reality is very different. On land, sea, and in the air, Britain was prepared. It had the most powerful navy in the world; the RAF was relatively strong, but more importantly, was operating as part of a plan and a joined-up group system that was in reality never in any real danger of being defeated; even the post-Dunkirk British Army was better armed than the post-war narrative tells us.

Josh Ridley is an overworked, underappreciated accountant caught up in life’s grind. All that changes when he is offered an adventure vacation that allows him to be miniaturized and placed in an unforgiving terrain filled with demons and demon lords, or to laymen...killer insects. In Betaloome, an infested terrarium with a land area equivalent to hundreds of square miles, Josh’s new god-like abilities make him adored by women, admired by men, and able to slay monsters.

It's Lydstock time again, the most anticipated music festival of the year. Max Effort, chilled ex-chef turned vanlifer, is already there, and when Min arrives to spend the whole weekend with him and Anxious the Jack Russell Terrier, he's as happy as any ex-husband could be. As the first night gets underway, and Uncle Ernie "Elbows" Effort's ska punk band The Skankin' Skeletons headline instead of their arch-rivals The Third Skatallion, things get spicier than a habanero vindaloo.

Max Effort never thought he'd find himself at The Dead Crow's sixth annual pickled onion festival, but serendipity is a peculiar thing, so here he stood. He didn't care, because his two best friends-Min his ex-wife, and Anxious the Terrier-were with him so life was sweet. When the pub's chef goes missing, Max reluctantly agrees to step in and save the day. Having vowed never to enter a commercial kitchen again, he soon regrets the decision, especially when the chef is found dead in a broom closet with a jar of pickled onions.

The Black Plague's terrible toll never ends, unleashing a new wave of zombies with disastrous consequences. Low on hope, Knight Alaric von Mertz and his companions flee their crumbling sanctuary, and soon come under the unlikely wing of murderous pirates. There, they learn of a legendary artifact called Mournshroud that could destroy swathes of the undead, but to claim it they must defeat an evil sorceress on an isolated island. Guarded by a dragon! A knight's honor demands he defend his kingdom, no matter the cost.

A cunning and sadistic serial killer known as Minotaur has already murdered and mutilated twelve women. When novelist David Knight comes home, he is shattered to find that his wife is the latest victim. But why has Minotaur taken David's young son? And what is the significance of the maze drawn in blood at every crime scene?

With her son's life in the balance, Catherine Fry is forced to locate and steal the priceless Ruby Cross of the Knights Templar. She knows who has it—it's just a matter of coercing Thomas Glanville, the handsome and incredibly stubborn captain of the ship she's captured, into telling her the exact location. Captain Thomas Glanville has the cross and he'll be damned if he's going to hand it over now that he finally has the means to buy a ship of his own. He's at the mercy of a fiery woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. But Catherine has no idea who she's dealing with.

The zealot army is coming. The winter raid has earned the goblins an enemy they can’t hope to beat. Eris, the leader of a reclusive goblin village, promises he can deliver them. But as Spicy and Thistle soon discover, this charismatic newcomer is maneuvering goblins and men alike towards a disastrous showdown.

Saturn. The Ringed Planet. Harbinger of ideas and wonder. The planet that gave birth to the modern era of science envisioning the myriad of multi-colored rings circling the planet, one of the reasons for the invention of the telescope, and the second largest in our solar system. These are the stories of Saturn, the great Titan. Tales of time, age, and endings.

Artists in every era and medium have depicted Neptune as a tempestuous god with ever-changing moods, so it’s fitting that his anthology follows suit. In these sections, you’ll find stories by turns heroic, comic, pensive, absurd, uplifting, and ambiguous. They also reflect different conceptions of what it means to be “related to Neptune”, as this volume was intended to be. Some anchor themselves in mythology, while others focus on the planet, and still others are weird amalgams of Neptunian themes.

Any business that allows their customers credit terms will invariably run into late or non-payments. This affects cash flow and business viability. However, as the authors show, customers that are solvent will pay some suppliers every month, even if they don't pay everyone. So how do you ensure you are "first in line" to get paid?

Sol, the center of our solar system, the very reason why we exist at all. These are the stories of our Sun, stories of nobility and righteousness. Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Sol, and experience the compelling world of science fiction anthology.

In the 1840s, the Donnelly family immigrates from Ireland to the British province of Canada. Almost immediately problems develop as the patriarch of the family is sent to the Kingston Penitentiary for manslaughter, leaving his wife to raise their eight children on her own. The children are raised in an incredibly violent community and cultivate a devoted loyalty to their mother and siblings, which often leads to problems with the law and those outside of the family.

In 1880, an organized mob of the Donnellys' enemies murders four family members and burns their house to the ground. Another sibling is shot to death in a house a short distance away. William Donnelly and a teenage boy are the only witnesses to the murders. The surviving family members seek justice through the local courts but quickly learn that their enemies control the jury and the press. Two sensational trials follow that make national and international headlines as the Donnellys continue to pursue justice for their murdered parents, siblings, and cousin.

Cursed within an inch of his existence, Rory Benedict hides behind the thick walls of Aingealag Castle, away from prying eyes and away from the hell-bound witch who vies for his heart. Although, when a silver-haired lass plunges from the sky like a discarded angel, his life takes a turn - some say for the better. But Rory has his doubts. When Hannah Boyd wins an old, musty red bound book in a raffle, she is drawn into its pages and transported from her impersonal world of 2071 back to 1488, where she meets Rory Benedict, Laird of Aingealag.

Thistle will go to any lengths to get payback on the humans who murdered her family and to ensure that such a tragedy will never happen again. Leading the goblins is the warrior Noe. Her solution to the human problem? Kill them all, or at least drive them away from the goblin homeland. As Thistle will discover, the world has changed since the goblins isolated themselves in the hills north of the Inland Sea.

There are stories here that explore the mythology of Zeus and the personalities in myth, as well as urban fantasy and fantasy stories that explore our understanding of leadership. The science fiction worlds range from splendidly alien to profoundly human to mixes of each as authors present their visions of what life might be like on Jupiter’s moons.

In this Very Short Introduction audiobook, Paul Slack takes a global approach to explore the historical and social impact of plague over the centuries, looking at the ways in which it has been interpreted and the powerful images it has left behind in art and literature.

Catherine and her friends are enjoying a girly evening together at home when lightning strikes. The girls embark to see the damage the strike had caused.... However, their worst fears come true when something much darker and much more powerful has landed in their quiet little town. The evil right-hand man of Lord Dromos, Ratifi has left the underworld of Mytherios to claim souls for his master, so they can rule all of the dimensions.

Mars. The Red Planet. Bringer of war, the God of war itself. The planet that gave birth to the modern era of science fiction when H.G. Wells gazed upon the red light in the night sky and envisioned an army gathering upon its plains to invade our world. These are the stories of Mars. Stories of adventure, conflict, and war.