Showing results by narrator "Peter Kenny" in All Categories

Delightfully cheeky, unquestionably charming, and sometimes maddeningly naive, cloth mage Paul Gallagher is desperately trying to make a name for himself in a reimagined postwar London. But in a world where magic is commonplace, sewing enchanted clothes is seen as little more than a frivolous distraction. Paul is hiding a secret, however: he possesses a powerful - and illegal - innate magic. Unfortunately, Paul confides in the wrong person - his latest crush, Captain Hector Hollister - and is drawn into a sinister plot that risks reigniting the machinery of war. 

A man marked by magic. A woman marked by her past. On the other side of the Shadowpass, rebellion is brewing and refugees have begun to trickle into the city at the edge of the world. Looming high on the cliff is The Nest, a fortress full of mages who offer protection, but also embody everything the rebellion is fighting against: a strict hierarchy based on magic abilities. When Isha arrives as a refugee, she attempts to fit in amongst the other mages, but her tattoo brands her as an outcast. She can't remember her past or why she has the tattoo. All she knows is that she survived. 

From the shattered empire, five kingdoms are emerging. Seleukos, triumphant in the capture of Babylon, now faces the challenge of holding onto his hard-won prize. One-eyed Antigonos and his son are newly reconciled and both hungry for revenge. But Antigonos has foes of his own. Driven by vengeance, widowed Artonis sides with Ptolemy, planning to thwart the one-eyed brute. The key to their success is Herakles, the sixteen-year-old illegitimate son of Alexander. To see him crowned, they will not only need an army but also to eliminate Kassandros, a powerful rival.

Alexander the Great's sudden and unexpected death has left the largest, most formidable empire the world has ever seen leaderless. As the fight to take control descends into ruthless scheming and bloody battles, no one is safe. As wars on land and sea are lost and won, and promises are made only to be broken, long-buried secrets come to light in the quest for the true circumstances surrounding Alexander's death.

The Resurrection of the Romanovs draws on a wealth of new information from previously unpublished materials and unexplored sources to probe the most enduring Romanov mystery of all: the fate of the Tsar's youngest daughter, Anastasia, whose remains were not buried with those of her family, and her identification with Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be the missing Grand Duchess.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional literary forms appeared frequently in socialist-leaning British periodicals, such as the Clarion, Labour Leader, and Social Democrat. Based on familiar genres, these stories were meant to entertain readers of all ages - and some challenged the conventional values promoted in children’s literature for the middle class. Acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen brings together more than 40 of the best and most enduring examples of these stories in one beautiful volume.

Young wizards Eynon and Merry struggle to save their friends from a trio of wizard-assassins in the next installment of The Congruent Mage series.

When Grandma creates a robot babysitter for twins Jake and Jess, chaos ensues! Jake and Jess are on their way to Scotland to visit Robin, who’s been hiding out near a remote loch with Grandma. Jake can’t wait to see his favourite robot, but is shocked by how much he’s changed. Robin now spends most of his time camouflaged in bushes and can light a fire with a click of his fingers - he’s gone wild! But when Grandma ropes the trio into a plan to catch a local gang of thieves in the act, it looks like Robin’s new skills might just save the day....

Dear nose-pickers. Gooliemaloolie! There's SO much in this book, I don't know where to start. There's a sixty-foot monster on the rampage, the world's most prestigious entertainment competition, a troop of terrifying criminals, an evil science experiment, SNOT (yeah, WAVES of that), and - I can hardly bring myself to say it - the STINKUS-DINKUS-INUS-NOZZLEUS-HORRIBLIS! What's that? Only a stink so terrible it'll give you the whiffy-whiffy-woo-woos. Will it all end well? No - yes - oh, I don't know! You'd better ask the smelly field mouse Fergus.

It has been over a year since Jelly the Royal Ooze left the Royal Varian Mages Academy, and his owner, Princess Liliana Roan. Wandering Orria as a novice adventurer, Jelly desires to become stronger so he can protect those he loves as the agent of the Void creep ever closer. But an intriguing rumor reaches the young Ooze. A rumor about strange, slime-based beings who are able to talk. Creatures much like himself.

Richard and Judy and international best-selling author of The Guilty One returns with a nail-biting ride of 'he said/she said' between a teacher and his pupil. For fans of Anatomy of a Scandal and TV's Liar and Dr Foster. While Nick Dean is enjoying an evening at home with his family, he is blissfully unaware that one of his pupils has just placed an allegation of abuse against him - and that Nick's imminent arrest will see the start of everything he knows and loves disintegrating around him. Because mud sticks, right? No matter if you're innocent or guilty.

London, 1958. By crafting magical outfits for his friend, Princess Katherine, cloth mage Paul Gallagher is getting ahead. It’s not a seamless path. Not since the Virtuis Party came to power. The far-right faction is using criminals to create a protective barrier around England. The enchanted uniforms the prisoners wear may beget a demand for mages, but using luckless convicts as tools for warmongering reactionaries isn’t Paul’s dream for cloth magic. 

Paris in the aftermath of the Great Magicians War. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black, thick with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France's once grand capital. House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, now lies in disarray.

Art teacher Walter Hartright is on the road to London when he encounters an enigmatic woman dressed entirely in white. She's an unnerving portent of strange things to come as Hartright starts a new job as drawing-master at Limmeridge House. There the teacher falls in love with Laura, his betrothed pupil, who bears a striking resemblance to the woman in white. Soon Walter is drawn into a family intrigue of greed, secrets, madness, and revenge.

Philosophy takes us by surprise. It challenges us, awakens us and opens our minds. In an increasingly opinionated world, philosophy encourages us to look within and think for ourselves. In doing so, we can find solutions to even our most confusing dilemmas. Let Fabrice Midal teach you to trust your own thoughts, as he guides us through the inspirational ideas of 40 writers, artists, thinkers and seers from Baudelaire to Wittgenstein, Emily Dickinson to Toni Morrison, Pablo Picasso to James Baldwin.

The Dark Months have faded, but the light cannot last. For Kole, Linn, and the newly minted heroes of the Valley, their recent victory is short-lived. The King of Ember is alive. But the man who once led his people against the forces of darkness is changed. His mysterious path takes him to the sprawling forest plateau known as Center, leading him to the middle of a war between two would-be gods. Linn, too, is no longer what she once was, as the power of a Sage burns within her. Something Kole must come to accept lest it tear their fellowship apart. 

Two 19th century stage illusionists, the aristocratic Rupert Angier and the working-class Alfred Borden, engage in a bitter and deadly feud; the effects are still being felt by their respective families a hundred years later.

John Wright has been leading forays around Britain for decades. As an expert forager, he shows people how to identify the edible species that abound—but he also reveals the natural history, stories and science behind our surroundings. Here, he takes us with him on eight walks: from verdant forests to wild coastlines, via city pavements, fields and rolling hills, he illuminates what can be found on a walk across any British terrain, and how you might observe and truly understand them, for yourself.

The cause of Alexander the Great's sudden death is no longer in doubt - it was murder. But by whom? As his former followers struggle for power, the bonds of family, friendship and political loyalties are tested to the limit. As is the strength of the formidable empire that Alexander had wrought. Never before has the Western world seen such turmoil, such a threat to civilisation. As battles rage, armies, cities and thousands of lives are destroyed by the ruthless scheming of those who would be king. Or queen. 

Theus's journey continues in The Memory Stone, Part II. Within the past year of his life, Theus has seen freedom and slavery, affection and spite, wealth and poverty - now, his adventures are about to grow more consequential and intense as the gods of the land begin to rely on him personally and exclusively to travel from conflict to conflict, as they try to use him to tamp down the outbreak of evil and violence that is threatening every human in the lands ruled by Stoke.