Showing results by narrator "Stewart Crank" in All Categories

The Wonderful Visit is an 1895 novel by H. G. Wells. With an angel - a creature of fantasy unlike a religious angel - as protagonist and taking place in contemporary England, the book could be classified as contemporary fantasy, although the genre was not recognised in Wells's time. The Wonderful Visit also has strong satirical themes, gently mocking customs and institutions of Victorian England as well as idealistic rebellion itself. The Wonderful Visit tells how an angel spends a little more than a week in southern England.

White Fang is a novel by American author Jack London (1876-1916) - and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in Outing magazine, it was published in 1906. The story details White Fang's journey to domestication in Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. It is a companion novel (and a thematic mirror) to London's best-known work, The Call of the Wild, which is about a kidnapped, domesticated dog embracing his wild ancestry to survive and thrive in the wild.

James Joyce is one of the greatest writers in English. His first book, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, laid down the template for the coming-of-age novel, while his collection of short stories, Dubliners, is of perennial interest.

Are you an ambitious young professional, ready to fast-track you career and climb the corporate ladder at full pace? You know what people usually say about landing that amazing, highly paid dream job - it takes a lot of time and extra luck, you need to be in your late 50s, you need strong connections in your industry. Well, these are not true.

Structured Chaos is Victor Saunders’ follow-up to Elusive Summits (winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize in 1990), No Place to Fall and Himalaya: The Tribulations of Vic & Mick. He reflects on his early childhood in Malaya and his first experiences of climbing as a student, and describes his progression from scaling canal-side walls in Camden to expeditions in the Himalaya and Karakoram.

It’s Prince Alexander’s turn to host the ceremony for the summer solstice, in preparation for him to become King of Orchantia. Not ready for all the responsibilities, Alexander and his best friend Xana, go on one last adventure. Unaware of what the Trolls are planning. As the Trolls make their move, Alexander’s adventure becomes a race to save Orchantia.

A classic of modernist literature, Ulysses by the Irish writer James Joyce, was published in 1922. It chronicles a day in the life of Leopold Bloom, his friends Buck Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus, his wife, Molly, and a cast of supporting characters. The novel is loosely based on the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey and establishes a set of correspondences between the characters and experiences of Bloom and Odysseus, Stephen Dedalus and Telemachus, Molly Bloom and Penelope.

DCI Boaz Matthias isn't a Christmas person. He never has been. Not since he discovered the truth when he was seven. Christmas is a lie and a con, and nothing is ever going to change his mind. Being given a temporary six-week assignment isn't helping his mood either - as it means Christmas with the family. The only good thing is the accidental meeting of someone he thinks he could grow very fond of.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the first novel by James Joyce, portrays the religious and intellectual awakening of Stephen Dedalus, a fictional alter ego of the author. Stephen questions the Catholic and Irish conventions under which he has grown up, and traces his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and culture.

As the body count increases and more paintings are recovered, DC Zander Ellery and his partner DC Isabel York are under increasing pressure to catch the killer the press have dubbed "The Prayer Slayer". A few tenuous links are all they have between the deaths of three young, pretty women. The new chief superintendent is only adding to the pressure and seems to be picking on Isabel more than any other officer.

With trouble on the streets, DS Zander Ellery is under even more pressure to solve the case of the Prayer Slayer. His partner DC Isabel York is convinced she is being targeted, as all the postcards the Slayer sends are addressed only to her. With Zander and Isabel pulled in different directions, the body count escalates, until the case explodes in a direction no one could foresee — something that will test everyone to the limits of their experience and faith.

Just when things couldn't get much worse, they suddenly do. With DS Zander Ellery in jail, his partner DC Isabel York fights to clear his name. Not an easy task when she is suspended from duty and the evidence against him is compelling. Finally, pieces begin to fall into place, but to catch the Prayer Slayer once and for all, both officers must walk down a dark path where their very souls are at risk of being taken.

Able to absorb the powers of those she fells, Seila’s strength grows after every hunt - but there’s more to demon hunting than raw power, especially with her quest to reclaim her soul. Her friendship with half-fire elemental Damon has grown from strength to strength, and she's even on speaking terms with the frosty Lady Tress Vitali. But despite having the might of the supernatural demon hunters -the Kouzlo - as allies, elite demon Gorath is shaping up to be her greatest adversary ever.

As a soulless phantom and member of Fallow Caramond’s Kouzlo - a secret demon-killing organisation based outside London - Seila is driven by little else. But she’s made new allies - elementals, enchantresses, shape shifters, and even a djinni - and slaying demons has never been easier. But working as part of a team goes against everything Seila has done before, and adjusting to friends is not without difficulty, especially when she's still no closer to reclaiming her soul and her humanity.

The first part of the novel involves debates about rationalism and religion between a Professor Lucifer and a monk named Michael, while the rest of the narrative concerns dispute between a Jacobite Catholic named Maclan and an atheist socialist named Turnbull. Both hold fanatic opinions and prepare for a duel that is proposed but never fought, inspiring a slew of comic adventures with allegorical dimensions.

A Short History of England (1917) is Chesterton’s commentary on the philosophical, social, and religious history of England. The book focuses on those highlights that have shaped the nation, and is presented in the author’s customary wit. Having displayed strong Roman Catholic leanings at this time of his life, the author equates Anglicanism with atheism, but does commend the upliftment achieved by the Wesleyans. Chesterton views the story of England as the story of robber barons who became an aristocracy and who concealed their rise to power and hegemony through Parliament.

Seila has been slaying demons for as long as she can remember. A Phantom, she travels the length and breadth of England in a quest to reclaim her humanity - and her soul. With her Sieken Blade, she cuts down the demons in her path to keep herself alive as she inches closer to freedom from her hunt.

In What's Wrong With the World, G.K. Chesterton discusses big business, education, government, feminism, and more. The work draws on thousands of essays Chesterton contributed to newspapers and periodicals over his lifetime. Eloquently opposing materialism, hypocrisy, and snobbery, Chesterton was a steadfast champion of family, faith, and the working man. The work includes a discussion of humankind and its nature, the power of spirituality and the consequences of increasing secularism in the modern world, and the role of education in shaping the young to fit into the society.

Roman influence and power in Britannia is diminishing but with it the northern tribes are becoming emboldened. Noblemen who once gave their allegiance to Rome are flexing their muscles and seeking a return to the old ways. But, while they bicker and negotiate over who should be king, another force is in the ascendency. The Arch Druid, known simply as Ash, has his own grand plans, which involve the manipulation of both the tribes and Romans.

Orthodoxy (1908) by G. K. Chesterton is a classic of Christian apologetics. The audiobook is a companion to his volume of essays titled Heretics, and focuses on the Apostles' Creed. It was written when Chesterton was an Anglican; he converted to Catholicism 14 years later. The prose is witty and incisive, meaning Chesterton at the height of his power.