Showing results by narrator "Elliot Fitzpatrick" in All Categories

1853, Victoria, Australia. Five bushrangers led by the murderous outlaw Warrigal Anderson raid a small homestead. When they ride away, 19-year-old Toby O'Rourke's life is changed forever. His parents lay dead at his feet and his brother, Patrick, is badly wounded. But Toby O'Rourke is made of steel forged in the hardship of colonial life. Forced into adulthood, he and Patrick will seek to restore the family fortunes and outwit not only the rich businessman who conspired to rob them of their birth right but the vicious men who murdered their parents....

It was 13 October 1972. Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, carrying a team of young rugby players, their families and friends, took off for the very last time. A deadly miscalculation saw F571 crash directly into the Andean mountains to devastating consequences: the body of the plane broke violently into two, its floor torn to smithereens; seats flew out of the air taking passengers with them. In the weeks that followed, the remaining people who were on board - the society of the snow - emerged to fight a dire, gruelling battle for survival.

From the moment I saw Ann, I knew she was perfect for me. Her beauty and her social connections would make my miserable life so much better. It didn’t matter that I didn’t love her. I would give her the lifestyle she craved, and she would give me the life I deserved. But soon my marriage vows were a noose around my neck. I longed to escape my beautiful, horrible wife. And then I saw her and I knew there was only one way out.

When 3 Para began their assault under cover of darkness on Mount Longdon in June 1982, nobody knew what to expect. The three platoons of B Company each approached the mountain silently, treading carefully through a series of defensive minefields. But following an explosion, fighting quickly escalated with shocking speed and severity, resulting in some of the bloodiest close hand fighting, terrible injuries and shocking loss of life experienced by British troops since the Korean war.

Father Cade Frederic is a holy man. Brought up in the streets of Paris, he has dedicated his life to the church. But there's a monster that lingers just beneath the surface. A sickness. One that bleeds darkness and feeds on the damned. When he's tasked to become the priest in Festivale, Vermont, a town both beautiful in architecture and riddled with despair, his sickness sings, demanding he rid the place of evil.

One of the most oft-used themes for an author to explore is that of themselves and how they see authors in stories coping with everything around them.

A train seems a very reliable mode to bring out the best in authors and sometimes the worst in their fictional characters. In this volume our narratives are usually set inside the carriage compartment where they are really up close and personal with each other. All our authors need to do is to light the touchpaper and stand well back.

Marc Márquez is the apex predator of the MotoGP world: arguably the greatest motorcycle racer who ever lived, he is an eight-time world champion. He is the man who dethroned Valentino Rossi, and who changed the sport of MotoGP forever. Told by bestselling author Stuart Barker, with the insight of rivals, team members, pundits, managers and many close to his story, experience in this book that rare thing: pure sporting theatre and white-knuckle speed twinned with real human drama. Everything or Nothing is the Márquez story told like never before.

Neurodiversity is on the rise. Awareness and diagnoses have exploded in recent years, but we are still missing a wider understanding of how we got here and why. Beyond simplistic narratives of normativity and difference, this groundbreaking book exposes the very myth of the 'normal' brain as a product of intensified capitalism.

No Hollywood scriptwriter could possibly have envisioned the breathless, adrenaline-pumping climax to the 2021 Formula 1 season. On the very last lap of the final race of an unbelievably arduous and controversial season, Red Bull's Max Verstappen nervelessly overtook the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to clinch the first place that thrust the young prodigy to the narrowest of victories and to his first World Drivers' title. He followed up by taking the 2022 title as well.

Through 10 unique cities, from the founding of ancient capitals to buzzing modern megacities, Paul Strathern explores how urban centres lead civilisation forward, enjoying a moment of glory before passing on the baton. We journey back to discover Babylonian mathematics, Athenian theatre and intellectual debate, and Roman construction that has lasted millennia. We see Constantinople evolve into Istanbul, revolutionary sparks fly in Enlightenment Paris, and the railways, canals and ships that built Imperial London.

The gossips say his soul is as black as his cravats. Handsome, enigmatic Duncan Kirkwood is the prince of London’s most exclusive—and wicked—gaming club. He founded his empire upon one goal: gaining vengeance against the man who sired him and abandoned his mother. To society, Lady Frederica Isling is a quiet, proper duke’s daughter and wallflower. No one suspects she harbors a secret desire to become a renowned novelist. She’ll go to any lengths to conduct research for her manuscript, including infiltrating Kirkwood’s notorious club disguised as her brother.

This is the autobiography of Group Captain Sir Hugh Dundas CBE, DSO, DFC, who was one of the most distinguished fighter pilots of World War II. He writes of his wartime experiences, and particularly of his period as Squadron Leader and Wing Commander and his involvement in the Battle of Britain.

It's not a good Monday for DI Daniel Owen. A body in a wheelie bin. Missing teenagers. His ex turning up as his new boss. A secretive teenager, a nosy secretary, an idealistic social worker, and a dodgy fruit and veg salesman all have pieces of the jigsaw. If Daniel and Maldwyn can trust each other again, they can put the pieces together. But time is running out, and at least one child's life is in danger. It's been raining for weeks, and the flood waters are rising, threatening to engulf them all.

Small town cop DI Daniel Owen spends most of his days keeping the office running in his own quiet way. But when an acquaintance of his boss is found dead in a mine shaft, Daniel sets it all aside to help with the case. Too bad the attractive DCI, Mal Kent, can't seem to stand him, and the collapsed mines are enough to make Daniel think of booking it back home.

When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND. As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children's author lead the others in trying to understand why they've been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone . . . is up.

Commander Mariucci and his hand-picked research team know they will have to muster all of their expertise, creativity and teamwork to survive the very harshest of conditions in orbit around the king of planets. But when they intercept a peculiar radio transmission, they have to investigate. Nothing should work in these impossible conditions, so what is sending the signal...and why? With a degrading ship and crew at breaking point, there's every chance they will tear themselves apart before they ever find the answer to the ultimate question.

The author first outlines events from the Iron Age period immediately preceding the conquest in AD 43 to the emperor Honorius's advice to the Britons in 410 to fend for themselves. He then tackles the issues facing Britons after the absorption of their culture by an invading army, including the role of government and the military in the province, religion, commerce, technology, and daily life. For this revised edition, the text and bibliography have been updated to reflect the latest discoveries and research in recent years.

Isobel's move to Hong Kong was meant to be the opportunity of a lifetime. But when she unwittingly witnesses a brutal murder, she becomes entangled in a sinister web of corruption that threatens to consume her. Isolated, vulnerable, and far from home, her only hope lies with two unlikely allies. Enter Leo and Allissa, fresh from their triumph in Kathmandu. These intrepid detectives are thrust into a pulse-pounding race against time to get Isobel out of the city before she becomes the next victim.

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. Kipling in these more modern times is increasingly seen as an apologist for the bad ways of evil empires. It’s a simplistic analysis and avoids much of his literary talent that is entertaining, scary and downright brilliant storytelling whatever the background it is based on or comes from.