Showing results by narrator "Mark Topping" in All Categories

Archie Greene receives a mysterious present on his birthday. Deep within an ancient wooden box he finds an old book, written in a language he doesn't recognise. With the book comes a Summoning - Archie must travel to Oxford to return the book to the Secret Library. Soon Archie will meet family that he never knew he had, and discover the world of the Book People - a community devoted to finding and preserving magical books.

The fifth century has dawned in blood. The young boy exiled 30 years ago has grown into a man. One stormy autumn day, a mysterious rider is seen out on the plains. Attila has returned, his sentence served, to claim his kingdom. He will ride out at the head of no more than 100 chosen men, driven by the ambition to unite all the feuding Hunnish and Scythian tribes under single banner and a single king.

It's been nearly 300 years since anyone's received the Golden Circle firemark, but when the symbol appears on Archie's palm, it marks the resurgence of the Alchemists' Club and its dreaded curse. Archie Greene is doomed, and he's got the firemark to prove it. The last time the Golden Circle appeared, the marked apprentices were never heard from again. The rebirth of the Alchemists' Club is met with uneasiness, but it's clear the present is not so different from the past. The charms protecting the magical texts the Flame Keepers have sworn to look after are fading.

Wilhelm Canaris was appointed by Hitler to head the Abwehr (the German secret service) 18 months after the Nazis came to power. But Canaris turned against the Fuhrer and the Nazi regime, believing that Hitler would start a war Germany could not win. In 1938 he was involved in an attempted coup, undermined by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. In 1940 he sabotaged the German plan to invade England, and fed General Franco vital information that helped him keep Spain out of the war.

Archie and the Alchemist's Club have been rewriting the magical spells contained within books, but someone is drawing on their power for evil purposes. The museum elders confirm that their worst fears have come true - the Dark Flame is rising, and they can only stop it by uncovering Fabian Grey's prophecy. Archie vows to help - but is he more closer to the prophecy than he knows? And who is behind the mysterious notes for him, labelled F. G, and with the sign of a raven?

The battlefields run with blood in this gripping finale to the best-selling Attila trilogy. The infamous leader of the Huns stills thirsts for blood and supremacy as he crosses the Danube and prepares to attack the Western Empire and face once more his boyhood friend-turned-foe: Aetius the Roman. For Attila is set on a plan that will take him right through the entire Italian peninsular and up to the gates of Rome. He must weigh up whether he should attack this, the greatest of cities, or whether the gamble is too high, even for the most battle-hardened of warlords.

For centuries, ships' commanders kept journals that recorded their missions. These included voyages of discovery to unknown lands, engagements in war and sea and general trade. Many of their logs, diaries and letters were lodged at The National Archives and give a vivid picture of the situations that they encountered. Entries range from Captain James Cook's notes of his discovery of the South Pacific and Australia, to logs of the great naval battles, such as Waterloo and Trafalgar.

Through pioneering research and interviews with a host of major figures, ranging from Jay-Z and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman to Bernie Madoff and Man Booker Prize-winning Hilary Mantel, Waller and Younger reveal the key mechanisms that make and remake our reputations, providing the essential guide to the most important game in business and in life.

The dawn of the fifth century and the Roman Empire totters on the edge of the abyss. Already divided into two, the Imperium is looking dangerously vulnerable to her European rivals. The huge barbarian tribes of the Vandals and Visigoths sense that their time is upon them. But, unbeknown to all of these great players, a new power is rising in the East. A strange nation of primitive horse warriors has been striking terror upon border peoples for 50 years. But few realise what is about to happen. For these so called 'Huns' now have a new leader. His name is Attila - 'the Scourge of God'.

Twelve-year-old Nathan Bannister fantasizes about never having to go to class again. But his dreams never included a crazy wizard and a hot air balloon waiting inside his bedroom! Nathan is cold, scared, and still in his pajamas when the mad magician abandons him in medieval London. Desperate to return to his Granny's house in the modern world, Nathan falls in with a ragtag crew of street kids. As he attempts to find friends and allies, the young boy must escape a wicked baron and rescue the girl if he wants any chance of returning home.

In this original and deeply researched book, polling expert and professor of public policy Bobby Duffy explores how when we're born determines our attitudes to money, sex, religion, politics and much else. Informed by exclusive studies from IPSOS, as well as his own research, Duffy reveals that many of our preconceptions are just that: tired stereotypes.

Do you eat too much sugar? What proportion of your country are immigrants? What does it cost to raise a child? How much tax do the rich pay? Are we more ignorant than we used to be? Take a minute to answer these questions. No matter how educated you are, this audiobook suggests you are likely to be very wrong indeed. Informed by exclusive research across 40 countries, conducted by global polling firm Ipsos, The Perils of Perception investigates why we don't know basic facts about the world around us.

In a time of chaos choosing the right side is impossible. 1491-2: Granada, Andalusia: In a land ravaged by willful destruction, Thomas Berrington tries to serve Queen Isabel as best he can. When an attempt is made on her life, only Thomas can save the life of her companion. The assassin doesn’t care who they hurt in their quest to change the conflict that is coming to a conclusion. Alongside his companions, Thomas tracks down the culprit only to discover someone else lies behind their actions. For Thomas, Jorge, and the others life has grown complex.

Nathan Bannister thinks he's finally mastered his magic. But that doesn’t do him much good when he loses his magical knife to the enemy. He's terrified his rivals will use it against him. Granny get’s involved, but things go from bad to worse when Lashtang's biggest enemy escapes from prison. Knowing he needs help, Nathan turns to some of England's old kings, as his enemies bring back the dead. But in the end Nathan realizes that only he and Poppy can make things right. Can Nathan reclaim his magic knife and the throne, or will his final battle end in tragedy?

Northmen sacked the monastery at dawn before anyone had awakened. They burned the village and slaughtered all who stood in their path. The relics of Saint Philbert were lost, and the island was abandoned by those who once dwelled there. Sixteen years later, a monk named Abriel who had survived the attack as a boy is sent to recover the relics to help restore the reputation and legitimacy of Saint Philbert. What he discovers on his journey changes his life forever.

For Thomas Berrington it begins with the mystery of a stolen body. Soon he is hunting a killer searching for the untold wealth of the richest city in Al-Andalus. Moving to Malaka with his family and friends, Thomas hopes for respite from the war that ravages Al-Andalus. Then two events conspire to throw his settled life into chaos. Someone seeks the location of the city’s fabled wealth while Spanish forces gather like storm clouds ready to rain down fire and iron.

For Thomas Berrington, torn between two warring civilizations, Ronda is an escape from the madness engulfing Gharnatah. For al-Zagal, the default leader of al-Andalus, it is a return to his mountain stronghold. In the year 1485 this should be a time of recovery and replenishment. Until the Spanish army arrives, spreading across the plain below towering cliffs. And someone is murdering women so subtly the first the deaths go unnoticed. Thomas and Jorge are once more thrown into the pursuit of a killer as the world around them changes, and the end of a once great civilization draws closer. Can they unmask the Incubus before he steals the breath of more victims?

Spain, 1489. Cordoba, Andalusia. Sent to Cordoba on the orders of a man he hates, Thomas Berrington welcomes the distraction of a murder, but is shocked when he uncovers evidence pointing to the killer being his closest companion. When Jorge is imprisoned, Thomas must continue the investigation alone - a task made harder by the distraction of two beautiful women.

1570 AD. The March lands between England and Scotland are a place of terror, where outlaw bands and broken men rob, pillage and murder in open defiance of the law. Here, deadly blood-feud is a way of life. Families of robbers, known as Border Reivers, live via blackmail and terrorism. No man sleeps safe in his bed, and the sound of hoofbeats on the tops is a herald of death.

When 13-year-old Thomas Berrington is attacked by a group of boys on his way home, he believes it is just another beating he must take - until one of the boys is found dead, and Thomas is accused of the murder. Fighting to save his reputation and his life, Thomas is distracted by his feelings toward a girl his father would disapprove of: the pretty and resourceful Bel Brickenden. Together they uncover a web of deceit and lies to reveal the sad truth behind the murder.