Showing results by narrator "Elliot Chapman" in All Categories

A Falcon Flies is the first best-selling novel in Wilbur Smith's epic tale of Africa, The Ballantyne Novels. In search of a father they barely remember, Zouga and Dr Robyn Ballantyne board Mungo St John's magnificent clipper to speed them to Africa. But long before they sight that mighty continent, Robyn knows that she and Mungo will battle with all the fury of natural enemies - and love with all the desperation of those unable to evade the commands of fate.

In the burning heat of the Sudanese sun, the city of Khartoum is under siege from the fearsome forces of the Mahdi, the charismatic leader of those who tire of the brutal Egyptian government. In Khartoum, along with thousands of innocent citizens, are trapped the fanatical General Charles Gordon, intrepid soldier Penrod Ballantyne of the 10th Hussars, English trader Ryder Courtney and the British consul and his three beautiful daughters.

Following on from the events begun in A Falcon Flies, Men of Men continues Wilbur Smith's epic story of the Ballantynes. It is the age of empire, of blood and conquest, of boundless excitement and possibility. Striding in the footsteps of the pioneers is Zouga Ballantyne. His dream begins in the danger and drudgery of the diamond pits and ends up on the rich grasslands of Matabeleland - but not before a king and a proud warrior nation have paid the price of history....

Cairo, 1887. A beautiful September day. Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancée, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand. The future is theirs for the taking. But when Penrod's jealous former lover, Lady Agatha, plants doubt about his character, Amber leaves him and travels to the wilds of Abyssinia with her twin sister, Saffron, and her adventurer husband, Ryder Courtney. On a mission to establish a silver mine, they make the dangerous journey to the new capital of Addis Ababa, where they are welcomed by Menelik, the King of Kings.

Craig Mellow, acclaimed author but unhappy exile, seizes the chance to return to Zimbabwe when he is given a spying mission for the World Bank. Accompanied by beautiful photographer Sally-Anne Jay, he is at first unaware of the dangerous currents of tribal conflict that swirl below the calm surface of Zimbabwean politics. Then he stumbles upon a highly organised ivory-poaching operation which masks the treacherous plot to sell the country he once fought for into slavery....

For the past two thousand years, Christian tradition, scholarship, and pop culture has credited the authorship of the New Testament to a select group of men: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. But the truth is that these individuals, who have been rewarded with sainthood for their work, did not write alone. In some meaningful ways they did not write at all. Hidden behind these named and sainted individuals are a cluster of enslaved coauthors and collaborators, almost all of whom go unnamed and uncredited. They were responsible for producing the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament.

Tadej Pogacar is not like any other professional cyclist. The Slovenian is a sporting phenomenon. He won almost everything there is to win in bike racing, has done so with breathtaking audacity and style – and all by the age of 26. This comprehensive biography follows his meteoric rise to the top, recounts his greatest race wins and rivalries, and reveals the character, motivation and skills that have led to his domination of elite cycling.

The Runner’s Code explores the unwritten rules of everyday running and is essential reading for anyone who marvels at marathons, tears round the track or simply plods round the park. Filled with smart advice and brilliantly knowing humour, this unique celebration of running takes the newbie and veteran alike through the secret, nuanced and blindingly obvious rules of running to answer all the important questions.

‘Moving and vital’ i NEWS ‘A beautiful book’ EVENING STANDARD ‘Deserves to be read by as wide an audience as possible’ DAILY MIRROR How do we give a voice to those who so often remain unheard? Will You Read This, Please? is a frank and impactful collection of twelve stories written...

A weekend on the wild, beautiful Dorset coast. Seven adults, six kids. A nanny: the ultimate special treat. It should be perfect: old friends, a stunning house, champagne and windswept beaches. But it isn't. Past grudges won't rest. Secrets won't stay put. And by the end of the weekend, at least one of them will be dead.

With the invention of faster-than-light travel there is nowhere that humanity cannot go. New worlds are discovered, but with them come new dangers. At the heart of the discovery is the Fermi, mysterious beings that have survived on alien worlds for longer than humanity has existed. But now the Fermi are awakening, and they do not seem pleased to find humans in their midst. But for Lakshmi Nayak and the crew of the Fighting Chance, danger is a lot closer to home. Their search for answers will take them to places, and worlds, they never expected.

Humanity has taken to the stars, using faster-than-light travel to reach distant planets and new worlds. But in the far reaches of the galaxy, John Grant will discover a planet of humans who believe he has travelled not only through space to find them, but time. On Apis, the mysterious Fermi appear to have vanished, taking with them knowledge of the universe that humanity desires. But Marcus Owen, the robot AI now plagued with sentience, knows that the Fermi would not easily abandon the native life of Apis.

1919. The eyes of the world are on Paris, where statesmen, diplomats and politicians have gathered to discuss the fate of half the world’s nations in the aftermath of the cataclysm that was the Great War. A horde of journalists, spies and opportunists have also gathered in the city, and the last thing the British diplomatic community needs at such a time is the mysterious death of a senior member of their delegation.

In Second World War Bath, young, naïve wireless engineer Will meets Austrian refugee Elsa Klein: she is sophisticated, witty and worldly, and at last his life seems to make sense . . . until, soon after, the couple's home is bombed, and Will awakes from the blast to find himself alone. No one has heard of Elsa Klein. They say she never existed.

Embark on a captivating adventure through the Argentine Pampas and the little-known Chaco territory of Paraguay with Gerald Durrell, the much-loved author of My Family and Other Animals. A riveting account of one of Durrell's expeditions in search of rare animals, The Drunken Forest is...

Jack and his friends, Amelia and Xander, are in Zanzibar diving for lost treasure to support Jack's mother's coral protection project. Going further than usual on their last day, their dive boat is lured into a trap and captured by Somali pirates. Determined that his mother shouldn't pay a ransom for their release, Jack won't give up his attempts to escape. Transferred to a militia training camp for boy soldiers, the trio's only hope is the resourceful Somali boy called Mo who befriends them.

Life with the Durrells is seldom straightforward. Dive headfirst into family adventures with this collection of laugh-out-loud short stories from the much-loved author of My Family and Other Animals. Notable tales include 'The Picnic', a hilarious account of an ill-fated Durrell excursion which...

The son of a wealthy plantation owner and a doting mother, Mungo St John is accustomed to the wealth and luxuries his privilege has afforded him. That is until he returns from university to discover his family ruined, his inheritance stolen and his childhood sweetheart, Camilla, taken by the conniving Chester Marion. Fuelled by anger and love, Mungo swears vengeance and devotes his life to saving Camilla - and destroying Chester.

Spring, 1919. James ‘Max’ Maxted, former Great War flying ace, returns to the trail of murder, treachery and half-buried secrets. Having left Paris after avenging the murder of his father, Sir Henry Maxted, he is convinced there is more - much more - to be discovered about what Sir Henry had been trying to accomplish. And he suspected elusive German spymaster Fritz Lemmer knows the truth of it. Now, undercover in Lemmer’s service but with his loyalty pledged to the British Secret Service, Max sets out on his first - and possibly last - mission for Lemmer.

In this third high-octane instalment, Jack and his friends are skiing in the Alps when Jack is engulfed by an avalanche.