Showing results by narrator "Mark Rice Oxley" in All Categories

Stepping down from one of the many ancient faestones that adorn the luscious emerald-green landscape of the southern realm, the nine divines look on with intrigue as Kalu arrives in the world of man. Straight from a childhood nightmare, she is everything and more that has been sung about her in the folk songs: wonderful and awful, a less likely savior perhaps you will never find.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on 29th January 1860 in Taganrog, on the south coast of Russia. His family life was difficult; his father was strict and overbearing, but his mother was a passionate story-teller, a subject Chekhov warmed to. As he later said; ‘our talents we got from our father, but our soul from our mother’. Chekhov wrote over 500 short stories which included many, many classics including ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Lady with a Dog’. His collection ‘At Dusk’ won him the coveted Pushkin Prize when was only 26.

Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society. In this volume we offer up a small selection of talents from the literary landscape of 1800 to 1849 and its male authors whose time has now come again.

Eleven years ago, the UK government burnt its quarantined cities and vanished in the flames. They left behind broken lives and a broken country. The Gamekeeper wanders the ruins of Britain, picking a living from the carcass of the old world. He's a nomad, utilizing his skills as a trapper and hunter to trade for whatever he can't get himself. He is all the company he has in this brutal world, and it is all he has ever needed. Or so he thought.

“When oblivion comes, it is forever, as endless as the slumber of those beings that lie buried beneath the roots of the world, dreaming in darkness.” A writer’s research into the legend of the Lambton Worm takes a horrifying twist when he uncovers the true origin of the story: A legend that stirs, knowing the time for its rebirth is near. A chilling tale of the Cthulhu mythos, written by award-winning author Jonathan Green.

With Simms locked away in a mind prison, after his attempt to hijack the Vehni ship in orbit, Elliot, Mei, and Dimitri embark on a new mission: a trip to Earth. Thanks to a groundbreaking Vehni medical process, humans from Mars can now withstand the harsh gravity of Earth without feeling like they are being crushed. When the three friends are framed for a UFO attack and thrown into a web of age-old extraterrestrial secrets, they must fight for their survival—and the fate of Earth.

Rachel was relieved that Peter had lost interest in the antique shop after his last trip. She thought that now, perhaps, they could keep the place out of their minds and get on with their lives. But it was not to be. Dreams about a medieval nun were plaguing them both, and it seemed the shop itself was calling to them. They would know no peace until they had discovered what it wanted.

While Rachel has stayed away from the Antique Shop and concentrated on her business, Peter has spent a lot of time there, making short trips to the past and cataloguing the things that have taken him there. What neither of them realize is that their activities are being watched, and when an estate agent contacts Rachel, wanting to negotiate a sale of the Antique Shop for a wealthy client, she is concerned that he won't take no for an answer. She is right; David Mills is very persistent, as he can see no good reason why Rachel won't sell.

Since first contact with the Vehni, an alien race, the human colonists of New London, Mars, have been enjoying the benefits of shared Vehni technology. But when ambassadors from Earth attempt to hijack the Vehni ship in orbit, everything the colonists thought they knew about their alien allies is thrown into question.

Izzy Miller has grown out of "family game night". As a mature and sporty 12-year-old, playing boring board games with her family is not her idea of a good time. But when her brainiac twin Noah discovers an ancient board game and casts the dice, he unknowingly sets off a chain of events that freezes time and leaves the twins with a frightening choice - play or never see your family again.

Tony Peso’s world is turned upside down the first time he is plugged into a cryonically frozen head, to experience their last 10 seconds of life. If this was properly marketed, it could be massive.... Ignoring the moral implications and ably assisted by Cryo-Biochemist Davis, Brit-abroad Tony makes millions selling this mind-blowing one-off hit to Billionaires. Way out of his depth from layers of deceit, he soon finds himself an international fugitive, on the run from the FBI for a murder he didn’t commit. A bagful of cash, but unable to distinguish friend from foe.

The Russian novel has a reputation that is immense, both in narrative and in length. Unquestionably though the ideas, themes and characters make many novels rightly revered as world class, as icons of literature. Whilst Tolstoy, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Pushkin and Chekhov are a given in any Russian collection we also explore and include Andreyev, Korolenko, Turgenev, Blavatsky and many others to create a world rich and dense across a sprawling landscape of diverse people, riddled with the class and unfairness in perhaps some of the most turbulent times that Russia has ever experienced.

With Peter and Jason away in Egypt in search of the the lost tomb of Cleopatra, Rachel is left to help Martha to settle into the 21st century. But the Antique Shop has other ideas and tempts them to go back to the 16th century. They believe they are going to rescue Lord Mountford, a man who lost his head during the reign of King Henry VIII for helping the monks during the dissolution of the monasteries. In fact, the shop sends them back too late for that and they meet Lord Mountford's stepson, Marcus, who they learn is from the future.

After returning from their last trip into the past, Peter continued his investigation of all the things that were in the mysterious back room. He found that new things appeared on a regular basis, but what he found this time was very unlikely. It was a cap from the uniform of the Confederate Army. It was in the back room, but when he tried to take it outside, it took him nowhere.

This audio study guide for Paradise Lost by John Milton includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as individual freedom and self-determination, the paradox of the pursuit of knowledge, and having the humility to ask for forgiveness. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

When Peter Attwood discovers a most unlikely find on an archaeological dig in Egypt, he knows the Antique Shop is up to something, and this time, he feels a deep dread. Yes, he has been searching for the tomb of Cleopatra, and yes, he would love to be the one to find it, but is the Antique Shop really going to send him back to see the queen, the last Pharaoh of Egypt? Could the shop be that helpful? Experience told him it was unlikely. When he gets home to London, he finds that, as usual, the shop will not let him rest until he knows what it has in mind.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821 to distinguished multi-ethnic parents from a Lithuanian background. His childhood years were at the family home in hospital grounds which also contained an orphanage, an insane asylum and a cemetery for criminals. The young Fyodor often disobeyed his father by talking to the ill in the hospital gardens. In 1846 he published his first novel ‘Poor Cow’ to great literary acclaim. As he began his next work he was arrested and incarcerated for treason and participation in the political and literary Petrashevsky Circle.

Witness the birth and twilight of an age where the clatter of the blacksmith's hammer, the clash of sword against shield, and the solemn vows sworn in the chapel echoed through stone halls. This book is not just a tale of castles and knights; it's a vivid recounting of a society pivoting on the axis of war and chivalry. Stone and Sword is more than just a conventional narrative of historical accounts.

The year is 1187 and European crusaders still control Jerusalem. The Sultan Saladin has unleashed war on the Crusader Kingdoms and the Christian armies have suffered a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of the Horns of Hattin. In the aftermath of the sultan's victory, Sir Byron Fitzwalter finds himself wounded and alone. Desperate to survive, Fitzwalter flees to the Sea of Galilee where destiny intervenes.

Sigmund Freud travels to the USA with his young protégé and “crown prince” Carl Jung to explain the subconscious secrets of sex to intrigued American audiences. The pivotal journey will completely redefine twentieth century thought–and the relationship between Freud and Jung will never be the same again.