Showing results by narrator "Derek Perkins" in All Categories

Years before the Whispering War, there was a girl named Olivia. Her family murdered, her home destroyed -- a darkness she can't control. Olivia has never quite fit in amongst the lords and ladies of the seas... but things are about to get worse. Forced into the service of a powerful enemy, she must use her gifts to kill. The darkness grows fiercer with every step; each murder drags her closer to edge of villainy. Only one force in the Kingdom might have the power to save her, but she knows it's too late. Olivia has already fallen to the darkness -- into the jaws of a monster she calls The Poison.

Wales, 1369. Owen Archer is travelling to Wales on a mission for the Duke of Lancaster, recruiting archers in anticipation of King Charles of France's invasion of England. Joining him are Brother Michaelo, Geoffrey Chaucer and his father-in-law, Sir Robert D'Arby, who is on pilgrimage to the shrine of St David. When the body of John de Reine, one of the Duke of Lancaster's men, is found at the gate of St David's, the bishop asks Owen to return the corpse to John's father, Sir John Lascelles.

York, 1371. William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, has made many enemies since York knight Sir Ranulf Pagnell died imprisoned in France while Wykeham negotiated his ransom. After escorting Sir Ranulf's body back to the city, Wykeham realises that his own life is in grave danger. The bishop's woes increase when one of his properties in the city is set alight, with horrific consequences. Was it a thoughtless act of revenge or a deliberate murder? Why was someone searching for important documents in the house just before the fire, including those linked to the Pagnells?

York, 1367. Owen Archer and his old comrade, Ned Townley, are each leading companies of the king's men north of York to Fountains and Rievaulx abbeys respectively, on a mission to win the support of the powerful abbots for William of Wykeham becoming the Bishop of Winchester. But trouble stalks Ned Townley—Sir William of Wyndesore's men at Windsor suspect he killed a page in a jealous rage over his betrothed. Is the rumor true?

Owen has completed his latest mission for the Duke of Lancaster, but his plan to return home is thrown into peril when the young stonemason carving the tomb of Owen's late father-in-law, English knight Sir Robert D'Arcy, is discovered hanged. The Archdeacon of St. David's wants Owen to find out whether Cynog was executed due to his support for the would-be Welsh redeemer, Owain Lawgoch's, rebellion against English rule. Prolonging his stay in Wales means that Owen will be unable to deliver the news of Sir Robert's death to Lucie in person, but can he really leave her father's tomb unfinished?

York, 1369. As pestilence rages through the city of York, strange things are afoot at St. Leonard's Hospital. Corrodians are dying in mysterious circumstances and riches belonging to the hospital have been stolen. When a fire claims the life of a corrodian and badly injures another, it's clear it was no accident—both men were violently attacked. With a suspicious death and a lay sister suspected of being behind the thefts, Sir Richard de Ravenser, Master of St. Leonard's, appeals to his uncle, the Archbishop of York, for Owen Archer's help.

Shylo and Jexsanna are reunited, but their fight is far from over. The skies of Tarmigan are darkened by enemy dragons, and the empire is crumbling under the weight of rebellion. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, every army will fall before the might of a rising dragon god. Jexsanna is prophesied to be the Chosen One—but destiny has never been her path. As the gods tighten their grip on the world, she must decide to follow the prophecy or forge a new fate.

As the War of 1812 rages, Marcel Moreau, wounded in service with Napoleon's Grand Armée, must journey to New Orleans to find Celeste de Beaumais, a young aristocrat who has fled her family and has settled herself on a sprawling Louisiana plantation. Standing in Moreau's way are various factions in and around the city—soldiers, slave hunters, marooned slaves, and Baratarian pirates—all of whom have their own interests, and enemies.

As the secrets of the Rhydarian Emperor unravel, an assassination sparks a shift in a realm dominated by those who wield rare magical weapons. While the threat of the Volurem—the Empire's lifelong enemy—presses down on them, Shylo is falsely accused of murder and treason. He and a group of unsuspecting allies must work together to escape the Empire's wrath. Follow their tale as Shylo and company unravel a thread that will lead them to the devastating secrets behind the Emperor's Fate.

This book is Khodorkovsky's account of what is happening in Russia today and what could happen in the future. Putin will not last forever: sooner or later, there will be a post-Putin era. But Russia's history has been deeply shaped by an autocratic trap: a revolution against an autocracy has produced another autocracy, followed by another revolution and another autocracy, and so on. If Russia is to find its place as a constructive partner in a global community of civilized nations, then it has to escape this vicious cycle.

We meet our unnamed narrator in Paris in the 20s, where he finds himself an expat after the Russian Revolution. At a friend's request he meets the beautiful, clever socialite Lyolya, also a recent exile from Russia. What begins as casual friendship quickly turns into fascination and obsession, as Lyolya gives mixed signals and pursues other men. Our narrator, emerging from a depression, is soon overwhelmed by the very idea of her, which begins to contour all of his observations, thoughts, and feelings.

In a world of new Imperial rule that is built on treason and revenge, Shylo and his companions are on the run. Jexsanna awaits her ill fate in the dungeons of Perdigon. When Shylo intercepts a message from the Emperor, his desperate search for answers leads him on a thrilling journey of discovery. With newfound powers from ancient dragons and a chance to uncover the secrets of House Didimo, will Shylo be able to save Jexsanna, or is her fate sealed?