Showing results by narrator "Derek Perkins" in Literature & Fiction

In this brilliant sequel to The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. - an enthralling, history-bending adventure traversing time and space, fact and fiction, magic and science co-written with number one New York Times best-selling author Neal Stephenson - a daring young time traveler must return to Jacobean England to save the modern world. This fast-paced sequel to the New York Times best-selling near-future adventure The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. picks up where the original left off.

This is what happened. I saw it, and it is a true tale. So begins the story of Merlin, born the illegitimate son of a Welsh princess in fifth-century Britain, a world ravaged by war. Small and neglected, with his mother unwilling to reveal his father's identity, Merlin must disguise his intelligence - and hide his occasional ability to know things before they happen - in order to keep himself safe.   

After escaping from the English soldiers who attacked her home and imprisoned her in a dungeon, Lady Elysande de Valance is grateful for the rugged Scots who are escorting her to safety in the Highlands. Even with danger dogging their every step, she hadn’t expected to welcome the strong comforting embrace of their leader, Rory Buchanan. They say he’s a healer, but she finds the heat of his touch does so much more....

Fifty-five years ago, Helen L. Taylor took John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and simplified the vocabulary and concepts for young listeners while keeping the storyline intact. The result was a classic in itself, which has now sold over 600,000 copies. It's both a simple adventure story and a profound allegory of the Christian journey through life, a delightful listen with a message kids ages six to 12 can understand and remember. A new look for today's children enlivens the journey to the Celestial City.

The Thieves Guild is renowned for their ability to steal anything. Its elite members have robbed nobles of wealth, reputation, and even their honor. The Guildmaster rules them with brutality and fear, yet his name and past are a mystery. From the depths of the Evermist swamp, he seeks a master thief, one who can help him reclaim his lost power. Young and brash, Jack Myst has drawn the Guildmaster's attention. His feats mark his potential, but his audacity and cunning make him dangerous.

In the long hot summer of 1939, Britain is preparing for war, but on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind. Mrs. Pretty, a widowed farmer, has had her hunch proved correct that the strange mounds on her land hold buried treasure. As an archaeological dig proceeds against a background of mounting national anxiety, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary find, and the discovery leads to a host of jealousies and tensions.

Moscow, Christmas Eve, 1949. The Soviet secret police intercept a call made to the American embassy by a Russian diplomat who promises to deliver secrets about the nascent Soviet Atomic Bomb program. On that same day, a brilliant mathematician is locked away inside a Moscow prison that houses the country's brightest minds. He and his fellow prisoners are charged with using their abilities to sleuth out the caller's identity, and they must choose whether to aid Joseph Stalin's repressive state - or refuse and accept transfer to the Siberian Gulag camps, and almost certain death.

When the Black Dragon seized the Deep of Ylferdun, young Gareth braved the far Winterlands to find John Aversin, Dragonsbane - the only living man ever to slay a dragon. In return for the promise of the King to send help to the Winterlands, Aversin agreed to attempt the nearly impossible feat again.With them, to guard them on the haunted trip south, went Jenny Waynest, a half-taught sorceress and mother of Aversin's sons.But at the decadent Court, nothing was as expected. Rebellion threatened the land.

Alexander the Fatherless: nephew of the villainous King March of Cornwall, who murdered his father. Burning with vengeance, Alexander sets out on a journey to Camelot to seek justice from King Arthur. His path will lead him to the Dark Tower, where the sorceress Morgan le Fay lies in wait. Morgan seduces Alexander and sends him on a quest to Jerusalem to recover the Holy Grail - which she believes will help her take the throne.

Born on Christmas Eve, Arthur Pendragon is the illegitimate son of the married duchess Ygraine and Uther Pendragon, brother of a great king: a union Merlin arranged. But Arthur's birth is not welcomed by everyone: his father demands he be hidden until a legitimate son can be born, and Merlin is forced to give the babe to his own childhood nurse for safekeeping and go into hiding.... 

In a world that will not tolerate the mention of sin, and in churches where it has been defined only in generic, sociological terms, one could make a good case could that repentance is one of the least used words in the English language today. Repentance is essential to true Christianity - Jesus Christ himself said that if we do not repent, we will perish - and there are few better guides that have existed in this or any other area of spiritual experience than Thomas Watson.

By land and water shall it go home, and lie hidden in the floating stone until by fire it shall be raised again. Arthur has raised the sword and claimed his birthright as High King of Briton, determined to unite the many tiny kingdoms that make up his country. Now he sits upon his throne at Camelot with Merlin by his side, his most trusted adviser. But Merlin is growing old, and his sight is dimming. He knows that Mordred, child of Arthur's unknowing union with his half-sister Morgause, will be Arthur's downfall.

The Holy War tells the story of Mansoul, a utopia built to exalt the greatness and honor of its creator and leader, King Shaddai. However, when the wicked Diabolus, a former high servant of Shaddai's and the king of the blacks, assaults Mansoul, the town forgets its benevolent king and falls under his iniquitous rule. With the citizens of his beloved city lost to sin and vice, Shaddai sends his son, Prince Emmanuel, to deliver them from Diabolus' tyranny.

He is first and foremost - at everything. A man who’s made his own way in the through ruthless cunning and sheer force of will. A strong and imposing Scot who can turn on the charm but does not suffer fools. His title: Lord Chief Justice of the High Court. His name: Cassius Gerard Ramsay. His mission: to investigate the goings-on at London's most notorious gaming hell, owned and operated by one of the most intriguing and desirable women he’s ever met. In this game of love, the rules do not apply.

When Soren is plucked from the streets and given a place at the prestigious academy of swordsmanship, he thinks his dream of being a great swordsman has become a possibility. However, with great intrigues unfolding all around him, Soren discovers that he is little more than a pawn to the ambitions of others.

After years of exploitation, neglect, and despair, the animals of Manor Farm revolt. They drive owner Mr. Jones off the land and rechristen the property Animal Farm, a utopia of equality and mutual support. But Napoleon, a young boar who assumes command after the rebellion, is hungry for power. And as the pigs consolidate control, all the good intentions of Animal Farm are crushed by a new and inevitable tyranny. 

Bryn’s earliest memory is of watching duels in the arena. His earliest dream is of taking his place there. Amero dal Moreno has no dreams. His life has been about fulfilling the expectations of others. In search of a path of his own, the dreams of others are too tempting to resist. After years of sacrifice and hard work, Bryn Pendollo is finally a professional duellist. Becoming the First Blade of Ostia no longer seems the childish fantasy it once did. To find the man standing in his way is also his best friend will test him in ways he would never have believed.

Separated again, further than they ever have before, Barl and Shryke must fight against the fell powers which have stripped them of their access to the Quantum Aether. Having lost all the faculties given to them in their training with the Assassin’s Guild, they are both faced with an impossible situation - how to survive in a world where they are vulnerable to attack, in a way they have never thought possible, when all their most basic defenses are gone.

Paris in 1816 is reeling from the Battle of Waterloo, and relations between the British and French are uneasy at best. So it’s hardly a surprise to British attach and Intelligence Agent Malcolm Rannoch when he and his wife Suzanne, soon to give birth to their second child, become the target of violent threats. Malcolm is certain that the secrets of his past have caught up with him - but he’s unaware that Suzanne has more than a few secrets of her own…

Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats him with bitter severity. He begins an intense friendship with a Jewish boy his age, talented and mercurial Anton Zweibel, a budding concert pianist.