Showing results by narrator "Gareth Richards" in All Categories

It's Lydstock time again, the most anticipated music festival of the year. Max Effort, chilled ex-chef turned vanlifer, is already there, and when Min arrives to spend the whole weekend with him and Anxious the Jack Russell Terrier, he's as happy as any ex-husband could be. As the first night gets underway, and Uncle Ernie "Elbows" Effort's ska punk band The Skankin' Skeletons headline instead of their arch-rivals The Third Skatallion, things get spicier than a habanero vindaloo.

When I'm honorably discharged from the British Army on medical grounds following a brutal tour in Afghanistan, I use my skills as a combat medic to continue to save lives as a paramedic. I'm confident there's no situation I can't handle . . . until I'm teamed up with chirpy Grace Newton. She's everything I'm not—young, idealistic, and brimming with sunshine. Everything about her rubs me the right way, stirring wants and desires I thought were long dead. She should be off-limits—after all, I'm her mentor and work colleague. But one kiss has me wanting Grace's healing hands all to myself.

Archangel Uriel is hell bent on revenge on the demon prince Vladek. To get into the prince's impenetrable fortress, he'll have to fight in the pits of the underworld. And he'll need the help of the last person he can trust—the demon witch Nadya. There is no way Nadya, who spends her days taking care of others, expected to find Uriel on her doorstep. He seems no happier about being there than she does. But helping him means evening the scales against her backstabbing sister, and she'll do whatever it takes to make that bitch pay.

A group of unlikely heroes are all that stand in the way of humanity's demise as the zombie apocalypse engulfs the kingdom in this high fantasy adventure set in the world of Zombicide: Black Plague.

The Black Plague's terrible toll never ends, unleashing a new wave of zombies with disastrous consequences. Low on hope, Knight Alaric von Mertz and his companions flee their crumbling sanctuary, and soon come under the unlikely wing of murderous pirates. There, they learn of a legendary artifact called Mournshroud that could destroy swathes of the undead, but to claim it they must defeat an evil sorceress on an isolated island. Guarded by a dragon! A knight's honor demands he defend his kingdom, no matter the cost.

Any business that allows their customers credit terms will invariably run into late or non-payments. This affects cash flow and business viability. However, as the authors show, customers that are solvent will pay some suppliers every month, even if they don't pay everyone. So how do you ensure you are "first in line" to get paid?

In 1880, an organized mob of the Donnellys' enemies murders four family members and burns their house to the ground. Another sibling is shot to death in a house a short distance away. William Donnelly and a teenage boy are the only witnesses to the murders. The surviving family members seek justice through the local courts but quickly learn that their enemies control the jury and the press. Two sensational trials follow that make national and international headlines as the Donnellys continue to pursue justice for their murdered parents, siblings, and cousin.

What image does Venus draw to your mind? A great planetary body of deadly gases neighboring Earth, existing as its own world, mysterious and alluring? Or an image of a more fantastical nature, such as the jungles described by Edgar Rice Burroughs? Or do you think, perhaps, of a goddess who holds power and beauty beyond measure, whose name, throughout the ages, has been synonymous with love? Within this book, you will find tales of wonder, some of space, some of the heart, some that follow in the footsteps of the goddess herself.

London. 1854. For years, Fern Hall has lived in an orphanage in the East End of London. It’s a brutal life of endless chores and punishments for even the smallest infractions. She’s able to escape it for a time when she’s hired out as a temporary maid to the wealthy Hawk family, but a servant’s lot is little better. Gerard Hawk, the second son of the prosperous merchant, is drawn to Fern from their very first meeting when she comes to work for his parents.

This book teaches you how to invoke angelic allies for hundreds of goals, from better protection and well-being to greater mindfulness and creativity.

To date, more than a million insect species have been described, with probably at least another 5-8 million species waiting in the wings for a name. Insects are a fascinatingly diverse and beautiful spectrum of animals. They range in size from the tiny parasitic wasp, measuring a mere 139µm, to the aptly named Titan beetle, which can reach lengths of up to 17cm. They can be found on all continents of the world, from the Sahara Desert to the frozen wastes of Antarctica. While no insects live beneath the waves, the intrepid sea skaters skim the surface of some of the world's oceans.

If one looks too long into the abyss, the abyss looks back. Drangar Ralgon has been avoiding the abyss's gaze for far too long and now he turns to face it. For 100 years the young kingdom of Danastaer has thrived in peace. Now their northern neighbor, mighty Chanastardh, has begun a cunning invasion. Thrust into events far beyond his control, the mercenary Drangar Ralgon flees his solitary life as a shepherd to evade the coming war and take responsibility for his crimes. In Dunthiochagh, Danastaer's oldest city, the holy warrior Kildanor uncovers the enemy's plans for invasion.

Spicy never wanted anything more than to spend his days in the goblin library as the sage’s apprentice. But his sister Thistle already had the job. Spicy’s dreams are shattered when a human army burns down his village. His sister is abducted and the sage vanishes.

Spicy the goblin is the first creature Fath the dragon has trusted in generations. Now the dragon’s apprentice, Spicy has a chance to learn lore hidden away from human and goblin-kind alike. But Spicy has a dilemma. Five children were kidnapped from his village, along with his best friend Rime. Saving them means bringing the dragon and Hog, the ever-hungry troll, with him on an unplanned detour. His journey will lead them into lands where few of his kind have ever gone.

Who are you when you dream? Rick isn't sure anymore.... Is he Rick, living in the here and now? Working a boring job, married to Cath. Or is he Dan, living 600 years and half a galaxy away? Exploring an alien planet with Vanessa by his side. Two worlds, one man. While he's awake in one place, he's asleep in the other. Simple enough, until people from Dan's world start turning up in Rick's life. Confusing? But then it gets worse. Dan is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Ricks wife leaves him and both realities are falling apart. Which life is real? Will either go back to how it was?

We decided upon the shopping list theme for this particular volume of horror short stories as an antithesis to those wildly successful writers (they know who they are) of whom it is often said "we would read their shopping list if they published it!" Well, we have given 21 of the hottest new horror authors in the independent scene the unique opportunity to have their own shopping lists listened to by you - along with their most terrifying tales, of course!

With her son's life in the balance, Catherine Fry is forced to locate and steal the priceless Ruby Cross of the Knights Templar. She knows who has it—it's just a matter of coercing Thomas Glanville, the handsome and incredibly stubborn captain of the ship she's captured, into telling her the exact location. Captain Thomas Glanville has the cross and he'll be damned if he's going to hand it over now that he finally has the means to buy a ship of his own. He's at the mercy of a fiery woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. But Catherine has no idea who she's dealing with.

In the 1840s, the Donnelly family immigrates from Ireland to the British province of Canada. Almost immediately problems develop as the patriarch of the family is sent to the Kingston Penitentiary for manslaughter, leaving his wife to raise their eight children on her own. The children are raised in an incredibly violent community and cultivate a devoted loyalty to their mother and siblings, which often leads to problems with the law and those outside of the family.

Christine is a powerful sorceress with a one desire only: to leave her sheltered village and find the brother who went missing years ago. When she embarks on her epic journey, she finds instead a group of mysterious, handsome men who claim to be dragon shifters. Unraveling the secrets of her and her brother’s pasts destroys the tenuous trust she’s formed with these royal brothers, and it puts her life in danger. Can Christine and the dragons of Chartreuse Castle remedy their historic wounds, and will they let her claim them all?

This compelling collection will engage the lovers of horror, fantasy, and science fiction and marry their eccentric desires in the church of Blithecraft. Twelve stories suitable for the discerning fantasist. A blithely return to the eccentric craft of weird short stories. Tales of other dimensions, eldritch beasts, and seditious sirens. Ancient witchcraft, necromancers, and giant arthropods. Worlds of past, present, and future are presented in a classical style with contemporary beguile.