Showing results by narrator "John Banks" in All Categories

After a gruelling journey, the warriors of the Hallowed Knights and Astral Templars have found their quarry in the Sea of Bones. During the hunt, Mannfred the vampire lord has raised a mighty undead host to protect the realmgate he has claimed. While Ramus of the Hallowed Knights seeks the vampire's head and Vandalus of the Astral Templars wants to reclaim the realmgate, both must fight as one and alongside their orruk allies if they are to triumph.

The Victorian era is remembered for many things, but one of the fondest is the wide and varied array of short, ghostly, suspenseful tales...often enjoyed around the fireside at Christmastime. In this new anthology, John Banks performs 12 of the very best, all written by incredibly talented but oft-times overlooked or forgotten authors. Once you tire of Dickens and James, these are the true masters of short-form suspense.

There are many myths about serial killers: that they are all dysfunctional loners; all white males; only motivated by sex; that they all travel and operate across a wide area; cannot stop killing; are all insane, or evil geniuses; and that they all want to get caught. Of course, there are some serial killers who fit into these categories, but the married Green River Killer was not a dysfunctional loner; there are plenty of female and non-Caucasian serial killers, Dr Harold Shipman was certainly not motivated by sex; and many serial killings (such as the Ipswich prostitute murders carried out by Steve Wright) happen within a confined area.

A collection of fabulous tales of genies, heroes, flying carpets and fantastic voyages, The Arabian Nights has enchanted generations of children and adults. Forged in the Islamic Golden Age, it was brought to Europe in the 18th Century, where it became an instant sensation. Included here are seven full-cast dramatisations, starring Carolyn Backhouse as Shahrazad and Derek Jacobi as the King, as well as a bonus edition of In Our Time exploring the story behind the tales.

The Final Problem by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adapted by Nicholas Briggs. Sherlock Holmes visits his good friend, Dr. John Watson...but Holmes is not his usual composed and supremely confident self. He is a hunted man. Having unearthed the criminal mastermind behind the greatest crimes in the land, Holmes has found himself a fugitive. But the great detective already has a plan in motion. It will not be long before his arch foe, Professor Moriarty, is in custody.

In this radio reboot, Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy, John Sparkes and Gus Beattie revisit some of their much-loved comic creations, and introduce some hilarious newcomers. We listen in on the meetings of the highly confused Stoneybridge Town Council; hear pearls of nonsense from Calum Gilhooley, Edinburgh's most boring man; and the Little Girl gives us her take on topics including Tonsils, Teenagers, The Truth and Time's Up.

Long ago, the Katophranes of the city of Shadespire dared to defy their god. But in the Realm of Death, the ruler of the underworlds does not permit treachery, for Nagash rules all. To punish their attempts to cheat death, Nagash cursed Shadespire to an eternal halflife. Now, centuries later, brave warriors enter the shattered remains of the Mirrored City in search of secrets and riches...and for other, darker purposes.

The road to becoming a Doan warrior is a long one. While Cam must face distrust and long days of training, he also attracts the interest of Uelia, the beautiful Festival Master of High Home. His acts of bravery swell his fame and the jealousy of his brother. With winter approaching, the people of High Home decide to cross the Long Dark to see what’s on the other side.

Greymane believed he'd outrun his past. With his school for swordsmanship in Falar, he was looking forward to a quiet life, although his colleague, Kyle, wasn't as enamoured with life outside the mercenary company, the Crimson Guard. However, it seems it is not so easy for an ex-Fist of the Malazan Empire to disappear, especially one under sentence of death from that same Empire.

It begins with just a few people falling ill. Another flu virus that spreads around the globe. And then the reports begin that people are dying.... When most of the world's population is wiped out, a handful of survivors are left to pick up the pieces. Cities become graveyards. Technology becomes largely obsolete. Mankind must start again.

After the destruction of the Infidus Imperator, Kor Phaeron of the Word Bearers brought his followers to supposed safety in the Eye of Terror. However, their newly adopted home, the daemon world Sicarus, is far from the sanctuary they imagined - the twisted hordes of the Kairic Adept Larazzar seek to crush these newcomers and all who would ally with them. Only in the ancient legends of Sicarus can their salvation be found, but is Kor Phaeron the one to lead them to it?

Doubly so for a Rootless Daiygmar, hated by just about everyone. But even more distressing than assassins and dealing with his scheming stepmother is the knowledge that to save the world from a Nausch invasion. He will need to let Ahkra kill him so she can take his throne and unite the Doans and the Kingdom of Calaphas. Reuniting with old Doan friends convinces him that sacrificing his life for the greater good is what a healer would do, but those who love him have other plans...

The Nausch invasion is imminent. Cam must face Molne, Horrors, and the King of Horrors itself to save the world from certain destruction. As Cam’s body, heart, and mind are broken, he must anchor to the healer within himself to push through violence and sorrow. In him is the power to cross the threshold of death, learn the secrets of his enemies, and push the darkness back. When the King of Horrors comes to take the skins and spirits of the world to fashion an alien kingdom, Cam and his allies fight and fall together in a last stand to save what’s left of the world.

It begins with just a few people falling ill. Another flu virus that spreads around the globe. And then the reports begin that people are dying.... When most of the world's population is wiped out, a handful of survivors are left to pick up the pieces. Cities become graveyards. Technology becomes largely obsolete. Mankind must start again.... Includes 'Cabin Fever' by Jonathan Morris, 'Contact' by Simon Clark, 'Rescue' by Andrew Smith and 'Leaving' by Matt Fitton.

Tens of thousands of years of ice is melting, and the land of Assail, long a byword for menace and inaccessibility, is at last yielding its secrets. Tales of gold discovered in the region's north circulate in every waterfront dive and sailor's tavern, and now adventurers and fortune seekers have set sail in search of riches. And all they have to guide them are legends and garbled tales of the dangers that lie in wait - hostile coasts, fields of ice, impassable barriers and strange, terrifying creatures.

Three great heroes - Hamilcar Bear-eater, Neferata and Prince Maesa - each face very personal trials that could see them fall into darkness in these three tales that beautifully evoke bitter melancholy - as well as provide audio action. The gods are at war. As the Mortal Realms plunge into darkness and despair, there are an ambitious few who seek to turn these fortunes in their favour. Within the nightmarish, labyrinthine halls of Shadespire, a famed Lord-Castellant must escape the Mirrored City to cement his legend forever.

Returning fans to the turbulent early history of what would become the Malazan Empire, the second chapter in Ian C. Esslemont's thrilling new epic fantasy sequence.... After the disappointments of Li Heng, Dancer and Kellanved wash up on a small insignificant island named Malaz. Immediately, of course, Kellanved plans to take it over. To do so they join forces with a small band of Napans who have fled a civil war on their own home island. The plan, however, soon goes awry....

The incessant war between the bickering city states of Quon Tali rages. So engrossed are the warring lords and princes in their own petty feuds that few notice that an upstart mage from Dal Hon has gained control of the southern seas. But some powers are alarmed. And in the meantime, as Purge and Tali indulge in what seems like a their never-ending game of war, a mercenary caught up in the fight between the two states suddenly refuses to play along and causes all sorts of chaos.

It is 1914, and Thomas Maggs lives with his parents on the Suffolk coast. Life is quiet, shaped by the seasons. Then one day a mysterious Scotsman arrives, looking for all the world like Sherlock Holmes. Mac is what the locals call him as they whisper. But Mac isn’t a detective; he’s the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and together with his red-haired artist wife, he soon becomes a source of fascination and wonder to Thomas.

The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyers apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire. Niccolo Rising, book one of the series, finds us in Bruges, 1460. Street smart, brilliant at figures, adept at the subtleties of diplomacy and the well-timed untruth, Dunnett's hero rises from wastrel to prodigy in a breathless adventure.