Showing results by narrator "Ralph" in All Categories

Dial F for Frankenstein was first published in the January 1964 issue of Playboy. Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) is regarded as one of the most-influential science fiction writers of all time. He was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

In this beautifully crafted and heartbreakingly poignant coming-of-age tale, an older man recounts the story of his most significant friendship - that with the nearly feral and completely parentless Finn, who lived alone in a hut by the sea.

Addy Corwin is a florist with an attitude. A bad attitude, or so her mama says, ’cause she's not looking for a man. Mama's wrong. Addy has looked. There's just not much to choose from in Hannah, her small Alabama hometown. Until Brand Dalvahni shows up, a supernaturally sexy, breathtakingly well-built hunk of a warrior from - well, not from around here, that's for sure. Mama thinks he might be European or maybe even a Yankee. Brand says he's from another dimension.

Throughout the late 1970s and early '80s, dozens of Japanese citizens were abducted from coastal Japanese towns by North Korean commandos. In what proved to be part of a global project, North Korea attempted to reeducate the abductees and train them to spy on the state's behalf. When the project faltered, the abductees were hidden in a series of guarded communities known as "Invitation-Only Zones" - the fiction being that these were exclusive enclaves, not prisons.

Kimball O'Hara is an Irish orphan, but he runs free in the streets of India. As a boy, he shows self-reliance and resourcefulness, running errands for Mahbub Ali, who works for the British Secret Service. Kim also meets a Tibetan lama who is on a quest to be freed from the Wheel of Life and becomes his disciple. Together they have wonderful adventures on the exotically colorful Grand Trunk Road through the Indian countryside.

Now settled into the sleepy Yorkshire village of Darrowby, and married to Helen the farmer’s daughter, James Herriot thinks he’s finally got himself sorted. But life as a vet in the 1930s was never going to be easy. Quite aside from his unpredictable colleagues, brothers Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, he must contend with new-fangled medical techniques, delivering calves after far too much homemade wine, and a grudge-holding dog called Magnus who never forgets.

The automa Pinocchio has always been duty-bound to serve in the floating palace of Venice's emperor. So when Pinocchio finds himself locked in a trunk and delivered to a new master - a wanted criminal and alchemist named Geppetto - he is curious about everything around him. But most curious is the way Pinocchio seems to be changing from a wooden servant into a living, human boy.

The sea war rages up and down the Sword Coast, leaving the busy harbor of Baldur's Gate in flames. Following his mad quest, the evil Iakhovas has found a gateway into the protected waters of the Sea of Fallen Stars, and now no coast is safe from his marauding armies of the deep.

I gasped in horror. Would it be my friend's dreadful fate to perish in the swirling torrent below? "Take care! Take care!" I shouted. But my worst fears were realized. Ratigan went over the edge, dragging the detective with him!

Chaos! That is what greets Miss Calliope St. James when she enters the household of her prospective employer, Lord Winn Hamilton, the Earl of Montgomery. The newly appointed guardian for his nieces and nephew, he’s clearly a man who has no idea what to do with children…and they are children who clearly know when the adults in charge haven’t a clue what they’re doing. But he is handsome. Terribly, temptingly handsome, even when he’s maddening.

As the future of Europe is being decided in the muddy trenches of the Western Front, Lieutenant Thomas Edward Lawrence is thousands of miles away, toiling in the map room of the British Army’s general headquarters in Cairo. But the young intelligence officer has big ideas - none bigger than his vision of a unified Arabia free of its Ottoman rulers. Before T. E. Lawrence can become Lawrence of Arabia, however, he must first contend with the notorious German spy Wilhelm Wassmuss.

When the Great War ended in 1918, the West was broken. Religious faith, patriotism, and the belief in human progress had all been called into question by the mass carnage experienced by both sides. Shell-shocked and traumatized, the West faced a world it no longer recognized: The old order had collapsed, replaced by an age of machines. The world hurtled forward on gears and crankshafts, and terrifying new ideologies arose from the wreckage of past belief.

Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Book Award, The Eyes of Orion is a highly personal account of the day-to-day experiences of five platoon leaders who served in the same tank battalion in the 24th Infantry Division during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

This is H.G. Wells at his best, delving into fantastic and strange worlds. The Time Machine, perhaps Wells' best known work, tells the story of the first time traveler. In the distant future the human race has evolved into two beings: the gentle Eloi and their dreaded cousins, the Morlocks, masters of the underworld.

This volume of short essays and other pieces by C.S. Lewis is part of a larger collection: C.S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. In addition to his many books, letters, and poems,C.S. Lewis wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on ethical issues and the nature of literature and storytelling. Within these pages is a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.

The Nihlosians and Xanthians have united to thwart the dead God’s prophecy, but as tempers flare or pride prickles, the alliance hangs by a thread. Meanwhile, the political situation in Nihlos grows worse every day. Two Council members have been assassinated, some are in open rebellion, and many blame the Empress herself for all of it. Amidst this chaos, Llaweh commands Ahmed to enter Nihlos alone and place himself at the mercy of the Meite sorcerers. But they too are torn apart by civil war and have fled their city. For now, they can’t help.

What is Christian baptism? Is it, as many believe, a mere symbol? When should someone be baptized? In A Christian's Quick Guide to Baptism, Robert Letham answers such questions from scripture. He reflects sensitively on historic Christian teaching and avoids the extremes that often mark discussions of this subject, making this a book for everyone. Letham's plain talk will not leave beginners bemused, nor will it frustrate those who want to make real progress in their theological understanding.

In World War I, possibly the most horrific modern war, two soldier poets put down their thoughts in poetry telling us much about wars and the people who fight them. This is a wonderful production with a very timely subject.

In a mountain kingdom far away, a young queen prepares for her wedding, believing her future is sealed. But when three dwarves bring news of a sleeping sickness sweeping across her realm, she knows she cannot stand by and do nothing. As a girl, she survived her own long, magical sleep, so she must try to turn back this new plague and save her people. Abandoning her bridal finery, she dons her armour instead, and rides out to a castle at the very heart of the sleeping lands. There, she finds a beautiful princess, sound asleep, and a very old woman, forever awake.

Laurie Lee was a poet, novelist and screenwriter renowned for his bestselling autobiographical trilogy Cider With Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War. Among the best loved memoirs in the English language, the books chart Lee’s life from his boyhood summers in a remote Cotswold village to joining the Republican International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Included here are dramatisations of the first two volumes, alongside a specially written radio play and four fascinating interview programmes.