Showing results by narrator "Matthew Wolf" in All Categories

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals. But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs.

Having somehow convinced Lady Annika Jenoure to marry him, all Finlay Ashowan wants to do is settle down, cook some good meals, and enjoy a quiet life in Daxaria. But fate has different plans. Fin’s father, Aidan Helmer, fire witch and servant of King Matthias of Troivack, has arrived in the kingdom with devastating news: Annika’s brother Charles has been taken prisoner, and the only way his life will be spared is if Annika or Fin goes to plead his case. Given that an attack from Troivack is imminent, there’s no way some trickery isn’t involved in this plot.

Katarina Ashowan was not made for courtly life. Sure, her father is the famous house witch of Daxaria so she was raised among majestic castles, proper manners, and royal expectations. But Kat is also a mutated witch whose power aligns predominantly with fire. She’s more comfortable riding horses or learning to fight than she is making polite conversation and wearing fancy dresses. Which is why her upcoming assignment—serving her best friend, Alina, the soon-to-be crowned Troivackian queen—is anything but ideal.

As a wielder of domestic magic, Finlay Ashowan likes to keep his affairs as neat and orderly as his kitchen. But between his work for the King and Queen of Daxaria and a new (secret) relationship with Lady Annika Jenoure, his life is anything but tidy. For one thing, if Annika and Fin are to continue their romance, they’ll need to sort out the pesky issue of Fin’s being a commoner—before Annika is forced into a political marriage that interferes with her own carefully laid plans. For another, pressure is mounting as the war with Troivack draws ever closer.

It’s been twenty years since Finlay Ashowan, the fabled house witch of Daxaria, first cooked up supernatural hijinks in the castle at Austice. Since then, much has changed: the royal family now resides elsewhere, a tentative peace has been established with Troivack, and the crown princess, Alina, is ready to pick the perfect nobleman to be her husband. But Alina’s quest for her ideal consort is proving rather difficult.

Lady Katarina Ashowan is used to getting into trouble, but her latest muddle takes the cake. A moment's weakness in her attraction to Eric Reyes, crown prince of Daxaria, has landed her in an unexpected marriage with the man . . . just as her father, Lord Finlay Ashowan, arrives in Troivack to check on his headstrong daughter. As if figuring out how to acclimate her father to her scandalous elopement isn't bad enough, there are rumors of dangerous magical plots afoot at court—with Kat seemingly at the center of them all.

Lady Katarina Ashowan has never quite fit the mold of a noblewoman—and it's not only because she's a mutated fire witch. Though she's the closest friend and confidant of Alina, the soon-to-be-coronated queen of Troivack, Kat would much rather play cards with questionable characters or steal out at night to go riding than bandy niceties with suitors and deal with affairs of state. So as soon as Alina is officially crowned, the young witch plans to put away her dresses and get into some real adventure, training with a master swordsman.

Sylas Runewulf has a busy schedule for a dead man. Since taking up residency in the Underworld town of Ember Hollow, the fallen warrior has become a pub owner, a brewer, and a farmer. Now he's opening a long-awaited market for rare goods.

Sylas Runewulf has been dead for about a month, but he's making the best of it. The former battle-hardened swordsman is now a brewer and pub owner in the town of Ember Hollow. He's also made a few friends here in the Underworld. Plus, he has a pet in Patches the cat, and he recently bought a farm, complete with a peppy pup named Cornbread. Not bad for someone who once lived and died by the blade.

This final play from the pen of Oscar Wilde is a stylish send-up of Victorian courtship and manners, complete with assumed names, mistaken lovers, and a lost handbag. Jack and Algernon are best friends, both wooing ladies who think their names are Ernest, "that name which inspires absolute confidence". Wilde's effervescent wit, scathing social satire, and high farce make this one of the most cherished plays in the English language.

Twenty-eight florins a month is a huge price to pay for a man to stand between you and the Wild. Twenty-eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder. It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.

For countless millennia, the dwarves of the have defended the stone gateway into Girdlegard. Many and varied foes have hurled themselves against the portal and died attempting to breach it. No man or beast has ever succeeded. Until now...Abandoned as a child, Tungdil the blacksmith labors contentedly in the land of Ionandar, the only dwarf in a kingdom of men. Although he does not want for friends, Tungdil is very much aware that he is alone - indeed, he has not so much as set eyes on another dwarf. But all that is about to change.

Starring James Marsters, this classic comedy of manners from 1773 is still widely performed and studied. Love, lies, and dysfunctional families. Sound like your last family gathering? Try this one on for laughs. Two randy young gents, Charles and George, set out to woo the alluring and upper-crust Kate and Constance. But inexperienced Charles is shy and clumsy around upper-class ladies, so it’s the barmaid who catches his eye. But is she really who she seems?

Shakespeare’s timeless story of revenge, corruption, and murder is considered one of the greatest works in the English language. Prince Hamlet sets out to avenge his beloved father's death at the hand of his uncle Claudius - but Hamlet's spiral into grief and madness will have permanent and immutable consequences for the Kingdom of Denmark. Composed over 400 years ago, Hamlet remains one of the theater’s most studied and performed works, and is presented here in a stunning, sound-rich, full-cast recording.

It all begins with a call to the police. A 16-year-old boy, Roger Eriksson, has gone missing in the town of Västerås. A search is organized and a group of young scouts makes an awful discovery in a marsh: Roger is dead. Meanwhile, Sebastian Bergman, psychologist, criminal profiler, and one of Sweden's top experts on serial killers, is in Västerås to settle his mother's estate following her death. Sebastian has withdrawn from police work after the death of his wife and daughter in the 2004 tsunami.

Henry may be the wittiest playwright of his generation, but he’s hopelessly naïve when it comes to understanding love and infidelity. Writing about betrayal is one thing, living with it is another. After Henry leaves his wife for another woman, he’s confronted with being the cuckold himself. Both dazzlingly clever and emotionally naked, Henry’s search for the “the real thing” in art and love demonstrates beautifully why both are worth the effort in the end.

A Scottish meteorologist locks horns with his American counterpart as both men try to convince General Dwight D. Eisenhower that they can accurately predict the atmospheric conditions needed to launch the greatest amphibious assault in the history of mankind - the D-Day invasion.

Following the guidance of a mysterious blue prompt, Sylas journeys to the town of Ember Hollow to breathe new life into a quaint local pub. Along the way, he meets a clever apothecary named Mira, who helps him acclimate to the ins and outs of the realm, and Patches, a corpulent cat who’s slightly . . . shall we say, unusual. Dubbing the pub “The Old Lamplighter,” Sylas hopes it will be a safe haven for other weary souls. Of course, it doesn’t feel that safe when the prompt reappears with a warning: [You have 89 days until the invasion.]

While attempting to discover the roots of Hamlet’s unhappiness, two courtiers go on a journey to plumb the depths of the universe’s mysteries. Tom Stoppard’s wildly inventive, Tony® Award-winning first play takes us through a tilted version of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy while casting new light on questions of fate, mortality and the meaning of existence. Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood in June 2022.

Legendary thriller writer David Morrell transports listeners to the fogbound streets of London, where a killer plots to assassinate Queen Victoria. The year is 1855. The Crimean War is raging. The incompetence of British commanders causes the fall of the English government. The empire teeters. Amid this crisis comes opium-eater Thomas De Quincey, one of the most notorious and brilliant personalities of Victorian England. Along with his irrepressible daughter, Emily, and their Scotland Yard companions, finds himself confronted by an adversary who threatens the heart of the nation.