Showing results by narrator "Chris Macdonnell" in All Categories

This Misery of Boots is the expansion of a 1905 essay by H.G. Wells. He presents a very interesting view of society based on Wells’ observations on boots and the misery they cause to those unable to purchase well-fitting and well-designed boots. He advocates socialism as a way to solve this and other problems. He puts forward arguments that add a voice of support to working-class people of his time. Wells was an avowed socialist.

"The Wood Beyond the World" is perhaps the first modern fantasy novel to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural and is thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature. The protagonist, (Golden Walter), gets married when he is a young man. His wife betrays him with another, so in his sorrow and to avoid a feud with her family, he sets off to sea.

For the past six months, since solving the thefts of England's subsidies meant for its war allies, Lady Cecilia and Sir James Branstoke have concentrated on renovating their estate in Kent. When David Thornbridge sends word to them that someone has kidnapped a child from The East India Company dock, Cecilia and James immediately return to London to investigate. Their investigation leads them from warehouses, to a society musical entertainment, and to the rooftops and chimneys of London. And just when they rescue the child, murder occurs.

When newlyweds Sir James and Lady Cecilia Branstoke come to console a widow on the death of her husband, they discover some things don't add up about the death of the young Lord. Worse, a man who won't state his purpose, but is obviously military, wants a carte blanche to search the dead man's library! The sheer effrontery!

Across half a galaxy, the Terran Empire maintains its sovereignty with the consent of the governed. It is a peaceful reign, held by compact and not by conquest. Again and again, when rebellion threatens the Terran Peace, the natives of the rebellious world have turned against their own people and sided with the men of Terra - not from fear, but from a sense of dedication. There has never been open war. The battle for these worlds is fought in the minds of a few men who stand between worlds; bound to one world by interest, loyalties, and allegiance; bound to the other by love.

It can be said that the subject of Rating Pilots and the Fleet Air Arm may only be of interest to avid aviation and naval historians. In this short but concise treatise, Alan Clifford provides an in-depth and detailed history, from the inter-service social and governmental politics to the practical reasons for the Rating Pilot schemes coming into being.

A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is set in Paris and London, firmly placed in the period leading up to and including the French Revolution to the subsequent Reign of Terror. It's primarily the tale of Doctor Alexandre Manette, who is unjustly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years; his daughter, Lucie Manette, who believes him to be dead; two men who both fall in love with her; and the supporters or foes of the family who, for their own reasons, love or despise them.

Given the time and location in which it was written, the original Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi contains many events and episodes which, today, many consider unsuitable for a modern children's audience. The Disney animated version was changed in many ways to reflect this - and so is this adaptation. Chris MacDonnell and Spoken Realms have re-imagined and re-written the more unsuitable sections to reflect contemporary expectations of children's literature. However, it is still truly a children's classic and the story is largely unchanged.

Film historian David Thomson, leads us into this very delicate subject. While unpacking classics such as Seven, Strangers on a Train, The Conformist, The Godfather, and The Shining, he offers a disconcerting sense of how the form of movies makes us accomplices in this sinister narrative process. Murder and the Movies admits us into what Thomson calls "a warped triangle": the creator working out a compelling death; the killer doing his and her best; and the entranced spectator trying to cling to life and a proper sense of decency.

The novel is the story of a scientist who, through the study of optics finds a way to make things invisible. In a desire for recognition, fame, and the advantages of being invisible, he subjects himself to the process. But being unseen isn't as positive as he had hoped, and he soon finds himself regretting his condition, and his mind also becomes warped. He becomes mentally unhinged. Later, he embraces his invisibility and begins to spiral into a lust for power and control, and he reveals a plan he has hatched to unleash his personal "terror" on the world.

Enter the humidity, feel the cold steel...Frank Bowen is pulled into a conspiracy that will change his life forever and throw him neck-deep into the dark world of espionage, murder, and terrorism...The first three thrillers in the Frank Bowen Conspiracy Thriller series collected in one gripping volume: False Flag, Pandora Red, and Ghost Order. If you enjoy conspiracy, ruthless assassins, and nonstop action, then you’ll love the Frank Bowen.

The dragonkin have returned, devouring the essences of those able to tame the Elements. Now Elwin must learn to survive in exile. As he searches for ways to use his innate powers without being destroyed by the dragons, Zarah and Feffer seek out secrets long hidden by the ancient magi. But the magi guard their secrets dearly, and have stepped from the shadows, using their Words of Power to wage war against the elementalists. With enemies everywhere, Elwin still must learn to master the Elements and save the people most dear to him.

Frank Bowen attempts to piece together a fractured life at home but finds himself pulled back into the dark state once again. Only, this time, he’s playing both sides. Hired by John Rhodes, founding father of the Liberatus movement, his mission is to escort a valuable asset to South America. Then the spectre of Carl Paterson emerges and Frank finds he has to work once again with his old agency, Ghost 13.

Mindful Business Leadership presents a new model of leadership. It introduces 10 very different leadership roles that are required to meet the challenges of modern business. Memorable metaphors and images are created for each, and they are placed in a matrix. Listeners are shown how to develop these roles within themselves. Potentially negative aspects of each are discussed, along with material on how to put these to creative use.

London, 1888. A madman has begun the most notorious series of murders in history. With each new discovery of a woman's mutilated body, the citywide panic grows. The police seem unable to stop the killer, even when he taunts them with letters. Letters signed...Jack the Ripper. In another part of London, the reign of terror has touched a young writer and theater manager named Bram Stoker. The police have closed his theater's production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and suspect its star of being Jack the Ripper. His livelihood endangered, Stoker sets out to find the real killer.

The ancient conflict that has waged on Earth for eons between two rival groups of alien gods, one from the bright center of the galaxy and one from the dark abyss beyond, is finally nearing its end. A prophecy foretelling the birth of children of the bright gods, the Lightbringers, is fulfilled, and dark forces immediately set out to destroy them. Raised in secrecy on a mysterious isle by a group of magical women called the Circle of Swans, one of the children, Deykin, is believed to be safe until one fateful day when his world unravels.

After a long journey, Jax finds himself abandoned far from home in the desert nation of Kalicodon. When any infraction to tribal honor will land him in chains as a slave, he must learn quickly to adapt in a foreign land in hopes of maintaining his freedom. In his struggles to liberate Daren from slavery, he meets Jesnia, a woman from his homeland, who has hunted fugitives from justice to the eastern edge of the desert. Without his own cunning and her talents, Jax may very well meet his end, fighting for his life in the arena.

Scrooge! His name has become synonymous with being miserly and miserable, especially at Christmas! A Christmas Carol is the much-loved novella by Charles Dickens which tells Scrooge's story. This mean, misanthropic man is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, and then three spirits: the ghosts of Christmas Past, of Christmas Present, and of Christmas Yet to Come.

For countless years, Moth has been frozen still, one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless night. For countless years, the soldiers of sunlight and the dwellers of darkness have lived in isolation. We are the children of Moth. We were born in sunlight or in shadow. We can stop the fire, or we can watch our world burn. This is our story.

In this James-Bond-meets-real-world thriller, MI5 man Lucas Norton once again finds himself caught up in a high-stakes assault when a sniper in a powerboat takes a pot-shot at his family. Could it be linked to the daring raid carried out at GCHQ, where thieves evade the world's tightest security to steal top secret ultra-high-tech equipment from under his nose? Lucas's first case culminated in him, and the FBI, losing $48m from an international heist.