Showing results by narrator "Rupert Degas" in All Categories

2020 began with fire storms raging through the country, followed by floods and then a global pandemic that has changed how Australians think, feel and live. We all experienced this year differently, but one thing rings true for all us: this is a year we won't forget. This anthology brings together original work from a diverse collection of Australian voices, from writers to scientists, journalists to historians, all expressing what 2020 meant to them.

Married couple Mark and Cecilia seem to have it all—looks, wealth, love. But behind closed doors, things are very different—they live in silent resentment, their marriage broken by the shattering loss of the child they so desperately wanted. Enter Alice: Mark’s idea of the perfect woman. She appears from nowhere and offers Mark the chance of a new life filled with love, passion, and, finally, the joys of parenthood—everything he’s ever dreamed of. But there’s a catch.

When Rebecca Russell’s brother marries, she finally has the opportunity she has been dreaming of: to leave the seclusion of her reclusive grandfather’s home and enter into society. But when her inexperience has her making blunders and courting embarrassment, help comes from an unexpected source: the brooding, irritable brother of her chaperone.

When lawyer Daniel Connell receives a visit from his troublemaking old flame, Victoria, pleading for his help, he looks for any excuse not to get involved. But no one else believes her pleas of innocence, and Daniel can see she is terrified. As he enters Vick's life once more, Daniel's search for truth leads from the dark heart of Essex to the mountains of Afghanistan and a terrifying world where monsters are real - and nothing is sacred.

When the twisted Dark Mechanicus priests of the Bloodborn descend upon Quintarn, the Ultramarines are quick to move in defence of their prized agri-world. However, it soon becomes apparent that the planet's fate will not be decided by the massed battle companies of the Space Marines but by the actions of just one lowly sergeant - Torias Telion.

A.J.A. Symons discovered Frederick Rolfe’s Hadrian the Seventh in 1925 and became consumed with fascination for its eccentric author, aka ‘Baron Corvo’. His ‘quest’ takes the form of an irresistible detective story, the twists and turns of his investigation into Rolfe’s unfortunate life resulting in a groundbreaking form of biography that reveals much about both men.

This adapted and condensed version of the tale by Alexandre Dumas will introduce children to beloved characters from the original novel and give them a taste of the adventure-filled classic.

In this 1945 novella, barnyard animals rise up against the oppressive rule of human farmers and set about to create a better world for themselves. When two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, emerge as leaders of the new collective, a schism is created with dire implications for the erstwhile utopia. George Orwell's satirical story of Revolutionary Russia and Stalinism is a classic of anti-authoritarianism protest literature.

Jasper Lightner is a decorated Crimean War hero and the most admired inspector in London's Metropolitan Police. Along with a chest full of medals, he's got a head injury that's left large chunks of his memory missing. But Jasper's biggest problem is his father, the Duke of Kersey, who is enraged by a series of front-page newspaper stories extolling Jasper's exploits. Jasper is sent packing to New York City on a yearlong assignment to train detectives and discovers a police department hovering on the brink of armed conflict.

Ticking like a time-bomb, brimming with terror and threat, Andy McNab's latest Nick Stone adventure is a high-voltage story of corruption, cover-up and blistering suspense - the master thriller writer at his electrifying best.

In October 2018, Mark “Mace” Macy, sixty-four years old, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He had spent thirty years competing in Colorado and around the world in ultra-endurance competitions and is one of the few people who have finished all eight Eco-Challenge events. Once diagnosed, he feared losing endurance, strength, and independence.

Even the dead like to keep their secrets.... When William Gove, a dying millionaire and patriarch of a vast estate in Essex, asks Daniel Connell to execute his will, Daniel has no idea what he's getting himself into. Rather than leave his fortune to his three children, Gove has chosen 10 names at random from the phone book. When he dies, Daniel sets out to track down the recipients.

Ten years ago humanity lost the war for survival. Now intelligent zombies rule the world. Feeding the undead of a steady diet of cloned people called Tankbread, the survivors live in a dangerous world on the brink of final extinction. One outlaw courier must go on a journey through the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Australia. Fighting his way into the very heart of the apocalypse in the desperate search for a way to save the last humans and destroy the undead threat.

"Escape to Tasmania" they said. But what was supposed to be a dream for Ric Peters and Elaina Williams has turned into a nightmare. The Devil's Island is living up to its name, serving up the ghosts of its dark past, while Ric is haunted by his own demons. The truth is unraveling, and death is closing in from all sides. And now, it's stalking Elaina.

In April 2011, four soldiers set out on a challenge that even an able-bodied athlete would balk at: a 200-mile trek, unsupported, to the North Pole. It was the culmination of a journey that began long before, when two friends decided to mount an expedition that would demonstrate how remarkable our armed forces are and raise funds for the rehabilitation of injured service men and women. Little did they know that their idea would ultimately gain global attention.

In the southwestern desert, a mysterious cult prays for the return of the Visitors. Only one creature can derail that grand and glorious event: An evil entity, known as the Duad, can keep the Visitors from arriving and prevent the transfiguration to come. Daley, who lives nearby, has a far more serious problem: an alien consciousness that has taken up residence in her head.

Dr. Warr’s decayed corpse is found in the woods. He worked at the local psychiatric hospital before vanishing over a year ago without a trace. People blamed his disappearance on a mental breakdown. There have always been whispers about Newman Hospital—staff brutality, deliberate misdiagnosis. DI Gilbert Markham and his right-hand man, DS Noakes, begin asking questions. They are met with a chilling silence. It seems the people in power know more than they are letting on. Another staff member is found in the annals of the hospital, strangled to death.

Albert Beauchamp disappeared just before Christmas in 1856. When he reappears more than a year later, he's in several pieces, packed in salt in a shipping crate in New Orleans. NYC inspectors Jasper Lightner and his partner, Hieronymus Law, are called in to investigate - but the further they dig into the wealthy financier's background, the dirtier the story gets.

With a horse between his thighs and a weapon in his grip, the dashing Brigadier Etienne Gerard, Colonel of the Hussars of Conflans, gallops through the Napoleonic campaigns on secret missions for his beloved Emperor and his country. He encounters danger and hair-breadth escapes but never loses his bravado, his eye for a pretty girl, his boastfulness or his enormous vanity.

It is the month before Christmas, and Roman's class is preparing for the Christmas fete and the school pantomime. The new teacher at the helm - the awful Mr Le Salle, a flamboyant, theatrical and downright nasty piece of work - is the least of Roman's worries. He also has to contend with the most rubbish role in the panto (being a box) as well as organising the Santa's grotto stall at the Christmas fete with loose cannon Darren Gamble. As the panto nears, it seems that everything that could possibly go wrong is about to. It is left to Roman to save the panto and the day....