Showing results by narrator "Rupert Degas" in All Categories

When Rowland Sinclair is invited to race on the Maroubra Speedway, also known as the Killer Track, he agrees without reserve. But then a journalist covering the race is found dead; an English blueblood with Black shirt affiliations is killed on the racetrack, and Rowland himself becomes a target. Add to the mix a strange young reporter preoccupied with black magic, a mysterious vagabond, an up-and-coming actor called Flynn and a ruthless bookmaker... Rowland soon finds danger at every turn.

Charley's passion for travel and adventure continues in his new challenge - By Any Means. Travelling from his home town in Co Wicklow all the way to Sydney, he will use any means he can to reach his destination, via transport as diverse as steam train, horse, boat, kayak, truck, and tuk-tuk. And of course his beloved motorbike!

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.

When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her.

It begins as a school trip to London. But with a sudden tidal surge and a dramatic thunderstorm that hurls rainwater down on the capital, it suddenly becomes something totally different: the site of a major disaster as the Thames Barrier is breached and London is flooded. With streets underwater, communications down, rats pouring up out of the sewers, and thousands of people in a state of panic, survival becomes a very key issue for Ben and his mates.

A spirited yoga teacher teams up with a dark horse partner (determined to right wrongs); and together they seek closure on the sudden and mysterious death of a friend.

It is 1885. After a decade spent fighting for Queen and Country across the globe, Colonel Ian Steele is enjoying the quiet life in the colony of New South Wales, reunited with his friend Conan Curry and watching over his children and numerous business enterprises. But the British Empire's pursuits are ceaseless, and when the colony's soldiers are required to assist a campaign in Sudan, North Africa, Ian's son Lieutenant Josiah Steele heeds the call, despite an ultimatum from the love of his life, Marian.

The respectable middle-class Twist family is settling in for their usual Sunday lunch. Husband and wife Roger and Becky are there, along with their daughter, Lucy, and her husband, Frank. But then they're joined by an uninvited guest. His name is John, and he knows everything about them—including their darkest secrets. After he manipulates his way into the house, John soon has them bound at their wrists and ankles. But what is the agenda of this twisted stranger?

Written in 1901, this anthology contains stories such as The Story of the Beginning, Odin’s Reward, The Hammer of Thor, and The Punishment of Loki. As the gods of Asgard continue to permeate pop culture, this book will send you back to the origin of these myths.

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.

As the son of 'the Colonial', legendary Queen's Captain Ian Steele, Josiah Steele has big shoes to fill. Although his home in the colony of New South Wales is a world away, he dreams of one day travelling to England so he can study to be a commissioned officer in the Scottish Regiment. After cutting his teeth in business on the rough and ready goldfields of Far North Queensland's Palmer River, he finally realises his dream and travels to England, where he is accepted into the Sandhurst military academy.

In October 1863, Ian Steele, having taken on the identity of Captain Samuel Forbes, is fighting the Pashtun on the north-west frontier in India. Half a world away, the real Samuel Forbes is a lieutenant in the third New York Volunteers and is facing the Confederates at the Battle of Mission Ridge in Tennessee. Neither is aware their lives will change beyond recognition in the year to come. In London, Ella, the love of Ian's life, is unhappily married to Count Nikolai Kasatkin.

Imogen Truman has survived the carnage unleashed by Strickenstein. But for how long? Found wandering the barren volcanic landscape of Iceland, she searches for Gryla - a child-eating giantess who may be the key to saving someone beloved to her. Her pendant, now glowing neon pink, warns her of mythical beasts and The Order of Dark. This glow is a welcomed insight that helps her know when Strickenstein is near. But she must make a deal with a troublesome ghost, proving to be of some benefit to her quest. As her powers develop, so do her doubts....

On a tiny island far away, in a sea that ripples with magic, Monty never knows what he might find. The most unexpected things wash up on Monty's Island. And a golden egg might be his most amazing find yet! But when a pair of flying monsters and a mysterious explorer arrive, it seems the egg is about to hatch into a very big problem. Can Monty find a way to solve it? Surely he can! All he needs is a little help from his friends. And the Hairy Horrible.

Set against the backdrop of rapidly approaching climate catastrophe, scientists Kate Larkin and Jay Gunesekera are recruited by tech billionaire and mogul Davis Hucken to the forests of Tasmania, Australia. His foundation's mission is not only halting the effects of climate change, but to re-engineer and reverse the damage through the ambitious process of reviving species lost to the earth over time through natural and unnatural means. Including a clandestine ambition to resurrect the Neanderthals.

On a beautiful island far away, on a sea that ripples with magic, Monty never knows what he might find. Monty lives on a perfect island in the middle of a magical sea. Sometimes the sea throws up something interesting...and Monty goes on an amazing adventure! Monty, Tawny and friends receive some startling news: Scary Mary and her pirate crew are on their way, looking for a new island to call home. What can they do? Hiding is not an option - especially when Bunchy accidentally turns the whole island stripey with her new magic wand.

First published in 1924, Beau Geste tells the story of a stolen sapphire and three brothers, who consequently join the Foreign Legion. Michael "Beau" Geste, as his nickname suggests, represents honor and bravery in the midst of deceit and treachery. An action-packed adventure, much of the plot is set in French North Africa, where the Geste brothers have to contend with both a mutiny in their ranks and the attacks of the Touaregs.

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.

After the defeated Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte goes into exile on tiny St. Helena Island in the remote South Atlantic, he and his lover, Albine de Montholon, plot to escape and rescue his young son. Banding together African slaves, British sympathizers, a Jewish merchant, a Corsican rogue, and French followers, they confront British opposition as well as treachery within their own ranks with sometimes subtle, sometimes bold, but always desperate action. When Napoleon and Albine break faith with one another, ambition and Albine’s husband threaten their reconciliation.

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.