Showing results by narrator "Ben Allen" in All Categories

Summer 1961: The brutal Cold War between East and West is becoming ever more perilous. Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don't know it, but they’re about to compete in the deadliest game ever played. Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless Lithuanian resistance fighter who is hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world. Men who are also on the radar of Vassily, perhaps the USSR's greatest spymaster.

Why do obviously intelligent people believe things in spite of the evidence against them? Will Storr has travelled across the world to meet an extraordinary cast of modern heretics in order to answer this question. He goes on a tour of Holocaust sites with David Irving and a band of neo-Nazis, experiences his own murder during 'past-life regression' hypnosis, takes part in a mass homeopathic overdose, and investigates a new disease affecting tens of thousands of people - a disease that doesn't actually exist.

As Tess traces the sunrise over the floodplains, light that paints the house a startling crimson, she yearns for the comforting chaos of life as it once was. Instead of Max and Sonny tracking dirt through the kitchen - Tess and Richard's 'rainbow twins' - Tess absorbs the quiet. The nights draw in, the soil cools and Richard fights to get his winter crops planted rather than deal with the discussion he cannot bear to have. Secrets and vines clamber over the broken red bricks and although its inhabitants seem to be withering, in the damp, crumbling soil - Sonny knows it - something is stirring.

The Red Waaagh! has fallen on Alaric Prime, and the mekboys are working on Big Mek Mogrok's cunning and brutal plan - to pull a comet from space with the massive and dangerous 'Klaw of Mork' and bring it down on the heads of the world's human defenders.

Kiki grew up in New Zealand, dreaming of one day going to Glastonbury Festival. Now, mourning the loss of her beloved Yaya—the woman who raised her—she travels to the UK to follow that dream. It is only when she leaves home that she realises just how sheltered her life has been up until now. Ned lives an active and exciting life. Well, he did until the accident. Now, he's woken from his coma, except no one knows. He can hear everything happening around him but can't make his body respond.

When his village is destroyed by the evil Prince Mephtik, young Jarral Gullen must search for answers. With the help of his three friends Archer, Scythe and the Lady Mandragorina - a band of magically talented adventurers - Jarral must make a terrifying journey into the unknown. Only then will he be able to answer the questions that haunt him. Will he be able to discover what strange talents he possesses? And why does the spectre known as the Poisoner want to hunt him down?

How far can you go before you're in too deep? A dark, chilling psychological thriller from number one best-selling author Conn Iggulden. Davey has always lived in the shadow of his older brother, a smiling sociopath who will stop at nothing to protect himself and his family. But when the shadowy figure of Denis Tanter comes into Davey's life, how far will the bond of brotherhood reach?

When Douglas B. Douglas - leading light of the London theatre - premiers his new musical extravaganza, Blue Music, he is sure the packed house will be dazzled by the performance. What he couldn't predict is the death of his star, Brandon Baker, onstage in the middle of act two. Soon another member of the cast is found dead, and it seems to be a straightforward case of murder followed by suicide.

Is it a break? Or is it a blip? Liv and Adam are in love. Liv and Adam are supposed to be getting engaged. Until Adam accidently suggests they take a break. And Liv starts thinking.... Friends, family and bystanders all have opinions, and one complication leads to another as Adam and Liv try to muddle through in this hilarious, heartwarming comedy. Are they split up - or are they on a break? What exactly are they allowed to get away with? And, most importantly, what do Liv and Adam really want?

It is the summer of 1961, and the brutal Cold War between East and West is becoming ever more perilous. Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don't know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played. Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless resistance fighter who grew up the hard way in the forests of Lithuania, but who is now hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world.

Artists flock here, not just for wealth and fame, but for revolutionary color. Yet artist Giorgione “Zorzo” Barbarelli’s career hangs in the balance. Competition is fierce, and his debts are piling up. When Zorzo hears a rumor of a mysterious new pigment, brought to Venice by the richest man in Europe, he sets out to acquire the color and secure his name in history.

Collected here are some of Dostoyevsky's finest letters to his family and friends, as-well as reminiscences from those close to him. This audiobook also includes thoughts on his life and work from his contemporaries (including Ivan Turgenev and Leo Tolstoy). These letters give an insight into the work, life, and psychology of one of the greatest writers of all time.

Each track of this unique collection contains an extract, which might be a famous poem, quote or scene, matched to the date, performed by leading actors such as Sir Simon Russell Beale, Helen McCrory, and Damian Lewis. Allie Esiri's introductions give her listeners a new window into the work, time and life of the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year is perfect for listening or sharing and brings you Shakespeare’s best-known and best-loved classics alongside lesser known extracts read by a range of award-winning Shakespearean actors.

The Spell is a comedy of sexual manners that follows the interlocking affairs of four men: Robin, an architect in his late 40s who is trying to build an idyllic life in Dorset with his younger lover, Justin; Robin's 22-year-old son, Danny, a volatile beauty who lives for clubbing and casual sex; and the shy Alex, who is Justin's ex-boyfriend.

The German Classics Collection is a wide-ranging collection of 7 classic works of fiction and philosophy by German authors, read by a stellar cast of David Rintoul; Peter Noble; Ben Allen; Malk Williams; Daniel Weyman. Included here are stories by some of the greatest writers of all time, including Thomas Mann, Herman Hesse, Kafka, and Nietzsche.

This is the true story of a Londoner who gives up his job as an estate agent in the city, moves to the wilds of Exmoor, starts a smallholding and becomes self-sufficient, with a few bumps along the way. Simon's journey from urbanite to self-sufficient smallholder is brimming with incidents - some funny and some tragic - leading him to question Mother Nature, himself, the food he eats and his role in it all.

Liverpool: a suburban crime family grips a whole city with fear. And their ambition reaches further still. Galicia: an entire community waits on the windswept edge of Europe for the delivery of four tonnes of cocaine, brought across the ocean in an almost unbelievable craft. London: Jonas Merrick, grey and quiet, alone in a small office, seems an unlikely character to be tasked with bringing down an international drug network. But while Jonas's colleagues regard him as scratchy, fastidious, old, he is also ruthless, cunning and brutally pragmatic.

We Are All Made of Stars is an unforgettable story about second chances, the power of words, and the resilience of the heart.

Countries die. Sometimes it’s murder, sometimes it’s by accident, and sometimes it’s because they were so ludicrous they didn’t deserve to exist in the first place. Occasionally they explode violently. A few slip away almost unnoticed. Often the cause of death is either ‘got too greedy’ or ‘Napoleon turned up’. Now and then they just hold a referendum and vote themselves out of existence. This is an atlas of nations that fell off the map.

Renaissance Venice is a furnace of ideas and ambition. Artists flock here, not just for wealth and fame, but for revolutionary colour. Yet artist Giorgione 'Zorzo' Barbarelli's career hangs in the balance. Competition is fierce, and his debts are piling up. When Zorzo hears a rumour of a mysterious, other-worldly new pigment, brought to Venice by the richest man in Europe, he sets out to acquire the colour and secure his name in history. Winning a commission to paint a portrait of the man's wife, Sybille, Zorzo thinks he has found a way into the merchant's favour.