Showing results by narrator "Mark Rice-Oxley" in All Categories

Life has the capacity of great moments and attainment, of lives well lived, fulfilling for ourselves and for those we touch. But for others life is arduous. There is no spark to ignite the curiosity, to explore and achieve a stability and a growth to their lives. Indeed their lives, in their own eyes, become almost meaningless, their sense of themselves subsumed under a myriad of problems, whether real or imagined. Seismic events in a life might crush them; the loss of a loved one for instance. Coping is difficult, support hard to find and isolation abounds.

Derek Cooper is a retro gamer. His small flat is full to the brim with consoles, game cartridges, hulking great tube TVs, retro merchandise, and every handheld gaming device you can think of, and then some. They make him happy, so why not? When he decides his collection could do with an addition in the form of a real-life, full-size, good old-fashioned arcade cabinet, he can't possibly know what adventures lie ahead of him after he drags the heavy monolith out of a cellar in Watford to his flat and then painstakingly rebuilds the dud electronics, bringing it back to life.

When you find out your best friend and business partner is secretly sleeping with your wife, it may be time to move on.... From your job and your marriage.... Which is precisely what happened to Jamie Newgent. A change of lifestyle is what’s needed, and a bachelor pad on the fourth floor of a jutting tower provides a new home, a fresh start, and a new chapter in his life.

The tantalising brief of a secret government project from the Cold War era. But, it can’t be real, can it? Toby Steele is a typical night shift tech support guy, working alone, mostly in peace, until something strange happens on the night of the 22nd of February, 2022. At 22:22:22—One moment that changes his life, forever. How will he deal with the new skills he’s acquired, and what do they mean for his future? What secrets has a one-hundred-year-old lady in a care home kept from the world for more than half a century?

The promised cure for obesity turned out to be the catalyst that made the Black Death look like a quiet Sunday stroll. It infected hundreds, then thousands, then millions, until the world was all but consumed by the ravenous hordes it created. They found their way into every safe haven and fortress and massacred the few remaining survivors at will.

It was hailed as the answer to the obesity epidemic; a pill that allows you to eat anything you like and still lose weight. Millions were attracted by the promise of a leaner, fitter body, but there was a fatal and unforeseen flaw in this new panacea. A tiny microbe, lurking within, slowly infects the users. In turn they pass the infection to others with a sneeze, a cough or a simple kiss, and before long tens of millions are infected and turned into mindless, shambling wrecks, with the sole purpose of existing to eat.

The Empire rules with an iron fist. The Valeroot elves have barely managed to survive, but at least they’re not Arthali witches like Elmerah. Her people were exiled long ago. Just a child at the time, her only choice was to flee her homeland, or remain among those who’d betrayed their own kind. She was resigned to living out her solitary life in a swamp until pirates kidnap her and throw her in with their other captives, young women destined to be sold into slavery.

At an advanced academic institute in Canberra, Josh and Alice meet scientists Henry and Vanessa Jones who are experimenting with mind transference. The four of them combine their technology to try and project their minds back through time into their younger bodies, thus achieving immortality. After some initial success, unforeseen implications become apparent.

One of the greatest cities has fallen, betrayed by its own people. Yet Saida’s loss is even greater, and for her pain, someone must pay. Though the events of the battle were orchestrated by the Emperor, her heart casts blame on only one elf. While Elmerah and Alluin work toward the next step in their plan, Saida can think of only him.

Faerune is running out of time. With the threat of the Dreilore nipping at their heels, our unlikely companions have only one choice: to move forward with Alluin’s mad plan to overthrow the Empire. The emperor must be killed, and the Dreilore defeated, but first, Isara Saredoth must be located. She’s the only rational choice for empress, someone both humans and elves alike can support. Elmerah, Alluin, and Saida will brave the Akkeri temples to find their empress, but Isara may not be exactly what they expected. In fact, some think her quite mad.

Do you want to plan fast, effectively, and stress-free? You can finish your planning in less time and produce awesome lesson activities that your students will love. Written by an experienced teacher trainer, manager, and education blogger, Lesson Planning for Language Teachers will show you: a simple, four step planning process that works for every lesson, how to write laser-targeted goals in 30 seconds flat, how to set a context that motivates your students, how to know which lesson structure to use to avoid confusion and chaos, and much more!

This audiobook is written for startup founders to prepare them for successful fund raising for their company. From working on the core components of the startup to preparation of right documents and pitching to the investors, this audiobook covers all key aspects of fund raising. Atal Malviya, the founder of Spark10 has built and exited VC funded companies and has also helped hundreds of startups in raising investment globally.

Learning to Drive and Pass Your Practical Driving Test in the UK is written by a DVSA-approved driving instructor and is a helpful guide for anyone who is just starting out on their learning to drive journey. It is essential listening for anybody who is about to sit the practical driving test. Jam packed full of handy hints and tips to enhance the learning experience. Written in easy-to-follow language without jargon.

Franz Kafka was born on 3rd July 1883 in Prague, then in Bohemia, the eldest of 6, into a middle-class Jewish family. Life for the young Kafka and his passion for literature was often made an ordeal by his over-bearing and domineering entrepreneur of a father. His literary works are few in number but towering in influence. His masterpieces include ‘The Trial’, ‘The Metamorphosis’ as well as a number of short stories which reveal facets of humankind that truthfully could only be born from Kafka’s brain and pen.

An elderly man gives virtuoso piano performances in airports and train stations. To the incredulity of the passers-by, he refuses their offers to play in concert halls, or at prestigious gatherings. He is waiting for someone, he tells them.

When Rachel inherits an abandoned antique shop in London, she suspects the reason for its abandonment. But when she and her friend Peter find a valuable coin, they take it with them - only to then find themselves in the 15th century. Then, there's the discovery of the Edward V. coin, a relic from the short-lived reign of Edward V., which prompts Peter to want to find out what really happened to the princes in the tower. When Peter finds the famous B necklace worn by Anne Boleyn in many portraits, he is eager to use it to go back and see her in the flesh. But that's only the beginning.

A storm is brewing, pitting dragons against mortals, gods against Faie, and in the middle is Finn. Her magic is changing. Traps seem to lurk around every corner. The greatest trap of all, perhaps, is making a deal with a dragon, but she sees no other choice. If she doesn’t stand against the gods, no one will. Even if it means destroying who she is to become something else in the process.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born on the 30th August 1797 in Somers Town, London. Her mother, the famous feminist philosopher, educator, and writer Mary Wollstonecraft died when Mary was only 11 days old and she was raised by her father. Her short stories, some based in Europe, tackle difficult situations and genres as well the obstacles that women were burdened with in society. Her editorship of her late husband’s poetry was also widely praised.

Eleven years ago, the UK government burnt its quarantined cities and vanished in the flames. They left behind broken lives and a broken country. The Gamekeeper wanders the ruins of Britain, picking a living from the carcass of the old world. He's a nomad, utilizing his skills as a trapper and hunter to trade for whatever he can't get himself. He is all the company he has in this brutal world, and it is all he has ever needed. Or so he thought.

Montague Rhodes James is cited as perhaps the greatest English writer of ghost stories, an opinion few would disagree with. Many of his elegant yet terrifying tales were created by discarding the prevailing gothic clichés and placing his characters and narrative in a realistic setting. Thereby the stories gained atmosphere and menace on a grand scale and he was famed as the originator of the antiquarian ghost story. Although story-telling and writing these 30 or so tales was a hobby, when published their effect transformed the genre and still chill the bones in our more modern times.