Showing results by narrator "Ben Onwukwe" in All Categories

Picture a man, he’s tall, not excessively so, yet as wide as he is high. This man is a spitting and growling street brawler; a tank full of ready-to-blow, muscle-fuelled aggression. Imagine, if you will, the comic-book style Bulldog of Great British stamp. Well, there you have him! The prototypical face taken from the terraces of an ’80s football fan’s rolled-up newspaper cosh; a poster-boy of malevolence left over from Thatcher’s post-punk Britain.

Strangling vines and meat-hungry flora fill this unruly garden of strange stories, selected for their significance as the seeds of the villainous (or perhaps just misunderstood) 'killer plant' in fiction, film and video games. Step within to marvel at Charlotte Perkins Gilman's giant wisteria and H.G. Wells' hungry orchid; hear the calls of the ethereal women of the wood and the frightful drone of the moaning lily; and do tread carefully around E. Nesbit's wandering creepers. Every strain of vegetable threat can be found within this new collection.

In part one, 'First Contact', we discover what happened to art in the great Age of Discovery, when civilisations encountered each other for the first time. Although undoubtedly a period of conquest and destruction, it was also one of mutual curiosity, global trade and the exchange of ideas.

A new translation of the timeless family fables by Hryhorii Skovoroda, about animals that are cunning, lazy, afraid and even pick their noses, just like real people. The heroes of the stories teach us how important it is to look beyond the surface to see the true essence of things, to do our best with what it within our power, and how to value the time that we have.

A forth collection of gripping short stories from the most acclaimed Science Fiction author of any generation. Arthur C Clarke is without question the world's best-known science fiction writer, enjoying a career of unequalled success. Clarke has always been celebrated for his prophetic vision, which is fully on display in this audiobook, but there are also many stories which show his imagination in full flight.

Leonard is shocked when he arrives with his mother in the port of Southampton. His father is a stranger to him, it's cold and even the Jamaican food doesn't taste the same as it did back home in Maroon Town. But his parents have brought him here to try to make a better life, so Leonard does his best not to complain, to make new friends, to do well at school - even when people hurt him with their words and with their fists. How can a boy so far from home learn to enjoy his new life when so many things count against him?

Alex Locke is desperately trying to hold on to the disparate threads of the complex web of time he has created. He travels to the First World War, living through the horrors of trench warfare in order to befriend a young soldier crucial to his story, then to the 1930s to uncover the secrets of a mysterious stage magician. He moves back and forth in time, always with the strange and terrifying Dark Man on his heels, gradually getting closer to uncovering the true nature of his destiny with the obsidian heart.

A short, essential introduction to Black British history. When did Africans first come to Britain? Who are the well-dressed Black children in Georgian paintings? Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution? These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history: from the Roman Africans who guarded Hadrian’s Wall right up to the present day.

A grisly spirit turns travelling companion for the unwitting passenger of a London bus; a repulsive neighbour returns from the grave, rejected by the very earth; an innocuous back garden becomes the stage for a nightmare encounter with druidic sacrifice. From deep in the British Library vaults emerges a new selection of E.F. Benson's most innovative, spine-tingling and satisfyingly dark 'spook stories'. Complete with an introduction exploring the fascinating story of Benson's life, and including the never-before-republished story 'Billy Comes Through'.

Paddington Bear tries to buy a birthday present, the animals of Brambly Hedge set off to the seaside. A greedy queen insists on having the biggest tree in the world, but will Cinderella get to go to the ball?

"I saw the strangest sight tonight." New Bohemia. America. A storm. A black man finds a white baby abandoned in the night. He gathers her up - light as a star - and decides to take her home. London. England. After the financial crash. Leo Kaiser knows how to make money, but he doesn't know how to manage the jealousy he feels towards his best friend and his wife. Is his newborn baby even his?

It's important to look after your crew when you're in the battlefield salvage business. It's stressful work at the best of times, and although your employees are unlikely to be happy it makes sense to keep them alive. So when Saevus Corax finds himself having to capture a castle to stop his men from being killed, he has no choice but to give it a try. Needless to say, the conventional rules of siegecraft are unlikely to be followed.

There is no better hiding place for clues - or red herrings - than inside the pages of a book. With Martin Edwards as librarian and guide, delve into an irresistible stack of tales perfect for every book lover and armchair sleuth, featuring much-loved Golden Age detectives such as Nigel Strangeways, Philip Trent and Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. But listeners should be warned that the most riveting tales often conceal the deadliest of secrets.

A twisty collection of short stories from the master of classic crime fiction, Peter Lovesey, one of which stars his most popular creation, Peter Diamond. More than 50 years ago, Peter Lovesey published a short story in an anthology. That short story caught the eye of the great Ruth Rendell, whose praise ignited Lovesey's life-long passion for short form crime fiction.

With opportunities for black men limited in post-World War II London, Rick Braithwaite, a former Royal Air Force pilot and Cambridge-educated engineer, accepts a teaching position that puts him in charge of a class of angry, unmotivated, bigoted white teenagers whom the system has mostly abandoned. When his efforts to reach these troubled students are met with threats, suspicion, and derision, Braithwaite takes a radical new approach. He will treat his students as people poised to enter the adult world.

Let Me Be Frank is the new book from one of the world's sporting greats. A deeply personal story, Bruno talks about his battle with mental illness, his time inside a mental facility, the impact his illness has had on his family and his career - and his long road back to stability. Now ready to talk about the condition that devastated his world, Frank's story offers his own unique perspective on living with bipolar disorder. His fears, his triumphs and the great affection he feels for the legion of fans he has to this day. His aim is to give others hope and inspiration.

In the wild Lebombo Mountains of South Africa, Ralph and Robyn are on the run from the nefarious Josef Gerhard. His beastly man-made predasaurs have unleashed a deadly virus and only the Ballantynes have the evidence to prove it. They need to regroup and plan their next move if they want to stop him before it's too late and find a cure for the virus.

But deep in the forest, dangers lurk; poachers are circling, and Gerhard has a brand-new creation he wants to show off, if he can lure the Ballantynes to its lair.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Gnomon, written by Nick Harkaway, read by Ben Onwukwe. Near-future Britain is a state in which citizens are constantly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of 'transparency'. Every action is seen, every word is recorded and the System has access to thoughts and memories....

In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship and fulfilment. But Hubert Bird is lying. The truth is day after day drags by without him seeing a single soul. Until, that is, he receives some good news - good news that in one way turns out to be the worst news ever, news that will force him out again, into a world he has long since turned his back on. Now, Hubert faces a seemingly impossible task: to make his real life resemble his fake life before the truth comes out.

1882. North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness—a man made of smoke.