Showing results by author "Orlando" in All Categories

At a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon's army marches on Russia and the lives of three young people are changed forever. The stories of quixotic Pierre, cynical Andrey and impetuous Natasha interweave with a huge cast, from aristocrats and peasants, to soldiers and Napoleon himself.

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee. Margaret is not most people. Margaret is staying.

The power unleashed during the Ascendance, lingers. After defeating the Revenant, Monty realizes Simon’s blood has been poisoned—tainted. Simon is slowly transforming. His body is harnessing dark magic in ways thought unimaginable. Now, Monty is faced with the hardest choice. Let the poison run its course, transforming Simon into a dark immortal, increasing his power, but drawing the attention of those who would want him dead, or allow Simon to take the blood lessons, risking his friend’s life? Can Monty help Simon before he’s too far gone or will Simon become an unstoppable threat?

Opening with a panorama of Russian society, from the cloistered world of the Tsar to the brutal life of the peasants, A People’s Tragedy follows workers, soldiers, intellectuals and villagers as their world is consumed by revolution and then degenerates into violence and dictatorship. Drawing on vast original research, Figes conveys above all the shocking experience of the revolution for those who lived it, while providing the clearest and most cogent account of how and why it unfolded.

The terrible conflict that dominated the mid-19th century, the Crimean War, killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. It was a war for territory, provoked by fear that if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse then Russia could control a huge swathe of land from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf. But it was also a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populist and ever more ferocious belief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia's task to rule all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land.

Drawing on a huge range of sources - letters, memoirs, conversations - Orlando Figes tells the story of how Russians tried to endure life under Stalin. Those who shaped the political system became, very frequently, its victims. Those who were its victims were frequently quite blameless. The Whisperers recreates the sort of maze in which Russians found themselves, where an unwitting wrong turn could either destroy a family or, perversely, later save it: a society in which everyone spoke in whispers - whether to protect themselves, their families, neighbours or friends - or to inform on them.

An emissary from the Dark Council has just materialized in the office of the Montague & Strong Detective Agency, and makes Simon Strong an offer he can't refuse. Charon is missing. The legendary ferryman responsible for transporting sorcerer souls across the river Styx hasn't been seen in days. And with each passing hour, those unable to cross the river are left to walk among the living, tilting the world further out of balance. Meet Simon Strong, an immortal, who is also the best private detective in New York City. Together with his surly partner Tristan Montague they must find the Ferryman.

Beginning in the 18th century with the building of St. Petersburg - a 'window on the West' - and culminating with the challenges posed to Russian identity by the Soviet regime, Figes examines how writers, artists, and musicians grappled with the idea of Russia itself - its character, spiritual essence and destiny. He skillfully interweaves the great works - by Dostoevsky, Stravinsky, and Chagall - with folk embroidery, peasant songs, religious icons and all the customs of daily life, from food and drink to bathing habits to beliefs about the spirit world.

Este Original Audible acompanha a atriz Alice Braga e a artista e ativista Daiara Tukano, numa jornada pela história oculta do Brasil. Uma história dividida em 8 episódios, que relata a participação do Governo brasileiro no apagamento de populações indígenas, inclusive por meio de ações de políticas públicas.

When chef Paul Delamare agrees to help his old friend Christian by teaching at an exclusive residential cookery school in Belgravia, the only thing he expects his students to murder is his taste buds. But on the first night, the unthinkable happens: someone turns up dead. Could one of his students be the killer? Or Rose - the owner of the school, a woman with secrets and a murky past? The police are convinced Paul is the culprit.

When Orlando Whitfield met Inigo Philbrick, they were ambitious art history students who dreamt of dealing art for a living. Their friendship would last for fifteen years until one day, Inigo - by then the most successful dealer of his generation - disappeared, accused of a fraud so gigantic and audacious it rocked the art world to its core.

No other country has been so divided over its own past as Russia. None has changed its story so often. How the Russians came to tell their story, and to reinvent it as they went along, is a vital aspect of their history, their culture and beliefs. To understand what Russia’s future holds—to grasp what Putin’s regime means for Russia and the world—we need to unravel the ideas and meanings of that history. In The Story of Russia, Orlando Figes brings into sharp relief the vibrant characters that comprise Russia’s rich history.

Paul Delamare has been roped into accompanying his old friend on a luxury cruise aboard the magnificent superyacht Mal de Mer. It’s all plain sailing until his friend’s priceless necklace is stolen, and everyone falls under suspicion. As Paul races to catch the thief, the ship begins to drift off-course, veering into the storm-lashed mid-Atlantic. Then one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious circumstances, in a pool of coffee and surrounded by cake crumbs. It’s all hands on deck to catch the killer, but Paul soon discovers guests and crew are harbouring deadly secrets.

In a work of prodigious scholarship and enormous breadth, which draws on the tribal, ancient, premodern, and modern worlds, Orlando Patterson discusses the internal dynamics of slavery in sixty-six societies over time. Slavery is shown to be a parasitic relationship between master and slave, invariably entailing the violent domination of a natally alienated, or socially dead, person.

Monty and Simon survived the Stormblood, but not without grave consequences. Whatever method York used to complete the ritual opened a door to something ancient, dark, and evil. A Revenant. Now, that Revenant is hunting them. It needs their life force to be completely free. There’s only one way to get it. Eliminate them both. Together, they must face this new threat before it becomes too powerful to stop and destroys them all.

Broken bodies and bloody messages are appearing in the darkest corners of New York City. Infected werewolves are roaming the streets attacking innocents. The Dark Council demands answers. They summon Simon and Tristan to investigate. The evidence points to the work of a powerful mage, unfortunately, there is only one mage in the city powerful enough to cause this kind of infection - Tristan Montague. Now, Simon and Tristan must locate the source of the magical infection before the Dark Council declares Tristan a dark mage, destroys the werewolves, and shatters the fragile peace.

With Mahnes defeated, Monty and Simon must now face the entity behind the attacks. They must face one of the old gods…Chaos.There’s only one slight problem—they aren’t strong enough.

Would you kill to save a life? In order to save those closest to him, Tristan has stepped closer to darkness. In order to save Tristan, Simon must do the impossible. When Monty uses blood magic, he enters a schism - which puts him, and everyone close to him, in mortal danger. His use of blood magic has alerted the Black Orchid, a mage sect tasked with apprehending and eliminating dark mages. Now, Simon, with help from Monty’s closest allies and family, must find a way to stop him from going over to the darkness.

The Supernaturals are destroying humanity. Meet Tristan Montague. Leader of the elite group of mages known as the Ordarum. The war against the Supernaturals has raged for years, and humanity is losing. When the Ordarum is given a suicide mission to recover an artifact that can end the war and hand victory to humanity - Tristan takes it, knowing it may be his last.

No matter how fast you are, you can’t outrun your past. When Ramirez receives a call from Shadow Company, he uncovers secrets from Simon’s covert operative days and an instruction: contact Simon. An agent Simon thought dead, has resurfaced, looking for vengeance and his help. Now, together with Monty, Simon must stop this agent from exacting revenge before it’s too late and countless lives are lost.