Showing results by narrator "Neil" in All Categories

Was there any particular reason that, near the end of your lives, you suddenly stopped buying Bounty paper towels? So begins the first question from Bounty’s market research representative to Paul and Maggie. In this unique short story, a couple who died suddenly in their 50s recounts their use of Bounty paper towels and their sudden switch to a bargain brand near the end of their lives. What appears to be a run-of-the-mill spat between spouses at the Stop & Shop is revealed to be a defining moment of a marriage years in decline.

On a road trip through Africa, two English people - Bobby, a civil servant with a guilty appetite for African boys; and Linda, a supercilious "compound wife" - are driving back to their enclave after a stay in the capital. But in between lies the landscape of an unnamed country whose squalor and ethnic bloodletting suggest Idi Amin's Uganda. And the farther Naipaul's protagonists travel into it, the more they find themselves crossing the line that separates privileged outsiders from horrified victims.

Ben Travers has gone missing, and Ben Travers needs to find him. Returning home from his harrowing adventures through time, Ben just wants a normal life with the girl he loves, but tying up the loose threads of his fragmented existence is proving more difficult than he ever suspected. Someone is attacking time-travel labs - threatening the safety of the Quickly family - and Ben is getting messages from a version of himself that he thought was dead.

It should have been a cosy scene: log fire, sheepskin rug, Vivaldi on the stereo, Christmas lights and tree. But appearances can be deceptive. For Caroline Hartley has been brutally murdered.

The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth was originally published in a condensed form (condensed by Harding) in 1952 and described by C.S. Lewis as "a work of the highest genius". This publication, and this audio version, now makes available the original huge work. It is clearly and beautifully written and read. This book opens your eyes to the universe as it is actually presented and opens your mind to the way it functions. One day, this book will be recognized as one of the greatest works of philosophy.

A full-cast dramatisation of this comic tale about an 18th-century gentleman who tries to tell his life story but continually finds that he must digress.... Featuring some of the best known and most well-loved characters in English literature, including Uncle Toby, Corporal Trim, Dr Slop and the Widow Wadman. Beginning (or attempting to begin) at the moment of his own conception, Tristram Shandy recounts his progress through the world and utterly fails to stick to the point.

One foggy night, Deborah Harrison is found lying in the churchyard behind St Mary's, Eastvale. She has been strangled with the strap of her own school satchel. But Deborah was no typical 16-year old. Her father was a powerful financier who moved in the highest echelons of industry, defence, and classified information. And Deborah, it seemed, enjoyed keeping secrets of her own.

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition has known over 13 centuries of continuous development. During that time, it has spread among the neighboring peoples - the Mongol, Himalayan, and Siberian peoples, Manchus and Chinese. At its height, it has been practiced in regions as far west as the Volga river and to the east in Beijing. Its capacity for creative adaptation is demonstrated by its recent growth in Europe and America.

Jack Jupiter knows zombies. He's written about them for years. So when Jack's mother passes away in a freak car accident involving a half-eaten deer and a pack of cigarettes, he also knows something's up. Now, Jack and his fiancé, Darlene, are forced to go back to the dreadful town of Woodhaven, Ohio, for his mom's funeral. But what he doesn't know is it might be their funeral, too. A few months before Jack and Darlene's arrival, a mysterious flu-like virus swept through the town, infecting nearly every citizen.

Ed Shaw shares his pain in dealing with same-sex attraction—and yet he is committed to what the Bible says and what the church has always taught about marriage and sex. He shows us that obedience to Jesus is ultimately the only way to experience life to the full. He also challenges missteps that the church has often made in its understanding of the Christian life and of sexuality. We have been shaped by the world around us, and urgently need to re-examine the values that drive our discipleship in the light of the Bible.

Eric McCaffrey is very good at VRMMORPGs; he's played most of them, but the lack of funds is starting to affect his ability to play popular games. It's time to move on to something more...obscure. Battlegrounds Online is the only game of its kind. A VRMMOFPS. A military warfare game so realistic that it scares away most players daring enough to try it.

It is Christmas Eve, and the air outside is as cold as Scrooge’s heart. Come nightfall, Scrooge receives three visitors: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Each spirit takes him on a hair-raising journey through time, yielding glimpses of Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit—and even Scrooge’s painfully hopeful younger self. Will Scrooge’s heart be opened? Can he escape his cursed fate?

With the help of Geranium, the next-door neighbor's cat, Hector must once again use his chemistry skills to defeat the evil supervillain Professor Evil. But can Hector develop the new formula in time?

In his attempt to delay his appearance in Emperor's court, Crown Prince Georg triggers an alien invasion of his own star system. The whole of the Empire watches the live broadcast with bated breath as his fleet battles the awesome invaders. The Iseyeks - gigantic sentient praying mantises - are suitably impressed too, so they promptly remind the Crown Prince of his allied duties. The Sector Eight Fleet hurries to the Swarm's aid...but sadly disregards the insects' hive mentality.

In Swords Against Wizardry, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, sent by a witch on a foolhardy journey, return to the icy reaches of the north in search of dubious treasure. There, they are seduced by the glittering attractions of an ice woman, who brings them with her to her shadowy lair.

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's journeys have taken them from one side of Nehwon to the other, facing life-risking peril at every turn. Now, in a set of stories that feature the adventurers on their own and together, they will face some of their most challenging obstacles. Against assassins, angry gods, and even Death himself, the duo must battle for their very lives.

Hot on the heels of her 2018 This Is Horror Award–winning short story collection Spectral Evidence, critically horror author Gemma Files compiles fifteen more of her most startling recent nightmares—a creepily seductive downward spiral of dark poetry and existential dread, entirely suitable to the slow apocalypse going on all around us. So take your mind off your troubles and send it somewhere the rules still operate, if only to punish those who violate them.

Hector Dumble thinks he's dumb. When his dog, Buster, starts talking to him, Hector begins to think he's crazy too. Things become even stranger when Hector learns that his teacher Mr Weazel has a secret identity. How will Hector handle having a dog that can talk and a teacher who wants to take over the world?

When amiable old village eccentric Quentin Andrews dies, the good folk of Cherringham are astonished at the crowd that turns up to his funeral. But even more astonished are the beneficiaries of his will: Quentin has left a veritable fortune to whomever is the first to solve an intricate "Cherringham crossword". That puzzle is only the first of many that Jack and Sarah will uncover as they follow the treasure hunt for clues and learn the truth about who Quentin Andrews really was... and the biggest mystery of them al... was he - in fact - murdered?

In Swords and Ice Magic, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have traveled the width and breadth of the land of Nehwon in search of adventure and fortune. Now lost at sea, their ship drawn out on the Great Equatorial Current, their journey brings them to Rime Isle, a tragic island populated by vagabonds and wanderers.