Showing results by author "Will" in All Categories

There is a persistent and incorrect idea, reinforced by countless film misrepresentations, that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were always staid and dull British chaps of middle years (or older), with Holmes a spry, cranky, and impatient eccentric, and Watson a white-haired and portly Boobus Brittanicus, a la Nigel Bruce. Students of the true and Canonical Sherlock Holmes know this to be a falsehood. When we first meet them on January 1, 1881, Holmes is still 26 years old (although he will turn 27 in just a few days), and Watson, already a wounded war veteran, is only 28.

In 1890, the first Japanese diplomatic delegation arrives in London to open an embassy. Cyrus Barker, private enquiry agent and occasional agent for the Foreign Service Office, is enlisted to display his personal Japanese garden to the visiting dignitaries. Later that night, Ambassador Toda is shot and killed in his office and Cyrus Barker is discovered across the street, watching the very same office, in possession of a revolver with one spent cartridge.

At the request of Her Majesty's government, private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker agrees to take on his least favorite kind of assignment - he's to provide security for a secret conference with the French government. But shortly after the parties land at the island, Lord Hargrave is killed by a sniper shot, and the French ambassador's head of security is found stabbed to death. The only means of egress from the island - a boat - has been sent away, and the means of signaling for help has been destroyed.

For all we know, or think we know, about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, what we don't know is far, far greater. In one of the duo's most exciting cases, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, we know when Helen Stoner arrives "in a considerable state of excitement" at the door of 221B Baker Street, seeking the assistance of Holmes and Watson: "It was early in April in the year '83..." But what happened during the rest of 1883? Or all of 1884?

Hello and welcome to Revenge of the Nerds. A new podcast where we do a deep dive into the intersection between nerd culture, Silicon Valley and right-wing authoritarianism. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have noticed that a large chunk of Silicon Valley is shifting to the political right, and if you’re anything like me, this will be somewhat puzzling to you. Why did all these tech guys who are obsessed with systems, probabilities and first principles thinking sink millions of dollars into the campaign of a man who calls AI “The AI”? Why would Elon Musk, a man who ...

Rose Farm is home to a group of survivalists, completely cut off from the outside world. Until now. A young woman goes missing within the perimeter of the farm compound. Can Tuva talk her way inside the tight-knit group to find her story? As Tuva attempts to unmask the culprit, she gains unique access to the residents. But soon she finds herself in danger of the pack turning against her – will she make her way back to safety so she can expose the truth?

From one of the most unusual and distinctive writers working today, dubbed 'the most daring and delightful novelist of his generation' by the Guardian, Will Self's Why Read is a cornucopia of thoughtful and brilliantly witty essays on writing and literature.

Like most girls her age, Poppy McKeever has always wanted a pony of her own. Now it looks like her dream is finally coming true. The family’s new house on the moor comes with its very own pony. Poppy can’t believe her luck. New friendships develop, exciting adventures await, and everything seems perfect. Until her stepmother Caroline starts acting weirdly, and Poppy’s adrenaline-junkie brother Charlie is convinced he’s spotted a big cat on the loose. And then there’s the flash of grey in the woods.

Tim and Abi have always been different from their peers. Precociously bright, they spend their evenings in their parents' attic discussing the macabre and unexplained, zealously re-reading books on folklore, hauntings and the supernatural. In particular, they are obsessed with photographs of ghostly apparitions and the mix of terror and delight they provoke in their otherwise boring and safe childhoods. But when Tim and Abi decide to fake a photo of a ghost to frighten an unpopular school friend, they set in motion a deadly and terrifying chain of events.

George Surridge, director of the Birmington Zoo, is a man with many worries: his marriage is collapsing; his finances are insecure; and an outbreak of disease threatens the animals in his care. As Surridge's debts mount and the pressure on him increases, he begins to dream of miracle solutions. But is he cunning enough to turn his dreams into reality - and could he commit the most devious murder in pursuit of his goals?

A tournament approaches. All around the world, great clans and sects prepare their disciples to fight against one another in a competition of young Underlords. Even the Blackflame Empire is drawn in, but their youth are not strong enough to compete. Yet. To temper and test them, the Akura clan throws all the elites of the Blackflame Empire into a lush training ground. There, training will be much faster and more rewarding.

Excelling at No-Limit Hold'em is a sensation in poker publishing. Renowned poker professional and author Jonathan Little brings together 17 of the greatest no-limit experts in the world to discuss all aspects of the game. These experts include superstars such as Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker, Mike Sexton and Jared Tendler.

The fourth volume in Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, The Age of Faith surveys the medieval achievements and modern significance of Christian, Islamic, and Judaic life and culture. Like the other volumes in the Story of Civilization series, this is a self-contained work, which at the same time fits into a comprehensive history of mankind. It includes the dramatic stories of St. Augustine, Hypatia, Justinian, Mohammed, Harun al-Rashid, Charlemagne, William the Conqueror, and many more.

Lawrence is the greatest pop star who never made it, his dreams of glory thwarted over the past five decades by bad luck and self-sabotage. At sixty-one, he set off on a new mission: to escape poverty, obscurity and the humiliation of kids at the bus stop laughing at him by writing a smash hit. But what is the cost of a dream? In Street-Level Superstar, bestselling author and journalist Will Hodgkinson follows Lawrence as he rebuilds his life.

In a secret supernatural battle that's been raging for over a century, the stakes have just been raised - and they're not wooden anymore. When Jamie Carpenter's mother is kidnapped by strange creatures, he finds himself dragged into Department 19, the government's most secret agency.

Here Durant tells the whole story of Greece from the days of Crete's vast Aegean empire to the final extirpation of the last remnants of Greek liberty, crushed under the heel of an implacably forward-marching Rome. The dry minutiae of battles and sieges, of tortuous statecraft of tyrant and king, get minor emphasis in what is preeminently a vivid recreation of Greek culture, brought to the listener through the medium of supple, vigorous prose.

Ever wondered what goes on inside the head of a stone-cold killer? This dark and disturbingly twisted trilogy will thrust you deep into the minds of some of the most evil criminal psychopaths you would never wish to encounter. Includes Remorseless, Mutilated, Gaslighting.

We know Will as a multi-platinum recording artist, Olivier-nominee and the first winner of the Idol franchise. But his story began long before his first audition. Looking back on a world where growing up being called gay was the ultimate insult and coming out after a lifetime of hiding his sexuality, Will explores the long-lasting impact repressing his true self has had. Here you will find a friend, champion and mentor, breaking taboos with frank honesty and offering invaluable practical advice on overcoming the difficult issues too often faced within the LGBTQ+ community.

In The Paper Lantern, a single speaker charts and interrogates the shifts in mood and understanding that have defined a surreal, transformative period in both his own history and that of the surrounding area. Set in a shuttered pub—The Paper Lantern—in a village in the very middle of the country adjacent to the Chequers estate, the narrator embarks on a series of walks in the Chiltern Hills, which become the landscape for evocations of a past scarred with trauma and a present lacking compass.

The Monarchs, the most powerful sacred artists on Cradle, rule with unquestioned authority. They are mysterious and distant, and catching a glimpse of one is privilege enough for a lifetime. To meet one is to come face-to-face with a legend. Now, they have all gathered in one place, bringing their heirs and greatest students together for a competition to determine whose successor is the best in the world.