James Langton has narrated 182 audiobooks on Listento.it by 109 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 2,887 ratings. The most-rated is Dark Age.
The Castle of Llyr
Summary
In the imaginary kingdom of Prydain, Princess Eilonwy must leave her friends to go to the Isle of Mona for training as a proper princess. Because Eilonwy has magical powers, she is sought by Achren, the most evil enchantress in the land. Shortly after her arrival on the Isle of Mona, something sinister and secret befalls her. Eilonwy's loyal friends, Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper; Flewddur, the bard; and Prince Rhun, her intended husband, realize her peril and set out on an exciting and terrifying mission to rescue her. They encounter great forces of evil as well as private, sometimes painful, revelations in the course of their journey.
©1965 Lloyd Alexander (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone
Summary
Phaedra Patrick's debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, was hailed as "poignant" and "utterly endearing". Now she returns with Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone, a gem of a novel about family, forgiveness, and one man's second chance at happiness. Moonstone for empathy. Azurite for memories. Lapis lazuli for truth. In the quiet village of Noon Sun, Benedict Stone has settled into a complacent and predictable routine. Business at his jewelry shop has dried up; his marriage is on the rocks. His life is in desperate need of a jump-start. And then a surprise arrives at his door. Gemma is Benedict's audacious teenage niece - the daughter of his estranged brother, Charlie. The two Stone brothers had a falling out and haven't spoken in almost two decades, since Charlie left for America. Reckless and stubborn, Gemma invites herself into Benedict's world and turns his orderly life upside down. But she might just be exactly what he needs to get his life back on track. Filled with colorful characters and irresistible charm, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is a luminous reminder of the unbreakable bonds of family and shows that having someone to embrace life with is always better than standing on your own.
©2017 Phaedra Patrick (P)2017 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited
Necroscope III: The Source
Summary
Now available for the first time in audiobook format, Necroscope III: The Source is the third installment in the Necroscope series by horror master Brian Lumley. This story traces the battle between Harry Keogh and the horrifying Vamphyri on their home ground, an alien landscape of looming towers, impossible cliffs, and ravenous vampire-beasts. Russia's Ural Mountains hide a deadly secret: a supernatural portal to the country of the vampires. Soviet scientists and ESP-powered spies, in a secret military base, study the portal - and the powerfully evil creatures that emerge from it, intent on ravaging mankind. When Jazz Simmons, a British agent sent to infiltrate the base, is captured by the KGB espionage squad and forced through the portal, his last message tells Harry Keogh, the Necroscope, that the vampires are preparing for a mass invasion. Harry has only one option - to strike first. He must carry the human-vampire war to the vampire's own lands. But his strongest psychic power will be useless there. What good is the power to summon the dead in a country where nothing ever dies, where every man, woman, and child becomes half-dead servants of the Vamphyri?
©1989 Brian Lumley (P)2018 Macmillan Audio
The High King
Summary
The Sword of Dyrnwyn, the most powerful weapon in the kingdom of Prydain, has fallen into the hands of Arawn-Death-Lord. Now Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and Prince Gwydion lead an army against the powerful lord. After a winter expedition filled with danger, Taran's forces arrive at Mount Dragon, evil's stronghold. There Tara is forced to make the most crucial decisions of his life as he confronts the evil enchantress Achren and the diabolical Arawn.
©1968 Lloyd Alexander (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
Taran Wanderer
Summary
Taran, the assistant pig-keeper who wants to be a hero, goes questing for knowledge of his parentage, hoping that his journey will ennoble him in the eyes of Eilonwy, the princess with the red-gold hair. Accompanied by several loyal friends, Taran begins his search when three wily enchantresses of the Marshes of Morva send him to consult the Mirror of Llunet for the answers he is seeking, cryptically promising that "the finding takes no more than the looking". During his adventures he meets Craddoc, the shepherd, and the common people of Prydain, whom he comes to respect and admire. With their help, he continues his mission to learn the secret of the Mirror and the truth about himself.
©1967 Lloyd Alexander (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
How God Became King
Summary
New Testament scholar N. T. Wright reveals how we have been misreading the Gospels for centuries, powerfully restoring the lost central story of the scripture: that the coronation of God through the acts of Jesus was the climax of human history. Wright fills the gaps that centuries of misdirection have opened up in our collective spiritual story, tracing a narrative from Eden to Jesus to today. Wright's powerful rereading of the Gospels helps us realign the focus of our spiritual beliefs, which have for too long been focused on the afterlife. Instead, the forgotten story of the Gospels reveals why we should understand that our real charge is to sustain and cooperate with God's kingdom here and now. Echoing the triumphs of Simply Christian and The Meaning of Jesus, Wright's How God Became King is required reading for any Christians searching to understand their mission in the world today.
©2012 Nicholas Thomas Wright (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers
Bon: The Last Highway
Summary
Bon: The Last Highway is the original, forensic, unflinching and masterful biography Bon Scott has so richly deserved and music fans around the world have been waiting for.
The death of Bon Scott is The Da Vinci Code of rock. In the early hours of 19 February 1980, Bon Scott, lead singer of the rock band AC/DC, left The Music Machine in Camden, London, with a man called Alistair Kinnear, whereupon he lost consciousness and was left to sleep in Alistair's Renault 5, parked outside Alistair's East Dulwich apartment. That evening, Bon's lifeless body was found, still in the car. He was pronounced dead on arrival at King's College Hospital.
Less than two months later, far away in the Caribbean, recording began on Back in Black, AC/DC's tribute to their fallen bandmate. Worldwide, it would go on to become the biggest selling rock album of all time.
The legend of the man known around the world simply as 'Bon' only grows with each passing year - in death the AC/DC icon has become a god to millions of people - but how much of his story is myth or pure fabrication, and how much of the real man do we know?
There have been books that claim to tell his story. They haven't even come close. Jesse Fink, author of the critically acclaimed international best seller The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC, leaves no stone unturned for Bon: The Last Highway, a book years in the making that finally solves the riddle of the death of Bon Scott.
The 1977-1980 period forged the legend of AC/DC. There wasn't a harder working band in the music business. But, as Fink startlingly reveals, the relentless AC/DC machine was also threatening to come apart. Fink has answers to the nagging questions rock 'n' roll fans have been asking since 1980 and reveals secrets that will change music history.
©2017 Jesse Fink (P)2017 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
A Conspiracy of Truths
Summary
A wrongfully imprisoned storyteller spins stories from his jail cell that just might have the power to save him - and take down his jailers too. Arrested on accusations of witchcraft and treason, Chant finds himself trapped in a cold, filthy jail cell in a foreign land. With only his advocate, the unhelpful and uninterested Consanza, he quickly finds himself cast as a bargaining chip in a brewing battle between the five rulers of this small, backwards, and petty nation. Or, at least, that's how he would tell the story. In truth, Chant has little idea of what is happening outside the walls of his cell, but he must quickly start to unravel the puzzle of his imprisonment before they execute him for his alleged crimes. But Chant is no witch - he is a member of a rare and obscure order of wandering storytellers. With no country to call his home, and no people to claim as his own, all Chant has is his wits and his apprentice, a lad more interested in wooing handsome shepherds than learning the ways of the world. And yet, he has one great power: his stories in the ears of the rulers determined to prosecute him for betraying a nation he knows next to nothing about. The tales he tells will topple the Queens of Nuryevet and just maybe, save his life.
©2018 Alexandra Rowland (P)2018 Simon & Schuster
Simply Jesus
Summary
We have grown used to the battles over Jesus - whether he was human or divine, whether he could do miracles or just inspire them, whether he even existed. Much of the church defends tradition, while critics take shots at the institution and its beliefs. But what if these debates have masked the real story of Jesus? What if even Jesus’s defenders have been so blinded by their focus on defending the church’s traditions that they have failed to grapple with what the New Testament really teaches? Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright summarizes a lifetime of study of Jesus and the New Testament in order to present for a general audience who Jesus was and is. In Simply Jesus, we are invited to hear one of our leading scholars introduce the story of the carpenter’s son from Nazareth as if we were hearing it for the first time. “Jesus - the Jesus we might discover if we really looked,” explains Wright, “is larger, more disturbing, more urgent than we had ever imagined. We have successfully managed to hide behind other questions and to avoid the huge, world-shaking challenge of Jesus’s central claim and achievement. It is we, the churches, who have been the real reductionists. We have reduced the kingdom of God to private piety; the victory of the cross to comfort for the conscience; Easter itself to a happy, escapist ending after a sad, dark tale. Piety, conscience, and ultimate happiness are important, but not nearly as important as Jesus himself.” As the church faces the many challenges of the twenty-first century, Wright has presented a vision of Jesus that more than meets them.
©2011 Nicholas Thomas Wright (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers
Island of Silence
Summary
The second book in the middle-grade dystopian fantasy series that Kirkus Reviews calls "The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter", by New York Times best-selling author Lisa McMann. Following the life-altering events at the conclusion of The Unwanteds, the stark world of Quill and the magical haven of ArtimÉ are now home to whoever wants to live there, whether they are Wanteds, Unwanteds, or Necessaries. In ArtimÉ, Alex Stowe and his friends continue to hone their artistic magical spells while welcoming newcomers, wondering how long this peace between Quill and ArtimÉ will last. Alex is stunned when Mr. Today comes to him with a very special request - one Alex questions his readiness for, until circumstances offer a dramatic answer. And back in Quill, Aaron Stowe, Alex's twin, faces a very different path. Devastated by his loss of status after Justine's defeat and seething with rage toward Alex, Aaron is stealthily planning his revenge and return to power. Alex and Aaron's separate stories proceed with suspenseful pacing, colliding in a stunning climax that elevates sibling rivalry to epic proportions and leaves the fates of both worlds hanging in the balance.
©2012 Lisa McMann (P)2012 Simon and Schuster
The September Society
Summary
In the small hours of the morning one fall day in 1866, a frantic widow visits detective Charles Lenox. Lady Annabelle's problem is simple: her beloved son, George, has vanished from his room at Oxford. When Lenox visits his alma mater to investigate, he discovers a series of bizarre clues, including a murdered cat and a card cryptically referring to "The September Society". Then, just as Lenox realizes that the case may be deeper than it appears, a student dies, the victim of foul play. What could the September Society have to do with it? What specter, returned from the past, is haunting gentle Oxford? Lenox, with the support of his devoted friends in London's upper crust, must race to discover the truth before it comes searching for him, and dangerously close to home.
©2008 Charles Finch (P)2011 Tantor
Rush to Glory
Summary
The greatest duel in Formula 1 history: the 1976 season between Austrian Niki Lauda and Britain's James Hunt. As the '75 season ended, Hunt was out of Formula One racing while Lauda was world champion and the odds-on favorite for '76 with a year's contract ahead of him and Enzo Ferrari begging him to sign a multi-year deal. James Hunt, without a drive until Emerson Fittipaldi broke his McLaren contract, grabbed the McLaren drive with both hands and the help of friend John Hogan. The result? Two drivers in an epic 16-race battle across the globe for the '76 title, ultimately decided by a single point. Fame, wealth, drugs, sex, and the rest of globe-trotting 1970s Formula 1 racing are encompassed in the Lauda vs. Hunt duel. At the '76 German Grand Prix, Lauda nearly died in a fiery crash, only to emerge six weeks later, severe burns on his face and head, to pursue his rivalry with Hunt. It all came down to the last race, a rain-soaked affair in Japan, where Hunt won the championship by the slimmest possible margin. The book is a study in contrasts during an era of Brut aftershave and disco sex parties. James Hunt, legendary philanderer and Formula 1 rock star, versus supernatural racer Niki Lauda, who in '75 set the first sub-seven minute lap around the ring...
©2013 Tom Rubython (P)2013 Tantor
The Problems of Philosophy
Summary
The Problems of Philosophy discusses Bertrand Russell's views on philosophy and the problems that arise in the field. Russell's views focus on knowledge rather than the metaphysical realm of philosophy. The Problems with Philosophy revolves around the central question that Russell asks in his opening line of Chapter 1 - Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it? He examines this question by delving into the idea of reality versus appearance, as for Russell and other philosophers who share his ideas it is sensory perception of the world around them that shapes their knowledge. It is in this work that he discusses his idea of sense-data to help explain the differences between appearance and reality. The Problems of Philosophy is Russell's first attempt at recording and working through a theory of epistemology, which is the theory of the nature of human knowledge. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was an English philosopher, logician, mathematician, social critic, and historian. He is remembered as being a leader in the British revolt against idealism, as well as a founding father of the field of analytic philosophy. He was also well known for his very public anti-war and anti-imperialist stances.
Public Domain (P)2012 Enunciation LLC
Flatland
Summary
As a satire, Flatland offers pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "the best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions." As such, the novella is still popular amongst mathematics, physics, and computer-science students. The story is about a two-dimensional world referred to as Flatland. All existence is limited to length and breadth in Flatland, its inhabitants unable even to imagine a third dimension. The amiable narrator, A Square, provides an overview of this fantastic world - its physics and metaphysics, its history, customs, and religious beliefs. But when a strange visitor mysteriously appears and transports the incredulous Flatlander to Spaceland, a land of three dimensions, his worldview is forever shattered.
Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor
The Fleet Street Murders
Summary
It's Christmas, 1866, and amateur sleuth Charles Lenox, recently engaged to his best friend, Lady Jane Grey, is happily celebrating the holiday in his Mayfair townhouse. Across London, however, two journalists have just met with violent deaths - one shot, one throttled. Lenox soon involves himself in the strange case but must leave it behind to go north to Stirrington, where he is running for Parliament. Once there, he gets a further shock when Lady Jane sends him a letter whose contents may threaten their nuptials. In London, the police apprehend two unlikely and unrelated murder suspects. From the start, Lenox has his doubts; the crimes, he is sure, are tied. But how? Racing back and forth between London and Stirrington, Lenox must negotiate the complexities of crime and politics, not to mention his imperiled engagement. But as the case mounts, Lenox learns that the person behind the murders may be closer to him - and his beloved - than he knows.
©2009 Charles Finch (P)2011 Tantor
Here to Stay
Summary
“Mark Edwards always delivers! Taut, gripping, scary and original - a fabulous read!” - Robert Bryndza, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author A beautiful home. A loving wife. And in-laws to die for. Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot’s life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige - he just doesn’t quite know what he’s signing up for. The Robinsons arrive with Gemma’s sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot starts to suspect that the Robinsons are hiding a dark secret. And then there are the scars on his wife’s body that she won’t talk about.... As Elliot’s in-laws become more comfortable in his home, encroaching on all aspects of his life, it becomes clear that they have no intention of moving out. To protect Gemma, and their marriage, Elliot delves into the Robinsons’ past. But is he prepared for the truth? From the two million copy bestselling author comes a tale about the chilling consequences of welcoming strangers into your home.
©2019 Mark Edwards (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved
A Stranger in Mayfair
Summary
Returning from a continental honeymoon with his new wife, Lady Jane, Lenox is asked by a colleague in Parliament to consult in the murder of a footman, bludgeoned to death with a brick. His investigation uncovers some unsettling facts about the family he served and a strange, second identity that the footman himself cultivated. Going into the boxing clubs and public houses, the Mayfair mansions and servants' quarters of Victorian London, Lenox gradually realizes that an old friend may be implicated in the footman's death. Soon a suspect is arrested, but Lenox has his doubts. Desperately trying to balance the opening of Parliament and what he feels sure is a dark secret surrounding the murder, he soon discovers that the killer is someone seemingly beyond suspicion, and may be prepared to spill blood again-even a detective's.
©2010 Charles Finch (P)2011 Tantor
The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After
Summary
Once upon a time, a historical romance author created a family.... But not just any family. Eight brothers and sisters, assorted in-laws, sons and daughters, nieces and nephews (not to mention an overweight corgi), plus an irrepressible matriarch who's a match for any of them.... These are the Bridgertons: less a family than a force of nature. Through eight best-selling novels, listeners laughed, cried, and fell in love. But they wanted more. And so the listeners asked the author... What happens next? Does Simon ever read his father's letters? Do Francesca and Michael become parents? Who would win in a Pall Mall grudge match? Does "The End" really have to be the end? Now, with The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After, Julia Quinn delivers eight sexy, funny, and heartwarming "2nd Epilogues" plus a bonus story about none other than the wise and witty matriarch Violet Bridgerton herself. So get to know the Bridgertons all over again - because Happily Ever After is a whole lot of fun.
©2013 Julie Cotler Pottinger (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers
Phoenix Rising
Summary
Evil is most assuredly afoot - and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade... and a librarian. These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences - the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling - will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest... and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray. For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun - he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices - must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot... or see England fall to the Phoenix!
©2011 Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers
Blood at the Root
Summary
When the brutally beaten body of a young man is found in an alley, Eastvale's Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his colleague, Detective Constable Susan Gay, have no choice but to lock up the three Pakistani youths who seemingly started it all after an argument in a pub. But they're out in no time, and Banks is in big trouble with the chief for risking a racial incident with the arrest. Ordered to run the investigation from his desk and leave the legwork to others, Banks's hands are tied and his temper is flaring. When disturbing facts start emerging about the victim, Banks can't simply sit at his desk---and he soon alienates himself from both the investigation and his own department. While his twenty-year marriage crumbles around him, he tries to make sense of a gray world grown ever more black and sinister, as he follows a treacherous trail of hate, greed, and twisted philosophy that leads to the darkest pits of a man's inhumanity to man. Brilliant and exasperating by turns, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks inhabits a Yorkshire landscape colored in shades of gray where good and evil seldom conform to their comfortingly ordinary colors of black and white.
©2005 Peter Robinson (P)2011 Tantor