Showing results by narrator "Michael Lesley" in All Categories

A scandalous ex-porn star demon and a morally shady billionaire vampire walk into a bar… But this is no joke. It's opening day at the SOS Hotel and that lust demon? He's my business partner. I know. What was I thinking? The sexy, suave vampire, however? He's something else… Creating a sanctuary for the supernaturals left here when the tear in the veil sealed was always going to be difficult, but it's all I have, and I'm going to make it work. Despite the murders, the missing humans, and the psychotic real estate mogul who wants to bulldoze the hotel.

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Lesley Manville (winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress and known for Phantom Thread and Mum), Derek Jacobi (winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and known for Gladiator and Gosford Park), Michael...

Once upon a time, the wizard’s apprentice, Sam of Wilds, got his happily ever after in the arms of his cornerstone, Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart. A year has passed, and while Sam’s been captured five or six more times since then, things are pretty great. Until they're not.... Because Vadoma, the leader of the gypsy clan and Sam’s grandmother, has come to the City of Lockes with a dire prophecy written in the stars.

A year has passed since the Dark Wizard Myrin attempted to take control of the Kingdom of Verania. Though the scars of the final battle remain, Veranians have come together in unity in order to rebuild. Good King Anthony sits on the throne once more, with Morgan of Shadows at his side. However, a king is not immortal. One day, Anthony will step down, paving the way for his son, Grand Prince Justin, to assume the throne. And Justin wants anything but. Unfortunately for him, he finds himself with bigger things to worry about than just becoming the ruler of a country.

No, seriously. Talon wants to know what he did to deserve this. What would make a sentient rock decide that he of all people should be the one to save the world from zombies? That’s right. Zombies. Because apparently a higher power decided that teaching magic to teenagers wasn’t enough of a challenge.

Josiah Erickson wants to be a movie star. The problem with that is so does half of Los Angeles. But he's on his way, what with memorable roles as a TV show background cadaver and a guy in a commercial for herpes medication. All he needs is his big break. And that break may come in the form of a novelist who goes by the enigmatic name of Q-Bert.

Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident. Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the king's wizard, Morgan of Shadows.

When a strange woman shows up outside our camp in the Wastes with monsters chained up to her RV, it feels like I’m the only one who actually wants to help them. That big, grey-skinned monster with the cage on his head and the chain hanging from his back—something is telling me I need to help him. I need to free him. But I have absolutely no idea how I’m supposed to do that, especially when he can’t even talk to me to tell me how. Collector Mary is finally leaving our camp to head back to her monster menagerie, so I do the only thing I can think of to help him: I go with her.

My role as Moric—ruler of a small and prosperous fiefdom in a quiet corner of the world—has always been painfully dull and stifling. Until a beautiful, otherworldly creature with pink skin and a mane of golden hair falls through a strange void that has appeared in my guestroom. I am instantly captivated by him. I have never seen anything like him. I have no idea where he came from, and what else is through that unsettling void—another world filled with soft-skinned, defenseless creatures like him? No tails, no horns, no claws, no sharp teeth. Tiny clothing, rounded ears, bright blue eyes.

Like the "Dark Continent" of Africa, the dark island of Madagascar holds many chilling secrets. One of them is a long-thought extinct species of dinosaurs living at the country's core. A massive earthquake rocks the mountain range within the Andringitra National Park. The splitting Earth reveals a network of tunnels, hidden away for millennia. Responding to the series of violent upheavals, a pack of hypersensitive predators flee their subterranean home; frenzied and hungry, they head for the surface.

It's probably our fault your world is doomed if I'm honest. Sorry about that. Sticking with honesty, we're not great at saving people, or ourselves. You should probably pack a bag and head for the hills. You know, just in case... My name is Adam Vex, and I'm definitely not the hero we all need, but along with Zee and Victor, a whole bunch of s*x demons, one shadow beast, a sassy AI bartender, and some uncontrollable gremlins, we're all you've got. Welcome to the end of the world at the SOS Hotel.

Nearly a year ago, blinded by grief and betrayal, Sam of Wilds made a desperate decision to follow the Great White into the Dark Woods. Now, he emerges to a world changed. The City of Lockes is a prison. The King has been locked away in the dungeons. The Kingdom of Verania has fallen, and the Dark wizard Myrin sits on the throne. But soon after his return, Sam learns of a resistance fighting in his name, led by a courageous knight, a defiant prince, a pissed-off unicorn, and a half-giant who wants to smash everything in sight.

When I—along with my best friend and his big purple monster boyfriend—come across a fortress-like raider camp while journeying across the monster-infested Wastes, we stop to deliver a message. Somehow, that simple pit stop turns into a seemingly impossible quest to get this camp's missing leader out of the prison where he's being held and forced to fight monsters and other humans. I know exactly where it is because I've been there. Problem is, I'm making this journey with the prickliest and most arrogant guy I've ever met, who seems to hate me on sight. Oh, and he's also half-monster.

Sam of Wilds faced the Dark wizard Myrin and lived to tell the tale. Granted, the battle left him scarred, but things could be a hell of a lot worse. It’s not until he reunites with Morgan of Shadows and Randall that he realizes just how much worse things could be. Because the scars have meaning and hint at Myrin’s true plans for Sam and the Kingdom of Verania. With time running out, Sam and his band of merry misfits must travel to the snowy mountains in the North and the heart of the Dark Woods to convince the remaining dragons to stand against Myrin.

I swear I was only looking for a roommate. Just someone to watch TV and eat dinner with. Nothing… romantic. No way. But when I see all these humans gazing at me with open adoration and blatant lust and other things that make me wildly uncomfortable, I realize what a terrible mistake this is. Until I spot the one human woman in the group who is definitely not pleased to see me. In fact, she's scowling at me. She looks really, really annoyed. I'm kind of into it.

I've already mentally prepared myself to kill the screaming, murderous monster in the cage outside our camp. I'm used to it. It's what I do here. Kill monsters and other people. This monster, Seraph, is particularly unstable—has been since the moment he arrived from Collector Mary's monster menagerie to the west, where the military stashed him away. He's in pain. I can see it. But he's not a mindless beast. Not like some of the others think. When I start guarding him in his cage every night, I begin to see the person beneath the agony that tortures his every waking moment.

Catch up with the original monster-human couple, Danny and Wyn, in their Wastes-style adventures. Witness Moth and Wyn's blossoming and potentially concerning friendship. Find out all the new ways Edin has been frustrating Hunter (lovingly) since their story ended. And join Lor and Jugs in welcoming a new furry addition to their monster-world family.

Rumer Godden is well known for her acclaimed novels for adults and children. She wrote over 60 works in her lifetime, nine of which were made into films. Included here are dramatisations of three of her classic tales, as well as a fascinating interview with the renowned author.

I am a monster. A ghoul. A demon. The bogeyman. I have been called all of them. Most creatures fear me but humans are repulsed by me. They are terrified of me. They have created legends about me ever since they became aware of my existence when the tear between our worlds grew and we—the monsters from their nightmares—flooded through in our droves. There is only one human who isn’t afraid of me, the only one who matters. I will destroy anyone who tries to hurt him or take him from me. Danny is mine.

A collection of dramatisations and original radio plays by the award-winning playwright - plus bonus documentary. Caryl Churchill is one of Britain's most innovative and influential dramatists. Versatile and prolific, she has written over 50 plays for stage and screen and is renowned for her revolutionary theatrical techniques and themes of feminism, social politics and the abuse of power.