Showing results by narrator "Matthew Davies" in All Categories

24 October 2114: the day that shocked the world. Young diplomat Cory Wilson narrowly escapes death in the assassination of President Sirkonen. No one claims responsibility but there is no doubt that the attack is extraterrestrial. Cory was meant to start work as a representative to Gamra, the alien organization that governs the FTL transport network, but now his new job may well be scrapped in anger.

When they were at uni, Owen always had a bit of a crush on Nathan. But Nathan was apparently straight, and Owen was too busy with other guys to take his crush seriously. When Nathan moves back to Bristol after a year away, Owen hears that Nathan has come out of the closet, and he propositions him. Nathan doesn't want to be just another notch on Owen's bedpost, though, so he challenges Owen to prove he can be serious: five dates before they have sex.

Cory Wilson is woken in the middle of the night with a summons to appear in the president of Nations of Earth's office. An aid worker in Djibouti has discovered a shipment of alien guns. As ambassador to gamra, the extraterrestrial organization which controls the Exchange, the FTL wormhole network, Cory has often been critical of Earth's handling of extraterrestrial problems. This is his moment to shine, to apply his knowledge about alien customs, to, in the words of the president, "get those idiots out of there".

Should we wait for a personal word from the Lord, perhaps delivered by some mysterious process? Does God have anything to say about the daily matters that concern His people? Can the Bible be involved in helping us understand the will of God for our lives, considering that it was written when so much that is familiar to us was not dreamt of yet? The dangers of personal decision and guidance without considering our relationship with others, particularly the believing community, are raised. Tim Chester addresses the issues and provides clear, thoughtful biblical answers.

Two years from their first date, Owen and Nathan are living together and life is good - except they're not on the same page about marriage. A traditionalist at heart, Nathan wants it all: the wedding, the vows, and a pair of matching rings. Owen, on the other hand, believes marriage is old-fashioned and unnecessary. They don't need a wedding to prove their commitment to each other. Love should be enough on its own.

Kidnapped from dying Earth by the heinous Tonan race, Piper is locked in a small cell, deprived of light and human companionship, and tormented on a daily basis. When the door to her hell opens unexpectedly, Piper is blinded by the light and walks headlong into a massively built creature. She is tossed over a shoulder, taken on the wildest ride of her life, then placed into a healing pool.

King Edward IV did not like that Simon was thrice removed from some long-forgotten ancestor who was somehow related to the owner of the cow that gave milk to King Henry V. Or something like that, Simon was not very good at genealogy. But now, the Lancastrian lordling has fled to the far reaches of the world to brood on revenge. He's stranded in these strange waters with money-hungry Captain Aldo Mitacchione, his halfwit first mate, Neno, and a crew of starving Italians. Things are about to get stranger.

After Jason's world falls apart when his young daughter is brutally murdered, a demon offers to give him another life where she is alive and well, but there’s a horrifying catch.

Situated high in the Pyrenees the monastery of St. Lazarus is a forbidding place. Behind its ramparts and battlements it hides a secret so dangerous its keepers will kill to protect it. At the end of a bitter winter, a delegation headed by the ambitious Inquisitor Rainiero Sacconi arrives to investigate the monks of St. Lazarus.

London, 1666. Orphaned by the Great Plague, Sam is soon starving on the streets - and desperate enough to steal. He's quickly recruited as one of sinister Uncle Jack's children, and taught to steal. If he gets caught by the law, the punishment will be death - and if he crosses Uncle Jack, it could be just as bad. Still, it's a living for Sam and his fellow thief Catherine - until the long, hot London summer means a blaze at the Pudding Lane bakery runs out of control.

Bryen and Aislinn both learn they hold immense power as Magii. Working separately, they discover multiple players vying for control of Caledonia. The King and his advisor are obvious threats, but an evil runs deeper and endangers more than who controls the Duchies. As more Ghoules break through the weir, the soldiers of the Southern Marches start to feel the strain of battle–and the Magii realize they may be too few in number to combat the beasts.

A flawed heist of forty gold bars from a security van late at night. One of the perpetrators is killed by his brother as they argue over what they have stolen. Eighteen years later, the murderer, released after serving his sentence for his brother's murder, waits in a church for a man purporting to be the brother he killed. The threads stretch back a long way, and now more people are dying in the search for the missing gold bars.

Kieran's love life didn't get off to a good start. He threw up after his first kiss; he was beaten up by the first girl to have a crush on him; and after a mix-up with his first love letter, he could only sit back and watch as the entire school mistook him for a brutal murderer. By the time the hormones kicked in, Kieran had all but given up on love, but the worst was yet to come.

Trust is the foundation of all meaningful relationships, yet 70 percent of professionals don't trust their managers. It's a number that actually surprises few but profoundly concerns most of the awesome thought leaders alive today. From Simon Sinek to Patrick Lencioni, Paul Zak to Brené Brown, all agree that a lack of trust is the root of faltering relationships and mediocrity at work. What galvanised Matthew Davies to write this book was the lack of tools to address this appalling problem.

The year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe over the next quarter century. This award-winning book provides the first comprehensive history of post-1989 Europe.

Life doesn't pick winners and losers. That's for the corporations to decide. And they picked Liam Argyle for a carefree life of fame and fortune as host of the world's most popular reality show competition. After two seasons of parading about the world's biggest victims on The Grass Is Greener, he's been forced to put a happy face on one tragedy too many - and he won't turn a blind eye to the horrors of the corporate dystopian world of the 2070s any longer. Now, Liam is out to destroy the very people who made him a star.

A Bronze-Age burial mound close to Stonehenge, an archaeological excavation. What they were looking for was an ancient body, historical artifacts. When they found a modern-day body, it was then that the police became interested. It's another case for Detective Inspector Tremayne and Sergeant Yarwood. The more recent of the two bodies, the brother of the mayor of Salisbury. The person responsible keeps leading back to the brother, the upright and serious-minded Clive Grantley. Tremayne's sure that it's him, but Clare Yarwood's not so sure. But is her belief based on evidence or personal hope?

Peter Mitchell walked away with from his marriage with two things: a suitcase and hairy Harry, the family pet. When Harry becomes ill, Peter is faced with one of the hardest decisions he's ever had to make...saying goodbye to his best friend. Evan Wells is the locum vet who attends to Harry, and Peter is surprised at how quickly they become friends. Peter finds himself looking forward to Evan's nightly phone calls and the meals they share together.

In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A group of children play. Not far away, in the ditch on the other side of the farmyard, the body of a young woman. The nearby village hides as many secrets as the community at the farm, a disparate group of people looking for an alternative to their previous torturous lives. Their leader, idealistic and benevolent, espouses love and kindness, and somebody's not following his dictate. The second death, an old woman, seems unrelated to the first, but is it? Is it part of the tangled web that connects the farm to the village?