Showing results by author "Malcolm Archibald" in All Categories

This thematic audiobook introduces the history of the Firth of Forth, the gateway to the east of Scotland and Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city. There are whaling ships and fishing boats, great tea clippers with a Forth connection and the Leith built Sirius that was the first ship to cross the Atlantic under steam power alone. The historical background to each of the Forth islands is covered, with tales of shipwreck and holy men, pirates and lighthouses, plague victims, grim prisons and a Jacobite fortress that held out against the Scottish Navy.

Dundee, 1860s. Sergeant George Watters and his team investigate the murder of a local banker, found dead on the 13th tee of a local golf course. Illicit prizefighters, merchants, and prostitutes all seem to be somehow connected to the murder, and even the toughest of Dundee are refusing to talk.

Shipwrecked on the African coast, Major Jack Windrush and his wife Mary find themselves embroiled in a war, as the Ashantis attack the British colony of the Gold Coast. While Jack leads a company of the West India Regiment, Mary tries to help the refugees in Cape Coast Castle. Soon, they both find themselves deeply involved in the war, and will need to make sacrifices they could have never anticipated.

The successful smuggler John Smith has become a highwayman to safeguard his inland trade. Riding the roads as the Yellowhammer, he makes both friends and enemies as he robs the rich and powerful.

Dance If Ye Can is an introduction to the huge variety of battles fought in Scotland, or fought by the Scots in the nearly 900 years when they were an independent nation. The first part of the audiobook serves as an introduction to Scottish history, while the second section portrays the Scottish soldier throughout history. Part three gives an alphabetical guide and brief notes of the many hundred battles, skirmishes, and sieges that pepper the history of Scotland.

Melcorka thought she was an ordinary young woman from the Isles. But when her homeland of Alba is attacked by an invading horde, Melcorka abandons her life of luxury and chooses the path of a warrior. With a ragtag band of companions, she heads south to unite the clans and free the land from the Norsemen's scourge and claim her destiny.

The Moray Firth of Scotland has a fine maritime history. This audiobook introduces the nearly forgotten sealing and whaling industry of the 19th century. It includes ships, masters, men, and anecdotes from Fraserburgh and Banff, with a year-by-year breakdown of the industry. A recognized expert on the Scottish whaling industry, Malcolm Archibald has authored a number of books on the subject, including Whalehunters (Mercat Press, 2004), Ancestors in the Arctic (Black and White, 2013), and The Dundee Whaling Fleet (Dundee University Press, 2013).

In Sergeant George Watters' next case, the Dundee policeman finds himself dealing with local susceptibilities and international intrigue.

Sailing west across the Atlantic, Melcorka and Bradan encounter a strange woman entombed within an iceberg. On her is a headband decorated with the symbol of a falcon. Soon after, they meet a fleet of Norse ships and set sail with them towards the New World. Fighting their way through skraeling hordes and facing the mysterious Ice Giant, they find the ancient pyramid city of Cahokia. But what is the secret of the strange falcon artifact?

After her adventures around the world, Melcorka the Swordswoman has returned to her homeland of Alba. Facing war on two fronts, the High King of Alba orders Melcorka to hunt down and defeat the Butcher - a savage who wields Loki's sword. Fighting through a variety of increasingly dangerous enemies, she and Bradan make their way towards their formidable, final foe. But is there something more to the Butcher than meets the eye - and what is the secret of Loki's sword?

After the campaign against the Norse, Melcorka the Swordswoman is unsettled. She wishes revenge on Egil the Norseman, yet knows that Defender - her magic sword - cannot kill without cause. After a visit to the seer Fitheach, Melcorka receives a dire warning. They head toward the Western Isles in search of knowledge, facing many dangers on their path. With the help of pirate leader Osprey and Hector, leader of the Ulvust, they forge on toward the Standing Stones of Callanish to face the most fearsome foe of all: The Shining One.

Returning to the Dundee of 1860 after years in the army, Robert Douglas finds employment with George Gilbride, a whaling-ship owner known as the Wizard. Drugged by sinister gangster John Wylie, Douglas wakens on board the steam-whaler Redgauntlet bound for the Artic, and discovers that his companions believe the ship is haunted and do not expect to return. After an initial clash, Douglas befriends the ship's mate, "Bully Houston", and together thay begin to unravel a year-old mystery.

Scotland has always given generously of her people to the world. This book tells the story of some of the many hundreds of thousands of Scots who have contributed to the fabric of modern world. In here are explorers and entrepreneurs, settlers and soldiers, politicians and missionaries, traders and police officers. They are a diverse lot with only two things in common: they made their home in a foreign land, and they hailed from Scotland. The world is all the richer for the part they played.