Showing results by narrator "Ewan Goddard" in All Categories

1361. Plague has returned to England - 13 years after the devastation of the Black Death. As destruction advances towards his estate in Kent, Oswald de Lacy leads his family to the safety of a remote castle in the marshes - where his friend Godfrey is preparing a fortress to survive the coming disaster. The rules are clear: once the de Lacys and other guests are inside the castle the portcullis will be lowered and no-one permitted to enter or leave until the Pestilence has passed. And then a murderer strikes.

Oswald de Lacey is growing up fast in his new position as Lord of Somershill Manor. The Black Death changed many things, and just as it took away his father and elder brothers, leaving Oswald to be recalled from the monastery where he expected to spend his life, it has taken many of his villagers and servants. However, there is still the same amount of work to be done in the farms and fields, and the few people left to do it think they should be paid more - something the King himself has forbidden.

It's 1358. Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, is in Venice awaiting a pilgrim galley to the Holy Land. While the city is under siege from the Hungarians, Oswald lodges with an English merchant and soon comes under the dangerous spell of the decadent and dazzling island state that sits on the hinge of Europe, where East meets West. Oswald is trying to flee the chilling shadow of something in his past, but when he finds a dead man on the night of the carnival, he is dragged into a murder investigation....

When Mackenzie's 17th birthday comes around, she plans to spend a few years at the school for the marked learning about her new powers and then leaving and living her life. But nothing goes as planned when she attends the marking ceremony and all 12 marks appear. Kenzie lives in a world where being marked with six powers is normal, being marked with seven or more is rare. But being marked with 12? Well, that's unheard of.

Kevin Aurelius is just like any other almost eleven-year-old. Well, apart from his fangs obviously. And that he's immortal. Oh and did I mention he's a vampire? Together with his vampire parents and annoying older siblings, Kevin's on his way to Monstros City when, due to dodgy batnav, they get stranded in a strange, quiet place full of humans called Lower Drudging. With empty coffers in need of filling, their only choice is to put on an impromptu carnival to earn the gold they need to get back on their way. But Lower Drudging has a monstrous secret of its own.

If Kevin the Vampire was already beside himself with excitement at visiting the Festival of Fear, he's now even more so. His new best friend Susie and an extremely rare draffin called Gerald have joined his family's carnival. It's going to be better than ever! They might even win Carnival of the Year...But because they are running late, Kevin's family need to take a shortcut through the perilous Wild Woods, where no one ever goes because of the extremely wicked witch who lives there. But that should be fine as long as no one gets out and no one eats anything ... right?

Kenzie's 12 marks have caused her nothing but trouble since she was blessed with them. From getting her treated differently at school to getting her kidnapped by rebels, her marks have caused chaos in her life. When a familiar face shows up in the warehouse she is being kept in, Kenzie doesn't know who to trust or what to believe anymore. With time running out to escape and the threat of the rebel's plans looming over her, can Kenzie overcome these challenges?

When Atlas's parents get new jobs running a luxurious hotel he can't believe his luck. It sounds almost too good to be true. It is. The hotel has very unusual residents - ancient gods and goddesses, forgotten by humans who now worship TikTok celebrities. There's a Chinese water dragon living in the swimming pool, a Viking god throwing his magical hammer in the garden, and an Aztec god who thinks Atlas is a human sacrifice!

When 12-year-old Rixon's great-uncle leaves him the mysterious Splinter Island in his will, Rixon can't quite believe it. There's only one thing to do - go there and see it for himself. Alone. And Splinter Island might just hold the key to the future of the planet, in the form of four children hidden away from society. But soon Rixon and the others are fighting for their lives - left in a cave with a rising tide, floating out to sea on a leaky inflatable and fending off the attacks of a famous tech giant and his enormous silver yacht.

The Hotel of the Gods has a new guest! Loki, the Viking trickster god, has come to celebrate Midsummer at the hotel. Everyone is excited about the new arrival - apart from Loki's old rival, Thor. Atlas and his best friend Maui find Loki and his shape-shifting tricks hilarious at first. But when Loki's pranks go too far, Atlas knows he has to get the Viking god to leave before the Midsummer party is ruined.

There are certain things that Yuri Zipit knows: that being official food taster for the leader of the Soviet Union requires him to drink too much vodka for a 12-year-old. That you do not have to be an elephantologist to see that the great leader is dying. That Marshal Bruhah has been known to eat his own children while Comrade Krushka is fit only to run a slaughterhouse and that one of them has Yuri's father somewhere here in the Dacha. That it's a crime to love your family more than you love Socialism, the Party or the Motherland.

This season get ready for a striking reimagining of William Shakespeare's classic tale Macbeth, from best-selling author Michael Rosen. Twelve-year-old striker Macbeth is determined to become captain of Shotfield football team, and he will do whatever it takes. Macbeth's mum also pushes him to get ahead on the pitch - even if it means playing dirty - so that he'll be spotted by academy scouts. So when the whistle blows for the big game, fair is foul and fouls are fair!