Showing results by narrator "Malk Williams" in All Categories

One of the most-studied pieces of satire in history, ‘A Modest Proposal’ is a darkly funny yet scathing critique of British colonialism from an Irish lens. First published in 1729 to much backlash, Swift goes to great lengths to illustrate a potential solution to poverty and overpopulation in Ireland: parents undergoing economic hardship ought to sell their children as food for the upper classes. A masterclass in irony, Swift delves into the financial benefits of his suggestion, even offering numerous ways to prepare babies for consumption.

Welcome to the Fiction on the Web audiobook series, featuring a collection of short stories with a different theme for each volume. Lovingly curated by the owner of Fiction on the Web, Charlie Fish. Come and share in the joy and power of short stories.

Welcome to the Fiction on the Web audiobook series, featuring a collection of short stories with a different theme for each volume. Lovingly curated by the owner of Fiction On The Web, Charlie Fish. Come and share in the joy and power of short stories. The theme of this volume is Kafkaesque. You've probably heard of Franz Kafka even if you haven't read his books. You might even recognize his nightmarishly absurdist style. This volume explores a Kafkaesque world that's full of surprises.

In The Time Machine we are thrown 800,000 years forward - into an age where the Earth is slowly dying. There we discover two bizarre peoples—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks. Published in 1895, Wells' masterpiece captivated listeners on the threshold of a new century.

In this dark and compelling short novel, Dostoevsky tells the story of Alexey Ivanovitch, a young tutor working in the household of an imperious Russian general. Alexey tries to break through the wall of the established order in Russia, but instead becomes mired in the endless downward spiral of betting and loss. His intense and inescapable addiction is accentuated by his affair with the General’s cruel yet seductively adept niece, Polina. In The Gambler, Dostoevsky reaches the heights of drama with this stunning psychological portrait.

A study into the customs and practices of indigenous peoples in the Americas, Montaigne delves into the concept of ‘civilisation’, contrasting the behaviour of so-called ‘barbarians’ with Western society. He challenges the idea that European values are superior, understanding the practices of the Tupinambá people and arguing that the horrors inflicted by the soldiers of Portugal on their enemies at the time are – in many ways – far worse. It remains a persuasive and compelling argument for cultural relativism. This audiobook edition is expertly narrated by Malk Williams.

Initially born into slavery, Epictetus knew first-hand the true meaning of suffering. He argued that it is impossible to control external events, and therefore we should work to accept what the future holds calmly and dispassionately. Some say his work is comparable to Socratic literature, particularly in his approach to self-examination and self-discipline: ultimately, he believed individuals were responsible for their own actions, which can be controlled though hard work and willpower.

When the village is besieged by strange thefts by an uncatchable thief, the clues might lie with the odd-acting stranger. Revealing his incredible secret, he has turned himself invisible, Griffin escapes and seeks those whom he might suborn into aiding him. Driven to darkness by his inability to make himself visible again, Griffin decides to use his misfortune to terrorise others. Greeted with fear and suspicion and betrayed by those around him, Griffin is determined to show just how dangerous an unseen enemy can be.

Since the monastic era in the West, this organisation by hours has become so ubiquitous that it has come almost to seem uncaused, a fact of nature. Now, Kevin Jackson restores its strangeness and richness. From the structure of the working day to the imposition of curfews, from the scheduling of public events to the content of etiquette, in a manner no less remarkable for being rarely remarked, the hours give a meaning to our days.

The Afterdark world of Haven was far more terrible and beautiful than Pil Persins could ever have expected. But not everyone had survived the mission aboveground. They had been betrayed, and the traitor revealed a name that would soon become infamous: The Castaway King. As Pil and his friends return back underground they learn that, in their absence, a war has begun. The Elfin Mound Southden had been invaded by monsters and Fairy, and at the head of this army is the mysterious Castaway King.

The Communist Manifesto contains the seeds of Marx's more comprehensive philosophy, which continues to inspire influential economic, political, social, and literary theories. But the Manifesto is most valuable as an historical document, one that led to the greatest political upheaveals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and to the establishment of the Communist governments that until recently ruled half the globe.

Pil Persins has never seen the sky. He has never felt the fall of rain or seen the stars on a dark night. For thousands of years, Elfin have lived underground, hidden away from the dangers of their world. The coming of the sun aboveground means death; monsters awaken and predators hunt. But it is a small price to pay for freedom. At least that is how Pil and his two best friends, Felicity Falon and Dunken Dirk, see it.

Unfair Game features the shocking results of a new inquiry Lord Ashcroft has carried out into South Africa’s lion business. He shows how tourists are unwittingly being used to support the abuse of lions he details how lions are being tranquilised and then hunted in enclosed spaces he urges the British government to ban imports of captive-bred lion trophies and he demonstrates why Asia’s insatiable appetite for lion bones has become a multi-million-dollar business linked to criminality and corruption which now underpins South Africa's captive lion industry.

Spartacus Brink is a Knight Templar, magically transported to a strange and ancient land called Arcadia. Bailey Humblebucket has fallen in love with a kidnapped girl whom he met in a dream. A dark and powerful guardian has raised an army of undead soldiers who will stop at nothing to destroy them all. An ancient magician holds the fate of the Earth in the palm of his hand. And a large shaggy dog is starting to become...really quite peckish.

Dr. Arman Pirouzi left Iran behind for a better life in the United States until he is reluctantly recruited by the CIA and returns to Tehran, where the ruthless IRGC hunts, tortures, and routinely kills spies and traitors with brutal efficiency. His mission: locate a critical asset, extract classified intelligence, and stop a war before it starts. His challenge: survive the most dangerous city in the world, where old friends become enemies, past loves are rekindled, and death waits around any corner. Capture means torture.

The Mudfog Papers is a delightfully absurd collection of essays and sketches that captures the wit, satire, and sharp social commentary that made Dickens one of the greatest writers of his time. Set in the fictional town of Mudfog, the series of quirky and eccentric characters come to life in this hilarious exploration of small-town politics, public life, and human nature.

Nicky has always known Russell was rich, but he has no idea how astronomically rich Russell is until his friend drops dead, on his 50th birthday, in his San Francisco mansion, with Nicky as the only witness. For forty years the two men have kept up their friendship, with Russell's birthday offering him an annual opportunity to remind Nicky of how much more successful Russell is, and how much further he has come since their English suburban childhood.

Resurrection is the last of Tolstoy's major novels. It tells the story of a nobleman's attempt to redeem the suffering his youthful philandering inflicted on a peasant girl who ends up a prisoner in Siberia. Tolstoy's vision of redemption, achieved through loving forgiveness and his condemnation of violence, dominate the novel. An intimate, psychological tale of guilt, anger, and forgiveness, Resurrection is at the same time a panoramic description of social life in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century.

In 1796, Martha becomes the mistress of the struggling Plas Ingli estate, at only 18 years old. She is pregnant and suicidal. Though she loves her husband, David, dearly, she is desperately lonely in a strange house, and her quick wit and cutting humour make her as many enemies as friends. There are mysteries surrounding the great fire that devastated the estate, but Martha's questions about it remain unanswered. Nobody else seems to realise that their haughty servant, the disinherited son of the local squire, is not as trustworthy as the rest of the family would like to think.

Raconteurs Audio has created this collection to include Dickens' two Christmas novellas, The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth, as well as some of his lesser-known short stories with a Christmas theme.