Showing results by author "James Ward" in All Categories

Everyone knows UK general elections aren’t what they were. British politics, Westminster in particular, is mired in an integrity crisis. Expenses scandals, cash for questions, a tainted honours system, and other wrong-turns have deeply disillusioned the electorate...The Social Magus is the first of the Tales of MI7 series to be set mostly in London. Written in the run-up to the 2015 general election, it examines some of the trends and concerns that later materialised in “Corbynism” and the Momentum movement.

A 51-year-old pub landlord from Hammersmith, a DJ from Lambeth, a prize-winning novelist influenced by Charles Dickens, and Iain Sinclair, a young British intelligence officer: just four of the 10 contenders in 2018’s truly fabulous Ultimate Londoner competition.

After an acrimonious US election whose outcome Moscow may or may not have influenced, can it really be that a few maverick intelligence agents from Russia and the United States are fighting a discreet battle to the death on some of London’s back streets? And that the corpses are piling up, out of sight of the British police? And even that the whole thing could spiral at any moment into God knows what version of a third world war?

A cabal of Russian oligarchs instigates unrest in the Far East of Russia as the first stage of an attempt to unseat Vladimir Putin. Britain offers covert support in the form of five MI7 agents. The disturbances mirror those in Eastern Ukraine and, if pushed far enough, might persuade the Kremlin to retract its territorial interests in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia. However, once the five operatives are shipped east, events take an unexpected turn. One by one, they begin to disappear.

MI7 is expecting an eccentric new recruit in the person of Chasha Jones, self-described (only partly tongue-in-cheek) as "the most intelligent woman in London". She's hard-working, insightful, and fun to work alongside. But the day she's due to begin, there's no sign of her. It turns out she's joined forces with an eccentric Brit called Hector Raynebow. Raynebow used to be an environmentalist, but he's rejected all that on the grounds that humanity, in its present form, is incapable of saving the world. He has the perfect solution: Humankind 2.0.

When John Mordred leaves MI7, marries the woman he loves, and settles down to a relatively humdrum lifestyle, it ought to be a brave new start. But he and his wife have formerly been top-level spies, and they find the readjustment harder than they anticipated. When - courtesy of a friend, and apparently out of the blue - they’re offered an all-expenses-paid holiday in Malta, it seems the answer to both their prayers. Sunshine, relaxation, and romance. Just what the doctor ordered.

When the 14-year-old daughter of a British government minister leaves the country to join ISIS, MI7 dispatches a cohort of agents to Turkey to intercept her en route. However, maybe not everything is as it seems. How to explain, for example, her long-standing prior antipathy to Islamofascism? Her sudden conversion to radicalism on the very day of her departure? The fact that there is neither sight nor sign of her in Istanbul - or elsewhere?

Packed with humor and insight, Safe to Say explores the gut wrenching absurdities of life in corporate America. Set in the 1980's amidst the decline of an iconic company, the story centers on the eventful careers of two characters - Harmon Wolcott and Riley O'Brian. Despite their differences in background, Harmon and Riley share the traits of intelligence, ambition and an aching desire for approval.

Beyond Podcast is for young adults hungry for more than a safe faith—exploring what it means to follow Christ beyond comfort and into adventure, formation, and the life God designed you to live.

2019. Russia's Web Brigades have created a divided West, but both the European and the American intelligence services are getting wise to their tactics. When Stanislav Kuznetsov, the FSB’s Director of Overseas Strategic Affairs, entrusts a group of young idealists with the task of devising the next phase in the disruption of Russia’s enemies, little does he suspect that six weeks later, they’ll come up with a plan to suborn the British Broadcasting Corporation. His first reaction is mingled incredulity and exasperation. Have they taken leave of their senses?

When Ruby Parker, head of MI7’s Red Department, is hospitalized by a burglar, all is not as it seems. Her removal coincides with a series of catastrophes for British spies in hostile territories abroad, and some very shifty behavior by the new acting head of Red Department, Patrick Atherton. Atherton dislikes Red’s established hierarchy, which includes all its officers without exception, and possibly John Mordred in particular. The idea that there’s something fishy going on, and that all this is linked, seems intuitively obvious, and probably worth investigating.

Ruby’s Parker’s retirement hangs like a dark cloud over MI7. She herself has only a vague idea what the future might hold - both personally, and in terms of national security. But for many on her team, she’s irreplaceable. To cap it all, there’s a massive organizational overhaul on the cards at Thames House. Everyone’s nervous, and with good reason. In the middle of all this uncertainty, there’s an assassin at large.

Great. Just what the world needs - another KISS podcast! Though we are unabashedly KISS nerds, we are also AWOL from the KISS Army. Objectivity is a rare quality in the KISS fan base, but join us as we retrace the history of the band, album by album, year by year. Along the way we hope to differentiate the fact from the fiction and the good from the bad. So hang on tight, it's gonna be a wild ride.Whoa my god, no time to turn!

After a chance skirmish with an armed killer in central London, agent John Mordred ends up in hospital in a critical condition. Six weeks and a full recovery later, he’s persuaded it’s purely a police matter, so one he should forget about. But nothing in MI7 is ever that simple. There’s more to this particular incident than meets the eye, and unnamed people in high places want it investigated. They believe Mordred’s the man for the job.

India, The Netherlands, the Philippines - What is it with the Hoosier state that inspires authors from all over the world to dredge up their darkest visions to make readers tremble and shudder? Could it be the ghost towns that dot the landscape? Or do we fear the living ghosts that walk its cities, large and small, that breed and fester on dashed hope and creeping dread? Or do their dark writings mirror the thoughts we thought we had buried deep beneath layers of civility, exposing them for what they are, reflections of the darkness all around us.

Join James Ward Kirk for a guided tour through a nightmare exhibition of misanthropy, murder, and mayhem. Dreams for some, nightmares for others, these stories explore an impressive variety of thematic territory and make the perfect accompaniment for your next involuntary commitment.

A New Theory of Justice and Other Essays consists of five essays on different philosophical topics, 1. ‘A New Theory of Justice’ argues that we cannot say what justice is, only what the word means (which probably amounts to how it is used). The question of what justice is, is fully covered by ethical theories like utilitarianism, natural law and deontology, and these leave no remainder such as could be fruitfully addressed by a supplementary ‘theory of justice’: what is ‘just’ in any particular situation is simply what is the morally right outcome. As for how ‘justice’ is ...

No-frills discussions between Bruce Eckel and James Ward about programming, what it is, and what it should be. Buy the Happy Path Programming t-shirt: https://happy-path.printify.me/products

3 super-fans go(!) delving into the audio archives of Public Service Broadcasting. Join your hosts James Brown, Nathan Stewart, and Crayg Ward on a nerdy and insightful exploration of the band’s entire discography. Together they’ll dissect and celebrate the music of PSB; from the soaring riffs of ‘Spitfire’ to the Berlin beats of ‘Bright Magic’ (…and beyond). Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a casual listener, this podcast is your go-to destination for all things Public Service Broadcasting.

Could there really be a gargantuan snake, sleeping the sleep of the ages, somewhere beneath a hillock, just outside Wadhurst? And are there other, equally strange, beings 'living' (if we can really use that term) beneath the same earth? Was there once a spectacular magical 'obelisk' sited in a local field? And, while we’re on the subject, who, or what, is 'The Oilman'? Where did Dr Jenkinson’s mysterious machine come from? Who was Simon Francis Geffers?