"As ve spoke the ritual lines, Magos Dominus Militaris Xaiozanus Skitara Xilliarkis Exasas dilated the dorsal spiracles of vis intertracular lymphoid to release a cloud of bacteriophagic incense."

Your mission dear reader, should you wish to accept it, is to have a shot at saying the above line out loud and to say it 'with purpose'...

Tricky huh? Well, it was a very small part of my Imperator 'mission' and I found it quite tricky!

It's taken from a fantastic story though, by Gav Thorpe, and I enjoyed the challenge of performing the text as an audio book. It was released a couple of days ago on the 23rd of April, so I can now look forward to hearing the finished production and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works in audio as well as it works in print. Tricky...tricky...

Here are some details from The Black Library:

Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah

An Adeptus Titanicus novel

The Casus Belli, an Imperator Titan that has defended the Imperium for ten millennia, marches to war at the head of an army of Adeptus Mechanicus – but will treachery end the god-machine's long legacy of glory?

Holy warbringer of the Legio Metalica, the Imperator Titan Casus Belli has routed armies and levelled cities over ten thousand years of service in the name of the Machine God.

As war engulfs the Dark Imperium this mechanical god of battle arrives to destroy the renegade armies and tech-priests of Nicomedua. At the head of a battlegroup of Titans, Imperial Knights and skitarii, Casus Belli must defeat tainted war engines, Traitor Legionnares and armies of cultists.

While apocalyptic battles rage across the planet, a no less deadly battle unfolds within the Titan itself, as Magos Exasus, leader of the Casus Belli’s Tech-guard, must find and defeat the enemy within before their insidious plans come to fruition.

Written by Gav Thorpe & Narrated by John Banks 

Unabridged running time: 9 hours - 39 minutes

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Thanks as always for stopping by the web site, it's been some while since I've been able to update as I've been very busy recording lots of new stuff. The reason I have a little 'free' time this afternoon is that I'm trying to shake off a cold. A cold! I hate having colds (who doesn't?) and this one has affected my voice quite a bit, which is very boring. 

Fingers crossed, the cold will soon abate and I'll be back in studio very soon; next up is an excellent crime/detective story and I'm really itching to get on with it! There are also some interesting audio dramas and books coming in the pipeline and I'm looking forward to telling you all about them ASAP. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Imperator.

...all for now, more just as soon as it happens!
 

Sherlock Holmes: The Master of Blackstone Grange

This story, The Master of Blackstone Grange, recorded in September 2017, marks my 100th audio drama with director Ken Bentley. It was released at the end of March as part of a box set, along with The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency, both written by Jonathan Barnes.

"The arrival at Baker Street of a client who, unusually, seeks advice from both men brings to their attention the existence of an isolated manor house in the east of England known as Blackstone Grange. The place, for so long the locus of wild rumours of witchcraft and sorcery, has acquired a very modern new master – a charismatic socialite named ‘Honest’ Jim Sheedy, a man of boundless ambition whose influence over British society appears, inexplicably, to be growing.

The detective learns that Colonel Sebastian Moran, released early from prison, travels to meet with Sheedy on the very day of his freedom. But curiosity curdles into obsession when Mycroft warns his brother, in the strictest possible terms, against investigating any further."

Nicholas Briggs (Sherlock Holmes), Richard Earl (Dr John Watson), Harry Peacock (‘Honest’ Jim Sheedy), Lucy Briggs-Owen (Genevieve Dumont), Tim Bentinck (Mycroft Holmes / Apothecary), John Banks (Colonel Sebastian Moran), Eve Webster (Grace / Ettie), Nigel Hastings (Horace Grigg), David Birrell (Inspector Felix Abell / Lord Arthur Perowne), Tomm Coles (Ferndown / Chilcott), Blake Ritson (Dr Kemp), Anjella Mackintosh (Lydia Rangeley / Sally), Leighton Pugh (Hubert Rangeley / Clark / Mr Blythe / Impressario). Other parts played by members of the cast.

Written by Jonathan Barnes & Directed by Ken Bentley 

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The last few weeks have been occupied with some interesting and diverse audio projects - details to follow - and lots of preparation for a very busy phase of recording to come over the next few weeks. Certainly, the time between now and the middle of May is going to be a bit crazy; a drama and a book to record next week alone! I'll let you know how I get on!

...all for now, more just as soon as it happens!