Coming June 6th…

Coming June 6th…
The Mercy Chair
"John Banks is one of the UK's most prolific audiobook narrators, working for the likes of Big Finish, Audible, Random House and Games Workshop.

He is a true multi-voice, creating everything from monsters to marauding aliens.

He is also an accomplished stage and TV actor."

audible.co.uk 2018

Hello...

...I'm John Banks - welcome to my website.

The majority of my working life has been spent in the theatre with companies including
York Theatre Royal, Cheltenham Everyman, Sheffield Crucible, Bristol Old Vic, Manchester Royal Exchange and the National Theatre in London.

Television work includes Emmerdale, Coronation Street, and 'Allo, Allo!'. I have also worked on a number of radio drama and comedy productions with the BBC.

Since March 2009, I have enjoyed playing a huge variety of characters in more than 270* audio-drama stories with Big Finish Productions, together with The Black Library/Games Workshop, details of which can be found in the postings below.


There are also details listed here of the 214* audio books & stories I've recorded since March 2013,
including the unabridged New Revised Standard Version of The Bible, for companies including audible.co.uk, Hachette, Audible Studios, Podium Audio Publishing, HarperCollins, RNIB, W.F. Howes, Little Brown Group, Penguin Random House, Games Workshop, Orion, Fantom Films & Ladbroke Audio.

(*figures at April 2021)

I hope you find something of interest here and come back soon for further updates.


For all posts, reviews and audio samples, please scroll down...

The Runewar Saga: Book 2

The Runewar Saga: Book 2
The Crown of Fire & Fury

The Botanist

The Botanist
Washington Poe Series: Book 5

Skaven Deathmaster

The Babel Books

The Babel Books
The Fall of Babel - click image above for link to audible

Doctor Who: Back To Earth

Throne of Light: Dawn of Fire Book 4

Throne of Light: Dawn of Fire Book 4
Release Date: 13th November 2021

Soul Wars

Media Content

This Windows 10 Googleblog is designed and best viewed on Firefox; unfortunately, some media content may not function properly with other browsers or operating systems.

Search This Blog

Tuesday 16 February 2021

Path of The Ranger

Good morning and welcome to news of the latest audio release and the continuation of the epic Path of The Ranger saga. Here are some details:

 

Mystery In The Tundra 

The war is intensifying. So is the training at the Camp. Will Lasgol and his friends survive both?

The Corrupt Lord of the Ice has been rejected. King Uthar is seeking to kill him once and for all. But Darthor has retreated to the Frozen Continent with his forces.

 


 

Lasgol and his friends are making every effort to pass their third year of instruction, where the tests change from practical competitions to real missions and where they risk their lives. Conflicts, rivalries, and love will emerge more strongly than ever. Egil and Lasgol will discover the truth about the king's secret and the identity of the real enemy. They will choose sides and try to persuade their teammates.

King Uthar will invade the Frozen Continent with his hosts to put an end to Darthor. The Rangers, including Lasgol and his friends, will find themselves involved in the campaign of war. They will discover the Mystery of the Tundra in the Frozen Continent and take part in the great battle for the North.

 

                           Written by Pedro Urvi and Narrated by John Banks

                                        Running length: 12 hours - 30 minutes



                                     ©2020 Pedro Urvi (P)2021 Podium Audio

 

And after the briefest of pauses to catch up, it's back to work for me now, prepping a fabulous audio book, scheduled to be recorded next week, which means that's...


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

 

Sunday 7 February 2021

New year, new stories, new releases...

...and already, this '2021' adventure has begun and indeed, is alreaady a month old - how can that possibly be?

I hope the holiday season was a good one for you, despite the continuing pandemic. With my eternal sense of optimism intact, my hopes are very much that the latest variety of vaccines, which have been developed so incredibly quickly, will prove to be effective and we can all safely start to take up our regular lives again. In a recent Tweet, someone was kind enough to say, that my Black Library audio books had provided a route to escapism for them over the last several months of restriction and lockdown, which was an extremely gratifying thing to be told and I'm grateful indeed to that person for expressing such a sentiment.

My 2021 is continuing pretty much where my 2020 ended, though if anything, the pace and intensity has ramped up even more and I'm now looking to the end of June as a first opportunity to take a little 'time-out'; though whether events will swallow up such a notion of  rest & recreation, we shall have to wait and see.

I'm recording at roughly the rate of one book every other week at the moment and I'm about to complete the third book of this year, before seamlessly shifting into prep mode for a very exciting series of books, much more of which, in a few months time.

I have to say, that I'm very much looking forward to the first audio book release of this year; I went out on a bit of a limb for this story and what I did, might have worked, or might not. My fingers are firmly crossed that it will be a success, though I can assure you, the story itself is well worth checking out. 

Following on from Dawn of Fire - Avenging Son, here are some details:


Dawn of Fire: The Gate of Bones

Book 2 of the Dawn of Fire series

As the Indomitus Crusade spreads across the Imperium Sanctus, the cardinal world Gathalamor is caught in the grip of war – but when an ancient evil is unearthed, the entire crusade is threatened…

 



As the Indomitus Crusade begins, fleets of mighty warships leave Terra on a vital quest to stabilise Imperium Sanctus in the wake of the Great Rift. The returned primarch, Roboute Guilliman, leads a huge force towards the shrine world of Gathalamor, where stable warp routes will allow the flotilla to spread across the beleaguered southern half of the Imperium.

But grave tidings reach the Imperial Regent’s ears. Warnings from an ancient race, and eerie silence from the army tasked with holding Gathalamor until his arrival, lead Guilliman to send a reconnaissance mission to the world, at its head, Shield-Captain Achallor of the Adeptus Custodes.

 


 

Achallor discovers a world on the brink: a beaten Imperial force and sinister agents of Abaddon the Despoiler who have unearthed an ancient evil – a weapon that when harnessed not only threatens the primarch, but perhaps the holy Throne of Terra itself…

 

Written by Andy Clark & Narrated by John Banks 

Produced by Tara Rawson

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins*

 

* * * * *

*there is a discrepancy in the running length between the BL web site and Audible; the time quoted above is from Audible and sounds about right - I look forward to finding out definitively!

* * * * *

As it's now evening here in the UK, I'll wrap up for today. Having recorded a couple of chapters of the current book, earlier this afternoon, I feel I can let it go for today and treat myself to a cold beer. Back to work in the morning!

 

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

 


©2020 Games Workshop Limited (P)2020 Games Workshop Limited

Dalek Universe 2

Kragnos Broken Realms

Age of Sigmar Dominion

The Moggotkin of Nurgle

Kragnos Broken Realms

Dawn of Fire Book 1: Avenging Son

The Lore of Direchasm

Direchasm

A C'tan Shard Rises 3

Indomitus: Necrons 2

A Lord Among the Stars 1

Angels of Death Preview

Ultramarines

Psychic Awakening

Warcry: Death or Glory

Warhammer 40,000

Flight. Redefined.

Reviews & comments:

The Malazan Empire

Over the course of this 8 book series, the amazing John Banks has had to create and voice 648 distinct characters!

Neil Gardner - producer

The Door In The Wall & War of The Worlds

Not often I buy another version of an audiobook I own, but after hearing John Banks' narration of The Door in the Wall by Ladbroke Audio, I had to buy their version of The War of the Worlds. Banks has a great reading voice.

Andy Frankham-Allen - writer

The Books of Babel: Senlin Ascends, Arm of The Sphinx & The Hod King

Mr. Banks does superb work, and I recommend the audiobooks wholeheartedly!

Josiah Bancroft - writer

Mervyn Stone: The Axeman Cometh

John Banks is a voice genius...

Nev Fountain - writer

Mervyn Stone... played by the note-perfect John Banks.

Matt Hills - Reviews in Time and Space

Dr. Who: The Sleeping City

I also must draw attention to John Banks who is an exceptional voice artist and in this one story performs more characters that I can count. ... it is listening to episodes like this one that really do let his talents shine through.

Tony Jones - Red Rocket Rising

Highlander:

...playing several parts, was the brilliant Big Finish regular John Banks - it was as if there were about 40 different actors in the other booth.

James Moran - writer

I went for the best of the best and brought in voice artiste extraordinaire John Banks.

Paul Spragg - producer

Vienna:

...also features the mind - bogglingly versatile and reliable John Banks

Jonathan Morris - writer

Dead Funny:

The acting is first rate… wonderfully played by John Banks as Richard – his impersonation of Eric Morecambe is worth the admission money alone.

Beverly Greenberg: Bolton Evening News

Mr. Happiness:

This early and unfamiliar play by David Mamet is a character study of a 1930s radio counsellor, dispensing suave advice to his devoted listeners. John Banks brings out the wry comedy of this – comedy quite unappreciated by the character – with a clever range of gesture and vocal tone.

Jeremy Kingston: The Times


All My Sons:

This is a beautifully crafted piece ...and it affords a wonderful opportunity for John Readman* to do his All-American Boy act as Chris Keller. This most polished and well observed performance as the blighted son of a blighted father must rank as one of his finest accomplishments yet. ( * see Profile)

The Stage

The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes

Kudos should also go to John Banks. Lestrade can be a thankless part, but Banks rose to the challenge, playing a pivotal role in this decades long arc.

Raissa Devereux - SciFiPulse

The Judgement of Sherlock Holmes

John Banks is multi-tasking, both as the superb Lestrade and also the villainous and no doubt moustache twirling Sebastian Moran. They sound completely different and I bow to his talent.

Sue Davies - SFcrowsnest


Further reviews and comments are included with specific postings throughout the site.

The War Doctor

The War Doctor
December 2015