Rock and Roll is Life

Good afternoon! The quickest of quick updates I'm afraid; the current work situation involves a lot of preparation and I feel as though I'm in the foothills of the Himalayas, strapping on a couple of oxygen tanks and getting ready for the great ascent. As the information is already (!) available on the audible.co.uk web site, I can at least mention what I'm doing; which is unusual and means that I don't have to be 'coy' for the next six months!

Starting in late June, I'm scheduled to record the eight books of Dorothy Dunnett's 'The Niccolo Books' series, a project which should be fun and which certainly falls into the 'great challenge' category of narration. As far as I can estimate, the shortest of the eight books has a running time of about 24 hours; others are well up into the 30 hour plus range; a little bit like The Malazan series I did a couple of years ago I suppose.

However, in the meantime, I have three audio dramas to record next week and a non-Niccolo book in the first week of July, so, lots of prep as I'm sure you can imagine!

In the other meantime (?), here are some details of an audio book I recorded in April which was released at the end of May:

"Rock and Roll Is Life is the new novel from the country's leading man of letters, D. J. Taylor.  You may remember the Helium Kids. Back in their late '60s and early '70s heyday, they appeared on Top of the Tops on 27 separate occasions, released five Billboard-certified platinum albums, played sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden and were nearly, but not quite, as big as the Beatles and the Stones.

Three decades later, in the big house on the outskirts of Norwich, Nick Du Pont is looking back on the roller-coaster years he spent as their publicist in a world of licensed excess and lurking tragedy. What follows is not only the story of a rock band at a formative time in musical history, when America was opening up to English music and huge amounts of money and self-gratification were there for the taking.

For the tale is also Nick's - the life and times of a war baby born in a Norwich council house, the son of an absconding GI, whose career is a search for some of the advantages that his birth denied him. It is at once a worm's eye of British pop music's golden age and a bittersweet personal journey, with cameo appearances from everyone from Elvis and Her Majesty the Queen Mother to Andy Warhol.

Rock and Roll Is Life is a vastly entertaining, picaresque and touching novel inspired by the excess and trajectories of the great '60s and '70s supergroups and of the tales brought back from the front line by a very special breed of Englishmen who made it big in the States as the alchemists and enablers, as well as the old making way for the new in the era of the baby boomers.

At its heart is one man's adventure and the poignancy of the special relationships that dominate his life."

©2018 D. J. Taylor (P)2018 Little, Brown Book Group

* * * * * 

Tomorrow, 7th June, sees the release of M.W. Craven's fabulous novel "The Puppet Show", which I also recorded in April. The audio book and printed novel are being released simultaneously and I've been invited to the launch party tomorrow evening. Having had no opportunity to listen to the recording yet, my fingers are very firmly crossed in the hope that I haven't made a horrrible mess of it! That aside, it should be a fun evening; I'll let you know... !

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

 

Blackshields: Red Fief

A Horus Heresy Audio Drama

Endryd Haar leads his battered warband of renegade Blackshields into battle once more. Answering a distress call from an old friend, Haar seeks out the tithe-world of Duat, intent on plunder.

As the forces of the Warmaster close in on Terra, Endryd Haar leads his warband of renegade Blackshields into battle once more. With his forces battered in the wake of their raid on Xana, Haar finds himself in desperate need of warriors.

Answering a distress call from an old friend, Haar seeks out the tithe-world of Duat, intent on plunder. But when he discovers what is hidden there, Haar is faced with a decision that will determine his fate – and perhaps that of Terra itself.

Performed by Gareth Armstrong, John Banks, Toby Longworth, Andrew Wincott, Tim Bruce & Steve Conlin

Written by Josh Reynolds and Produced by Matt Renshaw 

* * * * *

Shockingly, this audio drama was released a week ago and I've only just been able to upload details of it here. This is the second of Josh Reynolds' 'Blackshield' adventures and I'm truly delighted to be playing Endryd Haar, the anti-hero of the stories. There's a fabulous cast for this drama too and as I got a very rare early copy, I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Part of the enjoyment was of course, thinking back to the fun we had in the studio, but it's also very pleasing to listen to a piece of work that stands up and plays well. I enjoyed it and hope, if it's your kind of thing, that you will too.

I've been away from home for the last couple of weeks, being busy in the studio with some fabulous audio drama projects and the continuation of a long story arc in audio book format and now I'm just catching up with all the stuff I've neglected recently - like this blog!

Further busy times ahead in the very near future, though I do now have some time at home to start prepping again for the next tranche of recording, which, again, shockingly, will take me all the way through to mid October!

There's some new Sigmar stuff coming from the Black Library, which lots of folks are excited about and I was asked to record a 'trailer - reveal' with regard to what's happening - and here it is:

Thanks for stopping by -

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

Skald: The Short Story Collection

Skald: 6 Original Crime & Thriller Short Stories


Commissioned by Audible and written especially for audio format this collection brings together six crime stories through the themes of discovery, destination and arrival.

Top narrators bring these gripping tales to life acknowledging the Scandinavian tradition of oral storytelling.

In this collection Ben Okri and Martin Edwards explore 'discovery' in their stories; Sophie Hannah and Emma Dibdin each draw on 'destination' for their tales of painful pasts; and Elly Griffiths and Parker Bilal tackle the theme of 'arrival' in their stories.

Skald is one of three short story collections written by our favourite best-selling novelists and emerging authors, and curated based on the themes of arrival, discovery and destination. Jali collates science fiction tales while Bard collates contemporary fiction.

Stories written by Martin Edwards, Ben Okri, Sophie Hannah, Emma Dibdin, Elly Griffiths & Parker Bilal 

 Narrated by John Banks, Jessica Dennis, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Damian Lynch, Colleen Prendergast & Katy Sobey

Running Length 4 hours - 30 minutes

©2018 Audible, Ltd. (P)2018 Audible, Ltd.
 

 

I must say, it was great fun to record 'Bully The Blue Bear' by Sophie Hannah for this series. I narrated the story, directed by Tamsin Collison and then Colleen Prendergast (in the photo, right) came in and the two of us recorded the rest of the story together in dialogue.

We were subsequently interviewed for a short promo by Audible Studios, which was a hoot and, as usual, I blathered on for ages. The amount they eventually used in the video was tiny in comparison to the deluge of noise I came up with. Colleen, in contrast, was concise and sensible and I'm very glad she was there, otherwise, I might still be talking and pontificating on life and the universe - as one does!

Alas, the video is bigger than the upload limit for this site (!); though it can be viewed at the Audible web site (Skald: The Short Story Collection) or on my Twitter feed (top left on this site).

* * * * *

On a different subject; the last couple of weeks have been very busy in the recording studio and the latest audio book was finished on Saturday evening. The dealine for publishing on this one is quite tight and in addition to actual recording, editing and checking also take up a chunk of time, so, we had to get it recorded asap, hence a late Saturday completion.

This week is mostly about prepping for the next two weeks in studio, so I'd better sign off now and get on with some work!

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

"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

* * * * *

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 

* * * * *

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!

Hallowed Knights: Plague Garden

So hot off the press, this recording isn't even available yet! Weeell, that's not quite true. There's no mention of it on the Black Library web site at the moment, but it has already appeared on the audible.co.uk web site, so I feel able to mention it here. In any case, it will probably also be available directly from the Black Library tomorrow.

So, what's all the fuss about? This is a cracking story from Josh Reynolds, which I had great fun recording ( I know, I always say that, but it's true!) - here are some details:

"As the War for the Realm of Life continues, Lord-Castellant Lorrus Grymn leads the battered remnants of the Steel Souls warrior chamber against the sargasso-citadels of the Verdant Bay. The Hallowed Knights claim victory, but at a terrible cost - Grymn is lost to Realm of Chaos. 

Now Gardus, newly reforged and fresh from the destruction of the Scabrous Sprawl, must lead his warriors into the foetid heart of Nurgle's realm in search of the Lord-Castellant, where they must once more brave the horrors of the Realm of Decay...."

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

 

Arm of The Sphinx

Following hot on the heels of the January release of Senlin Ascends, the first of Josiah Bancroft's Books of Babel, comes the second instalment, Arm of The Sphinx. Originally self-published, Josiah's books are now reaching a huge audience via Hachette, which is part of the vast Little, Brown Group, and receiving the attention and appreciation they richly deserve.

I've read a number of reviews for the books and they been universally positive. I can only hope that my telling of the stories in audiobook format do them justice! I've included a short audio sample from Arm of The Sphinx, which appears below, along with further details of the story:

"Forced by necessity into a life of piracy, Senlin and his eclectic crew struggle to survive aboard their stolen airship. Senlin's search for his lost wife continues, even as her ghost haunts his every step. But the Tower of Babel proves to be as difficult to reenter as it was to escape.  

 

In desperation, he turns to a rumoured legend of the tower, the mysterious and dangerous Sphinx. But help from the Sphinx does not come cheaply, and one of his crew already knows the terrible cost."

 ©2018 Josiah Bancroft (P)2018 Hachette Audio UK

"Like its predecessor, it is a brilliant piece of work...these two books are genius. I just love them. The story, characters and imagination shine." (Mark Lawrence)

 

 

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

#WorldBookDay

This has just popped up on my Twitter feed...

...I'm genuinely astonished!
  

Good afternoon! So here I am on this very cold and snowy day, having returned from a recording mission in the even colder environs of Nottingham, to mention the (February 23rd) release of an audio book from The Black Library: Lukas the Trickster.

Before this latest audio book, I'd played 'Wolf Lord Kjarl Grimblood' in the audio drama 'The Art of Provocation'. On that occasion, BL stalwart Toby Longworth played Lukas and, as ever, did a fine job. No pressure at all then to follow in his footsteps by voicing Lukas in this audio book adventure!

Here are some details and fabulous artwork from The Black Library:

Lukas the Trickster

A Space Wolves story

When the drukhari come to raid Fenris itself, Lukas the Trickster takes to the battlefield to face a rival unlike any he has fought before…

Among the Space Wolves there are as many sagas as there are warriors. Though none quite like that of Lukas the Trickster. Renowned and reviled in equal measure, the Jackalwolf has ever stood apart from his brothers, passed from pack to pack by embittered Wolf Lords.

But as a new enemy invades the icy reaches of Fenris at the height of the Helwinter, Lukas finds himself facing a foe who may rival even his legendary cunning – the drukhari corsair, Duke Sliscus.

In the battle between wolf and serpent, who will emerge triumphant, and who will lay on red snow?

Written by Josh Reynolds, Narrated by John Banks & Produced by Kylia Whitehead

                                  
Audio book running time: 10 hours and 30 minutes

                         

* * * * *

The last few weeks have been busy indeed, with some very exciting projects working their way through to final release. This morning, the text of a new audio book arrived, which is scheduled to be recorded next week, assuming I can plough my way to the studio! So, not much prep time for this one and at first glance, it appears to be quite a challenging story; we shall see! 

I'd love to reveal details here and now, but alas, as usual, I'm honour bound to keep things 'under my hat' until officially allowed to give them a proper mention. As I'm about to venture outdoors, it's probably a good idea to keep everything else under my hat!

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

Doctor Who: Ghost Walk

Good afternoon!

It was summer and it was very warm when we recorded Ghost Walk. I remember it fondly for a number of reasons; this was the first story I'd worked on with Matthew Waterhouse, whom I found to be charming and friendly and it was fun to work with Fenella Woolgar again. The last time Fenella and I worked together was on Nevermore, with Paul McGann and Emilia Fox, amongst others.

It's always an absolute joy to be in the company of Carolyn Seymour and working with her on this story was a real treat. Having not seen her since the recording, I can honestly say that I miss her; I miss her wit and her intelligence and her hugely charismatic energy.  I also remember my fabulous friend, Sarah Sutton, giving me a lift home from the studio and our getting stuck in incredibly dense traffic - thank goodness for the joy of easy conversation - and air-con!

Director Barnaby Edwards always creates a great working environment and Ghost Walk was consequently a lot of fun to record. I'm not sure that my role in this audio drama is especially pivotal, but I do look forward to giving a listen.

Here are some details:

"This is a city of ghosts and no-one knows them better than Leanne. Twice a night she leads tourists to visit the most haunted sites - the Hanging Yard, the Witch Pool, the Screaming House, and, of course, the Catacombs.

Leanne’s realised the ghosts of the city are real. Something’s lurking in the Catacombs - an ancient force that has been growing in the darkness for centuries. Sabaoth is returning and they must be stopped before they devour the world. Leanne knows this, because a ghost told her.

A ghost called The Doctor."

Peter Davison (The Doctor) Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka) Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) Fenella Woolgar (Leanne) Sacha Dhawan (Matthew)  

Stephen Greif (Sabaoth) Carolyn Seymour (Mrs Stubbs) Philip Childs (Giles)  
John Banks (Louie) Rebecca Tromans (Nancy)

Written by James Goss
Directed by Barnaby Edwards 

 

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

PS: some very exciting projects in the pipeline over the next few weeks and months; details to follow! 

Scarlet City: Part II Rise

Good afternoon! A brief lull, nay, 'respite' from a hectic recording schedule allows me just enough time to mention the second episode of Scarlet City and here are some details from Audible Studios:

This Original multicast drama piece blends history with fiction to tell the story of Jonah and his rise to fame through war, disease, ruin and riches.

London, 1337. England is at war, and the King is in financial straits, meaning that Jonah's hard-earned business and fortune hang in the balance.

A far cry from his humble beginnings as a draper's apprentice, Jonah is now one of the influential merchants in England, and he manages to secure the hand of the daughter of one of the most powerful and dangerous nobles in the country.

As Jonah's wealth and prominence grow, so do his enemies and the threats they bring - and even Jonah's close relationship with the King doesn't guarantee security. The King is at war, and he wants Jonah there beside him.

Told in three parts, hear Medieval London come to life in this historical epic, Audible Original's most ambitious production to date.



Narrated by Miriam Margolyes, OBE (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Romeo + Juliet, Mulan) and starring Douglas Booth (Riot Club, Loving Vincent, Shelley) as Jonah and Samuel West (BAFTA nominated; Mr Selfridge, Howards End) as Willcox.

Also featuring:

Josephine Arden, Timothy Bentinck, John Banks, Clare Buckfield, Elliot Chapman, Oliver Coopersmith, Raymond Coulthard, Gareth David-Lloyd, Raj Ghatak, Joe Jameson, James Joyce, Barry McCarthy, Olly McCauley, Tony Millan, George Naylor, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Steven Pacey, Nicholas Pegg, David Schofield, Jane Slavin, Dan Starkey, Jonty Stephens, Julie Teal, Alexander Vlahos, Niky Wardley, Lizzie Waterworth-Santo, Samuel West, Finty Williams. 
 

©2002 Rebecca Gablé (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

As you can see, an epic tale and a fairly epic cast! Needless to say, there wasn't room or time to have us all in together and apparently, no camera lens wide enough to include the entire company!

But here's an image of some of those called in for an early recording session; I even know some of them!

* * * * *

I'm enjoying a bit of 'time out' this week, as I mentioned above. In some ways, I'm now having the Christmas holiday I missed as a result of having to prep an audio book which started recording on 3rd January, the first of four audio books I recorded in January. A very 'full on' start to 2018! 

Next up for me is a very interesting audio drama, alas, top secret at the moment, followed by another drama recording and another audio book, which takes me up to mid-March. So, there it is; lots to look forward to, but a little more time to prepare and record than I had in the crazy pre-Christmas schedule.

Free time... what to do...?

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

 

Senlin Ascends: The Books of Babel, Book 1

Good morning! This remarkable and astonishingly original novel, Senlin Ascends, written by Josiah Bancroft, is now available in a freashly published edition from the Little, Brown Book Group and as an audiobook, which was released yesterday in the UK and on 17th in the US.

Josiah originally self-published his story in 2013 and I'd be fascinated to know the journey the book has undertaken in order to have been picked up by a major international publishing house like Little, Brown. The release of the audio book seems to have generated quite a bit of interest and I'm delighted to have heard directly from Josiah, that he is pleased with how his novel has transferred to audio. His very generous comments with regard to my voice characterisations are gratifying indeed and I thank him for them.

The story is quite tricky to summarise, though this is a pretty good shot from Nazia at Little, Brown UK: “Try to imagine what would happen if Studio Ghibli and William Goldman collaborated with Mervyn Peake, and they reimagined Dante’s Divine Comedy.”  Indeed!

The audio book is available from audible and amazon and here are some details:

"Mild-mannered headmaster Thomas Senlin prefers his adventures to be safely contained within the pages of a book. So when he loses his new bride shortly after embarking on the honeymoon of their dreams, he is ill-prepared for the trouble that follows.

To find her, Senlin must enter the Tower of Babel - a world of geniuses and tyrants, of menace and wonder, of unusual animals and mysterious machines. He must endure betrayal, assassination attempts and the long guns of a flying fortress. And if he hopes to ever see his wife again, he will have to do more than just survive...this quiet man of letters must become a man of action."

Narrated by John Banks - unabridged audio book: 14 hours - 13 minutes 


"John Banks' wonderful narration of the Senlin Ascends audio book is available today in the UK. 
I'm so happy to finally be able to share John Banks' excellent performance with everyone!"

                                                                                                                Josiah Bancroft - author

 

Reviews for the book:

"One of my favourite books of all time." (Mark Lawrence)

 

"An extraordinary debut that is well worthy of the hype. A beautifully written, highly engaging page-turning masterpiece." (Fantasy Book Review)

 

"Thomas Senlin is the most unlikely yet likeable hero since a certain hobbit rushed out of Bag End leaving his second breakfast half-finished and entirely unwashed-up." (Fantasy Faction)

©2013 Josiah Bancroft (P)2018 Little, Brown Book Group

* * * * *

Senlin Ascends is the first novel of a trilogy, part two of which, Arm of The Sphinx, I start recording next week, once again with producer Neil Gardner; should be fun!

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

 

Dark Imperium

With the release of Dark Imperium from The Black Library, it now feels as though the working year has begun. Although, behind the scenes of course, work has never really stopped. The Christmas and New Year 'holiday' was taken up with preparation for recording the first audio book of 2018, which was done 3rd to 5th of January and as I keep mentioning, I have a further three books to prep and record by the first week of February, so no time off at all - Happy Days!

And so, here we go; Good Luck 2018!

Dark Imperium

Warhammer 40,000

The galaxy has changed. Darkness spreads, warp storms split reality and Chaos is everywhere – even Ultramar. As Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade draws to a close, he must brave the perils of the warp to reach his home and save it from the depredations of the Plague God.

Fell times have come to the galaxy. Cadia has fallen, destroyed by the onslaught of Chaos. A Great Rift in the warp has opened and from its depths spew daemons and the horrors of Old Night. But all hope is not lost...

A hero, long absent, has returned and with him comes the wrath of the Ultramarines reborn. Roboute Guilliman has arisen to lead the Imperium out of darkness on a crusade the likes of which has not been seen since the fabled days of the Emperor.

But never before have the forces of Ruin amassed in such numbers, and nowhere is safe from despoliation. From the dreaded Scourge Stars come the hordes of the Plaguefather, Lord Nurgle, and their pustulent eye is fixed on Macragge.

As the Indomitas Crusade draws to an end, Guilliman races to Ultramar and a confrontation with the Death Guard.

Written by Guy Haley, Narrated by John Banks & Produced by Kylia Whitehead

 Audiobook running time: 12 hours and 45 minutes

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

 

The Maggotkin of Nurgle...

And we're already into the second week of 2018; how extraordinarily swiftly does time fly by! January, for me, continues pretty much as December ended - busily! As mentioned previously, I have four audiobooks to record this month and into the first week of February. At the moment, one book has been completed and I'm once again, deep in preparation for the next three, which are to be recorded over a very intense two-week period.

So far, there are no new releases to mention, although the first of this year's recordings should be available next week sometime and I'll post details here when I know more. In the meantime, Games Workshop and The Black Library are promoting new story lines to accompany new games and figures, featuring The Grandfather - Nurgle himself and his rot infested army!

Part of that promotion is this trailer, which I recorded a couple of weeks ago. It was great fun to come up with voices for these three characters and I'm delighted to see the accompanying animation, which has been so imaginatively and skillfully created by Laura at Games Workshop.

In my opinion, the artwork for this game and story line is quite exceptional and if I knew who was responsible for it, I would be delighted to credit them here - what fabulous work!

I hope you 'enjoy' listening to the brothers Glottkin trailer - make sure to play it loud!

* * * * *

As a quick post script: I mentioned that one of last month's Advent stories, The Autumn Prince, had the wrong cast credited to it on the Black Library web site. The cast I published here is correct and I'm assured that Steve Conlin does indeed appear at the very beginning of the story; I'll have to listen to it more carefully!

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

Happy New Year!

My thanks to all who have dropped by to peruse this web site over the last year and I hope you'll keep checking in throughout 2018, which, professionally speaking, is about to start for me tomorrow. I have four audio books scheduled to record this month, so there has been no slacking over the - short - festive break.

There's nothing to report yet in terms of available recordings or other items of news; however, there is the final 'Advent' recording to mention from last month/year from the Black Library and here are some details:

The Autumn Prince

A Warhammer Age of Sigmar audio drama

An aelven wanderer prince seeks to wrest the secret of cheating death from one of the Katophranes in Shadespire. But why does a nigh-immortal aelf seek power over death?

Lured into the cursed city of Shadespire by the promise of the secret of cheating death, the aelf wanderer Prince Maesa seeks the Katophrane Thanaton.

Surrounded by the spirits of the dead who cannot die, trapped in the last moments before the city's destruction, Maesa nears his goal… but just why does a nigh-immortal aelf seek this power over death?

John Banks, Beth Chalmers, Tim Bruce, Melvyn Rawlinson, Luis Soto, Steve Conlin

Written by Guy Haley & Produced by Matt Renshaw

I'm playing Prince Maesa in this story and having now had the chance to listen to it, I think the BL web site has credited the wrong cast for this production. I have given the correct cast list above, although, having again announced on the actual recording, that Steve Conlin is in this story, in fact, I can't hear his very distinctive voice and so, I think his inclusion may also be incorrect. I'll update when I've clarified the situation with the folks at BL.

In the meantime, that's...

...all for now, more just as soon as it happens - Happy New Year!