Showing results by narrator "Luis Soto" in All Categories

Over the few short decades that followed Christopher Columbus' first landing in the Caribbean in 1492, Spain conquered the two most powerful civilizations of the Americas: the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru. Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, and the other explorers and soldiers who took part in these expeditions dedicated their lives to seeking political and religious glory, helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. But centuries later, these conquistadors have become the stuff of nightmares.

In The Price of Time, Edward Chancellor traces the history of interest from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, through debates about usury in Restoration Britain and John Law's ill-fated Mississippi scheme, to the global credit booms of the twenty-first century. We generally assume that high interest rates are harmful, but Chancellor argues that, whenever money is too easy, financial markets become unstable. He takes the story to the present day, when interest rates have sunk lower than at any time in the five millennia since they were first recorded.

Spain's position on Europe's southwestern corner has exposed it to cultural, political and actual winds blowing from all quadrants. Africa lies a mere nine miles to the south. The Mediterranean connects it to the civilisational currents of Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians and Byzantines as well as the Arabic lands of the Near East. Hordes from the Russian steppes were amongst the first to arrive. They would be followed by Visigoths, Arabs, Napoleonic armies and many more invaders and immigrants.

This audiobook traces Spain's development from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. It introduces listeners to key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture, including its varied landscapes and climates; the impact of waves of diverse human migrations; the importance of its location as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa; and religion, particularly militant Catholic Christianity and its centuries of conflict with Islam and Protestantism.

Aboard the confines of an ancient space hulk, Seth and his Flesh Tearers engage in a brutal struggle against a horde of alien genestealers and their own natures. A hunger drives these warriors of the Blood, one matched by their alien aggressors. Hope remains while the Flesh Tearers can hold on to their honour, but what is the truth that lurks at the heart of this derelict ship, and will Seth manage to stave off the rage long enough to discover it? 

How do two languages coexist in the same brain? Why is it possible to forget a language? What are the advantages and challenges of being bilingual? Over half of the world's population is bilingual, and yet this fascinating, complex ability is understood by few. In The Bilingual Brain, leading expert Albert Costa explores the science of language through a wide range of cutting-edge studies and examples from South Korea to Spain and Canada. 

As an agent of the Throne, former soldier Ianthe serves Inquisitor Covenant and faces some of the most dangerous and insidious threats the galaxy has to offer. On the hunt for the rogue psyker Silas Norn, Ianthe and her associates run afoul of the Imperial authorities and are imprisoned. Norn too is captured and incarcerated, but with the ability to manipulate the minds of his victims he is far from easy quarry. To stop him, Ianthe must not only find him; she must overcome the buried ghosts of her hidden past.

When a young boy and his father, a master gunner, leave their home in Devon they cannot know that piracy will become their life, for a while, at least. Set in the early days of the Spanish conquest of the Americas and with a young King Henry on the throne of England, this is a novel of discovery and riches, slavery and death. It is a time of innovation when guns changed from being firing tubes to cannons that could bring death and destruction. Above all, it is the story of a youth who, against the odds, becomes a man and, more, becomes a master gunner in his own right.

The conquistadores, the early explorers and settlers of Spanish America, have become the stuff of legends and nightmares. In their own time, they were glorified as heroic adventurers, spreading Christian culture and helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. Today, they stand condemned for their cruelty and exploitation as men who decimated the ancient civilisations of the Aztecs and the Incas and carried out horrific atrocities in their pursuit of gold and glory.

Cast into the Vale of Sorrow upon thunder and lightning, the Stormcast Eternals of Lord-Celestant Tarsus Bull-Heart seek the Starless Gates and an audience with the fabled lord of the Undead, Nagash. But when the Hallowed Knights are ambushed by Khorne's own Bloodbound, they are forced into a pact with a creature from an elder age, a vampire of dubious provenance, one whose name resonates throughout history...Von Carstein.

At 73 years old, Simon Gandolfi sets off from Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico to embark on a five-and-a-half-month journey culminating at 'the end of the world', Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. For Simon this is a journey of discovery. Leaving behind the safety and sanctuary of friends and family, he is truly alone, but along the way he meets and talks with rich and poor, old and young, officials and professionals, agricultural and industrial workers. This expertly written travelogue reveals not only the stories of those he meets but also his own.

Benjamim, a young man on the cusp of fatherhood, discovers a disturbing family secret: before his father was born, his paternal grandfather had a child with Benjamim's mother. With both men dead, Benjamim turns to three of their confidantes to piece together his family history: Haroldo, his grandfather's best friend; Isabel, his grandmother; and Raul, a friend from his father's youth. Through their conflicting testimonies, full of blind spots and contradictions, Benjamim will gradually learn of the secrets and conflicts that shattered his wealthy family.

While voyaging through the depths of the warp, the infamous blademaster Lucius the Eternal is challenged by a servant of another god - a champion of the old Death Guard Legion, no less. Keen to remain dominant over his preening and ambitious rivals in the Cohors Nasicae, Lucius takes up his sword without a second thought...but could an unfeeling daemonhost of Nurgle, or the voices inside his own head, be the undoing of his Slaaneshi curse?

After the horrors of Isstvan, the XVIth Legion destroyer-class Grey Talon now flies under a loyalist crew on a campaign of retribution and vengeance, using her original colours to strike covertly at isolated traitor forces. Commanded by Bion Henricos of the Iron Hands, the ship is also home to many disgraced White Scars who have taken death-oaths to seek atonement. But tensions run higher with each new engagement and, without a wider strategy to guide them, the crew will surely come to a sudden end.

The beleaguered Astra Militarum defenders of Varasine fight against the alien menace of a tyranid invasion, but their only possible salvation approaches in the form of something almost equally inhuman. Warleader Kardan Stronos of the Iron Hands, long having studied the xenos threat, now brings his fearless battle brothers to join the war - only he can save Varasine, measuring his Chapter's infallible logic and ruthless strategy against the cost in human lives.

The Blackstone Fortress is silent no longer. Through heretical rituals, the followers of the risen Obsidius Mallex have activated more of the Talisman of Vaul’s apocalyptic weapons and created a corrupted citadel in the heart of the fortress itself. Where once only the most desperate and determined adventurers struck out into the Unfathomable in search of riches, now a new breed of explorer delves into the Blackstone to do battle with the forces of the Ruinous Powers. 

As Lord Commander Primus, Eidolon leads the Emperor's Children in the absence of his primarch - who even knows where the daemon prince Fulgrim resides now? But a challenge from within the Legion forces Eidolon to confront one of his rivals, the ambitious Archorian, a capable officer and tactician who would see the Legion returned to glory. Dissent is unacceptable. It is time for the Kakophoni to be set against their erstwhile brethren.

Though the Word Bearers' attack on Calth and the subsequent Shadow Crusade into Ultramar are but a memory, the borders of Imperium Secundus are far from secure. Sergeant Aeonid Thiel, stranded on the garrison world of Oran on his way back to Macragge, frustrates his superiors once again by pointing out the holes in their defence - traitor warband activity is increasing, and a series of key listening posts have fallen silent.

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?

After a bloody triumph at the siege of Cartha, Lord-Relictor Ramus' Hallowed Knights and the Astral Templars of Knight-Azyros Vandalus press on with their search for Mannfred von Carstein, but they soon learn that orruks, not ogors, hold sway in the Carthic Oldwoods. The Stormcast Eternals must overcome not only these brutish warriors but also the will of their gods. Ramus and Vandalus must prevail against the fist of Gork and the fist of Mork if they are to forge a path to the Sea of Bones, where their hated quarry awaits.