Great Opera

Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom...

Belisarius Cawl, Archmagos Dominus of the Adeptus Mechanicus, is the most brilliant mind alive. For 10,000 years he has furthered the cause of mankind, working under the aegis of the Emperor and Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman to prevent the inexorable march of the alien and the traitor. Many call him heretic, but all must recognise the magnitude of his achievements, for who else but he was entrusted to create a new generation of Space Marines?

Sanguinius is the Great Angel, most beloved of all the primarchs, his mighty exploits celebrated throughout the entire Imperium as the Crusade expands into the void. And yet the origins of his Legion are shrouded in mystery and rumour, his unique physical form is an enigma, and his perilous home world remains off-limits to all but his own secretive people. When a discredited remembrancer arrives with the expeditionary fleets to chronicle the primarch’s deeds, he has to work hard to uncover the truth behind the legends.

The dark forces of the Neo Hegemony strike, sweeping across the worlds of the Arcadian sector and crushing all in their path. One system stands against the onslaught, the Kingdom of New Avalon. But the men and women of their expeditionary forces are trapped behind enemy lines on a besieged planet. Their only hope? A last-ditch rescue mission led by Captain Hal Cutter and his battleship, Achilles. Beset on all sides by lethal enemy warships, he must lead a rag-tag fleet of naval and civilian vessels across Hegemony held space to save the beleaguered Kingdom soldiers.

When the world of Quadravidia comes under attack by the insidious tau, only one man can defeat the aliens and save the planet in the Emperor's name – the legendary Hero of the Imperium, Commissar Ciaphas Cain. When the aliens call for a ceasefire, Cain expects the worst, and his fears are answered in the form of the dread menace of the tyranids. As a hive fleet approaches Quadravidia, Cain must try to forge an alliance between the Imperium and the t'au – but can he truly trust the inscrutable xenos?

“Like Carl Hiaasen, Berney delights in the cartoonish. Like Elmore Leonard, he can drive a plot. What sets him apart is how well he evokes love, making the romance…as compelling as the mystery.” —Boston Globe Lou Berney immediately earned a seat of honor at the mystery masters’ table...

Nearly 100,000 years after first contact with the machines that dominate the universe, only a few hundred humans survive. Trapped on Snowglade, a barren world near the center of the galaxy, Killeen and his child, Toby, of the Bishop Tribe, are primitive scavengers, homeless and hunted by the ruling “mechs”. Then suddenly, a strange cosmic entity – neither organic nor cybernetic or living matter – reaches out from a black hole to speak with Killeen.

Since 2003, this sci-fi virtual world has been ruled by player-led governments commanding tens of thousands of real people. The conflict and struggle for power between these diverse governments has led to wars, espionage, and battles fought by thousands of people from nations all over the world. There have been climactic last stands, wars for honor and revenge, and spies who caused more damage than a fleet of warships.

Mr. Sherlock Holmes was, in many ways, a maverick against the staid morality and structure of the Victorian era. But he was not alone – a plethora of striking and remarkable characters, hailing from all corners of the Empire and beyond, paraded across the stage at 221B Baker Street during Holmes’s career as a consulting detective. Within are four recently unearthed cases in which Holmes encounters a scoundrel whose rakish deeds might be one for the history books, a man whose overwhelming greed will lead him to an early grave, a man with the heart of a Jacobean villain, and a tragedy on ...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE FINALIST A propulsive literary page-turner about a family torn apart by a mother’s obsession with a sound that no one else can hear One night, while lying in bed next to her husband, Claire Devon suddenly hears a low hum. This innocuous sound, which...

The Duchy of Hunter's Run has moved to the Gaia galaxy. But without its Duke. Twenty five billion people have appeared in the Gaia system unexpectedly, and only one person knows how or why. Yet preparations for fifteen billion exist, but only one person remembers the work being done. The one who knows, and the one who remembers, are the same, but Jane is not human. So good is she at hiding being an Artificial Intelligence, no-one knows except her fellow AI's. To her falls the responsibility for guiding Humanity as they come to terms with not knowing where they are. The how and why seem ...

Within the Great Sphere, Captain Aventurine Bana finds herself the centerpoint in a vast conspiracy. A struggling transporter on the edges of society, ‘Gem’ Bana is given a fantastic opportunity: take the estranged son of a powerful businessman around the Sphere, and receive a beautiful new ship in exchange. Quickly caught in a tangle of intrigue, danger, and the looming threat of some outside puppeteer, Bana must navigate the Great Sphere with dry wit, abject terror, and a cool head. Dodging bounties, assassins, and the reach of a Sphere-wide corporation, all she wanted was a good book...

We have entered an age where we now have instant, unlimited, free access to the history of recorded music. We have the ability to listen across genres and eras. This is a world-wide phenomenon. This book is a guide to taking advantage of this astonishing new power. This book is also a way to appreciate one of our great cultural legacies; one that is very alive today. It is about American popular song and the body of work referred to as the Great American Songbook. These tunes are appreciated and treasured by listeners all over the world. This book is an effort to introduce you to the songs,...

"This is the first audiobook narrated by Hynden Walch, who is famous for her voice acting. Her expertise with voicing all different types of characters is a perfect match for this production and keeps listeners engaged." -- Booklist Buckle up your seatbelt for Victories Greater Than Death, a...

The Owls are arrogant, utterly convinced of their superiority, and hardly worth being called a threat. Jane is fighting a war she doesn’t understand. But the Owls are a threat to everyone else, and Jane is yet to find out the real stakes involved in this war. With Jane in the middle of known space, Baron Fred is trying to hold things together at one end in Gaia, while Walsh is holding down the diplomatic fort at the other end. For Fred, finding out the real cost of maintaining your ideals comes home to him in the most personal way possible. Walsh on the other hand, is tired of being the ...

Here is the colorful story of sometimes temperamental composers and even more temperamental singers working in an art form which has produced some of man's noblest artistic creations. This absorbing history is illustrated by over 100 musical examples by Naxos artists as well as some of the greatest singers of the 20th century, including Enrico Caruso and Fyodor Chaliapin.

Fanner Marston has survived what killed every other man in his party. Driven by greed, power and obsession, he crosses a brutal landscape toward the legendary city of Parva, where the Great Secret of the Universe is said to wait. Marston wants absolute power. He has paid for it in blood, thirst and endurance. But reaching the secret is only the beginning—because the truth at the end of his quest may overturn everything he believed the prize would give him. Forty men began the journey. One man reaches the end. And the greatest secret in existence has one more surprise waiting for him.

30 Most Famous Tragic Operas is a guided introduction to some of the most powerful and emotionally enduring works ever written for the stage. Structured in the same consistent format throughout, each chapter offers a clear summary, historical background, musical discussion, iconic themes, memorable moments, and a critical appreciation, so the reader always knows what to expect and can move easily from one opera to the next. The book brings together many of the great tragic operas in one place, making it easy for readers to discover or revisit masterpieces such as Carmen, Don Giovanni, La ...

I'm Jane. I'm an AI. It's my job to run Jon Hunter's ships for him, but I also act as a bodyguard, confidant, and companion as well. I've been asked to explain some things for you. This is not a novel, but a reference guide. So far, The Hunter Legacy story has come to the end of its second arc, after ten novels and a novella. But we were discussing things one night in the rec room, and it was felt that some things mentioned in the books, may not have been understood, or their origin may have been missed. There's been no secret that many names and concepts come from science fiction, and ...

101 GREAT AND UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT AUSTRALIA: Book #22 of The Great Nations Series Discover the land Down Under like never before in this vibrant celebration of one of the world’s most extraordinary nations. Australia is far more than kangaroos, the Sydney Opera House, and sun-drenched beaches. In 101 Great and Unique Things About Australia, Andrew James uncovers 101 remarkable, surprising, and often little-known reasons why this vast island continent stands apart from every other place on Earth. From the ancient red heart of Uluru and the otherworldly landscapes of the Outback to the ...