The Crusades shook the world. But why did they happen?Their origins are revealed in a new light. As part of a medieval world war that stretched from Asia to Europe. At its centre was an ancient empire – Byzantium.Told for the first time as a single, linked narrative are three great events that changed history: the fall of Byzantium in the eleventh century, the epic campaign of the First Crusade and the origins of modern Turkey.Nick Holmes not only p...

Porcupine Tree began in 1987 as a solo project for Steven Wilson but became a four-piece band when Steven was later joined by Richard Barbieri, Colin Edwin, and Chris Maitland (who was later replaced by Gavin Harrison). Their first live gig was in a pub in High Wycombe, England, in 1993, but by 2010, the band had toured Europe and America extensively, ending up playing to thousands of fans at a sold-out Royal Albert Hall in London. The band was nominated for two Grammy awards, and their fi...

A skilled storyteller, Holmes presents a riveting account of the wars, intrigues and personalities that contributed to Rome's decline, with entire chapters devoted to single battles.' Kirkus ReviewsWhy did Rome Fall?In this gripping retelling of one of the most momentous chapters in history, Nick Holmes presents a new interpretation of an old story. The fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians but also by an ...

IT WAS AN AGE OF GLORY . . . BUT ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD.The sixth-century AD witnessed a remarkable turn-around in the Roman Empire's fortunes. Justinian's general, Belisarius, recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarians. An impressive new law code was inaugurated that would endure to this day. Astonishing building projects rivalled the great monuments of Old Rome.But rather than restoring Rome's greatness did Justin...

Porcupine Tree began in 1987 as a solo project for Steven Wilson but became a four-piece band when Steven was later joined by Richard Barbieri, Colin Edwin, and Chris Maitland (who was later replaced by Gavin Harrison). Their first live gig was in a pub in High Wycombe, England, in 1993, but by 2010 the band had toured Europe and America extensively, ending up by playing to thousands of fans at a sold-out Royal Albert Hall in London. The band was nominated for two Grammy awards, and their ...

American Original The characters in Nick Holmes' lyrics have always just gone too far. They have found their connection to the normal world, and determined there was more. They are dark and comic personalities. The bridge sections of those songs, rather than leading us to a safer place, take us deeper into what it means to be free. It's a place where protagonists take full responsibility for everything, and call it a godlike freedom. The ballads have dimension. They tell stories of intrigu...

It was a time of revolution. The Roman Revolution describes the little known "crisis of the third century", and how it led to a revolutionary new Roman Empire. Long before the more famous collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, in the years between AD 235-275, barbarian invasions, civil war, and plague devastated ancient Rome. Out of this ordeal came new leaders, new government, new armies, and a new vision of what it was to be Roman. Best remem...

"A skilled storyteller . . . Holmes presents a riveting account of Rome's decline" —Kirkus ReviewsAttila is a household name. But his true character and impact on the Roman Empire have always remained elusive. Until now.In the first major work written about Attila in decades, Nick Holmes rewrites the story of Attila and Rome. Contrary to his brutal legend, Attila was a complex and captivating personality. A great warlord who despis...

How did a remote desert people change the course of world history?In the seventh century AD, the Eastern Roman Empire collapsed—defeated by the rising power of Arabia. How did this happen? And why then?In this gripping new history, Nick Holmes offers a fresh view of the end of the Ancient World and the rise of Islam—it wasn't just religion and war that shaped history, but a hidden force also played a vital role—cli...

It is 1894, and Sherlock Holmes is called to a Covent Garden art gallery where dozens of patrons lie dead before a painting of the Undying Man.Holmes and Watson are soon on the trail of a mysterious figure in black, whose astounding speed and agility make capture impossible. The same suspect is then implicated in another murder, when the servant of a visiting Russian grand duke is found terribly mutilated in a notorious slum. But what links the two crimes, and do they have anything...

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson return in six further adventures which display the great detective's brilliance once more. In these adventures set across the span of the duo's lives at 221b Baker Street, Holmes and Watson travel from the highest realms of society to the lowest dens of criminality across London in pursuit of the solution to a host of baffling mysteries. What secret does a simple wedding ring hold? What has become of a young woman fleeing the country? Can Holmes uncover the t...

Where does the improbable end and the impossible begin?Nick Cardillo (author of The Feats of Sherlock Holmes) presents seven improbable adventures of the World’s Greatest Detective collected for the first time in one place. These tales of mystery and suspense will test the minds of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson like never before as they confront a wide array of monsters, madmen, impossible crimes, and the wildest aberrations of nature beyond their wildest nightmares.Also included are two ...