Opera Vox Audiobooks

The 249th Night - In which we continue the story of Queen Jullanar of the Sea and the adventures of her son Badr and the Princess Jauhaar.

The 241st Night - In which we continue the story of the King, his Queen Jullanar of the Sea and their newborn son Badr.

The 230th Night - In which our storytelling Shaharazad continues to keep the King from killing her each morning with her strange and entertaining tales. This episode we embark on yet another new tale concerning Jullanar of the Sea!

The 220th Night - In which we are taken to the conclusion of the story of Nur Al Din and Anis Al Jalis. Things look bleak for Nur Al DIn, but the Caliph has plans that might just help our lover protagonists.

The 213th Night - In which we continue to follow the story and exploits of Nur Al Din and his love Anis Al Jalis as they make their way to Baghdad and discover a most beautiful garden and palace. They also encounter the garden's keeper Shaikh Ibrahim.

The 207th Night - In which we continue to hear Shaharazad's tale of Nur Al Din Ali and his lavish spending on his ten companions. Unfortunately, his funds are not destined to last!

The 201st. Night - In which we begin one more tale in Shaharazad's seemingly inexhaustible supply of stories designed to make the King "let her live." One also wonders how Dinarzad fits into the bedroom scene, as she clearly listens in on everyone!

The 196th Night - We finally reach the conclusion of the story of Ali Al Bakkar and Shams Al Nahar the two lovers who have sought to pursue a dangerous love affair.

The 189th Night - In which this, the longest saga so far in our heroine's storytelling, continues to follow the fate of our protagonists Ali bin Bakkar and Shams al Nahar and their love for each other.

The 183rd Night - In which the continued tale of love between our main protagonists generates much heartache and concern, particularly for Abu Al Hasan, who has to leave the city and whose place in the saga is taken by a local jeweller.

The 179th Night - In which Shaharazad once again leads the king deeper into her tales, continuing with the poor Nur Al Din Ali after he crosses the river.

The 175th Night - In which we continue the story of Nur Al Din Ali Bin Bakhar and the slave girl Shams Al Nahar. We are carried along by the ever unfolding tales of love, intrigue, accidents, death and just about any human experience possible that will keep Sharahazad and her sister Dinarzad alive another night.

The 171st Night - In which the stories continue and the King seems happy to allow the fascinating sequence of tales to move on to what happened between Nur al Din Ali Bin Bakhar and the slave girl Shams Al Nahar.

The 166th Night - In which the tale finally draws to a close and the King of China is able to make a decision about all he has heard...and of course Shaharazad and her sister remain alive and well, to tell further tales in this continuing saga.

The 157th Night - In which we finally reach the conclusion of the Taylor's tale and Shaharazad continues to regale the King with further tales that delay the seemingly inevitable fate she awaits should the King tire of her stories.

The 148th Night - In which the barber continues his tale, and even I am finding it somewhat tortuous working out who is telling what and to whom. It seems that Shaharazad is succeeding in bamboozling the poor king who just wanted to spend one night and then be rid of her. The tales continue!

The 138th Night - In which Shaharazad continues to lead the king along her string of seemingly never-ending stories, as we go deeper with the young tailor who seeks to impress the King with his story and thus save all four responsible for the Hunchback's death from their own demise.

The 127th Night - In which we continue to hear the story of the man with no thumbs. Will he impress the king or will there be another contender to tell his story and continue to save Shaharazad from the fate promised after the 1st night.

The 115th Night - Our stories continue to merge one into another as we hear the end of the Christian merchant's story and the steward steps up to try to impress the king and save the 4 accused of murdering the hunchback from execution.

The 102nd Night - I realise that sometimes the nights seem very short, but in order to preserve the nature of the book, the musical interludes will continue to divide up the nights. In the meantime, the stories move on as we encounter another unfortunate hunchback, but within these next few nights, inevitably, we move on to yet more stories within stories. It is the nature of this literary russian doll!

The 97th Night - Thank you for your patience in waiting for this final installment of the Kalif's tale. I have fully recovered from my sickness - which was never really bad, but the cough made it impossible to do justice to my narration. Here we do have the conclusion of this engaging tale of the Kalif and Badr Al Din and his marriage to his cousin. Enjoy.

The 89th Night - In which we continue the long story of Badr Al Din and his relatives as told by Shaharazad through the medium of Jafar, who is, in turn, telling the story to the Kalif.  If this series of stories is beginning to resemble the auditory equivalent of a set of Russian dolls, bear with me as the stories unfold.  They present such a wonderful literary picture of 14th century Middle East.

The 80th Night - In which we continue to hear the story of Badr al Hasan and his cousin.  The hunchback does encounter some difficulties and Badr Al Hasan appears to be successful in executing the Demon's plan.  But things don't quite work out the way he might have expected.

The 73rd Night - In which we hear the continuing tale of the 2 brothers, separated after their falling out and their promise that if their offspring turn out to be male and female and are born on the same night, they pledged to marry their children to each other.  Not all goes smoothly, but they have some unexpected help... to be continued

The 69th Night - In which Shaharazad continues to weave her many tales, now surrounding the Caliph.  It is almost like an audible literary cast of Russian dolls, each story embedded within another until one can only imagine the King slowly enchanted into sparing Shaharazad's life and we the listener forget just how many dolls have been unlocked.

The 66th Night - In which Shaharazad wraps up the many stories born out of the meeting of the many visitors with the 3 sisters in their home.  We finish up with the tale of the flogged girl as Shaharazad and Dinarzad manage to complete over 2 months of death free nights with the King.

The 62nd Night - In which Shaharazad spins her interweaving tales with the final part of the tale of the 3rd Dervish before proceeding to hear the tale of the Caliph, Jafar and the beginning of the tale of the mistress of the house.

The 56th Night - In which we continue to hear the story of the 3rd Dervish as related by Shaharazad.  She has now stayed alive for many nights and her tales continue to unfold with poetry and strange events involving many and various characters.

The 53rd Night - In which we hear the story and adventures of the 3rd Dervish and how begin to hear how he has ended up at the house with his other 2 fellow dervishes.  He admits at the beginning, that unlike his companions, he is very much to blame for his plight.

Dear Listeners - A very Happy New Year to you this 2023.  A very brief episode to let you know I am still here, but as a result of much travel, house moving and the Christmas and New Year festivities the wait has been much longer than I anticipated.  I should be back next week with the next episode of 'Arabian Nights'

The 48th Night - In which we are treated to the second and concluding part of the tale of the 2nd Dervish.  Shaharazad continues to keep her life as she weaves her story based spell on the King who had vowed to kill her after the first night.

The 40th Night - In which we begin but do not finish the tale of the 2nd Dervish, who is hoping to be spared by the 3 women.  Also, as I mentioned in the podcast, I will be away for just over a week visiting my dad, so there will be a short hiatus in proceedings.  Thanks for your patience.

The 37th Night - In which we hear the story of the 1st Dervish and await the decision of the women at the house as to whether his story is worthy of release.

The 34th Night - In which we continue to hear the ongoing story of the 3 women and their visitors, the merchant, the 3 dervishes and the Caliph and his retinue.  This tale, as promised by Shaharazad is more mysterious and involved than any of the previous accounts, and is still no nearer to a conclusion.

The 28th Night - Part One of The Tale of the Porter and the 3 Ladies - In which we hear the start of a much longer tale involving these 4 protagonists and later further characters who are added to the cast as the tales take on an even more mysterious quality.  As indicated above, there are references to both male and female private parts and use of coarser language in describing them.  It is fascinating to hear this in a 14th century manuscript, but no more surprising than many references made in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which was written even earlier.

The 25th Night - In which we hear the conclusion of the story of the enchanted young man, his wife and the king.  Shaharazad succeeds in extending her life night after night as the stories continue to grow more and more engaging and with her sister Dinarzad's help, she stays his promise to execute her night after night.

The 21st Night - In which the tales become even more entertaining and intriguing.  Shaharazad shares the story of the young king who find himself turned into a half man half stone figure and continues to provide such entrancing stories that the King who had vowed to kill her after one night is now talking of allowing her to live for another month.

The 17th Night - In which the story continues with the conclusion of the King and the Sage and a return to the story of the Merchant and the Demon in the jar.

King Yunan and the Sage Duban Part 2 - In which the story of the King and the sage takes a startling turn as the King listens to his jealous Vizier and follows his advice.  Interspersed with our main story is also the story of the Husband and his Parrot and the The King's Son and the She-Ghoul.

King Yunan and the Sage Duban - In which we continue to hear the fisherman's tale as retold by Shaharazad, remembering that the Fisherman is now telling an illustrative tale having trapped the demon in his vessel and thus prevented him from fulfilling his threat to kill the fisherman.

The Fisherman and the Demon - In which the tales continue to give birth to further tales within tales as Shaharzad with the help of her sister promises more wonderful stories in order to preserve her life and keep the King fascinated.

The Old Men's Tales - In which the 3 old men tell their strange tales as Sharazad distracts the King from his plan to have her put to death after one night.  The nights go by with ever stranger stories and still Sharazad lives on to tell them.

The Merchant and the Demon - In which we pass 3 nights with Sharazad, her sister Dinarzad and the King and hear the beginning of the stories that so intrigued the King.  But what is to become of the merchant.  The story unfolds as the nights pass.....

The Merchant and the Ox AND The Merchant and His Wife - In which we hear the first story told by the Vizier to his daughter Sharazad.  As the 2 stories are connected please be aware that the second story follows shortly after a short musical break from the first story.

The Arabian Nights - Prologue.  In which we meet some of the main characters of the book and hear of their early trials and tribulations as well as the resulting determination of the King Sharayar to treat women very differently than before.  It should be noted that this episode does contain references to adult interactions between men and women.

Updated as original was cut off after 10 mins - The Arabian Nights - Translated by Hussain Haddawy and based on the text of the 14th Century Syrian Manuscript.  This episode is meant to serve as an introduction to the translation as it represents what is considered to be a more faithful translation of this ancient text.  The next episode will continue with the story itself.  Enjoy!

Chapter 10 - The Epilogue.  In which we hear some final conclusions from our storyteller in the aftermath of the terrible extra-terrestrial visit from the Martians and some of what has been learned since their demise.  I would love to hear from you with any feedback you may have or suggestions for future books.  You can reach me at david@verysmallrocks.io

Chapter 9 - Wreckage - In which our intrepid storyteller manages to emerge from the carnage of the last few weeks and observe the re-awakening of mankind in the aftermath of the alien visitors.

Chapter 8 - Dead London - In which our intrepid storyteller manages to wonder into the suburbs of London and witness a shocking but uplifting sight.

Chapter 7 - The Man on Putney Hill - In which we are introduced once again to the artilleryman our narrator encountered earlier in the story.  Quite a conversation ensues, dominated by the artilleryman's plans for the future of mankind.

Chapter 6 - The Work of Fifteen Days - In which our storyteller is finally able to emerge from hiding and discover the world as it has now been left by the Martians.

Chapter 5 - The Stillness - In which our intrepid narrator finally finds his way out of the prison created by the nearby Martian pit.  He now looks for a way to survive amidst a very changed world in which he finds himself.

Chapter 4 - The Deat of the Curate.  In which our incarcerated storyteller and his companion are increasingly stressed by their confinement by the side of the Martian pit and things come to a head.

Chapter 3 - In which our protagonist continues to use the peep hole to spy upon the invaders and recounts the challenges of waiting out the situation with the curate.

Part 2 Chapter 2 - In which our narrator has a unique opportunity to observe the Martians from close up and provide a reliable account of these extraordinary creatures.

Book 2 - The Earth Under the Martians, Chapter 1, Under Foot - In which our narrator reverts back to his own story after relating his brother's experiences in London.  He continues to travel with the timorous Curate.

Chapter 17 - In which the fate of mankind continues to be held in the balance and the fleeing masses look for ways to escape the oncoming threat of their extra-terrestrial invaders.

Chapter 16 - In which we hear a description of the narrator's brother and his disturbing experiences as he makes his way out of London in advance of the Martians' advance.

Chapter 15 - What Had Happened in Surrey.  In which we now hear news of the overnight events in Surrey, the county on the outskirts of London and the activities of the Martians as they near the Capital.

Chapter 14 - In London, apologies for the first version of this chapter, which, for some reason was cut off in mid sentence!  The narrator's brother relates his experiences in London, where the arrival of the Martians has yet to make an impression.  However, it is not long before this changes.

Chapter 13 - How I Fell In With The Curate - In which the narrator chances upon a man of the cloth who is deeply troubled by the events of the last 24 hours.

Chapter 12 - What I Saw of the Destruction of Weybridge and Shepperton - In which we are regaled with a graphic description of the actions of the Martians in a first hand account of the ensuing carnage.

Chapter 11 - At The Window - In which our narrator reflects on the scenes of the night from his window before encountering another soul who has survived the onslaught

Chapter 10 - In the Storm - In which our narrator proceeds on his journey back to his house in Maybury Hill and encounters a storm and other more disturbing developments.

Chapter 9 - In which the the British military gather around the Martian crash site, ready to take them on in battle.  Later in the day our narrator realizes that it is time to leave home and escape the coming conflict

Chapter 8 - Friday Night, in which our narrator paints a picture of the events of Friday night on the common and the reaction of those in the nearby towns.

Chapter 7 - In which our narrator makes his way home after the dramatic events on the common and attempts to appraise his wife of the arrival of the Martians

Chapter 6 - In which our narrator recounts the latest events on the common and the aftermath of the shocking Martian aggression

Chapter 5 - In which the onlookers who stayed to observe the strange sight on the common were finally shown something of the Martians' intentions for their visit to Earth.

Chatper 4 - In which the mysterious entity that has landed on the common finally reveals its contents and the crowds that have gathered realise this is no normal meteorite.

Chapter 3 - In which the corwds begin to gather at the site of the mysterious meteorite, and the experts start to examine the unusual cylinder and the faint sounds from within.

Chapter 2 - In which the first falling star arrives on earth, which at first appears to be a meteorite.  However on examination, Ogilvy discovers that there is more to this than a simple rock falling to earth.

Chapter 1 - In which the scene is set for the coming catastrophic events to befall the earth, the ignorance of mankind on the subject of its nearest neighbor is hinted at in the early stages of what was to come.

Season 4 Begins in just a couple of days and I wanted to let all of you know what's in store.  We have returned from a great trip back to our homeland and I am eager to present my 4th book of the podcast....The War of the Worlds by HG Wells.  Enjoy

Chapter 59 - The final chapter in the history of our protagonists, Tess, Angel and Alec.  Also a brief history of the author, Thomas Hardy.  I hope you have enjoyed this recording and I look forward to announcing our next season, Season 4 in the next few days.  Thanks for listening,  All recordings are copyright David Clarke and no reproduction is allowed without permission.  Thanks

Chapter 58 - In which Tess and Angel make their way north to seek a way out of their current predicament, and as they travel, are confronted by the reality of all that has transpired in the last few days.

Chapter 57 - In which Tess and Angel are finally re-united and Tess readily shares her recent encounter with Alec at the Herons and as they walk, Angel contemplates the predicament in which they now find themselves.

Chapter 56 - In which we are allowed to witness the consequences of Angel's visit through the eyes of the landlord Mrs Brooks and the reaction of Tess to her husband's return.

Chapter 55 - In which, at last Angel manages to follow the clues to his wife's whereabouts, only to be met with a surprising discovery.

Chapter 54 - In which Angel continues his quest to be re-united with his wife and makes the journey to Flintcomb Ash only to find that she has long gone and he must search further.

Chapter 53 - In which we hear of the imminent of arrival of Angel Clare to his home in Emminster.  And how do things stand now between the 2 erstwhile lovers.

Chapter 52 - In which Tess and her family are finally having to leave their family home and find a new life in Kingsbere.  They find themsleves very close to their supposed ancient roots in the churchyard of the D'Urbervilles.

Chapter 51 - In which Tess and her family are finally needing to move on from Marlott after the recent death of Mr Durbeyfield.  However, Alec continues to press his case.

Chapter 50 - In which Tess has settled back in to her home situation, her mother seeming to improve somewhat and she begins to dedicate attention to the family's needs in the garden and allotment, but not before another unexpected encounter.

Chapter 49 - In which we hear more of Angel's deliberations during his sojourn in Brasil, but hear of his impending return to his home country, having witnessed the failure of the current Brazilian farming venture for many of those who had been attracted to the same.

Chapter 48 - In which Tess continues to toil in the field, but observed once again by Alec, whose recent falling away from his religious conversion has focused his attention on his erstwhile lover.

Chapter 47 - In which Tess continues to work at Farmer Groby's tough assignments in the field, but is once again brought into contact with her erstwhile tormentor, who is now determined to enter back into her life.

Chapter 46 - In which Tess continues to be drawn back into contact with her the man who had so much to do with her present predicatment.  Alec does not adhere to her entreaty to leave her alone.

Chapter 45 - In which Tess hears more of the transformation that has overtaken Alec D'Urberville, and has to endure a renewed acquaintance with the man so instrumental in causing her current circumstances.

Chapter 44 - In which Tess decides to make the journey to her in-laws and appeal to their possible charitable outlook.  However, things don't go to plan, and she also has a surprising encounter on her return.

Chapter 43 - In which Tess continues to settle in to her new surroundings with Marian and is joined unexpectedly by another friend from the dairy, though this brings up a revelation that throws her into further turmoil, apart from the gruelling impact of the winter season.

Chapter 42 - In which Tess finds herself, after much searching, finding work at the farm where her old friend Marian has ended up.  Inevitably, questions as to her marriage and fortunes are foremost on Marian's mind.

Chapter 41 - In which we go back to Tess and her circumstances having left her home and Marlott and now eight months after her marriage to Angel Clare and his departure for Brasil.

Chapter 40 - In which we hear more of Clare's plans for the future and a chance meeting with an old acquaintance from Talbothay's dairy.

Chapter 39 - In which Clare returns home to his parents' house without Tess and thinks of new ventures abroad

Chapter 38 - In which Tess returns home to Marlott and is reunited with her mother Joan. who hears of Tess's travails and shares with her husband before Tess, once again, continues her journey

Chapter 37 - In which Tess and Angel experience a nocturnal interlude and proceed with their departure from the mill.

Chapter 36 - In which Tess and Angel come to terms with their new circumstances and in the cold light of day, have decisions to make about the future.

Chapter 35 - In which the Tess's past has been finally revealed to her husband and the pair face this new reality with very different expectations for the future.