Neil MacKenzie

In a world of anthropomorphic insects, four misfit teens come together to form a punk band. Led by the gifted yet troubled Anton, Them Creepy Crawlies includes the level-headed Honey B on bass, the flamboyant Spyder on drums, and the endearingly awkward Wiggy on keyboards. Under the almost paternal guidance of their manager, Terry, they learn to shoulder the weight of their pasts, tighten the fragile bonds that keep them together, and navigate the fast-changing world in which they live. Amid the exhilarating chaos of newfound fame, they hit the road, release their first hit record, fall in love, and land a coveted headline slot at one of the world's biggest music festivals. But the day before the show Wiggy vanishes. He's been kidnapped by Colonel Hendrix, the head of the hornet Federal Security Service. The band discover that Wiggy is not just a talented musician, he's a hacker working for a covert agency known as Insectapol. Terry is his handler, and the band was meant to be a cover for their covert operations. With all Insectapol agents in lockdown, Anton, Honey, and Spyder must take matters into their own hands. They head deep into hornet territory, overcoming deadly obstacles to breach the hornets' nest and find Wiggy. Only then do they learn the desperate truth. Wiggy carried the access codes to a terrible weapon in his subconscious - codes that, under interrogation, he has revealed to Hendrix. In a frantic final push, the four friends race to neutralise the doomsday machine and save the world. Successfully completing their mission that has changed them forever, back at home they convince Terry to let them join Insectapol. With a newfound sense of purpose, the band embarks on a dual life of rock stars and secret agents. The Hornets' Nest, therefore, serves as the origin story for the continuing adventures of Them Creepy Crawlies.

A concise but lively and entertaining history of West Derby, Liverpool, containing the story of a settlement that developed into an important village before becoming a district of Liverpool.But for hundreds of years West Derby was of considerably more significance than its then small and unimportant neighbour, Liverpool.The history includes some little known information and the story of the West Derby ghost. The period covered dates from the earliest times to the mid-twentieth century. Interesting facts and lively anecdotes all form part of the story that will fascinate anyone living in West Derby or with an interest in this area.

In the mid-seventeenth century, John Gregory made a surprise discovery in Salisbury Cathedral. But his mistaken attribution began to reveal the truth of the Boy Bishops.This strange and largely forgotten history that stretches from the early Middle Ages to the present day gives a fascinating insight into the medieval world and its legacy.Elected by their fellows, these Boy Bishops exercised their power in cathedrals, churches and beyond, right across Europe. They controlled services, preached sermons, directed the clergy, enjoyed lavish entertainment, went on visitations to the great noble and religious houses, and could receive huge sums of money.Yet the topsy-turvy reign of a Boy Bishop might be accompanied by bitter ecclesiastical arguments, violence, murder and civil unrest. And it is a little known fact that the Boy Bishop is still with us today.

If you are an architect, this book will help you make the correct decisions about which Azure building blocks to use. If you are a developer, this book will help you understand how to use them appropriately, and if you are a .NET developer, this book is a pure delight.

Kit is sent to stay with his eccentric grandfather for part of the summer.After two strange objects come into his possession - a bracelet and an ancient book - Kit is flung into a world very different from his own where he is drawn into a deadly conflict. Assisted by the boastful spirit, Philomelos, he has to face forces far beyond his imagination.But Philomelos has his own reasons for wanting Kit dead.The first in the series.

Kit is back at Grandpa's house for Christmas. This is where exciting things always seem to happen.When Kit hears that his friend Mark is lost, he travels back to the age of lords and castles in order to find him.However, in his search, Kit finds himself caught up in a much more dangerous adventure, facing determined and ruthless enemies who want him dead.Can Kit find Mark and survive the forces ranged against him, even with the help of the truculent Philomelos, who believes himself to be a spirit of unimaginable power?This is the second book in the series.

Kit's newly-found interest in art results in him finding himself in terrible danger once again. This time he lands up in the middle of the English Civil War.With his new friend, Sam, he tries to discover what has happened to Sam's father and to unlock the vital secret that seems to lie at the bottom of the mystery.In their search, Kit and Sam encounter vicious and dangerous foes, and come to realise that not everybody can be easily judged.Kit is forced to summon Philomelos to help, but will even he be up to the task? One thing is certain: he will be argumentative, difficult and dangerous.This is the third book in the series.

Was Richard the monster who, in killing the Princes in the Tower, among others, forged a bloody path to usurp the throne? Was he the tyrant king of English history? Or was he a pious and just ruler, potentially one of our greatest kings? Did Richard discover a dark secret at the heart of Edward IV's reign, the revelation of which would split the country? This history offers an insight into the life and reign of one of England's most controversial kings. The discovery of his skeleton under a car park in Leicester has provided much new information, and the book considers just what this tells us about Richard III's life and death. This is book for those who wish to begin to learn about who Richard was and about the arguments that have raged over his reputation.By the author of The Medieval Boy Bishops.

The twins have problems again. But they always seem to have a plan, even if their plans do not ever work as expected.The twins scare everyone when they go trick-or-treating, but will they be able to persuade Dad to let them join a football team?The twins cause more trouble than Horrid Henry.

The twins are at again. If they are not planning a very wet and muddy experience for an enemy they are aiming to provide a very different sort of school nativity play. Where the twins are there is always trouble. They are even naughtier than Horrid Henry.

A story about how two boys begin to find a solution to bullying. However, the path that leads them together has some unsual and unexplained turns.

This cookbook offers practical, immediately usable task-based recipes covering a wide range of advanced development techniques for building highly scalable cloud-based services on the Windows Azure platform. It shows you how to improve these services and how to solve particular problems/scenarios when developing them on the Windows Azure platform. The solutions are presented in a clear step-by-step manner and explained in great detail, which makes them good learning material for everyone who has experience of the Windows Azure platform and wants to improve. The book is designed so that you can read it chapter by chapter or refer to recipes in no particular order. If you are an experienced Windows Azure developer or architect who wants to understand advanced development techniques when building highly scalable services using the Windows Azure platform, then this book is for you. You should have some exposure to Windows Azure and need basic understanding of Visual Studio, C#, SQL, .NET development, XML, and Web development concepts (HTTP, Services).