Magic runs through the veins of English history and culture from the earliest Arthurian legends to the novels of Tolkien and J. K. Rowling, and from the Druids to Queen Elizabeth's astrologer Dr Dee. Yet most people have no idea of the central role magic has played in England's past, and still plays today. Through experiments to try and places to visit, as well as an historical exploration of magic and interviews with leading magicians, The Book of English Magic will introduce you to the extraordinary world that lies just beneath the surface of our everyday lives.
Tough, resourceful and ruthless, ex-SAS trooper Nick Stone is now working for British Intelligence on deniable operations. And is desperately in need of cash. When he is offered a lucrative, freelance job, Stone thinks his problems are over. All he needs to do is kidnap a Russian mafia warlord. And so Stone is thrust into the grim underworld of Estonia, with unknown aggressors stalking the Arctic landscape. Russia has launched a cyber-espionage attack, hacking into the West's most sensitive military secrets. Stone must stop them. But the mafia are waiting in the wings with their own chillingly brutal solution...