Daniel Blythe

Escaping disaster on the colony ship Arcadia, ChapterSister Bethany Aurelia Kane crashes on The Edge – a penal colony where, under the leadership of Zachary Tal, fifty juvenile criminals have pulled together a kind of society. They have crops, fresh water and electrical power – and are assisted by a contingent of mechanised Drones. Storms, power failure and illness are just a few of the challenges the teenage exiles battle. As Beth accustoms herself to her new life on The Edge, she has to overcome her fears, learn new skills and earn respect. But when a violent event shatters the colony’s existence, it seems nothing will ever be the same. Who among them is a killer? Just how isolated are they really? As the clock ticks towards a final revelation, Beth needs all her resourcefulness to stop The Edge from plunging into anarchy. And she has her own secret too – one which will prove decisive in the battle for survival…  

There's a new pupil at St Agnes' school in the historic city of Meresbury. She's a mysterious, otherworldly girl called Emerald Greene. A girl without a past, without a family or friends. When Jess and Richie decide to befriend her, they're in for a few shocks - for Emerald lives in a mansion which doesn't exist, and can see things nobody else can see. Meanwhile, Meresbury becomes home to a series of strange events. What is the secret of the tomb which the eccentric Professor Ulverston has unearthed in an ancient stone circle? Where does the talking cat come from? And why have Mr Courtney and his Special Measures operatives arrived in town? With unearthly apparitions stalking the land, Jess and Richie soon realise that their mysterious classmate might be the only one to know what's happening. But it seems Emerald Greene has her own secrets - and nobody is quite sure whose side she is really on... 

‘Evil is not something abstract, something invented – it comes from us, from deep within us. And, yes, there is evil here.’ Jess Mathieson finds herself spending summer in the sleepy, picturesque village of Little Brockwell. However, it soon becomes clear that the village is not as quiet as it seems. Why are the local children disappearing one by one, and where is the absent schoolmistress? What is the secret of the ancient oak known as the Whispering Tree? And are spectral horses really riding through the village streets at night – or do they exist only in children’s nightmares? Before long Jess, her friend Richie and local boy Ben are embroiled in a terrifying mystery involving ancient curses, the power of dreams and the dark lands of sleep. The only person who can solve the mystery is the enigmatic girl known as Emerald Greene – but she is nowhere to be found… 

A mysterious seaside town. Unearthly occurrences and dark dreams. What will happen when the mysteries of the Bay are revealed? A town at the end of the world. The kind of place where nothing is supposed to happen. And yet for twelve-year-old Miranda May, newly arrived and having some odd nightmares, things are rapidly getting very weird indeed. Who are the mysterious children watching her every move? What is the astonishing secret buried beneath the Seaview Hotel? And how much does the enigmatic science teacher, Miss Bellini, really know? Soon, Miranda finds herself recruited to a very special team of young people, and facing a deadly peril which threatens her very existence. Among the ruins of the Abbey, beneath the screeching seagulls on the pier and, finally, in the power complex high above the town, the final act of a desperate, centuries-long struggle is playing out. And perhaps not everyone will survive... 

Hyperville is 2013's top hi-tech 24-hour entertainment complex - a sprawling palace of fun under one massive roof. You can go shopping, or experience the excitement of Doomcastle, WinterZone, or Wild West World. But things are about to get a lot more exciting - and dangerous... What unspeakable horror is lurking on Level Zero of Hyperville? And what will happen when the entire complex goes over to Central Computer Control? For years, the Nestene Consciousness has been waiting and planning, recovering from its wounds. But now it's ready, and its deadly plastic Autons are already in place around the complex. Now more than ever, visiting Hyperville will be an unforgettable experience... 

My first novel in Virgin Books' Doctor Who range. 

My second Doctor Who book for Virgin. 

A seaside town in 1999. The end of the Millennium at the edge of the world. Bored, indulged 18-year-old Bel is dangerous. At the edge of her life, tensions stir and simmer in the salty air: her growing hatred for her stepmother, her disillusionment with life, her taste for danger. At the heart of it all, gleaming and bright, is the knife she carries, a talisman which will both define her and betray her. Drifting in and out of Bel’s life are the cynical JJ, the hapless Marcie and the spoilt Damien – an alignment which will ultimately prove fatal. As events spin out of control, first in the gleaming palace of consumerism above the town and then, finally, on the harsh and merciless seafront, Bel must confront what she really believes in – and learn the true meaning of The Cut. 

Faith is dead. The glamorous, enigmatic, bewitching character who was at the heart of so many people’s lives, who defined so many allegiances and loves, has gone. At her funeral, those who knew her and loved her contemplate the past and the future, and the mystery of her death. Mike, the zealous revolutionary turned property developer. His wife Nicole, whose faith has been tested in other ways closer to home. Luke, whose devotion to God has been sorely tested in the high-rises and leafy lanes of 1990s England. And the other – the one who tells the story. The one who loved and lost her, and who may ultimately discover the truth from an unexpected source. A chronicle of love and hate, of idealism and disillusionment from Thatcher’s Eighties through to Blair’s Nineties, Losing Faith is the story of lives inextricably bound up in one other, and of a final, startling revelation. A truth which will change all their lives for ever. 

They've got it all. And now they're about to lose it...Tom and Ella Barclay think they have life all worked out: they have a smart house in suburbia, two lovely children at private school, creative and interesting jobs. And best of all, a happy marriage...But beneath the surface, things are not so serene. Tired of his sedate, respectable progress through life thus far, Tom decides to embark on a tantalising adventure - to have an affair. The only snag is this proves to be rather more difficult than he'd been led to believe. Meanwhile, Ella despises the hordes that stream through the grounds of the stunning fifteenth-century castle where she works, and berates herself for not spending enough time with the children. She dreams of one day becoming a stay-at-home mum. But then fate turns the Barclays' lives inside-out in a way they could never have imagined. Forced to look the world from a very different perspective, Tom and Ella begin to fall through the cracks of their self-made facades. Join Tom and Ella on the hilarious, bittersweet rollercoaster of Daniel Blythe's inimitable and mischievous social satire as, together, they hurtle headlong towards meltdown. 

The Eighties was the last great decade for the pop single. It was the last era in which the Top 40 chart was an event. The Encyclopaedia of Classic Eighties Pop is your guide through the heydays of Top of the Pops. This book is for you if you liked the sound of a club where the drinks were free, or if you thought that working as a waitress in a cocktail bar sounded a glamorous way of escaping your humdrum existence. It's a book for you if you knew there wouldn't be snow in Africa this Christmas, or if you sometimes stood alone at parties. Do you recall a certain impudent question to Five Star on Saturday morning TV? Or are you tortured by an inability to remember what a 'Dutchie' is, and exactly why it should be passed on the left-hand side? Or maybe you just want to find out which Eighties star made a triumphant comeback after being declared clinically dead...This is a book that will make you feel like Mr Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera who once sang that you can neither buy time nor sell your soul, the closest thing to heaven might be rock and roll. 

Does the sight of a house festooned in glowing coloured bulbs with an illuminated reindeer in the garden bring you out in a cold sweat? Or is the thought of days of endless cold turkey sandwiches enough to make you become a vegetarian? And what of the adorable little carol singers - does their out-of-tune wailing and screeching set your teeth on edge? And the oh-so-annoying Christmas albums constantly on playing in every crowded shop you visit...the jumper-knitting relatives pouting to be kissed under a poisonous plant...the freezing, dark mornings that make you wish you could stay under the duvet forever...If all these things make you want either to jump aboard the next plane to Timbuktu or stick your head in the oven along with the roast tatties, then this is the must-have survival book for you. Find comfort in the curmudgeonly comments. Laugh at the ludicrous festive facts. And pity those about you who are taken in by the silly-season madness! 

Irreverent and informative dads' guide. 

Why vote? Irreverent, topical, packed with useful facts and trivia. 

A collector's guide to fascinating gadgets and games. 

The world stands on the brink of a war that could destroy everything, but fifteen-year-old Eden Boone could be the key to hope. There is another Earth-a cleaner, greener Earth-just a step away from ours, through the Gateway. Can Eden and her friends take that step and save mankind ? Reluctant reader book. Reading age: 8-9. Interest age: 12-15.  

Sam’s world is on the brink of war. Helicopters are in the sky and there are riots in the streets. This may be his final chance to tell Cait how he feels, before everything ends. But then his invitation to the Last Party changes everything. Years later, Hope lives in a closed world under the ground. Fourteen years ago, a war destroyed everything. But Hope makes a discovery — one which will link her story to Sam’s, and will reveal the truth. About the Last Party. About the end. Across time, their stories become joined, and a new chapter in human destiny is revealed. Apocalypse story - reluctant readers. Reading age: 8-9. Interest age: 12-16. 

Growing up in shabby Greenwell Heights, best friends Alfie and Maya have always looked out for each other. But when media boss Magnus Gold comes into Maya's life, he has an offer that will change her world. Thanks to Gold, Maya is to become a celebrity. Alfie doesn't trust the deal from the start, and finds it hard to let Maya go. But nothing lasts forever- least of all fame... Reluctant reader novella - perils of fame and fortune. Reading age: 8–9. Interest age: 12 -15  

WOW facts series, schools reading resources. Reluctant readers. 

Taz Jessop and her mum move into Avalon Tower- a block of ultra-modern city flats controlled by a central computer. But Taz hates her new life and misses her friends. She finds the tower block sinister and spooky. Then Taz meets Luke, the mysterious, exciting boy from the top floor, and things start to look up. For a while. Taz is in deadly danger- but has she realised this too late? Thriller - reluctant readers. Reading age: 8-9. Interest age: 12-15. 

Joel and his older sister Elise live in an isolated farmhouse in Yorkshire. They don’t always get on, but they make the best of their life on the bleak, windswept moors. Joel is more interested in birdwatching than his studies, while partying distracts Elise from work. When a new friend, Grace, enters their lives, she turns all their assumptions upside down. Sibling relationships and adventure for reluctant readers. Reading age: 8-9. Interest age: 12-16. 

WOW facts series, schools reading resources. Reluctant readers. 

The year: 2238. The place: Station Zero, an outpost on the Galactic Rim. It's a place where corrupt plans are hatched, where the low-life of the universe do their dark deals. Caleb Grayden is a killer for hire. A special kind of shape-shifter, he's viewed with suspicion. His latest job is easy — but what happens next is not quite what Caleb expected. Accused of murder, he has to rely on his eager young lawyer, Jandri Jax. But Caleb's story has a twist — and it's one which Jandri may regret finding out... Sci-fi - reluctant reader novella. Reading age: 8-9. Interest age: 14-16.  

History of robots and cyborgs from TV, films & books (as Dan Roberts).