Search Results for: A Song For The Dark Times

‘This book is heaven. Elspeth Barker writes like no one else’
OLIVIA LAING

‘Deserves to be permanently on the bedside table – to cheer, reassure and inspire’
OBSERVER

‘Gothic, poetic and exuberantly funny. What a pleasure it was to read’
ESTHER FREUD

‘Joyous, startling, funny, lush, dark and complex’
THE TIMES

In Notes from the Henhouse, you will find:

A Gothic castle, a draughty Norfolk farmhouse and a malevolent Aga

A pet pig, Portia with a penchant for drama, an obsession with geraniums and an addiction to wine (the Bulgarian vintage)

George Barker, poet and beloved husband, warbling cowboy songs into his glass and declaiming Hopkins and Houseman in The Drinking Room

Five entrancing baby cherubimos, rolling and bouncing about in a big brass bed, before growing up at breakneck speed

The ecstasy of writing, the dither of procrastination, and the endless adventures to be had in the wild realms of the imagination

The outrage of death, the loneliness of widowhood, and then the surprising joys of dereliction: of moving very slowly round the garden in a shapeless coat, planting drifts of narcissus bulbs for latter springs.

This collection of autobiographical essays from the inimitable Elspeth Barker, author of the beloved modern classic O Caledonia, is a delightful portrait of a riotous, rapturous, remarkable life.

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the dangerous, haunting world of archangels . . . and a love that is legend.

For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved, locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak. It is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.

Eons later, the Cascade of Death wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent . . . only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?

Only one thing is clear: This is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani . . .

The ninth Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.

‘Masterly’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Ian Rankin is a genius’ Lee Child

DI John Rebus is hard at work on multiple cases. Not only is he on the trail of a WWII war criminal – he’s also become entangled in a dangerous battle between two rival gangs.

But when his daughter is the victim of an all too professional hit-and-run, there’s nothing Rebus won’t do to bring down the prime suspect.

Even if it means making a deal with the devil . . .

Jimmy was a down-at-heel guitarist in New York, relying on his latest lovers to support him while he tried to emulate his hero Bob Dylan. A black guy playing white rock music, he wanted to be all things to all people.

But when Jimmy arrived in England and became Jimi, the cream of swinging London fell under his spell. It wasn’t that Jimi could play with his teeth, play with his guitar behind his back. It was that he could really play.

Journeying through the purple haze of idealism and paranoia of the sixties, Jimi Hendrix was the man who made Eric Clapton consider quitting, to whom Bob Dylan deferred on his own song ‘All Along the Watchtower’, who forced Miles Davis to reconsider his buttoned-down ways – and whose ‘Star Spangled Banner’ defined Woodstock.

And when his star, which had burned so brightly, was extinguished far too young, his legend lived on in the music – and the intrigue surrounding his death.

Eschewing the traditional rock-biography format, Two Riders Were Approaching is a fittingly psychedelic and kaleidoscopic exploration of the life and death of Jimi Hendrix – and a journey into the dark heart of the sixties. While the groupies lined up, the drugs got increasingly heavy and the dream of the sixties burned in the fire and blood of the Vietnam War, the assassination of Martin Luther King and the election of President Richard Nixon.

Acclaimed writer Mick Wall, author of When Giants Walked the Earth, has drawn upon his own interviews and extensive research to produce an inimitable, novelistic telling of this tale – the definitive portrait of the Guitar God at whose altar other guitar gods worship.

Jimi Hendrix’s is a story that has been told many times before – but never quite like this.

From the iconic Number One bestseller Ian Rankin, comes one of the must-read books of the year: A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

‘Genius … Only great novels capture the spirit of the age. This is one of them.’
THE TIMES

* * * * *

‘He’s gone…’

When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days.

Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect.

He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever. But is he going as a father or a detective?

As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast – and a small town with big secrets – he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find…

PRAISE FOR A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES:

‘Magnificent … utterly unputdownable and an immersive pleasure’ MARIAN KEYES

‘This is Rankin at his best, Rebus at his best, storytelling that meets the moment and transcends all genres and expectations’ MICHAEL CONNELLY

‘An outstanding addition to one of the finest bodies of work in crime fiction’ MICK HERRON

‘Rankin remains the king of the castle’ THE TIMES

‘Typically compelling’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Masterly storytelling’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘Excellent’ LIZ NUGENT

‘The best that the crime genre can offer’ FT

‘Rankin grows better with time . . . Rebus grows ever more compelling’ DAILY MAIL

* * * * *

PRAISE FOR THE ICONIC NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER:

‘Ian Rankin is a genius’
LEE CHILD

‘A master storyteller’
GUARDIAN

‘Rebus is one of British crime writing’s greatest characters: alongside Holmes, Poirot and Morse’
DAILY MAIL

‘Great fiction, full stop’
THE TIMES

‘One of Britain’s leading novelists in any genre’
NEW STATESMAN

‘Rankin is a phenomenon’
SPECTATOR

‘Worthy of Agatha Christie at her best’
SCOTSMAN

‘The king of crime fiction’
SUNDAY EXPRESS

The book that began Ian Rankin’s phenomenal career.
From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES


‘The themes that would come to dominate the Rebus books are already here … the blurred boundaries between good and evil; the pull of superstition and myth; the difficulties in escaping and resolving one’s past; the emotional complexities of the male of the species; and, not least, a good mystery‘ TIME OUT

Mary Miller had always been an outcast. Burnt in a chemical mix as a young girl, sympathy for her quickly faded when the young man who pushed her in died in a mining accident just two days later. From then on she was regarded with a mixture of suspicion and fascination by her God-fearing community.

Now, years later, she is a single mother, caught up in a faltering affair with a local teacher. Her son, Sandy, has fallen in love with a strange homeless girl. The search for happiness isn’t easy. Both mother and son must face a dark secret from their past, in the growing knowledge that their small dramas are being played out against a much larger canvas, glimpsed only in symbols and flickering images – of decay and regrowth, of fire and water – of the flood.

A classic Ian Rankin from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES
‘No one in Britain writes better crime novels today’ Evening Standard

‘Ian Rankin is perhaps the best and most complex thriller writer in Britain today’ Daily Telegraph

Bombs are exploding in the streets of London, but life seems to have planted more subtle booby-traps for Miles Flint. Miles is a spy. His job is to watch and to listen, then to report back to his superiors, nothing more. The job, affording glimpses into the most private lives of his victims, appeals to Miles. He doesn’t lust after promotion, and he doesn’t want action. He wants, just for once, not to botch a case. Having lost one suspect – with horrific consequences – Miles becomes too involved with another, a young Irish woman. His marriage seems ready to crumble to dust. So does his home.

But Miles is given one last chance for redemption – a trip to Belfast, which quickly becomes a flight of terror, murder and shocking discoveries. But can the voyeur survive in a world of violent action?

The horror has just begun… A brilliant thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.

‘No one writes more gripping stories than Rankin’ TLS

It begins with a phone call. Gordon Reeve’s brother has been found dead in his car in San Diego. The car was locked from the inside, a gun was in his hand. In the US to identify the body Gordon realises that his brother has been murdered. What’s more, it’s soon obvious that his own life is in danger.

Once back in Scotland he finds out his home has been bugged by professionals. But Reeve is a professional too. Ex-SAS, he was half of a two-man unit with someone he came to fear, then to hate. It looks like his nemesis is back…

What happens when a killer becomes the target…? A gripping tale from the No.1 bestselling author A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

‘Rankin is without doubt Britain’s best crime novelist’ Express

The death of a journalist from a single bullet to the heart makes for a dramatic story – but the twist in the tale is that this time, it’s the man who fired the gun who’s asking all the questions…

The assassin, Michael Weston, knows he has carried out his assignment successfully. One mistake was enough, a long time ago, when a young girl had accidentally received the fatal bullet. Her father hired a PI named Hoffer to track him down. Every time Weston completed a job, Hoffer was not far behind. But why had the police been on the scene so quickly? Weston has to find out – even if it means coming face to face with Hoffer…

A brilliant thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

‘No one in Britain writes better crime novels today’ Evening Standard

Interpol have tried and failed to find the terrorist, Witch. Now the combined forces of Scotland Yard and MI5 must try the impossible to prevent a major international incident.

Dominic Elder carries her autograph wherever he goes. Witch is his passion, his obsession. And being retired is no bar to his willingness to restart the hunt. MI5 know that the man who wrote the Witch file is the key to catching their quarry. But the truth isn’t easy to spot. And it is only when an MI5 novice and his French counterpart piece together the smallest of clues, that Witch suddenly looks vulnerable…

‘Last Of the Giants is the mad, funny, dark and often painful story of a lost band from a now-distant time’ CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE

INCLUDES BRAND NEW CHAPTER COVERING GUNS N’ ROSES EPIC WORLD TOUR

‘Any story about Guns is worth reading. But when the author is Mick Wall it’s absolutely essential’ KERRANG

Many millions of words have already been written about Guns N’ Roses, the old line-up, the new line-up. But none of them have ever really gotten to the truth. Which is this: Guns N’ Roses has always been a band out of time, the Last of the Giants. They are what every rock band since the Rolling Stones has tried and nearly always failed to be: dangerous. At a time when smiling, MTV-friendly, safe-sex, just-say-no Bon Jovi was the biggest band in the world, here was a band that seemed to have leapt straight out of the coke-smothered pages of the original, golden-age, late-sixties rock scene.

‘Live like a suicide’, the band used to say when they all lived together in the Hell House, their notorious LA home. And this is where Mick Wall first met them, and became part of their inner circle, before famously being denounced by name by Axl Rose in the song ‘Get in the Ring’.

But this book isn’t about settling old scores. Written with the clear head that 25 years later brings you, this is a celebration of Guns N’ Roses the band, and of Axl Rose the frontman who really is that thing we so desperately want him to be: the last of the truly extraordinary, all-time great, no apologies, no explanations, no giving-a-shit rock stars. The last of his kind.

“At the conclusion of my discussions with one group of the Magdalene Women one of those present sang ‘Whispering Hope’. A line from that song stays in my mind – ‘when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day’.
Let me hope that this day and this debate heralds a new dawn for all those who feared that the dark midnight might never end.”

– Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s State apology to the Magdalene women.

n 19 February 2013 the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised to the women who had been incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. And listening patiently for the words she’d been fighting to hear was Marina Gambold.

For Marina was only 16 years old when she was confined at the Good Shepherd convent in New Ross, Wexford in 1951. The harrowing physical and psychological abuse she endured in the institutions, run on behalf of the State, led to a lifetime of shame and secrecy.

Now, in WHISPERING HOPE, Marina tells her story for the first time. Her fight for justice and forged friendships with other survivors has enabled her to move forward and have her voice heard in this immensely powerful narrative that shines a light on a dark chapter in Ireland’s history.

Inspirational and moving, this is the story of a remarkable woman brave enough to confront her past and strong enough to not let it define her.

“At the conclusion of my discussions with one group of the Magdalene Women one of those present sang ‘Whispering Hope’. A line from that song stays in my mind – ‘when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day’.
Let me hope that this day and this debate heralds a new dawn for all those who feared that the dark midnight might never end.”

– Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s State apology to the Magdalene women.
On 19 February 2013 the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised to the women who had been incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. And, in the audience, listening patiently for the words she’d been fighting to hear was Marie Slattery.

For Marie was only 12 years old when she was confined at the Good Shepherd laundry in Sundays Well in Cork in 1972. From there she was sent to The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in Dublin. The harrowing physical and psychological abuse she endured in the institutions, run on behalf of the State, led to a lifetime of shame and secrecy.

Now, in WHISPERING HOPE, Marie tells her story for the first time. Her fight for justice and forged friendships with other survivors has enabled her to move forward and have her voice heard in this immensely powerful narrative that shines a light on a dark chapter in Ireland’s history.

Inspirational and moving, this is the story of a remarkable woman brave enough to confront her past and strong enough to not let it define her.

“At the conclusion of my discussions with one group of the Magdalene Women one of those present sang ‘Whispering Hope’. A line from that song stays in my mind – ‘when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day’.
Let me hope that this day and this debate heralds a new dawn for all those who feared that the dark midnight might never end.”

– Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s State apology to the Magdalene women.

On 19 February 2013 the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised to the women who had been incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. And, in the audience, listening patiently for the words she’d been fighting to hear was Diane Croghan.

For Diane was only 12 years old when she was confined at the Sisters of Mercy Summerhill Training School in Wexford in 1952. The harrowing physical and psychological abuse she endured in the institutions, run on behalf of the State, led to a lifetime of shame and secrecy.

Now, in WHISPERING HOPE, Diane tells her story for the first time. Her fight for justice and forged friendships with other survivors has enabled her to move forward and have her voice heard in this immensely powerful narrative that shines a light on a dark chapter in Ireland’s history.

Inspirational and moving, this is the story of a remarkable woman brave enough to confront her past and strong enough to not let it define her.

“At the conclusion of my discussions with one group of the Magdalene Women one of those present sang ‘Whispering Hope’. A line from that song stays in my mind – ‘when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day’.
Let me hope that this day and this debate heralds a new dawn for all those who feared that the dark midnight might never end.”

– Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s State apology to the Magdalene women.

On 19 February 2013 the Irish Taoiseach Edna Kenny apologized to the women who had been incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. And, in the audience, listening patiently for the words she’d been fighting to hear was Kathleen Legg.?

For Kathleen was only 14 years old when she was confined at St Mary’s Stanhope Street School in 1949. The harrowing physical and psychological abuse she endured in the institutions, run on behalf of the State, led to a lifetime of shame and secrecy.??

Now, in WHISPERING HOPE, Kathleen tells her story for the first time. Her fight for justice and forged friendships with other survivors has enabled her to move forward and have her voice heard in this immensely powerful narrative that shines a light on a dark chapter in Ireland’s history.

??Inspirational and moving, this is the story of a remarkable woman brave enough to confront her past and strong enough to not let it define her.

“At the conclusion of my discussions with one group of the Magdalene Women one of those present sang ‘Whispering Hope’. A line from that song stays in my mind – ‘when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day’.
Let me hope that this day and this debate heralds a new dawn for all those who feared that the dark midnight might never end.”

– Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s State apology to the Magdalene women.

On 19 February 2013 the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised to the women who had been incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. And listening patiently for the words she’d been fighting to hear was Nancy Costello.

For Nancy was only 10 years old when she was confined at the Good Shepherd Sundays Well Magdalene laundry in Cork in 1949. From there she was sent to laundries in Limerick, Waterford and Wexford. The harrowing physical and psychological abuse she endured in the institutions, run on behalf of the State, led to a lifetime of shame and secrecy.

Now, in WHISPERING HOPE, Nancy tells her story for the first time. Her fight for justice and forged friendships with other survivors has enabled her to move forward and have her voice heard in this immensely powerful narrative that shines a light on a dark chapter in Ireland’s history.

Inspirational and moving, this is the story of a remarkable woman brave enough to confront her past and strong enough to not let it define her.

‘An epic tale, told the way it should be’ RECORD COLLECTOR

‘The book he was born to write’ CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE

‘An entertaining read for long-standing fans and newcomers alike’ GUITARIST

The final word on the only name synonymous with heavy metal – Black Sabbath.

Way back in the mists of time, in the days when rock giants walked the earth, the name Ozzy Osbourne was synonymous with the subversive and dark. Back then, Ozzy was the singer in Black Sabbath, and they meant business. A four-piece formed from the ashes of two locally well-known groups called The Rare Breed (Ozzy and bassist Geezer Butler) and Mythology (guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward), all four founding members of the original Black Sabbath grew up within half-a-mile of each other.

This biography tells the story of how they made that dream come true – and how it then turned into a nightmare for all of them. How at the height of their fame, Sabbath discovered they had been so badly ripped off by their managers they did not even own their own songs. How they looked for salvation from Don Arden – an even more notorious gangster figure, who resurrected their career but still left them indebted to him, financially and personally. And how it finally came to a head when in 1979 they sacked Ozzy: ‘For being too out of control – even for us,’ as Bill Ward put it.

The next 15 years would see a war break out between the two camps: the post-Ozzy Sabbath and Ozzy himself, whose solo career overshadowed Sabbath to the point where, when he offered them the chance to reform around him again, it was entirely on his terms. Or rather, that of his wife and manager, daughter of Don Arden – Sharon Osbourne.

‘Unmissable Rankin, as gripping and involving as any Rebus story’ CHOICE; ‘A brilliant book’ GUARDIAN

From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

‘On the evidence of THE COMPLAINTS it looks as if Fox will be just as sure-footed a guide to the city as his grizzled predecessor’ DAILY EXPRESS.

Nobody likes The Complaints – they’re the cops who investigate other cops. Complaints and Conduct Department, to give them their full title, but known colloquially as ‘the Dark Side’, or simply ‘The Complaints’. Malcolm Fox works for The Complaints. He’s just had a result, and should be feeling good about himself. But he’s middle-aged, sour and unwell. He also has a father in a care home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship.

In the midst of an aggressive Edinburgh winter, the reluctant Fox is given a new task. There’s a cop called Jamie Breck, and he’s dirty. Problem is, no one can prove it. But as Fox takes on the job, he learns that there’s more to Breck than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when murder intervenes.

From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

The stage debut for the legendary detective John Rebus in this brand new, original story by Ian Rankin, written alongside the award-winning playwright Rona Munro.

John Rebus is not as young as he was, but his detective instincts have never left him. And after the daughter of a murder victim turns up outside his flat, he’s going to need them at their sharpest.

Enlisting the help of his old friend DI Siobhan Clarke, Rebus is determined to solve this cold case once and for all. But Clarke has problems of her own, problems that will put her at odds with her long-time mentor and push him into seeking help from his age-old adversary: ‘Big Ger’ Cafferty.

This haunting story takes Rebus to places he has never been before, sets him and his long-time foe on a collision course and takes us deeper into one of the most satisfying conflicts in modern fiction.

Featuring an introduction from Rankin himself, a Q&A between writers Ian and Rona, an interview with the director, and behind-the-scenes production materials, this book is one Rebus fans will not want to miss out on.

A CRIME TOO CLOSE TO HOME . . .

A superb, highly suspenseful crime thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

‘You’ll love every second of it’ MIRROR

‘Excellent’ SUNDAY TIMES

At a private school, two teenagers are killed by an ex-Army loner who then turned the gun on himself. Finding the truth will take Detective Inspector John Rebus into the heart of a shattered community.

Ex-Army himself, Rebus becomes fascinated by the killer, and finds he is not alone. It seems the man had friends in high places and enemies to spare.

And Rebus has secrets of his own. He’s fresh out of hospital, with newly bandaged hands, and won’t say what happened. But after the death of a criminal he visited, who had been stalking DS Siobhan Clarke, Rebus is the prime suspect…

“At the conclusion of my discussions with one group of the Magdalene Women one of those present sang ‘Whispering Hope’. A line from that song stays in my mind – ‘when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day’.
Let me hope that this day and this debate heralds a new dawn for all those who feared that the dark midnight might never end.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s State apology to the Magdalene women.

On 19 February 2013 the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologized to the women who had been incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. In the audience sat Steven O’Riordan, a documentary filmmaker and founder of the charity Magdalene Survivors Together. And by his side, waiting patiently for the words they’d been fighting to hear, were some of the women he had helped.

For Nancy, Kathleen, Diane, Marie and Marina were confined in Magdalene laundries throughout Ireland during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The harrowing physical and psychological abuse they endured in the institutions, run on behalf of the State, led to a lifetime of shame and secrecy.

Now, in WHISPERING HOPE, these women tell their stories for the first time. Their fight for justice and forged friendships has enabled them to move forward and have their voices heard, their individual accounts weaving together in an immensely powerful narrative that shines a light on a dark chapter in Ireland’s history.

Inspirational and moving, this is the story of five women brave enough to confront their past and strong enough to not let it define them.

A fantastic stand-alone heist thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.

‘You won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough’ RED

‘DOORS OPEN is a lot of fun. It’s pacy, witty, full of action, twists and splendid dialogue. And Rebus does make a subtle appearance when an officer describes his police station as “a damn sight quieter since you-know-who retired” ‘ THE TIMES

Mike Mackenzie is a self-made man with too much time on his hands and a bit of the devil in his soul. He is looking for something to liven up the days and settles on a plot to rip-off one of the most high-profile targets in the capital – the National Gallery of Scotland.

So, together with two close friends from the art world, he devises a plan to lift some of the most valuable artwork around. But of course, the real trick is to rob the place for all its worth whilst persuading the world that no crime was ever committed…

Malcolm Fox returns in the stunning second novel in Ian Rankin’s series… ‘Criminally good’ WOMAN & HOME

From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.

‘Excitingly gripping storytelling’ THE TIMES

Malcolm Fox and his team are back, investigating whether fellow cops covered up for Detective Paul Carter. Carter has been found guilty of misconduct, but what should be a simple job is soon complicated by a brutal murder and a weapon that should not even exist.

A trail of revelations leads Fox back to 1985, a year of desperate unrest when letter-bombs and poisonous spores were sent to government offices, and kidnappings and murders were plotted. But while the body count rises the clock starts ticking, and a dramatic turn of events sees Fox in mortal danger.

The third Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES
‘No one writes better crime novels’ EVENING STANDARD

They call him the Wolfman – because he takes a bite out of his victims and because they found the first victim in the East End’s lonely Wolf Street. Scotland Yard are anxious to find the killer and Inspector Rebus is drafted in to help. But his Scotland Yard opposite number, George Flight, isn’t happy at yet more interference, and Rebus finds himself dealing with racial prejudice as well as the predations of a violent maniac.

When Rebus is offered a serial killer profile of the Wolfman by an attractive female psychologist, it’s too good an opportunity to miss. But in finding an ally, he may have given his enemies an easy means of attack.