In the eighth book in the "Ranger's Apprentice" series by John Flanagan, Halt is dealing with a religious cult in his home country with the assistance of Will and Horace.

This is a selection of public holidays, commemorative days and other holidays celebrated in Russia. There is often an interesting history to them. Let's see what you know.

My waiting colleague Zack Boris Dryden (which I shorten to Zebedee) has suddenly taken ill and I get to take over one of his tables. Being a puzzle buff, he leaves only a series of clues to help me. Can you help me sort out this merry-go-round?

This quiz touches on a subject close to the hearts of a few (perhaps millions of) drinkers of hot beverages ... dunking biscuits (or cookies, if you are American). Let's see what you know.

This is a selection of names from the 'Final Fantasy' series, popping up in various guises in different games. Many of these have external inspiration. Game knowledge is not essential for most questions.

Seventh in the "Ranger's Apprentice" series by John Flanagan, we go back a little in time to when Will is still an apprentice and the Skandian Oberjarl Erak gets himself into a bit of bother.

Here are a selection of anniversaries for you. Let's see if you know how long ago before 2013 (the year when this quiz was written) these events took place.

This quiz looks at the Chinese city of Xi'an and the surrounding area. If you like a bit of pottery, a smattering of religion and some history, this quiz may be for you.

This quiz is about the island known as Taiwan. Questions are mostly about the geography of the island with some on man's influence on it.

I give you an unusual description of a job. You select the correct job title.

The first in the "Brotherband" series by John Flanagan follows the adventures of Hal and his brotherband as they do their warrior training. They must use their ingenuity to overcome the strengths and superior numbers of the competing brotherbands.

Due to popular demand (okay, I thought I'd write another one), we get to catch up with iPod-addicted Chef who has been mixing up his curries with his music again. Can you tell who he has been listening to?

The tenth book in the "Ranger's Apprentice" series by John Flanagan finds Horace visiting the Emperor of Nihon-Ja. As his visit came to an end, there was an attempted coup ...

The third book in John Flanagan's series sees Hal and his crew pursue Zavac to the pirate's lair of Raguza. Let's see how much you remember about the challenges facing the Herons.

Hal and his crew are trying to track down Zavac and his pirates in this the second of the "Brotherband" series by John Flanagan. See if you remember how Hal deals with some of the challenges facing him.

Let's have a look at this area of specialist work and some of what's behind being an artificial insemination (AI) technician, also known as an artificial breeding technician. The focus of this quiz is on the AI of livestock rather than people.

The literary works involved all have one or more of the words "dark", "black" or "night" in the title. By coincidence, the initial letters of the first nine answers spell out a familiar word.

Confused? See if you can pick out the musicians who are left-handed or played left-handed, from the following bands.

There are fourteen steps between two words derived from this Author Challenge title. Drop a letter and, if necessary, rearrange the remaining letters to get the next answer. Do this down to one letter, then back up again.