Dystopian & Alternative History Fiction Books

Book SynopsisThe perfect edition for any Orwell enthusiasts' collection, discover Orwell's classic dystopian masterpiece beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist Shepard Fairey 'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.' Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges. . . First published in 1945, Animal Farm - the history of a revolution that went wrong - is George Orwell's brilliant satire on the corrupting influence of power.'Remains our great satire of the darker face of modern history' MalcoTrade Review'Animal Farm is a timeless satire on the central tragi-comedy of all politics—that is, the tragi-comedy of corruption by power' Timothy Garton AshIt is the book for everyone and Everyman, its brightness undimmed after fifty years * Ruth Rendell *Remains our great satire of the darker face of modern history * Malcolm Bradbury *Animal Farm has seen off all the opposition. It's as valid today as it was fifty years ago * Ralph Steadman *

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Book Synopsis**THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER AND WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE**In this electrifying sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood answers the question that has tantalised readers for decades: What happened to Offred?The Republic of Gilead is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, two girls with radically different experiences of the regime come face to face with the legendary, ruthless Aunt Lydia. But how far will each go for what she believes?Now with additional material: book club discussion points and an interview with Margaret Atwood about the real-life events that inspired The Testaments and The Handmaid's Tale.'The Testaments is Atwood at her best . . . To read this book is to feel the world turning' Anne Enright_________________________________PRAISE FOR THE TESTAMENTS:'Everything The Handmaid's Tale fans wanted and more. Prepare to hold your breath throughout, and to cry real tears at the end' Stylist'She manages to write about the darkest and most terrifying parts of human psychology in a way that is still deeply funny and full of dark strange hope' Naomi Alderman, author of The PowerTrade ReviewThrilling and blistering * Daily Telegraph *An incredible follow-up * the Sun, *Pick of the Week* *Gripping, pacy and beautifully written -- Justine Jordan * Guardian *Finding hope in a hopeless place, this is everything The Handmaid’s Tale fans wanted and more. Prepare to hold your breath throughout, and to cry real tears at the end. My book of the year -- Kayleigh Dray * Stylist *The Testaments is Atwood at her best, in its mixture of generosity, insight and control. The prose is adroit, direct, beautifully turned. All over the reading world, the history books are being opened to the next blank page and Atwood’s name is written at the top of it. To read this book is to feel the world turning -- Anne Enright * Guardian *I gobbled it down... Atwood has an incredible intellectual nimbleness that challenges us constantly and poses the question that lies like a pearl inside the shell of this frighteningly readable novel, "Before you sit in judgement, how would you behave in Gilead?" -- Allison Pearson * Sunday Telegraph *No one needs another recommendation for The Testaments and still I have to say how thrilling it is when a book manages to exceed all expectations. How did she manage to make darkness feel so effortless? How did she think to inject humour where no humour should exist? Because she’s Margaret Atwood, and she can do anything -- Ann PatchettA cracker: urgent, moving and as tense as any thriller... there's a darkly rebellious humour, ingenious wordplay and, of course, chillingly timely warnings. Atwood is long overdue a Nobel -- Hepzibah Anderson * Mail on Sunday *At its heart, this gripping novel is a rallying call for action... In Atwood's world, resistance is never futile -- Mernie Gilmore * Daily Express *The must-read novel of the year -- a perfect gift for bookworms and fans of the TV series * Sunday Telegraph *Believe the reviews, it is remarkable -- Lindsay Woods * Irish Examiner *A plump, pacy, witty and tightly plotted page-turner that transports us straight back to the dark heart of Gilead... Atwood is on top form -- Julie Myerson * Observer *The Testaments is that elusive dream of a book -- an erudite, accessible, highly readable adventure, that brims with ideas but never lets them get in the way of the story -- Cathy Rentzenbrink * Prospect *While unflinching in depicting horror and showing how complicity enables the collapse of compassion, The Testaments is also a clarion call to hope, resistance and activism... a formidable achievement that will doubtless be read in decades to come -- Anita Sethi * i news *With surgical clarity, Atwood documents how the stripping of fundamental freedoms, the weight of systemic oppression, pushes individuals to extremes... The pacing is flawless. The prose is lean, mean, and charged -- David Canfield * Entertainment Weekly *

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Book Synopsis The hauntingly prophetic classic novel set in a not-too-distant future where books are burned by a special task force of firemen. Over 1 million copies sold in the UK. Trade Review‘Another indispensible classic’ The Times ‘Fahrenheit 451 is the most skilfully drawn of all science fiction’s conformist hells’Kingsley Amis ‘Bradbury’s is a very great and unusual talent’Christopher Isherwood ‘Ray Bradbury has a powerful and mysterious imagination which would undoubtedly earn the respect of Edgar Allen Poe’ Guardian 'It is impossible not to admire the vigour of his prose, similes and metaphors constantly cascading from his imagination' Spectator 'As a science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury has long been streets ahead of anyone else' Daily Telegraph ‘No other writer uses language with greater originality and zest. he seems to be a American Dylan Thomas – with dsicipline’ Sunday Telegraph

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Book SynopsisThe million-copy bestselling series about a small Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s moving Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by Alzheimer's, see their sister one last time, and meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .Continue the beautiful storytelling with Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, and Before We Say Goodbye.

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Book SynopsisDiscover the haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world.Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus? Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground. The woman who will never know men. WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH, MAN BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURETrade ReviewA novel that takes you into philosophically interesting territory… this [is a] intriguingly dark thought experiment told by a compellingly alien voice – dispassionate and unfussy – is strangely fascinating -- Lucy Scholes * The Times *A vivid evocation of another world, alive with hope and dignity in the midst of cruelty and alienation... A haunting testimony from an abandoned planet -- Megan HunterA consistently gripping experience * TLS *

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary, prescient NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling novel.''If there is one thing scarier than a dystopian novel about the future, it''s one written in the past that has already begun to come true. This is what makes Parable of the Sower even more impressive than it was when first published'' GLORIA STEINEM''Unnervingly prescient and wise'' YAA GYASI--We are coming apart. We''re a rope, breaking, a single strand at a time.America is a place of chaos, where violence rules and only the rich and powerful are safe. Lauren Olamina, a young woman with the extraordinary power to feel the pain of others as her own, records everything she sees of this broken world in her journal.Then, one terrible night, everything alters beyond recognition, and Lauren must make her voice heard for the sake of those she loves. Soon, her vision becomes reality and her dreams of a better way to live gaiTrade ReviewOne of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century. One cannot exaggerate the impact she has had -- Junot DiazButler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision * Guardian *A dark, compelling and still horribly resonant time travel story * Independent *[Her] evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human * New York Times *No novel I've read this year has felt as relevant, as gut-wrenching or as essential... If you've ever tweeted "All Lives Matter", someone needs to shove Kindred into your hand, and quickly * The Pool *Kindred is that rare magical artifact . . . the novel one returns to, again and again * Harlan Ellison *One cannot finish Kindred without feeling changed. It is a shattering work of art * Los Angeles Herald-Examiner *[A] must-read novel * BBC *Everyone should read at least one novel by the grand dame of science fiction, and Kindred is a perfect (and harrowing and disturbing and brilliant) place to start * Refinery 29 *The immediate effect of reading Octavia Butler's Kindred is to make every other time travel book in the world look as if it's wimping out... This is a brilliant book, utterly absorbing, very well written, and deeply distressing. It's very hard to read, not because it's not good but because it's so good * Tor *A searing, caustic examination of bizarre and alien practices on the third planet from the sun * Kirkus *One of the most original, thought-provoking works examining race and identity * Los Angeles Times *Impossible to turn away from once you've devoured the first few pages * Starburst *If you haven't read Butler, you don't yet understand how rich the possibilities of science fiction can be * Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction *Butler's books are exceptional * Village Voice *Few writers in our field are so good at blending page-turners with philosophical questions so seamlessly -- Cory Doctorow

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Book SynopsisCormac McCarthy was the author of many acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, Child of God and The Passenger. Among his honours are the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country for Old Men the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. McCarthy died in 2023 in Santa Fe, NM at the age of 89.Trade ReviewSo good that it will devour you. It is incandescent * Telegraph *[The Road,] heartbreaking and haunting, has an overbearing, almost suffocating atmosphere . . . you cannot forget you’ve read it * The Times *McCarthy’s novel was one of the triggers for my writing Room; I wanted to see what a mother-child modern myth would look like, because his father-child one was so powerful -- Emma Donoghue, author of Room and HavenThe first great masterpiece of the globally warmed generation. Here is an American classic which, at a stroke, makes McCarthy a contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. -- Andrew O’Hagan, author of Our Fathers and MayfliesYou will read on, absolutely convinced, thrilled, mesmerized. All the modern novel can do is done here -- Alan Warner, author of Morvern CallarMcCarthy conjures from this pitiless flight the miracle of unswerving humanity. Gripping beyond belief -- Chris Cleave * Sunday Telegraph *One of the most shocking and harrowing but ultimately redemptive books I have read. It is an intensely intimate story. It is also a warning -- Kirsty Wark * Observer Books of the Year *A masterpiece that will soon be considered a classic * Herald *

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Book SynopsisEmily St. John Mandel was born in Canada and studied dance at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. She is the author of the novels Last Night in Montreal, The Singer's Gun, The Lola Quartet and Station Eleven and is a staff writer for The Millions. She lives in New York City.Trade ReviewMandel’s beautiful depiction of the survival of human culture and art in a post-apocalyptic world, Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale. * Cosmopolitan *The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t the only one out there to examine life in a dystopia or collapsing society, or examine the challenges women face when confronting an authoritative power. * The Verge *A dystopian novel that every woman should read after The Handmaid’s Tale. * Refinery29.com *Glorious, unexpected, superbly written; just try putting it down. * The Times *One of the 2014 books that I did read stands above all the others, however: Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel . . . It's a deeply melancholy novel, but beautifully written, and wonderfully elegiac, a book that I will long remember, and return to. -- George R. R. MartinDisturbing, inventive and exciting, Station Eleven left me wistful for a world where I still live. -- Jessie Burton, author of The MiniaturistOnce in a very long while a book becomes a brand new old friend, a story you never knew you always wanted. Station Eleven is that rare find that feels familiar and extraordinary at the same time, expertly weaving together future and present and past, death and life and Shakespeare. This is truly something special. -- Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night CircusVisually stunning, dreamily atmospheric and impressively gripping . . . Station Eleven is not so much about apocalypse as about memory and loss, nostalgia and yearning; the effort of art to deepen our fleeting impressions of the world and bolster our solitude. * Guardian *Station Eleven is so compelling, so fearlessly imagined, that I wouldn't have put it down for anything. I think this one is really going to go places. -- Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto and State of WonderA beautiful and unsettling book, the action moves between the old and new world, drawing connections between the characters and their pasts and showing the sweetness of life as we know it now and the value of friendship, love and art over all the vehicles, screens and remote controls that have been rendered obsolete. Mandel's skill in portraying her post-apocalyptic world makes her fictional creation seem a terrifyingly real possibility. Apocalyptic stories once offered the reader a scary view of an alternative reality and the opportunity, on putting the book down, to look around gratefully at the real world. This is a book to make its reader mourn the life we still lead and the privileges we still enjoy. * Sunday Express *Station Eleven is a firework of a novel. Elegantly constructed and packed with explosive beauty, it's full of life and humanity and the aftershock of memory. -- Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining GirlsThere is no shortage of post-apocalyptic thrillers on the shelves these days, but Station Eleven is unusually haunting . . . There is an understated, piercing nostalgia . . . there is humour, amid the collapse . . . and there is Mandel's marvellous creation, the Travelling Symphony, travelling from one scattered gathering of humanity to another . . . There is also a satisfyingly circular mystery, as Mandel unveils neatly, satisfyingly, the links between her disparate characters . . . This book will stay with its readers much longer than more run-of-the-mill thrillers. -- Alison Flood, Thriller of the Month * Observer *Station Eleven is a magnificent, compulsive novel that cleverly turns the notion of a "kinder, gentler time" on its head. And, oh, the pleasure of falling down the rabbit hole of Mandel's imagination - a dark, shimmering place rich in alarmingly real detail and peopled with such human, such very appealing characters. -- Liza Klaussmann, author of Tigers in Red WeatherA genuinely unsettling dystopian novel that also allows for moments of great tenderness. Emily St. John Mandel conjures indelible visuals, and her writing is pure elegance. -- Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers (shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize)An ambitious and addictive novel -- Sarah Hughes * Guardian *Possibly the most captivating and thought-provoking post-apocalyptic novel you will ever read . . . Mandel truly creates a unique future - no battling for resources, but a Travelling Symphony of musicians and actors who go from settlement to settlement performing Shakespeare plays. Mandel's message is that civilisation - and just as importantly, art - will endure as long as there is life. She tells us that when humanity's back is against the wall, decency will emerge. Mandel has a beautiful writing style and the chapters preceding the apocalypse (the book jumps around in time) show an assured handle on human emotions and relationships, particularly those sequences involving Arthur Leander . . . Though not without tension and a sense of horror, Station Eleven rises above the bleakness of the usual post-apocalyptic novels because its central concept is one so rarely offered in the genre - hope. * Independent on Sunday *Station Eleven reads as a love letter - acknowledging all those things we would most miss and all those things we would still have -- Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside OurselvesA haunting tale of art and the apocalypse. Station Eleven is an unmissable experience. -- Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone SeasonTremendous . . . if you are looking for a novel you can just wallow in I'd pick Station Eleven up right now. -- Jane Garvey * BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour *Station Eleven begins with a spectacular end. One night in a Toronto theater, onstage performing the role of King Lear, 51-year-old Arthur Leander has a fatal heart attack. There is barely time for people to absorb this shock when tragedy on a considerably vaster scale arrives in the form of a flu pandemic so lethal that, within weeks, most of the world's population has been killed . . . Mandel is an exuberant storyteller . . . Readers will be won over by her nimble interweaving of her characters' lives and fates . . . Station Eleven is as much a mystery as it is a post-apocalyptic tale . . . Mandel is especially good at planting clues and raising the kind of plot-thickening questions that keep the reader turning pages . . . Station Eleven offers comfort and hope to those who believe, or want to believe, that doomsday can be survived, that in spite of everything people will remain good at heart, and when they start building a new world they will want what was best about the old. -- Sigrid Nunez * New York Times *Station Eleven is the kind of book that speaks to dozens of the readers in me - the Hollywood devotee, the comic book fan, the cult junkie, the love lover, the disaster tourist. It is a brilliant novel, and Emily St John Mandel is astonishing. -- Emma Straub, author of The Vacationers and Laura Lamont's Life in PicturesEmily St John Mandel is currently gathering lots of world-ending buzz with her new novel Station Eleven . . . conjures up an eerie post-killer-flu future * Grazia *Speculative fiction . . . of a decidedly literary bent * Metro *Riveting, brilliant -- Nina Stibbe, author of Love, NinaA novel that miraculously reads like equal parts page-turner and poem. One of her great feats is that the story feels spun rather than plotted, with seamless shifts in time and characters . . . This is not a story of crisis and survival. It's one of art and family and memory and community and the awful courage it takes to look upon the world with fresh and hopeful eyes. * Entertainment Weekly *Ambitious, magnificent . . . Mandel's vision is not only achingly beautiful but startlingly plausible, exposing the fragile beauty of the world we inhabit. In the burgeoning postapocalyptic literary genre, Mandel's transcendent, haunting novel deserves a place alongside The Road * Booklist *This breathtaking highwire act argues theatre is primal - and instinct to tell and act out stories, to come together to experience art. Who wouldn't want to write novels about that? * Big Issue *An ambitious take on a post-apocalyptic world where some strive to preserve art, culture and kindness . . . Think of Cormac McCarthy seesawing with Joan Didion . . . Mandel spins a satisfying web of coincidence and kismet . . . Magnetic . . . A breakout novel. * Kirkus (starred review) *Station Eleven is a mesmerising and beautiful book that puts a unique spin on a familiar end-of-the-world scenario . . . Like The Road, Mandel's novel makes you desperately glad for the world we live in. -- Mark Edwards, author of The MagpiesDrew me in irresistibly -- Anne Tyler * New York Times *A theater troupe in a post-epidemic dystopia. Art and celebrity at the zenith of North American civilization and its nadir. Childhood and marriage and violence and comic books. Station Eleven is about all of these things, but none of them fully capture the magic of the book, which is one of the best I've read in a while . . . It reminded me quite a bit of Kate Atkinson's fantastic Life After Life. And the plot, characters, writing-it's all fantastic, as well. honestly, I don't know what else to say except . . . Buy, buy, buy. Seriously. Go pre-order it now. * BookRiot *Totally spellbinding . . . Deftly switching between the time before and after the pandemic, the story reveals the fates of six compelling characters, whose lives are interlinked. Full of eerie suspense and surprises, this is a haunting, original novel that makes you consider what's truly valuable in life. * Hello Magazine *A beautifully written and compelling debut from Emily St John Mandel * Good Housekeeping Magazine *Mandel's strong storytelling ability sets Station Eleven apart . . . Mandel fluidly switches between characters and time periods . . . the result is a provocative tale of societal apocalypse that convincingly creates a disorientated reality, where humanity moves into an uncertain future on a planet littered with reminders of an imperfect past * The List *Excellently written, Station Eleven is closer to Joyce than Orwell as it stealthily connects plots and people * Sunday Times *Plays with time and place in a manner that brings to mind Kate Atkinson's superb Life After Life. * Stylist *A deeply unsettling and well-crafted tale exploring human relationships in extreme circumstances -- Philippa Williams * The Lady *The inventiveness and exploration of ideas about survival and art give Mandel's novel its indelibility . . . Station Eleven amazed me with its sharp and emotionally true reimagining of nearly everything we take for granted in the world -- Meg WolitzerStrong storytelling and believable characters combine in this very human tale * Bella *

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Book SynopsisBlake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. His novels include the New York Times bestseller Dark Matter, and the international bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, which was adapted into a television series for FOX. Crouch also co-created the TNT show Good Behavior, based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He lives in Colorado.Trade ReviewBrilliant. A book to remember. I think Blake Crouch just invented something new -- Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher seriesIt's been a long time since a novel sucked me in and kept me turning pages the way this one did. Exceptional -- Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The MartianA masterful, truly original work of suspense. Crouch delivers laser-focused prose . . . and a touching, twisted love story that plays out in ways you'll never see coming -- Harlan CobenWow. I gulped down Dark Matter in one sitting and put it down awed and amazed by the ride. It's fast, smart, addictive - and the most creative, head-spinning novel I've read in ages -- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of GravityIt also might be the most helter-skelter, race-to-the-finish-line thriller you'll read all year * Observer *Terse prose, strong characterisation and clever twists make for a quick, smart, engrossing read * Financial Times *Blake Crouch's Dark Matter is a mind-bending thriller of the first order, not merely a rollicking entertainment but a provocative investigation into the nature of second chances. I dare you to put it down, because I sure couldn't -- Justin Cronin, New York Times bestselling author of The Passage TrilogyDark Matter is the kind of book the word "thriller" was coined for - it's a shooting star through multiple genres, posing fundamental questions about identity and reality before revealing itself as, at its core, a love story -- Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Guilty Minds and SuspicionAn addictive read! You're in for an intelligent, breath-taking ride -- John Lescroat, New York Times bestselling author of The FallA mind-blowing sci-fi/suspense/love-story mash-up * Entertainment Weekly *Excellent characterization and well-crafted tension . . . the rousing and heartfelt ending will leave readers cheering * Publishers Weekly *Suspenseful, frightening, and sometimes poignant * Kirkus *Crouch keeps the pace swift and the twists exciting. Readers who liked his Wayward Pines trilogy will probably devour this speculative thriller in one sitting [as will] those who enjoy roller-coaster reads in the vein of Harlan Coben * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisVoyager Classics timeless masterworks of science fiction and fantasy.A beautiful clothbound edition of the internationally acclaimed Fahrenheit 451 a masterwork of twentieth-century literature.Over 1 million copies sold in the UK.The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future.Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization's enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.Bradbury's powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.Trade Review‘‘Ray Bradbury’s gift for storytelling reshaped our culture and expanded our world’ Barack Obama ‘Fahrenheit 451 is the most skilfully drawn of all science fiction’s conformist hells’Kingsley Amis ‘Bradbury’s is a very great and unusual talent’Christopher Isherwood ‘Ray Bradbury has a powerful and mysterious imagination which would undoubtedly earn the respect of Edgar Allen Poe’ Guardian

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Book SynopsisThe million-copy bestselling series.Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s heartwarming Tales from the Cafe, translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time . . .From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold comes a story of four new customers each of whom is hoping to take advantage of Cafe Funiculi Funicula's time-travelling offer. Among some faces that will be familiar to readers, we will be introduced to:The man who goes back to see his best friend who died 22 years agoThe son who was unable to attend his own mother’s funeralThe man who travelled to see the girl who he could not marryThe old detective who never gave his wife that gift . . .This beautiful tale tells the story of people who must face up to their past, in order to move on with their lives.Continue the heartwarming storytelling with Before Your Memory Fades and Before We Say Goodbye.

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Book SynopsisFyodor Dostoyevsky''s powerful meditation on faith, meaning and morality, The Brothers Karamazov is translated with an introduction and notes by David McDuff in Penguin Classics. When brutal landowner Fyodor Karamazov is murdered, the lives of his sons are changed irrevocably: Mitya, the sensualist, whose bitter rivalry with his father immediately places him under suspicion for parricide; Ivan, the intellectual, whose mental tortures drive him to breakdown; the spiritual Alyosha, who tries to heal the family''s rifts; and the shadowy figure of their bastard half-brother Smerdyakov. As the ensuing investigation and trial reveal the true identity of the murderer, Dostoyevsky''s dark masterpiece evokes a world where the lines between innocence and corruption, good and evil, blur and everyone''s faith in humanity is tested. This powerful translation of The Brothers Karamazov features and introduction highlighting Dostoyevsky''s recurrent themes of guilt and salvation, with a new chronology and further reading. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) was born in Moscow. From 1849-54 he lived in a convict prison, and in later years his passion for gambling led him deeply into debt. His other works available in Penguin Classics include Crime & Punishment, The Idiot and Demons. If you enjoyed The Brothers Karamazov you might like Nikolai Gogol''s Dead Souls, also available in Penguin Classics. ''There is no writer who better demonstrates the contradictions and fluctuations of the creative mind than Dostoyevsky, and nowhere more astonishingly than in The Brothers Karamazov'' Joyce Carol Oates ''Dostoyevsky was the only psychologist from whom I had anything to learn: he belongs to the happiest windfalls of my life'' Friedrich Nietzsche ''The most magnificent novel ever written'' Sigmund FreudTable of ContentsThe Brothers KaramazovChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingA Note on the TextThe Brothers KaramazovNotes

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Book SynopsisWhen her cousin and wife fail to return from a walk, this story takes a sinister turn to a quest of survival A woman takes a holiday in the Austrian mountains, spending a few days with her cousin and his wife in their hunting lodge. When the couple fails to return from a walk, the woman sets off to look for them. But her journey reaches a sinister and inexplicable dead end. She discovers only a transparent wall behind which there seems to be no life. Trapped alone behind the mysterious wall she begins the arduous work of survival.This is at once a simple account of potatoes and beans, of hoping for a calf, of counting matches, of forgetting the taste of sugar and the use of one's name, and simultaneously a disturbing dissection of the place of human beings in the natural world.**PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE YELLOW WALLPAPER, STATION ELEVEN AND THE MARTIAN**VINTAGE EARTH is a collection of novels to transform our relationship with the natural world. Each one is a work of creative activism, a blast of fresh air, a seed from which change can grow. The books in this series reconnect us to the planet we inhabit - and must protect. Discover great writing on the most urgent story of our times.Trade ReviewIt's a novel that contrives to be, by turns, utopian and dystopian, an idyll and a nightmare... Every joint and sinew of the story is restless with a sense of threat * London Review of Books *Brilliant in its sustainment of dread, in its peeling away of old layers of reality to expose a raw way of seeing and feeling. Doris Lessing once remarked that only a woman could have written this novel, and it's true... I've read The Wall three times already and am nowhere near finished -- Nicole KraussIt makes you sick, because, if she wasn't a woman, everyone would be reading it, like Robinson Crusoe -- Sheila Heti, author of 'Motherhood' and 'Pure Colour'Totally gripping -- Daniel Swift * Spectator, *Books of the Year* *An extraordinarily interesting writer, always underappreciated -- Elfriede Jelinek

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Book SynopsisEMILIA HART''S STUNNING NEW BOOK THE SIRENS IS OUT NOWTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLEROVER 700,000 COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDEAs seen on BBC's BETWEEN THE COVERS''A bewitching debut. I can't wait to see what Emilia Hart writes next'' KATE MORTONA much-heralded epic' OBSERVEREmpowering' GLAMOURThree women, five centuries, one spellbinding storyIn the present day, Kate flees a traumatic relationship to the Cumbrian cottage she inherited from her great-aunt; but the cottage hides secrets of its own.In 1942, Violet rebels against her father's ideas of a proper young lady' until he takes matters into his own hands.In 1619, Altha is on trial for witchcraft, implicated in the gruesome death of a local man.Three women they tried to cage but Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamedWeyward was a Times bestseller w/e 18-02-2023.Trade Review‘Alive, vivid and gripping’ ABIGAIL DEAN ‘Humming with a sly, exhilarating magic’ BRIDGET COLLINS ‘Totally unique’ GILLIAN MCALLISTER ‘Utterly absorbing’ ABI DARÉ ‘Fierce and moving… magnificent’ ROSIE ANDREWS ‘A stunning debut’ LUCY CLARKE ‘Relevant, empowering and brilliantly written… I just love it!’ JOANNA CANNON ‘A magical read’ WOMAN & HOME ‘[A] bold witchy debut’ RED ‘It seems to be the year of the witch book – and this is the best I’ve read so far’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING ‘An absolute beauty… a riveting page turner for wild women everywhere’ JULIE OWEN MOYLAN, author of That Green Eyed Girl ‘Beautifully written and intricate as a spider's web’ SUNYI DEAN, author of The Book Eaters ‘A brave and original debut – spellbinding’ SARAH PENNER, author of The Lost Apothecary ‘Beguiling, absorbing and exquisitely-rendered’ LIZZIE POOK, author of Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter ‘A fabulous debut’ PRIMA ‘An entertaining read’ THE TIMES ‘Leave[s] you keen to turn the page and find out more’ INDEPENDENT ‘A beautifully powerful debut’ LOVE READING ‘An empowering read that will keep you glued to the final word… Buy this book’ GLAMOUR ‘An outstanding debut’ FABULOUS magazine ‘2023 is set to be the year of witchy reads, and Weyward is one of the most exciting new titles’ COSMOPOLITAN

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Book SynopsisKafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.Trade ReviewWonderful... Magical and outlandish * Daily Mail *A magnificently bewildering achievement... Brilliantly conceived, bold in its surreal scope, sexy and driven by a snappy plot... Exuberant storytelling * Independent on Sunday *Cool, fluent and addictive * Daily Telegraph *Hypnotic, spellbinding * The Times *Addictive... Exhilarating... A pleasure * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisThe book that reinvented Space Opera - from the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Terror, which is now a chilling TV show.It is the 29th century and the universe of the Human Hegemony is under threat. Invasion by the warlike Ousters looms, and the mysterious schemes of the secessionist AI TechnoCore bring chaos ever closer.On the eve of disaster, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set fourth on a final voyage to the legendary Time Tombs on Hyperion, home to the Shrike, a lethal creature, part god and part killing machine, whose powers transcend the limits of time and space. The pilgrims have resolved to die before discovering anything less than the secrets of the universe itself.Readers are hooked on Hyperion:''One of the best epic, old mythology, and literature inspired, mindblowing, amazingly ingeniously written space operas'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ nTrade ReviewTruly astonishing -- Iain M BanksUnfailingly inventive...bears comparison with FOUNDATION and DUNE * NEW YORK TIMES *

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Book SynopsisJohn Gwynne studied and lectured at Brighton University. He's been in a rock 'n' roll band, playing the double bass, travelled the USA and lived in Canada for a time. He is married with four children and lives in Eastbourne, running a small family business rejuvenating vintage furniture. Malice is his debut novel.Trade ReviewInfluenced by Gemmell's Rigante and GRR Martin's Game of Thrones - two good strands of DNA. Great characters and plot - it gets faster and more fascinating by the page. All I want now is for the author to put everything else aside, including his health - and write two or three more as fast as humanly possible. Hell of a debut: Highly recommended -- Conn IgguldenWith all manner of battles, betrayals and revelations. I particularly enjoyed the battle scenes and duels ... If it sounds like your thing, then it probably is -- Mark LawrenceWith its warring clans, sleeping giants, Banished Lands and omens and portents . . . is a strong contender for the “if you like Game of Thrones, why not try this?” award. * Independent blog *It’s exciting when you find a strong new voice ringing out through the halls of fantasy, and John Gwynne hits all the right spots in his epic tale of good vs evil, the first in the Faithful & The Fallen series . . . there’s a lot of pleasure to be had in this debut novel; Gwynne is definitely one to watch. * SFX *Malice is easily one of the best fantasy novels I read this year, and one which will appeal to most fans of the genre. * Iwillreadbooks.com *With three-dimensional characters, a gripping plot, and a world that became real to me, John Gwynne’s Malice is a great debut. In short, this is the kind of fantasy I love to read and I truly can’t wait for the next volume in The Faithful and the Fallen! * Fantasy Book Critic *

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Book Synopsis** THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER ****A BBC BETWEEN COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ**Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' GuardianI believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford - her assigned name, Offred, means 'of Fred'. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction.'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist', Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other.Trade ReviewA fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist -- Bernadine EvaristoCompulsively readable * Daily Telegraph *The mother of all feminist dystopian novels * Red *The novel satirises the strain of evangelical puritanism in American culture and the objectification and control of women's bodies. It is more broadly a contemporary myth of despotic power, and how such power deforms those who are subjected to it * Observer *The Handmaid's Tale is both a superlative exercise in science fiction and a profoundly felt moral story -- Angela CarterOut of a narrative shadowed by terror, gleam sharp perceptions, brilliant intense images and sardonic wit -- Peter Kemp * Independent *Margaret Atwood is a wry and perceptive observer of society as well as an original storyteller * Psychologist *The images of brilliant emptiness are one of the most striking aspects of this novel about totalitarian blindness...the effect is chilling -- Linda Taylor * Sunday Times *Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful evocation of twenty-first century America gives full rein to Margaret Atwood’s devastating irony, wit and astute perception * Essence *It's hard to believe it is 25 years since it was first published, but its freshness, its anger and its disciplined, taut prose have grown more admirable in the intervening years... Atwood's novel was an ingenious enterprise that showed, with out hysteria, the real dangers to women of closing their eyes to patriarchal -- Lesley McDowell * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisIn a frozen dystopia where inhabitants eat flesh to survive, can the destructive powers of fire bring salvation?In the not-too-distant past, the Ice Witch blankets the world in snow, starvation, and madness, leading the inhabitants to seek their salvation in fire. With that, an unusual destiny unfolds for two young orphans, Agni and Luna, blessed with the ability to regenerate. But will this ability prove to be more of a curse than a blessing?Orphaned siblings Agni and Luna, like the Ice Witch who cursed their world, are two of the “blessed,” humans who hold special abilities. However, not all who are blessed are friendly, and after another of their kind attacks Agni and decimates the orphans'' village, Agni fights to survive, vowing revenge.

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Book SynopsisThe Hunger Games meets the X-Men in this internationally bestselling YA fantasy series soon to be a major TV show from the producers of Divergent directed by and starring Elizabeth Banks . . .__________________Set in a far-future post-apocalyptic America brimming with romance and revolution, Red Queen is a ferocious ode to the power and promise of resistance against the relentless fires of oppression - perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and The Bone Season.''All hail Victoria Aveyard - the new Queen of dystopian fiction'' GUARDIAN''Exhilarating. Compelling. Action-packed. Unputdownable'' USA TODAY''A whirlwind of betrayal and plot twists'' SCI-FI NOW''It''s slick, it''s interesting, it''s gripping'' SFX''A volatile world with a dynamic heroine'' BOOKLIST''Breakneck pace'' SCHOOLTrade ReviewA whirlwind of betrayal and plot twists * SCI-FI NOW *It's slick, it's interesting and ... gripping * SFX *All hail Victoria Aveyard - the new Queen of dystopian fiction. * THE GUARDIAN CHILDRENS BOOKS *Red Queen is a clever blend of The Hunger Games, The Selection, Graceling and Divergent * STARBURST *Unique and amazing . . . filled with twists and turns throughout. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone as it is a great read and I can't wait for the sequel to be released. * THEGUARDIAN.COM *In Red Queen Victoria Aveyard has delivered a clever, slick and compelling debut. The dystopian novel will please fans of The Hunger Games but uses a supernatural twist to explore the theme of social injustice * We Love This Book *Red Queen... Where do I start? As I sit here after closing the book just this second, with a shocked, enthralled, amazed brooding look on my face I think its safe to say that this book has royally floored me... If you're having hangovers over the Divergent series, or having withdrawal symptoms from the Hunger Games then this is the book that will get you out of that funk * DARK READERS *Trust us when we say that it will have you up late at night trying to finish the next chapter, next page, next line - or maybe the whole thing because this book is impossible to put down. * MAXIMUM POP! *Aveyard weaves a compelling new world, and Mare and the two men in her life evolve intriguingly as class tension rises. Revolution supersedes romance, setting the stage for action-packed surprises. An inventive, character-driven twist breathes new life into tired fantasy trends. * KIRKUS *A wonderful mash up of Ancient Rome and Marie Antoinette with a dash of Catherine Fisher's Incarceron and Ridley Scott's Gladiator, not to mention some of Marvel Comic's box of tricks . . . Exciting and original * Sam Hawksmoor, author of the Repossession Trilogy *Victoria Aveyard is a genuinely good writer... a dark gripping book that grips and surprises the reader * THE BOOKBAG *This is the first book I read in 2015 and I'm glad I began the year with a book outside my comfort zone because I truly, truly enjoyed. * EMMALOUBOOKBLOG *I enjoyed this book immensely... the plot of the book was well executed, the twists creeped up on me slowly but surely. The atmosphere Aveyard created was perfect * BOOKSFORBIRDS *Red Queen simply blew me away... an exquisite debut from Aveyard, usually it takes a few books for an author to become a favourite, but Aveyard has managed to become a favourite with just one book * The Readers Den *Red Queen is a debut bursting with betrayal, jealousy, love and rebellion and it's fantastic. YA fantasy is really on the up at the moment and Victoria Aveyard is going to be one of the leaders of the pack * SO LITTLE TIME FOR BOOKS *A fantastic debut, with a perfect balance of epic, action filled scenes, cunning characters, mystery and a creative plot, RED QUEEN is a definite favourite and I cannot wait for more from this author * WHAT DANIELLE DID NEXT *

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Book SynopsisWhen London is lost beneath the rising tides, unconscious desires rush to the surface in this apocalyptic tale from the author of Crash' and Empire of the Sun', reissued here with an introduction from Martin Amis.All the way down the creek, perched in the windows of the office blocks and department stores, the iguanas watched them go past.London, 2145. The climate crisis has transformed the city into a primeval jungle, with rising tides and oppressive heat putting human life at risk. The streets are now swamps; lush tropical vegetation grows up the walls of the Ritz and reptiles are seen swimming through the newly-formed lagoons. Some flee the wasteland capital; others remain to pursue reckless schemes in the name of science and profit. As the world comes face to face with its future, how will humanity reckon with its ancient past?Trade Review‘The most important British writer of the latter half of the 20th century’ Will Self ‘Powerful and beautifully clear … Ballard’s potent symbols of beauty and dismay inundate the reader’s mind’ Brian Aldiss ‘One of the brightest stars in post-war fiction. This tale of strange and terrible adventure in a world of steaming jungles has an oppressive power reminiscent of Conrad’ Kingsley Amis ‘Extraordinarily prescient … Ballard is a prophet’ Philip Pullman, Guardian ‘The terrifying thing about Ballard is his logic; is this science fiction or history written ahead of its time?’ Len Deighton

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020, an enthralling Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance from one of Japan's greatest writers.'Beautiful... Haunting' Sunday Times'A dreamlike story of dystopia' Jia Tolentino__________Hat, ribbon, bird rose.To the people on the island, a disappeared thing no longer has any meaning. It can be burned in the garden, thrown in the river or handed over to the Memory Police. Soon enough, the island forgets it ever existed.When a young novelist discovers that her editor is in danger of being taken away by the Memory Police, she desperately wants to save him. For some reason, he doesn't forget, and it's becoming increasingly difficult for him to hide his memories. Who knows what will vanish next?__________Finalist for the National Book Award 2019 Longlisted for the Translated Book Award 2020New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year'This timeless fable of control and loss feels more timely than ever' Guardian, Books of the Year'Echoes the themes of George Orwell's 1984, but it has a voice and power all its own' Time'A novel that makes us see differently... A masterpiece' Madeleine ThienTrade ReviewThe Memory Police is a masterpiece: a deep pool that can be experienced as fable or allegory, warning and illumination. It is a novel that makes us see differently, opening up its ideas in inconspicuous ways, knowing that all moments of understanding and grace are fleeting. It is political and human, it makes no promises. It is a rare work of patient and courageous vision -- Madeleine Thien * Guardian *It's an age since I read a book as strange, beautiful and affecting… this haunting work reaches beyond…to examine what it is to be human… a remarkable writer * Sunday Times *Masterly...Like Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad and Mohsin Hamid's Exit West, Yoko Ogawa's novel transforms a familiar metaphor into imaginative truth. -- Jia Tolentino * The New Yorker *In a feat of dark imagination, Yoko Ogawa stages an intimate, suspenseful drama of courage and endurance while conjuring up a world that is at once recognizable and profoundly strange * Wall Street Journal *Explores questions of power, trauma and state surveillance...particularly resonant now, at a time of rising authoritarianism across the globe. * New York Times, pick of the month *

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Book SynopsisThe global best-selling graphic novel series – over half a million copies sold!Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files collects the adventures of the iconic British character, presented in chronological order, complete and uncut! He's judge, jury and executioner – the lawman delivering justice to the mean streets of far-future Mega-City One. This first blockbuster volume features storylines written by comic legends John Wagner (A History of Violence), Pat Mills (Marshall Law) and Alan Grant (Batman), with art by Brian Bolland (The Killing Joke), Mick McMahon (The Last American) and many more!Trade ReviewIf you want to sink your teeth into classic Judge Dredd, the best place to start. * Mental Floss *Amazing and addictive * io9 *What a collection it will be when it's complete. * Den of Geek *

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Book SynopsisA breathtaking exploration of memory and what it means to be human, Recursion is the follow-up novel to the smash-hit thriller, Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch.'Recursion takes mind-twisting premises and embeds them in a deeply emotional story about time and loss and grief and most of all, the glory of the human heart' - Gregg Hurwitz, author of Orphan XAt first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shockwave, unleashed by a stunning discovery – and what’s in jeopardy is not just our minds.In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth – and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back.Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy – before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.'A fantastic read' – Andy Weir, author of The Martian.Trade ReviewCrouch isn’t just a world-class thriller writer, he’s a Philip K. Dick for the modern age. Recursion takes mind-twisting premises and embeds them in a deeply emotional story about time and loss and grief and most of all, the glory of the human heart -- Gregg Hurwitz, international bestselling author of Orphan XIt's not often I plough through a book in two days. But Blake Crouch’s action-packed, brilliantly unique Recursion had me up late and shirking responsibilities until I had devoured the last page. A fantastic read -- Andy Weir, Number one New York Times bestselling author of The MartianBlake Crouch has invented his own brand of page-turner--fearlessly genre-bending, consistently surprising, and determined to explode the boundaries of what a thriller can be -- Karin SlaughterBlake Crouch is brilliant. His innovative novels never fail to grip! -- Sarah Pekkanen, bestselling co-author of The Wife Between UsThis is a mind-twisting exploration of memory and what it means to be human. If you’re into thoughtful, fluidly written science fiction, this one will hit the mark * ES Magazine *Blake Crouch's fantastic, mind-blowing philosophical thriller * Yahoo News *Praise for Dark Matter: Brilliant . . . I think Blake Crouch just invented something new -- Lee ChildPraise for Dark Matter: It also might be the most helter-skelter, race-to-the-finish-line thriller you'll read all year * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisVoyager Classics timeless masterworks of science fiction and fantasy.The classic collection of robot stories from the master of the genre.In these stories Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age.Earth is ruled by master-machines but the Three Laws of Robotics have been designed to ensure humans maintain the upper hand:1) A robot may not injure a human being or allow a human being to come to harm2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.But what happens when a rogue robot's idea of what is good for society contravenes the Three Laws?Trade Review‘An exciting science thriller…’New York Times ‘Isaac Asimov was one of the great explainers of the age…It will never be known how many practicing scientists today, in how many countries, owe their initial inspiration to a book, article, or short story by Isaac Asimov’Carl Sagan ‘Asimov displayed one of the most dynamic imaginations in science fiction’Daily Telegraph ‘Asimov’s career was one of the most formidable in science fiction’The Times

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Book Synopsis WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2023 A GUARDIAN AND FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR''The most exquisite kind of literature... I''ve put it on a special shelf in my library that I reserve for books that demand to be revisited every now and then. ''OLGA TOKARCZUK, author of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead''Could not be more timely... It''s funny and absurd, but it''s also frightening, because even as Gospodinov plays with the idea as fiction, the reader begins to recognise something rather closer to home... A writer of great warmth as well as skill''GUARDIAN''In equal measure playful and profound, Time Shelter renders the philosophical mesmerizing, and the everyday extraordinary. I loved it''CLAIRE MESSUD, author of The Woman Upstairs ''A genrebusting novel of ideas... Gospodinov''s vision of tomorrow is the nighTrade ReviewThe most exquisite kind of literature, on our perception of time and its passing, written in a masterful and totally unpredictable style. Each page comes as a surprise, so that you never know where the author is going to take you next. I've put it on a special shelf in my library that I reserve for books that can never be fully exhausted-books that demand to be revisited every now and then. * Olga Tokarczuk, author of THE BOOKS OF JACOB and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature *In equal measure playful and profound, Georgi Gospodinov's Time Shelter renders the philosophical mesmerizing, and the everyday extraordinary. I loved it. * Claire Messud *Gospodinov is one of Europe's most fascinating and irreplaceable novelists, and this his most expansive, soulful and mind-bending book. * Dave Eggers *A powerful and brilliant novel: clear-sighted, foreboding, enigmatic. A novel in which the future gives way like a rotten beam and the past rushes in like a flood. * Sandro Veronesi, author of THE HUMMINGBIRD and twice winner of the Premio Strega *Time Shelter is Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov's third novel, and for all its focus on the apparently bygone, it could not be more timely... It's funny and absurd, but it's also frightening, because even as Gospodinov plays with the idea as fiction, the reader begins to recognise something rather closer to home. Time Shelter was written between the Brexit referendum and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both of which represent, in their own ways, the weaponisation of nostalgia and the selection of particular eras in the time clinic of the not-so-new world order... True to form, Gospodinov finds humour in the bleakness... This novel could have been a clever, high-concept intellectual game with little by way of emotional investment, but Gospodinov is a writer of great warmth as well as skill... His affection for that period is sincere but also without illusion. He can draw out fully dimensional characters from the broken details of their fractured memories. His transitions - between humour and sadness, absurd situationism and reverberating tragedy, pathos and ironic observation - are never obtrusive. Thanks to the skill and delicacy of Angela Rodel's translation, these qualities are in abundant display for the anglophone reader... The novel's title - Time Shelter - is a neologism in Bulgarian as it is in English, a grafting from the noun "bomb shelter". It's well found in its ambiguity: sheltering from time, and sheltering within time. Both are attractive but impossible. Nostalgia used to feel like a source of harmless escape, and occasional sustenance. It is starting to seem like a fossil fuel, foreshortening our future as it burns. * Guardian *A genrebusting novel of ideas. This is a book about memory, how it fades and how it is restored, even reinvented, in the imaginations of addled individuals and the civic discourse of nations . . . His vision of tomorrow is the nightmare from which Europe knows it must awake. And accident, in combination with the book's own merits, may just have created a classic -- Simon Ings * THE TIMES *The morality of artificially returning people to the past, and the broader question of whether this truly brings solace - whether indulgence in nostalgia is curative or pernicious - is the central question of Georgi Gospodinov's newly translated novel... Touching and intelligent -- Adrian Nathan West, * NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (USA) *An immensely enjoyable book which achieves depth with an affable narrative voice -- Declan O'Driscoll * IRISH TIMES *Mr. Gospodinov, one of Bulgaria's most popular contemporary writers, is a nostalgia artist. In the manner of Orhan Pamuk and Andrei Makine, his books are preoccupied with memory, its ambiguous pleasures and its wistful, melancholy attraction . . . This difficult but rewarding novel concludes with an image of Europe brought to the brink of renewed conflict - an abstraction that recent events have imbued with the terrible force of reality -- Sam Sacks * WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA) *Gospodinov cunningly draws attention to the violence that the past wreaks on the present. * New Yorker *Gospodinov writes like a botanist of the soul: he knows the effects that the pretty mushrooms and the hidden herbs within ourselves can do, in spite of what they look like from afar. The living beings he studies are our versions of our past, the unretrievable, the recreated, the future versions of our past, and how we imbue them with the fantasies and poisons that we cultivate in silence. * Yuri Herrera, author of SIGNS PRECEDING THE END OF THE WORLD *Georgi Gospodinov is unique in many ways. I've been reading him since the beginning and I know that no one can combine an intriguing concept, wonderful imagination and perfect writing technique like he can. This is great prose. * Olga Tokarczuk, author of THE BOOKS OF JACOB and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature *In this book, time sneaks away, and then returns, reconstituted. Franz Ferdinand is re-assassinated. The cigarettes you liked as a teenager are on sale again. Communism is back, and nice. The book is a satire, witty and scorching, but it is also wise and tender. * Joan Acocella *An extraordinary romp through time and memory, a beautifully written and wonderfully inventive meditation on what the past means to us, whether we can recapture it and how it defines our present. This is the perfect novel for these cloistered atemporal times. * Alberto Manguel, author of A HISTORY OF READING *Memory and kitsch - and their painful congruence in post-Soviet Europe - will be familiar themes to readers of Gospodinov's last book, The Physics of Sorrow. The novels share allusive, discontinuous narratives, an appetite for switching genres, an alertness to the power and the fragility of authorship and a dark humour rimed with grief. But in Time Shelter, finished shortly before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Gospodinov's sights are higher and his scope - conceptually and geographically - far wider . . . And the paradoxes that hummed quietly in the background of previous books roar into apocalyptic high gear -- Madoc Cairns * LITERARY REVIEW *Gospodinov's digressive, philosophical novel is less a work of realist literature than an allegory about the perils of looking backward . . . translator Rodel keeps the narrator's wry voice consistent . . . the story achieves a pleasurably Borges-ian strangeness while sending a warning signal about how memory can be glitch-y and dangerous . . . An ambitious, quirky, time-folding yarn * KIRKUS REVIEWS (USA) *A radical new therapy tests the power of nostalgia in the electric and fantastical latest from Gospodinov (The Physics of Sorrow). The clever prose sells the zany premise and imbues it with poignant longing . . . Thought-provoking and laced with potent satire, this deserves a spot next to Kafka * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (USA) *Georgi Gospodinov is one of the most interesting and innovative writers of this century and Time Shelter is a beautiful reflection on time, nostalgia and the soul. * Camilla Grudova *

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Book SynopsisOne of the BBC''s ''100 Novels that Shaped the World''''Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past''Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.George Orwell''s dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisThe stunning sequel to Parable of the Sower, the NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling novel.''In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time... for sheer peculiar prescience, Butler''s novel may be unmatched'' NEW YORKER''Octavia Butler was playing out our very real possibilities as humans. I think she can help each of us to do the same'' GLORIA STEINEM---In order for me to understand who I am, I must begin to understand who she was.Asha was born into a broken world. There are many things she needs to know: how her country could embrace a violent, far-right President promising to make America great again, why they turned a blind eye to the suffering - and the truth about her mother.In her journals, Lauren Olamina tells of a great love divided between her young daughter, her community and the revelation that led her to found a new faith that teaches ''God Is ChanTrade ReviewOne of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century. One cannot exaggerate the impact she has had -- Junot DiazButler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision * Guardian *A dark, compelling and still horribly resonant time travel story * Independent *[Her] evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human * New York Times *No novel I've read this year has felt as relevant, as gut-wrenching or as essential... If you've ever tweeted "All Lives Matter", someone needs to shove Kindred into your hand, and quickly * The Pool *Kindred is that rare magical artifact . . . the novel one returns to, again and again * Harlan Ellison *One cannot finish Kindred without feeling changed. It is a shattering work of art * Los Angeles Herald-Examiner *[A] must-read novel * BBC *Everyone should read at least one novel by the grand dame of science fiction, and Kindred is a perfect (and harrowing and disturbing and brilliant) place to start * Refinery 29 *The immediate effect of reading Octavia Butler's Kindred is to make every other time travel book in the world look as if it's wimping out... This is a brilliant book, utterly absorbing, very well written, and deeply distressing. It's very hard to read, not because it's not good but because it's so good * Tor *A searing, caustic examination of bizarre and alien practices on the third planet from the sun * Kirkus *One of the most original, thought-provoking works examining race and identity * Los Angeles Times *Impossible to turn away from once you've devoured the first few pages * Starburst *If you haven't read Butler, you don't yet understand how rich the possibilities of science fiction can be * Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction *Butler's books are exceptional * Village Voice *Few writers in our field are so good at blending page-turners with philosophical questions so seamlessly -- Cory Doctorow

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Book SynopsisThe fourth in The Faithful and the Fallen series, Wrath by John Gwynne is the breathtaking, pulse-pounding conclusion to an epic series.It’s time to brave the final battle . . .Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has seized the fortress at Drassil, and now possesses three of the Seven Treasures. And with Calidus and Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the rest. They will allow him to open a portal to the Otherworld - so Asroth and his demon-horde can break into the Banished Lands and finally become flesh.Meanwhile Corban has been captured by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, to counter the threat Nathair represents. His life hangs in the balance - and with it, the fate of the Banished LanTrade ReviewA breathtakingly perfect finale to a series that has grown from strength to wonderful strength. Poignant, pulse-pounding and phenomenally paced, Wrath is a satisfying – and heart-breaking – climax that Tolkien himself would be proud to have penned * Fantasy Faction *A masterpiece in modern fantasy and a breathtaking finale to what is my all-time favourite fantasy series * The Tattooed Book Geek *Unpredictable, exhilarating * Fantasy Book Review *Engrossing . . . excellent writing * Sunday Sport *Masterpiece . . . damn near perfection * Booknest *

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Book Synopsis''Nick Harkaway novels are electric'' Patrick Ness, author of A MONSTER CALLS''Cross-genre brilliance'' William Gibson, author of AGENCY''Captivating from start to finish'' The Big IssueCal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he''s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. Clearly, he is a Titan - one of this dystopian, near-future society''s genetically-altered elites.There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, all thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca''s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near godlike status. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But Titans are Cal''s specialty. In fact, his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. AnTrade ReviewTitanium Noir is deft and hectic and so damn fun. It's a story-telling amphetamine laced with social commentary and it's terrific * Lauren Beukes, author of THE SHINING GIRLS *Titanium Noir is a beautifully twisted, fast-paced new-cyberpunk fairy tale. The perfect blend of Raymond Chandler and William Gibson * Terry Miles, author of RABBITS *Cross-genre brilliance from the superbly talented Nick Harkaway * William Gibson, author of AGENCY *Nick Harkaway's Cal Sounder is everything I could want in a new sci-fi detective: he's smart and resourceful, good in a fight, needling of power and capable of irritating damn near everyone he meets, and willing to risk everything he has to solve his case. Maybe it's always been true that the rich and powerful take pleasure from living life better than the rest of us: in Titanium Noir, Harkaway imagines what might happen when they decide they also want to live forever, taking us on a breakneck tour of one infuriatingly plausible future's corruption and vice * Matt Bell, author of APPLESEED *Titanium Noir is a fun, twisty detective novel with a big science-fiction idea at its centre. Harkaway puts a new spin on classic noir themes * Dexter Palmer, author of MARY TOFT; OR, THE RABBIT QUEEN *An SF-tinged romp that blends elements of the noir thriller and the picaresque novel... An entertaining shaggy dog of a futuristic whodunit * Kirkus Reviews *I picked up Titanium Noir and then it returned the favor, sending me reeling with thrilling velocity through Nick Harkaway's latest world of dark wonders until it set me down at the last fine Harkaway sentence with all the lightness, strength and brilliance of its hard bright titular element * Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winning author *A highly entertaining, satisfying blend of classic detective noir and inventive speculative fiction * Guardian *A wonderfully expansive and visionary piece of speculative fiction... Titanium Noir blends the best of the science fiction and crime genres to create something vibrant and new. Captivating from start to finish * The Big Issue *Nick Harkaway novels are electric. Titanium Noir is a short, sharp shock, punchy and strange and vibrant. And sizzling in a way that makes other novels feel slightly asleep. * Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls *Cal Sounder crashes like a wrecking ball through a world of privilege and secrets. . . . If Titanium Noir turns out to be the first book in a series of Sounder's adventures ... I'd welcome more * The Washington Post *A detective tries to investigate a killing in a dystopian city where the haves and have-nots are divided by more than just money. . . . Surprising and gratifying * The Wall Street Journal *An exemplar of its genre * New York Times, Best New Books to Read This Summer *A fabulous thought experiment . . . The characters, who, as in other Harkaway books, arrive fully formed and linger long in the memory. Luckily, Harkaway has hinted this won't be the last we see of Chersenesos. * New Scientist *Very entertaining . . . The eclectic cast includes Stefan's towering daughter Athena, who is also Sounder's ex-girlfriend, a criminal Titan of skewed proportions named Doublewide, and a drunk, blind codebreaker. All are gifted with snappy dialogue, and the mystery resolves with a sharp twist. * The Spectator *

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Book SynopsisHidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTA dazzling epic of love, war and the joy of books' GuardianThere is magic in this place You just have to sit and breathe and wait and it will find you'Fifteenth-century Constantinople. Present day Idaho. The future, and humanity's last hope.Across time and space, five young dreamers are bound by a single ancient text. Together, they tell a story of a world in peril; of the power of words, of resilience, and of hope against all odds.The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See returns with a heart-breaking, magnificent epic of human connection and a love letter to storytelling itself.Wonderment and despair, love and destruction and hope all find their place in its sumptuously plotted pages' ObserverIngenious, hopeful and totally absorbing' Financial TimesThis engagingly written, big-hearted book is a must-read' Daily MirrorTrade Review Praise for Cloud Cuckoo Land: ‘Sets him comfortably alongside Tolkien, Rowling and David Mitchell, and he is a much more elegant writer than two of those … Cloud Cuckoo Land is an impressive achievement and a joy to read. Serious novels are rarely this fun.’ The Times ‘There is a kind of book a seasoned writer produces after a big success: large-hearted, wide in scope and joyous. Following his Pulitzer winner All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land is a deep lungful of fresh air – and a gift of a novel’ Guardian ‘A paean to stories as a source of sustenance and solace, and to the sweetness of our shared terrestrial home, Doerr’s narrative is buoyant with humanity and it’s author’s palpable pleasure in invention’ Daily Mail ‘A humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences. Cloud Cuckoo Land is ultimately a celebration of books, the power and possibilities of reading’ New York Times ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land is a fascinatingly ambitious tale that’s worth the seven year wait’ Stylist ‘Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Doerr’s new novel traverses time and space, unifying his characters through a text written by Diogenes in the first century AD. Cloud Cuckoo Land begins there and sweeps through the millennia in a huge, imaginative arc that celebrates the outsiders, the writers and the keepers of books. An ultimately hopeful and life-affirming novel about the essence of love, literature and art’ Irish Independent ‘This is a dazzling epic of love, war and the joy of books – one for David Mitchell fans’ Guardian ‘Wonderment and despair, love and destruction and hope – all find their place in its sumptuously plotted pages’ Observer

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Book SynopsisLondon, 1716. Revenge is a dish best served ice-cold…’An immersive, action-packed thriller with intrigue in the air and threats around every corner’ The Herald’Great fun ... the language is colourful and the action never stops’ Laura Shepherd-RobinsonThe city is caught in the vice-like grip of a savage winter. Even the Thames has frozen over. But for Jonas Flynt – thief, gambler, killer – the chilling elements are the least of his worries…Justice Geoffrey Dumont has been found dead at the base of St Paul’s cathedral, and a young male sex-worker, Sam Yates, has been taken into custody for the murder. Yates denies all charges, claiming he had received a message to meet the judge at the exact time of death.The young man is a friend of courtesan Belle St Clair, and she asks Flynt to investigate. As Sam endures the horrors of Newgate prison, they must do everything in their power to uncover the truth and save an innocent life, before the bodies begin to pile up.But time is running out. And the gallows are beckoning...A totally enrapturing portrayal of eighteenth-century London, and a rapier-like crime thriller, perfect for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Antonia Hodgson and Ambrose Parry.

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Book SynopsisBased on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the ten-year fight against the horde, World War Z brings the finest traditions of journalism to bear on what is surely the most incredible story in the history of human civilisation.Trade Review'An absolute must have... Brooks infuses his writing with such precise detail and authenticity, one wonders if he knows something we don't' Simon Pegg‘The best science fiction has traditionally been steeped in social commentary. World War Z continues that legacy... We haven't been this excited about a book without pictures since well, since ever’ Metro'Brilliant' Time Out'Max Brooks really is the godfather of all the zombie stories' The Sun'When the zombie apocalypse arrives, we'll be at Max Brooks' house... As a horror story, it's exciting. As a parable, it's terrifying' Empire, 5-starred review‘Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies... Will grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist’ Entertainment Weekly‘[Brooks’] iron-jaw narrative is studded with practical advice on what to do when the zombies come, as they surely will. A literate, ironic, strangely tasty treat’ Kirkus Reviews‘A sober, frequently horrifying and even moving account... Brooks has delivered a full-blown horror novel, laced with sharp social and political observations and loads of macabre, gruesome imagery’ Fangoria

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Book Synopsis''Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.''Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.The Penguin English Library - collectable general readers'' editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century to the end of the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2016 David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Novel.The third in The Faithful and the Fallen series, Ruin by John Gwynne continues the gripping battle of good vs evil.The Banished Lands are engulfed in war and chaos. The cunning Queen Rhin has conquered the west and High King Nathair has the cauldron, most powerful of the seven treasures. At his back stands the scheming Calidus and a warband of the Kadoshim, dread demons of the Otherworld. They plan to bring Asroth and his host of the Fallen into the world of flesh, but to do so they need the seven treasures. Nathair has been deceived but now he knows the truth. He has choices to make; choices that will determine the fate of the Banished Lands. Elsewhere the flame of resistance is growing - Queen Edana finds allies in the swamps of Ardan. Maquin is loose in Tenebral, hunted by Lykos and his corsairs. Here he will witness the birth of a rebellion in Nathair's own realm. Trade ReviewMythical, magical, intense, brutal, poignant . . . utterly brilliant. * Fantasy Book Review *The battles are brutal and bloody, just as they should be (especially when you chuck giants, bears, draigs and huge wolf like beasts into the mix). All through the book it builds, the smaller battles leading towards bigger and bigger ones and leading to a climax that will knock you for six . . .don’t expect to come out of it with your heart in one piece. * Ebookwyrm *Triumphant . . . A masterful thrill ride of a book. * Dominish Fantasy Reviews *Dark, thrilling and bloody. But Ruin’s strongest point is, for me, its characters. The author takes character relationships crafted throughout the first two novels – between friends, family, loved ones and, especially, animals – and brings them beautifully to the fore without overstating them, whilst also forging new ones along the way. * Half Strung Harp Reviews *This was an incredible follow-up . . . Ruin is probably the strongest novel in the series so far. Gwynne did an incredible job leading things to their logical conclusions for massive payoffs, while shuffling things up just enough to make me both dread and anticipate the finale. * Reading Lamp Reviews *

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Book SynopsisNOW THE NO.1 DRAMA IN THE HISTORY OF APPLE TV+The much anticipated prequel to bestseller Wool that takes us back to the beginnings of the silo. In a future less than fifty years away, the world is still as we know it. Time continues to tick by. The truth is that it is ticking away.A powerful few know what lies ahead. They are preparing for it. They are trying to protect us.They are setting us on a path from which we can never return.A path that will lead to destruction; a path that will take us below ground.The history of the silo is about to be written.Our future is about to begin.________________'We have been mesmerised with Hugh Howey's silo stories since we first laid eyes on book one in the trilogy...' Grazia Daily'An epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' Justin Cronin

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Book SynopsisCormac McCarthy was the author of many acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, Child of God and The Passenger. Among his honours are the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country for Old Men the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. McCarthy died in 2023 in Santa Fe, NM at the age of 89.Trade ReviewA powerful and talented writer, able to elicit compassion for his protagonist however terrible his action. * Sunday Times *A reading experience so impressive, so "new", so clearly well made that it seems almost to defy the easy aesthetic categories . . . Accomplished in rare, spare, precise yet poetic prose. * New Republic *McCarthy charts the terrible decline of Lester Ballard with passion, tenderness, eloquence, and a humour which, at its best, is attuned perfectly to the bitter wryness of the South. * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisExperience a major new literary universe in the making'I read The Morning Star compulsively and stayed awake all night after finishing it' Brandon TaylorNine lives will be forever changed . . .One long night in August, Arne and Tove are staying with their children in their summer house in southern Norway. Kathrine, a priest, is flying home from a Bible seminar, questioning her marriage. Journalist Jostein is out drinking for the night, while his wife, Turid, a nurse at a psychiatric care unit, is on a nightshift when one of her patients escapes.Above them all, a huge star suddenly appears blazing in the sky, and so begins a series of mysterious events. For these six, and three others, life is about to become ever more surprising and unruly...'Brilliant storytelling' Independent'Addictive' Daily Telegraph'Captivating' ObserverTrade ReviewKnausgaard retains the ability to lock you, as if in a tractor beam, into his storytelling... Knausgaard is among the finest writers alive. -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *Grippingly crafted storytelling... prose that is keenly aware of the value of suspense and surprise... [The Morning Star] has that beguiling, elusively compulsive quality that Knausgaard seems to have made his own. -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *I read The Morning Star compulsively, and stayed awake all night after finishing it... The novel's revelation is not that something terrible is coming for us all but that it is already in our midst. -- Brandon Taylor * New Yorker *Knausgaard's sentences, in Martin Aitken's translation, are both plainly direct and lyrically, emotionally elevated . . . Symphonic. -- Heidi Julavits * New York Times Book Review *A true Scandinavian epic... Knausgaard's brilliant storytelling is as bright as the celestial body from which the book takes its title. -- Roddy Brooks * Independent *

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Book Synopsis''A captivating epic fantasy from a major new talent'' Anthony Ryan, author of Blood Song***ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE''S 100 BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME*** IN A WORLD CONSUMED BY ENDLESS WAR ONE YOUNG MAN WILL BECOME HIS PEOPLE''S ONLY HOPE FOR SURVIVAL.The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for generations. The lucky ones are born gifted: some have the power to call down dragons, others can be magically transformed into bigger, stronger, faster killing machines. Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Tau Tafari wants more than this, but his plans of escape are destroyed when those closest to him are brutally murdered.With too few gifted left, the Omehi are facing genocide, but Tau cares only for revenge. Following an unthinkable path, he will strive to become the greatest swordsman to ever live, willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill three of his own people.THE RAGE OF DRAGONS LAUNCHES AN UNMISSABLE EPIC FANTASY SERIES. ''Intense, inventive and action-packed from beginning to end - a relentlessly gripping, brilliant read'' James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost''Stunning debut fantasy'' Publishers Weekly''Intense, vivid and brilliantly realised - a necessary read'' Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives''Fans of Anthony Ryan''s Blood Song will love this'' Django Wexler, author of The Thousand Names''A Xhosa-inspired world complete with magic, dragons, demons and curses, The Rage of Dragons takes classic fantasy and imbues it with a fresh and exciting twist'' Anna Stephens, author of GodblindTrade ReviewThe stultifying and dehumanising effects of a caste-based society and the seductive but ultimately destructive nature of vengeance lie at the heart of Evan Winter's tale . . . Expertly structured with a keen eye for action and character, The Rage of Dragons is a captivating epic heroic fantasy from a major new talent. -- Anthony Ryan, author of BLOOD SONGIntense, inventive and action-packed from beginning to end - a relentlessly gripping, brilliant read -- James Islington, author of THE SHADOW OF WHAT WAS LOSTWinter's stunning debut fantasy epic is rich in complex characters and a well-wrought world with both European and African influences . . . This impressive series launch holds tremendous promise -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLYA thrilling, explosive read -- STARBURSTPeople ask the last book I couldn't put down, and I tell them The Rage of Dragons. The tension rises with every page until you fear it will break you in two -- Peter V. Brett, bestselling author of THE PAINTED MANThe Rage of Dragons takes the best parts of epic fantasy and sets them in a refreshing and inventive new world, a gripping tale that makes clear the true cost of war and colonialism with one of the most enthralling hero's journeys I've read -- S. A. Chakraborty, author of CITY OF BRASSA refreshingly brutal and imaginative tale of survival and revenge. Evan Winter's battles are visceral, bloody masterpieces, and Tau's climb from exiled Lesser to Igonyama is earned in a way few writers could ever match -- David Dalglish, author of A DANCE OF CLOAKSIntense, vivid and brilliantly realized - a necessary read -- Anna Smith Spark, author of THE COURT OF BROKEN KNIVESCompelling, expansive and rich. Winter has created an exciting and immersive world of magic, vengeance and wonder -- Micah Yongo, author of LOST GODSA Xhosa-inspired world complete with magic, dragons, demons and curses, The Rage of Dragons takes classic fantasy and imbues it with a fresh and exciting twist -- Anna Stephens, author of GODBLINDFast-paced, incredibly engaging, and brimming with tension . . . Evan Winter is another new fantasy voice to watch out for; his voice deserves to be heard and his book deserves to be read . . . The Rage of Dragons is a breathtaking fantasy debut -- NOVEL NOTIONSThe Rage of Dragons is an uncompromisingly brutal fantasy in a unique, fascinating world . . . Fans of Anthony Ryan's Blood Song will love this -- Django Wexler, author of THE THOUSAND NAMESWow. This book hits the ground with stunning action and danger and it barely lets up as the pages fly by. I loved the African-influenced culture, the unique use of dragons and demons, the complex martial and class hierarchy, and it has a magic system unlike anything I've seen before. What a terrific set up for a series! -- David Anthony Durham, author of The Acacia TrilogyUtter and complete perfection. Winter has created an absolute masterpiece of a novel . . . rich and powerful, with complex characters and an intricate plot and battle scenes that will blow your mind -- THE BOOKBAGA powerful tale . . . Winter's debut will draw strong comparisons to George R. R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson, and the strong African influences and ties create a singular, exciting epic with intriguing characters and culture. Readers will be clamoring for the next installment -- LIBRARY JOURNALThe Rage of Dragons is an excellent high-octane thrill ride of a fantasy debut that I devoured in one day. Highly recommended -- GRIMDARK MAGAZINEDistinguishes itself by its setting, a fantasy world inspired by Africa, but truly impresses with its storytelling . . . an impressive fantasy debut -- B&N SCI-FI AND FANTASY BLOGA fierce revenge story set in a distinctive world . . . A sequel's a must. Meanwhile can Hollywood option this? It'd make a Gladiator-like film we'd gladly queue up for -- SFXThe Rage of Dragons explodes at a breakneck pace. Complex characters, dragons, revenge . . . I adored everything about this book! . . . What a brilliant debut! -- FANTASY BOOK REVIEWEvan Winter lures you into his world with blazing action then weaves compelling characters and emotional angst into a captivating world. It's a most welcome addition to the epic hero's journey . . . This is hands down one of my favorite books of the year -- FIYAH

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Book SynopsisDirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is a much-loved cult classic, that has spawned radio dramas, television, theatre and comic book adaptations across the globe.What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over two hundred years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common?Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge). To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it then read it) – or contact Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. 'A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic' - Douglas Adams.Continue this surreal series with The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul and the unfinished The Salmon of Doubt.Trade ReviewAn astonishing comic writer -- Neil GaimanRich and endlessly entertaining -- Stephen ManganA pleasure to read * New York Times *Few recent writers have had such an infectious prose style as Adams. With his fondness for paradox, his galactic perspective on things and his wonderful way with meaningful nonsense his are the books which have launched a trillion quips -- Robert McFarlane

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Book SynopsisThe children of the Grace Field House orphanage must escape a macabre fate before it’s too late.Life at Grace Field House is good for Emma and her fellow orphans. While the daily studying and exams they have to take are tough, their loving caretaker provides them with delicious food and plenty of playtime. But perhaps not everything is as it seems… Behind the facade of a happy orphanage, the children of Grace Field House are secretly being raised as food for demons! Determined to save themselves and the other kids, Emma, Norman and Ray begin planning an escape. But their caretaker, “Mom,” has brought in extra help to keep the orphans in line…

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Book SynopsisThis Snow Crash thing--is it a virus, a drug, or a religion?Juanita shrugs. What''s the difference?The only relief from the sea of logos is within the well-guarded borders of the Burbclaves. Is it any wonder that most sane folks have forsaken the real world and chosen to live in the computer-generated universe of virtual reality?In a major city, the size of a dozen Manhattans, is a domain of pleasures limited only by the imagination. But now a strange new computer virus called Snow Crash is striking down hackers everywhere, leaving an unlikely young pizza delivery man as humankind''s last best hope.The perfect cyberpunk sci-fi read, Snow Crash is an equally worthy successor to William Gibson''s Neuromancer and predecessor to Ernest Cline''s Ready Player One.***What readers are saying about Snow Crash:''It''s hard to believe Neal wrote his books when the published date claims. He''s always so right about the future, and I keep on hoping he''s so wrong'' Goodreads Reader Review''Snow Crash is to Books as The Matrix is to movies (with only the absolute BEST parts of Tron and Da Vinci Code thrown in)'' Goodreads Reader Review''Loved it! Can''t recommend it highly enough. Everyone should read this book. Go do it. Do it now. It''s just awesome. You won''t regret it'' Goodreads Reader Review''It''s hilarious and mind-blowing. From the first page to the last, I was amazed at just how much influence this book has had on TV, movies, etc.'' Goodreads Reader ReviewTrade ReviewStephenson excels in marrying geekspeak with riotous action * Guardian *A cross between Neuromancer and Thomas Pynchon's Vineland. This is no mere hyperbole * San Francisco Bay Guardian *Brilliantly realized. Stephenson [is] an engaging guide to an onrushing tomorrow * The New York Times *A fantastic, slam-bang-overdrive, supersurrealistic, comic-spooky whirl through a tomorrow that is already happening. Stephenson is intelligent, perceptive, hip * Timothy Leary *Like a Pynchon novel with the brakes removed * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisA spellbinding eco fable for fans of David Mitchell, Richard Powers, and Margaret Atwood. Structured like the rings of a tree, this remarkable novel moves from a futuristic world in which only one forest remains to the start of the twentieth century, where two young boys survive a train crash, setting them on a path that will forever change their lives and the lives of those around them.Trade Review‘An arresting eco-parable.’ -- Alfred Hickling * The Guardian *‘There are plenty of visionary moments laced into [Christie’s] shape-shifting narrative … Greenwood penetrates to the core of things.’ -- Michael Upchurch * The New York Times Book Review *‘This book is why we read books. Why we need books. Wildly inventive, structurally elegant, deeply felt, and so very wise. Greenwood is Michael Christie's best work ever, and that’s saying something.’ -- Alexander MacLeod, author of Light Lifting‘A lyrical, meditative take on a world in which forests have become such rare commodities that they are turned into therapeutic retreats for the very wealthy.’ -- Sally Adee * New Scientist *‘Christie skillfully teases out the details in a page-turner of a saga that complements sylvan books such as Sometimes a Great Notion and The Overstory … Beguilingly structured, elegantly written: eco-apocalyptic but with hope that somehow we’ll make it.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus *‘This is one of ‘those’ books. One of ‘those’ books that grabs your heart and soul and fills you up to overflowing with the immensity of all that’s contained within its pages.’ -- Gill Chedgey * NB magazine *‘Greenwood is brilliant. Michael Christie shows a cross section of one family's history, revealing their dark secrets, loves, losses, and the mark of an accident still visible four generations later. Year by year, page by page, the layers of this intricate and elegant novel build into an epic story that is completely absorbing. I had to cancel everything for this book because I couldn't stop reading.’ -- Claire Cameron, author of The Last Neanderthal‘[An] eerily real-feeling future.’ * Globe and Mail *‘Rich with evocative descriptions of West Coast wilderness and anchored by a deep visceral bond to the trees that sustain us all, Greenwood is a literary page-turner that manages to be both nostalgic and modern, personal and political, intimately human and big-picture historical. In an era of so much uncertainty, it is comforting to see novelists begin to work through the biggest issue of our age. And, in this case, convert our collective suffering into brilliant, beauty-filled art.’ * Toronto Star *‘[S]tructured like the growth rings of a tree, spanning generation ... [Greenwood] looks at families, love and secrets against the backdrop of the 'magic' of trees.’ * CBC News *‘Ingeniously structured and with prose as smooth as beech bark, Michael Christie’s Greenwood is as compulsive as it is profound. A sweeping intergenerational saga that explores trees and their roots, from the precious evergreens that become commodities in the entertainment business of the future, to the intricately tangled trees of family — all of it is dazzlingly delivered in a framework inspired by the actual growth rings of a tree. Every one of Greenwood’s characters burrowed their way into my heart. Beguilingly brilliant, timely, and utterly engrossing, Greenwood is one of my favourite reads in recent memory.’ -- Kira Jane Buxton, author of Hollow Kingdom‘At once hypnotic and raging, dangerously real and brimming with hope, Greenwood is that most necessary epic that binds our human frailties to our planet's possibilities. Michael Christie tenderly rakes the past and paints a future without flinching. I read this book with my heart in my throat, in my hands, in my gut; I read this book heart-full.’ -- Katy Simpson Smith, author of The Story of Land and Sea‘Greenwood is a family story, fractured and often contradictory (as the best family stories usually are ... bring[ing] together the intimate and the sweeping, the human world and the natural, the past and the future.’ * Quill & Quire *‘Greenwood is a sprawling and ambitious novel of industrial greed, climate catastrophe, familial bonds and a little bit of hope.’ -- Keith Cadieux * Winnipeg Free Press *‘Whatever 2038 is really like when it arrives, Canadians and others will still be reading Greenwood for its high energy, its memorable characters, and its anguished love for the forests.’ -- Crawford Kilian * The Tyee *‘A remarkable achievement.’ -- Carol Off * As It Happens *‘A dystopian, historical, speculative, multigenerational family saga, this marvellous, generous book is best enjoyed in a forest.’ -- Sharon Bala, author of The Boat People‘Astonishing … What makes Greenwood an essential climate-change novel is that, rather than obsessing over a single, final apocalypse to come, it attempts something much harder and more ambitious: to transcend altogether the tropes of victim and antagonist … And to instead present humanity and nature as deeply, ultimately, endlessly interconnected … Greenwood offers a rare sentiment in the climate emergency: hope.’ -- Damian Tarnopolsky * The Walrus *‘This superb family saga will satisfy fans of Richard Powers’s The Overstory while offering a convincing vision of potential ecological destruction.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Greenwood is a compulsively readable, beautifully observed, deeply felt and rich tale that roves across Canadian history and landscape.’ * Pile by the Bed *‘Greenwood is a brilliant novel that demonstrates the ghastly effects of treating the environment as a commodity. This really is a novel for our times.’ * Theresa Smith Writes *‘[A] timely, moving novel.’ -- Damien Lawardorn * Aurealis *‘An epic, ambitious quilt of themes, stitched together by the compelling arc of the family.’ -- Sally Adee * New Scientist *‘A compulsively readable, beautifully observed, deeply felt and rich tale that roves across Canadian history and landscape.’ -- Robert Goodman * The Blurb *‘An absorbing and original epic.’ -- Dan Shaw * Happy Magazine *‘[W]ith the expert, deft hands of a seasoned carpenter, author Michael Christie carefully and methodically pieces together a story as intricate as the rings within a tree. The result is a deeply compelling novel of family and memory … Christie creates a sense of poetic, organic symmetry through rich characters and evocative, almost tactile descriptions … [W]hat stands out most by the end is the way in which Christie has been able to evoke and give voice to the way the cumulative effect of time and memory weighs on us all in ways both uplifting and terrifying. Greenwood is a towering, profound novel about the things that endure even as the world seems to be moving on.’ -- Matthew Jackson * Bookpage *‘[E]ven if you’re suffering from what you might call Literary Tree Fatigue, Christie’s novel is worth reading, in part because it’s a clever mash-up of genres that distinguishes itself from its literary cousins and earns its bulk … broad messages aside, the heart of the novel is a winning and energetic chase story … When do we choose self-preservation, and when do we choose survival in a broader sense? The question has never gone away, but Greenwood closes with the message that it’s increasingly urgent.’ -- Mark Athitakis * The Washington Post *‘A riveting tale of love, greed, sacrifice and betrayal – and an ode to the beauty of trees.’ -- Nicole Abadee * The Age *‘Greenwood’s powerful narratives, fascinating characters, and lovely prose full of beautiful specificity, takes on our contemporary fears for the world. This is one of those novels you thrust at friends and insist: You have to read this!’ FIVE STARS -- Wendy Waring * Good Reading *‘An impressive ecological novel … From the future, to the present, the past and back again, Greenwood is a moving novel of family sacrifice and love for a natural world.’ -- Colin Steele * The Canberra Times *‘Christie dazzles with this richly woven historical tracking five generations of the ‘trouble-plagued’ Greenwood clan and the environmental devastation wrought by its lucrative timber empire … [A] spellbinding family saga reflecting fiction's intensifying interest in the climate crisis as well as humanity's innate desire to make amends for past wrongs and start anew.’ STARRED REVIEW -- Annalisa Pešek * Library Journal *‘A lively eco-parable.’ -- Claire Armistead * The Guardian *Praise for If I Fall, If I Die: ‘If I Fall, If I Die is an expertly crafted work of great heart and sensitivity. I can’t recall a truer or more beautiful debut.’ -- Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters BrothersPraise for If I Fall, If I Die: ‘An astonishing piece of work. Christie combines lyrical prose and true-to-life characters — and skateboarding — to craft a remarkable tale of mothers and sons, and what it means to grow up.’ -- Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son

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