From Huxley's Brave New World in 1932 to The Hunger Games, our fascination with the speculative & extreme never dwindles
Dystopian & Alternative History Fiction Books
Simon & Schuster At the Table of Wolves
Book SynopsisSynopsis coming soon.......Trade Review* “A superb adventure, worthy to launch a distinguished historical fantasy series.” * Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW *“Fascinating characters, an absorbing plot, flawlessly written!” -- Mike Resnick, Hugo Award-winning author“I kept thinking about the book long after I read the last page, and I can’t wait to see where Kenyon’s own Talents take us next.” -- Sharon Shinn, author of Troubled Waters"At the Table of Wolves is a fabulous read. It's got the feel of Foyle's War and the tense mystery plot of a spy thriller. I enjoyed every bit of it." -- Martha Wells, author of The Books of the Raksura and The Murderbot Diaries"This remarkable fantasy crosses genre borders—pulling in elements of comic books, war thrillers, and historical fiction—to craft an alternate history spy game sure to satisfy just about any genre reader." * B&N SciFi & Fantasy Blog *"Kenyon does a fine job of cranking the tension and making the mounting stakes plain." * NPR Books *
£21.59
Gallery / Saga Press Serpent in the Heather
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£21.59
Sourcebooks, Inc The Last Dog on Earth
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£15.99
Tyndale House Publishers Choosing The
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£13.29
Tyndale House Publishers The Calling
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£13.29
Open Road Media Dinosaur Summer
£18.86
Open Road Media Hegira
Book Synopsis “A minor classic. A small book but with big characters . . . and great ideas” from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of Dinosaur Summer (SF Reviews). The planet Hegira is the universe’s melting pot. Hundreds of tribes in dozens of cities intermingle in the vast uncharted territory. The only thing holding the people together are the massive Obelisks, the chronicles of all the truths and falsehoods each tribe has brought to Hegira. Young Bar-Woten is in search of knowledge and he knows the key to the truth about his homeland is contained in the writings of the Obelisks. With his fellow companions, Bar-Woten must travel through Hegira’s exotic cities to discover the lies within the words of thousands.
£13.46
Open Road Media Damianos Lute
£16.16
Open Road Media Rubber Soul
Book Synopsis 1980s rock icon Greg Kihn spins a magical mystery tour headlined by the Beatles, who find themselves in jeopardy when murder rocks their world. For Bob “Dust Bin” Dingle, R&B is a passion his roughneck brothers don’t understand. But when a mop-haired group of Liverpudlians named John, Paul, George, and Ringo stumble into Dust Bin Bob’s secondhand shop on Penny Lane and gawk at his sparkling collection of 45s, everyone’s in perfect harmony. Stirred by the thumping backbeats of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley, the Fab Four rocket to stardom. As Beatlemania catapults them from the Cavern Club to The Ed Sullivan Show in record time, the lads show they’ve also got a talent for getting into trouble. Fortunately, Dust Bin Bob has a way of showing up just in time to lend them a hand. But when the world tour for Rubber Soul lands in the Philippines, trouble tTrade Review“Kihn well captures the enthusiasm and joy generated in the early years of the supergroup, and boomers, especially, will enjoy reliving those heady days.” —Booklist“There’s no one more qualified to write a rock-and-roll novel than Greg Kihn. He’s the real deal and at his Kihntillating best in this book.” —Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple“Rubber Soul is a magical mystery tour de force by Greg Kihn, a rocker who obviously has a way with words as well as music. His imagined story about the Beatles is fast-moving, full of twists and tension, and musical nuggets and insights. Great story-telling set to a Fab-four beat.” —Ben Fong Torres, former senior editor of Rolling Stone“Rubber Soul captures what Rock-n-Roll is all about—and Greg Kihn would certainly know! This nearly-true story of the Beatles is pure magic and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” —Eddie Money“Greg Kihn is the most compelling author who ever had a top five singing career. Rubber Soul is a fantastic story by Greg, with an historical back beat. I urge you not to miss this.” —Joan Jett“While the RIAA may not be able to certify Kihn’s work with a gold disc, fans of Kihn and The Beatles, as well as those who long for the simpler yet magical time of the 1960s will thoroughly enjoy and fall in love with Rubber Soul. They certainly don’t write ’em like this anymore.” —Chris Shapiro, RetroPulse“I’ve known Greg Kihn for decades and he’s never ever run out of amazing tales, stories, and recollections. I never knew which ones were real, true, folk-lore, imagined, or of pipe dreams, Kihn-a-sized. It’s all to his readers’ benefit he writes fiction.” —Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick
£18.86
Gallery Books The Four Legendary Kingdoms
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£20.80
Pocket Books The Four Legendary Kingdoms
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£9.49
Howard Books The Line Between
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£14.45
Simon & Schuster The Completionist
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£14.45
Atria Books The Last
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£14.45
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Women of Horror and Speculative Fiction in Their
Book SynopsisWhat makes science fiction genres better than others at challenging social conventions, especially gender? Are speculative works structured differently when addressed to traditionally under-portrayed individuals or communities?This collection of interviews elicits truly honest and thought-provoking responses that focus on the biographical dimension in speculative fiction, questions of intersectionality, genre (re)definitions and the politicization of fiction. It gives voice to women of different races, nations, classes and sexual orientations who write and edit speculative fiction such as Ellen Datlow, Kathe Koja, Angela Mi Young Hur, Eugen Bacon, and Cat Rambo. The interviews clarify how the junction of genre and gender is a key element to understanding this literary field, while simultaneously contextualizing and theorizing the interview itself, as a literary genre and a research tool.Trade ReviewThis very original collection of carefully led interviews brings together established and new international voices from the field of horror and speculative fiction written by women. Their great variety and the energy they deploy cast new light and raise intriguing and intertwined questions about the category and categories of 'genre' fiction, enriched and complicated by gender and intersectional issues. * Didier Coste, Professor Emeritus, Bordeaux Montaigne University, France *Women of Horror and Speculative Fiction achieves two important aims. It tells of how progressive intersectional politics has performed, disguised as ‘mere’ genre fiction, beneath prescriptions of literariness, whilst unyoking itself from equally prescriptive notions of gender. In horror and speculative fictions, these genre narratives told the Other’s story. But the volume also witnesses this telling, not with a sovereign eye, but through 24 compelling interviews with women writers, who together create a method suitable for our era of auto-fiction and selfie-awareness. To pull off such a double whammy is no mean achievement. This volume will be a significant resource for anyone interested in life. * Simon Frost, Principal Lecturer in English, Bournemouth University, UK *The writers featured in Women of Horror and Speculative Fiction in Their Own Words offer great insight into how their various origins and different kinds of lives inspire their writing, and their choice to write horror and speculative fiction. In a series of conversations, a range of women-identifying authors share their insights and motivations as they challenge social conventions through fiction, interrogate the increasing inclusive interpretations of the categories of gender and genre, and in the most dazzling examples demonstrate the power of anger and fired-up libido to forge innovative acts, invented worlds, and new expressions of identity: 'the great thing about horror,' according to Gemma Files, 'is that you can kill everybody … if you want to.' Read this collection, gathered by Doubinsky and Kkona during the strange early years of Corona virus, if you want a rare peek into thought processes of writers of horror and speculative fiction. * Christina Ann Messa, Lecturer in American Studies, Stanford University, USA *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Eugen Bacon 2. Francesca Barbini 3. J. S. Breukelaar 4. V. Castro 5. Ellen Datlow 6. Gemma Files 7. Elizabeth Hand 8. Marie Howalt 9. Ai Jiang 10. Penny Jones 11. Margaret Killjoy 12. Kathe Koja 13. Anya Martin 14. Angela Mi Young Hur 15. Jane Mondrup 16. Lisa Morton 17. Malka Older 18. Nuzo Onoh 19. Cat Rambo 20. Tricia Reeks 21. Priya Sharma 22. Angela Slatter 23. Ann VanderMeer 24. Kaaron Warren Index
£21.99
Stanford University Press Race in the Machine: A Novel Account
Book SynopsisAn intelligent machine built to study methods of social warfare struggles to understand and communicate the lived experience of race In a narrative full of social significance and poetically decorated with monks, vampires, and mythical statistics, Race in the Machine presents a world where the stories we use to explain race all simultaneously exist, within and around us, dictating our interactions and innermost beliefs. The nameless protagonist, an enigmatic social mechanic at Nearbay Institute, living in a population of socially connected intelligent machines, encounters a simple query in the context of an introductory lecture: "What exactly is race? And what is it in the context of the social machine?" This prompt guides the protagonist along a twisting intellectual tale surrounding a series of experiments which explore: How many racists does it take to create systems of inequality? What role do non-racists actors play in upholding them? How is bias learned? How does it spread? The narrator develops a distinct understanding of race through the figurative bending of time, dreams of a "race code" and by confronting a series of mysterious communications that remain just outside comprehension. Over the course of this journey, the answers to important questions about racial inequality quietly emerge for the protagonist. Scholarly encounters with both antagonistic colleagues and unexpected allies, culminate when the hero is forced to reach a devastating conclusion about themself and the world. Stirring and luminous, Race in the Machine deftly oscillates between the allegorically simplified and the impossibly complex to weave an utterly unique and nuanced portrait of race in the modern world.Trade Review"Stewart's imaginative writing is best described as David Foster Wallace meets W.E.B Du Bois. Using a novel literary device, Stewart breathes fresh life into the computational sociology of race and racism. This book is a subtle, introspective work that captivates the reader through an Afrofuturist exploration of scientific methodology, social inequity and the human condition."—Damon Centola, University of Pennsylvania"Race in the Machine is truly a novel account. Deftly integrating fiction and social science scholarship, Quincy Stewart offers a highly innovative and fascinating exploration of race. This wholly original and engaging book bring to light the paradoxes and complexities in thinking about and studying race—and in so doing compels readers the rethink their assumptions regarding race." —Brian Powell, Indiana University"Race in the Machine is very well written and tells a story that challenges our narrative of what is race. The fictional nature of the narrative as told is an assault on the fabrications that social statistics are neutral, and that the quantitative accounting and surveillance capitalism are a rational outcome of mathematical logic. The author has asked us to be creative in our imagining the world that we create, and the potential of making it a better or worst world by our thinking about difference in the world. The world that we allow to be hampered by the reality of racial stratification. We must recognize the systemic nature of white supremacy as a problem for human survival. Race in the Machine revolutionizes the potential of Critical Race Quantitative scholars in the information sciences, technology sciences, communication science, and the social sciences."—Tukufu Zuberi, University of PennsylvaniaTable of Contents1. The Race Code / Evolution of Cognition (Interlude 1) 2. Building a Simple Machine / The Mythical Statistic (Interlude 2) 3. Big Bad Racists, Subtle Prejudice and Minority Victims / The Time Bender Problem (Interlude 3) 4. Structures Set the Stage / The Power of Bending (Interlude 4) 5. Race in the Mad4 Wild / The Song of the Sacred Method (Interlude 5) 6. The Theoretical Apogee / Exodus (Coda) Afterword: A Conversation with the Author
£19.79
Amazon Publishing Traitor Born
Book SynopsisThe Wall Street Journal bestselling sequel to Secondborn. In the Fates Republic… Firstborns reign supreme. Secondborns kneel in servitude. Thirdborns face death. And Census shadows them all. Secondborn Roselle St. Sismode was pressed into military service to battle the rebel uprising threatening the society that enslaves her. Now, powerful factions conspire to subvert the lines of succession, positioning Roselle to replace her mother as leader of the Republic’s armed forces. But the woman who bore her would sooner see Roselle dead than let her usurp her firstborn brother’s command. The deadly war of intrigue between her new masters and her ruthless family is but one conflict challenging Roselle. A soldier for the rebellion has drawn her into a rogue army’s plot to overthrow the Republic and shatter its brutal caste system. Targeted by assassins and torn between allies, Roselle will have her loyalty, love, and honor tested in the greatest battle of—and for—her life.Trade Review“The world of the Republic is cleverly detailed…With elements of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game and Ian Fleming’s James Bond, Traitor Born will keep the reader entertained all the way up to the cliff-hanger ending.” —Booklist “If you liked Secondborn, you’ll love Traitor Born. This sequel takes everything that’s enjoyable about the first novel (the action, the sexual tension, the political intrigue) and turns it up a few notches—It has a really episodic feeling to its storytelling. The characters are complex and multilayered, the action is exciting, and the interpersonal relationships are fascinating. It’s a great read that you’ll have trouble putting down.” —Hypable “Traitor Born is perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, Mary Lu’s Legend series, and similar dystopian fantasy novels…Traitor Born brings new characteristics to the mix.” —Teenreads “…A fast-paced, action-packed second book…Amy [Bartol] draws you into the story, every single time, leaving you hooked, invested, and clamoring for more.” —Vilma Iris
£12.18
Open Road Media The Sheep Look Up
Book SynopsisNebula Award Finalist: A “brilliantly crafted, engrossing” dystopian novel of environmental disaster by the Hugo Award–winning author of Stand on Zanzibar (The Guardian). In a near future, the air pollution is so bad that everyone wears gas masks. The infant mortality rate is soaring, and birth defects, new diseases, and physical ailments of all kinds abound. The water is undrinkable—unless you’re poor and have no choice. Large corporations fighting over profits from gas masks, drinking water, and clean food tower over an ineffectual, corrupt government. Environmentalist Austin Train is on the run. The “trainites,” a group of violent environmental activists, want him to lead their movement; the government wants him dead; and the media demands amusement. But Train just wants to survive. More than a novel of science fiction, The Sheep Look Up is a skillful and frightening political and social commentary that takes its place next to other remarkable works of dystopian literature, such as Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and George Orwell’s 1984.Trade Review“An arresting diary of what’s in store for us.” —The Washington Post “A work of art!" —James Blish “A complex tragic masterpiece. John Brunner is the Rachel Carson of science fiction.” —Ian Watson “Gripping on both an emotional and intellectual level.” —Booklist
£19.76
Open Road Media The Strasbourg Legacy
Book SynopsisA CIA agent fights a sinister plot by escaped Nazi Martin Bormann in this thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author of Enemy at the Gates. In the chaos of defeat, while Germany’s roads teemed with desperate refugees and jumbled armies, Hitler’s inner circle tried to disappear. Heinrich Himmler donned an eye patch and posed as a farmer. Captured by British troops, he bit into a cyanide capsule concealed in a tooth cavity. Rudolph Hoess, former commandant of Auschwitz, was discovered working as a farmhand near Bremen. But many of the most notorious Nazis escaped, including Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann. Martin Bormann, the Fuehrer’s private secretary, was rumored to be living everywhere from the Soviet Union to South America. Almost three decades later, CIA agent Matt Corcoran is sent to Bad Nauheim to investigate possible Soviet involvement in the theft of US Army munitions. He hears whispers of German Reds blowing up NATO ammo dumps, neo-Nazis aiding the Arab cause against Israel, and a plot to assassinate the German chancellor. Corcoran soon begins to suspect that behind the turmoil is an organization as diabolical as it is improbable: a cadre of loyal Nazi officers, under the command of Bormann, who are bent on bringing about the Fourth Reich. As action-packed as The Odessa File and The Boys from Brazil, The Strasbourg Legacy is first-class suspense from an acclaimed historian of World War II, the New York Times–bestselling author of The Fall of Japan. Trade Review“Furious-paced.” —Kirkus Reviews “Non-stop action . . . barrels along to a thrilling and quite unexpected climax.” —Bestsellers
£14.20
Blackstone Publishing Hell Divers
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£22.49
Simon & Schuster Audio A Single Light
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£29.99
Pan Macmillan The Space Between the Stars
Book SynopsisSet in a universe devastated by a deadly virus, The Space between the Stars by Anne Corlett is an enthralling novel of love, the choices we make, and what it means to be human. It's also a dramatic road-trip across the stars, as a woman journeys across a plague-ravaged universe to the place she once called home, and the man she once loved.How far would you travel to find your way home?Jamie Allenby wakes, alone, and realizes her fever has broken. But could everyone she knows be dead? Months earlier, Jamie had left her partner Daniel, mourning the miscarriage of their baby. She’d just had to get away, so took a job on a distant planet. Then the virus hit. Jamie survived as it swept through our far-flung colonies. Now she feels desperate and isolated, until she receives a garbled message from Earth. If someone from her past is still alive – perhaps Daniel – she knows she must find a way to return. She meets others seeking Earth, and their ill-matched group will travel across space to achieve their dream. But they’ll clash with survivors intent on repeating humanity’s past mistakes, threatening their precious fresh start. Jamie will also get a second chance at happiness. But can she escape her troubled past, to embrace a hopeful future?Trade ReviewAnne Corlett is a writer with huge potential, and I’m looking forward to her future works -- Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry AugustAn original thinker and a very, very effective writer -- Fay WeldonAnne Corlett is a natural writer, full of stories -- Maggie GeeBeautifully written -- Laura LamA thoughtful, even meditative apocalypse * SFX *An impressively strong debut . . . rewards the reader with real characters, strong emotional beats, and a fantastic journey across the stars * The Book Bag *Corlett’s prose lures you in * Culturess *The Space Between the Stars is one of my favourite books of the summer. One part post-apocalyptic ‘found family’ adventure, one part thoughtful exploration of trauma and grief, The Space Between the Stars is a refreshingly intimate and hopeful spin on the end-of-the-world narrative * Den of Geek *The Space Between The Stars is – for me, at least – this year’s Station Eleven . . . it spoke straight to my heart and unstrung it, leaving me crying quietly on an aeroplane . . . Like Station Eleven, this is a story that uses a SF conceit to explore human nature rather than a story that is interested in its SF trappings * Speculative Herald *Enthralling . . . thought provoking, in ways that will have you thinking about what it means to be a member of the human race long after you have read the last page * LitBuzz *Intriguing and wise * Shelf Awareness *
£14.95
Pan Macmillan The Doors of Eden: An exhilarating voyage into
Book SynopsisFrom the author of the thrilling science-fiction epic Children of Time, winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award.They thought we were safe. They were wrong. Four years ago, two girls went looking for monsters on Bodmin Moor. Only one came back. Lee thought she’d lost Mal, but now she’s miraculously returned. But what happened that day on the moors? And where has she been all this time? Mal’s reappearance hasn’t gone unnoticed by MI5 officers either, and Lee isn’t the only one with questions. Julian Sabreur is investigating an attack on top physicist Kay Amal Khan. This leads Julian to clash with agents of an unknown power – and they may or may not be human. His only clue is grainy footage, showing a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor. Dr Khan’s research was theoretical; then she found cracks between our world and parallel Earths. Now these cracks are widening, revealing extraordinary creatures. And as the doors crash open, anything could come through.'Inventive, funny and engrossing, this book lingers long after you close it' - Tade Thompson, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of RosewaterAdrian Tchaikovsky is the author of Children of Time, Children of Ruin and many other novels, novellas and short stories. Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke award in its 30th anniversary year. Trade ReviewFull of sparking, speculative invention . . . The Doors of Eden is a terrific timeslip / lost world romp in the grand tradition of Turtledove, Hoyle, even Conan Doyle. If you liked Primeval, read this book -- Stephen BaxterThe Doors of Eden shows a combination of tight, evocative prose combined with erudition. In a story whose scope is the broad canvas of the history of all life in the universe, Tchaikovsky manages to zoom in on human moments without breaking a sweat. Inventive, funny and engrossing, this book lingers long after you close it -- Tade ThompsonWhat a ride . . . talks like big-brained science fiction and runs like a fleet-footed political thriller -- John ScalziWith The Doors of Eden, Tchaikovsky has created a fantastic and highly imaginative new genre: evolution SF -- Peter F. HamiltonUnlike anything I've read in a very long time, and all the better for it . . . Tchaikovsky is clearly at the top of his game right now -- James OswaldAs all right thinking people know, Adrian is the best . . . But this, my friends, is the best of the best -- Ian McDonaldTchaikovsky’s world-building is some of the best in modern sci-fi and now he has made an enchanting multiverse of parallel Earths -- New ScientistAll underpinned by great ideas. And it is crisply modern – but with the sensibility of classic science fiction. Asimov or Clarke might have written this -- Stephen Baxter on Children of RuinYou know you’re in for a ride. . . This book thoroughly engaged me. Children of Ruin is a humdinger of a book I enjoyed immensely -- Neal Asher on Children of RuinIf you only ever take one book recommendation from me, take this one. It is an astounding book. The breadth of Adrian's imagination is ASTONISHING. I literally cannot stop telling people about it -- RJ Barker on Children of RuinBreathtaking scope and vision. Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of our finest writers -- Gareth Powell on Children of RuinBrilliant science fiction and far-out world-building -- James McAvoy on Children of TimeChildren of Time is a joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human -- Patrick Ness on Children of TimeAddictively brilliant! -- John Gwynne on The Tiger and the Wolf
£17.09
West Margin Press The Iron Heel
Book SynopsisThe Iron Heel (1907) is a novel by American writer Jack London. A groundbreaking work of dystopian science fiction, The Iron Heel was inspired by London’s socialist views and belief in an eventual global upheaval. Although his predictions proved wrong for the United States of the early-twentieth century, London was recognized by such figures as George Orwell for his foresight regarding the rise of fascism in Europe. The novel is told from the perspective of a scholar named Anthony Meredith who lives in the post-revolutionary Brotherhood of Man in the year 2600 AD. Having discovered the “Everhard Manuscript,” a record of the rise of the Oligarchy in twentieth century America that provides the bulk of the narrative, Meredith writes the introduction and extensive footnotes throughout. The Manuscript is the story of Avis Everhard, a young woman who becomes radicalized by the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and eventually leads a failed revolution against the Oligarchy. While the frame narrative provides a sense of hope for the future of humanity, the Manuscript describes a society crushed by the consolidation of economic and political power by a wealthy few, who control all aspects of everyday life and rule with the help of a ruthless mercenary army. As she rises through the ranks of the resistance movement, Everhard comes to understand that the sacrifices required of a hero must be made for a future she holds little hope of seeing. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Jack London’s The Iron Heel is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.
£13.49
West Margin Press Utopia
Book SynopsisUtopia (1516) is a work of political satire by Thomas More. Published in Latin while More was serving as Privy Counsellor under King Henry VIII, the text is stylized as a true account of a new civilization discovered in the New World by traveler Raphael Hythlodaeus. While there have been varying interpretations of Utopia over the centuries, it is most consistently regarded as a work of political philosophy in the tradition of Plato’s Republic that satirizes European society by contrast with the laws and traditions of the Utopian people. “The island of Utopia is in the middle two hundred miles broad, and holds almost at the same breadth over a great part of it, but it grows narrower towards both ends. Its figure is not unlike a crescent.” For centuries, Utopia has been seen as an essential work of Renaissance humanism for its vision of a just and highly organized political system characterized by the abolition of private property, communal values, full employment, and free accessible healthcare. While scholars have long debated whether More envisioned his Utopia as a positive representation of society or as merely an unattainable vision of life on earth, his work remains an essential contribution to political discourse that continues to inform readers today. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Thomas More’s Utopia is a classic work of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
£7.59
West Margin Press Black Empire: Or, Physical Geography as Modified
Book SynopsisWhat would happen if Marcus Garvey had achieved his dreams by force? Satirizing one of the most influential figures of twentieth century Black America, George S. Schuyler’s Black Empire is a remarkable look into the complicated politics of race and class. After witnessing a murder in Harlem, the promising young Black journalist, Carl Slater, is kidnapped by the incredibly charismatic but deranged Dr. Belsidus. Having secretly formed a Black Internationale, the doctor has plans to upset alliances between Europe and the United States when the time is right. As Carl slowly discovers the depth of the doctor’s insanity and witnesses the fallout from the ensuing revolution, he watches as the dream of an Africa for Africans is fully realized but questions the cost.Professionally typeset with a beautifully designed cover, this edition of Black Empire reimagines a classic of satire and Black speculative fiction for the modern reader.
£9.49
Graphic Arts Books The Last Man
Book SynopsisThe Last Man (1826) is a dystopian novel by Mary Shelley. Dedicated to the recently deceased Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, The Last Man was controversial upon publication and was immediately suppressed by British authorities. Resurrected by dedicated critics and readers, the novel is now recognized as a pioneering work of science fiction and as the first work of dystopian literature to be published in English. The ambitious and semi-autobiographical work is set toward the end of the 21st century and follows a group of radical friends whose experiences during a period of political upheaval test the limits of their love and push them to the brink of survival. After the abdication of the British monarchy, the former prince Adrian befriends Lionel, a fiercely independent and philosophical advocate of republicanism. When Lionel returns from two years abroad in Vienna, where he was conducting political business, he finds that Adrian has disappeared following a conflict with Lord Raymond, who falls in love with the Greek princess Evadne while scheming to be named England’s new king. They eventually resolve their enmity, however, and Raymond travels to Greece with Adrian to fight in a quickly expanding conflict with the Ottomans. As the war rages on, a plague breaks out and spreads without warning across Europe and overseas to the Americas. As the continent is ravaged by conflict and disease, Lionel and his group of friends struggle to keep one another alive in a world growing more hostile and less habitable by the day. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
£18.89
Graphic Arts Books The Inner House
Book SynopsisIn the distant future, an ageless society with a strict government, faces a small rebellion from citizens eager to break away from their rule. It is a cautionary tale that portrays the dangers of immortality. A futuristic society discovers the key to a long and ageless life. Scientists have developed an elixir that allows citizens to live beyond expectations. With this advancement comes new regulations that require each person to embrace uniform behaviors. Without the limitation of death, people become mindless and apathetic to one another. Overpopulation is controlled by a unique policy in which each birth must be justified by a death. A group of vigilantes attempt to disrupt this system, with hopes of returning to nineteenth-century norms. A notable predecessor to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, The Inner House explores the social and ethical conflicts surrounding immortality. Walter Besant delivers a cautionary tale where death is rare and often unexpected. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Inner House is both modern and readable.
£12.59
Graphic Arts Books Rajmohan's Wife and Sultana's Dream
Book SynopsisRajmohan’s Wife and Sultana’s Dream (1864/1908) features the debut novel of Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and a story by Bengali writer, feminist, and educator Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain. Rajmohan’s Wife, Chattopadhyay’s only work in English, launched his career as a leading Bengali intellectual and political figure. Written in English, Sultana’s Dream originated as a way of passing time for its young author while her husband was away on work. Initially published in The Indian Ladies Magazine, Sultana’s Dream helped establish Rokeya’s reputation as a leading figure in Bengali arts and culture. Rajmohan’s Wife is the story of Matangini, a beautiful woman married to a violent, jealous man. Unable to marry the man she loves—who happens to be her own sister’s husband—she settles for the villainous Rajmohan, an abusive man who rules his middle-class Bengali household with an iron fist. With the help of her friend Kanak, Matangini does her best to avoid her husband’s wrath, illuminating the importance of solidarity among women faced with oppression. Vindictive and cruel, Rajmohan secretly enacts a plan to rob Madhav, his brother-in-law, in order to obtain and invalidate a will. Sultana’s Dream is set in Ladyland is a feminist utopia ruled by women, a perfect civilization with no need for men, who remain secluded and without power. Free to develop their own society, women have invented flying cars, perfected farming to the point where no one must work, and harnessed the energy of the sun. With men under control, there is no longer fear, crime, or violence. Ultimately, Ladyland is a world made to mirror our own, a satirical exploration of the absolute power wielded by men over women, and a political critique of Bengali society at large. Sultana’s Dream is more than a science fiction story; it is an act of resistance made by a woman who would shape the lives of her people through advocacy, education, and activism for generations to come. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Rajmohan’s Wife and Sultana’s Dream is a classic of Bengali literature and utopian science fiction reimagined for modern readers.
£9.49
Graphic Arts Books Utopia
Book SynopsisUtopia (1516) is a work of political satire by Thomas More. Published in Latin while More was serving as Privy Counsellor under King Henry VIII, the text is stylized as a true account of a new civilization discovered in the New World by traveler Raphael Hythlodaeus. While there have been varying interpretations of Utopia over the centuries, it is most consistently regarded as a work of political philosophy in the tradition of Plato’s Republic that satirizes European society by contrast with the laws and traditions of the Utopian people. “The island of Utopia is in the middle two hundred miles broad, and holds almost at the same breadth over a great part of it, but it grows narrower towards both ends. Its figure is not unlike a crescent.” For centuries, Utopia has been seen as an essential work of Renaissance humanism for its vision of a just and highly organized political system characterized by the abolition of private property, communal values, full employment, and free accessible healthcare. While scholars have long debated whether More envisioned his Utopia as a positive representation of society or as merely an unattainable vision of life on earth, his work remains an essential contribution to political discourse that continues to inform readers today. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Thomas More’s Utopia is a classic work of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
£6.77
Graphic Arts Books The Nightland
Book SynopsisThe Night Land (1912) is a terrifying tale of romance and fantasy in which William Hope Hodgson imagines humanity at the end of the world. Noted for its creative exploration of concepts such as telepathy, futuristic technologies, and reincarnation, Hodgson’s novel is an indisputable classic of literary science fiction. When a widower dreams of Earth in a far-off future, what he sees is nearly unrecognizable. The sun has been extinguished, and all human life has been forced to gather within the Last Redoubt, a metal pyramid looming miles above the darkened planet. Outside, monstrous forces gather, waiting for the mysterious energy source powering humanity’s last refuge to die out. When the narrator unexpectedly connects with a young woman telepathically, he makes the horrifying choice to leave the safety of the pyramid in order to search for her at the rumored Lesser Redoubt, long thought lost to the dark. The Night Land journeys to the outer reaches of space and time to see how far humanity will go to keep love, and itself, alive. Complex and kaleidoscopic, William Hope Hodgson’s The Night Land is a classic story of romance and loss projected into a harsh, unpredictable future. It is often considered a seminal work in the Dying Earth or apocalyptic subgenre of science fiction and fantasy. For its strange blend of futuristic imagery and archaic narration, the book was initially deemed difficult to read. However, as time has passed, and with the help of positive reviews by such figures as H.P. Lovecraft, The Night Land is now appreciated for the depths of its vision and the experimental nature of its form. For modern readers, who face the daily reality of a deadly pandemic and a future threatened by global climate disaster, Hodgson’s work can only prove timely. For fans of classic science fiction, horror, and fantasy, The Night Land is a guaranteed hit. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this new edition of William Hope Hodgson’s The Night Land is a classic work of science fiction reimagined for modern readers.
£17.99
Graphic Arts Books Herland
Book SynopsisHerland (1915) is a utopian novel by American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Herland was originally published in The Forerunner, a monthly magazine edited by Gilman, before going out of print for the next several decades. The novel was republished with an influential introduction by scholar Ann J. Lane in 1979 and has since been recognized as an important work of science fiction written by a leading feminist of the early twentieth century. A sociologist and his two friends embark on an expedition to discover a rumored land where a lost civilization of women lives apart from the rest of the world. They journey by plane and, upon landing, are quickly captured by a group of women. Taken to town, the men are held in a central fortress where they are treated well and encouraged to learn more about the women’s culture in order to assimilate. They are taught the history of the land, which has been without men for two thousand years, and learn that the women are able to reproduce asexually. Although they recognize the utopian qualities of the society and despite being impressed by the beauty and order of its structures, the men struggle to live without presupposed notions of gender and patriarchy. When an escape attempt goes awry, they are forced to abandon their prejudices, joining the society through marriage. When one of the group fails to respect their hosts’ ideals of gender equality, however, the men are forced to make a decision that could endanger the continued existence of the utopia. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland is a classic of American literature and science fiction reimagined for modern readers.
£6.99
Graphic Arts Books The Iron Heel
Book SynopsisThe Iron Heel (1907) is a novel by American writer Jack London. A groundbreaking work of dystopian science fiction, The Iron Heel was inspired by London’s socialist views and belief in an eventual global upheaval. Although his predictions proved wrong for the United States of the early-twentieth century, London was recognized by such figures as George Orwell for his foresight regarding the rise of fascism in Europe. The novel is told from the perspective of a scholar named Anthony Meredith who lives in the post-revolutionary Brotherhood of Man in the year 2600 AD. Having discovered the “Everhard Manuscript,” a record of the rise of the Oligarchy in twentieth century America that provides the bulk of the narrative, Meredith writes the introduction and extensive footnotes throughout. The Manuscript is the story of Avis Everhard, a young woman who becomes radicalized by the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and eventually leads a failed revolution against the Oligarchy. While the frame narrative provides a sense of hope for the future of humanity, the Manuscript describes a society crushed by the consolidation of economic and political power by a wealthy few, who control all aspects of everyday life and rule with the help of a ruthless mercenary army. As she rises through the ranks of the resistance movement, Everhard comes to understand that the sacrifices required of a hero must be made for a future she holds little hope of seeing. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Jack London’s The Iron Heel is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.
£7.99
Graphic Arts Books Light Ahead for the Negro
Book SynopsisLight Ahead for the Negro (1904) is a novel by Edward A. Johnson. Written while Johnson was working as an assistant U. S. Attorney in North Carolina, the novel is a groundbreaking work of speculative fiction and Afrofuturism from a pioneering African American politician and lawyer. “I glanced through the floor but the earth was almost indistinguishable, and was disappearing rapidly. There was absolutely nothing that I could do. I looked up again at my friend, who was clambering up rather clumsily, I remember thinking at the moment. […] Involuntarily, I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again, he was gone! My feelings were indescribable. I commenced to lose consciousness, owing to the altitude and the ship was ascending more rapidly every moment. Finally I became as one dead.” The son of an abolitionist applies to work at a school for African American children in Georgia. In June 1906, he joins a wealthy friend on a flight from New York City to Mexico, boarding an experimental airship at a West 59th Street pier. When an instrument failure sends them spiraling into the upper atmosphere, the narrator loses consciousness. One hundred years later, he lands on a lawn in Georgia, awakening to discover a utopian society in which anti-blackness has been completely eradicated. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Edward A. Johnson’s Light Ahead for the Negro is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.
£7.01
Graphic Arts Books The Comet
Book SynopsisThe Comet (1920) is a science fiction story by W. E. B. Du Bois. Written while the author was using his role at The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP, to publish emerging black artists of the Harlem Renaissance, The Comet is a pioneering work of speculative fiction which imagines a catastrophic event not only decimating New York City, but bringing an abrupt end to white supremacy. “How silent the street was! Not a soul was stirring, and yet it was high-noon—Wall Street? Broadway? He glanced almost wildly up and down, then across the street, and as he looked, a sickening horror froze in his limbs.”Sent to the vault to retrieve some old records, bank messenger Jim Davis emerges to find a city descended into chaos. A comet has passed overhead, spewing toxic fumes into the atmosphere. All of lower Manhattan seems frozen in time. It takes him a few moments to see the bodies, piled into doorways and strewn about the eerily quiet streets. When he comes to his senses, he finds a wealthy woman asking for help. Soon, it becomes clear that they could very well be the last living people in the planet, that the fate of civilization depends on their ability to come together, not as black and white, but as two human beings. But how far will this acknowledgment take them?With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of W. E. B. Du Bois’ The Comet is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.
£7.01
Graphic Arts Books Blake; Or, The Huts of America
Book SynopsisBlake; Or, The Huts of America (1859-1862) is a novel by Martin Delany. Serialized in The Anglo-African Magazine, the novel has had a complicated publishing history due to the loss of the physical issues in which the final chapters appeared in May 1862. Despite this, Blake; Or, The Huts of America is considered a brilliantly unique work of fiction from an author known more for his activism and political investment in Black nationalism. Through the eyes of his hero Henry Blake, Delany envisions a future of revolutionary possibility and radical resistance to slavery and oppression. Though it was largely ignored upon publication, the novel gained traction with the Black Power and Pan-Africanist Movements in the twentieth century and has earned praise from such scholars as Samuel R. Delany, who described it as “about as close to an sf-style alternate history novel as you can get.” Born free, Henry Blake is stolen into slavery from his family in the West Indies and taken to the Mississippi plantation of Colonel Stephen Franks. There, he marries Maggie, a fellow slave who happens to be the illegitimate daughter of Franks himself. When Maggie is sold away following a dispute with the master and his wife, Henry vows not only to find her, but to lead every last slave to freedom. He soon escapes, journeying in secret across the American South and interviewing enslaved African Americans along his way, learning the strategies of resistance and struggle they use every day for survival. As his reputation grows, Blake begins to organize a small uprising intended as only the first step of his radical revolutionary plan. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Martin Delany’s Blake; Or, The Huts of America is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.
£7.59
Graphic Arts Books Kapalkundala
Book SynopsisKapalkundala (1866) is a novel by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Set in Dariapur, Contai, Kapalkundala was Chatterjee’s second novel. Recognized as a pioneering work of Bengali literature with universal romantic themes, Kapalkundala has been adapted several times for film and television, most recently for a popular Indian Bengali soap opera of the same name. On his way home to Saptagram from a pilgrimage to Gangasagar, Nabakumar encounters a Tantric sage in the forest. After exchanging their greetings, the sage captures the young gentleman in order to sacrifice him to the goddess Shamshaan Kali. Rescued by the sage’s foster daughter, the beautiful Kapalkundala, Nabakumar marries her the next day. Despite their happiness, the past refuses to let them live in peace. As the sage plots his revenge, Nabakumar’s first wife, who left him after converting to Islam, has returned seeking forgiveness. As doubt begins to penetrate their bond, Nabakumar and Kapalkundala lose sight of the only thing that matters: each other. Tragic and timeless, Kapalkundala is a brilliant romance from a legendary figure in Bengali literature. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Kapalkundala is a classic of Bengali literature and utopian science fiction reimagined for modern readers.
£7.01
Graphic Arts Books New Amazonia
Book SynopsisNew Amazonia: A Foretaste of the Future (1889) is a novel by Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett. In June 1889, British novelist and President of the Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League Mary Augusta Ward published her reactionary essay “An Appeal Against Female Suffrage” in The Nineteenth Century. In response, Corbett penned New Amazonia, a feminist utopian novel which depicts the emergence of an advanced society of women in the not-so-distant future. While little is known about Corbett, her surviving novels and stories suggest she was a passionate campaigner for women’s suffrage in an era of conservative politics and traditional values. “‘This country is New Amazonia. A long time ago it was called Erin by some, but Ireland was the name it was best known by. It used to be the scene of perpetual strife and warfare. Our archives tell us that it was subjugated by the warlike English, and that it suffered for centuries from want and oppression.’” Having fallen asleep for hundreds of years, a Victorian man and woman emerge to a vastly different world. Following a devastating war between Britain and Ireland, the British repopulated their colony with women deemed to be surplus. On New Amazonia, these women came to control all aspects of government and culture, leading to the eradication of corruption and oppression. Scientifically advanced, the Amazonians have developed a technique for strengthening the human body and increasing the lifespan of women by hundreds of years. Mesmerized by what she finds in this fascinating new world, the narrator records her reactions alongside those of her male counterpart, who remains openly hostile to the Amazonians throughout. For its depiction of an advanced matriarchal society and celebration of feminist ideals, New Amazonia: A Foretaste of the Future remains an important early work of utopian science fiction. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett’s New Amazonia: A Foretaste of the Future is a classic of feminist utopian fiction reimagined for modern readers.
£7.48
Graphic Arts Books Mizora
Book SynopsisMizora (1890) is a novel by Mary E. Bradley Lane. Originally serialized between 1880 and 1881 in the Cincinnati Commercial, the novel was rediscovered a decade later and printed by prominent editor Murat Halstead. While little is known about Lane, she seems to have been a dedicated feminist and a gifted writer who nevertheless, by the time Halstead reached out to republish her work, seemed to want nothing to do with the appearance of Mizora in novel form. Regardless, Mizora remains a pioneering work of feminist utopian science fiction and an early example of the hollow earth subgenre of science fiction and fantasy. “Overhead, clouds of the most gorgeous hues, like precious gems converted into vapor, floated in a sky of the serenest azure. The languorous atmosphere, the beauty of the heavens, the inviting shores, produced in me a feeling of contentment not easily described. To add to my senses another enjoyment, my ears were greeted with sounds of sweet music, in which I detected the mingling of human voices.” Princess Vera Zarovitch has lived a tragic life. Born into wealth, she studied in Paris and gained an understanding of the world beyond Tsarist Russia. Imprisoned for criticizing the state after witnessing her friend’s murder at the hands of Russian soldiers, she escapes with a party of smugglers toward the North Pole. Following a devastating shipwreck, their party takes refuge with the local Eskimo, who care for the captain until his death from exposure. Abandoned by the men tasked with bringing her to safety, Vera is lost in a storm. When she awakens, she finds herself in the underground world of Mizora, where an advanced society of women has eliminated war and poverty altogether. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Mary E. Bradley Lane’s Mizora is a classic of feminist utopian science fiction reimagined for modern readers.
£6.99
Graphic Arts Books Unveiling a Parallel: A Romance
Book SynopsisUnveiling a Parallel (1893) is a novel by Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Merchant. Alongside Mary E. Bradley Lane’s Mizora (1890) and Elizabeth Corbett’s New Amazonia (1889), Unveiling a Parallel is an important early work of feminist utopian science fiction. “Having launched my aeroplane on the current of attraction which flows uninterruptedly between this world and that, traveling was as swift as thought. My impression is that my speed was constantly accelerated until I neared my journey’s end, when the planet’s pink envelope interposed its soft resistance to prevent a destructive landing. I settled down as gently as a dove alights, and the sensation was the most ecstatic I have ever experienced.” A nineteenth century voyager travels by aircraft to the planet Mars, where he encounters two advanced civilizations of Martians. In Paleveria, women have taken control over men by adopting their tactics for violence and oppression. Their capitalist society is highly stratified, allowing wealthy women to hold all financial and political power. In Caskia, men and women have learned to live in harmony. Unlike their neighbors, they value egalitarianism, art, and intellectual advancement over wealth and power. Before returning to Earth, the voyager learns as much as he can about these Martian civilizations, speaking with their leaders to gain a better understanding of the values that guide their progress. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Merchant’s Unveiling a Parallel is a classic of feminist utopian science fiction reimagined for modern readers.
£7.01
University of Minnesota Press Solo Viola: A Post-Exotic Novel
Book SynopsisA harrowing early novel by one of France’s most unusual contemporary writers At once humorous and horrifying, Solo Viola is one of Antoine Volodine’s first forays into post-exoticism. He takes the reader into a fictional world where a variety of characters collide: three prisoners just released from jail, a band of circus performers, a string quartet, a writer, and a bird. All are trying to survive in an absurd and hostile environment of authoritarian spectacle, at the mercy of a tyrannical buffoon, and seeking the strange counterbalance of hope in a viola player, whose stunning music just might save them all, if only for a moment. Trade Review"Antoine Volodine's Solo Viola is a deft evisceration of fascism, seen through another lens and dislocated to a fantastical world. Volodine, here and elsewhere in his hugely important work, shows how the political and the fantastical can be intertwined in a way that allows a powerful reevaluation to occur—a reevaluation that feels all too starkly relevant to twenty-first-century America."—Brian Evenson, author of Song for the Unraveling of the World"Haunting and elegiac, Solo Viola has its share of whimsy, but it’s all in service of an earnest meditation on the dangers of fascism that lingers long after the story is concluded."—Foreword, starred review "Antoine Volodine has been exploding the boundaries of fiction for decades in his native France; now University of Minnesota Press brings one of his most fascinating experiments to U.S. readers with this new translation of Solo Viola. Its vision of performers and prisoners held under the sway of an authoritarian buffoon echoes eerily with our tumultuous present."—Chicago Review of Books "Solo Viola is one exhibit in a greater collective expression of a sense of political apocalypse."—Reading in Translation"Smoothly translated by Lia Swope Mitchell, Solo Viola serves up bits of whimsy as well as moments of healing defiance at its conclusion."—The Arts Fuse" It's a worthwhile journey; Solo Viola is a fine small piece and example of Volodine's larger post-exotic project."—Complete Review Table of ContentsContents1. Afternoon of May 272. Evening of May 273. Morning of June 27
£13.49
Independently Published The Lamplighter
Book Synopsis
£11.70
Dynamite Entertainment MYOPIA
Book SynopsisA homeless man is mysteriously abducted. A journal is left on the edge of a subway platform, filled with stories about a world that doesn't exist. Not far from here a scientist is murdered in cold blood. The only clues are his burned down lab. A magnetically propelled motorcycle, and a man walking around New York City with the last living falcon on the planet. Imagine a world where your every thought, your every move, is filtered through The Central Lens Network. Now imagine being a twelve-year old boy and discovering a special pair of lenses that allow you to access this network undetected. This is exactly what happens to Matthew Glen the day his father is murdered then two years later mysteriously appears back in his life. In a style that echoes back to the Dark Age of Comics when graphic novels were coming into an art form of their own, "Myopia” merges science fiction with noir steampunk into a thrilling alternative reality, where government and big business use entertainment devices to cover up a new authoritarian landscape.Trade Review"As a work of science fiction, here's plenty about Myopia to recommend. It's commentary on social media dependency and global climate change are clear without being preachy or distracting from the larger narrative. The mysteries it sets up are compelling, and the setting feels fully realized." --Mike McNulty, bamsmackpow.com"Myopia remains an enjoyable and original experience. The character of Chase is a compelling central figure, and his relationship with Matthew is interesting and well-drawn. The supporting characters have personality and well-defined motivations, and the threat of the domes and the already-sinister machinations of Formula Media are intriguing. I don't want to spoil the story, but the reader can feel it building momentum throughout, and the shape of the issue serves to accentuate an increasing sense of foreboding." --Jeremy Radick, Capelesscrusader.org"Myopia is a solid read for those who like their sci-fi hard and wordy. The story is interesting, the characters are well formed, and the art is absolutely gorgeous. I can recommend this to anyone up for this kind of heavy reading." --Joshua Davison, Bleeding Cool"A virus has been planted in mysterious domes located at the Earth's magnetic poles. The government continues to work to decode the virus, while the main characters, Molly and Matthew, face betrayal and other dangers. " -- Publishers Weekly "Myopia is fascinating to follow. Dent leads us along with a Lost-like quality, generating plenty of interest by continuing to develop the story with layers of mysteries. This chapter continues to set the stage for a world that has plenty of story left to give, and the fact that it ends with a suspenseful-- [enter sound effect from the end of each Lost episode] MYOPIA." -- S.T. Lakata, Fanbase Press"Tell us if you've got both eyes focused on this fresh-faced steampunk follow-up from Dynamite." -- Jeff Spry, Syfywire.com
£16.19
Penguin Books Ltd The Last Day: A Novel
Book Synopsis
£21.60
Penguin Books Ltd The Last Day: A Novel
Book Synopsis
£14.45
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Liberation Day: From ‘the world’s best short
Book Synopsis'One of the best science fiction short stories to be published in the 21st century so far' SFX Review ‘Saunders is funny and kind as ever, and his narrative virtuosity puts him up there with the best’ Anne Enright, Guardian ‘A triumph of storytelling’ i paper ‘A joy. 'Effortlessly stylish, funny and smart’ Daily Mail ____________ The first short story collection in ten years from the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo MacArthur genius and Booker Prize-winner George Saunders returns with a collection of short stories that make sense of our increasingly troubled world, his first since the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist Tenth of December The 'best short story writer in English' (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose - wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned - Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality. 'Love Letter' is a tender missive from grandfather to grandson, in the midst of a dystopian political situation in the not-too-distant future, that reminds us of our obligations to our ideals, ourselves, and each other. 'Ghoul' is set in a Hell-themed section of an underground amusement park in Colorado, and follows the exploits of a lonely, morally complex character named Brian, who comes to question everything he takes for granted about his 'reality.' In 'Mother’s Day', two women who loved the same man come to an existential reckoning in the middle of a hailstorm. And in 'Elliott Spencer', our eighty-nine-year-old protagonist finds himself brainwashed - his memory 'scraped' - a victim of a scheme in which poor, vulnerable people are reprogrammed and deployed as political protesters. Together, these nine subversive, profound, and essential stories coalesce into a case for viewing the world with the same generosity and clear-eyed attention as Saunders does, even in the most absurd of circumstances. ____________ 'The only way to experience Saunders’s oblique, farcical, tragic world is to dive right in. It will take the top of your head off, but it’s worth it’ The Times 'The world’s best short story writer … Liberation Day is great art' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewThe world’s best short story writer … Liberation Day is great art * DAILY TELEGRAPH *This is the joy of Saunders: he encapsulates human experience, while always hitting the punchline * FINANCIAL TIMES *Saunders is funny and kind as ever, and his narrative virtuosity puts him up there with the best -- ANNE ENRIGHT * GUARDIAN *The Alan Bennett of small-town America … These stories are not only perfectly pitched; they come with enough comedy to have you grinning and enough empathy to suddenly stop you in your tracks * OBSERVER *A joy. Effortlessly stylish, funny and smart, they come spangled with sadness and a melancholic malaise as Saunders casts an eye over a country teetering towards wreckage * DAILY MAIL *A triumph of storytelling * I PAPER *The Tom Hanks of American letters … A master of the short story … His art speaks to the dreadful present; his open-handed style, his skill as an educator, offer hope by encouraging each individual voice to find courage to speak * NEW STATESMAN *A writer known as much for his formal inventiveness as the sharpness of his satirical wit * INDEPENDENT.CO.UK *A compelling satire of modern America * PROSPECT *In describing the stories, even quoting them, we lose something valuable. That in itself is a measure of great writing. The only way to experience Saunders’s oblique, farcical, tragic world is to dive right in. It will take the top of your head off, but it’s worth it * THE TIMES *George Saunders is that rare contemporary author who is as original as he is beloved … Readers can be assured that all the hallmarks of Saunders’ writing that electrified them from the beginning are present in his new collection, Liberation Day: bold original humor, the blurred view of American life, and the sweet humanity that pierces through it all * TIME *Virtuosic ... The nine stories in Liberation Day are by turn exhilarating, sad, mind-bendingly bizarre and wickedly funny … Perfect * SUNDAY TIMES *Leaves you in awe of his craft * FOYLES *The titan of the modern story returns with a collection of wickedly funny, perceptive and subversive miniatures * WATERSTONES *An exquisite work from a writer whose reach is galactic * OPRAH QUARTERLY *Masterful * I PAPER *Triumphant * BUZZ MAGAZINE *So good it makes you wonder why anyone else bothers * VOGUE *Saunders’ words smell like Hunter S. Thompson, Stephen King, Raymond Carver and David Lynch sharing a spliff in Joni Mitchell’s parking lot * THE WORD FACTORY *A morally passionate, serious writer ... He will be read long after these times have passed -- ZADIE SMITHSaunders has revealed himself to be nothing less than an American Gogol: funny, pointed, full of nuance, and always writing with a moral heart. This, his first book of short fiction in nearly a decade, only cements the validity of such a point of view. The nine pieces here are smart and funny, speculative yet at the same time written on a human scale, narratives full of love and loss and longing and the necessity of trying to connect … A tour de force collection that showcases all of Saunders’ many skills * KIRKUS *George Saunders makes you feel as though you are reading fiction for the first time -- KHALED HOSSEINIWhat warm, kindhearted and radical writing. Such delicacy, such serious wit. I love it -- MAX PORTERHe makes the all-but-impossible look effortless. We're lucky to have him -- JONATHAN FRANZENA luminous feat of generosity and humanism -- COLSON WHITEHEADSaunders is a true original - restlessly inventive, yet deeply humane -- JENNIFER EGANFunny, poignant – in flashes, deeply moving – light as a feather and consistently weird -- HARI KUNZRU
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC How to Gut a Fish: LONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL PRIZE 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR SHORT STORY OF THE YEAR AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR ALCS TOM-GALLON TRUST AWARD 'Unsettling, unpredictable, and brilliant' Roddy Doyle 'In sumptuous and evocative prose, Sheila Armstrong writes stories that are unnerving and unsettling. Stories which make you go, wait, wait, what was that? ' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground On a boat offshore, a fisherman guts a mackerel as he anxiously awaits a midnight rendezvous. Villagers, one by one, disappear into a sinkhole beneath a yew tree. A nameless girl is taped, bound and put on display in a countryside market. A dazzling and disquieting collection of stories, how to gut a fish places the bizarre beside the everyday and then elegantly and expertly blurs the lines. An exciting new Irish writer whose sharp and lyrical prose unsettles and astounds in equal measure, Sheila Armstrong’s exquisitely provocative stories carve their way into your mind and take hold. 'Dark, devilishly well written and full of atmosphere, How to Gut a Fish is one of the most original and affecting short story collections I’ve read in years' Jan Carson, author of The Fire StartersTrade ReviewThe stories in this collection are unsettling, unpredictable, and brilliant -- Roddy DoyleIn sumptuous and evocative prose, Sheila Armstrong writes stories that are unnerving and unsettling. Stories which make you go, wait, wait, what was that? * Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground *Armstrong’s short stories make tremendously good company, each one transported me to a place I’d never been before. Dark, devilishly well written and full of atmosphere, How to Gut a Fish is one of the most original and affecting short story collections I’ve read in years. * Jan Carson, author of Malcolm Orange Disappears *Do you know when you read a sentence that is so good, it does weird things to your insides? You kind of shudder with satisfaction and hope for more. Well, I am addicted to good sentences, and Sheila Armstrong is my dealer. The stories in How to Gut a Fish are gorgeously weird, inspiring curiosity both on and off the page. If you’re anything like me, they will send you into a fit of ferocious googling: What is star jelly? How old is the moon? The story titles are works of art in themselves. This is the good stuff. Hook it to my veins. * Louise Nealon, author of Snowflake *This exquisitely wrought collection made me feel as if I were inhabiting another realm: sensuous, tactile, beautiful and disturbing. Sheila Armstrong's hypnotic prose has a haunting, lingering, dreamlike effect. * Lisa Harding, author of Bright Burning Things *It’s not often I open a book to find prose this exciting, original and frankly envy-inducing. Line by line, these stories set a series of small fires in my head, and they’re still burning * Zoe Gilbert, author of Folk *I loved it. I found the stories completely hypnotic and strange. (Armstrong) has a meditative and mesmerising voice, and her description of everyday life is perceptive and profound. * Megan Bradbury, author of Everyone is Watching *
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Whether Violent or Natural
Book Synopsis'Darkly unsettling' Guardian 'Intoxicating – dark, heady, lyrical’ Daily Telegraph 'Terrifying and inventive' Observer In a world devastated by antimicrobial resistance, two survivors are thrown into crisis when a woman washes ashore on the remote island where they live __________________________ Years after complete antibiotic resistance has resulted in the loss of most human life on earth, Kit and Crevan eke out an existence on a remote island. Under a collapsing castle, they spend their days in an underground bunker packed with emergency stores, venturing out only at night. They are safe. One evening a woman washes ashore, nearly drowned. Crevan wants to keep her alive, but Kit isn’t so sure. The new arrival will implode Kit and Crevan’s world with dire and fatal consequences, churning up the waters of the past and unearthing secrets they have kept from each other and from themselves. Who is really in control – and what are they both capable of doing to protect their haven? Gripping, treacherous and visceral, Whether Violent or Natural is an unforgettably dark and strikingly original work by a major new talent. 'Sly, sharp, and utterly captivating' Rory Power, New York Times-bestselling author of Wilder Girls 'Hits you like a shot of the very good stuff ... Dark-hearted, complex, and accomplished' C. A. Fletcher, author of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the WorldTrade ReviewIntelligent and refreshing ... The prose is intoxicating – dark, heady, lyrical * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Intimate, evocative, darkly unsettling ... With an undeniable strange power * GUARDIAN *A terrifying and inventive tale ... The twists come thick and fast and Calder keeps us guessing until the final pages * OBSERVER *An intensely lyrical writer ... Calder is excellent at conjuring an eerie atmosphere, with Gothic undertones and a creeping sense of unease * IRISH TIMES *Whether Violent or Natural hits you like a shot of the very good stuff - which it is. I downed it in one. It went down very smoothly. There is - in all the right ways - a faint top-note of Iain Banks’s The Wasp Factory, but it’s very much its own dark-hearted, complex, and accomplished thing, with an engaging narrator as snarled in the seductive tangle of her own words as she is hemmed in by the overgrown vegetation that covers the small island on which she is trapped -- C A FLETCHER, author of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the WorldSly, sharp, and utterly captivating ... Calder’s voice is one I won’t soon forget -- RORY POWER, New York Times-bestselling author of Wilder GirlsPraise for THE OFFSET: '“Smart, compelling and absolutely of the moment -- LUKE JENNINGS, author of the Killing Eve seriesA twisted reversal of The Handmaid’s Tale set in a ravaged dystopia, simmering with menace and tension. Bleak, haunting and intriguing -- JENNIFER SAINT, author of AriadneThrilling, terrifying and beautifully crafted ... the perfect science-fiction novel for our times. I devoured it -- ANGELA SAINI, author of InferiorA powerfully told debut * SFX MAGAZINE *An honest, terrifying and sincere look into our future -- KEREN LANDESMAN, Geffen Award-winning author of The Heart of the CircleSpare, elegant, and thought-provoking as the best classic science fiction ... Calder Szewczak is a name to watch -- Daniel Abraham, co-author of The ExpanseThe Offset crushed me. This is an expertly – and starkly – written, well-drawn eco-dystopian novel about the ultimate measure of austerity taken in order to save the planet. There’s so much that was done well here: the world, the science, the societal conflict – but to get into the (possibly carnivorous) weeds would distract from soul of this book. It is a bare-knuckle punch to the heart. Calder Szewczak made me suffer – brilliantly -- CHRIS PANATIER, author of The PhlebotomistA prophetic, urgent, gripping read that throws into question what saving the world really means. A tender warning of a book, lest our efforts become as futile as our tragedies -- NATALIA THEODORIDOU, World Fantasy Award Winner and Nebula FinalistA chilling evocation of a possible future -- SUSANNAH WISE, author of This Fragile EarthA bleak but thoughtful dystopian sci-fi. It asks questions about where we are & where we are going through intricate world building and a compelling story. Very entertaining, compulsive & thought-provoking -- KATE SAWYER, author of The StrandingFinished this and now I’m slightly broken. If, like me, every so often you just want a bit of beautiful, brutal dystopia this is the one for you! A complex world filled with complex characters that draw the reader in. This is a beautifully written, brutal piece of dystopian fiction that does not shy away from the issues we must face today -- ELIZABETH LEE, author of Cunning WomenHugely impressive * SFX *
£16.14
