Dystopian & Alternative History Fiction Books

Book SynopsisReminds me of Khaled Hosseini, poignant and heartwarming Simply a beautiful story that had me reading until 3:30 in the morning' Sarah, NetGalleyI am a friend of the bees. Like you.'So, you have been waiting for me?'The forest has been waiting for you.'Pakistan, 1974: The secret-wreathed trees of Harikaya have always called to Hassan. He knows if he doesn't find the last beekeeper and salvage a precious jar of his mythical black honey before the floods come, his mother will lose her sight.But then he wins a scholarship to study with the state governor in Karachi amidst a brewing storm of political turmoil and simmering espionage.His entire world is turned upside down when he meets Maryam, the governor's niece visiting from London.All the while the fate of his mother and his promise to the bees calls him back to the forest, and so he must decide: Maryam or the beekeeper, England or Pakistan, his head or his heart.One of the most exciting debuts of 2021, this is a lyrical historical noveTrade Review‘Reminds me of Khaled Hosseini, poignant and heartwarming… Simply a beautiful story that had me reading it until 3:30 in the morning’ Sarah, NetGalley ‘I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really appreciate the representation it gives my community’ Resham, NetGalley ‘An absolutely beautifully written novel’ Eszter, NetGalley ‘Magnificent! Perfect for a long summer’s day spent in a hammock’ Literary Redhead, NetGalley ‘A beautiful story of finding hope’ Zoe, NetGalley ‘This is Siya Turabi’s debut novel… I fell in love with her lyrical writing, her vivid descriptions and her tale of family and friendship as well as her love of nature and the expression of its magic’ Norma, NetGalley ‘The story has a lot of magical elements and sort of a fairy tale feeling at times as poetry and the bees envelop Hassan’ Sara, NetGalley

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Book SynopsisA fabulously funny celestial crime caper, full of wit, warmth and heart.' Helen LedererHow do you solve your own murder when you're already dead?Purgatory (noun):1. Where the dead are sent to atone.2. A place of suffering or torment.3. A youth hostel where the occupants play Scrabble and the mattresses are paper thin.When Dave wakes up in his own personal purgatory (St Ives Youth Hostel circa 1992), he's shocked to discover he's dead. And worse he was murdered.Heaven doesn't know who did it so with the help of two rogue angels, Dave must uncover the truth.As divine forces from both sides start to play the game, can Dave get out of this alive? Or at the very least, with his soul intact?An utterly gripping and page-turning mystery for fans of Murder Before Evensong and The Appeal from the winner of the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Prize!.Readers LOVE The Purgatory PoisoningVery original, very funny, and very well written. I loved it!' NetGalley reviewer ?????A hilarious story I liTrade Review.

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Book SynopsisTrippy, incisive, riotously funny' ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN[An] insightfully nightmarish parable '' HALLE BUTLER''A stunner' NANA KWAME ADJEI-BRENYAHLuminous as if George Saunders infiltrated the Severance writers' room' WASHINGTON POSTA work place novel. A love story. A dream you can't wake fromJonathan Abernathy is a loser. Unemployed and behind on his student loan repayments, the only thing Abernathy has in abundance is debt.When a secretive government loan forgiveness programme offers him a job he can literally do in his sleep, Abernathy thinks he's found his big break. Hired as a dream auditor, he finds himself entering the dreams of white-collar workers to flag their anxieties for removal at night so they''ll be more productive in the day. If Abernathy can at least appear competent, might he have a chance at a new life?As Abernathy tries to find his footing in this new gig, reality and morality begin to warp around him. Soon, the lines between life and work, right and wrong, and even sTrade Review‘McGhee brilliantly articulates the neuroses of a young person trying to survive in a system rigged against him … A magical-realist office drama infused with millennial anomie, and McGhee’s canny, often bittersweetly hilarious prose reads as if George Saunders infiltrated the Severance writers’ room’ Washington Post ' Imagine the movie Inception, but populated by the middle-management workers in David Graeber’s book Bullshit Jobs ' New York Times ‘Fearlessly inventive and exquisitely poised … trippy, incisive, and, most importantly, riotously funny’ Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine ‘An original mind brimming over with invention and comic ferocity’ Ben Marcus, author of The Flame Alphabet 'An excitingly original writer, inventing much needed and killingly funny satires for contemporary work and dreams of success' Holly Pester, author of The Lodgers ‘Precision, humour, heart … a stunner’ Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars ‘[An] insightfully nightmarish parable of the pervasive ravages of debt’ Halle Butler, author of The New Me ‘An exuberant, poignant, freewheeling debut’ Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation ‘Funny, freaky, intellectually bold and always from the heart’ Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask ‘A revelation … There's nothing like it, awake or asleep’ Hilary Leichter, author of Temporary ‘The rare novel that truly feels like it could've only been written by a single brilliant mind’ Jean Kyoung Frazier author of Pizza Girl ‘A marvellous chronicler of the fantastic, the perverse, and the sublime’ Kelly Link, author of White Cat, Black Dog ‘Debt can take on a life of it’s own, but when it’s really good – like Jonathan Abernathy – so can art’ Electric Lit

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Book SynopsisEdited by Niall Ferguson, Virtual History applies ''counterfactual'' arguments to decisive moments in modern history.What if Britain had stayed out of the First World War?What if Germany had invaded Britain in 1940?What if Nazi Germany had defeated the Soviet Union?How would England look if there had been no Cromwell?What if there had been no American Revolution?And what if John F. Kennedy had lived?In this acclaimed book, leading historians from Andrew Roberts to Michael Burleigh challenge the complacency of traditional accounts, exploring what might have been if nine of the most decisive moments in modern history had never happened.''Quite brilliant, inspiring for the layman and an enviable tour de force for the informed reader ... A wonderful book ... lucid, exciting and easy to read'' - Literary Review''Ferguson constructs an entire scenario starting with Charles I''s defeat of the Covenanters, running through three revolutions that did not happen and climaxing with the collapse of the West, ruled by an Anglo-American empire, in the face of a mighty transcontinental, tsarist Russian imperium ... A welcome, optimistic assault on an intellectual heresy'' - Sunday Times''A talented and imaginative team who tackle with counterfactual verve a series of turning points'' - Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewQuite brilliant, inspiring for the layman and an enviable tour de force for the informed reader ... A wonderful book ... lucid, exciting and easy to read * Literary Review *Ferguson constructs an entire scenario starting with Charles I's defeat of the Covenanters, running through three revolutions that did not happen and climaxing with the collapse of the West, ruled by an Anglo-American empire, in the face of a mighty transcontinental, tsarist Russian imperium ... A welcome, optimistic assault on an intellectual heresy * Sunday Times *A talented and imaginative team who tackle with counterfactual verve a series of turning points * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisGRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTSLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN''S PRIZE 2023LONGLISTED FOR THE NOTA BENE PRIZE 2024From the Booker Prize-nominated author of The Water Cure comes a chilling new feminist fable based on the true story of an unsolved mystery . . .''A shimmering fever-dream of a novel'' TelegraphSpring, 1951. Four people meet in a small French town: the baker and his wife; the ambassador and his wife. Two belong to the town, two are outsiders.Some time later, strange things start happening. Horses drop dead in the fields. Children grow wild and unbiddable. Ghosts are sighted after dark. Someone is playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse but who is the predator and who their prey?Audacious and mesmerizing, Cursed Bread is a darkly erotic mystery about a town gripped by madness, envy like poison in the blood, and desire that burns and consumes.''A dreamy sapphic romp'' The Times''Gauzy [and] gripping, a quietly rich maturation of Mackintosh''s skill'' GuardianThe Spectator Book of the Year 2023Trade ReviewA shimmering fever-dream of a novel, teasing the reader [..] while finding a fresh narrative framework for the relationship between monotonous small-town life and repressed female desire. Cursed Bread contains more riches than many a novel twice its length * Telegraph *A quietly rich maturation of Mackintosh's skill... This is a book about the power desire and greed exert over reality and memory... Mackintosh has entered a brilliant new stage of writing * Guardian *Nimble, terrifying... Mackintosh is a wonderful prose stylist and she uses many of the resources that served her well in her Booker prize-nominated debut, The Water Cure: the slow unravelling of sanity, the isolated and mysterious setting, that feeling of panting, crawling, unfulfilled desire... A dreamy sapphic romp * The Times *Remarkable, sensuous, thrillingly written . . . Mackintosh's evocation of desire is so tangible that you can smell the aroma of illicit sex * Observer *A richly atmospheric tale of greed, desire and vainglorious ambition, the plot centres around Elodie, wife of the village baker, who projects the wants and desires from her own unfulfilling marriage onto the arrival of two glamorous newcomers to the village... Shimmering with an almost hallucinatory quality throughout, closing its pages at The End feels like waking up from a fever dream. Fascinating. * Marie Claire *A sun-scorched fever dream . . . Mackintosh's top-notch phrasemaking and knack for forming uncanny images generate a baleful atmosphere of lust and dread in this splendidly peculiar tale * Daily Mail *Sensual, luminous, transcendent... This tale of obsession, desire and betrayal has a timeless, dreamlike quality. It confirms Mackintosh as one of our finest young writers * The Bookseller, Editor's Choice *As in her previous novels, Mackintosh's prose is eerie but minimalist - dreamlike yet grounded. Her style elevates plot to the status of fable or allegory without resorting to straightforward metaphor. This a story shrouded in mist, thick with meaning * New Statesman *This novel is a masterclass in observation, of fracturing personalities but also in its tight and nuanced portrait of the rituals and minutiae of small-town life. Afterwards, you'll want to devour it all over again * Independent *Mackintosh's dark imagination and precision as a prose stylist combine to devastating effect, as unsettling as it is unpredictable * Financial Times *Sensual, brilliant... This strange fable takes place in a 20th-century French village (and, remarkably, is based on a true story). It is the sort of tale that you will want to sneak a chapter of at the dinner table before food is served. The book details the progress of a maddening, hot summer... Be warned: you will never look at a boulangerie in the same way again * Daily Telegraph (Summer Reads) *A thrilling and subversive fable * i-D *Distinctive, cool, sparse... An eerie ambiguity fills Cursed Bread * i *Intoxicating, sumptuous and savage, Cursed Bread has a gothic sensibility that is entirely original. In Mackintosh's hands, the strange, compulsive machinations of desire become luminous and ghastly all at once -- Alexandra Kleeman, author of 'You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine'Sensuous and haunted, like Madame Bovary reworked as a ghost story - an incredible book about desire, pleasure, beauty. Sophie's fiction always has a gauzy quality, filled with strange, languid images, which rise to a narrative crescendo like clues in a detective novel. She makes it look effortless -- Jo Hamya, author of 'Three Rooms'Cursed Bread floored me on the first page and didn't let up for the rest of the journey. It always feels like a true privilege to spend time with Sophie Mackintosh's brilliant mind and she is only getting better and weirder and wilder. A knockout -- Megan Nolan, author of 'Acts of Desperation'Macabre and sensuous... [It] packs a punch * Mail on Sunday *Her writing is so sleek, the characters mysterious and yet indelible - a taut, seductive, thrilling gem of a novel -- Olivia Sudjic, author of 'Asylum Road'Sophie Mackintosh takes a true story and asks what any of us really know about what is true? Our desires poison us. Shame and longing intertwine. We hide even from ourselves... This novel is subtle and devouring; reading it is like being slowly swallowed by the night -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of 'Starling Days'Vivid and shocking, written with stunning, incantatory prose, Cursed Bread is the kind of book that upends your nervous system -- Julia May Jonas , author of VladimirBloody, sexy, sinister, strange. This book will take hold of you -- Saba Sams, author of 'Send Nudes'Everything Sophie Mackintosh is so febrile and tactile, when you read her books you feel as if you live in them. The world felt so eerie after finishing Cursed Bread. I didn't feel quite the same as I was before, but in the best way -- Annie Lord, author of 'Notes on Heartbreak'A story of love, lust and appetite . . . a book I haven’t been able to stop thinking about * The Spectator 'Best Books of 2023' *Pristine, visceral & wild. She's a master. You won't be disappointed -- Sarah Rose Etter, author of 'The Book of X'Gorgeously atmospheric and feverishly compulsive [on] amorphous longings and desires, and the hot shame of wanting more than you deserve -- Lara Williams, author of 'Supper Club'Sophie Mackintosh has given her strange and intriguing imagination the opportunity to flourish. There is tension on every page * Prospect *A thrilling and feverish fable of secret desire * Monocle *

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Book Synopsis''Rich people behaving badly'' BooklistThe battle lines are drawn . . .Following the scandalous revelations about his love life, disgraced media mogul Harry Rose is searching for redemption. His daughters - bright, winsome Eliza and dark, difficult Maria - have taken over his beloved company and are making some major changes. Guided by Harry, Eliza navigates life as Rose Corp''s new queen. But Maria is standing in her way. And then there''s the distraction of Eliza''s childhood playmate, the twinkly-eyed Rob Studley, and the unresolved death of her mother . . . After a stellar start, things take a turn for the worse and ultimately Eliza will have to make a choice: career, or love?Loosely based on the turbulent reigns of Tudor queens Mary and Elizabeth, this is a scandalous tale of love, power and betrayal . . .Praise for Olivia Hayfield ''Ingenious and addictive'' Francesca Hornak 'Trade ReviewRacy & pacy! -- Nicky Pellegrino, bestselling author of A Dream of ItalyA fun and entertaining read . . . non-stop Tudor intrigue! * An Historian About Town *Even if you're not an aficionado of Tudor history, there is lots to love in this racy romp about the lives of the rich and fabulous. The historical factor is fun though, and adds another layer to an addictively readable novel ... if you're a fan of Jilly Cooper or something of a history buff, then you're really not going to want to miss out * New Zealand Woman’s Weekly *The skill of Hayfield in creating a believable modern storyline that maintains the essence of the historical characters and events makes this book more than simply a light-hearted version of the television show Succession . . . in a turbulent summer, Sister to Sister is the perfect escape * The Listener *The ingenious way Hayfield re-casts and contemporises the Tudor court gives her a chance to have some fun but there remain perceptive observations of modern life, from the influence of the religious right to the relationship problems caused by family dysfunction . . . an amusing, smart and oddly thought-provoking read with glamour and great heart -- Kete: New Books from AotearoaA must-read for history buffs * Woman’s Day *A fun read but also packed quite an emotional punch for me (I'm not too proud to admit I cried my eyes out!) * Royalcentral.co.uk *

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Book Synopsis''ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I''VE READ IN RECENT YEARS . . . PACKS A HELL OF AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH'' Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of TimeFrom one of the most imaginative writers of her generation comes an extraordinary vision of the future.Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age - a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven''s world, such material must be closely guarded, so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.But when the revolutionary Brotherhood approaches Ven, pressuring him to translate stolen writings that threaten everything he once held dear, his life will be turned upside down. Torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he''s willing to go to save this new world, and how much he is willing to lose.Notes from the Burning AgeTrade ReviewOne of the best books I've read in recent years. Thought provoking, imaginative and packs a hell of an emotional punch * Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of CHILDREN OF TIME *A gripping, utterly involving, dystopian eco-thriller that balances the intimacies of betrayal against global climate collapse * DAILY MAIL *A riveting tale . . . North's convincing view of post-apocalyptic society captivates, and the political intrigues will keep readers hooked right up until the explosive close * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *An impassioned, urgent and compelling new work that burns as bright as the fires of our own burning age. This is not to be missed -- Lavie Tidhar, World Fantasy Award-winning authorClaire North depicts a startling, richly developed postapocalyptic world in this beautiful and riveting novel * BUZZFEED *Notes is compelling because it is beautiful . . . It felt seamless . . . When North was done and Notes reached its explosive conclusion, I just wasn't ready to leave. Her world was such a fragile, beautiful, doomed place, I felt like I should stick around just to make sure it would all be okay * NPR *A passionate and committed vision of what we do to nature, and what it can do to us * LOCUS *Mesmeric, terrifying and wonderful. North is practically her own genre at this point. -- M. R. Carey, author of THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTSAn irresistible, haunting thrill * Joe Hill, author of HORNS and LOCKE AND KEY *A clever and thought-provoking conceit * GUARDIAN *North's latest once again displays her mastery of lyrical prose . . . The author presents a fascinating testament to humanity's fallibility and tendency towards denial, merged with the potency of truth and the power of love * BOOKLIST *Claire North's most ambitious novel to date * LOCUS *Remarkable . . . one of the most moving, horrifying and gut-wrenching novels of the year * NPR *A suspenseful tale of the truths that lie hidden in the human heart . . . This is a world-spanning cat-and-mouse chase that tackles big questions about the nature of truth and whether we can ever really know one another or ourselves. True love, life, and death, what's worth dying - or killing - for: It's all here in this gripping, bloody, and haunting novel * KIRKUS *In rich, compelling prose, North weaves together the threads of imperial control, ideological conviction, love and the thrill of power . . . A lyrical and sometimes surreal approach to espionage and its thrills * SHELF AWARENESS *North's talent shines out -- SUNDAY TIMESClaire North is a true original, a master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination -- Alex Marwood, author of THE WICKED GIRLSClaire North's writing is terrific, smart and entertaining -- Patrick NessNorth demonstrates skill in creating a terrifying setting that feels rooted to the present day . . . Every aspect of life in Theo's Britain is imbued with a menace that feels both recognizable and urgent, and the decisions the characters make as a result feel uncomfortably real. * RT BOOK REVIEWS on 84K *The truly scary thing about 84K is how convincing this dark, brutal class-divided Britain is * SFX (4 1/2 stars) *North is an original and even dazzling writer, and fans of her work will enjoy this grim tale of capitalism taken to a terrifying extreme * KIRKUS on 84K *Another captivating novel from one of the most intriguing and genre-bending novelists * BOOKLIST on 84K *An extraordinary novel that stands with the best of dystopian fiction, with echoes of The Handmaid's Tale -- Cory Doctorow on 84K

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Book SynopsisHav gives us Jan Morris at her most delightful and most suggestive. The city is a magical place - yet behind its arcane splendours are darker implications. The traditional Roof Race is peculiarly exciting, the waterfront is picturesque, the wistful call of a trumpeter from a distant rampart is wonderfully evocative, and every street corner is haunted by memories of illustrious visitors - Freud, Diaghilev, Marco Polo, Lawrence of Arabia and countless others. But Morris''s visit ends in flight when an unidentified enemy arrives to seize control.When Jan Morris returns to Hav, some twenty years later, she finds that her account of her earlier visit is banned - and discovers a place that has rebuilt itself, transformed by a new energy and now dominated by a totemic tower 2000 feet tall. But as the old Hav was in many ways an allegory of the last century, so the city in its new incarnation offers no less elusive hints, echoes and portents of our 21st century world. As a deTrade Review"'A deeply civilised and civilising book.' The Times"

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Book SynopsisAuster''s haunting exploration of war in a post 9/11 world from the author of contemporary classic The New York Trilogy: ''a literary voice for the ages'' (Guardian) ''I am alone in the dark, turning the world around in my head as I struggle through another bout of insomnia, another white night in the great American wilderness.''Seventy-two-year-old August Brill is recovering from a car accident in his daughter''s house in Vermont. When sleep refuses to come, he lies in bed and tells himself stories, struggling to push back thoughts about things he would rather forget - his wife''s recent death and the horrific murder, in Iraq, of his granddaughter''s boyfriend, Titus. Brill, a retired book critic, imagines a parallel world in which America is not at war with Iraq but with itself. In this other America the Twin Towers did not fall on 9/11, and the 2000 election results led to secession, as state after state pulled away from the union and

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Book SynopsisUtterly immersive' SpectatorThrilling' Financial TimesUnlike anything else you will read this year' Daily Express A classic of alternative history' Observer A delight' Sunday TelegraphA Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman and Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year A thrilling tale of murder and mystery in a city where history has run a little differently -- from the bestselling author of Golden Hill.In a city that never was, in an America that never was, on a snowy night at the end of winter, two detectives find a body on the roof of a skyscraper.It's 1922, and Americans are drinking in speakeasies, dancing to jazz, stepping quickly to the tempo of modern times. But in this 1922, things are a little different. Beside the Mississippi, the ancient city of Cahokia lives on a teeming industrial metropolis, conta

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Book SynopsisBran's Southern California upbringing is anything but traditional. After her mother abandons her and joins a Buddhist colony, Bran is raised by her common-law stepfather' on Bourdon Farms a plant nursery that doubles as a cover for a biker gang. She spends her days tending plants, slogging through high school and imagining what life could be if she had been born to a different family.Then she meets Peter a charming, troubled college student from the East Coast who launches his teaching career by initiating her into the world of art. The two begin a seemingly doomed long-distance relationship as Bran searches for meaning in her own surroundings. She knows how to survive, but now she must learn how to live.''Avalon observes beautifully the shifting terrain of teenage intimacy: its intensity and its fragility . . . it's a hilarious, heartbreaking and of course extremely weird novel.'' Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisTHE GRIPPING NEW ADVENTURE FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE LEFT HAND OF GOD SERIESAmerica is on the brink of civil war. Only Thomas Cale can stop it . . .________Thomas Cale - the world''s most dangerous yet reluctant hero - has been running from his enemies. Tracked down moments before his execution, Cale is presented with a chance to escape.But it comes at a price: He must murder the American president. The father of modern democracy. The man fighting the south''s attempts to reinstate slavery.Accept, and he risks the fates of millions.Refuse, and he endangers his own life . . .________Praise for Paul Hoffman:''Fiction on a grand and ambitious scale'' Daily Telegraph''Brooding and magnificent'' Eoin Colfer''Exhilaratingly engaging writing'' Spectator''Gripped me from the first chapter'' Conn Iggulden''A riveting, powerful tale'' Publishers WeeklyTrade ReviewPraise for Paul Hoffman * - *Exhilaratingly engaging writing, imbued with zest and intelligence * Spectator *Brooding and magnificent. Hoffman has created a terrifying world and fitted it with strange and complex characters -- Eoin ColferA riveting, powerful tale, with irresistible characters, humour and a brilliantly imagined world * Publisher's Weekly *

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Book SynopsisHaunting and beautifully written first novel by the award-winning author of Battleborn, set among a cult of survivors in a dystopian American desert''A Mad Max world painted with a finer brush'' Elle''An unforgettable journey into a hauntingly imagined near-future'' Ruth Ozeki''Set in a drought-ravaged Southern California trolled by scavengers, Gold Fame Citrus burns with a dizzying, scorching genius'' Vanity Fair Desert sands have laid waste to the south-west of America. Las Vegas is buried. California - and anyone still there - is stranded. Any way out is severely restricted. But Luz and Ray are not leaving. They survive on water rations, black market fruit and each other''s need. Luz needs Ray, and Ray must be needed. But then they cross paths with a mysterious child, who needs them more than anything - and the thirst for a better life begins.Claire Vaye Watkins''sTrade ReviewAn extraordinary novel: relentlessly brilliant, utterly fearless, and often savagely funny. Watkins explores the maze of human thirst in all its forms. Here's a love story that tracks the mutating hopes of two lost souls, in prose that is fever-bright and ferociously assured. More confirmation that Watkins is one of the brightest stars in our firmament * Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia and Vampires in the Lemon Grove *A tour-de-force first novel blisters with drought, myth, and originality . . . Praised for writing landscape, Watkins' grasp of the body is just as rousing . . . Critics will reference Annie Proulx's bite and Joan Didion's hypnotic West, but Watkins is magnificently original * Kirkus *A gripping, audacious novel, plausibly imagined in all its remarkable details. With Claire Vaye Watkins there was never promise: it was achievement from the start, and this book repays her admirers in spades * Thomas McGuane *An unforgettable journey into a hauntingly imagined near-future. With her mind-bending vision, breathtaking storytelling and utterly original voice, Claire Vaye Watkins is one of my favorite writers * Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being *Set in an increasingly plausible-seeming future in which drought has transformed Southern California into a howling wasteland, this debut novel by the author of the prize-winning story collection Battleborn finds two refugees of the water wars holed up in a starlet's abandoned mansion in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon. Seeking lusher landscape, the pair head east, risking attack by patrolling authorities, roving desperadoes, and the unrelenting sun * The Millions - most anticipated books of 2015 *Exhilarating, upsetting, delirious, bold, Gold Fame Citrus is a head rush of a novel and establishes Claire Vaye Watkins as an important new voice in American literature * Louise Erdrich, author of The Round House *A sun-hammered fever dream, not unlike the shimmering, sweltering southwest it depicts. Your heart will be wrung out by the journey of Luz, Raymond, and Ig. Your imagination will feast on the assured depiction of a near-future that is burnt to a crisp. And you'll hope it's all a mirage as Watkins renders a hot and very plausible future the frightening force of a burning inevitability * Smith Henderson, author of Fourth of July Creek *The book is packed with persuasive detail, luminous writing, and a grasp of the history (popular, political, natural and imagined) needed to tell a story that is original yet familiar, strange yet all too believable * Publisher's Weekly *American odyssey: Set in a drought-ravaged Southern California trolled by scavengers, Gold Fame Citrus burns with a dizzying, scorching genius * Vanity Fair *Watkins brings a gorgeous sense of language and a native desert-dweller's understanding of California to her audacious and dystopian first novel . . . The drought, the desperation and the fantasy built by the guru all feel disturbingly real * BBC *She's sharp, at times merciless, and never above a little fun . . . The book is instantly entrancing, alluring as a mirage, and filled with peril, mystery, sandstorms, the occult, and a cast of nuanced characters * Los Angeles Magazine *Extraordinary power and beauty . . . A great pleasure of the book is Watkins's fearlessness * New York Times *Like the best stories in her 2013 Dylan Thomas Prize-winning collection Battleborn, the narrative focuses on left-behind people and left-behind places - those who exist at the periphery of destructive events . . . Which may make it surprising to say that this book is also funny. It's funny in the way that a Joy Williams or Mary Gaitskill or Flannery O'Connor story is funny. It's laughter in the dark, the comedy of unending struggle . . . The sentences in Gold Fame Citrus are alive in ways the sun-blasted landscape isn't, and therein lies the hope -- Jonathan Lee * Financial Times *Watkins's apocalyptic new novel seems a revisionist refit of McCarthy's The Road . . . that (unlike The Road) puts female characters centre-stage in a geographically vivid setting. The style hits you first . . . Formidably wrought -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Telegraph *Watkins writes with grace, wit and imagination in her first novel . . . Watkins's writing engrosses because she is mainly concerned with how people behave in extreme circumstances; no matter how strange the background, her characters stay believable -- Kate Saunders * The Times *The empty swimming pools and intense light conjure JG Ballard's environmental dystopias as well as Margaret Atwood's . . . Both nail-biting and digressive, at times lushly overwritten, at times wryly incisive, but always powerful . . . Vaye Watkins' portrait of Levi, the leader of the sand dune colony, is a tour de force: chilling, beguiling, paranoid, convincing and pathetic by turns. . . Her novel certainly cuts deep in its vision of overwhelming natural power . . . most of all in her extraordinary creation of the dune sea . . . too vast for human comprehension, yet at the same time a tabula rasa for each fragile individual's desires, it's a classic example of the Romantic sublime, as mesmerising as it is deadly -- Justine Jordan * Guardian *A wild book conveying the allure of people improvising, as well as the strange charm of the landscape . . . Vaye Watkins is well versed in the region's seductive myths . . . It is hard not to read the demise of idealogy as well as collapsing ecology as the driving force [ . . .] a contemporary distrust of power, whoever wields it [. . .] even her pleasure in language reflects back a suspicion of rhetoric that seeks to persuade . . . The complexities of emotion and power is probed so intelligently -- Kate Webb * Times Literary Supplement *California has always been the place where they went to start it big. Lured by 'gold, fame, citrus' as a character puts it, a phrase on which her book is a fascinating, dystopian fugue . . . Like McCarthy, her desert landscapes are dense as well as barren, not just in the physical detail with which they're rendered, but the significance with which characters imbue them . . . A powerful portrait of an apocalypse less the result of external catastrophe, than familiar human failings -- Sam Kitchener * Independent *A Mad Max world painted with a finer brush . . . beautiful and profoundly unsettling * Elle *

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Book Synopsis‘Frightening and timely, Bradley’s The Sisterhood is the book everyone should read this year. If you thought it ended with Orwell, think again . . .' CHRISTINA DALCHERVox meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this feminist reimagining of 1984   In Oceania, whoever you are, Big Brother is always watching you and trust is a luxury that no one has. Julia is the seemingly perfect example of what women in Oceania should be: dutiful, useful, subservient, meek. But Julia hides a secret. A secret that would lead to her death if it is discovered. For Julia is part of the underground movement called The Sisterhood, whose main goal is to find members of The Brotherhood, the anti-Party vigilante group, and help them to overthrow Big Brother. Only then can everyone be truly free.   When Julia thinks she’s found a potential member of The Brotherhood, it seems like their goal might finTrade Review'Though set in a dystopian world replete with endless horrors, The Sisterhood ultimately tackles a much more universal story, that of a woman on a quest to seek identity and purpose in a society which denies her access to both. Where any passion beyond the all-encompassing authority of Big Brother is forbidden, much love simmers beneath the surface of Katherine Bradley's fast-paced and suspenseful work. The Sisterhood's greatest gift, however, may be in its message of hope, capable of surmounting even the most formidable of odds and the most uncertain of futures' KATHERINE J. CHEN, author of Joan 'A gut-wrenching, heart-breaking journey through the looking glass of 1984. Compulsively written, Julia’s is a story begging to be told' FREYA BERRY, author of The Dictator's Wife '1984’s Julia gets the spotlight in this reimagining of Orwell’s classic, where she presents as a dutiful Outer Party member, but is working with a small band of rebel women. A heart-pounding look into a secondary character’s legacy' Grazia 'A compelling tale of love and sacrifice, a worthy companion to the original novel' My Weekly 'Sinister, chilling and heart-breaking, it’s a worthy successor to Orwell’s dystopian classic, allowing readers to explore a new version of Julia’s story' Culturefly 'A dazzling retelling of the classic dystopian novel, which raises profound questions about how society works, and whether or not woman have political agency. I found it memorable, deeply moving, and at times, terrifying' KATE RHODES, author of the Ben Kitto series 'Katherine Bradley has delivered a worthy counterpart to George Orwell's 1984 in this chilling, taut book. It's as claustrophobic as it needs to be; particularly frightening as one looks around and sees that we are voluntarily moving towards Orwell's nightmare. It is nothing short of a triumph' MARA TIMON, author of City of Spies ‘In this highly original take on Orwell’s 1984 – the Big Brother of all dystopian classics – Bradley weaves a complex and engaging plot around the idea of a female resistance to oppressive overlords. Oppressive and creepy, but with real heart’ A. K. TURNER, author of the Cassie Raven series

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Book Synopsis''A hugely entertaining Victorian mystery'' New York Times ''I enjoyed this - properly creepy and Gothic'' Ian Rankin_______________A CASE FOR FREY & McGRAY The Scottish Highlands, 1889. When a young heir receives a sinister death threat, Inspectors Frey and ''Nine-Nails'' McGray answer a desperate plea to offer him protection. The detectives travel north to the remote and misty Loch Maree, site of an ancient burial ground. They must stay with the mysterious Koloman family - any one of whom might be a suspect. But Frey and McGray have little time to get their bearings. Even before they arrive the boy''s guardian is brutally murdered, and one thing becomes clear to the two detectives: Someone is willing to kill to protect the secrets of Loch Maree._______________Praise for the Frey & McGray series: ''This is wonderful. A brilliant, moving, clever, lyricaTrade ReviewOscar de Muriel gets better and better -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Express S Magazine *I am addicted to Frey and McGray -- Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant and May seriesI enjoyed this - properly creepy and Gothic -- Ian RankinA hugely entertaining Victorian mystery * The New York Times *Fun to read and a fast page-turner . . . love and murder - they go together like strawberries and cream * Independent *This entertaining novel combines melodrama with the unhappiness of life backstage -- Charlotte Heathcote * Sunday Express *This is wonderful. A brilliant, moving, clever, lyrical book - I loved it. Oscar de Muriel is going to be a name to watch. -- Manda ScottThe Strings of Murder is one of the best debuts so far this year - a brilliant mix of horror, history, and humour. Genuinely riveting with plenty of twists, this will keep you turning the pages. It's clever, occasionally frightening and superbly written - The Strings Of Murder is everything you need in a mystery thriller. * Crime Review *

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Book SynopsisThe thrilling second instalment in the TAKE THEM TO THE STARS series - a secret history of our world like no other . . .''Introspective, lyrical and with a growing sense of menace running under it all'' THE TIMESPerfect for fans of The Man in the High Castle and The Eternals___________The First Rule is the most important: ''Always run, never fight''.For 3000 years Mia''s family has shaped Earth''s history to push humanity to the stars, making brutal, wrenching choices along the way.And now, in the year of 1968, Mia finds herself about to help launch the first people into space. She can''t take them to the stars, not quite yet. But with her adversary almost upon her, and with the future of the planet at stake, one thing is becoming clearer:Obeying the First Rule is no longer an option.For the first time since her line''s first generation, Mia will have to choose to stanTrade ReviewIntrospective, lyrical and with a growing sense of menace running under it all * The Times *Praise for Sylvain Neuvel * - *It's fascinating to see how Neuvel weaves together fact and fiction . . . a blast. Seriously clever * SFX *An alt-history with a difference. Traces the true story of the development of rocket science but adds an alien-conspiracy-theory edge in the shape of a fictional team of mother-daughter clones. Along with the problems faced by women trying to change the world (or at least get men to listen to them), they are threatened by a mysterious 'Tracker' who has spent centuries trying to kill them. Good fun * Guardian *A dark and ambitious book. Neuvel is forging ahead * SFX Magazine *Wry narration, wired action . . . Fans of alternate history and intelligent sci-fi will love this * Publishers Weekly *Clever and compelling, it will keep you enthralled until the end -- Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative * - *There's real cleverness at work here. Mia, bent on getting humanity sufficiently technologically developed so that they can leave Earth, makes some dodgy-sounding moral choices as she works towards humanity's salvation * The Times *Highly crafted and unique * Library Journal *

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Book Synopsis''Absolutely amazing... a cross between The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Walking Dead'' Eoin Colfer''You''ll be terrified, fascinated and above all, uplifted by Orpen - a heroine to rival Philip Pullman''s Lyra or The Passage''s Amy'' StylistRaised by her mother and Maeve on Slanbeg, an island off the west coast of Ireland, Orpen has a childhood of love and stories by the fireside. But the stories grow darker, and the training begins. Ireland has been devoured by a ravening menace known as the skrake, and though Slanbeg is safe for now, the women must always be ready to run, or to fight.When Maeve is bitten, Orpen is faced with a dilemma: kill Maeve before her transformation is complete, or try to get help. So Orpen sets off, with Maeve in a wheelbarrow and her dog at her side, in the hope of finding other survivors, and a cure. It is a journey that will test Orpen to her limits, on which she will learn who she Trade ReviewWritten in sparse, affecting prose, and reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, this is a fiercely feminist, highly imaginative novel * Observer *A debut novel of jaw-dropping skill and immense power, a shimmering dystopian vision but also a lucid meditation on tenderness, intimacy and courage. From the get-go it gripped me, and since the last page I've been haunted -- Joseph O'ConnorKept me up until 2am. A triumph. A confident, assured debut from one of the most exciting new voices on the Irish literary scene -- Louise O'NeillI will be cursing Last Ones Left Alive for seriously troubling dreams for weeks to come -- Patrick GaleA deft and darkly enigmatic saga . . . so many details connect this terrifying Ireland to the one we recognise * Irish Independent *This dystopian future Ireland will unnerve and intrigue and thrill readers everywhere -- Donal RyanA riveting novel. It reminded me that even in the darkest times, love and human decency can survive -- Eowyn IveyLast Ones Left Alive gripped me as much by the heart as it did by the throat. A stormer of a debut, Davis-Goff has created an urgent, assured, terrifying tale of destruction, humanity, and love -- Kiran Millwood HargraveBeautifully written and terrifying. 'Last Ones Left Alive' will leave you reeling, not only from its originality and searing vision, but also from the humanity of the relationships portrayed -- Kate HamerLAST ONES LEFT ALIVE combines the spare poetry of THE ROAD with the dizzying pace of 28 DAYS LATER. A beautiful book, lyrical in its violence, painting in vivid strokes the joy and brutality of the human experience. An original, brilliant take on the end of the world. -- Jennie Melamed, author of GATHER THE DAUGHTERSDavis-Goff has crafted a beautiful, lyrical, and guttural examination of what it takes to love and survive in a world shaped by loss and violence. This is a magnetic novel pulsing with life. It is truly remarkable and unforgettable -- Sarah Schmidt, author of SEE WHAT I HAVE DONEThis pacy debut marries glimmering prose to a gripping plot * Sunday Express *

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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

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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.

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Book Synopsis__________________________________________________She wants to escape the past. Is she doomed to repeat it? In the spectacular sequel to Subject Twenty-One, Elise and her friends have unearthed the truth that has been kept from them their whole lives and escaped the Museum of Evolution - but at what cost?'An unputdownable exploration into the ethics of science' Buzz MagazineAfter a perilous escape, Elise and her companions have made it to the safety of the secret fifth base, Uracil, but her family is still in danger. Desperate to secure them passage and a safe place to live, she makes a deal with the leaders of Uracil - she'll become their spy, jeopardising her own freedom in the process.But first she has to help rescue the next Neanderthal, Subject Twenty-Two.Twenty-Two has never left the confines of the steel walls that keep her separated from the other exhibits. She has no contact with the outside world and no way of knowing why she has been abandoned. With diminishing deliveries of food and water, she has to start breaking the museum's rules if she wants a second chance at living.One belongs to the future and the other to the past, but both will need to adapt - or neither will survive . . .__________________________________________________PRAISE FOR THE TOMORROW'S ANCESTORS SERIES'A stonking good sci-fi & coming-of-age story all wrapped into one . . . a book that tackles humanity, hardship, and classism at the deepest level.' Magic Radio Book ClubIncredible . . . without a doubt one of the best YA sci-fi books I've ever read' Out and About Books'Instantly engaging . . . widens out from a tale of a girl trying to find her own identity to a broader story encompassing an entire population's burden of oppression, and the desire for freedom' Track of Words'One of the rare debuts that are really five star reads. Subject Twenty One grabbed me instantly and I couldn't put it down' Dom Reads__________________________________________________Make sure you've read the whole series!1. Subject Twenty-One2. The Fifth Base3. The Fourth SpeciesTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR THE HIDDEN BASE * : *Well written and imaginative . . . A real page-turner, it had me reading until long after I should have turned out the light * Julia Blake, author of Black Ice *A really unique YA dystopian world, I highly recommend this series. * Book Phenomena *A fast-paced and exciting page-turner which kept me gripped from start to finish * Stephanie Jane, author of Finally a Vegan *The Tomorrow's Ancestors stories are brilliant. Highly recommended. * Jera's Jamboree *

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Book Synopsis'Breathtakingly original, and a captivating sense of place' Val McDermid, bestselling author of Still Life'Compelling and original, this glints with freshness' Daily Mail'A brilliantly inventive and twisty tale' Claire McGowan, bestselling author of The Push'A good detective story . . . intriguing' Guardian'A distinctive, intriguing, immersive debut' Mari Hannah, multi-award winning author of Without a Trace The Murder In the Gare do Oriente, a body sits, slumped, in a stationary train. A high-profile man appears to have died by throwing himself repeatedly against the glass. But according to witnesses, he may not have done this of his own accord. The City Lisbon 2021. A small percentage of the population are diagnosed as Gifted. Along with the power comes stigma and suspicion. The Detective In a prejudiced city, Gifted Inspector Isabel Reis is hiding her own secrets while putting her life on the line to stop an ingenious killer.A violent and mysterious crime. Suspected Gifted involvement. A city baying for blood. And a killer who has only just begun . . .'A bold, compelling police drama a step beyond the ordinary with writing to match' Helen Fields, bestselling author of The Shadow Man'This is crime fiction with a twist . . . This was a gripping and highly invented thrill ride. I can't wait for more' Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man'An amazing genre-bending debut' David Jackson, bestselling author of The ResidentTrade ReviewThis is crime fiction with a twist. Detective Inspector Reis is in pursuit of a killer. Nothing new there, but the murders take place in an alternative Lisbon, Portugal where the population is split into gifted or non-gifted and Inspector Reis is registered as gifted due to her being a telepath. This was a gripping and highly invented thrill ride. I can't wait for more * Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man *Patricia Marques crafts a riveting mystery about power, privilege, and murder. Genuinely gripping, The Colours of Death has immense heart and an intriguing, fully realized world * Lori M. Lee, author of Forest of Souls *An absolute knockout * Nicolás Obregón, author of Unknown Male *An amazing genre-bending debut * David Jackson, bestselling author of The Resident *A distinctive, intriguing, immersive debut * Mari Hannah, multi-award winning author of Without a Trace *Marques sets Lisbon alight with this beautifully drawn thriller. Gifted detective Isabel Reis is everything we want from our protagonists - original and compelling, unique and fascinating. A story that'll leave you red-eyed and sleep deprived, The Colours of Death is a bold, compelling police drama a step beyond the ordinary with writing to match * Helen Fields, bestselling author of The Shadow Man *The Colours of Death is that rarest of things, a completely original crime novel. It's also a bit brilliant, and I as much inhaled it as read it * W. C. Ryan, author of A House of Ghost *Stigma and paranoia loom large in Marques's beautifully realised alternate Lisbon. Isabel's predicament is an intriguing, and paradoxical one - it's isolating to hear the thoughts of everyone around you. A vivid, fast-moving mystery * Kate Mascarenhas, author of The Psychology of Time Travel *The Colours of Death is a wonderful, intriguing and original speculative thriller by a sensational debut author. Visit a Lisbon filled with danger, death, and delicious food. You won't regret it * Alexandra Benedict, author of Braided Hearts *Patricia Marques debut takes the classic crime novel and the evocative setting of Lisbon, and utterly transforms both with a fascinating speculative twist. Pacy, immersive and brain-shiveringly clever. A brilliantly original crime story * Philippa East, author of Safe and Sound *A brilliantly inventive and twisty tale * Claire McGowan, bestselling author of The Push *A brilliant read. The premise and characters are intriguing, the story completely compelling - I couldn't put it down - and I loved the beautifully depicted setting of Lisbon * Debbie Howells, bestselling author of The Bones of You *Breathtakingly original, and a captivating sense of place * Val McDermid *Compelling and original, this glints with freshness * Daily Mail *A good detective story . . . intriguing * Guardian *Crime fiction with a twist * SFX Magazine *A very confident, original debut novel . . . One of the best debut novels that I've read this year and Patricia Marques is a writer to watch * Shots Mag *This is a novel that will have purists tutting. Until they start reading and allow themselves to be seduced by its setting, characters and deft handling of the underlying idea. Then, like me, they'll be fascinated * Express *A tantalising spin on crime, with a dash of fantasy * Peterborough Telegraph *Pacy, gripping, and a fresh as hell blast across the bows of police procedurals * Adam Simcox, author of The Dying Squad *A great crime debut . . . a world of division and paranoia brought vividly to life, best enjoyed over a pastel de nata * The Express *

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Book Synopsis'Original, timely, terrifying' CHRIS WHITAKER'Brilliant, profoundly unsettling' DAILY MAILWHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WATER RUNS OUT?THE WORLD IS RUNNING OUT OF WATER. With supply in the Scottish cities drying up, Aida is forced back home to live with her mum at their rural farm. For now, they are safe with just enough to get by. Yet at the border, tensions are close to breaking point as more and more southerners chase the delusion that Scotland is an eternal spring - while fewer and fewer are allowed through. The service station where Aida works grows emptier with every day. Then, when suspicious strangers arrive at the farm asking for help, Aida and her family face a terrible decision. How much water can they afford to share? AND THEN THE TAPS ARE TURNED OFF. Now they must survive long enough for the rain to come.Completely compelling, devastating and thought-provoking, Thirsty Animals takes us on a captivating journey of survival and self-discovery.'Beautifully written, vivid and unflinching, it confirms Atalla as a real talent' DOUG JOHNSTONE'A master of slow-burning tension and unease . . . The pace of the story builds to an unputdownable conclusion, and the characters will stay with the reader for a long time' CAILEAN STEEDTrade ReviewThirsty Animals is a hard-hitting speculative thriller, equal parts terrifying and compassionate. Beautifully written, vivid and unflinching, it confirms Atalla as a real talent * Doug Johnstone *Original, timely, terrifying. Thirsty Animals takes a brutal yet deeply heartfelt look at survival, and kindness, and just how difficult it can be for the two to coexist at the extremes * Chris Whitaker *Rachelle Atalla's second novel has shown her once again to be a master of slow-burning tension and unease. Thirsty Animals is terrifyingly believable, and functions both as a warning against overconsumption and division, while also providing a hopeful message about the redemptive possibilities of community. The pace of the story builds to an unputdownable conclusion, and the characters will stay with the reader for a long time * Cailean Steed *this is one seriously brilliant and thought-provoking read * Heat *This brilliant, profoundly unsettling second novel will secure Atalla's place as an extraordinary writer, and a poet of controlled bleakness * Daily Mail *Atalla knows how to ramp up tension expertly, and Thirsty Animals comes to a dramatic, unexpected but satisfying conclusion * Big Issue *Compelling, unsettling and emotive, this is an exciting story of survival and self-discovery * Candis *A disturbing and compelling book * SFX *A prophetic book, offering the reader both a deeply unsettling glimpse into our possible future and a comforting reminder of how resilient humans can be. I was utterly captivated by the story, especially Atalla's characters who are richly drawn and incredibly relatable. Atalla has an uncanny knack of both revealing the best and the worst of humanity. She's quickly establishing herself as a writer for these unsettling times * Jan Carson *Thirsty Animals is one of those perfect reads. Compulsive and profound in equal measure, it is both page-turning thriller and philosophical disquisition on what it means to be human rolled into one. A dystopian triumph that confirms Atalla as a major talent, this chilling and believable second novel is horrifyingly brilliant in the best possible way * Mary Paulson-Ellis *Atalla writes with humanity and with such pace that at times, you find yourself gasping for breath. Even if you think apocalyptic fiction is not your bag, you might be surprised by Thirsty Animals. I was. * The Herald *

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Book Synopsis'An intense, superbly crafted, edge of your seat thrill ride' Sylvain Neuvel, author of SLEEPING GIANTS If you could be ANYONE, who would you be? When a brilliant female scientist searching for an Alzheimer's cure throws a switch - and finds herself mysteriously transported into her husband's body, she will change her life - and the world - forever.Two decades later, 'flash' technology allows individuals the ability to transfer their consciousness into other bodies for specified periods, paid, registered and legal. Society has been utterly transformed by the process, from travel to warfare to entertainment. But beyond the reach of the law is a sordid black market called the darkshare, where desperate vessels anonymously rent out their bodies, no questions asked . . . for any purpose. Anami has her own reasons for using it, and they start with revenge.Like BLADE RUNNER crossed with GET OUT, Charles Soule's thought-provoking work of speculative fiction takes us to a world where identity, morality, and technology collide.Trade ReviewFast-paced and suspenseful. Soule's uncomfortable vision of the future will please readers of cutting-edge speculative fiction * Publishers Weekly *An intense, superbly crafted, edge of your seat thrill ride. I loved the two slowly converging storylines, not to mention the most dedicated, hardcore character I've read in a long, long time * Sylvain Neuvel, author of Sleeping Giants *A sharp, prescient investigation of the human mind inside a breakneck thriller that will have you riveted until the very last twist * Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M *An imaginative, time-fragmented thriller about the bitter and potentially deadly consequences of body-snatching * Kirkus Reviews *A remarkable, consequential novel and a terrifying wake-up call * Susan Henderson, author of The Flicker of Old Dreams *Explosive * Booklist *A wonderfully mysterious thriller that proves Soule is as much a master of prose as he is of comic book script * Chuck Wendig, NYT bestselling author of Wanderers *This volatile and unpredictable novel will entertain and keep you guessing until the very end * New York Journal of Books *The Oracle Year has all of the elements of a straight-ahead Action thriller, while exploring faith, politics, and personal responsibility with heart and a sly, satirical wit straight out of the funny pages * B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog *

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Book Synopsis'READING THIS TERRIFIC, ORWELLIAN NOVEL YOU ALMOST HOLD YOUR BREATH' Bel MooneyAn alternative history with a strong feminist twist, perfect for fans of Robert Harris' Fatherland, Christina Dalcher's Vox and the dystopian novels of Margaret Atwood.'A TRIUMPH' Amanda Craig'CONVINCING AND GRIPPING' Elizabeth Buchan'BRILLIANTLY IMAGINED' Clare Chambers'TERRIFIC HEROINE' Adèle Geras'VIVIDLY IMAGINED' Nicci FrenchTo control the past, they edited history. To control the future, they edited literature.London, 1953, Coronation year - but not the Coronation of Elizabeth II.Thirteen years have passed since a Grand Alliance between Great Britain and Germany was formalized. George VI and his family have been murdered and Edward VIII rules as King. Yet, in practice, all power is vested in Alfred Rosenberg, Britain's Protector. The role and status of women is Rosenberg's particular interest. Rose Ransom belongs to the elite caste of women and works at the Ministry of Culture, rewriting literature to correct the views of the past. But now she has been given a special task. Outbreaks of insurgency have been seen across the country; graffiti daubed on public buildings. Disturbingly, the graffiti is made up of lines from forbidden works, subversive words from the voices of women. Suspicion has fallen on Widowland, the run-down slums where childless women over fifty have been banished. These women are known to be mutinous, for they have nothing to lose.Before the Leader arrives for the Coronation ceremony of King Edward and Queen Wallis, Rose must infiltrate Widowland to find the source of this rebellion and ensure that it is quashed.'THE MOST IMPORTANT FEMINIST NOVEL IN DECADES' Jane Harris'A VERY SMART REIMAGINED HISTORY' Henry Porter'BRIMMING WITH CRACKLING DETAIL, A GRIPPING THRILLER' Miranda CarterTrade ReviewClever and steeped in historical insight * The Times, book of the month *For fans of dystopian stories (think Margaret Atwood and Naomi Alderman) this one's a must-read * Cosmopolitan *Revelatory page-turning reading * Observer *Powerfully imagined * Sunday Times *A richly imagined treat * Independent *Scary, pacy and packed with period detail, Widowland is a smart, inventive imagining of what might have been * Daily Mail *An absorbing, Orwellian dystopia that makes a good case for the subversive power of literature * Guardian *Austere and low-key, Widowland succeeds when it comes to evoking the drab atmosphere of an occupied nation * Financial Times * Hugely atmospheric, rich in the way it evokes an austerity Britain that's both familiar and, because of the possibility of a grim fate for saying or doing the wrong thing, chilling * SFX *Carey's meticulously-constructed alternative Britain in the 1950s is a huge imaginative feat * Independent *Chilling and challenging in equal measure * Woman & Home *A "what if?" dystopian novel which will send shivers down your spine * Red *A heady mixture: part romantic thriller, partly a book about the power of literature, an alternative history and, overall, a chilling piece of dystopian fiction * SHOTS *The power of words is at the heart of this terrific and sometimes terrifying novel * Sci Fi Bulletin *Astonishing * Perspective *Widowland is a cut above the rest -- Sam Baker * Noon Bookclub *Reading this terrific, Orwellian novel you almost hold your breath, so vivid is Carey's evocation of a dystopia which (you reflect) was surely just a hairsbreadth away. The engaging heroine, vivid scenario and enthralling plot are underpinned by a serious political sensibility - one which turns an accomplished thriller into a warning. -- Bel MooneyWidowland is a triumph. One of the best counter-factual dystopias ever written about what a Nazi Britain might be like, it not only equals Fatherland and The Handmaid's Tale but, by placing literary heroines at its heart, supersedes them. As witty as it is withering, as thrilling as it is consummately imagined, this deserves to be the bestseller of 2021 -- Amanda CraigA brilliantly convincing and gripping dystopian vision. Fantastically detailed and assured, I read it with huge admiration for having pulled off such a terrific novel -- Elizabeth BuchanClever, gripping and brilliantly imagined - a brave, bookish heroine takes on the forces of a chillingly convincing post-war dystopia -- Clare ChambersWidowland is a very smart reimagined history executed with plenty of wit, energy and originality plus there's a rather subtle message for today. Excellent! -- Henry PorterWidowland is a fully-realised 1950s dystopia brimming with crackling detail, a gripping thriller and, at a moment when we're having to face our own Imperial past, a slyly vivid account of living under a colonial power -- Miranda CarterA terrifying, vividly imagined story of a Nazi Britain that might have been. Tense, utterly convincing and, in the end, very moving -- Nicci FrenchWidowland is not just a page-turning thriller and masterful work of suspense. This book is also the most important feminist novel to be published in decades because it speaks as much about contemporary tyranny and misogyny as it does about the re-imagined past that Carey has so skilfully created -- Jane HarrisAll Jane Thynne fans should read her alter ego C J Carey whose Widowland is fabulous! A very stylish and exciting counterfactual set around the coronation of Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson. Hitler is still alive and in charge. Rose is a terrific heroine -- Adèle GerasI am in awe at the author's imagination, her ability to conjure and so cleverly convey an entire world - it manages to feel both chillingly dystopian and utterly realistic. I love the details of the office, and Rose's flat, and her bus rides, but most of all I loved the description of the Oxford Widowlands, and the women who inhabit it - Viva the Friedas! -- Sabine DurrantI raced through Widowland and absolutely loved it. C J Carey plays with history and makes brilliant points about literature and feminism. Her amazing knowledge of Nazi ideology makes the story disturbingly relevant to the present day. -- Kate Saunders

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Book SynopsisThe smash hit series written by New York Times bestselling writers SCOTT SNYDER (WYTCHES, AD: AFTER DEATH) and CHARLES SOULE (CURSE WORDS, Oracle Year) with art by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI (The Amazing Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Hellblazer), DANIELE ORLANDINI (Darth Vader) and Eisner Award-winning colorist MATT WILSON (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, PAPER GIRLS) gets its first collection! In UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, readers will journey into an unknown region that was once the United States of America-a mysterious land that has been literally walled off from the rest of the world for well over a century. Two small expeditions enter the former US simultaneously-one from the east, one from the west-and journey inward, each seeking their own form of truth as they struggle to survive in this strange and deadly lost country! Collects UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY #1-6

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Book Synopsis“The pacing, script, and artwork are all dynamite” – AIPT Chip Zdarsky (Daredevil) and Ramon K Perez’s (Tales of Sand, Jane) sensational horror series returns!Chaos in Stillwater erupts! With the Judge out of commission, Ted and his militia storm the town and take control. But in this small town where no one can die, there are others willing to go even further... Collects STILLWATER #7-12.

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Book SynopsisThe year is 2098. A THIRD WORLD AMERICA is ravaged by economic collapse, environmental disaster and internal conflict. Del, a young volunteer working triage at a field hospital is abducted by a ruthless motorcycle gang. Her only hope is FALE an ex-military, private contractor hired to find and bring her home. ALMIGHTY is white-knuckle thrill ride that will have fans of the genre begging for more. Collects ALMIGHTY #1-5

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Book SynopsisAfter the death of their parents, Ataru Kashiwagi and his younger sister, Yuri, depend on each other. Ataru works hard at high school and his job, and spends his leisure time on a social media site: Real Account. Eventually, he hits 1,500 followers, but he sometimes wonders how much they really care about him. One night, the screen ominously begins to glitch, only displaying: The Game Will Now Begin. In the blink of an eye, Ataru finds himself transported into Real Account's loading screen - except now it's a 3-D lobby! Before them stands Marble, the smiley-faced announcer. With a sinister cheerfulness, Marble says, "If you die in here, you die out there... and so do all your followers!"

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Book SynopsisIn his sharply crafted, unnerving first collection of speculative fiction shorts, Courttia Newland envisages an alternate future as lived by the African diaspora.Robots used as human proxies in a war become driven by all-too-human desires; Kill Parties roam the streets of a post-apocalyptic world; a matriarchal race of mer creatures depends on inter-breeding with mortals to survive; mysterious seeds appear in cities across the world, growing into the likeness of people in their vicinity.Through transfigured bodies and impossible encounters, Newland brings a sharp, fresh eye to age-old themes of the human capacity for greed, ambition and self-destruction, but ultimately of our strength and resilience.Trade ReviewImaginative, precise and always fun. Courttia Newland invites us into new worlds with deftness and imagination, storytelling and creativity that has no rival in the UK. Another future classic from one of the most important writers of British literature -- DEREK OWUSUNewland's work is tender but urgent, grounded but visionary. Risks don't frighten him. These highly imaginative, often cautionary tales seem the product of a world governed by outrage, anxiety and unease. You won't forget them in a hurry. Nor should you -- RUPERT THOMSONA rich, diverse collection of short stories * * Guardian * *An extraordinary collection - vital, strange and brilliant -- JENNI FAGANDeeply satisfying . . . Newland is a class act * * Times * *Whether it's the uncanny dream made flesh or the old Manichean battle far into the future, these stories surprise, are dizzying and intricate * * Irish Times * *The stories in Cosmogramma are shot through with a sense of foreboding, a feeling that we as a species are heading for self-annihilation if we don't get our act together and fast. In that sense, and in several others, the stories feel unsettlingly contemporary and can - and should - be read as a last call to action. "The Sanofka Principle" in particular bent my mind out of shape, in a good way. Now there's a story that requires (and repays) close reading! -- STEPHEN THOMPSONIt's no small feat to so immediately and repeatedly appeal to readers' hearts and minds, and Newland's mastery of short-format storytelling is sure to impress. Speculative fiction fans won't be able to put this down * * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * *An exquisitely imaginative collection of speculative short stories, unlike anything I've ever read . . . Newland succeeds in capturing the reader's attention and refusing to let go of it until the very end . . . an important addition to Black British literature . . . Newland becomes a paramount figure within the genre * * Bad Form * *The combination of excellent world and character building and the rising intensity of each story as the book progresses means Cosmogramma is hard to put down * * New Scientist * *

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW BLOCKBUSTER THRILLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE EXPLOSIVE BESTSELLER TO KILL THE PRESIDENT'Riveting' Sunday Times, Thriller of the Month'Propulsive' Guardian'Provocative' Mail on Sunday Someone is rewriting history . . . One death at a time. Historians and Holocaust survivors dead in mysterious circumstances. Museums and libraries burning across the world. Digital records and irreplaceable proof, lost for ever.Former White House operative Maggie Costello has sworn off politics. But when a newly-elected Governor seeks her help to stop the lethal spiral of killings, she knows that this is bigger than any political game. But who stands to gain most from the chaos?A thriller for our times, To Kill the Truth takes the era of 'fake news' to its terrifying logical conclusion - with explosive results. Trade ReviewA Day of the Jackal for these dizzying times * Ian Rankin *Urgently topical * The Times *A gripping thriller and a prescient warning * Sunday Times *A propulsive plot and an appealing heroine . . . The premise is both intriguing and, in the current climate of post-truth, fake news and sour populism, grimly topical * Guardian *Read this book * Jeffrey Archer *Chilling . . . You think today's news is nightmarish enough? Sam Bourne's provocative thriller imagines things getting much, much worse * Mail on Sunday *A dazzling thriller * Charles Cumming, author of The Man Between *Bourne's writing is chillingly plausible... Read it while it's still fiction * James Swallow, author of Nomad and Exile *A perfect fit in an era of lurid revelations and wholly implausible plots that are nevertheless real * Sunday Times *Totally compelling * Financial Times *House of Cards mixed with Homeland * Eli Attie, Writer/Producer, The West Wing *A barnstorming read * Raymond Khoury, author of The End Game *Brilliantly convincing * David Hare *In To Kill the Truth, Maggie Costello rivetingly tackles a cabal of Holocaust and slavery deniers, whose aim is nothing less than to destroy memory * Sunday Times, Thriller of the Month *Pacy, engaging and morally serious * Guardian *Imaginative, intelligent and thought-provoking * The Times *To Kill The Truth presents a frightening glimpse of where the current fake news agenda could lead * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisA post-apocalyptic tale of environmental disaster and impossible choicesOVER 30,000 COPIES SOLD IN FRANCE“A wrenching exploration of the consequences of survival.” — Kirkus Reviews“An engrossing fable in which families and societies unravel and are refashioned.” — ForeWord ReviewsA small boat, alone on the furious ocean. A family stranded on an island, battered by waves on all sides. A decision which looms, unavoidable, on the horizon.When a volcano collapses in the ocean and generates a tidal wave of biblical proportions, the world disappears around Louie, his parents and his eight siblings. Their house, perched on a summit, stands firm. A far as the eye can see there is only silver water shaken, like jolts of rage, by violent storms. It is shaken by violent storms, like jolts of rage.A remarkable story of destruction, resilience, love, and the invisible but powerful links that bind a family together.“Just After the Wave is a fable for today, as well as a wrenching story of love and survival. Sandrine Collette has reached deep into past fairy tales and modern reality to create a novel that's a stunning, resonant wake-up call.” - Shelf AwarenessTrade Review“A magnificent book full of fury and humanity . . . hypnotic and captivating.” * Les Notes Bibliographiques *“An extraordinary psychological thriller.” * Madame Figaro *“A fable with mythological overtones, as nerve racking as it is moving.” * Lire *

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Book Synopsis'In A Song for a New Day, liberty and creative endeavour are compromised by political and socioeconomic reality. Pinsker presents a frighteningly real near-future US [and] movingly charts Rosemary's coming-of-age story as her world and Luce's collide' Guardian BEFORE Luce is on the road. Success is finally within grasp: her songs are getting airtime; the venues she's playing are getting larger. But mass shootings, bombings and now a strange contagion are closing America down around her... AFTER Rosemary is too young to remember the Before. She's grown up in a world where proximity to others is not only unusual, it is also illegal. Life as she knows it is entirely online, virtual. But now she's on the road, in the real world, searching for something that, until a few weeks ago, she never knew existed.Trade ReviewSarah Pinsker has written a wonderful epic about music, community, and rediscovering the things that make us human -- Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the SkyThe combination of technothriller, rock-and-roll novel, and rebellion in a dystopian world make for a riveting, sweet, funny, angry, gorgeous read -- Cory Doctorow, author of WalkawayA compelling book about the importance of music – and any sort of art – in a world where it seems like the least essential thing. This is an expertly drawn post-catastrophe world peopled by compassionately written characters -- Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary MercyAn all-too plausible version of the apocalypse, rendered in such compelling prose that you won't be able to put it down... A lively and hopeful look at how community and music and life goes on even in the middle of dark days and malevolent corporate shenanigans' -- Kelly Link, author of Get it TroubleWoven through Pinsker's meticulously crafted future of technology-enabled isolation and corporate-consumerist powerlessness is a stirring anthem against the politics of fear. A dazzling tale told in multiple voices, with not a single note out of place. This is the lyrical protest song that we have always needed, perhaps more so now than ever -- Ken Liu, author of Grace of KingsCements Pinsker's status as a rising star in the world of speculative fiction... A gorgeous novel that celebrates what can happen when one person raises her voice' * Kirkus Reviews *This excellent debut novel by Nebula winner Pinsker establishes her as an astonishingly impressive writer of day-after-tomorrow SF... This tale of hope and passion is a remarkable achievement' * Publishers Weekly *STARRED REVIEW* *In A Song for a New Day, liberty and creative endeavour are compromised by political and socioeconomic reality. Pinsker presents a frighteningly real near-future US... Pinsker movingly charts Rosemary's coming-of-age story as her world and Luce's collide' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisAn old enemy, a new threat, and a secret that could tear the world apart.Hostage negotiator Ethan Munroe is called urgently to a developing crime scene. A serial killer is holding a young girl hostage, and, inexplicably, demands his attendance.Events quickly spiral out of control, and the security of Ethan's life is stripped away, as he is thrown headlong into a perilous world of deception, espionage and danger, lurking deep within the shadows of political power.Ethan will discover things about himself he could never have suspected, come face-to-face with a terrifying foe, and uncover an unthinkable truth that could not only shatter his own future but that of the world… The enigma that is Project Icarus.A totally gripping conspiracy thriller with a twist you will never see coming, perfect for fans of Lee Child, Scott Mariani, and Adam Hamdy.

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Book SynopsisUncover the traitor. End what you started.Rejoining the English army laying siege to Calais, Simon Merrivale discovers that the conspiracy against the thrones of England and France has regrouped and gathered force. New allies have joined their ranks, including a dark secret society known as the Pilgrims, and the Holy Roman Empire and the Knights of Saint John have also been drawn in. Ambush and murder in the war-torn fields of Flanders, clandestine meetings in ruined castles and assassination attempts in the streets of Bruges and Paris all follow, as Merrivale relentlessly hunts the conspirators, in an attempt to finally reveal the turncoat at its heart.The awe-inspiring finale to the Hundred Years’ War series, perfect for fans of Andrew Taylor, Bernard Cornwell and C. J. Sansom.

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Book SynopsisIntroducing Jonas Flynt. Gambler. Thief. Killer. Man of honour.Longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize 2023'Fast, furious and with a glint of gallows humour, this is high-octane historical fiction' Daily Mail'Swashbuckling action against a vivid historical backdrop. I loved this book' Ian Rankin‘High adventure meets espionage thriller as Jonas Flynt battles the tide of history and the deadly secrets of his own past…’ D. V. Bishop, author of City of Vengeance1715. Jonas Flynt, ex-soldier and reluctant member of the Company of Rogues, a shady intelligence group run by ruthless spymaster Nathaniel Charters, is ordered to recover a missing document. Its contents could prove devastating in the wrong hands.On her deathbed, the late Queen Anne may have promised the nation to her half-brother James, the Old Pretender, rather than the new king, George I. But the will has been lost. It may decide the fate of the nation.The crown must recover it at all costs.The trail takes Jonas from the dark and dangerous streets of London to an Edinburgh in chaos. He soon realises there are others on the hunt, and becomes embroiled in a long overdue family reunion, a jail break and a brutal street riot.When secrets finally come to light, about the crown and about his own past, Jonas will learn that some truths, once discovered, can never be untold…An atmospheric and utterly compelling blend of crime, history and thriller, to delight fans of S. J. Parris, Andrew Taylor and C. J. Sansom.Praise for An Honourable Thief 'Reads like a genuine eighteenth century spy novel. I see a long future for Jonas Flynt' Ambrose Parry, author of The Way of All Flesh'Anyone who enjoys a good historical mystery and likes an edgy, charismatic protagonist is going to love the adventures of Douglas Skelton’s new hero, Jonas Flynt’ S.G. MacLean, author of The Seeker'An absolute triumph ... Five stars from me, and I look forward to reading more of Jonas's adventures' James Oswald, Sunday Times bestselling author'Historical crime fiction at its absolute best. I loved it!’ Marion Todd, author of the Detective Clare Mackay series'Pitch-perfect stuff. Like all great historical novels you'll feel you're there! This is a departure for Skelton, who seems born to write high-end historical fiction’ Denzil Meyrick, author of the DCI Daley thrillers'Uniquely combines a page-turning thriller with a perfectly evoked sense of time and place. Powerful stuff from a master of his craft' Craig Russell, author of Hyde'Skelton’s mastery of time and place inhabited with richly drawn characters is a delight. It held me to the last tantalising page’ David Gilman, author of The Englishman‘Jonas Flynt is one of those characters you’ll be rooting for from the very first chapter ... it looks like Skelton has found a new home writing first-class historical fiction’ Alison Belsham, author of The Tattoo Thief'This is a fascinating, totally engrossing historical novel. Flynt is a most attractive, three-dimensional character and the same is true of the world he moves through. A brilliant, most enjoyable read’ Paul Doherty, author of The Nightingale Gallery‘A cracking historical drama with breathless pacing and knuckle-chewing tension, all shot through with Skelton’s deft characterisation and flashes of pitch-black humour. The perfect read to lose yourself in’ Neil Broadfoot, author of Falling Fast

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Book SynopsisLaisve is a refugee in a destroyed city-island, hunted in Raids and haunted by the spirits of her drowned mother and brother. She dives into the river and finds herself travelling between times and waterways that will connect her with people from the past and future. Among them are a group of workers constructing a colossal monument to freedom for a young and bustling nation. But exactly what - and whom - will that liberty represent?As Laisve drifts into their histories, she schools seekers in the ways of dreams, love and the ultimate aim of liberty: to free the next generation from the chains of this one.Trade ReviewA long, disturbing dream . . . a fascinating, unsettling ride * * Guardian * *There's so much that feels deeply present about Yuknavitch's latest novel: the ever-expanding police state, lower Manhattan under water and a woman on a mission to rescue other vulnerable women. Yuknavitch's words are incantations, and Thrust is a triumph * * Elle * *An indignant and impressive novel * * New York Times * *Moving and incisive * * Time * *This weirdly wonderful [novel] on the surveillance state, climate change, and what it means to have agency as a woman in the world will throw your mind for a loop in the best way * * Good Housekeeping * *[This] powerful, braided fable unites workers of the world across time and space and class to start conceiving of a better world . . . Yuknavitch is firmly in control * * Los Angeles Times * *Thrust is alarmingly trenchant - and a hell of a wild ride. Daring, dazzling and earth-splitting, this is a book to take in wide-eyed -- REBECCA MAKKAI, author of The Great Believers[The] most mind-blowing book about America I've ever inhaled . . . I read Thrust in a state of flustered fascination and finished longing to dream it again * * Washington Post * *A unique dystopian tale, one much more than a straightforward calamity-charged premonition * * Buzz Magazine * *A complex novel of great imagination . . . profound, thought-provoking and deeply beautiful * * Shelf Awareness * *

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Book SynopsisThe author of the acclaimed novel Scarborough weaves an unforgettable and timely dystopian tale about a near-future, where a queer Black performer and his allies join forces to rise up when an oppressive regime gathers those deemed "Other" into concentration camps.Set in a terrifyingly familiar near-future, with massive floods leading to rampant homelessness and devastation, a government-sanctioned regime called The Boots seizes on the opportunity to round up communities of color, the disabled, and the LGBTQ+ into labour camps.In the shadows, a new hero emerges. After he loses his livelihood as a drag queen and the love of his life, Kay joins the resistance alongside Bahadur, a transmasculine refugee, and Firuzeh, a headstrong social worker. Guiding them in the use of weapons and close-quarters combat is Beck, a rogue army officer, who helps them plan an uprising at a major televised international event.With her signature "raw yet beautiful, disturbing yet hopeful" (Booklist) prose, Catherine Hernandez creates a vision of the future that is all the more frightening because it is very possible. A cautionary tale filled with fierce and vibrant characters, Crosshairs explores the universal desire to thrive, love, and be loved for being your true self.Trade ReviewCrosshairs is a blistering page-turner. One can describe it as dystopic fiction, but Catherine Hernandez is presenting us with something much more prescient to consider. The novel acts as a provocation and a challenge for readers to locate themselves. Crosshairs offers a glance into a world that is possible if we continue on a trajectory that is frightfully present. Most importantly, Crosshairs asks us what we will do to resist and build a better future when faced with such momentous and dangerous times. * Carianne Leung, award-winning author of That Time I Loved You *Crosshairs is both unnervingly prescient and undeniably profound. A harrowing work that's as much a battle cry as a ballad for the erased, and we should all be listening. * V.E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author of A Darker Shade of Magic *Crosshairs leaves readers with two promises. The first is that change is possible. If people with privilege can be motivated to take action against systemic oppression, sould can be saved and lives can be spared. The second promise is that without change, we are hurtling towards disaster. Consider this book a call to action. A demand for change before it's too late. * Quill and Quire *Crosshairs made me shiver. It troubled my dreams. Still, I could not put down this dystopia. It was utterly compelling. Catherine Hernandez prophesies Canadian genocide against Queer, Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks. At the same time, she inspires the reader with her depiction of a resistance full of characters who ? even in the face of hatred and complacency ? show love, pride, endurance, courage, and insist on living to the very last breath. * Lawrence Hill, bestselling author of The Illegal and The Book of Negroes *In Crosshairs, Catherine Hernandez shapes a world at once fantastical and familiar, remarkable and relatable . . . The result is a sparkling but devastating novel about corporate and state cruelty, individual as well as community sacrifice, and Queer Black and Brown kinship that must be protected at all costs. Timely, unapologetic, complicated. * Jenny Heijun Wills, award-winning author of Older Sister, Not Necessarily Related *A beautiful, unapologetic, and unwatered-down...dystopian [novel] that holds a sobering mirror up to our own world * New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu *Every character has a moment to tell their story. Hernandez delivers beautiful and heartbreaking scenes in a story that is hard especially because of how close it feels to our present. * Booklist *Catherine Hernandez is groundbreaking. Her talent is remarkable. I dare you not to cry or scream or marvel or, like me, do all at once while reading this book. This story is a masterpiece of voice and metaphor, image and embodiment. But it is also a perfectly crafted portrait of us now, of us then, of the us we hope to be. I love this book, this big, bright missive that not only breaks the ground, but that gifts us with the steps to take in order to get to the other side, together. * Cherie Dimaline, bestselling author of The Marrow Thieves and Empire of Wild *Hernandez is unrelenting in her portrayal of the regular violence, assault and abuses faced by these Otherized people in 'civil societies.' She excels in her ability to show the ease of even the most brazen fascism and the pervasiveness of the feelings and scenarios that elicit its subsequent rise. * USA Today *Hernandez's storytelling throughout is compelling, and she builds tension and intrigue as the story moves forward, leaving the reader ravenous for the outcome. . . A rare and wonderful and formidable feat. * Letticia Cosbert Miller, The Toronto Star *Catherine Hernandez's sharp-eyed, queer dystopian fantasy is no gentle wake-up call. It is a blaring fire alarm and a call to arms against authoritarianism, white supremacy, and transphobia. * BookPage *

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022.Nephthys Kinwell is a taxi driver of sorts in Washington, DC, ferrying ill-fated passengers in a haunted car: a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere with a ghost in the trunk. Endless rides and alcohol help her manage her grief over the death of her twin brother, Osiris, who was murdered and dumped in the Anacostia River.Unknown to Nephthys when the novel opens in 1977, her estranged great-nephew, ten-year-old Dash, is finding himself drawn to the banks of that very same river. It is there that Dash-reeling from having witnessed an act of molestation at his school, but still questioning what and who he saw-has charmed conversations with a mysterious figure he calls the "River Man," who somehow appears each time he goes there.When Dash arrives unexpectedly at Nephthys's door one day bearing a cryptic note about his unusual conversations with the River Man, Nephthys must face both the family she abandoned and what frightens her most when she looks in the mirror.Creatures of Passage beautifully threads together the stories of Nephthys, Dash, and others both living and dead. Morowa Yejidé's deeply captivating novel shows us an unseen Washington, D.C., filled with otherworldly landscapes, flawed super-humans, and reluctant ghosts, and brings together a community intent on saving one young boy in order to reclaim themselves.Trade ReviewIn this beautifully written and gloriously conceived novel, Morowa Yejide reveals her mastery yet again. This novel is both contemporary and ancient, frightening and stirring, playful and wise, an unforgettable blurring of reality and genres from its haunted Plymouth automobile to the mysteries in the fog in this alternate America and hidden Washington, DC. With its lyricism and bold imagination, Creatures of Passage is unlike anything you've ever read. * Tananarive Due, author of Ghost Summer: Stories *Comparisons will be made to Toni Morrison and they will be well founded, but Morowa Yejide is in a class of her own with Creatures of Passage, a mesmerizing tale about love, loss, revenge, death, and restoration that hovers close to the edge of fantasy yet is deeply grounded in history and in a reality easily recognizable in the contemporary world. * Elizabeth Nunez, author of Even in Paradise *Although set in our recent past, Creatures of Passage is at heart a powerful ghost story about people haunted by the shadows of time and the shadows of blood. In the pages of this novel we discover a world that is fully recognizable, as concrete and real as Toni Morrison's Ohio, but also as fantastic and mythical as Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Macondo. That said, make no mistake: Morowa Yejide is a masterful storyteller in her own right, able to spin and sustain an inventive tale illuminated by a singular truth, that death is 'another form of living. * Jeffery Renard Allen, author of Song of the Shank *

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Book SynopsisIn a world ravaged by climate change, a young woman's job of enforcing Britain's one-child policy is compromised when she discovers an illegal sibling on the ministry hit list, and that sibling is hers… `A tightly paced plot set in an all-too imaginable future … a page-turning, thought-provoking read´ Jo Callaghan ‘With echoes of V for Vendetta, ONE serves as a stark warning, challenging societal norms and individual sacrifices in the face of adversity’ SciFi Now Book of the Month ‘Pleasingly terrifying’ New Scientist `A terrifying vision of a global climate emergency, a jaw-dropping government conspiracy and some truly devastating twists … one hell of a speculative thriller´ Tom Hindle ––––––––––––––––––– One law. One child. Seven million crimes… A cataclysmic climate emergency has spawned a one-child policy in the UK, ruthlessly enforced by a totalitarian regime. Compulsory abortion of 'excess' pregnancies and mandatory contraceptive implants are now the norm, and families must adhere to strict consumption quotas as the world descends into chaos. Kai is a 25-year-old `baby reaper´, working for the Ministry of Population and Family Planning. If any of her assigned families attempt to exceed their child quota, she ensures they pay the price. Until, one morning, she discovers that an illegal sibling on her Ministry hit-list is hers. And to protect her parents from severe penalties, she must secretly investigate before anyone else finds out. Kai's hunt for her forbidden sister unearths much more than a dark family secret. As she stumbles across a series of heinous crimes perpetrated by the people she trusted most, she makes a catastrophic discovery that could bring down the government … and tear her family apart. ––––––––––––––––––– `Eve Smith is a master storyteller for our troubled times´ Simon Conway `Chillingly plausible … both thrilling and deeply moving´ Philippa East `All too convincing and scientifically plausible … as much a warning as an entertainment´ Paul E. Hardisty `Amazing, beautiful writing, jam-packed with clever ideas´ Helen Fitzgerald `Gripping, frightening and deep … a very brilliant, masterful book´ Sarah K. Jackson `Simmering with great intelligence and insight that never fails to be terrifyingly and thrillingly plausible´ James Goodhand `A visionary storyteller´ Awais Khan `A gripping and pacy thriller set in an all too plausible and terrifying future´ David Beckler `Meticulously crafted, no detail is overlooked … so authentic it doesn't feel speculative at all´ Sarah Sultoon `Raises troubling issues about the balance between saving the planet and our individual human rights … brilliant!´ Guy Morpuss `Pulse-pounding and heart-rending in equal measure, this book is a tour-de-force´ Louise Mumford `A powerful warning and a gripping thriller´ Greg Mosse `A chilling, poignant novel that holds a mirror up to our world … sensational´ Vikki Patis `Gripping and unsettling´ Shen Yang `Compulsive and addictive´ Adam Simcox `Another taut and terrifying thriller from Eve Smith´ Louise Swanson `A terrifying, yet plausible read. Too scary to imagine in reality, and yet…´ Heather Fitt `Horrifying and gripping in equal measure … a jaw-dropping glimpse of the catastrophe around the corner … Astonishing´ Lucy Martin

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Book SynopsisNever trust other people's memories, and watch out for your ownSean Whittlesea was there when his wife was murdered. He saw the light leave her eyes. He held her dead body in his arms. He knows he wept, but he cannot recollect a single other detail. Tormented by the tragedy, Sean relives the horror over and over again. As he struggles to recall what really happened, his imagination serves up an endless chain of scenarios. The truth, however, remains hidden in the vault of his memory, and the key is nowhere to be found. Nearly two decades later, Sean, now remarried and a father of two, wins a bizarre contest hosted by his eccentric boss. The prize is the Memory Palace, a state-of-the-art black box that purportedly allows its possessor to relive every moment he has ever experienced, playing out all the memories on a screen.While the small machine at first appears to be the answer to the mystery surrounding the death of his wife, it instead upends Sean’s life. He pushes his family further and further away as the Memory Palace forces him to confront harsh realities and difficult questions that he lacks the strength to face or answer. Spiraling downward, Sean encounters increasingly harrowing challenges that force him to realize that his memory is not the only thing at stake. To recover the truth about his past, Sean must fight for his very life.Trade Review"Suffused with an atmosphere that suggests J.G. Ballard and Paolo Coelho chained together in a basement while a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, Scarecrow Has a Gun is at once disquieting and illuminating, eerie and sincere.”—Martin Seay, award-winning author of The Mirror Thief“An intriguing, existential mystery, an exploration of an unhappy marriage, and a paranoid science fiction thriller. Scarecrow Has a Gun is positively Neapolitan!”—Nick Mamatas, author of The Second Shooter“Michael Paul Kozlowsky’s brutally eccentric Scarecrow Has a Gun is a masterclass in Cartesian storytelling—simultaneously evoking Christopher Nolan’s clockwork precision and JG Ballard’s ultra-modern sense of irony.”— Jeff Chon, author of Hashtag Good Guy With a Gun“Scarecrow Has a Gun is a propulsive read that spirals deep into the intersections of memory, technology, and the shifting boundaries between the real and the unreal."— Nicholas Rombes, author of The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing and The Ramones’ Ramones"A whodunit wrapped inside sci-fi story and blended with a compelling and clear-eyed examination of how memory works."— Brett Riley, author of Comanche, Lord of Order, and Freaks"With writing that's both sharp and dense, Michael Paul Kozlowsky's Scarecrow Has A Gun is a labyrinthine mystery that feels as if David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo had collaborated on a Philip K. Dick adaptation. It's a gut-punch meditation on the way our brains process mediation, memory, trauma, and grief."—Tex Gresham, author of Sunflower, Heck, Texas, and This Is Strange June"This engrossing and inventive novel entertains on multiple levels. It’s a mind-bending mystery, in which the pursuit of the truth about his wife’s murder threatens the main character’s trust in his powers of perception and his very sense of self. It’s a horror-show-worthy take on corporate ambition, overreach, and villainy."—Beth Castrodale, author of I Mean You No Harm, Marion Hatley and In This Ground“What an original and captivating sci-fi read! I totally loved the real life references and often found myself so intrigued I had to then go search for confirmation and further information. Things really ramped up towards the end and I was glued to the text. I enjoyed the dark undercurrent and found the ending deeply satisfying as well as super clever.”—Caroline Lewis, Librarian at St. Jospeh’s College Mildura

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Book SynopsisNever trust other people's memories, and watch out for your ownSean Whittlesea was there when his wife was murdered. He saw the light leave her eyes. He held her dead body in his arms. He knows he wept, but he cannot recollect a single other detail. Tormented by the tragedy, Sean relives the horror over and over again. As he struggles to recall what really happened, his imagination serves up an endless chain of scenarios. The truth, however, remains hidden in the vault of his memory, and the key is nowhere to be found. Nearly two decades later, Sean, now remarried and a father of two, wins a bizarre contest hosted by his eccentric boss. The prize is the Memory Palace, a state-of-the-art black box that purportedly allows its possessor to relive every moment he has ever experienced, playing out all the memories on a screen.While the small machine at first appears to be the answer to the mystery surrounding the death of his wife, it instead upends Sean’s life. He pushes his family further and further away as the Memory Palace forces him to confront harsh realities and difficult questions that he lacks the strength to face or answer. Spiraling downward, Sean encounters increasingly harrowing challenges that force him to realize that his memory is not the only thing at stake. To recover the truth about his past, Sean must fight for his very life.Trade Review"Suffused with an atmosphere that suggests J.G. Ballard and Paolo Coelho chained together in a basement while a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, Scarecrow Has a Gun is at once disquieting and illuminating, eerie and sincere.”—Martin Seay, award-winning author of The Mirror Thief“Michael Paul Kozlowsky’s brutally eccentric Scarecrow Has a Gun is a masterclass in Cartesian storytelling—simultaneously evoking Christopher Nolan’s clockwork precision and JG Ballard’s ultra-modern sense of irony.”— Jeff Chon, author of Hashtag Good Guy With a Gun“Scarecrow Has a Gun is a propulsive read that spirals deep into the intersections of memory, technology, and the shifting boundaries between the real and the unreal."— Nicholas Rombes, author of The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing and The Ramones’ Ramones"A whodunit wrapped inside sci-fi story and blended with a compelling and clear-eyed examination of how memory works."— Brett Riley, author of Comanche, Lord of Order, and Freaks"With writing that's both sharp and dense, Michael Paul Kozlowsky's Scarecrow Has A Gun is a labyrinthine mystery that feels as if David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo had collaborated on a Philip K. Dick adaptation. It's a gut-punch meditation on the way our brains process mediation, memory, trauma, and grief."—Tex Gresham, author of Sunflower, Heck, Texas, and This Is Strange June"This engrossing and inventive novel entertains on multiple levels. It’s a mind-bending mystery, in which the pursuit of the truth about his wife’s murder threatens the main character’s trust in his powers of perception and his very sense of self. It’s a horror-show-worthy take on corporate ambition, overreach, and villainy."—Beth Castrodale, author of I Mean You No Harm, Marion Hatley and In This Ground“What an original and captivating sci-fi read! I totally loved the real life references and often found myself so intrigued I had to then go search for confirmation and further information. Things really ramped up towards the end and I was glued to the text. I enjoyed the dark undercurrent and found the ending deeply satisfying as well as super clever.”—Caroline Lewis, Librarian at St. Jospeh’s College Mildura

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Book SynopsisWith a surprisingly upbeat tone, readers of Girls’ Last Tour will enjoy this trip throughapocalyptic Japan. All alone after the end of days, two girls bike through the emptyruins of Japan—and they’re not about to let the collapse of civilization get in the way ofsightseeing! Even when the world ends, their journey goes on.

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