From Huxley's Brave New World in 1932 to The Hunger Games, our fascination with the speculative & extreme never dwindles
Dystopian & Alternative History Fiction Books
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Arrest
Book SynopsisFrom the award-winning author of The Feral Detective and Motherless Brooklyn comes an utterly original post-collapse yarn about two siblings, the man that came between them, and a nuclear-powered super car.The Arrest isn’t post-apocalypse. It isn’t a dystopia. It isn’t a utopia. It’s just what happens when much of what we take for granted—cars, guns, computers, and airplanes, for starters—quits working. . . . Before the Arrest, Sandy Duplessis had a reasonably good life as a screenwriter in L.A. An old college friend and writing partner, the charismatic and malicious Peter Todbaum, had become one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. That didn’t hurt. Now, post-Arrest, nothing is what it was. Sandy, who calls himself Journeyman, has landed in rural Maine. There he assists the butcher and delivers the food grown by his sister, Maddy, at her organic farm. B
£16.14
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Last Wild Horses
Book SynopsisTranslated into 40 languages, winner of the Norwegian Bookseller’s Prize, and the most successful Norwegian author of her generation, Maja Lunde returns with a heart-wrenching tale, set in the distant past and the dystopian future, about extinction and survival, family and hope.Mikhail lives in Russia in 1881. When a skeleton of a rare wild horse is brought to him, the zoologist plans an expedition to Mongolia to find the fabled Przewalski horse, a journey that tests not only his physicality, but his heart.In 1992, Karin, alongside her troubled son Mathias and several Przewalski horses, travels to Mongolia to re-introduce the magnificent horses to their native land. The veterinarian has dedicated her life to saving the breed from extinction, prioritizing the wild horses, even over her own son. Europe’s future is uncertain in 2064, but Eva is willing to sacrifice nearly everything to hold onto her family’s farm. Her teenage daughter implores Eva to leave the farm and Norway, but a pregnant wild mare Eva is tending is about to foal. Then, a young woman named Louise unexpectedly arrives on the farm, with mysterious intentions that will either bring them all together, or devastate them one by one.Spanning continents and centuries, The Last Wild Horses is a powerful tale of survival and connection—of humans, animals, and the indestructible bonds that unite us all. Translated from the Norwegian by Diane Oatley
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Actual Star
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Breathtaking in scope and ambition. With Byrne as your assured guide, The Actual Star offers so much to discover from the first read, and invites returning to over and over." — John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling author of the Interdependency Trilogy "When a book is this ambitious, either it is a thumping success or it falls on its face. Happily, The Actual Star is a stone-cold masterpiece. It is one of the most moving novels I have read and surely a contender for major awards." — New Scientist “An indescribable epic saga of three reincarnated souls from the author of The Girl in the Road. . . The Actual Star is for those who love complexities and questions that transcend single lives.” — The Millions "A fascinating and intricately woven piece of speculative fiction...Byrne’s work delves into themes about entropy, destiny, how place affects us as we change the world, and the search for meaning. But it is also a thoroughly human work where ambition, loneliness, love, and the need to belong resonate, no matter the year. Complex and captivating." — Booklist "The Actual Star is a book about sacrifice, about the long view and deep time, about the universality of human experience and the particularity of any given moment. It's a first-rate work of sf, and a hopeful and fearful book about the climate. It's just great." — Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and Walkaway “Contained in this book is a vivid historical novel, a heartfelt contemporary narrative, and a mind-boggling science fiction story, all tightly braided together into a single experience that is bold, wild, profound. It's a novel you won’t forget.” — Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Ministry for the Future “Sweeping, mesmerizing, The Actual Star is a travelogue of souls, an epic that leaps lightly between the centuries. From the royal children of an ancient Mayan dynasty to the nomadic pilgrims of a far-future religion, Byrne draws her interconnected characters with compassion and depth, weaving their stories into a mystery with echoes in past, present, and future. At the center of it all is Leah, a young American woman whose search for her roots in Belize will have repercussions far beyond her lifetime. A magnificent achievement!” — Helene Wecker, author of The Golem and Jinni and The Hidden Palace "The Actual Star is a speculative fiction masterpiece" — Fantasy Hive “Beautifully rendered . . . moving . . . a terrific novel.” — Locus "The Actual Star is a boldly daring examination of what it means to be human from a non-traditional perspective, one focused away from the Western-European colonialist lens and zeroed in on a culture many think lost to the sands of time, but that still exists very much to this day." — Lightspeed Magazine "The Actual Star is a stunningly realized work of literary fiction. Byrne blends elements of speculative and historical fiction to create a trio of timelines, each a thousand years apart, the individual stories serving to illustrate a fundamental truth of narrative power.... Flexible and fluid, these tales grow and evolve until they are both of us and not of us...The Actual Star is unlike anything I’ve read. It is immersive and idiosyncratic and without a doubt one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time." — The Maine Edge
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Dao of Drizzt
Book SynopsisFor over thirty years, Drizzt Do''Urden has been one of the most important characters in fantasy literature. Throughout his novels, Drizzt has written down his thoughts about life and love, the nature of good and evil, the joys (and frustrations) of family, and so much more. Bound together for the first time, the collected wisdom and philosophy of Drizzt will be a beautifully-packaged gift book—complete with deckled edges, faux-leather cover, and an introduction by bestselling fantasy author Evan Winter—for his biggest fans and readers wanting to learn about this iconic figure.Growing up in the chaos of Menzoberranzan, one young drow elf tries to make sense of the conflict between the traditions he must serve and the protestations of his own conscience. To lay bare the injustices he sees and to strengthen his own resolve to follow the ethical call of his heart, Drizzt Do''Urden is both an agent of action and self-reflection.These, his writings, become critical to his salvation, the way in which he makes sense of a world that to him makes little sense at all. The impact of his words, of his meditation, of his inward determination will carry him forward, forcing upon him decisions that others would consider noble, perhaps, but surely foolhardy…impossible even.But to Drizzt, the only choice is to do what is true and right.These journal entries, then, show the struggle between what has always been and what should be, where the courage to transcend the many obstacles of societal expectations and entrenched power—if nowhere else, then in the soul of an idealist. They were written to help Drizzt understand himself. But the universal truths will resonate with readers throughout the Realms.Trade Review“All readers will find pure, often heart-racing enjoyment as they are drawn into Salvatore’s beautifully crafted world.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Timeless “[Salvatore] really does deliver the thrills and spills, the battles and swordplay, the jolly banter amid dreadful danger, and the hissing, clawing, chortling, tooth-grinding malice of the villains…fans will rejoice.” — Kirkus Reviews on Timeless “Dark elves and rogue warriors battle for the fate of a savage world in an action-packed, high fantasy relaunch of R. A. Salvatore’s Dungeons and Dragons–inspired fantasy…the action sequences are surely some of the finest in fantasy—gripping, wildly imaginative with magical devices and nightmarish opponents, and perfectly packed for rapid consumption…It’s fun stuff.” — New York Journal of Books on Timeless "Longtime fans of Drizzt Do’Urden will surely enjoy the novel’s breakneck pacing, nonstop action, cast of familiar and beloved characters, and deep philosophical exploration throughout. This storyline, in particular, packs a thematic wallop that is both timely and timeless...readers should embrace Salvatore’s newest adventure with Drizzt and company." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Starlight Enclave "Salvatore manages to wrangle the extensive backstory to make this an accessible entry point for first-timers, and the superior characterizations that marked Salvatore’s prior books are again in evidence. His many devoted fans have reason to anticipate the sequel." — Publishers Weekly on Starlight Enclave The newest evolution of a narrative that’s grown and developed for nearly three decades...a payoff for all that preceded it.” — NerdsonEarth.com on Relentless “The exhilarating conclusion to Salvatore’s Generations trilogy (after Boundless) illustrates the power of family, both born and chosen … Amid epic sword and sorcery clashes, Salvatore makes a powerful case for love and compassion conquering even the strongest of evils. Fans will be sad to see this fantastic series end.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Relentless “Rip-roaring. [...] Magnificantly detailed swordplay scenes and gruesome enemies continue to mark Salvatore as a top author of fantasy adventure.” — Publishers Weekly on Boundless “Breathless.” — io9 on Boundless “Packed with fighting, intrigue, suspense and thrills [...] It is a compulsively readable fantasy novel. Readers of fantasy novels will simply rejoice.” — Washington Book Review
£27.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Tear Down the Throne
Book SynopsisDespite her best intentions, Gemma once again finds herself thrown together with Leo and battling her growing feelings for the enemy prince.When a series of deadly attacks shatters the Summit’s peaceful negotiations, Gemma realizes that someone wants to tear the royals down from their thrones—and that this enemy just might succeed.Trade Review"Pretty princess + dangerous spy, that's Gemma Ripley. She does both with equal panache. Tracking a missing batch of magical tearstone leads Gemma into the heart of a hostile kingdom, the presence of a mortal enemy, and heart-pounding danger. This is action at its finest." — #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris on Capture the Crown “Bestseller Estep returns to the world of gargoyles, mind magiers, and political intrigue first conjured in the Crown of Shards series with this romantic and exciting fantasy adventure, the first in her Gargoyle Queen Trilogy…the gripping romp flies, like Grimley, Gemma’s beloved gargoyle, at a breakneck speed that will keep readers turning pages.” — Publishers Weekly on Capture the Crown “Estep’s new series takes readers back to the world she built in Crown of Shards, filled once again with exciting machinations and a slow burn of romance.” — Library Journal on Capture the Crown “Capture the Crown is an exciting, strong series starter that fans and new readers alike will enjoy.” — Booklist "Action, magic, danger, and romance—a thrilling read from start to finish! Gemma Ripley is my favorite kind of heroine—smart, courageous, fierce, spirited, flawed, and full of heart. The Gargoyle Queen will capture yours!" — Amanda Bouchet, USA Today bestselling author of The Kingmaker Chronicles "Hold onto your hearts, fantasy romance lovers! Because you’re going to lose them to the deliciously smexy new bad boy prince in Capture the Crown. Jennifer Estep has outdone herself in penning my new favorite book of hers. Prince Leonidas is everything I could ask for—and Princess Gemma as a spy in a deadly waltz with him had me devouring the pages." — Jeffe Kennedy, author of the Forgotten Empires, Heirs of Magic and Bonds of Magic romantic fantasy series. “Kill the Queen is the definition of epic fantasy: exciting, original, and filled with characters who jump off the page. Jennifer Estep enters the arena and takes no prisoners. Long live the Winter Queen.” — Ilona Andrews, #1 New York Times bestselling author “Imaginative.” — Wall Street Journal "Betrayal put Everleigh Blair on the throne and treachery threatens to take her off. But Queen Everleigh survives the dangerous and vindictive courtly world and emerges a true Winter Queen - this is a gripping tale of one woman's survival and triumph." — Julia London, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Princess Plan “Jennifer Estep’s Kill the Queen is the fierce, feminist kick-off of a great new fantasy series... a sweeping, addictive adventure with a tiny hint of romance that will leave readers clamoring for more of this universe as soon as they reach the last page.” — culturess.com
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Women Could Fly
Book Synopsis
£20.24
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Actual Star
Book Synopsis
£21.84
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Gold Bug Variations
Book Synopsis
£16.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Assassin of Reality
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A tense, gripping, and satisfying story that will leave readers wondering about their own physical limits and what would be possible, if only one had the proper motivation. Translated from the original Russian, this dark and unforgiving magical world treats its characters in ways that make Harry Potter and even Naomi Novik's Scholomance Trilogy look like preschool." — Booklist (starred review) "This is a novel that transcends genre and will astound readers looking for serious, contemporary fiction." — Library Journal (starred review) “Vita Nostra—a cross between Lev Grossman’s The Magicians and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian [...] is the anti-Harry Potter you didn’t know you wanted.” — Washington Post "Vita Nostra is singular and brilliant - unlike anything I’ve ever read." — R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel “Vita Nostra has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It’s a book that has the potential to become a modern classic of its genre, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it get the global audience in English it so richly deserves.” — Lev Grossman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians “Vita Nostra takes the trope of young people selected for a school for magic and transforms it into an unnerving, deeply philosophical coming-of-age tale. [...] Hersey’s translation is plain and straightforward, a wise choice that enhances the deep strangeness of this trippy, vivid novel.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “This dark, ambitious, and intellectually strenuous novel will feel like a fresh revelation to fantasy readers glutted with Western wish-fulfillment narratives.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Vita Nostra “Imagine that Hogwarts has opened a satellite campus inside Harry Haller’s Magic Theater from Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, and assigned Kafka, Dostoevsky and Rod Serling to oversee the curriculum.” — BookPage on Vita Nostra
£19.80
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Aurora
Book Synopsis
£26.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc How to Survive Everything
Book SynopsisLonglisted for the 2021 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the YearShortlisted for the 2021 Bookmark Book of the Year PrizeOne of the most provocative, intelligent and original novelists working in Britain today (Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting) makes his American debut with this darkly comic and electrifyingly twisty thriller with echoes of Emily St. John Mandel, Lionel Shriver, and Richard Powers, in which a teenage girl and her brother are abducted by their survivalist father who believes the apocalypse has begun.An absolutely brilliant read.?Lucy Mangan, journalist and author of Are We Having Fun Yet?Hilarious, foreboding with all of the brilliance and brutality of life in between. Haley is the hero of our times?bold, bewitching, and superbly drawn. Her voice rang in my ears long after I reluctantly turned the last page.?Diane Cook, author of the Booker Prize nominated novelThe New WildernessMy name is Haley Cooper Crowe and I am in lockdown in a remote location I can?t tell you about.Children of divorce, Haley and Ben live with their mother. But their dad believes there?s a new, much deadlier pandemic coming and is determined to keep them alive. He wants to take them to his prepper hideaway where they will be safe from other people. NOW. But there?s no way their mother will go along with his plan. Saving them requires extreme measures.Kidnapped by their father and confined to his compound far off the grid, Haley and Ben have no contact with the outside world. How can they save their mother? Will they make it out alive? Is the threat real?or is this all just a dark fantasy brought on by their conspiracy obsessed father?s warped imagination?Propulsive and chilling in its realism, How to Survive Everything is the story of a world imploding; a teenage girl?s record for negotiating the collapse of everything she knows?including her family and sanity.
£14.45
HarperCollins Publishers Inc People Collide
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A more agile, universal book, with its title alluding to the randomness of human connection. It’s a variety of rom-com, really, that somewhat lost art. . . . [People Collide's] naturalness and ease with the most fundamental questions of existence make it a big project knocking around in a small package, portending even bigger projects ahead." — Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times "People Collide takes a sudden turn in its final pages, building toward an ending that’s genuinely moving and redemptive, though not in the way the reader has been expecting. The finale is so good, in fact, that it elevates the entire book, making it one of the year’s most compelling reads. Ultimately, McElroy discovers that gender-swap narratives may really be about tracing the wavy line between envy and desire." — Charlie Jane Anders, Washington Post "People Collide's Freaky Friday concept covers a deep exploration of marriage, love, and the ways we know one another—and don't—as well as how slippery a sense of self can be when so much of how we navigate the world depends on how it sees us." — Ilana Masad, NPR "A hilarious, riveting novel of a married American couple's body swap." — San Francisco Chronicle "A creative, well-written exploration of marriage, gender, and desire." — Kirkus Reviews "Engrossing . . . an impressive twist on the familiar trope of marital ennui." — Publishers Weekly "Compelling, hilarious, and thought-provoking, this is a fascinating Freaky Friday-like thought-experiment that questions the performance and expectations of gender roles, the body-mind puzzle, how class can define a person’s perspective, and the definition of identity." — Booklist "Beyond the gender binary and the public's assumptions based upon appearances, McElroy's insightful novel also examines class, privilege, the art world, and family relationships....People Collide is sly, clever, funny, provocative, and compelling. It offers a world and a story to get lost in." — Shelf Awareness "[People Collide] deftly explores partnership, identity, and sex." — Rolling Stone "Expertly interrogates gender roles and questions the ties that bind lovers together." — Vogue "People Collide dives deeper into gender and sexuality with the same sharp wit [as their first novel." — Them "A fresh take on a classic trope." — The Millions "Fascinating ... an entertaining, thoughtful depiction of how we choose to exist, and its implications for how we love." — Elle "A little Kafkaesque, a little Hitchcockian, a little Freaky Friday, but McElroy makes this dizzying story their own." — Electric Literature "[A] profound exploration of marriage, identity, and sex." — Nylon Magazine "McElroy is sharp on the collaborative failures endemic to love, and the kind of oneness that creates separation. In People Collide, that separation is explored through the body with wonder and frankness." — Raven Leilani, author of Luster "A profound and moving meditation on love and commitment swapped into the body of a gripping literary thriller—I predict Isle McElroy’s People Collide will inaugurate an entire genre." — Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby "People Collide is spectacular. McElroy has given us a work of art that's original, stylish, and frequently masterly in the ways it explores the porous and mutable nature of bodies, selves, partnerships, and what we call love. Bravo." — Sarah Thankam Mathews, author of All This Could Be Different "People Collide asks how the ambition, power, sweetness, and deep-feeling of our bodies gets policed by those who perceive us, and how we sometimes wind up hurting each other as a result. McElroy writes their characters with compassion for human pain and bumbling, but makes room for all our complexity and occasional grace too. This is the queer novel I didn’t know I so badly needed." — CJ Hauser, author of The Crane Wife
£18.04
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Across the Sand
Book Synopsis“Hugh’s imaginative worlds and tales within them never fail to entertain!”—Andy Weir, New York Times bestselling author of Project Hail MaryThe first original novel from author Hugh Howey in six years, Across the Sand takes us back to the world of Sand, to a far future many generations after a disaster has destroyed civilization as we know it, where four siblings struggle to build their futures amid the harsh wastes of endless desertThe old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes, a land of howling wind and infernal sand.In this barren home, siblings Conner, Rob, Palmer and Violet daily carve out a future. They live in the shadow of their father and oldest sister, Vic, two of the greatest sand divers ever to comb the desert’s depths. But these branches of their family tree are long gone, disappeared into
£15.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Paulo Coelho Spanish Language Boxed Set
Book Synopsis
£93.74
Vintage Publishing Kafka on the Shore
Book SynopsisKafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.Trade ReviewWonderful... Magical and outlandish * Daily Mail *A magnificently bewildering achievement... Brilliantly conceived, bold in its surreal scope, sexy and driven by a snappy plot... Exuberant storytelling * Independent on Sunday *Cool, fluent and addictive * Daily Telegraph *Hypnotic, spellbinding * The Times *Addictive... Exhilarating... A pleasure * Evening Standard *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Broken Ghost
Book SynopsisNiall Griffiths was born in Liverpool in 1966 and now lives in Wales. He has published seven previous novels: Grits, Sheepshagger, Kelly + Victor, Stump, Wreckage, Runt and A Great Big Shining Star.Trade ReviewNovel by novel, Niall Griffiths’s exploration of transgressive, desperate lives has become essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what’s going on in Britain today. His latest book, the deeply intelligent Broken Ghost, combines myth, drug culture and iconoclastic political vision in a wild music that’s also a call to arms. This important book outstrips even its own virtuoso literary technique. -- Fiona Sampson * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *A Blake-like reverie on the possibility (or not) of spiritual regeneration in our time… what triumphs in Broken Ghost is the treasurable ecstasy of its lyrical flights...This important novel comes from a tradition: from the green fuse of Dylan Thomas...The result, though, is something new, a profane, passionate response to nature and to the countryside, which is rarely encountered in contemporary British fiction any more. * Guardian *This is a book powered along with ferocious momentum by the raw nervous energy of its characters, whose demotic, alternating narratives seem to muscle bodily off the page. -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *Niall Griffiths has, like Kelman, crafted a sophisticated literary voice for the kind of people routinely dismissed not even as old-school proletarians but as a worthless “feral underclass”… It rewards us with soaring lyricism, the bite and drive of its vernacular voices, and the recurrent search for “something transcendent” in natural beauty, in human love, in the rapture of consciousness itself, in the ancient rhythms and cycles of the land. * The Arts Desk *Pairing Irvine Welsh’s demotic vim with the conspiratorial frisson of a David Peace novel, Broken Ghost is strange and compelling. * Observer *
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Plan for Chaos
Book SynopsisIn a city that could well be New York, a series of identical women are found dead in suspicious circumstances. Magazine photographer Johnny Farthing, who is reporting on the suspected murders, is chilled to discover that his fiancée looks identical to the victims too - and then she disappears. As his investigations spiral beyond his control, he finds himself at the heart of a sinister plot that uses cloning to revive the Nazi vision of a world-powerful master race...Part detective noir, part dystopic thriller, Plan for Chaos reveals the legendary science fiction novelist grappling with some of his most urgent and personal themes.Trade ReviewPerhaps the best writer of science fiction England has ever produced -- Stephen KingRemains fresh and disturbing in an entirely unexpected way * Guardian *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd 1984 Nineteen EightyFour Penguin Modern Classics
Book SynopsisOne of the BBC''s ''100 Novels that Shaped the World''''Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past''Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.George Orwell''s dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century.
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd A Clockwork Orange. Critical Edition
Book SynopsisFully restored edition of Anthony Burgess' original text of A Clockwork Orange, with a glossary of the teen slang 'Nadsat', explanatory notes, pages from the original typescript, interviews, articles and reviewsEdited by Andrew Biswell With a Foreword by Martin Amis'It is a horrorshow story ...'Fifteen-year-old Alex likes lashings of ultraviolence. He and his gang of friends rob, kill and rape their way through a nightmarish future, until the State puts a stop to his riotous excesses. But what will his re-education mean?A dystopian horror, a black comedy, an exploration of choice, A Clockwork Orange is also a work of exuberant invention which created a new language for its characters. This critical edition restores the text of the novel as Anthony Burgess originally wrote it, and includes a glossary of the teen slang 'Nadsat', explanatory notes, pages from the original typescript, interviews, articles and reviews, shedding light on tTrade ReviewA terrifying and marvellous book -- Roald DahlStill delivers the shock of the new ... a red streak of gleeful evil -- Martin Amis
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd King Jesus
Book SynopsisRobert Graves''s controversial historical novel is a bold reworking of the story of Christ. Here Jesus is not the son of God, but the result of a secret marriage - the descendant of Herod and true King of the Jews. Written from the perspective of a lowly official at the end of the first century AD, King Jesus recounts Jesus''s birth, youth, life as a charismatic ''wonder worker'' and the unorthodox, bitter nature of his death and resurrection. Portraying Jesus not as divine but as a flawed human bent upon his own doom, this retelling of the gospels is a compelling blend of research, imagination and narrative power.Trade ReviewThe knowledge of a scholar and the imagination of a poet are brought to bear upon Jesus as a child, boy and man * Guardian *Written with simplicity and reverence * Time *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The War of the Worlds
Book SynopsisThe Penguin English Library Edition of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells''Death!'' I shouted. ''Death is coming! Death!''In this pioneering, shocking and nightmarish tale, naïve suburban Londoners investigate a strange cylinder from space, but are instantly incinerated by an all-destroying heat-ray. Soon, gigantic killing machines that chase and feed on human prey are threatening the whole of humanity. A pioneering work of alien invasion fiction, The War of the World''s journalistic style contrasts disturbingly with its horrifying visions of the human race under siege.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
£7.99
Penguin Books Ltd Nineteen EightyFour 1984
Book SynopsisHidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party.
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd The Sleeper Awakes
Book SynopsisA fascinating and prescient account of a future dominated by capitalist greed and mechanical forceA troubled insomniac in 1890s England falls suddenly into a sleep-like trance, from which he does not awake for over two hundred years. During his centuries of slumber, however, investments are made that make him the richest and most powerful man on Earth. But when he comes out of his trance he is horrified to discover that the money accumulated in his name is being used to maintain a hierarchal society in which most are poor, and more than a third of all people are enslaved. Oppressed and uneducated, the masses cling desperately to one dream - that the sleeper will awake, and lead them all to freedom.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. R
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Nineteen EightyFour
Book SynopsisPenguin presents the audiobook edition of Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell.''Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.''Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.(P) Penguin Audio 2021
£22.50
Penguin Putnam Inc Going Home
Book Synopsis
£15.30
Penguin Putnam Inc Forsaking Home
Book SynopsisBook 4 of The Survivalist Series They survived the collapse, but can they survive the aftermath? Morgan Carter has weathered the weeks after the collapse of the nation’s power grid, reuniting with his family and ensuring their safety, but his struggle isn''t over yet. Carter must focus on survival in an increasingly unstable society—but the challenges he faces are beyond his wildest imagination. Meanwhile, the enclosed quarters of the nearby government-run refugee camp make for an environment where injury, assault and murder are the norm. As Jess creates trouble within the camp, Sarge and his crew plot to take down the entire establishment. From the author of the hit Survivalist Series books, Forsaking Home is an action-packed adventure that depicts the harrowing possibilities of a world gone awry, and the courage it takes to protect what matters most.
£15.30
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Animal Farm
Book SynopsisIt is a fantasy of the political future, and like any such fantasy, serves its author as a magnifying device for an examination of the present.” Though the year 1984 now exists in the past, Orwell’s novel remains an urgent call for the individual willing to speak truth to power.
£25.19
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Animal Farm
Book SynopsisWith extraordinary relevance and renewed popularity, George Orwell’s 1984 takes on new life in this hardcover edition. “Orwell saw, to his credit, that the act of falsifying reality is only secondarily a way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power.”—The New Yorker In 1984, London is a grim city in the totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be. Lionel Trilling said of Orwell’s masterpiece
£14.24
Penguin Books Ltd The Man in the High Castle
Book SynopsisAn official tie-in edition of Philip K. Dick''s dazzling speculative novel to accompany the new TV series, executive produced by Ridley Scott. Philip K. Dick''s acclaimed cult novel gives us a horrifying glimpse of an alternative world - one where the Allies have lost the Second World War. In this nightmare dystopia the Nazis have taken over New York, the Japanese control California and the African continent is virtually wiped out. In a neutral buffer zone in America that divides the world''s new rival superpowers, lives the author of an underground bestseller. His book offers a new vision of reality - an alternative theory of world history in which the Axis powers were defeated - giving hope to the disenchanted. Does ''reality'' lie with him, or is his world just one among many others?''The most brilliant science fiction mind on any planet''Rolling Stone''Dick''s finest book, and one of the very best science fiction novels ever published''<Trade ReviewThe most brilliant sci-fi mind on any planet * Rolling Stone *California's own William Blake. Visionary and prophet * Daily Telegraph *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Ice
Book Synopsis''Few novelists match the intensity of her vision'' J. G. BallardNo one knows why the ice has come, and no one can stop it. Every day it creeps further across the earth, covering the land in snow and freezing everything in its path. Through this bleached, devastated world, one man pursues the sylph-like, silver-haired girl he loves, as she keeps running - away from her husband; away from the sinister ''warden'' who seeks to control her; away from him. ''A raw, brutal tale set in a frozen post-nuclear dystopia ... addictive and extremely entertaining'' Guardian''There is nothing else quite like Ice'' Doris Lessing''She is De Quincey''s heir and Kafka''s sister'' Brian AldissTrade ReviewAstonishes with poetic brilliance * Sunday Telegraph *There is nothing else like it... This ice is not psychological or metaphysical ice; here the loneliness of childhood has been magicked into a physical reality as hallucinatory as the Ancient Mariner's. -- Doris LessingOne of the most mysterious of modern writers, Anna Kavan created a uniquely fascinating fictional world. Few contemporary novelists could match the intensity of her vision -- J. G. BallardOne of the most terrifying postulations about the end of the world.. One can only admire the strength and courage of this visionary -- The TimesBrutal, addictive and extremely entertaining... strange, unsettling and harsh * Guardian *Serious, evocative and surprising, unique in its obsessive images of encroachment -- Christopher PriestNow, I can tell you about some women writers who truly are fantastic. One is Anna Kavan...she just keeps extending herself, keeps telescoping language and plot. -- Patti Smith * Penthouse *Ice is superbly unsettling... this novel is perfect winter reading. -- James Marriott * The Times *Just the most magnificent book...hugely enigmatic, a genuine novel of the unconscious and a masterpiece. I feel very passionate about it, as you can probably tell. -- Frank Tallis * The Guardian *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Nineteen EightyFour
Book Synopsis''Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.''Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.The Penguin English Library - collectable general readers'' editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century to the end of the Second World War.
£7.99
Penguin Books Ltd Death in Spring
Book Synopsis''Soaringly beautiful, urgent and disturbing... A masterpiece.'' Colm Tóibín, from the introduction''Dark and beautiful and brilliant'' Sarah Moss, author of Ghost Wall Death in Spring is a dark and dream-like tale of a teenage boy''s coming of age in a remote village in the Catalan mountains; a place cut off from the outside world, where cruel customs are blindly followed, and attempts at rebellion swiftly crushed. When his father dies, he must navigate this oppressive society alone, and learn how to live in a place of crippling conformity. Often seen as an allegory for life under a dictatorship, Death in Spring is a bewitching and unsettling novel about power, exile, and the hope that comes from even the smallest gestures of independence. ''Rodoreda has bedazzled me'' Gabriel Garcia Marquez''Rodoreda''s artistry is of the highest order'' Diana Athill ''Read it for its beauty, for the way it will surprise and subvert your desires, and as a testament to the human spirit in the face of brutality and willful inhumanity.'' Jesmyn Ward, author of Sing, Unburied, Sing ''Utterly extraordinary'' Claire-Louise Bennett, author of PondTrade ReviewSoaringly beautiful, urgent and disturbing... A masterpiece -- Colm Tóibín, from the introductionMercè Rodoreda's artistry is of the highest order -- Diana AthillDark and beautiful and brilliant -- Sarah MossRodoreda has bedazzled me -- Gabriel Garcia MarquezRead it for its beauty, for the way it will surprise and subvert your desires, and as a testament to the human spirit in the face of brutality and willful inhumanity -- Jesmyn Ward, author of 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' * NPR *Utterly extraordinary - I have had few reading experiences like it - it's as if one is unravelling a terrible yet irresistible secret, the secret of death -- Claire-Louise Bennett, author of 'Pond'The greatest contemporary Catalan novelist and possibly the best Mediterranean woman author since Sappho -- David H RosenthalA heartbreaking, unforgettable read. One of the most important literary works from the second half of the 20th century * El Cultural *It is a total mystery to me why [Rodoreda] isn't widely worshipped. . . . She's on my list of authors whose works I intend to have read all of before I die. Tremendous, tremendous writer -- John Darnielle, author of 'Wolf in White Van'One of the most radical works from the past century * El Pais *The novel is suspenseful, pushing the reader through the images, memories, and voices that flow within the protagonist's often confused mind as he develops into manhood. Just as the unnamed protagonist must navigate a world of contradictions, the novel reflects Rodoreda's own political, social, and literary exile while speaking of a tyranny that feels almost uncanny in its incantation * Bomb Magazine *Mercè Rodoreda is not just one of the most accomplished post-war Catalan authors; she is also widely considered, notably by Gabriel García Márquez, to be the greatest Spanish writer of the 20th century * Culture Trip *We must be grateful to the Penguin European Writers series, a precious venture in these dark times -- John Banville
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Apple in the Dark
Book SynopsisDescribed by Clarice Lispector as ''the best one'', this intoxicating portrayal of a man searching for his destiny is her mystical, enigmatic masterpiece''All I''ve got is hunger. And that instable way of grasping an apple in the dark-without letting it fall''Martim, believing that he has committed a murder, flees the city and escapes into the night. Wandering through the vastness of nature he arrives, in a state of fear and wonder, at a remote ranch run by two women. There Martim finds work and, as he labours in the blistering heat of the Brazilian summer, becomes transfigured; remade into something else entirely.Translated by Benjamin Moser ''The most important Brazilian woman writer of the twentieth century... The richness of The Apple in the Dark defies the explanatory power of any single interpretation'' TLSTrade ReviewLispector is the premier Latin American woman prose writer of this century * The New York Times Book Review *Clarice Lispector left behind an astounding body of work that has no real corollary inside literature or outside it -- Rachel Kushner * Bookforum *Brilliant and unclassifiable: glamorous, cultured, moody, Lispector is an emblematic twentieth-century artist who belongs in the same pantheon as Kafka and Joyce -- Edmund WhiteOne of the true originals of Latin American literature -- Terrence Rafferty * The New York Times Book Review *A genius on the level of Nabokov -- Jeff VanderMeer * Slate *Sphinx, sorceress, sacred monster. The revival of the hypnotic Clarice Lispector has been one of the true literary events of the twenty-first century -- Parul Seghal * The New York Times *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The War of the Worlds
Book SynopsisTHE SCIENCE FICTION CLASSIC, NOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMAFor a time I believed that mankind had been swept out of existence, and that I stood there alone, the last man left alive. When an alien capsule lands on Horsell Common, Woking, crowds of astonished onlookers gather. But wonder soon turns to terror when the Martians emerge. Armed with deadly heat rays, the aliens begin their conquest of earth. Confronted by powers beyond our control, a technology far in advance of our own, and a race of alien invaders which regard us as no more than ants, humankind faces extinction. While the world crumbles under the shadow of the Martian menace, one man sets out alone across the desolate wasteland to find his wife. . . ''Groundbreaking. A true classic'' Guardian''The classic tale of alien invasion, and still the best'' The TimesTrade ReviewA true classic that has pointed the way not just for science-fiction writers, but for how we as a civilisation might think of ourselves * Guardian *The War of the Worlds remains the barometer by which all extra-terrestrial invasions are measured, from V to Independence Day to Arrival * Irish Times *The classic tale of alien invasion, and still the best * The Times *Wells occupies an honoured place in science fiction -- Kingsley AmisA born story-teller -- J.B. PriestlyWells is the Shakespeare of science fiction * Brian Aldiss *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Nineteen EightyFour
Book SynopsisEver since its publication in 1948, George Orwell''s terrifying vision of a totalitarian regime where Big Brother controls its citizens like ''a boot stamping on a human face'' has become a touchstone for human freedom, and one of the most widely-read books in the world. In this new annotated edition Orwell''s biographer D. J. Taylor elucidates the full meaning of this timeless satire, explaining contemporary references in the novel, placing it in the context of Orwell''s life, elaborating on his extraordinary use of language and explaining the terms such as Newspeak, Doublethink and Room 101 that have become familiar phrases today. This is the essential edition of the essential book of modern times.
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Nineteen EightyFour. The Graphic Novel
Book SynopsisThe first ever graphic novel adaptation of George Orwell''s timeless dystopiaWinston Smith, an outwardly obedient citizen of Airstrip One, dreams secretly of truth and freedom - but his rebellion will come at a terrible cost. George Orwell''s dark masterpiece has enthralled readers for over seventy years. Now the dystopian world of Big Brother, telescreens, the Thought Police and Room 101 is vividly brought to new life in this first ever graphic novel adaptation, illustrated by acclaimed artist Fido Nesti.Trade ReviewFido Nesti has done a grand job of depicting Orwell's dystopian nightmare ... The writer himself, you like to think, would have been most proud of this new graphic interpretation * Buzz Magazine *Hand this to readers who are new to 1984 or hesitant to take up a classic * Booklist *
£19.80
Penguin Books Ltd Ice
Book Synopsis''There is nothing else quite like Ice'' Doris LessingSet in a frozen world that is gradually being devastated by ever-encroaching ice, Anna Kavan''s masterwork follows one man''s pursuit of a mysterious silver-haired girl to the ends of the earth; to the end of everything.''A brutal novel of a frozen post-nuclear dystopia. Just the most magnificent book ... hugely enigmatic, a genuine novel of the unconscious and a masterpiece'' Frank Tallis, Guardian''Few novelists match the intensity of her vision'' J. G. Ballard''She is De Quincey''s heir and Kafka''s sister'' Brian AldissTrade ReviewAstonishes with poetic brilliance * Sunday Telegraph *There is nothing else like it... This ice is not psychological or metaphysical ice; here the loneliness of childhood has been magicked into a physical reality as hallucinatory as the Ancient Mariner's. -- Doris LessingOne of the most mysterious of modern writers, Anna Kavan created a uniquely fascinating fictional world. Few contemporary novelists could match the intensity of her vision -- J.G. BallardOne of the most terrifying postulations about the end of the world.. One can only admire the strength and courage of this visionary * The Times *Brutal, addictive and extremely entertaining... strange, unsettling and harsh * Guardian *Ice is superbly unsettling... this novel is perfect winter reading. -- James Marriott * The Times *Just the most magnificent book...hugely enigmatic, a genuine novel of the unconscious and a masterpiece. I feel very passionate about it, as you can probably tell. -- Frank Tallis * Guardian *
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Kleinzeit
Book Synopsis''An original ... a delight to read'' The TimesOn an ordinary day in a strangely unfamiliar London, Kleinzeit is fired from his advertising job and told he must go to hospital with a skewed hypotenuse. There on Ward A4, he falls in love with the divine, rosy-cheeked Sister and is sent spinning into a quest involving, among other things, a glockenspiel, sheets of yellow paper, Orpheus, the Underground and that dirty chimpanzee, Death.''Kleinzeit, is a sort of holy fool, a fierce, lonely intelligence desperately trying to make sense of a hopeless world. A tour de force ... entirely delightful'' Auberon Waugh, Evening StandardTrade ReviewA very funny quest for creativity and sanity ... There are no boring sentences in a Hoban novel. -- Richard Preston * The Times *Russell Hoban is one of our greatest, timeless novelists. * The Times *Masterly ... a mosaic in which each tiny fragment of wit or dirt or profundity has its appointed place. * Times Literary Supplement *A second tour-de-force... entirely delightful. -- Auberon Waugh * Evening Standard *Brimming with humanity and humour... brilliant handling of language. * Glasgow Herald *Russell Hoban is our Ur-novelist, a maverick voice that is like no other. * Sunday Telegraph *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd SSGB
Book Synopsis''Deighton''s best book ... an absorbingly exciting spy story that is also a fascinating exercise in might-have-been speculation'' The New York Times Book ReviewIt is 1941 and Germany has won the war. Britain is occupied, Churchill executed and the King imprisoned in the Tower of London. At Scotland Yard, Detective Inspector Archer tries to do his job and keep his head down. But when a body is found in a Mayfair flat, what at first appears to be a routine murder investigation sends him into a world of espionage, deceit and betrayal.''Len Deighton is the Flaubert of contemporary thriller writers ... this is much the way things would have turned out if the Germans had won'' The Times Literary SupplementTrade ReviewLen Deighton is the Flaubert of the contemporary thriller writers. -- Michael Howard * Times Literary Supplement *Deighton's best book ... an absorbingly exciting spy story that is also a fascinating exercise in might-have-been speculation. -- Julian Symons * New York Times Book Review *Horrifyingly plausible. * The Independent *They don't, as they say, write them like this anymore. You will be entertained, informed, thrilled and dazzled. Long may he, and his creations, live on. * The Guardian *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Cursed Bread Longlisted for the Womens Prize
Book SynopsisGRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS 2023From 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 recommended read for 2023 in The Times, Guardian, Irish Times, Scotsman, iD, Good Housekeeping, Big Issue and Our Culture''A shimmering fever-dream of a novel'' Telegraph''A dreamy sapphic romp'' The TimesIf you eat the bread, you''ll die, he said. The statement made no sense, but it filled me with an electric dread.Elodie is the baker''s wife. A plain, unremarkable woman, ignored by her husband and underestimated by her neighbours, she burns with the secret desire to be extraordinary. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town - the ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet - and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shinTrade 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 *PRAISE FOR BLUE TICKET: 'Its cool intensity and strange beauty is a wonder - be sure to read everything Sophie Mackintosh writes' -- Deborah Levy, author of 'Hot Milk' and 'The Man Who Saw Everything'
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Cursed Bread Longlisted for the Womens Prize
Book SynopsisGRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS 2023From 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 recommended read for 2023 in The Times, Guardian, Irish Times, Scotsman, iD, Good Housekeeping, Big Issue and Our Culture''A shimmering fever-dream of a novel'' Telegraph''A dreamy sapphic romp'' The TimesIf you eat the bread, you''ll die, he said. The statement made no sense, but it filled me with an electric dread.Elodie is the baker''s wife. A plain, unremarkable woman, ignored by her husband and underestimated by her neighbours, she burns with the secret desire to be extraordinary. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town - the ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet - and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shinTrade 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 *PRAISE FOR BLUE TICKET: 'Its cool intensity and strange beauty is a wonder - be sure to read everything Sophie Mackintosh writes' -- Deborah Levy, author of 'Hot Milk' and 'The Man Who Saw Everything'
£11.54
Penguin Books Ltd Ice
Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Set in a frozen world that is gradually being devastated by ever-encroaching ice, Anna Kavan''s masterwork follows one man''s pursuit of a mysterious silver-haired girl to the ends of the earth; to the end of everything.''Few contemporary novelists could match the intensity of her vision'' J.G. BallardTrade ReviewAnna Kavan's Ice is a book like the moon is the moon. There's only one. It's cold and white, and it stares back, both defiant and impassive, static and frantically on the move, marked by phases, out of reach. It may even seem to be following you. -- Jonathan Lethem * New York Times *Brutal, addictive and extremely entertaining * Guardian *
£11.63
Penguin Books Ltd Snow Crash
Book SynopsisTHE 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH NEW, NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED MATERIALAfter the Internet, what came next?Enter the Metaverse - cyberspace home to avatars and software daemons, where anything and just about everything goes. Newly available on the Street - the Metaverse''s main drag - is Snow Crash. A cyberdrug that reduces avatars in the digital world to dust, but also infects users in real life, leaving them in a vegetative state.This is bad news for Hiro, a freelance hacker and the Metaverse''s best swordfighter, and mouthy skateboard courier Y. T.. Together, investigating the Infocalypse, they trace back the roots of language itself to an ancient Sumerian priesthood and find they must race to stop a shadowy virtual villain hell-bent on world domination.In this special edition of the remarkably prescient modern classic, Neal Stephenson exploreslinguistics, computer science, politics and philosophy in the form of a break-neck adventure into the fast-approaching yet eerily recognizable future.''Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the twenty-first century'' William Gibson''Brilliantly realized'' New York Times Book Review ''Like a Pynchon novel with the brakes removed'' Washington Post''A remarkably prescient vision of today''s tech landscape'' Vanity Fair
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd SSGB
Book Synopsis''The new crime and espionage series from Penguin Classics makes for a mouth-watering prospect'' Daily TelegraphThe Second World War is over. Germany have won the battle. But the fight goes on...It is November 1941, nine months after the Nazis successfully invaded Britain. Churchill has been executed and the King imprisoned in the Tower of London. At Scotland Yard, renowned Detective Inspector Archer just tries to keep his head down. But when what seems a routine murder in a Mayfair flat leads him to something far deadlier, Archer becomes caught between his brutal superiors and the British resistance, and drawn into a plot that could change the future of the world.Trade ReviewLen Deighton is the Flaubert of the contemporary thriller writers. -- Michael Howard * Times Literary Supplement *Deighton's best book ... an absorbingly exciting spy story that is also a fascinating exercise in might-have-been speculation. -- Julian Symons * New York Times Book Review *Horrifyingly plausible. * The Independent *They don't, as they say, write them like this anymore. You will be entertained, informed, thrilled and dazzled. Long may he, and his creations, live on. * The Guardian *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Virtual History
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 *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Virtual Light
Book Synopsis''Doesn''t come any more stylish than this'' Sunday Telegraph-----THE FIRST BOOK IN THE BRIDGE SERIES - READ IDORU AND ALL TOMORROW''S PARTIES FOR MORESan Francisco in the nearish future.Ex-cop Berry Rydell''s lost one job he didn''t much like and landed another he likes even less. Some sunglasses - actually high-end kit infused with super-sensitive data - were stolen from a courier, and a man named Warbaby''s been charged with retrieving them. And Warnaby needs Rydell''s help.But, with SFPD Homicide involved, an abandoned bridge populated by freaks and misfits, and some weirdness involving the Republic of Desire and a ''Death Star'', it''s turning out to be a very strange and dangerous scene indeed . . .Can Rydell navigate this unsteady reality in time to save the city . . . and himself?William Gibson, author of the classic Neuromancer and creator of cyberpunk, Trade ReviewAn American Ballard, using the tropes of science fiction to satirical and productively alienating effect * Guardian *One of the first authentic and vital novels of the 21st century * Washington Post on Pattern Recognition *A major novelist who seems to be hitting his peak * Chicago Tribune *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Peripheral
Book SynopsisFlynne Fisher lives in rural near-future America where jobs are scarce and veterans from the wars are finding it hard to recover. She scrapes a living doing some freelance online game-playing, participating in some pretty weird stuff. Wilf Netherton lives in London, seventy-some years later, on the far side of decades of slow-motion apocalypse.Trade ReviewSuperb . . . frantic with imagination and frantic with the appetite to see what happens next -- Ned Beauman, ObserverWhat a glorious ride! Like the woman said: brain 'splode -- Sam Leith * Guardian *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Man in the High Castle
Book SynopsisPhilip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928, but lived most of his life in California, briefly attending the University of California at Berkeley in 1947. Among the most prolific and eccentric of science fiction writers, Dick's many novels and stories all blend a sharp and quirky imagination with a strong sense of the surreal. By the time of his death in 1982 he had written 36 science fiction novels and 112 short stories. Notable titles amongst the novels include The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968, later used as the basis for the film Blade Runner), Ubik (1969) and A Scanner Darkly (1977). The Man in the High Castle, perhaps his most painstakingly constructed and chilling novel, won a Hugo Award in 1963.Trade ReviewThe most brilliant sci-fi mind on any planet * Rolling Stone *California's own William Blake. Visionary and prophet. Novelist of ideas * Daily Telegraph *
£9.49
