Dystopian and utopian fiction

657 products


  • The Inheritors

    Faber & Faber The Inheritors

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisHunt, trek, and feast among Neanderthals in this stunning novel by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Ben Okri.This was a different voice; not the voice of the people. It was the voice of other.When spring comes, the people leave their winter cave, foraging for honey, grubs, and the hot richness of a deer''s brain. They awaken the fire to heat their naked bodies, lay down their thorn bushes, and share pictures in their minds. But strange things are happening: inexplicable scents and sounds. Imaginable beasts are half-glimpsed in the forest; upright creatures of bone-faces and deerskins. What the people do not know is that their day is already over ...''Extraordinary ... Genius ... Remarkable in the literature of the twentieth century.'' Ben Okri''A stun gun to read ... Truly a masterpiece.'' Monique Roffey''An earthquake in the petrified forests o

    15 in stock

    £9.49

  • Simul: Momenticon, Book 2

    Quercus Publishing Simul: Momenticon, Book 2

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisFrom Andrew Caldecott, the bestselling author of ROTHERWEIRD, comes the jaw-dropping conclusion of the MOMENTICON duology - an epic adventure like no other!'Remember Simul' - the last words of a dying man, and the key to mankind's survival. Words which take Morag, Fogg and their friends on a wild ride through caverns and over mountains, into old paintings, to a university unlike any other and up the lethal Tower of No Return. A ride where mythical beasts, legendary monster-hunters and a corrupt establishment lie in wait . . . while the weather-watchers look on and bide their time. It's a race against extinction too . . . for nature herself is bent on vengeance.-------------------------'Unpredictable, dramatic and always utterly enthralling' - Reader review'Intelligent and also fun' - Reader review'Caldecott once again delivers in spades' - Reader review'Special and dangerous properties . . . opens a series of trap-doors in the readers' imagination' - Hilary Mantel, Booker prize winning author, on RotherweirdTrade ReviewSpecial and dangerous properties . . . opens a series of trap-doors in the readers' imagination * Hilary Mantel, Booker prize winning author, on Rotherweird *Whimsical science fiction at its finest. A satisfying jigsaw where the bigger picture doesn't become visible until the final piece is slotted into place * Geek Dad on Momenticon *It feels non-stop: constantly splitting the protagonists up and bringing them together again, delivering a series of growing climaxes and then leaving readers hanging for a concluding second volume * Pile by the Bed on Momenticon *One of the most unique books I've read . . . a compelling and enrapturing story that captures the reader from the first page to the last * Grimdark Magazine on Momenticon *Has the arbitrary and rather hallucinogenic atmosphere of the Alice in Wonderland books * British Science Fiction Association on Momenticon *A book that is unlike anything else you have read * SF Book Reviews on Momenticon *Caldecott successfully creates an equally engaging and original a world as Rotherweird. Highly recommended. * Goodreads reviewer on Momenticon *Momenticon is a perplexing and brilliant story full of literary and artistic rabbit holes and quirky characters. It ends on a cliffhanger and I want to continue this journey for sure. * Goodreads reviewer on Momenticon *I'm not sure there are enough words that can accurately describe this weird, brilliant, funny and adventurous read. * Goodreads reviewer on Momenticon *A rip-roaring adventure through a brilliantly weird and wonderful dystopian landscape. I can't imagine what'll happen in the next book but I can't wait to find out! * Goodreads reviewer on Momenticon *

    15 in stock

    £17.00

  • The War of the Worlds

    Penguin Books Ltd The War of the Worlds

    10 in stock

    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 *

    10 in stock

    £9.49

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four: 1984

    Pan Macmillan Nineteen Eighty-Four: 1984

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisGeorge Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most famous and influential novels of the 20th century. This terrifying dystopia, which he created in a time of great social and political unrest, remains acutely relevant and influential to this day. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful hardbacks make perfect gifts for book lovers, or wonderful additions to your own collection. This edition features an introduction by writer, journalist and Orwell scholar Dorian Lynskey.The year is 1984. The country is impoverished and permanently at war, people are watched day and night by Big Brother and their every action and thought is controlled by the Thought Police. Winston Smith works in the department of propaganda, where his job is to rewrite the past. Spurred by his longing to escape, Winston rebels. He breaks the law by falling in love with Julia and, as part of the clandestine organization the Brotherhood, they attempt the unimaginable – to bring down the Party.Trade ReviewProbably the definitive novel of the 20th century, a story that remains eternally fresh and contemporary . . . Nineteen Eighty-Four has been translated into more than 65 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide, giving George Orwell a unique place in world literature. -- Robert McCrum * Guardian *It’s almost impossible to talk about propaganda, surveillance, authoritarian politics, or perversions of truth without dropping a reference to 1984 . . . It is both a profound political essay and a shocking, heartbreaking work of art. -- Atlantic * George Packer *[1984] does what every novel in the genre should do – combining the illumination of an intriguing idea and the telling of a cracking story . . . The book succeeds because it is no manifesto, but an absorbing, deeply affecting story. * Independent *I read it and found myself absolutely astonished at what I read. -- Isaac AsimovNineteen Eighty-Four is a work of pure horror, and its horror is crushingly immediate. * New York Times (original review) *

    20 in stock

    £10.44

  • The Diamond Age

    Penguin Books Ltd The Diamond Age

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisCULT AUTHOR NEAL STEPHENSON''S UNSTOPPABLE SCI-FI CLASSICThe future is small. The future is nano . . .And who could be smaller or more insignificant than poor Little Nell - an orphan girl alone and adrift in a world of Confucian Law, Neo-Victorian values and warring nanotechnology?Well, not quite alone. Because Nell has a friend, of sorts. A guide, a teacher, an armed and unarmed combat instructor, a book and a computer: the Young Lady''s Illustrated Primer is all these and much much more. It is illicit, magical, dangerous.And it isn''t Nell''s. It was stolen. And now some very powerful people want to get their hands on this highly desirable object. Nell is about to discover that the world can feel very small indeed . . .''6.0 stars. Among the best books I have ever read'' GoodReads Review''If Snow Crash was so good that cyberpunk went in to a coma, The Diamond Age effectively pulled the plug'' GoodReads Review''This is Great Expectations with nanotechnology'' GoodReads ReviewTrade ReviewA brilliant, tricky, twenty-first-century version of Pygmalion * Guardian *A wealth of hip, social and technological riffs, stories-within-stories and not a few good jokes. Invest * Time Out *The Quentin Tarantino of postcyberpunk science fiction. Stephenson has upped the form's ante with rambunctious glee * Village Voice *A new era in science fiction. People will walk around slack-jawed for days and reemerge with a radically redefined sense of reality -- Bruce SterlingEstablishes Stephenson as a powerful voice for the cyber age. At once whimsical, satirical, and cautionary * USA Today *

    7 in stock

    £9.49

  • Resurgence: Defying AI Tyranny

    Author In Me Resurgence: Defying AI Tyranny

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhen Astrid overhears a threatening phone call, he dives headfirst into a world of government secrets and digital intrigue. Can he purge the system of lies in time to save his mother? Resurgence is a high-stakes thriller of courage, friendship, and a race against time.

    10 in stock

    £7.99

  • Sooner Or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Sooner Or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD The baker's dozen stories gathered here turn readers into travellers to the past and the future, and explorers of the weirder points of the present. The journey is the thing as Pinsker weaves music, memory, technology, history, mystery, love, loss, and even multiple selves on generation ships and cruise ships, on highways and high seas, in murder houses and treehouses. They feature runaways, fiddle-playing astronauts and retired time travellers. Weird, wired, hopeful, haunting, and often beautiful, Sarah Pinsker's stories cast a searching light on human nature. But what the heart wants is not always right, or easy. Praise for Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea: 'Simply wonderful... Each story is generous and original' KAREN JOY FOWLER 'An auspicious start to what promises to be one wild ride of a literary career' KIRKUS 'Stories that are as delightful and surprising to pore through as they are introspective and elegiac' PUBLISHERS WEEKLYTrade ReviewThis collection of stories is simply wonderful. Each story is generous and original; as a collection, the tales are varied, but with recurring themes of memory and music through-out. Pinsker has emerged as one of our most exciting voices. I love this book completely -- Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside OurselvesIn her debut collection, widely lauded author/musician Pinsker zips through road trips, space ships, speculative futures, and parallel presents with stories that are equal parts hard-wired sci-fi theory and hard-traveling rock-and-roll attitude... In the speculative tradition of Ursula K. Le Guin or Kelly Link but with her own indomitable voice front and center. An auspicious start to what promises to be one wild ride of a literary career' * Kirkus Reviews *This beautiful, complex debut collection assembles some of Nebula winner Pinsker's best stories into a twisting journey that is by turns wild, melancholic, and unsettling... The stories are enhanced by a diverse cast of LGBTQ and nonwhite characters. Pinsker's captivating compendium reveals stories that are as delightful and surprising to pore through as they are introspective and elegiac' * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *

    4 in stock

    £8.54

  • The Unit

    Oneworld Publications The Unit

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis ‘I liked The Unit very much... I know you will be riveted, as I was.’ Margaret Atwood ‘Echoing work by Marge Piercy and Margaret Atwood, The Unit is as thought-provoking as it is compulsively readable.’ Jessica Crispin, NPR.org Ninni Holmqvist’s eerie dystopian novel envisions a society in the not-so-distant future where men and women deemed economically worthless are sent to a retirement community called the Unit. With lavish apartments set amongst beautiful gardens and state-of-the-art facilities, elaborate gourmet meals, and wonderful music and art, they are free of financial worries and want for nothing. It’s an idyllic place, but there’s a catch: the residents – known as dispensables – must donate their organs, one by one, until the final donation. When Dorrit Weger arrives at the Unit, she resigns herself to this fate, seeking only peace in her final days. But she soon falls in love, and this unexpected, improbable happiness throws the future into doubt. Clinical and haunting, The Unit is a modern-day classic and a spine-chilling cautionary tale about the value of human life.Trade Review‘A haunting, deadpan tale set vaguely in the Scandinavian future… Holmqvist’s spare prose interweaves the Unit’s pleasures and cruelties with exquisite matter-of-factness... Readers actually begin to wonder…is life better as a pampered lab bunny or as a lonely indigent? But then [Holmqvist] turns the screw, presenting a set of events so miraculous and abominable that they literally made me gasp.’ * Washington Post *‘I liked The Unit very much... I know you will be riveted, as I was.’ * Margaret Atwood *‘The message is bold if not on the nose: If you don’t fall into a classic nuclear family, then your value as a human are the spare parts you can give those who do contribute to traditional family structures. The book’s main character, a writer named Dorrit, is forced to think about the meaning of her life. She’d had a lover, but he wouldn’t leave his wife; she’d birthed art, but never a child. Holmqvist’s writing is clear and precise…the clinical tone contributes to the The Unit’s eeriness. The Unit itself is a place of luxury – amenities include a library, a cafe, immaculately manicured gardens – but it feels as much like home to Dorrit as the promotional photos of an upscale condo. Holmqvist’s is a book of quiet cruelty, and perhaps the most harrowing twist of all is that the world outside the walls of the Unit – one with married couples, one with children – seems even worse. In that way, The Unit’s strength is uncovering beauty in bleakness.’ * GQ *‘This haunting first novel imagines a nation in which men and women who haven’t had children by a certain age are taken to a “reserve bank unit for biological material” and subjected to various physical and psychological experiments, while waiting to have their organs harvested for “needed” citizens in the outside world... Holmqvist evocatively details the experiences of a woman who falls in love with another resident, and at least momentarily attempts to escape her fate.’ * The New Yorker *‘Clinical and haunting, The Unit is a modern-day classic and a spine-chilling cautionary tale about the value of human life.’ * Waterstones *‘Holmqvist paces her revelations superbly and the reader is gripped by the atmosphere of slowly mounting claustrophobia.’ * New Internationalist *‘Holmqvist handles her dystopia with muted, subtle care… Neither satirical nor polemical, The Unit manages to express a fair degree of moral outrage without ever moralizing…it has enough spooks to make it a feminist, philosophical page-turner.’ * Time Out Chicago *‘This dystopian world is described with such exquisite balance between its luxuries and cruelties that the reader is emotionally drawn in and made to face up to often uncomfortable and challenging ethical dilemmas. I cannot recommend this novel, nor signal Holmqvist’s evident talent as an author strongly enough; it is an excellent book.’ * What's On UK? *‘Ninni Holmqvist’s The Unit offers a shrewd, timely exploration of gender… The novel has been compared to The Handmaid’s Tale, but where Margaret Atwood’s classic focuses on procreation, Holmqvist’s novel feels broader, holding both capitalism and traditional gender roles under a harsh light. Dorrit is honest about her life, and she wonders whether the freedom she had in her youth was worth the price she pays now. Any woman – young or old – will relate to her plight.’ * Washington Post *‘[A] chilling, stunning debut novel… Holmqvist’s fluid, mesmerizing novel offers unnerving commentary on the way society devalues artistic creation while elevating procreation, and speculation on what it would be like if that was taken to an extreme. For Orwell and Huxley fans.’ * Booklist *‘Orwellian horrors in a Xanadu on Xanax – creepily profound and most provocative.’ * Kirkus *‘An exploration of female desire, human need, and the purpose of life.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘I found this one riveting from start to finish. It could happily find a place on school reading lists alongside Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Chilling, humorous, poignant, thought-provoking, and immensely readable, this is perfect reading-group material which cannot fail to provoke discussion.’ * New Books *‘Beautifully haunting… This is one of the best books I’ve read over the past two years… Thought-provoking and emotionally-moving, The Unit is a book you’ll be discussing with others long after you’re done reading it.’ * Orlando Sentinel *‘Savagely dystopian…remarkably deft.’ * Barnes and Noble Review *‘Ninni Holmqvist’s book The Unit, newly reissued, imagines a world in which people who haven’t procreated are forced to make a different – ultimate – contribution to society... The Unit feels like an inversion of Margaret Atwood’s Gilead, where fertile women are forcibly impregnated under biblical sanction. Here, the justification for horror – the extraction of human tissue from the childfree – is secular, a capitalist democracy demanding its toll... The Unit contains elements that echo a number of different speculative and dystopian works. The domed environment and omnipresent cameras seem to predict Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy; the prospect of forcible organ donation brings to mind Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go... Holmqvist’s intention isn’t realism – it’s to unravel and critique assumptions about the meaning of life. Is it criminal, she wonders, to live a quiet life dedicated only to self-actualization? Do artists who never achieve greatness have value? Does every citizen have a responsibility to contribute to their society? In exploring such questions, Holmqvist takes liberal assumptions about Scandinavian paternalism versus American individualism and flips them upside down... Holmqvist’s writing is spare in style, elegantly succinct, but the layers of the world she’s created are manifold. Other dystopian stories like The Handmaid’s Tale might seem particularly chilling in a moment when democracy feels like it’s under threat, but The Unit is haunting in its assertion that democracy itself isn’t enough. The tyranny of popular sentiment can be just as dangerous, Holmqvist argues, presenting scene after scene of intelligent, compassionate citizens indoctrinated into doubting their own worth.’ * TheAtlantic.com *‘Echoing work by Marge Piercy and Margaret Atwood, The Unit is as thought-provoking as it is compulsively readable.’ * NPR *‘A remarkably thought-provoking novel.’ * Reading Matters *‘This Swedish novel imagines a dystopian future for the childless in which literally offering pieces of yourself is a legitimate contribution to society… Not only is it an intimate portrait of creative, single individuals coming to terms with a graphic and imminent death, but their apparent willingness to accept it for the good of others... This begs the question: what does it mean to be a good citizen? To whom are we ultimately responsible? How do we, as well as our society, measure worth? What is the value of one life or the cost of another?’ * Buzz Magazines *‘The Unit raises issues of love, gender, freedom, and social mores through the perspective of how we assess an individual’s contribution to society… Holmqvist’s ability to invest the reader in both the story and the characters is exceptional. It is a book you hesitate to put down… The Unit deserves a wide readership.’ * Blogcritics.org *‘For a debut novel I thought it was stunning.’ * Bookbag *Margaret Atwood has a line on the cover, and no surprise – this dystopian tale of childless men and women relocated in middle age to “a reserve bank unit for biological material” rivals The Handmaid’s Tale for a weirdly believable future in which the childless support families with children giving up parts of their bodies until, at last, they make their “final donation” and disappear altogether. The reasonableness of this system feels very Scandinavian, certainly very Canadian... Holmqvist has written the sci-fi novel of our narcissistic era, when many people choose to focus on themselves and their art (Dorrit, the heroine of this novel, is a literary fiction writer) or their career over marriage and family. Not being needed by others is a boon when one is young but a death sentence for the middle aged.’ * Hudson Review *‘Like Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, this novel imagines a chilling dystopia: single, childless, midlife women are considered dispensable. At 50 the narrator, Dorrit, is taken to a facility where non-vital organs will be harvested one by one for people more valued by society; she knows that eventually she’ll have to sacrifice something essential like her heart. Dorrit accepts her fate – until she falls in love and finds herself breaking the rules.’ * More Magazine *‘The Unit rattled me in a way few dystopian novels have… It’s a story that will stick with me.’ * shelflove.wordpress.com *‘Holmqvist gives us a lesson in human nature and social engineering through a story that is spare, compelling, and all too human.’ * Psychiatric Services *‘The power of The Unit is its subtlety. Highly recommended.’ * Readmorebooks.wordpress.com *‘Compelling, chilling in spots, and at times heartbreaking.’ * Flashlight Worthy *

    10 in stock

    £9.99

  • 1984

    Vintage Publishing 1984

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisTHE AUTHORATITIVE TEXT "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."The year is 1984. War and revolution have left the world unrecognisable. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, is ruled by the Party, led by Big Brother. Mass surveillance is everything and The Thought Police ensure no individual thinking is allowed. Winston Smith works at The Ministry of Truth, carefully rewriting history. But Winston dreams of freedom, and of rebellion. It is here that he falls in love with Julia, and starts a secret, forbidden affair with her - but in this world nothing can be kept secret, and they are forced to face consequences more terrifying than either of them could have ever imagined.A dystopian masterpiece, this is the powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT HARRIS

    15 in stock

    £8.54

  • Parable of the Sower A Graphic Novel Adaptation

    Abrams Parable of the Sower A Graphic Novel Adaptation

    Book SynopsisTrade Review“…alarmingly prescient and relevant…This accessible adaptation is poised to introduce Butler’s dystopian tale to a new generation of readers.” * Publishers Weekly *“…the graphic novel is faithful to Butler, yet still fresh in its world building.” * USA Today *“…Jennings’ work in the book is beyond stunning…” * The Beat *“The Parable of the Sower graphic novel… is as faithful an adaptation as you can get. Not only does it hit all the plot points, it perfectly portrays Butler’s balancing act in regard to how far society has fallen apart.” * Kirkus *“Duffy and Jennings have done justice to Butler’s work, losing none of the story’s richness and adding an exciting visual element that makes the reading experience even more visceral and engrossing.” * Foreword Reviews, STARRED review *“John Jennings’s work succeeds as sequential storytelling and approaches the level of iconography regularly.” * The Believer *“Jennings and Duffy are some of the most skilled and hardest working comics creators doing the work to radically transform and diversify the comics scene.” * Comicosity *“Jennings has captured [Butler’s] words with visual imagery in such an afrofuturistic, horror-esque way that the images jump off the page with every turn.” * Flickering Myth *

    £11.39

  • The Yellow Wallpaper & Herland

    Pan Macmillan The Yellow Wallpaper & Herland

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisCharlotte Perkins Gilman’s progressive views on feminism and mental health are powerfully showcased in her two most famous stories. The Yellow Wallpaper skillfully charts one woman's struggle with depression whilst Herland is an entertaining imagining of an all female utopia.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by journalist and author Lucy Mangan.Confined to her attic bedroom and isolated from her newborn baby, the nameless narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper keeps a secret diary in which she records the sprawling and shifting patterns of the room’s lurid yellow wallpaper as she slowly sinks into madness. This chilling story is based on the author’s own experience of depression. In Herland, a trio of men set out to discover an all-female community rumoured to be hidden deep in the jungle. What they find surprises them all; they’re captured by women who, for two thousand years, have lived in a peaceful and prosperous utopia without men.Trade ReviewThe Yellow Wallpaper by the American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman created feminist fireworks the moment it appeared in the January 1892 edition of the New England Magazine -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *Gilman wrote her story about husbands, the medical profession and the patriarchy at large shaping and suppressing women’s lives and freedoms 126 years ago. It was only in 2015 that we got a name and a crime – coercive control – for most of what her heroine experiences * Stylist *

    2 in stock

    £10.44

  • Wool: Now a major TV series!

    Cornerstone Wool: Now a major TV series!

    15 in stock

    An epic story of survival at all odds, now a major Apple TV series. NOW THE NO.1 DRAMA IN THE HISTORY OF AppleTV+ In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside. Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last. _________________ 'The next Hunger Games' SUNDAY TIMES 'Well written, tense, and immensely satisfying, Wool will be considered a classic for many years in the future.' WIRED 'Howey's Wool is an epic feat of imagination. You will live in this world.' JUSTIN CRONIN 'Wool is frightening, fascinating, and addictive. In one word, terrific.' KATHY REICHS 'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable...one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' DAILY EXPRESS Silo, No.1 drama in the history of Apple TV as of May 2023.

    15 in stock

    £9.49

  • Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 02

    Rebellion Publishing Ltd. Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 02

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisFar future lawman Judge Dredd has been a mainstay of the British comics scene for over thirty years and now you can follow his earliest cases in this vast collection of graphic novels.This second volume features the very first Dredd epic The Cursed Earth, written by comic legends Pat Mills (Marshal Law) and John Wagner (A History of Violence) and featuring the art of Mike McMahon (The Last American) and Brian Bolland (Batman: The Killing Joke).

    10 in stock

    £15.99

  • The Marriage Act: The unmissable speculative

    Pan Macmillan The Marriage Act: The unmissable speculative

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Goodreads Awards 2023.From the bestselling author of The One, now an eight-part NETFLIX series. Set in the same world as The One, The Marriage Act is a dark, high-concept thriller.‘One of the most exciting original thriller writers’ - Simon KernickWhat if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?Britain. The near future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills – the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is supervising every aspect of our personal lives, monitoring every word, every minor disagreement . . . and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honour and obey.'Black Mirror' meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman’s The Power.Praise for John Marrs:'Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible . . . And talk about a page-turner. This one will leave you with paper cuts!' - C. J. Tudor, author of A Sliver of Darkness'A brilliantly tricksy read' Liz Nugent, author of Strange Sally Diamond'Dark, immersive speculative fiction at it’s very best!' - Sarah Pearse, author of The Retreat and The SanatoriumTrade ReviewClever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible. A near future nightmare that grips from the first page and never let’s go. The Marriage Act is a brilliant examination of relationships and the power we let others have over us. And talk about a page-turner. This one will leave you with paper cuts! -- C. J. Tudor, author of A Sliver of DarknessA scarily plausible alternative future with a truly twisted narrative. Tensely plotted and terrifyingly imagined - it’ll put you off marriage and modern technology for life! -- Harriet Tyce, author of Blood OrangeThe king of near-future what ifs is back with a smart and chilling page-turner. Twisty, unsettling, scarily believable and thought provoking, this is his best yet. -- Ellery Lloyd, author of The ClubOne of the most exciting original thriller writers -- Simon Kernick, author of Good Cop Bad CopJohn’s creative, high-concept thrillers never fail to keep me furiously turning the pages and The Marriage Act is no exception. Pacy and packed full of tension, the book kept me constantly guessing as the thought-provoking plot about marriage and everything that comes with it unfolded in the most sinister of ways . . . dark, immersive speculative fiction at it’s very best! -- Sarah Pearse, author of The Retreat and The SanatoriumJohn Marrs can do no wrong. Like Huxley and Orwell before him, Marrs manages to take real life sanctities and twist them into something terrifyingly plausible. All hail the master of the speculative thriller! -- Jack Jordan, author of Sunday Times bestseller Do No HarmAn absolute blinder of a book . . . another gripping page turner. -- Claire Allan on The Marriage ActI really loved it… a plot that had me guessing all the way through. A triumph. -- Justin Myers on The Marriage ActClever, original, and impossible to put down. The Marriage Act had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. John Marrs is a master of suspense. -- Jeneva Rose, international bestselling author of The Perfect MarriageMarrs is brilliant at twists . . . for the addicts of adrenaline-fuelled twisty rides -- Peter James, author of Picture You DeadA page-turning and thought-provoking read * Daily Mirror *Skilfully evokes a future Britain . . . Marrs also excells when it comes to worldbuilding . . . a socially aware novel packed with thought-provoking questions * SFX Magazine *Another savagely clever near-future thriller. Provocative, terrifying and compulsive. If you loved The One, you'll love this! -- Cara Hunter, author of Hope to DieA tense, thrilling read – I found it impossible to put down. It’s dark and twisted, and I loved it -- Alex Michaelides, bestselling author of The Silent PatientOriginal thriller with lots of surprises * My Weekly *Dark, twisted, and full of surprises -- Mark Edwards, bestselling author of Her to Stay and The RetreatFour couples navigate an increasingly claustrophobic world in this razor sharp and chillingly plausible tale from the masterful John Marrs * Woman's Own Magazine *

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • Never Let Me Go

    Everyman Never Let Me Go

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisAs children, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy attended an exclusive boarding-school in the English countryside. Idyllic in some ways yet vaguely sinister, 'Hailsham' was a place of intense friendships, mysterious rules, and 'guardians' who constantly reminded the students how special they were. Now thirty-one, Kathy looks back on their shared past and tells how she and her friends gradually came to understand the shocking reason for the careful nurturing they had received. An affecting meditation on friendship, love and mortality.

    Out of stock

    £15.29

  • Aiden Shaw's Penis and Other Stories of

    Nobrow Ltd Aiden Shaw's Penis and Other Stories of

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhat does it mean to be silenced, to be censored? Or perhaps, more importantly, what does it mean to break free? This beautifully illustrated anthology celebrates high quality fiction and non-fiction short story writing from authors all over the world. Bringing together 12 exciting and emerging international voices, this collection explores the censoring of the past, present, future, the self, the state, and the effects of censorship on everyday life. As a provocation, this book will provide readers with a diverse, relatable and surprising look at censorship and what it means to be silenced - or, perhaps more importantly, what it means to break free.Trade ReviewAn illustrated collection of short stories that explore the theme of censorship in all its complexity... the pieces not only represent a broad range of lived experiences and viewpoints but also offer a kaleidoscopic rather than myopic perspective on the subject of censorship. * Publishers Weekly *Aiden Shaw´s Penis & Other Stories of Censorship from Around the World is a wide opening testimony that should definitely continue. Only the power of stories about censorship, revealing how naked the king is in fact, can break the long lists of forbidden words of censorships. -- Ilana D. Weissz * wildwritinglife *

    10 in stock

    £13.49

  • The War of the Worlds

    Penguin Books Ltd The War of the Worlds

    7 in stock

    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 in stock

    £7.99

  • The Water Cure

    Penguin Books Ltd The Water Cure

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisBRITISH VOGUE ''STAR OF THE FUTURE''INDEPENDENT BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE''A gripping, sinister fable'' Margaret Atwood''An extraordinary debut - otherworldly, luminous, precise'' Guardian''Bold, inventive, haunting . . . With shades of Margaret Atwood and Eimear McBride, you''ll be bowled over by it'' StylistA hypnotic coming-of-age story for fans of The Power, The Vegetarian, I Who Have Never Known Men and The GirlsGrace, Lia and Sky live in an abandoned hotel, on a sun-bleached island, beside a poisoned sea. Their parents raised them there to keep them safe, to make them good. The world beyond the water is contaminated and men are the contamination. But one day three strangers wash ashore - men who stare at the sisters hungrily, helplessly. Men who bring trouble.*****''A feminist fable set by the sea, a female Lord of the Flies. It felt like a book I''d been waiting to read for a long time'' Emma Jane Unsworth''Visceral, hypnotic, with one of my favourite endings I''ve read in a long while'' The Pool''An unsettling dark fantasy... [It] lingers long after the final page'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewCompulsive, eerily gorgeous, [it] will have you gripped until the end... A film adaptation feels inevitable... As far as debuts go, this is superb * Irish News *A feminist dystopian fairy tale, a sexual coming-of-age story and a survival-of-the-fittest tale. Evocative, suspenseful and bleak - in short, everything this age seems to be demanding * NPR *[An] eerie, uncanny literary debut... Beautifully written, pared down and hypnotic * Sunday Times Culture *Bewitching... [An] ambiguous utopia * Guardian *In raw, visceral prose, Mackintosh probes at ideas of the threat of male violence, the ways women are told to protect ourselves, love and sisterhood and survival. A hypnotic, stormy book, with one of my favourite endings I've read in a long while * The Pool *Stunning... A haunting story of abuse, death, and desire... Chilling and topical, a breathtaking debut * Dazed *Eerily beautiful, this strange, unsettling novel creeps up and grabs hold of you -- Paula Hawkins, author of 'The Girl on the Train'Darkly gratifying, dreamy, primal, and arresting [as] a fairy tale... The overgrown grounds, with their perimeter of rusty barbed wire and shark-infested waters, resemble Sleeping Beauty's castle * New Yorker *Searing, richly drawn, eerily compelling... As foreboding in what it holds back as in what it reveals * Stylist *Elemental... [A] utopia portrayed in spectral, organic prose... Mackintosh is a wonderful stylist; the full scope of her imagination, as well as the cohesion of her vision, is evident on every page... A seriously impressive feat * Irish Times *[A] wildly confident debut... Take the strange social ceremonies of The Lobster and the pheromone-rich claustrophobia of The Beguiled and you come close to the world Sophie Mackintosh conjures * AnOther Magazine *The Water Cure is eerily still and pure - with saline bite... Mackintosh asks if it is the traumas of our pasts that ultimately pose the greatest threat to our futures * New Statesman *Powerfully unsettling, immensely assured, calmly devastating. It conjures a world both alien and familiar, exploring the physical and psychological cruelties enacted on women, by men, in the name of their protection, and the noble and ignoble uses to which anger can be put in a perverse world. This is a gem of a novel, and I was bowled over by it -- Katherine Angel, author of 'Unmastered'Electric [and] beautifully strange... Her novel is an exercise in minimalism * Times Literary Supplement *A hypnotic read... This extraordinary debut is a feminist, quasi-dystopian read - great for fans of Hot Milk, The Girls and The Vegetarian * Elle *A work of cool, claustrophobic beauty. Sophie Mackintosh writes devastatingly well about the complexities that women face in loving men, and in loving each other -- Eli Goldstone, author of 'Strange Heart Beating'Uneasy, mythic, lawless... The atmospheric landscapes cloak trauma and violence in wisps of uncertainty, where bad feelings coalesce as both presciently felt and strangely unknowable * Frieze *Otherworldly, brutal and poetic: a feminist fable set by the sea, a utopia gone awry, a female Lord of the Flies. It transported me, savaged me, filled me with hope and fear. It felt like a book I'd been waiting to read for a long time -- Emma Jane Unsworth, author of 'Animals'[A] lyrical debut, original and very atmospheric * Good Housekeeping *Eerie, electric, beautiful. It rushes you through to the end on a tide of tension and closely held panic. I loved this book -- Daisy Johnson, author of 'Fen'Creepy and delightful, a portrayal of post-apocalyptic puberty, intermingling desire and despair. It has a pinch of Shirley Jackson, a dash of chlorine, and an essence all of its own -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of 'Harmless Like You'Powerful, mythic, seductively sinister... Her alternative world is as carefully imagined as one of Margaret Atwood's... [Sophie Mackintosh] is a writer to be reckoned with * Book Oxygen *Eerie and unsettling, the novel exerts a hypnotic grip as the tension builds * Daily Mail *A superb debut * i *The Water Cure deserves a Sofia Coppola-style big-screen treatment, although its cultish overtones and sinister denouement are as reminiscent of The Wicker Man as The Virgin Suicides * The Literary Review *

    4 in stock

    £9.49

  • Impolitic Corpses

    Canongate Books Impolitic Corpses

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisQuint Dalrymple investigates the strange disappearance of the Lord of the Isles in this gripping dystopian thriller.November, 2038. Scotland has been reunified and Edinburgh''s thirty-year experiment with supposedly benevolent totalitarianism is over. But there''s still plenty of work for ex-investigator Quint Dalrymple, who''s looking into an attempted strangling in Leith. A young man has been attacked by an assailant wearing a bizarre tree-fish costume.Before Quint can make headway, he is asked by the head of government to look into the strange disappearance of the Lord of the Isles. How could Angus Macdonald, leader of the opposition, have vanished from inside his locked bedroom while his valet was sitting outside? And why has a severed finger been hidden in the room? When a body is discovered, arranged in a disturbingly macabre pose, it becomes clear the two cases are linked. As Quint delves further, he is drawn into a complex web of deception whose threads lead far back into his past ...

    7 in stock

    £21.84

  • Borne

    HarperCollins Publishers Borne

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisA FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARThe dark, dangerous, funny and uplifting new novel from the author of Annihilation, the inspiration for the major motion picture directed by Alex Garland.Neither of us had control of our monsters anymore'In a ruined city of the future, Rachel scavenges a strange creature from the fur of a despotic bear.She names him Borne.He reminds her of her homeland lost to rising seas, but her lover Wick is intent on rendering him down as raw material for the special drugs he sells. Nothing is quite what it seems, and if Wick is hiding secrets, so too is Rachel and Borne most of all.Trade Review‘Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy was an ever-creeping map of the apocalypse; with Borne he continues his investigation into the malevolent grace of the world, and it's a thorough marvel’ Colson Whitehead ‘Jeff VanderMeer’s deeply strange and brilliant new novel extends the meditation on the central question of non-human sentience in his earlier work … No one writes a post-apocalyptic landscape like VanderMeer, so detailed and strange in all its lineaments and topography’ Neel Mukherjee, Guardian ‘From being a very successful SF writer, VanderMeer will become mainstream – and Borne is full of signs that he is already thinking ahead of that easy transition, and perhaps subverting it’ Toby Litt, New Statesman ‘No one writes a post-apocalyptic landscape like VanderMeer, so detailed and strange in all its lineaments and topography, at once a wasteland and yet seething with the weirdest kind of flora, fauna and biotech’ Neel Mukherjee, Observer ‘As Borne grows and evolves, so develops a weird family dynamic in a novel that is as much of a fascinating hybrid as its title character, both an enthralling fantasy adventure and a bleak eco-dystopic admonition’ James Lovegrove, Financial Times ‘Borne is a fantastic read, a vivid vision of an apocalyptic future that defies expectations and challenges any preconceptions as to how events are going to unfold. It can be disturbing at times – there are some chilling moments that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror novel – but it’s a book that ultimately transcends genre, offering its reader a range of emotions and a finale that provides more than one twist, all of which should be applauded. Rachel’s story is one that will stay in the memory for a long time; VanderMeer shares her hopes and dreams with us, as well as her failures and concerns, making Borne an intimate portrayal that appeals on a multitude of levels’ Starburst

    7 in stock

    £9.49

  • Mindstar Rising

    Pan Macmillan Mindstar Rising

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn a ravaged near-future England, a private detective with psychic powers might be the last hope standing between mankind and total collapse. Mindstar Rising is the first cyberpunk thriller in Peter F. Hamilton's hugely popular Greg Mandel series. For fans of James S.A. Corey.It's the 21st century and global warming is here to stay, so forget the way your country used to look. And get used to the free market, too – the companies possess all the best hardware, and they're calling the shots now.In a world like this, a man open to any offers can do just fine. A man like Greg Mandel for instance, who's psi-boosted, wired into the latest sensory equipment and carrying state-of-the-art weaponry. He's also been part of the English Army's Mindstar Battalion.As the cartels battle for control of a revolutionary new power source, and corporate greed outstrips national security, tension is mounting to boiling point. And Greg Mandel is about to face the ultimate test.Mindstar Rising is followed by A Quantum Murder and The Nano Flower to complete the Greg Mandel trilogy.Trade ReviewA pacey traditionally styled adventure yarn in which the reader can revel . . . Hamilton doesn’t mess about . . . the story races ahead with verve and flair -- StarburstThe plotting is tight and ingenious -- InterzoneHamilton appears as a full-fledged SF technician, able to manage the demands of the genre without working up a sweat -- LocusA stunning new debut novel . . . possibly the best since Bester, incorporating future predictions of climate, social, social, business, and political behaviour, completing this with hard science, believable scenarios, excellently balanced characters, and a good well-told story. What more do you want? Not to be missed -- Critical Wave

    4 in stock

    £10.44

  • Domain

    Pan Macmillan Domain

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisJames Herbert's Domain imagines having to choose between nuclear radiation or horrifying, flesh-eating rats.Trade ReviewCompletes the rodent trilogy with what must be the ultimate rat novel . . . the adventure never flags. * Daily Express *

    5 in stock

    £9.49

  • The Blizzard Penguin Modern Classics

    Penguin Books Ltd The Blizzard Penguin Modern Classics

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisA darkly comic dystopian odyssey, from one of Russia''s leading contemporary novelistsGarin, a country doctor, is desperately trying to reach the village of Dolgoye, where a mysterious epidemic is transforming the villagers into zombies. He has with him a vaccine which will prevent the spread of this epidemic, but a terrible blizzard turns his journey into the stuff of nightmare. A trip that should take hours turns into a metaphysical odyssey, in which he encounters strange beasts, apparitions, hallucinations and dangerous fellow men. Trapped in this existential storm, Sorokin''s characters fight their way through a landscape that owes as much to Chekhov''s 19th-century Russia as it does to near-future, post-apocalyptic literature. Fantastical, comic and richly drawn, The Blizzard at once answers to the canon of Russian writers and makes a fierce statement about life in contemporary Russia.Trade ReviewVladimir Sorokin [is] Russia's most inventive contemporary author -- Masha Gessen * New York Times Book Review *

    5 in stock

    £9.49

  • Dark Eden

    Atlantic Books Dark Eden

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisYou live in Eden. You are a member of the Family, one of 532 descendants of Angela and Tommy. You shelter beneath the Forest's lantern trees. Beyond the forest lie mountains so forbidding that no one has ever crossed them. The Oldest recount legends of a time when men and women made boats that could travel between worlds. One day, they will come back for you. You live in Eden. You are a member of the Family, one of 532 descendants of two marooned explorers. You huddle, slowly starving, in the warmth of geothermal trees, confined to one barely habitable valley of an alien, sunless world.You are John Redlantern. You will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. You will be the first to kill another, the first to venture into the Dark and the first to discover the truth about Eden.Trade ReviewA classic theme, beautifully told * Sunday Telegraph *This is a world I'm desperate to return to -- Alison Flood * Guardian *There's no justice if Dark Eden, with its beautiful, terrifying planet, slowly revealed, fails to bring Beckett awards * Sunday Times *A captivating and haunting book * Daily Mail *A dazzlingly inventive science-fiction writer -- A. N WilsonDark Eden is stunningly written * SciFiNow *Dark Eden is an incredible novel * SFBooks *Beckett should be on the radar of anyone who professes concern for science fiction as a literary form -- Alastair Reynolds

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • Twenty Five to Life

    Watkins Media Limited Twenty Five to Life

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisLife goes on for the billions left behind after the humanity-saving colony mission to Proxima Centauri leaves Earth orbit ... but what's the point?Julie Riley is two years too young to get out from under her mother's thumb, and what does it matter? She's over-educated, under-employed, and kept mostly numb by her pharma emplant. Her best friend, who she's mostly been interacting with via virtual reality for the past decade, is part of the colony mission to Proxima Centauri. Plus, the world is coming to an end. So, there's that.When Julie's mother decides it's time to let go of the family home in a failing suburb and move to the city to be closer to work and her new beau, Julie decides to take matters into her own hands. She runs, illegally, hoping to find and hide with the Volksgeist, a loose-knit culture of tramps, hoboes, senior citizens, artists, and never-do-wells who have elected to ride out the end of the world in their campers and converted vans, constantlyTrade Review"Not to be missed.""Greene nails it!""Engaging and memorable.""Sure to connect with anyone who has searched for their purpose in life and a place to belong.""Twenty-Five to Life is a story of found friendship between the unlikeliest of characters and the rediscovery of humanity in the face of doom.""This book hooked me. Greene’s not-too-distant dystopian future really hits home."

    7 in stock

    £9.49

  • We

    Canongate Books We

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe One State is the perfect society, ruled over by the enlightened Benefactor. It is a city made almost entirely of glass, where surveillance is universal and life runs according to algorithmic rules to ensure perfect happiness. And D-503, the Builder, is the ideal citizen, at least until he meets I-330, who opens his eyes to new ideas of love, sex and freedom.A foundational work of dystopian fiction, inspiration for both Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley's Brave New World, WE is a book of radical imaginings - of control and rebellion, surveillance and power, machine intelligence and human inventiveness, sexuality and desire. It is both a warning and a hope for a better world.This new edition also includes Ursula K. Le Guin's essay 'The Stalin in the Soul' on the enduring influence of Zamyatin's masterpiece, and George Orwell's 1946 review of WE.Trade ReviewThe best single work of science fiction yet written -- URSULA K. LE GUINTwo of the most iconic novels in the English language - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell - owe an enormous debt to Zamyatin. We is the ur-text of science-fiction dystopias . . . the product of a powerful imagination * * Wall Street Journal * *The prototype . . . Zamyatin is a major artist * * New York Times * *This new edition, which contains Orwell's review as well as an introduction by Margaret Atwood, an afterword by Ursula Le Guin and an absorbing comment by the translator Bela Shayevich, who grew up in the former Soviet Union, will be the definitive version in English for the foreseeable future * * New Statesman * *[A] fine new translation . . . In a market of competing editions . . . Shayevich's stands out, and for very good reason . . . truly excellent . . . Shayevich's [translation] retains the novel's bold, jagged, elemental energy [and] remains true to the spirit of the work in a way that the author himself would have applauded * * Times Literary Supplement * *A seminal dystopian classic . . . This timely and thoughtful edition is a fitting tribute to book of lasting influence * * Irish Times * *It is in effect a study of the Machine, the genie that man has thoughtlessly let out of its bottle and cannot put back again -- GEORGE ORWELL

    15 in stock

    £13.49

  • Welcome to the Monkey House

    Vintage Publishing Welcome to the Monkey House

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisA MASTERFUL COLLECTION OF TWENTY-FIVE SHORT STORIES FROM THE INIMITABLE AUTHOR OF SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5, KURT VONNEGUT 'Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer...a zany but moral mad scientist' Time A diabolical government asserts control by eliminating orgasms. A scientist discovers the secret to unlocking instant happiness, with unexpected consequences. In an America where everyone is equal every which way, a tennage boy plans to overthrow the system. Welcome to the Monkey House gathers together twenty-five of Kurt Vonnegut's short stories from the 1950s and 1960s. Shot through with Vonnegut's singular humour, wit and bewilderment at humanity, this is a collection that celebrates a true master of short-form fiction.Trade ReviewA joyous ragbag of a collection * Observer *After Vonnegut, everything else seems a bit tame * Spectator *One of the master alchemists of modern American fiction * Sunday Times *A cool writer, at once throwaway and passionate and very funny * Financial Times *A brilliant wacky ideas-monger * Guardian *

    7 in stock

    £9.49

  • The Possibility of an Island

    Orion Publishing Co The Possibility of an Island

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe controversial, gripping novel from the bestselling, highly acclaimed author of ATOMISED and SEROTONIN.''Essential reading for anyone concerned with the state of the contemporary world'' DAILY MAILWho, among you, deserves eternal life?Daniel is a highly successful stand-up comedian who has made a career out of playing outrageously on the prejudices of his public. But at the beginning of the twenty-first century, he has begun to detest laughter in particular and mankind in general. Despite this, Daniel is unable to stop himself believing in the possibility of love.A thousand years on, war, drought and earthquakes have decimated the earth and Daniel24 lives alone in a secure compound - his only companion, a cloned dog named Fox. Outside, the remnants of the human race roam in packs, while Daniel24 attempts to decipher his predecessor''s history. In a nightmarish vision of the implosion of the modern world, he, like his predecessor attempts to fathTrade ReviewTakes you by the throat and shakes you. A bracing mix of visionary Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh at his cruellest, and ranting John Osborne, THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ISLAND is a charging bull in the china shop of modern fiction * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ISLAND is above all an aesthetic achievement. For this, Houellebecq should win the Prix Goncourt that polemics and personalities have made so elusive * SCOTSMAN *His deftly constructed novel is a bleak comment on contemporary society, at times funny, brutal and revolting * THE ECONOMIST *An exhilarating writer....in a class of his own * LITERARY REVIEW *There is no doubt that he is a writer who deserves the serious attention that he is now receiving * THE TIMES *Provocative and satisfying fiction * HERALD *The novel is essential reading for anyone concerned with the state of either contemporary fiction or the contemporary world * DAILY MAIL *There are passages of irresistible black humour, savage condemnation and genuine (and surprising) sentiment * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *If you liked ATOMISED and PLATFORM, you'll love THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ISLAND ... the most talented of current French writers * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *It will sicken you, reduce you to laughter and stun you with its savage directness, but it will always leave you thinking * SPAIN MAGAZINE *The first 300 pages of this novel prove that Houellebecq is one of the best novelists writing today * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *The book shows his main strength: caustic wit with a moral force that cuts through complacent assumptions * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Houellebecq keeps us listening, even when we know we should leave * INDEPENDENT *Reading Houellebecq is like being caught up in a tropical storm: you are blown away by the ferocity of his imagination * OBSERVER *Europe's most inflammatory writer * INDEPENDENT *Houellebecq keeps us listening, even when we know we should leave. * THE INDEPENDENT *the book shows his main strength: caustic with with a moral force that cuts throug complacent assumptions. -- Katie Owen * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *

    2 in stock

    £9.49

  • The Memory Librarian

    HarperCollins Publishers The Memory Librarian

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn The Memory Librarian music, fashion, film and futurist icon Janelle Monáe returns to the Afrofuturistic world of her critically acclaimed album, Dirty Computer, to explore how different threads of liberation queerness, race, gender plurality, love become tangled in a totalitarian landscape and to discover costs of unravelling them.Whoever controls our memories controls the future.Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborating creators have written a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller.Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts as a means of self-conception could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether human, A.I., or other, your life and sentience was dictated by those who'd convinced themselves they had the right to decide your fate.That was until Jane 57821 decided to remember and break free.Expanding from that mythos, these stories fully explTrade Review‘Each story in this collection is a searing but ultimately hopeful glimpse into how marginalized groups can hope and create in a world set against them’BUZZFEED ‘A reminder for those who’ve ever been told they don’t fit in that there’s a world beyond this harsh one’WASHINGTON POST “A poignant commentary on the power of technology, the preservation of queer identity, and the commodification of time’USA TODAY ‘THE MEMORY LIBRARIAN might not be the answer to the social and political upsets of our time, but it is an answer, and a fiercely inspiring one: a deepening of Afrofuturism’s potential to weaponize our dreams for a freer, more joyous world.”WIRED ‘Blistering, hopeful, and richly written. . . All readers will finish the book craving more’BOOKLIST (starred review) ‘A moving, triumphant collection…This is a knockout’PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review) ‘Highly recommended for readers of conspiracy and thought-control sf or of Afrofuturist works by the likes of Octavia Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, and Nnedi Okorafor’LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review) ‘A celebration of queer and Afrofuturist science fiction saluting creativity in difference’KIRKUS ‘This one is sure to leave an impression’BUST MAGAZINE ‘A glorious representation and celebration of a spectrum of sexuality and gender, each written with pure empathy’TOR.COM ‘A vivid, visceral text with as much of a hook as the album the stories were inspired by’LOCUS ‘It confirms Monáe’s incredible power of imagination and creativity whatever medium she’s working in, and the ability and talent of her co-writers in bringing her vision alive on the page’FANTASY HIVE

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • The Man in the High Castle

    Penguin Books Ltd The Man in the High Castle

    5 in stock

    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 *

    5 in stock

    £9.49

  • Terra Nullius

    Hachette Australia Terra Nullius

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE STELLA PRIZE 2018Highly Commended in the Victorian Premier''s Literary Awards 2017Shortlisted for the ABIA Matt Richell Award for New Writers 2018Shortlisted for the Aurealis Award for a Science Fiction Novel 2017Longlisted for the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction 2018Nominated for Ditmar Award Best New Talent 2018''Artfully combining elements of literary, historical, and speculative fiction, this allegorical novel is surprising and unforgettable'' - starred review, Publishers Weekly''The truth that lies at the heart of this novel is impossible to ignore.'' - Books+Publishing''a skilfully constructed pastiche of colonisation, resistance and apocalyptic chaos with parallels that sit unsettlingly close to home'' - The Big IssueJacky was running. There was no thought in his head, only an intense drive to run. There was no sense he was gettinTrade ReviewNoongar writer Claire Coleman's debut novel, Terra Nullius, envisions a continent disturbingly familiar and worryingly futuristic. Disturbing because it opens with a scenario of settler dispossession; worrying because Coleman's stories serve as a critique of recent history and prophesy a "second wave invasion and a post-colonial future". * Sydney Morning Herald *Noongar writer Claire Coleman's debut novel, Terra Nullius, envisions a continent disturbingly familiar and worryingly futuristic. Disturbing because it opens with a scenario of settler dispossession; worrying because Coleman's stories serve as a critique of recent history and prophesy a "second wave invasion and a post-colonial future". * Sydney Morning Herald *Coleman makes a significant contribution to the emerging body of Aboriginal writers such as Ellen van Neerven and Alexis Wright who write spectral and speculative fiction to critique the vicious fiction of the colonial archive. * Canberra Times *Coleman makes a significant contribution to the emerging body of Aboriginal writers such as Ellen van Neerven and Alexis Wright who write spectral and speculative fiction to critique the vicious fiction of the colonial archive. * Canberra Times *Coleman, a south coast Noongar woman from Western Australia, goes to the heart of Australia's challenge as a nation - how to universalise the experience of Indigenous people, so that it is something all Australians can understand. This is the essence of good fiction: it takes us away from our present reality and into another. * Zoe Pollock, Brisbane Writers Festival *Coleman, a south coast Noongar woman from Western Australia, goes to the heart of Australia's challenge as a nation - how to universalise the experience of Indigenous people, so that it is something all Australians can understand. This is the essence of good fiction: it takes us away from our present reality and into another. * Zoe Pollock, Brisbane Writers Festival *Set in an Australia that is simultaneously recognisable and bleakly foreign, Coleman's work of speculative fiction tells a story of colonisation and displacement that is both devastating and all too familiar. In our politically tumultuous time, the novel's themes of racism, inherent humanity and freedom are particularly poignant. * Books + Publishing *Set in an Australia that is simultaneously recognisable and bleakly foreign, Coleman's work of speculative fiction tells a story of colonisation and displacement that is both devastating and all too familiar. In our politically tumultuous time, the novel's themes of racism, inherent humanity and freedom are particularly poignant. * Books + Publishing *Coleman is unflinching. * Sydney Review of Books *Coleman is unflinching. * Sydney Review of Books *Terra Nullius is witty, weird, moving and original. * Weekend Australian *Terra Nullius is witty, weird, moving and original. * Weekend Australian *Claire G. Coleman's timely debut is testimony to the power of an old story seen afresh through new eyes. Terra Nullius tells a very familiar tale - with a twist. * Adelaide Review *Claire G. Coleman's timely debut is testimony to the power of an old story seen afresh through new eyes. Terra Nullius tells a very familiar tale - with a twist. * Adelaide Review *Terra Nullius takes reader expectations and confounds them, this is not the story you think it is... but at the same time it's all too familiar. * AU Review *Terra Nullius takes reader expectations and confounds them, this is not the story you think it is... but at the same time it's all too familiar. * AU Review *A speculative sci-fi struggle meaningfully grounded in Coleman's own Indigenous culture, Term Nullius offers something new - a skilfully constructed pastiche of colonisation, resistance and apocalyptic chaos with parallels that sit unsettlingly close to home. * The Big Issue *A speculative sci-fi struggle meaningfully grounded in Coleman's own Indigenous culture, Term Nullius offers something new - a skilfully constructed pastiche of colonisation, resistance and apocalyptic chaos with parallels that sit unsettlingly close to home. * The Big Issue *An incredible debut from striking new voice Claire G Coleman * The Saturday Age *An incredible debut from striking new voice Claire G Coleman * The Saturday Age *

    3 in stock

    £9.99

  • Animal Farm

    Vintage Publishing Animal Farm

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAll animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.George Orwell's fable of revolutionary farm animals - the steadfast horses Boxer and Clover, the opportunistic pigs Snowball and Napoleon, and the deafening choir of sheep - who overthrow their elitist human master only to find themselves subject to a new authority, is one of the most famous warnings ever written. Rejected by such eminent publishing figures as Victor Gollancz, Jonathan Cape and T.S. Eliot due to its daringly open criticism of Stalin, Animal Farm was published to great acclaim by Martin Secker and Warburg on 17 August 1945. One reviewer wrote 'In a hundred years' time perhaps Animal Farm ... may simply be a fairy story: today it is a fairy story with a good deal of point.' Seventy-five years since its first publication, Orwell's immortal satire remains an unparalleled masterpiece and more relevant than ever.The Authoritative Text. With an introduction by Christopher Hitchens.*The jacket of this stunning hardback edition features period artwork by Elizabeth Friedlander, one of Europe's pre-eminent 20th-century graphic designers. Look out for complementary editions of Orwell's essential works Nineteen Eighty-Four and Down and Out in Paris and London.*

    1 in stock

    £10.99

  • The Peripheral

    Penguin Books Ltd The Peripheral

    1 in stock

    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 *

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • Gnomon

    Cornerstone Gnomon

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisA GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR'Gnomon is an extraordinary novel, and one I can’t stop thinking about some weeks after I read it. It is deeply troubling, magnificently strange, and an exhilarating read.' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven'Nick Harkaway’s most ambitious novel yet. [A] story of near-future mass surveillance, artificial intelligence and human identity ... An amazing and quite unforgettable piece of fiction.' Guardian'Harkaway dazzles.' Daily Mail'Wonderfully good.' Sunday TimesNear-future Britain is a state in which citizens are constantly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of 'transparency.' Every action is seen, every word is recorded and the System has access to thoughts and memories.When suspected dissident Diana Hunter dies in custody, it marks the first time a citizen has been killed during an interrogation. Mielikki Neith, a trusted state inspector, is assigned to find out what went wrong. Immersing herself in neural recordings of the interrogation, what she finds isn't Hunter but rather a panorama of characters within Hunter's psyche.Embedded in the memories of these impossible lives lies a code which Neith must decipher to find out what Hunter is hiding. The staggering consequences of what she finds will reverberate throughout the world.Trade ReviewGnomon is an extraordinary novel, and one I can’t stop thinking about some weeks after I read it. It is deeply troubling, magnificently strange, and an exhilarating read. -- Emily St. John Mandel, author of 'Station Eleven'Nick Harkaway’s most ambitious novel yet. This story of near-future mass surveillance, artificial intelligence and human identity reads as if 11 novels have been crowded into a matter-transporter pod, emerging on the other side weirdly melded. An enormous, shaggy, infuriating, amazing and quite unforgettable piece of fiction, it’s the kind of thing only science fiction can do. * Guardian, Science-Fiction Books of the Year *One of the most remarkable things about the remarkable Nick Harkaway is the irrelevance of his literary heritage. The son of John le Carré, he is very much his own author ... There’s a lot of explanation in this book, but then there’s a lot of everything going on in it. Densely texted pages of ideas, references and similes fizz and sparkle and burst into life in a fireworks display that keeps going ... The writing, too, is rarely anything other than impressive ... Gnomon does reward perseverance. Ludicrously complicated it may be, but it’s also wonderfully good. * Sunday Times *[A] prowling deep-sea monster of a novel … A sci-fi detective procedural, violent thriller and multi-layered mystery combine brilliantly to pull us through a profound exploration of power and paranoia, technology and myth … Harkaway dazzles, baffles and teases before guiding us through bloody darkness into understanding. * Daily Mail *This huge sci-fi detective novel of ideas is so eccentric, so audaciously plotted and so completely labyrinthine and bizarre that I had to put it aside more than once to emit Keanu-like “Whoahs” of appreciation ... It’s a technological shaggy-dog tale that threatens to out-Gibson William Gibson ... It is huge fun. And it will melt your brain … 700 odd pages power relentlessly by, only to touch down with the delicacy of a SpaceX rocket on – ah yes – the only possible ending. Whoah indeed. I wanted to give it a round of applause. * Spectator *

    5 in stock

    £9.99

  • A Clockwork Orange Penguin Essentials

    Penguin Books Ltd A Clockwork Orange Penguin Essentials

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe daring dystopian satire that inspired one of the most notorious films ever made, beautifully reimagined as part of the Penguin Essentials series''Every generation should discover this book'' Time Out ________________In this nightmare vision of youth in revolt, fifteen-year-old Alex and his friends set out on a diabolical orgy of robbery, rape, torture and murder. Alex is jailed for his teenage delinquency and the State tries to reform him - but at what cost? Experiment of language? Social prophecy? Black comedy? A Clockwork Orange is all of these. Dazzling and transgressive, this frightening fable about good and evil asks the meaning of human freedom.________________''A gruesomely witty cautionary tale'' Time ''Not only about man''s violent nature and his capacity to choose between good and evil. It is about the excitements and intoxicating effects of Trade ReviewA gruesomely witty cautionary tale * Time *Every generation should discover this book * Time Out *Not only about man's violent nature and his capacity to choose between good and evil. It is about the excitements and intoxicating effects of language * Daily Telegraph *I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language...a very funny book -- William S. BurroughsOne of the cleverest and most original writers of his generation * The Times *

    5 in stock

    £8.54

  • Dead Astronauts

    HarperCollins Publishers Dead Astronauts

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisUnder the watchful eye of The Company, three characters Grayson, Morse and Chen shapeshifters, amorphous, part human, part extensions of the landscape, make their way through forces that would consume them. A blue fox, a giant fish and language stretched to the limit.A messianic blue fox who slips through warrens of time and space on a mysterious mission. A homeless woman haunted by a demon who finds the key to all things in a strange journal. A giant leviathan of a fish, centuries old, who hides a secret, remembering a past that may not be its own. Three ragtag rebels waging an endless war for the fate of the world against an all-powerful corporation. A raving madman who wanders the desert lost in the past, haunted by his own creation: an invisible monster whose name he has forgotten and whose purpose remains hidden.Jeff VanderMeer''s Dead Astronauts presents a City with no name of its own where, in the shadow of the all-powerful Company, lives human and otherwise converge in terrifTrade ReviewPraise for Dead Astronauts: ‘A genuinely innovative artwork requires time to fulfil its effect. Jeff VanderMeer’s Dead Astronauts is one such work – bewildering, perplexing, original – and I would recommend that readers allow it the concentration it demands’ Guardian ‘There's beauty as well as horror here; moments of weaponised whimsy, plus his usual clear-eyed ecological themes. This is wild science fiction, but it's also an angry book that's very much about the present day… you'll find some of the author's strongest writing and a genuinely original tale of environmental apocalypse’ SFX Magazine ‘An immersive, fantastical adventure, but also a compelling allegory for the role of individual resistance in the face of seemingly intractable planet-sized problems like climate change’ New York Times Praise for Borne: ‘Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy was an ever-creeping map of the apocalypse; with Borne he continues his investigation into the malevolent grace of the world, and it's a thorough marvel’ Colson Whitehead ‘Jeff VanderMeer’s deeply strange and brilliant new novel extends the meditation on the central question of non-human sentience in his earlier work … No one writes a post-apocalyptic landscape like VanderMeer, so detailed and strange in all its lineaments and topography’ Neel Mukherjee, Guardian ‘From being a very successful SF writer, VanderMeer will become mainstream – and Borne is full of signs that he is already thinking ahead of that easy transition, and perhaps subverting it’ Toby Litt, New Statesman Praise for The Southern Reach Trilogy: ‘ Creepy and fascinating’ Stephen King ‘Hauntingly weird and brilliantly new … These are contemporary masterpieces and career-defining novels’ Adam Robert, Books of the Year, Guardian

    4 in stock

    £9.49

  • The End We Start From: Now a Major Motion Picture

    Pan Macmillan The End We Start From: Now a Major Motion Picture

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisNow a Major Film Starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)As flood waters close over London, a woman gives birth to a child. Heartfelt and urgently original, The End We Start From is the compulsive debut novel from Megan Hunter.'Engrossing, compelling and hopeful' – Naomi Alderman, author of The Power'Stunning' – Benedict CumberbatchDays after giving birth, mother and child are forced to leave home in search of safety. The journey north with be dangerous – but new life and fresh hope push them on . . .A startlingly beautiful story of a family's survival, The End We Start From is a haunting but hopeful dystopian vision of a familiar world made dangerous and unstable.'Virginia Woolf does cli-fi . . . tremendous' – Independent'I was moved, terrified, uplifted – sometimes all three at once' - Tracy Chevalier'Beautifully spare and haunting' - Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station ElevenTrade ReviewThe End We Start From is strange and powerful, and very apt for these uncertain times. I was moved, terrified, uplifted – sometimes all three at once. It takes skill to manage that, and Hunter has a poet’s understanding of how to make each word count. -- Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl EarringThe End We Start From is a beautifully spare, haunting meditation on the persistence of life after catastrophe. I loved it. -- Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station ElevenA shot of distilled story . . . engrossing, compelling and finally hopeful -- Naomi Alderman, author of The Power, winner of the 2017 Baileys Women's Prize for FictionI can’t remember ever having read a novel quite as sparing or as daring as Megan Hunter’s The End We Start From, or one that delivers so mighty an impact from such delicate materials. It is a moving, wistful and compelling debut. -- Jim Crace, author of HarvestAn exceptional, alarming and beautiful book, which still echoes months after I finished reading it. Megan Hunter is a writer of unnerving power. -- Evie Wyld, author of All the Birds, SingingI'll be recommending this book for years to come. Utterly brilliant, hugely important. Here's the thing: it's perfect. -- Nathan Filer, author of Costa Prize-winning The Shock of the FallExtraordinary. Megan Hunter's prose is exquisite, her depiction of a world descending into chaos is frighteningly real, and yet, it is her portrayal of motherhood - that tender-terrifying experience of bringing a child into a world - that has remained with me. The End We Start From is an incredible, original exploration of all that beauty, boredom and bewilderment. I read it in one sitting, and was deeply moved. -- Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites and The Good PeopleThe End We Start From is relentlessly, achingly personal. Hunter reminds us that disasters are rarely experienced in panorama. Instead, we live bone-deep inside our narrator. This book is fierce, sorrowful, and spiked with moments of bright joy. -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like YouThe End We Start From is so good and clever: a beautiful, timely book about survival (both domestic and global) shot through with hope and humanity -- Lisa Owens, author of Not WorkingBeautiful . . . Water isn't the thing here, love is. And how we survive as the level of love rises -- Cynan Jones, author of The Dig and The CoveExceptional, stunning. I devoured it -- Megan Bradbury, author of Everyone is WatchingA dystopia that feels utterly convincing as our narrator gives birth to her son in a London under threat of advancing flood waters. She lives in the gulp zone so must head off into a familiar territory that has become terrifying in search of shelter and safety. This slender take on new motherhood has stayed with me – not least in making me think about the UK as a place to flee from rather than to, and to imagine Londoners turned refugees. -- Cathy Rentzenbrink * Stylist *Spellbinding . . . a debut [that] packs a punch that belies its brevity, with the author's background in poetry shining through . . . The End We Start From is a slender novel, but more profoundly moving than novels six times as long. It is perfectly balanced between fear and wonder. The world around them may be falling apart in the most extraordinary way, but ordinary life goes on and, as Hunter makes us understand, what a beautiful life it is. * The Bookseller *Powerful . . . an uplifting celebration of the reality of motherhood in the face of terrifying global disaster * Daily Mail *I held my breath reading this beautiful and timely novel. With precise yet lyrical language Megan Hunter gets to the centre of who we are, where we are, and why it matters. The End We Start From is a work of art -- Christie Watson, author of Tiny Sunbirds Far AwayThis debut is a story of a new mother and her baby who are turned into refugees after a mysterious environmental crisis. The End We Start From is a relevant story of our times which shrewdly ponders the meaning of survival and humanity in desperate times * Wales Arts Review *Startling . . . beautiful and insightful. Everyone who reads this will come away feeling renewed * Elle Magazine *Megan Hunter's slender, startling debut shimmers with light, even as the novel heads into dark territory . . . tender and profound -- Psychologies Book of the MonthExtraordinary . . . The End We Start From is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, in that it shares the same narrative detachment, and the same precise poetry. It is of course told from the perspective of a mother, rather than a father, and is set in a world that is only beginning to fall into chaos. And in the midst of it all, each parent cradles their child, enchanted by their breathing. “Sometimes he sleeps so quietly it seems that he has gone.” Megan Hunter’s remarkable debut novel feels like the other half of the story * Financial Times *In a future London, a mysterious environmental crisis is causing flooding. On the day a woman gives birth to her first child, Z, her home and the city is submerged, and she and her husband R are forced to leave in search of safety. In a scant 127 pages, Megan Hunter creates a powerful and painful story of love and endurance, and of the experiences of being a mother and a refugee * Stylist *A haunting dystopian tale unlike any you’ve read before. In the aftermath of an environmental disaster, London is submerged by floodwater and the narrator, who remains unnamed, is forced to flee with her newborn baby. Despite the world as they know it crumbling around them, mother and son grow and thrive in this dangerous new Britain, where they’ve been recast as refugees. Poetic, precise, and surprisingly full of warmth, this is a beautiful story about the first months of motherhood and the places where hope springs, even in the darkest of times * AnOther *Brilliant . . . Hunter traces - with expert precision and such lyricism - who we are when life is minimised . . . an echo of Jenny Offill's Dept of Speculation . . . a visceral, poetic confession -- Sinéad Gleeson * Irish Times *Fans of Station Eleven will love this. * Red magazine *The End We Start From is an effective, unusual and ambitious debut, which keeps the reader pinned to the page * Guardian *Set in a post-apocalyptic Britain, Megan Hunter's debut is lyrical, uplifting and unmissable * Stylist *A stunning tale of motherhood. Megan has crafted a striking and frighteningly real story of a family fighting for survival that will make everyone stop and think about what kind of planet we are leaving behind for our children -- Benedict CumberbatchStrange and haunting . . . This isn’t a novel in which exposition is a problem; it’s more Virginia Woolf does cli-fi . . . Good news then that film rights have already been snapped up, by Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SunnyMarch and Hera Pictures. Let’s just hope they do it justice; the dystopian elements are the easy sell, the beating heart of this tender and tremendous story is without doubt Hunter’s portrait of early motherhood, an all-encompassing world of its own * Independent *Megan Hunter uses words sparingly. In her startlingly poetic debut, The End We Start From, she even rations her letters. She calls her characters R and Z and each paragraph is only a sentence or two long. Hunter tangles the delight and disorientation of new motherhood with scenes of societal collapse. As everything seems to be ending, as London floods, a new life begins, hot and pink and hungry. Hunter writes with delicacy and precision; her imagery is pearlescent in places. It’s a sliver of a novel, but it shimmers. * Observer *Natural disasters and climate-related catastrophes might make for a compelling setting, but to really catch a reader's interest, you need to have the personal touch. And this is a novel that takes that principle down to its sparsest, simplest best, focusing on one woman and her child through a year of turmoil . . . best read in one sitting to fully absorb the haunting, brutal yet loving atmosphere of the narrator's journey . . . does a great job of capturing the intensity of early parenthood . . . a tale of survival in extreme conditions * SFX *Hunter's spare, drumskin-tight prose zings off the page, and ingenious descriptions abound . . . It may only consist of 127 pages of impressionistic, staccato sentences, but this is a book of wide horizons and big ideas, and it's no surprise that Benedict Cumberbatch's company have just acquired movie rights. For Hunter the future looks very bright indeed. * Scotland on Sunday *A story of sheer catastrophe, peppered with endearing experiences and milestones of new motherhood. The element which defines this short piece of dystopian fiction is the unique, elegant writing style . . . The End We Start From is beautiful, thought-provoking and most of all, hauntingly believable. It is a tale of hope at a time when the country truly needs it. A stunning debut. * Manchester Evening News *

    7 in stock

    £9.49

  • Attack on Titan Omnibus 7 (Vol. 19-21)

    Kodansha America, Inc Attack on Titan Omnibus 7 (Vol. 19-21)

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisIt's never been easier to attack Attack on Titan than with these new, giant-sized 3-in-1 omnibus editions! If you've been waiting for the final anime season to check out the do-or-die shonen adventure that defined a decade, now's your chance. These new books tuck almost 600 pages of manga behind a specially-embossed cover, all in a larger size than the regular version. Includes Vol. 19-21 of Attack on Titan. The Survey Corps is engaged in a desperate, final battle to retake Wall Maria and defeat the Titans once and for all. Eren must use his new powers to seal the holes created five years ago in the Shiganshina District gates, not to mention to finally reach the basement of his old home and find what secrets lie hidden there. But the most difficult part of the operation will be surviving whatever clever traps the Colossus Titan, Armored Titan, and Beast Titan have prepared for them! Now that Erwin is gambling with every last human life, who will triumph?

    7 in stock

    £15.99

  • Brave New World: A Graphic Novel

    Vintage Publishing Brave New World: A Graphic Novel

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe graphic novel adaptation of the classic dystopian masterpiece. From Fred Fordham, graphic novelist behind the sensational TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD graphic novel.Originally published in 1932, Brave New World is one of the most revered and profound works of twentieth century literature. Touching on themes of control, humanity, technology, and influence, Aldous Huxley's enduring classic is a reflection and a warning of the age in which it was written, yet remains frighteningly relevant today.With its surreal imagery and otherworldly backdrop, Brave New World adapts beautifully to the graphic novel form. Fred Fordham's singular artistic flair and attention to detail and color captures this thought-provoking novel as never before, and introduces it to a new generation, and countless modern readers, in a fresh and compelling way.Trade Review[A] highly engaging adaptation of the famous novel... Fordham utilises the graphic novel format to the full, with exciting, near-cinematic renderings of the action...that bring the narrative to life, giving Huxley's seminal work a sense of urgency and visual appeal that makes it more readily accessible for a whole new audience, while for the most part staying faithful to the original text * TeachWire *

    7 in stock

    £17.00

  • VOX One of the most talked about dystopian

    HarperCollins Publishers VOX One of the most talked about dystopian

    5 in stock

    Book Synopsis**CHRISTINA DALCHER'S GRIPPING NEW THRILLER THE SENTENCE IS AVAILABLE NOW!**Intelligent, suspenseful, provocative, and intensely disturbing everything a great novel should be' LEE CHILDExtraordinary' LOUISE O'NEILLA truly compulsive novel' STYLISTThe book of the moment!' MARIE CLAIREThis book will blow your mind' PRIMAA petrifying reimagining of The Handmaid's Tale' ELLEA fast-paced, twisting thriller that left me speechless.' DAILY MAIL Terrifying' REDA novel ripe for the #MeToo era' VANITY FAIRA dazzling debut.' GOOD HOUSEKEEPINGThought-provoking and thrilling. I was left speechless!' WOMAN & HOMESilence can be deafening.Jean McClellan spends her time in almost complete silence, limited to just one hundred words a day. Any more, and a thousand volts of electricity will course through her veins.Now the new government is in power, everything has changed. But only if you're a woman.Almost overnight, bank accounts are frozen, passports are taken away and seventy million women lose theirTrade Review‘A petrifying re-imagining of The Handmaid's Tale’ ELLE ‘This book will blow your mind. PRIMA ‘Intelligent, suspenseful, provocative, and intensely disturbing – everything a great novel should be.’ LEE CHILD ‘A novel ripe for the era of #MeToo’ VANITY FAIR ‘The book of the moment!’ MARIE CLAIRE ‘Razor sharp and terrifyingly plausible. Extraordinary.’ LOUISE O’NEILL ‘A fast-paced, twisting thriller that left me speechless’ DAILY MAIL ‘Electrifying’ O, The Oprah Magazine ‘Truly compulsive’ STYLIST ‘Thrilling. I was left speechless!’ WOMAN & HOME ‘A dazzling debut’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING ‘The Handmaid’s Tale 2.0.’ EVENING STANDARD ‘Set to dominate dinner party chats.’ COSMOPOLITAN ‘If you liked Atwood’s novel and Naomi Alderman’s The Power, I guarantee you will love this.’ THE POOL ‘A bold, brilliant and unforgettable debut.’ ALICE FEENEY ‘Gripping’ BELLA ‘Frighteningly relatable’ WOMAN ‘Be scared. Be very scared’ FABULOUS ‘Chillingly imagined’ SUNDAY MIRROR ‘Terrifying in its relevance’ GRAZIA ‘Thought-provoking’ PSYCHOLOGIES ‘Tense and engrossing’ THE IRISH TIMES ‘VOX has the sort of premise that immediately sets it apart.’ IRISH INDEPENDENT ‘The aftershocks of #MeToo have crept into publishing’ SUNDAY TIMES STYLE

    5 in stock

    £9.49

  • Hackenfellers Ape Faber Editions

    Faber & Faber Hackenfellers Ape Faber Editions

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn eccentric professor saves a London Zoo ape from a rocket experiment in this dazzling classic by a trailblazing animal rights activist, introduced by Sarah Hall.''Pitch-perfect.'' Ali Smith''So original.'' Hilary Mantel''Stunning.'' Isabel Waidner''There is nobody quite like her.'' A.S. Byatt''Her beastly, risky best.'' Eley WilliamsWhen my species has destroyed itself, we may need yours to start it all again. In London Zoo, Professor Darrylhyde is singing to the apes again. Outside their cage, he watches the two animals, longing to observe the mating ritual of this rare species. But Percy, inhibited by confinement and melancholy, is repulsing Edwina''s desirous advances. Soon, the Professor''s connection increases as he talks, croons, befriends - so when a scientist arrives on a secret governmental mission to launch Percy into space, he vows to secure his freedom. But when met by sTrade Review'So refreshing and interesting: the opulence, playful excess, brittle wit.' - Hilary Mantel (on The Snow Ball)'I read it in one sitting ... Wonderful!' - Claire-Louise Bennett (on The Snow Ball)

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • Pandemonium

    Austin Macauley Publishers Pandemonium

    5 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    5 in stock

    £9.49

  • Not Alone

    Pan Macmillan Not Alone

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisIN A DYING WORLD, HOW FAR WILL A MOTHER GO TO SAVE HER CHILD?'Not Alone kept me breathless with tension.' - Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room'Intensely moving, genuinely gripping, plausible and absorbing' - Charlotte Mendelson, author of The ExhibitionistFive years ago, a toxic microplastics storm killed most of the population. Now Katie, a young mother, must forage and hunt the few surviving animals for meat as she attempts to feed her little boy, Harry.At a time when stepping outside could kill you, Harry is kept indoors at all costs, never venturing beyond the door to their one-bedroom flat. The bodies begin to build up around them and layers of poisonous dust hang heavily in the air, seeping into the soil and slowly killing anything attempting to cling onto the natural world.Then, after years without human contact, Katie and Harry are terrified by the unwelcome arrival of another survivor. Katie realises she must undertake a previously unthinkable journey in search of the man she was supposed to marry and a new life for her son.But outside their safe haven, Katie and Harry encounter a dangerous world that is forever changed . . . Trade ReviewNot Alone kept me breathless with tension. An outstandingly credible and gripping adventure story, rooted in a deep understanding of both ecology and family. -- Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room and The WonderIntensely moving, genuinely gripping, plausible and absorbing; this is a stunning debut by a truly talented new writer -- Charlotte Mendelson, author of The ExhibitionistWith hauntingly beautiful descriptions of the natural world, this challenging novel is tough and memorable. * Guardian *The emotionally wrenching story of a young mother’s fight to save her young son as they struggle across a toxic and hostile world. The tension never lets up. Utterly believable, always compelling, and deeply moving. I loved it. -- Ian Irvine, author of A Shadow on the GlassA gutwrenching, whiteknuckle postapocalyptic thriller, a story of love and perseverance. -- Gabriel Tallent, New York Times bestselling author of My Absolute DarlingHarrowing and achingly human, Not Alone is a sharp exploration of environmental apocalypse — and a celebration of pure, boundless love that can survive anything. This triumphant debut finds hope in the darkest places, and it made me want to be a better person. -- Allison Epstein, author of A Tip for the HangmanSarah K. Jackson’s Not Alone is an ode to ferocious power of motherhood, even in the face of Earth’s utter devastation. Part dire warning, part love song, Not Alone explores how, like a tree bending toward sunlight, life may endure if our worst climate nightmares become reality. Haunting, endearing, and captivating. -- Caroline Woods, author of The Cigarette GirlTense, brutal, and tender, Not Alone cuts to the core of how and why we survive. Jackson gives readers a truly harrowing adventure about the pull of light in the darkest hour. -- Erika Swyler, bestselling author of The Book of SpeculationFive years before the start of Jackson’s impressive debut, hurricanes across the globe lifted trillions of microplastic particles from the world’s oceans. The atmosphere became saturated with those pollutants, and breathing became deadly. One survivor, Katie, has devoted herself to keeping her son, Harry, who was born after the calamity, alive and well. * Publisher's Weekly *Ecologist Jackson makes her debut with this engrossing postapocalyptic cli-fi thriller that will have readers anxiously turning the pages and questioning their use of plastic. * Library Journal *

    5 in stock

    £15.29

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four

    Vintage Publishing Nineteen Eighty-Four

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisIt was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.The year is 1984, and life in Oceania is ruled by the Party. Under the gaze of Big Brother, Winston Smith yearns for intimacy and love - "thought crimes" that, if uncovered, would mean imprisonment, or death. But Winston is not alone in his defiance, and an illicit affair will draw him into the mysterious Brotherhood and the realities of resistance. Nineteen Eighty-Four has been described as chilling, absorbing, satirical, momentous, prophetic and terrifying. It is all these things, and more.The Authoritative Text. With an introduction by Robert Harris.*The jacket of this stunning hardback edition features period artwork by Elizabeth Friedlander, one of Europe's pre-eminent 20th-century graphic designers. Look out for complementary editions of Orwell's essential works Animal Farm and Down and Out in Paris and London.*Trade ReviewThe book of the twentieth century...haunts us with an ever-darker relevance * Independent *His final masterpiece... Enthralling and indispensable for understanding modern history * New York Review of Books *Orwell remains the most indispensable English writer of his period * Observer *Matchlessly sharp and fresh... The clearest and most compelling English prose style this century -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Many writers and journalists have tried to imitate his particular kind of clarity without possessing anything like his moral authority -- Peter Ackroyd * The Times *

    3 in stock

    £14.24

  • She's A Killer

    Gallic Books She's A Killer

    5 in stock

    Book Synopsis'Satire at its best' ELEANOR CATTON'Outrageous, comic, disturbingly timely' THE GUARDIANBold, darkly funny and brilliantly bizarre, She’s a Killer is the story of what happens when a stubborn slacker is forced to confront a very weird world.Thirty-something Alice has an IQ of 159 (almost a genius) and lives at home with her mother, with whom she communicates only by Morse code. Meanwhile, the climate is in crisis. Wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. When Alice meets attractive wealthugee Pablo, she thinks she has found a way out of her dull existence. But then in walks his teenage daughter, Erika, an actual genius with impeccable eye makeup, and Alice finds herself drawn into action of the most radical – and dangerous – kind. Just what is a slacker to do?Trade Review'A wild ride . . . made me think about similarities between NZ and Ireland as we face climate change, housing crises and the righteous anger of the young' Sarah Moss, Best Books of 2023, Irish Times'Savagely funny . . . An outrageous, comic, disturbingly timely novel' The Guardian'Funny, thought-provoking, bold and unusual . . . McDougall’s humour, pointed social observations and shocking plot twists combine with moving insights on self-knowledge, family and friendship' The Independent'Satirical thrills' New Scientist, Best New Science Fiction Books of October ‘Darkly funny, scarily prescient’ Red Magazine, 10 Best Books of October'Alarmingly prescient . . . tightly-written . . . [She's a Killer] comes into its own as the pace of the action increases, and makes for a propelling finale' The Telegraph'Savagely witty and oddly moving, this is a dark and timely satire to savour' Editor's Choice, The Bookseller'Kirsten McDougall’s brisk speculative novel takes a clifi premise and moulds it into a bizarre and bracing thought experiment, twisting the psychology of disempowerment into fast-paced action' Sydney Morning Herald'Smart, assured, and extremely funny, She's A Killer is a marvellously eccentric book that both skews and skewers the anxieties of our age . . . This is satire at its best' Eleanor Catton, Booker Prize Winner, author of Birnam Wood'A fabulously dark pleasure, delivered in prose of singing tautness' Luke Jennings, author of Killing Eve'McDougall’s dystopian future is no distant vision: it’s disturbingly familiar, urgently relevant. Narrator Alice is a brilliant creation – complex, prickly, often hilarious – and I was utterly in her thrall as she swept me along to the book’s astonishing finale. Unputdownable' Catherine Chidgey, author of Remote Sympathy 'Darkly funny, utterly terrifying . . . A powerful, pre-apocalyptic book that’s an inspired scream at our fingers-in-ears approach to the climate crisis. I couldn’t stop thinking about it’ Fran Littlewood, author of Amazing Grace Adams ‘Deeply weird, compulsively readable, and a relevant allegory of a very possible future. I loved it’ Julie Mae Cohen, author of Bad Men'Original, unputdownable, darkly funny . . . I don't think I'll ever forget it' Becky Hunter, author of One Moment 'Pitch black, wildly compelling, enormous fun' Heather Parry, author of Orpheus Builds a Girl'A gem . . . there is a surprise on every page, as Alice’s behavior is never routine, and Simp is a wild card. Not quite a misanthrope, not quite a sociopath, Alice is compelling, hilarious, and dangerous all at once' Booklist (Starred Review)'Quirky, utterly original, and also very funny' Meath Chronicle‘A thumping good story’ New Zealand Herald‘Damn funny . . . a dextrous and talented writer who has really hit her stride’ STUFF Magazine'Brilliant' Greg Fleming, NZ Listener‘Lively, engaging and often hilarious . . . McDougall has created a world that slips easily between the entirely recognisable and the slightly strange’ Academy of New Zealand Literature‘Equipped with an exhilaratingly badly-behaved protagonist, She’s a Killer builds from a slice of very strange life into a thriller by way of a succession of stunning comic set pieces. You’ll laugh – a lot. And then you’ll cry and be really surprised about it since you were laughing so much’ Elizabeth Knox, author of The Absolute Book‘The novel’s sense of humour – it’s full of sharp one-liners and witty writing – doesn’t detract from the seriousness of the subject underpinning the narrative, making She’s a Killer a great read for those who like a bit of edge to their literary fiction’ Books & Publishing

    5 in stock

    £16.14

  • American Terrorist

    A Wave Blue World American Terrorist

    5 in stock

    Book Synopsis"Inspiring, disturbing, and triumphant." -- FOREWORDEmbedded with an eco-terrorist group hellbent on explosive direct action, investigative journalist Owen Graham is enmeshed in a dangerous culture on the political fringe. Ordinary citizens, frustrated by inequality and oppression and a bureaucracy’s resistance to change, are starting to go off the grid and disrupt the status quo. But the fringe is poised to go mainstream, and Owen’s days as a passive observer are running short. While a series of escalating misunderstandings land an idealistic public school teacher in the middle of a hostage situation and the sights of an overeager federal agent who has been trailing Owen for months, he intervenes in a desperate split-second decision. Owen’s old life is gone forever. Now he’s on the run with a trio of fellow crusaders, all fighting for a better world but now labeled as terrorists by the government. Disparate people on all sides, each convinced they’re right – and doing the right thing -- are now spinning towards each other in an inexorable spiral of violence.AMERICAN TERRORIST is a high-speed chase across the country in search of radical solutions to injustice, inspiring a movement that may be snuffed out before it starts.Trade Review"An absorbing graphic novel that is, by turns, inspiring, disturbing, and triumphant." - FOREWORD

    5 in stock

    £16.19

  • Rouge

    Simon & Schuster Ltd Rouge

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisFrom the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate and find a connection that is more than skin deep?A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 in The Guardian, i newspaper, The New York Times, Time, Globe and Mail, Bustle, The Millions, LitHub, TOR, Good Housekeeping, Our Culture Mag, and more! 'You think, “She’s not going to go there…yes, she is.' Margaret Atwood  'The trancelike, rhapsodic language and deepening atmosphere of unreality make for a narrative that oozes with unease.' The Guardian &lsq

    1 in stock

    £15.29

  • Notes from the Burning Age

    Little, Brown Book Group Notes from the Burning Age

    4 in stock

    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

    4 in stock

    £9.49

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