Fantasy Books

Book Synopsis''Sparkles with classical allusions and a wisecracking humour ... it is pure joy'' Daily TelegraphIt all begins the night a leaflet comes through the door of unsuccessful novelist Herman Orff, promising a magical cure for writer''s block. The strange treatment plunges him into a hallucinatory London dreamworld populated by figures mythical and real: a severed talking head, Vermeer''s girl with a pearl earring, his lost love Luise and, beneath it all, the Kraken awaiting. As Herman will discover, creating art is a tough business.''One of his most accessibly entertaining books'' The Times''Short, smart and fizzy, the novel seeks out the roots of creativity with none of the solemnity that phrase implies'' New StatesmanTrade ReviewShort, smart and fizzy, the novel seeks out the roots of creativity with none of the solemnity that phrase implies. * New Statesman *Entirely captivating. * Time Out *Worth rejoicing in ... a banquet of whimsical delights. Each Russell Hoban book is surprising ... but you also know what you're getting, which is curiosity, wonder and a world-encompassing empathy. -- John Self * The Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''Superb ... Pilgermann is history, metaphysics, a tangle of mysteries, profound and simple'' GuardianIt is 1097 and a traveller arrives in the great, walled city of Antioch with a vision of a beautiful and mysterious geometric design that will change the lives of all those who see it. Pilgermann is a mesmerising recreation of the world of the Crusades, following its unlikely hero and those he meets on a journey of picaresque horror across a Europe of hatreds, visions and a desperate wish for salvation.''A dark treatise on the mysterious nature of things ... The world according to Pilgermann is a brutish place borrowing from Hieronymus Bosch, pilgrimage narrative, allegory and the historical novel'' The New York Times Book Review''A strange and beautiful work'' Evening StandardTrade ReviewSuperb ... Pilgermann is history, metaphysics, a tangle of mysteries, profound and simple. * The Guardian *The world according to Pilgermann is a brutish place borrowing from Hieronymus Bosch's grotesque depictions of hell and the literary traditions of pilgrimage narrative, allegory and the historical novel. It is a novel of ideas... sophisticated and demanding. * New York Times Book Review *A strange and beautiful work, whose mysteries are worth contemplation. Hoban's prose is constantly persuasive. Pilgermann is that rare thing - a novel that can be read with profit more than once. * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis''This is what literature is meant to be'' Anthony Burgess''O what we ben! And what we come to...'' Wandering a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape, speaking a broken-down English lost after the end of civilization, Riddley Walker sets out to find out what brought humanity here. This is his story.''Funny, terrible, haunting and unsettling, this book is a masterpiece'' Observer''A timeless portrayal of the human condition ... frightening and uncanny'' Will Self''A book that I could read every day forever and still be finding things'' Max PorterTrade ReviewRussell Hoban has brought off an extraordinary feat of imagination and of style ... funny, terrible, haunting and unsettling, this book is a masterpiece. * The Observer *You are syntactically and emotionally and politically absolutely in the book's spell. The way it changes is unbelievable; it is a living thing. -- Max PorterExtraordinary... a hero with Huck Finn's heart, lighting by El Greco and jokes by Punch and Judy... Fiercely imagined and intensely ponderable. * New York Times Book Review *Suffused with melancholy and wonder, beautifully written, Riddley Walker is a novel people will be reading for a long, long time. * Washington Post *This is what literature is meant to be. -- Anthony BurgessThe strongest, most desolate and bewildered voice in modern fiction. In the mental silence that followed the closing of the last page, I wanted to applaud, through tears. * Cosmopolitan *The book has an evangelical effect on people ... Riddley is an absorbing character, Hoban's language has a fantastic, rough poetry and the post-apocalyptic world is chilling and convincing. -- Rachel Seiffert * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe most original genius that America has produced -- Alfred, Lord TennysonPoe has entered our popular consciousness as no other American writer * The New York Times Book Review *The most influential American writer * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisIntroducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.Lolly Willowes, so gentle and accommodating, has depths no one suspects. When she suddenly announces that she is leaving London and moving, alone, to the depths of the countryside, her overbearing relatives are horrified. But Lolly has a greater, far darker calling than family: witchcraft.''The book I''ll be pressing into people''s hands forever is Lolly Willowes . . . Starting as a straightforward, albeit beautifully written family saga, it tips suddenly into extraordinary, lucid wildness'' Helen MacdonaldTrade ReviewThe book I'll be pressing into people's hands forever is Lolly Willowes . . . Starting as a straightforward, albeit beautifully written family saga, it tips suddenly into extraordinary, lucid wildness -- Helen Macdonald * The New York Times Book Review *A great shout of life and individuality ... an act of defiance that gladdens the soul -- Justine Jordan * Guardian *My comfort read -- Tracey Thorn

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Book SynopsisIf you haven''t met a Moomin yet, you''re missing the most magical fun . . .Join Moomintroll and his friends in this brand new picture book based on the original stories by Tove Jansson.On a windy day in Moominvalley a frightened forest creature comes tap-tapping on the door of the Moominhouse. Little My is less than impressed when Moominmamma suggests the new guest could sleep in the spare bunk in her room. But Little My soon learns that a friend in need is a friend indeed . . .A gorgeous, brightly illustrated story about community and looking out for one another.More beautiful Moomin books:My First Moomin: Goodnight MoominMoomin and the Wishing StarMoomin and the Birthday ButtonMoomin: The Very BIG Moominhouse Lift-the-Flap Book

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Book SynopsisA No. 1 and Sunday Times Bestseller! Red Queen meets These Violent Delights and Iron Widow in an epic anti-colonial YA fantasy from debut author Molly X. Chang.Don''t miss the second book in the Gods Beyond the Skies trilogy, To Kill a Monstrous Prince, coming May 2025.''A thrilling tale of magic and murder, intrigue and betrayal.'' Cassandra Clare''Hauntingly poetic prose'' Xiran Jay Zhao''A tender and brutal fantasy that will leave readers breathless and eager for more'' Rebecca RossKnown as The Girl Blessed By Death, Ruying wants only to survive, but when her magic is discovered by an enemy prince she must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country.For as long as Yang Ruying can remember, the empire of Er-Lang has been occupied by Romans, whose advanced science and military make them Gods. But these Gods are not kind. Their only gifts: cruelty,

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Book SynopsisTHE 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH NEW, NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED MATERIALAfter the Internet, what came next?Enter the Metaverse - cyberspace home to avatars and software daemons, where anything and just about everything goes. Newly available on the Street - the Metaverse''s main drag - is Snow Crash. A cyberdrug that reduces avatars in the digital world to dust, but also infects users in real life, leaving them in a vegetative state.This is bad news for Hiro, a freelance hacker and the Metaverse''s best swordfighter, and mouthy skateboard courier Y. T.. Together, investigating the Infocalypse, they trace back the roots of language itself to an ancient Sumerian priesthood and find they must race to stop a shadowy virtual villain hell-bent on world domination.In this special edition of the remarkably prescient modern classic, Neal Stephenson exploreslinguistics, computer science, politics and philosophy in the form of a break-neck adventure into the fast-approaching yet eerily recognizable future.''Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the twenty-first century'' William Gibson''Brilliantly realized'' New York Times Book Review ''Like a Pynchon novel with the brakes removed'' Washington Post''A remarkably prescient vision of today''s tech landscape'' Vanity Fair

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Book SynopsisIntroducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.F. Scott Fitzgerald was the most celebrated chronicler of the Jazz Age. At the time of his death, he believed he was an alcoholic failure; but he received posthumous acclaim as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. This collection brings together some of his finest stories, including ''The Curious Tale of Benjamin Button''; ''Winter Dreams'', a melancholy thwarted love story that anticipated The Great Gatsby, and ''Babylon Revisited'', set the year after the 1929 stock market crash, when the Jazz Age sounded its last.''His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly''s wings'' Ernest Hemingway

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Book SynopsisPRE-ORDER THE SPELLBINDING FINALE IN THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING THE CURSE OF SAINTS TRILOGY . . . ----Aya has gone missing after Kakos' brutal attack on Dunmeaden. Will is desperately searching for her and is joined by Aidon, who's on the run after showing his forbidden power during the battle. But what no one knows is that Aya has been abducted by the vengeful first saint, Evie, who plans to join Kakos and help destroy the gods who killed her 500 years ago. Aya must decide her true fate. Can she fulfil the prophecy and save the realm?Or should the gods pay for what they've done?----READERS LOVE THE CURSE OF SAINTS SERIES:-'This is a masterpiece of fantasy, and romance, and everything in between' Reader review'Beautifully done with such captivating characters and world building' Reader review'This series has me in a choke hold!' Reader review

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Book SynopsisIn a world divided between good and evil, what happens when you''re both? Nathan Byrn is the illegitimate son of the world''s most dangerous witch.Feared by the Council of Fairborn witches who believe he is destined to follow the same destructive path as his father, Nathan must find a way to unlock his full powers before his seventeenth birthday, or face madness and death.His one hope lies with the sinister Blood witch Mercury. But Mercury''s help always comes at a price - one Nathan may not be able to pay . . .Previously published as Half Bad.''An action-packed X-rated Harry Potter'' - Telegraph

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Book SynopsisDon't you worry about a little thing like that!' cried Mr Wonka. My great glass elevator is ready for anything!'This beautiful edition of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisShh! Listen! What is that I hearGallumphing softly up the stair?This beautiful edition of Dirty Beasts, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisWhat should it be, this whopping terrific exploding shocker for Grandma?This beautiful edition of George''s Marvellous Medicine, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisWe are now about to visit the most marvellous places and see the most wonderful things!'This beautiful edition of James and the Giant Peach, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisAh-ha, you see, the plot grows thicker,And Cindy's luck starts looking sicker.This beautiful edition of Revolting Rhymes, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisLast week, something very funny happened to the Gregg family.This beautiful edition of The Magic Finger, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisREAD THE SPELLBINDING ROMANTASY SEQUEL TO THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, THE HOUSE OF MARIONNEPerfect for fans of Stephanie Garber, Chloe Gong, and Leigh Bardugo ---- Unleash the darkness. Embrace your fate. Quell Marionne's Rite of Induction to House Marionne sent shockwaves through the magical world, unearthing secrets and her own deadly power. With nowhere to go, she is on the run for her life and finds refuge with the mysterious Beaulah Perl, who promises sanctuary. For a price. Jordan, an assassin, has been, charged with locating the elusive Sphere, the source of all magic. But when his brotherhood reveals its sordid intentions and he uncovers the deadly ambitions of Beulah, he must make a choice partner with Quell. Or kill her.Tropes/themes:- Social elites - Forbidden love - Dark magic - Enemies-to-lovers ---- READERS ARE LOVING SHADOW OF PERL I could cut the TENSION with a knife' 5***** Reader Review They all do some super shady to downright deplorable things to get what they want. Quell is bloodthirsty and out for revenge after a revelation and I was HERE FOR IT' 5***** Reader ReviewI was on the edge of my seat, craving for the truth to come out' 5***** Reader ReviewThis was a phenomenal sequel and lays plenty of groundwork for the third book in this trilogy, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next' 5***** Reader ReviewThis book left me breathless, and the last page has such a huge cliff-hanger that when I got to it and turned the page, I audibly went Huh?! when I realized that was truly the end' 5***** Reader Review PRAISE FOR THE HOUSE OF MARIONNE SERIES ''The forbidden love story of my wildest dreams!'' Ali Hazelwood ''Perfect escape for fans of fantasies that straddle the edge of our world and transport readers to dazzling, deceptive, and unexpected places'' Stephanie Garber ''House of Marionne gripped me from the first page, and never let go'' Alex Aster ''An elaborate, enthralling world of magic and monsters and mayhem'' Sabaa Tahir ''Perfect for fans of magical boarding schools, dark secrets, and books with glittering atmosphere'' Kerri Maniscalco

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Book SynopsisA deliciously dark gothic romance from New York Times bestselling author Romina Garber! Perfect for readers of MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.I see his shadowy form taking shape. He could be a teen or in his early twenties; and yet, the starry galaxies of his eyes contain universes.After a mysterious attack kills both of her parents, Estela Bralaga is forced to accept an invitation to live with an estranged aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra.Beneath its gothic façade, la Sombra harbours a trove of family secrets, and Estela begins to suspect that the answer to her parents' deaths may be found in the twisting corridors of the castle.When Estela crosses paths with a silver-eyed vampire called Sebastian, the pair soon realise they are bound by unknown forces, as well as an intense attraction, and must work together to discover the truth that lies at the dark heart of la Sombra.Deliciously atmospheric and da

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Book SynopsisEnrol at Neverthorn and immerse yourself in this spellbinding fantasy, perfect for fans of the Zodiac Academy and Fourth Wing series . . . THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERThis is going to be YOUR NEXT obsession' 5* Reader ReviewNeverthorn was my most anticipated read of 2025. It's safe to say that it lived up to my expectations' 5* Reader ReviewThere's magic, mystery and murders and OMGGG that ending!' 5* Reader Review--Welcome to Neverthorn Academy. Where a bunch of magical school misfits are about to save the world. Or, more likely, die trying . . . Since dropping out of Neverthorn Academy, after the death of her mother, Harlow Daygon has been working as an enchanted-jewel thief. The last thing she expects is for the school to make an offer she can't refuse: come back to Neverthorn and join seven others with secret magical abilities in House Phoenix. There, they'll be trained in potions, rune casting and combat. Because Nocta a powerful dark wizard who has been plaguing the magical realm for decades has the mortal world in his sights, and the students of House Phoenix are all that stand in his way. But Harlow failed at Neverthorn once before. And nothing reminds her of this more than tall, brooding Typhon Harlow's old classmate and nemesis who is now the professor tasked with unlocking her own, special power. Except Harlow is sure that Typhon and the other professors are hiding a dark secret. One she must figure out before Nocta arrives to bring about the end of the world . . . Tropes:Enemies to LoversSecond Chance Chosen OneFound FamilySlow BurnForced ProximityOlder FMCProfessor x StudentSecret/Hidden Identity--Praise for Neverthorn:-'If you like your heroes messy, your professors brooding, and your fantasies dark, Neverthorn is for you. Prepare to fall. Hard. Like, it's gonna hurt' - New York Times bestselling author Darynda Jones of the Charley Davidson series'This is a super fun, action-packed magical Academy adventure? perfect for readers of books like Fourth Wing and Zodiac Academy, but who want a main character who is a little bit older, seasoned, and absolutely hilarious!' C. N. Crawford, author of The Hallowed Games duology'Neverthorn is for the women who've lived, bled, and clawed their way to survive. Dark academia gets a savage, spellbinding twist?and Harlow Daygon is the chaotic queen we didn't know we needed' K. F. Breene, USA Today bestselling author of the Shadowspell Academy seriesNeverthorn, Sunday Times bestseller, August 2025

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Book SynopsisWelcome to Dunhollow Academy, where magic and status means the world, and death lurks in every corridor. . . An evocative fantasy imbued with mystery, ghosts, and an enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance. In compelling prose, its suspenseful gothic atmosphere is interwoven with magic to create the perfect spooky season read' India Holton, bestselling author of the Dangerous Damsels series --- Rose Thenlif has never felt at home in these elite halls. An outcast for her inability to cast spells, she keeps her head in books, away from the critical eye of her headmistress mother, and the sneers of her fellow scholars especially the talented but insufferable Sylvie. But in the corridors of Dunhollow, something strange and threatening is stirring. Classmates are going missing and Rose discovers that she alone can see their ghosts. Are they dead, or enchanted? Or is something more sinister at work? Worse yet, Rose's latest ghostly vision is Sylvie who's just as displeased as Rose is to f

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis'Once you've entered the world of the artist Philippa Rice, you'll never want to leave' Charlotte Runcie, The TelegraphPre-order the cosy, craft-filled fantasy where magic is in every ornate palace corridor and cobblestoned street . . . --Evnie Treedle makes magical things and for the last few years she has been selling them in magical knickknacks shop, the Magpie Nest. But everything changes when one day Evnie's crafting abilities catch the attention of the nearby Reignclowd Palace. She is asked to become their resident spellsmith the original spellsmith suddenly ill under mysterious circumstances. Evnie is soon put to work making and mending magical objects. Yet, problems start to appear when she realises there's much more at stake than friendship or romance; a dragon looms over the kingdom looking for a soul to devour, and it's eyes are set on their princess. --'Rice is immensely talented and versatile who works with sculpture and textiles and collage, and that smorgasbord o

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Book SynopsisStrange Pilgrims is a collection of unforgettable stories about distinctive South American individuals in Europe from the Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. ''The first thing Señora Prudencia Linero noticed when she reached the port of Naples was that it had the same smell as the port of Riohacha''The twelve stories here tell of Latin Americans adrift in Europe: a bereaved father in Rome for an audience with the Pope carries a box shaped like a cello case; an aging streetwalker waits for death in Barcelona with a dog trained to weep at her grave; a panic-stricken husband takes his wife to a Parisian hospital to treat a cut and never sees her again. Combining terror and nostalgia, surreal comedy and the poetry of the commonplace, Strange Pilgrims is a triumph of storytelling by our most brilliant writer.''Celebratory and full of strange relish at lifeTrade ReviewCelebratory and full of strange relish at life's oddness. The stories draw their strength from Márquez's generous feel for character, good and bad, boorish and innocent * William Boyd *

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Book SynopsisNobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez,, author of the One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, portrays a food company violating a small Colombia town in his vivid and powerful novel Leaf Storm. ''Suddenly, as if a whirlwind had set down roots in the centre of the town, the banana company arrived, pursed by the leaf storm''Drenched by rain, the town has been decaying ever since the banana company left. Its people are sullen and bitter, so when the doctor - a foreigner who ended up the most hated man in town - dies, there is no one to mourn him. But also living in the town is the Colonel, who is bound to honour a promise made many years ago. The Colonel and his family must bury the doctor, despite the inclination of their fellow inhabitants that his corpse be forgotten and left to rot.''The most important writer of fiction in any language'' Bill Clinton''Márquez is a retailer of wonders'' Sunday Times''An exquisite writer, wise, compassionate and extremely funny'' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewThe most important writer of fiction in any language * Bill Clinton *

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Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING NOVELADAPTED INTO A FEATURE FILM WITH ELIJAH WOODFrom the bestselling author of Here I Am, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and We are the Weather - a hilarious, life-affirming and utterly original novel about the search for truth - now available as a pocket-sized Penguin Essential''Gripping, hilariously funny and deeply serious. An astonishing feat of writing'' The Times''One of the most impressive novel debuts of recent years'' Joyce Carol Oates, Times Literary Supplement''A first novel of startling originality'' Jay McInerney, Observer''It seems hard to believe that such a young writer can have such a deep understanding of both comedy and tragedy'' Erica Wagner, The TimesA young man arrives in the Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who fifty years ago saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Unfortunately, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into bizarre new forms; a blind old man haunted by memories of the war; and an undersexed guide dog named Sammy Davis Jr, Jr. What they are looking for seems elusive -- a truth hidden behind veils of time, language and the horrors of war. What they find turns all their worlds upside down...

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLEREscape into a world of magic and danger with THE DARK STAR TRILOGY. Drawing on a rich tradition of African mythology, fantasy and history, this is the story of a lost child, an extraordinary hunter, and a mystery with many answers . . .*Perfect for fans of Pratchett, George R. R. Martin and Octavia Butler*''The kind of novel I never realized I was missing until I read it. A dangerous, hallucinatory, ancient Africa, which becomes a fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made'' Neil Gaiman*****Tracker is a hunter. Known throughout the thirteen kingdoms as one who has a nose, he always works alone. But he breaks his own rule when, hired to find a lost child, he finds himself part of a group of hunters, each stranger and more dangerous than the last.As the mismatched gang follow the boy''s scent from perfumed citadels to enchanted darklands, TrackeTrade ReviewStand aside, Beowolf . . . James has spun an African fantasy as vibrant, complex and haunting as any Western mythology * Washington Post *I cannot wait for the next instalment * Spectator *Marlon James possesses almost frightening levels of talent . . . An archetypal epic for the 21st century * Forbes *A fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made, with language as powerful as Angela Carter's. It's as deep and crafty as Gene Wolfe, bloodier than Robert E. Howard, and all Marlon James... I cannot wait for the next instalment

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Book SynopsisEerie, unsettling and hauntingly beautiful - a new collaboration from the bestselling creators of Holloway, Robert Macfarlane and Stanley Donwood ''Ness goes beyond what we expect books to do. Beyond poetry, beyond the word, beyond the bomb -- it is an aftertime song'' Max Porter, Booker-longlisted author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers Somewhere on a salt-and-shingle island, inside a ruined concrete structure known as The Green Chapel, a figure called The Armourer is leading a ritual with terrible intent. But something is coming to stop him. Five more-than-human forms are traversing land, sea and time towards The Green Chapel, moving to the point where they will converge and become Ness. Ness has lichen skin and willow-bones. Ness is made of tidal drift, green moss and deep time. Ness has hagstones for eyes and speaks only in birds. And Ness has come to take this island back. What happens when land comes to life? What would it take for land to need to come to life?Using word and image, the pair have together made a minor modern myth. Part-novella, part-prose-poem, part-mystery play, in Ness their skills combine to dazzling, troubling effect. Robert Macfarlane is the author of The Lost Words with Jackie Morris, The Old Ways and Underland. Stanley Donwood is an artist and the author of Slowly Downward, Household Worms and Bad Island.Trade ReviewNess goes beyond what we expect books to do. Beyond poetry, beyond the word, beyond the bomb - it is an aftertime song. It is dark, ever so dark, nimble and lethal. It is a triumphant libretto of mythic modernism for our poisoned age. Ness is something else, and feels like it always has been. * Max Porter *

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Book SynopsisAN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA richly imagined, intricate tale of magic and intrigue' DEBORAH HARKNESS, #1 bestselling author of A Discovery of WitchesRiveting Leigh Bardugo's characters are so three dimensional you want to reach through the page' DIANA GABALDON, #1 bestselling author of OutlanderA wonderful, transporting ride through history a deeply romantic novel' KATHERINE ARDEN, bestselling author of The Bear and The Nightingale-----FATE CAN BE CHANGED. CURSES CAN BE BROKEN. In a shabby house in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil. But when her scheming mistress discovers her scullion is hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to win over the royal court. Determined to seize this chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of power-hungry nobility, desperate kings, holy men and seers, where the lines between magic, science and fraud blur. With the pyres of the Inquisition burning, she must use every bit of her wit and resilience to win fame and hide the truth of her ancestry even if that means enlisting the help of an embittered immortal familiar, whose own secrets could cost her everything. From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a bewitching novel, brimming with peril in a world where a woman's ambition can prove deadly. -----PRAISE FOR LEIGH BARDUGO'S BOOKSReading Bardugo is an immersive, sensual experience... One can't help sinking into Luzia and Santángel's world and wishing never to leave' THE NEW YORK TIMESA compelling, well-researched and vividly written tale of magic and desire'THE GUARDIANThe Familiar feels distinct from similar tales ? including Bardugo's own ? because it explores a brutal and shameful real-life history... Bardugo brilliantly explores the wavy line between the supernatural and the divine'WASHINGTON POST'A pacy read with electric prose' INDEPENDENT on Six of Crows'Impossible to put down'STEPHEN KING, on Ninth House

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Book SynopsisIn the fourth volume in the Why I Write series, the iconic Samuel Delany remembers fifty years of writing and shaping the world of speculative fictionTrade ReviewPraise for Samuel R. Delany: “Delany’s prismatic output is among the most significant, immense and innovative in American letters.”—Jordy Rosenberg, New York Times

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