Fiction books to excite, provoke and spark a conversation. Debut authors, award winners, bestsellers & lost gems - our range of fiction titles will leave you spoilt for choice.
Fiction Books
HarperCollins Publishers Blue at the Mizzen AubreyMaturin Series Book 20
Book SynopsisFor a man of war, peacetime is the ultimate challenge.Leaving behind them a Europe still taking stock after the definitive battle of Waterloo, Jack Aubrey and his friend Stephen Maturin set sail for Chile. But even with the newly minted peace, life at sea remains beset with danger and imminent disaster, and the political turmoil of the South American continent is equal to any threat they have yet faced.Out of loss of purpose, of love can the two friends rescue what they most desire?Beyond his superbly elegant writing, wit and originality, [O'Brian] showed an understanding of the nature of a floating world at the mercy of the wind and sea which has never been surpassed.'MAX HASTINGS, Evening StandardFrom the opening page I was addicted to what I judge to be one of the greatest cycles of storytelling in the English language.'WILLIAM WALDEGRAVE, Daily TelegraphTrade Review‘If O’Brian’s novels have become a cult, this is because they are truly addictive. . . They are, quite magnificently, adventure yarns whose superb authenticity never distracts from the sheer thrill of the action.’Caroline Moore, Sunday Telegraph ‘The Aubrey–Maturin novels, by Patrick O’Brian, are so addictive that after I finish one I have to hide the next from myself for a little while in order to do anything else but read.’Louise Erdrich ‘In Aubrey and Maturin, Patrick O’Brian has created two of the most enjoyable characters in twentieth-century fiction. Their relationship sustains an absorbing and thrilling sequence of naval stories, unrivalled in their complexity, full of impeccable detail and psychological insight. O’Brian switches from the intimate to the epic with equal assurance. One of the greatest authors to sail with.’Michael Palin ‘My hero is Patrick O’Brian. It’s basically impossible to write that well.’David Mamet ‘One of the most compelling and brilliant novelists of his time . . . Beyond his superbly elegant writing, wit and originality, Patrick O’Brian showed an understanding of the nature of a floating world at the mercy of the wind and the sea which has never been surpassed.’Max Hastings, Evening Standard ‘I devoured Patrick O’Brian’s twenty-volume masterpiece as if it had been so many tots of Jamaica grog.’Christopher Hitchens ‘Written with most engaging enthusiasm that can’t fail to give pleasure to anybody who enjoys historical adventure flavoured with more than a dash of realism.’The Sunday Times ‘One of the most brilliantly sustained pieces of historical fictional writing this century.’James Teacher, Spectator ‘Patrick O’Brian brings depth to his sea-stories with outstanding dialogue, characterisation, humour and a golden thread of romance. You don’t have to love books about naval battles to become entranced.’Katie Fforde
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Tully
Book SynopsisThe astonishing debut novel from international number one bestselling author Paullina Simons, beautifully repackagedTully Makker is a tough young woman from the wrong side of the tracks and she is not always easy to like. But if Tully gives friendship and loyalty, she gives them for good, and she forms an enduring bond with Jennifer and Julie, school friends from very different backgrounds.As they grow into the world of the seventies and eighties, the lives of the three best friends are changed forever by two young men, Robin and Jack, and a tragedy which engulfs them all.Against the odds, Tully emerges into young womanhood, marriage and a career. At last Tully Makker has life under control. And then life strikes back in the most unexpected way of allTrade Review‘You’ll never look at life in the same way again. Pick up this book and prepare to have your emotions wrung so completely you’ll be sobbing your heart out one minute and laughing through your tears the next. Tully could be any one of us – a young woman who is strong, full of hope and carrying a lot of childhood baggage. Her experiences of pain, despair and betrayal are offset by moments of dazzling joy, love and, above all, friendship. Read it and weep – literally’ Company ‘A lovely and resonant evocation of that first great bond between woman…It’s deeply moving’ Anne Rivers Siddons ‘As a first novel this is quite astonishing’ Bookseller
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Anna Karenina
Book Synopsis''One of the greatest love stories in world literature'' Vladimir NabokovThe heroine of Tolstoy''s epic of love and self-destruction, Anna Karenina has beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son, but feels that her life is empty until she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike, and brings jealousy and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life - and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself. This award-winning translation has been acclaimed as the definitive English version of Tolstoy''s masterpiece.Translated by RICHARD PEVEAR and LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY with a Preface by JOHN BAYLEY
£9.49
Viz Media, Subs. of Shogakukan Inc One Piece Heroines Vol. 2
Book Synopsis
£7.59
Cornerstone God of Fury
Book SynopsisRina Kent is a New York Times, USA Today, international and No. 1 Amazon bestselling author of everything enemies-to-lovers romance.She's known to write unapologetic anti-heroes and villains because she often fell in love with men no one roots for herself. Her books are sprinkled with a touch of darkness, a pinch of angst and an unhealthy dose of intensity.She spends her private days in London laughing like an evil mastermind about adding mayhem to her expanding universe. When she's not writing, Rina travels, hikes and spoils cats in a pure Cat-Lady fashion.
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Empire of the Sun
Book SynopsisThe classic, heartrending story of a British boy's four year ordeal in a Japanese prison camp during the Second World War. Newly reissued with an introduction by John Lanchester.Based on J. G. Ballard's own childhood, this is the extraordinary account of a boy's life in Japanese-occupied wartime Shanghai a mesmerising, hypnotically compelling novel of war, of starvation and survival, of internment camps and death marches. It blends searing honesty with an almost hallucinatory vision of a world thrown utterly out of joint.Rooted as it is in the author's own disturbing experience of war in our time, it is one of a handful of novels by which the twentieth century will be not only remembered but judged.This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard's works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Zadie Smith, Rivka Galchen, Hari Kunzru and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.Trade Review‘An extraordinary achievement’ Angela Carter ‘A remarkable journey into the mind of a growing boy … horror and humanity are blended into a unique and unforgettable fiction’ Sunday Times ‘Remarkable … form, content and style fuse with complete success … one of the great war novels of the 20th century’ William Boyd ‘Gripping and remarkable … I have never read a novel which gave me a stronger sense of the blind helplessness of war … unforgettable’ Observer ‘A brilliant fusion of history, autobiography and imaginative speculation. An incredible literary achievement and almost intolerably moving’ Anthony Burgess
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Drowned World
Book SynopsisWhen London is lost beneath the rising tides, unconscious desires rush to the surface in this apocalyptic tale from the author of Crash' and Empire of the Sun', reissued here with an introduction from Martin Amis.All the way down the creek, perched in the windows of the office blocks and department stores, the iguanas watched them go past.London, 2145. The climate crisis has transformed the city into a primeval jungle, with rising tides and oppressive heat putting human life at risk. The streets are now swamps; lush tropical vegetation grows up the walls of the Ritz and reptiles are seen swimming through the newly-formed lagoons. Some flee the wasteland capital; others remain to pursue reckless schemes in the name of science and profit. As the world comes face to face with its future, how will humanity reckon with its ancient past?Trade Review‘The most important British writer of the latter half of the 20th century’ Will Self ‘Powerful and beautifully clear … Ballard’s potent symbols of beauty and dismay inundate the reader’s mind’ Brian Aldiss ‘One of the brightest stars in post-war fiction. This tale of strange and terrible adventure in a world of steaming jungles has an oppressive power reminiscent of Conrad’ Kingsley Amis ‘Extraordinarily prescient … Ballard is a prophet’ Philip Pullman, Guardian ‘The terrifying thing about Ballard is his logic; is this science fiction or history written ahead of its time?’ Len Deighton
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Favoured Child
Book SynopsisPre-order BOLEYN TRAITOR now Philippa Gregory's landmark return to the Tudor court, coming Autumn 2025 The second novel in the bestselling Wideacre Trilogy, a compulsive drama set in the eighteenth century. By Philippa Gregory, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The Virgin's Lover.The Wideacre estate is bankrupt, the villagers are living in poverty and Wideacre Hall is a smoke-blackened ruin.But in the Dower House two children are being raised in protected innocence. Equal claimants to the inheritance of Wideacre, rivals for the love of the village, they are tied by a secret childhood betrothal but forbidden to marry. Only one can be the favoured child. Only one can inherit the magical understanding between the land and the Lacey family that can make the Sussex village grow green again. Only one can be Beatrice Lacey's true heir.Sweeping, passionate, unique: ''The Favoured Child'' is the second novel in Philippa Gregory''s bestselling trilogy which began with ''Wideacre'' and concluded with ''Meridon''.Trade ReviewPraise for ‘The Favoured Child’: ‘For sheer pace and percussive drama it will take a lot of beating.’Sunday Times Praise for ‘Wideacre’: ‘This is a story of violent love and unsettling passions. It will never let you rest for a page as you wait for the climax that must come for the people and the land.’Maeve Binchy ‘Amid all the social upheaval strides Beatrice Lacey, who, for singlemindedness, tempestuousness, passion, amorality, sensuality and plain old-fashioned evil, knocks Scarlet O’Hara into short cotton socks.’Evening Standard
£10.44
