Speculative fiction

Book SynopsisThe million-copy bestselling series about a small Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s moving Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by Alzheimer's, see their sister one last time, and meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .Continue the beautiful storytelling with Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, and Before We Say Goodbye.

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Book SynopsisThe million-copy bestselling series.Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s heartwarming Tales from the Cafe, translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time . . .From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold comes a story of four new customers each of whom is hoping to take advantage of Cafe Funiculi Funicula's time-travelling offer. Among some faces that will be familiar to readers, we will be introduced to:The man who goes back to see his best friend who died 22 years agoThe son who was unable to attend his own mother’s funeralThe man who travelled to see the girl who he could not marryThe old detective who never gave his wife that gift . . .This beautiful tale tells the story of people who must face up to their past, in order to move on with their lives.Continue the heartwarming storytelling with Before Your Memory Fades and Before We Say Goodbye.

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Book SynopsisKafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.Trade ReviewWonderful... Magical and outlandish * Daily Mail *A magnificently bewildering achievement... Brilliantly conceived, bold in its surreal scope, sexy and driven by a snappy plot... Exuberant storytelling * Independent on Sunday *Cool, fluent and addictive * Daily Telegraph *Hypnotic, spellbinding * The Times *Addictive... Exhilarating... A pleasure * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTA dazzling epic of love, war and the joy of books' GuardianThere is magic in this place You just have to sit and breathe and wait and it will find you'Fifteenth-century Constantinople. Present day Idaho. The future, and humanity's last hope.Across time and space, five young dreamers are bound by a single ancient text. Together, they tell a story of a world in peril; of the power of words, of resilience, and of hope against all odds.The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See returns with a heart-breaking, magnificent epic of human connection and a love letter to storytelling itself.Wonderment and despair, love and destruction and hope all find their place in its sumptuously plotted pages' ObserverIngenious, hopeful and totally absorbing' Financial TimesThis engagingly written, big-hearted book is a must-read' Daily MirrorTrade Review Praise for Cloud Cuckoo Land: ‘Sets him comfortably alongside Tolkien, Rowling and David Mitchell, and he is a much more elegant writer than two of those … Cloud Cuckoo Land is an impressive achievement and a joy to read. Serious novels are rarely this fun.’ The Times ‘There is a kind of book a seasoned writer produces after a big success: large-hearted, wide in scope and joyous. Following his Pulitzer winner All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land is a deep lungful of fresh air – and a gift of a novel’ Guardian ‘A paean to stories as a source of sustenance and solace, and to the sweetness of our shared terrestrial home, Doerr’s narrative is buoyant with humanity and it’s author’s palpable pleasure in invention’ Daily Mail ‘A humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences. Cloud Cuckoo Land is ultimately a celebration of books, the power and possibilities of reading’ New York Times ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land is a fascinatingly ambitious tale that’s worth the seven year wait’ Stylist ‘Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Doerr’s new novel traverses time and space, unifying his characters through a text written by Diogenes in the first century AD. Cloud Cuckoo Land begins there and sweeps through the millennia in a huge, imaginative arc that celebrates the outsiders, the writers and the keepers of books. An ultimately hopeful and life-affirming novel about the essence of love, literature and art’ Irish Independent ‘This is a dazzling epic of love, war and the joy of books – one for David Mitchell fans’ Guardian ‘Wonderment and despair, love and destruction and hope – all find their place in its sumptuously plotted pages’ Observer

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Book SynopsisExperience a major new literary universe in the making'I read The Morning Star compulsively and stayed awake all night after finishing it' Brandon TaylorNine lives will be forever changed . . .One long night in August, Arne and Tove are staying with their children in their summer house in southern Norway. Kathrine, a priest, is flying home from a Bible seminar, questioning her marriage. Journalist Jostein is out drinking for the night, while his wife, Turid, a nurse at a psychiatric care unit, is on a nightshift when one of her patients escapes.Above them all, a huge star suddenly appears blazing in the sky, and so begins a series of mysterious events. For these six, and three others, life is about to become ever more surprising and unruly...'Brilliant storytelling' Independent'Addictive' Daily Telegraph'Captivating' ObserverTrade ReviewKnausgaard retains the ability to lock you, as if in a tractor beam, into his storytelling... Knausgaard is among the finest writers alive. -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *Grippingly crafted storytelling... prose that is keenly aware of the value of suspense and surprise... [The Morning Star] has that beguiling, elusively compulsive quality that Knausgaard seems to have made his own. -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *I read The Morning Star compulsively, and stayed awake all night after finishing it... The novel's revelation is not that something terrible is coming for us all but that it is already in our midst. -- Brandon Taylor * New Yorker *Knausgaard's sentences, in Martin Aitken's translation, are both plainly direct and lyrically, emotionally elevated . . . Symphonic. -- Heidi Julavits * New York Times Book Review *A true Scandinavian epic... Knausgaard's brilliant storytelling is as bright as the celestial body from which the book takes its title. -- Roddy Brooks * Independent *

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Book Synopsis''A captivating epic fantasy from a major new talent'' Anthony Ryan, author of Blood Song***ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE''S 100 BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME*** IN A WORLD CONSUMED BY ENDLESS WAR ONE YOUNG MAN WILL BECOME HIS PEOPLE''S ONLY HOPE FOR SURVIVAL.The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for generations. The lucky ones are born gifted: some have the power to call down dragons, others can be magically transformed into bigger, stronger, faster killing machines. Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Tau Tafari wants more than this, but his plans of escape are destroyed when those closest to him are brutally murdered.With too few gifted left, the Omehi are facing genocide, but Tau cares only for revenge. Following an unthinkable path, he will strive to become the greatest swordsman to ever live, willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill three of his own people.THE RAGE OF DRAGONS LAUNCHES AN UNMISSABLE EPIC FANTASY SERIES. ''Intense, inventive and action-packed from beginning to end - a relentlessly gripping, brilliant read'' James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost''Stunning debut fantasy'' Publishers Weekly''Intense, vivid and brilliantly realised - a necessary read'' Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives''Fans of Anthony Ryan''s Blood Song will love this'' Django Wexler, author of The Thousand Names''A Xhosa-inspired world complete with magic, dragons, demons and curses, The Rage of Dragons takes classic fantasy and imbues it with a fresh and exciting twist'' Anna Stephens, author of GodblindTrade ReviewThe stultifying and dehumanising effects of a caste-based society and the seductive but ultimately destructive nature of vengeance lie at the heart of Evan Winter's tale . . . Expertly structured with a keen eye for action and character, The Rage of Dragons is a captivating epic heroic fantasy from a major new talent. -- Anthony Ryan, author of BLOOD SONGIntense, inventive and action-packed from beginning to end - a relentlessly gripping, brilliant read -- James Islington, author of THE SHADOW OF WHAT WAS LOSTWinter's stunning debut fantasy epic is rich in complex characters and a well-wrought world with both European and African influences . . . This impressive series launch holds tremendous promise -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLYA thrilling, explosive read -- STARBURSTPeople ask the last book I couldn't put down, and I tell them The Rage of Dragons. The tension rises with every page until you fear it will break you in two -- Peter V. Brett, bestselling author of THE PAINTED MANThe Rage of Dragons takes the best parts of epic fantasy and sets them in a refreshing and inventive new world, a gripping tale that makes clear the true cost of war and colonialism with one of the most enthralling hero's journeys I've read -- S. A. Chakraborty, author of CITY OF BRASSA refreshingly brutal and imaginative tale of survival and revenge. Evan Winter's battles are visceral, bloody masterpieces, and Tau's climb from exiled Lesser to Igonyama is earned in a way few writers could ever match -- David Dalglish, author of A DANCE OF CLOAKSIntense, vivid and brilliantly realized - a necessary read -- Anna Smith Spark, author of THE COURT OF BROKEN KNIVESCompelling, expansive and rich. Winter has created an exciting and immersive world of magic, vengeance and wonder -- Micah Yongo, author of LOST GODSA Xhosa-inspired world complete with magic, dragons, demons and curses, The Rage of Dragons takes classic fantasy and imbues it with a fresh and exciting twist -- Anna Stephens, author of GODBLINDFast-paced, incredibly engaging, and brimming with tension . . . Evan Winter is another new fantasy voice to watch out for; his voice deserves to be heard and his book deserves to be read . . . The Rage of Dragons is a breathtaking fantasy debut -- NOVEL NOTIONSThe Rage of Dragons is an uncompromisingly brutal fantasy in a unique, fascinating world . . . Fans of Anthony Ryan's Blood Song will love this -- Django Wexler, author of THE THOUSAND NAMESWow. This book hits the ground with stunning action and danger and it barely lets up as the pages fly by. I loved the African-influenced culture, the unique use of dragons and demons, the complex martial and class hierarchy, and it has a magic system unlike anything I've seen before. What a terrific set up for a series! -- David Anthony Durham, author of The Acacia TrilogyUtter and complete perfection. Winter has created an absolute masterpiece of a novel . . . rich and powerful, with complex characters and an intricate plot and battle scenes that will blow your mind -- THE BOOKBAGA powerful tale . . . Winter's debut will draw strong comparisons to George R. R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson, and the strong African influences and ties create a singular, exciting epic with intriguing characters and culture. Readers will be clamoring for the next installment -- LIBRARY JOURNALThe Rage of Dragons is an excellent high-octane thrill ride of a fantasy debut that I devoured in one day. Highly recommended -- GRIMDARK MAGAZINEDistinguishes itself by its setting, a fantasy world inspired by Africa, but truly impresses with its storytelling . . . an impressive fantasy debut -- B&N SCI-FI AND FANTASY BLOGA fierce revenge story set in a distinctive world . . . A sequel's a must. Meanwhile can Hollywood option this? It'd make a Gladiator-like film we'd gladly queue up for -- SFXThe Rage of Dragons explodes at a breakneck pace. Complex characters, dragons, revenge . . . I adored everything about this book! . . . What a brilliant debut! -- FANTASY BOOK REVIEWEvan Winter lures you into his world with blazing action then weaves compelling characters and emotional angst into a captivating world. It's a most welcome addition to the epic hero's journey . . . This is hands down one of my favorite books of the year -- FIYAH

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Book SynopsisDirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is a much-loved cult classic, that has spawned radio dramas, television, theatre and comic book adaptations across the globe.What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over two hundred years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common?Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge). To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it then read it) – or contact Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. 'A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic' - Douglas Adams.Continue this surreal series with The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul and the unfinished The Salmon of Doubt.Trade ReviewAn astonishing comic writer -- Neil GaimanRich and endlessly entertaining -- Stephen ManganA pleasure to read * New York Times *Few recent writers have had such an infectious prose style as Adams. With his fondness for paradox, his galactic perspective on things and his wonderful way with meaningful nonsense his are the books which have launched a trillion quips -- Robert McFarlane

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Book SynopsisA spellbinding eco fable for fans of David Mitchell, Richard Powers, and Margaret Atwood. Structured like the rings of a tree, this remarkable novel moves from a futuristic world in which only one forest remains to the start of the twentieth century, where two young boys survive a train crash, setting them on a path that will forever change their lives and the lives of those around them.Trade Review‘An arresting eco-parable.’ -- Alfred Hickling * The Guardian *‘There are plenty of visionary moments laced into [Christie’s] shape-shifting narrative … Greenwood penetrates to the core of things.’ -- Michael Upchurch * The New York Times Book Review *‘This book is why we read books. Why we need books. Wildly inventive, structurally elegant, deeply felt, and so very wise. Greenwood is Michael Christie's best work ever, and that’s saying something.’ -- Alexander MacLeod, author of Light Lifting‘A lyrical, meditative take on a world in which forests have become such rare commodities that they are turned into therapeutic retreats for the very wealthy.’ -- Sally Adee * New Scientist *‘Christie skillfully teases out the details in a page-turner of a saga that complements sylvan books such as Sometimes a Great Notion and The Overstory … Beguilingly structured, elegantly written: eco-apocalyptic but with hope that somehow we’ll make it.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus *‘This is one of ‘those’ books. One of ‘those’ books that grabs your heart and soul and fills you up to overflowing with the immensity of all that’s contained within its pages.’ -- Gill Chedgey * NB magazine *‘Greenwood is brilliant. Michael Christie shows a cross section of one family's history, revealing their dark secrets, loves, losses, and the mark of an accident still visible four generations later. Year by year, page by page, the layers of this intricate and elegant novel build into an epic story that is completely absorbing. I had to cancel everything for this book because I couldn't stop reading.’ -- Claire Cameron, author of The Last Neanderthal‘[An] eerily real-feeling future.’ * Globe and Mail *‘Rich with evocative descriptions of West Coast wilderness and anchored by a deep visceral bond to the trees that sustain us all, Greenwood is a literary page-turner that manages to be both nostalgic and modern, personal and political, intimately human and big-picture historical. In an era of so much uncertainty, it is comforting to see novelists begin to work through the biggest issue of our age. And, in this case, convert our collective suffering into brilliant, beauty-filled art.’ * Toronto Star *‘[S]tructured like the growth rings of a tree, spanning generation ... [Greenwood] looks at families, love and secrets against the backdrop of the 'magic' of trees.’ * CBC News *‘Ingeniously structured and with prose as smooth as beech bark, Michael Christie’s Greenwood is as compulsive as it is profound. A sweeping intergenerational saga that explores trees and their roots, from the precious evergreens that become commodities in the entertainment business of the future, to the intricately tangled trees of family — all of it is dazzlingly delivered in a framework inspired by the actual growth rings of a tree. Every one of Greenwood’s characters burrowed their way into my heart. Beguilingly brilliant, timely, and utterly engrossing, Greenwood is one of my favourite reads in recent memory.’ -- Kira Jane Buxton, author of Hollow Kingdom‘At once hypnotic and raging, dangerously real and brimming with hope, Greenwood is that most necessary epic that binds our human frailties to our planet's possibilities. Michael Christie tenderly rakes the past and paints a future without flinching. I read this book with my heart in my throat, in my hands, in my gut; I read this book heart-full.’ -- Katy Simpson Smith, author of The Story of Land and Sea‘Greenwood is a family story, fractured and often contradictory (as the best family stories usually are ... bring[ing] together the intimate and the sweeping, the human world and the natural, the past and the future.’ * Quill & Quire *‘Greenwood is a sprawling and ambitious novel of industrial greed, climate catastrophe, familial bonds and a little bit of hope.’ -- Keith Cadieux * Winnipeg Free Press *‘Whatever 2038 is really like when it arrives, Canadians and others will still be reading Greenwood for its high energy, its memorable characters, and its anguished love for the forests.’ -- Crawford Kilian * The Tyee *‘A remarkable achievement.’ -- Carol Off * As It Happens *‘A dystopian, historical, speculative, multigenerational family saga, this marvellous, generous book is best enjoyed in a forest.’ -- Sharon Bala, author of The Boat People‘Astonishing … What makes Greenwood an essential climate-change novel is that, rather than obsessing over a single, final apocalypse to come, it attempts something much harder and more ambitious: to transcend altogether the tropes of victim and antagonist … And to instead present humanity and nature as deeply, ultimately, endlessly interconnected … Greenwood offers a rare sentiment in the climate emergency: hope.’ -- Damian Tarnopolsky * The Walrus *‘This superb family saga will satisfy fans of Richard Powers’s The Overstory while offering a convincing vision of potential ecological destruction.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Greenwood is a compulsively readable, beautifully observed, deeply felt and rich tale that roves across Canadian history and landscape.’ * Pile by the Bed *‘Greenwood is a brilliant novel that demonstrates the ghastly effects of treating the environment as a commodity. This really is a novel for our times.’ * Theresa Smith Writes *‘[A] timely, moving novel.’ -- Damien Lawardorn * Aurealis *‘An epic, ambitious quilt of themes, stitched together by the compelling arc of the family.’ -- Sally Adee * New Scientist *‘A compulsively readable, beautifully observed, deeply felt and rich tale that roves across Canadian history and landscape.’ -- Robert Goodman * The Blurb *‘An absorbing and original epic.’ -- Dan Shaw * Happy Magazine *‘[W]ith the expert, deft hands of a seasoned carpenter, author Michael Christie carefully and methodically pieces together a story as intricate as the rings within a tree. The result is a deeply compelling novel of family and memory … Christie creates a sense of poetic, organic symmetry through rich characters and evocative, almost tactile descriptions … [W]hat stands out most by the end is the way in which Christie has been able to evoke and give voice to the way the cumulative effect of time and memory weighs on us all in ways both uplifting and terrifying. Greenwood is a towering, profound novel about the things that endure even as the world seems to be moving on.’ -- Matthew Jackson * Bookpage *‘[E]ven if you’re suffering from what you might call Literary Tree Fatigue, Christie’s novel is worth reading, in part because it’s a clever mash-up of genres that distinguishes itself from its literary cousins and earns its bulk … broad messages aside, the heart of the novel is a winning and energetic chase story … When do we choose self-preservation, and when do we choose survival in a broader sense? The question has never gone away, but Greenwood closes with the message that it’s increasingly urgent.’ -- Mark Athitakis * The Washington Post *‘A riveting tale of love, greed, sacrifice and betrayal – and an ode to the beauty of trees.’ -- Nicole Abadee * The Age *‘Greenwood’s powerful narratives, fascinating characters, and lovely prose full of beautiful specificity, takes on our contemporary fears for the world. This is one of those novels you thrust at friends and insist: You have to read this!’ FIVE STARS -- Wendy Waring * Good Reading *‘An impressive ecological novel … From the future, to the present, the past and back again, Greenwood is a moving novel of family sacrifice and love for a natural world.’ -- Colin Steele * The Canberra Times *‘Christie dazzles with this richly woven historical tracking five generations of the ‘trouble-plagued’ Greenwood clan and the environmental devastation wrought by its lucrative timber empire … [A] spellbinding family saga reflecting fiction's intensifying interest in the climate crisis as well as humanity's innate desire to make amends for past wrongs and start anew.’ STARRED REVIEW -- Annalisa Pešek * Library Journal *‘A lively eco-parable.’ -- Claire Armistead * The Guardian *Praise for If I Fall, If I Die: ‘If I Fall, If I Die is an expertly crafted work of great heart and sensitivity. I can’t recall a truer or more beautiful debut.’ -- Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters BrothersPraise for If I Fall, If I Die: ‘An astonishing piece of work. Christie combines lyrical prose and true-to-life characters — and skateboarding — to craft a remarkable tale of mothers and sons, and what it means to grow up.’ -- Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son

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Book SynopsisA BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick - Booker Gems THE NEW YORK TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017 WINNER OF THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE ''Astonishing'' Zadie Smith ''Stunning'' Spectator ''Extraordinary'' TLS An extraordinary story of love and hope from the bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist All over the world, doors are appearing. They lead to other cities, other countries, other lives. And in a city gripped by war, Nadia and Saeed are newly in love. Hardly more than strangers, desperate to survive, they open a door and step through. But the doors only go one way. Once you leave, there is no going back.*Coming soon as a major Netflix film - produced by Michelle and Barack Obama and starring Riz Ahmed* ''One of the year''s most significant literary works'' The New York Times ''A masterpiece'' Michael Chabon ''Addictively readable and brilliantly written. Fantastic'' Mail on SundayTrade ReviewAs with the very best literature, its crystalline readability fast eclipses its topicality * Mail on Sunday *[A] devastating portrait of victims of war, creating a singular parable about modernity, migration and the individual's place in the world * The Guardian *A deceptively simple conceit turns a timely novel about a couple fleeing a civil war into a profound meditation on the psychology of exile. A novel that fuses the real with the surreal - perhaps the most faithful way to convey the tremulous political fault lines of our interconnected planet * The New York Times *No conventional love story. [An] exceptionally moving and powerful novel * The Guardian *Publisher's description. In an unnamed city swollen by refugees, two young people fall in love. One day soon they will have to leave their homeland, running for their lives, searching for their place in the world. * Penguin *Powerful, vivid, poignant... Hamid is the master * Sunday Times *Writing in spare, crystalline prose, Hamid conveys the experience of living in a city under siege with sharp, stabbing immediacy * Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times *A love story as spare, haunting and spiritually powerful as a haiku. All my life I will remember Nadia and Saeed, their humanity against a surreal, broken landscape. Exit West is Hamid's finest book -- Kiran DesaiImaginative, inventive, graceful... Hamid exploits fiction's capacity to elicit empathy and imagine a better world * New York Times Book Review *A subtle and moving examination of how human relationships endure and falter under unimaginable pressures. Exit West is an instant classic * GQ *Impressive... Exit West confirms Hamid's reputation as a brilliant ventriloquist who is deeply engaged with the most pressing issues of our time -- Andrew Motion (Book of the Week) * Guardian *Astonishing -- Zadie SmithImmediately canonical * New Yorker *Part pared-down romance, part 21st-century fable, Exit West is a thought experiment that pivots on the crucial figure of this century: the migrant * Financial Times *Exit West packs such an emotional wallop you will be thinking about it for days afterwards. For Hamid is not only telling a story, he is asking what sort of a world we want to live in. * Editor's Choice, the Bookseller *It's a terrific, beautifully constructed, important novel of our time. This is what we expect fiction to do: to examine our age but also to cast an eye on the past and - very brilliantly in this case - on the future too. I love it. * Mirza Waheed *Exit West is a masterpiece. It stretches the boundaries of the real just enough to make a point about the state of immigrants and refugees in the contemporary world. But it's very much grounded in reality. It's a beautiful book. * Michael Chabon *Mohsin Hamid is one of the most talented and formally audacious writers of his generation * Telegraph *A man born to write -- Dave EggersThe voice of a changing continent. A writer at the top of his game * Metro *

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Book Synopsis'One of the best science fiction short stories to be published in the 21st century so far' SFX Review ‘Saunders is funny and kind as ever, and his narrative virtuosity puts him up there with the best’ Anne Enright, Guardian ‘A triumph of storytelling’ i paper ‘A joy. 'Effortlessly stylish, funny and smart’ Daily Mail ____________ The first short story collection in ten years from the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo MacArthur genius and Booker Prize-winner George Saunders returns with a collection of short stories that make sense of our increasingly troubled world, his first since the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist Tenth of December The 'best short story writer in English' (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose - wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned - Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality. 'Love Letter' is a tender missive from grandfather to grandson, in the midst of a dystopian political situation in the not-too-distant future, that reminds us of our obligations to our ideals, ourselves, and each other. 'Ghoul' is set in a Hell-themed section of an underground amusement park in Colorado, and follows the exploits of a lonely, morally complex character named Brian, who comes to question everything he takes for granted about his 'reality.' In 'Mother’s Day', two women who loved the same man come to an existential reckoning in the middle of a hailstorm. And in 'Elliott Spencer', our eighty-nine-year-old protagonist finds himself brainwashed - his memory 'scraped' - a victim of a scheme in which poor, vulnerable people are reprogrammed and deployed as political protesters. Together, these nine subversive, profound, and essential stories coalesce into a case for viewing the world with the same generosity and clear-eyed attention as Saunders does, even in the most absurd of circumstances. ____________ 'The only way to experience Saunders’s oblique, farcical, tragic world is to dive right in. It will take the top of your head off, but it’s worth it’ The Times 'The world’s best short story writer … Liberation Day is great art' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewThe world’s best short story writer … Liberation Day is great art * DAILY TELEGRAPH *This is the joy of Saunders: he encapsulates human experience, while always hitting the punchline * FINANCIAL TIMES *Saunders is funny and kind as ever, and his narrative virtuosity puts him up there with the best -- ANNE ENRIGHT * GUARDIAN *The Alan Bennett of small-town America … These stories are not only perfectly pitched; they come with enough comedy to have you grinning and enough empathy to suddenly stop you in your tracks * OBSERVER *A joy. Effortlessly stylish, funny and smart, they come spangled with sadness and a melancholic malaise as Saunders casts an eye over a country teetering towards wreckage * DAILY MAIL *A triumph of storytelling * I PAPER *The Tom Hanks of American letters … A master of the short story … His art speaks to the dreadful present; his open-handed style, his skill as an educator, offer hope by encouraging each individual voice to find courage to speak * NEW STATESMAN *A writer known as much for his formal inventiveness as the sharpness of his satirical wit * INDEPENDENT.CO.UK *A compelling satire of modern America * PROSPECT *In describing the stories, even quoting them, we lose something valuable. That in itself is a measure of great writing. The only way to experience Saunders’s oblique, farcical, tragic world is to dive right in. It will take the top of your head off, but it’s worth it * THE TIMES *George Saunders is that rare contemporary author who is as original as he is beloved … Readers can be assured that all the hallmarks of Saunders’ writing that electrified them from the beginning are present in his new collection, Liberation Day: bold original humor, the blurred view of American life, and the sweet humanity that pierces through it all * TIME *Virtuosic ... The nine stories in Liberation Day are by turn exhilarating, sad, mind-bendingly bizarre and wickedly funny … Perfect * SUNDAY TIMES *Leaves you in awe of his craft * FOYLES *The titan of the modern story returns with a collection of wickedly funny, perceptive and subversive miniatures * WATERSTONES *An exquisite work from a writer whose reach is galactic * OPRAH QUARTERLY *Masterful * I PAPER *Triumphant * BUZZ MAGAZINE *So good it makes you wonder why anyone else bothers * VOGUE *Saunders’ words smell like Hunter S. Thompson, Stephen King, Raymond Carver and David Lynch sharing a spliff in Joni Mitchell’s parking lot * THE WORD FACTORY *A morally passionate, serious writer ... He will be read long after these times have passed -- ZADIE SMITHSaunders has revealed himself to be nothing less than an American Gogol: funny, pointed, full of nuance, and always writing with a moral heart. This, his first book of short fiction in nearly a decade, only cements the validity of such a point of view. The nine pieces here are smart and funny, speculative yet at the same time written on a human scale, narratives full of love and loss and longing and the necessity of trying to connect … A tour de force collection that showcases all of Saunders’ many skills * KIRKUS *George Saunders makes you feel as though you are reading fiction for the first time -- KHALED HOSSEINIWhat warm, kindhearted and radical writing. Such delicacy, such serious wit. I love it -- MAX PORTERHe makes the all-but-impossible look effortless. We're lucky to have him -- JONATHAN FRANZENA luminous feat of generosity and humanism -- COLSON WHITEHEADSaunders is a true original - restlessly inventive, yet deeply humane -- JENNIFER EGANFunny, poignant – in flashes, deeply moving – light as a feather and consistently weird -- HARI KUNZRU

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Book SynopsisAs performed by Maxine Peake (''visionary''): the radical dystopian classic, lost for forty years: in a nightmarish Britain, THEY are coming closer''A creepily prescient tale ... Insidiously horrifying!'' Margaret Atwood''A masterpiece of creeping dread.'' Emily St. John MandelThis is Britain: but not as we know it. THEY begin with a dead dog, shadowy footsteps, confiscated books. Soon the National Gallery is purged; eerie towers survey the coast; mobs stalk the countryside destroying artworks - and those who resist.THEY capture dissidents writers, painters, musicians, even the unmarried and childless in military sweeps, curing' these subversives of individual identity.Survivors gather together as cultural refugees, preserving their crafts, creating, loving and remembering. But THEY make it easier to forget ...Lost for half a century, newly introduced by Carmen Maria Machado, Kay Dick''s They (1977) is a re

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Book SynopsisTales of the dark, fantastical and delightfully strange from the best voices in Nordic fiction.Storytelling has been a major force in the Nordic countries for thousands of years, from the epic Icelandic Sagas to best-selling crime with a noir flair. This anthology collects stories by the best names in Nordic speculative fiction, many of which are appearing in English for the first time.Across dark dystopian sci-fi, mythical fantasy, and terrifying horror, from the rational to the eccentric, these stories combine a deep sense of place with social criticism, themes of loneliness and identity, and the concern for humanity’s impact on the wilderness.Stories by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Maria Haskins, Karin Tidbeck, Kaspar Colling Nielsen, Jakob Drud, Lene Kaaberbøl, Rakel Helmsdal, Johann Thorsson, Tone Almhjell, Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson, Tor Åge Bringsværd, Thore Hansen, Margrét Helgadóttir, Johanna Sinisalo, Hannu Rajaniemi and Emmi Itäranta.Trade Review“Reading it gave me one of the experiences I hope for when reading an anthology: the sense of a strong voice I haven’t encountered before.” -- Locus Magazine“Highly recommended for fans of exploring what the wider genre world has in it.” –- Run Along the Shelves

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Book SynopsisA beautiful, moving story about a small Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time, to find an answer to the question: what would you do if you could go back? For fans of The Guest Cat and If Cats Disappeared from the World.

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Book Synopsis'Extraordinary . . . Folk is a dazzling talent' Karen Joy Fowler'Wonderfully weird' Daily MailA woman uses dating apps to find a partner, despite the threat posed by 'blots', artificial men more interested in stealing data than dating. A sculptor, trapped in a skyscraper restaurant when a violent coup erupts below, creates a perfect model of the town as it is destroyed. A curtain of void obliterates the world at a steady pace, leaving one woman to decide with whom she wants to spend eternity.Haunting and darkly inventive, the stories in Out There deftly combine science fiction and horror to uncover an unforgettable vision of the absurdity of life in the digital age.'The literary love child of Kafka and Camus and Bradbury penning episodes of Black Mirror' Chang-Rae Lee, author of Native SpeakerTrade ReviewOut There is for readers who consider body horror to be a love language. True romantics will swoon either despite or because of the gore that accompanies these sharp, affable stories . . . Folk's stories have been compared to Shirley Jackson's, and this is most apparent in the way Folk balances her horror with humour. * New York Times Book Review *Kate Folk's short stories are wonderfully weird; playfully pushing the possibilities of plotlines towards the uncanny, creepy and off-kilter, they have a seam of dark humour that illuminates the grotesquery with an unnerving beauty * Daily Mail *A wonderful absurdist collection that explores the vagaries of human connections * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Tightly constructed and spectacularly mind-bending stories that ingeniously pair everyday challenges and outlandish predicaments, ranging from hilarious to terrifying. Folk writes with unnerving matter-of-factness as she veers into Poe- and Shirley Jackson-like horror or turns to the poignantly fantastic in the mode of George Saunders or Kelly Link. * Booklist (starred review) *Kate Folk will be compared to Carmen Maria Machado and Julia Armfield - there are wonderful similarities in the sheer force of her creations, but she's very much her own writer. These stories are funny, scalding and, sometimes, breathtakingly beautiful. -- Sarah Davis-Goff, author of Last Ones Left AliveFifteen extraordinary, through-the-looking-glass tales, containing locked rooms, demanding houses, embodied Russian bots, revolution, and relationships -- all delivered with a side of menace. Wonderfully weird and weirdly wonderful, Folk is a dazzling talent -- Karen Joy Fowler, bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside OurselvesWondrously perverse, often creepy and hilarious, and always sneakily heart-breaking, from the moment you read these tales you'll know you're in the presence of a singularly brilliant vision, one that burns off the scrim of our normal-seeming human customs and operations to reveal the utter bizarreness of this existence. Out There, it turns out, lies very much within. -- Chang-Rae Lee, award-winning author of The SurrenderedDisturbing, alluring, dazzling and creepy, Out There is a riveting collection that keeps you enthralled with every page. -- Claire North, bestselling author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry AugustKate Folk's stories inhabit otherworldly realms where exquisite language and beguiling characters excavate the very nature of love and existence. -- Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Orphan Master’s SonKate Folk is a formidable writer, a literary swordsmith of feline dexterity, very dark and very funny, equally at home in the magisterial dark and the relentless glare of truth. -- Lisa Locascio, author of Open MeThe stories in this stunning debut are funny, fearless, and moving portraits of life shaped by the ever-widening shadow of technological progress. Folk's imagination is uncanny and arresting. Out There expertly captures the all-too-human experience of longing for lives we may never inhabit, and the final story is a chilling and tender portrait of love that will stick with you long after you finish the book. -- Isle McElroy, author of The AtmospheriansThe lucid, unsettling landscapes in Out There bring our own world into chilly focus through an exquisitely distorted lens. Each one of these amazing stories is a masterclass in eeriness and perception. Kate Folk's imagination is on fire. -- Aysegül Savas, author of White on WhiteAn assortment of stories so sharp and ingenious you may cut yourself on them while reading, like a drawer full of the most beautiful knives. Kate Folk's Out There goes onto my shelf of favorite collections. -- Kelly Link, author of Get In TroubleWry, riveting, and ambitious, Out There is one of those rare collections that manages to be both brilliantly inventive and emotionally resonant. Folk's tilted worlds are hilarious and unsettling-they sit squarely in the spaces where anxiety and exhilaration collide. Full of unforgettable voices and gleeful, exacting prose, this is a sharp and stylish debut from a wildly gifted writer -- Kimberly King Parsons, author of Black Light

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Book Synopsis'Her worlds have a magic sheen . . . She moulds them into dimensions we can only just sense. She is unique. She is legend' THE TIMES'Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power' OBSERVERGeorge Orr is a mild and unremarkable man who finds the world a less than pleasant place to live: seven billion people jostle for living space and food. But George dreams dreams which do in fact change reality - and he has no means of controlling this extraordinary power.Psychiatrist Dr William Haber offers to help. At first sceptical of George's powers, he comes to astonished belief. When he allows ambition to get the better of ethics, George finds himself caught up in a situation of alarming peril.Trade ReviewLe Guin is a writer of phenomenal power * OBSERVER *Ursula Le Guin was able to reimagine many concepts we take to be natural, shared, and unalterable - gender, utopia, creation, war, family, the city, the country - and reveal the all-too-human constructions at their center ... Literature will miss her. There's no one like her -- Zadie SmithShe is unparalleled in creating fantasy peopled by finely drawn and complex characters * GUARDIAN *Le Guin is one of the singular speculative voices of our future, thanks to her knack for anticipating issues of seminal importance to society * TLS *Her worlds have a magic sheen . . . She moulds them into dimensions we can only just sense. She is unique. She is legend * THE TIMES *I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin -- Roddy DoyleA rare and powerful synthesis of poetry and science, reason and emotion * NEW YORK TIMES *[Le Guin had] the heart of a poet who knew all too well the difference between miracle and eureka, revelation and revolution * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *Le Guin's storytelling is sharp, magisterial, funny, thought-provoking and exciting, exhibiting all that science fiction can be * EMPIRE *Ursula Le Guin is a chemist of the heart -- David Mitchell, author of CLOUD ATLASWhen I read The Lathe of Heaven as a young man, my mind was boggled; now when I read it, more than twenty-five years later, it breaks my heart. Only a great work of literature can bridge - so thrillingly - that impossible span -- Michael ChabonLe Guin writes tellingly of different kinds of society . . . and of the individual's response to them * DAILY TELEGRAPH *

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Book Synopsis''It''s impossible not to be moved'' Stephen King''Stunning...this novel will break your heart and fire up your courage'' Mail on SundayThe New York Times bestseller, a deeply heart-wrenching novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child and a TIMES BEST PAPERBACK OF APRIL 2023Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn''t know what happened to her-only that her books have been banned-and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him. Then one day, Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of heroic librarians, and finally to New York City, where he will finally learn the truth about what happened to his mother, and what the future holds for them both. Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It''s about the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and the power of art to create change.Trade ReviewA stunning story of injustice and resistance...Lyrical, intricate, unsparing: this novel will break your heart and fire up your courage * Mail on Sunday *A lyrical and touching testimony to maternal love, it's also a salutary reminder of how easily freedoms can be lost and of the power of words to change lives * Daily Mail *One of the biggest books of the year...deeply moving * Stylist *Beautifully stirring and heart-wrenching, this powerful novel from the author of Little Fires Everywhere is a homage to love and will tug at your heartstrings * Heat, Book of the Month *A beautiful, thoughtful book...Brilliant and moving * Hello magazine *Ng's compelling writing paints a picture of a world so real you can almost touch it. Despite the darkness of the story, the love of a family stands out. * Independent *[A] feat of meaty storytelling...Ng effortlessly combines a character-led family story with a detective tale, a tribute to books and storytelling and a confrontation with history...a story that is exceptionally powerful and scaldingly relevant * Observer *Remarkable and deeply moving... as moving as it is gripping. [Ng] is an astute writer...her writing feels gorgeously supple * The i *Thought-provoking, heart-wrenching...I was so invested in the future of this mother and son, and I can't wait to hear what you think of this deeply suspenseful story! * Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club October ’22 Pick) *On another level, Our Missing Hearts is a meditation on the sometimes accidental power of words... I won't give away the splendid conclusion of Ng's book; suffice it to say the climax deals with the power of words, the power of stories and the persistence of memory. It's impossible not to be moved by Margaret Miu's courage, or to applaud her craftiness * Stephen King, New York Times *Powerful and brilliant * Vogue *Thought-provoking... My heart broke and was remade several times over by this book * Good Housekeeping *Ng, whose previous novels subtly probed tensions surrounding race,class, and gender, boldly tacklesanti-Asian racism head-on * Time magazine, 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 *Shot through with vivid color and rising hope, an unflinching yet life-affirming drama about the power of art and love to push back in dangerous times...Ng's brilliance lies in leaving the reader with an unshakable belief that against all odds, people will find the courage to resist, revolt, and defend . . . remarkable * Oprah Daily *[Ng] has really hit her authorial stride in her eagerly anticipated third novel, Our Missing Hearts... It's her masterful weaving huge themes of race, class, privilege and identity with the simplicity of everyday lives that has made her a deserved international phenomenon * Daily Mirror *Ng's third novel is eagerly awaited and does not disappoint...Our Missing Hearts deftly weaves together a coming-of-age story with a threatening vision of a heavily censored future * Daily Express *Little Fires Everywhere became a global phenomenon and now author Celeste Ng is back with another gripping tale * Irish Mail on Sunday *Tense, poignant and chilling * Grazia *

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'A genuinely thought-provoking piece of fiction' THE TIMES'Extraordinary' WILLIAM BOYD'Profoundly moving . . . a wonderful and life-affirming love story' JAMES HOLLAND'His greatest novel yet' ANTONY BEEVOR'Original and enthralling' PETER JAMES‘A beautifully written novel. On the one hand you have love, kindness, responsibility; on the other monstrous arrogance and indifference to consequences’ SCOTSMANA CHILD WILL BE BORN WHO WILL CHANGE EVERYTHINGWhen a young American academic Talissa Adam offers to carry another woman's child, she has no idea of the life-changing consequences.Behind the doors of the Parn Institute, a billionaire entrepreneur plans to stretch the boundaries of ethics as never before. Through a series of IVF treatments, which they hope to keep secret, they propose an experiment that will upend the human race as we know it.Seth, the baby, is delivered to hopeful parents Mary and Alaric, but when his differences start to mark him out from his peers, he begins to attract unwanted attention.The Seventh Son is a spectacular examination of what it is to be human. It asks the question: just because you can do something, does it mean you should? Sweeping between New York, London, and the Scottish Highlands, this is an extraordinary novel about unrequited love and unearned power.Trade ReviewThis is a genuinely thought-provoking piece of fiction. You could devour it in a day and be wholly transported into the near future, then set it back down, dazed but enlightened, in the present day where you will see the world anew in all its wonders and frailties * The Times *A stunning novel: profoundly moving, deeply unsettling, thought-provoking and prescient but also a wonderful and life-affirming love story too -- James HollandOnce I had started I literally could not stop. It really is his greatest novel yet, and of course beautifully written in that wonderful, understated style -- Antony BeevorFaulks is one of the most original and compelling writers in the world. This enthralling novel is right up there among his very finest work -- Peter JamesA completely fascinating and extraordinary novel. A profound and moving examination of our complex human nature -- William BoydA beautifully written novel. On the one hand you have love, kindness, responsibility; on the other monstrous arrogance and indifference to consequences * The Scotsman *Brilliant, original and unputdownable. An absolute cracker -- Peter FrankopanBrilliant -- Matthew ParkerThis elegant near-future novel about a daring scientific experiment explores the evolution of consciousness… Faulks is an enviably graceful and economical writer. The early chapters of the book rip along with clarity and elegance. He conjures up the various worlds, brings the central characters vividly to life and keeps the story moving intriguingly forward * Guardian *A high-concept page-turner… Pitched somewhere between Michael Crichton and Ian McEwan, it’s a timely meditation on the whims of rich tycoon * Mail on Sunday *Engaging and thought-provoking … The Seventh Son straddles two worlds, encompassing the distant past as well as the future. In so doing, Faulks asks difficult questions about who and what we are, and whether we could ever justifiably alter our genes to remove the worst of our defects * Herald *Thought-provoking and chilling * I Paper *Fabulously compelling… a provocative, poignant and disturbing examination of what it is to be human… Who says a novel of ideas can’t be as thrilling as a holiday beach read? The Birdsong author’s novels invariably examine big, bold ideas yet are beautifully told with a gossamer light touch. The Seventh Son is no exception * Express *A resonant hint of Frankenstein’s wretched monster about Seth who, functional, capable and literate as he is, stands at the book’s emotional centre, desperate for a companionship he can never find * Daily Mail *Cutting-edge science and big, meaty ideas aside, it’s the minute details of everyday life and the bursting-from-the-page characters that make this thought-provoking novel come alive -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * The Times *Sebastian Faulks has long been a novelist much occupied with ideas, especially scientific and medical ones, while contriving to marry this to a strong plot and credible characters . . . gripping, horribly persuasive and sad -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisThe first volume in legendary master and New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist's epic heroic fantasy series, The Firemane Saga an electrifying tale of two young men whose choices will determine a world's destiny.The world of Garn once boasted five great kingdoms, until the King of Ithrace was defeated and every member of his family executed by Lodavico, the ruthless King of Sandura, a man with ambitions to rule the world.Ithrace''s ruling family were the legendary Firemanes, and represented a great danger to the other kings. Now four great kingdoms remain, on the brink of war. But rumour has it that the newborn son of the last king of Ithrace survived, carried off during battle and sequestered by the Quelli Nacosti, a secret society whose members are trained to infiltrate and spy upon the rich and powerful throughout Garn. Terrified that this may be true, and that the child will grow to maturity with bloody revenge in his heart, the four kings have placed a huge bounty onTrade Review‘This is a knockout.’Publisher’s Weekly (praise for Queen of Storms) PRAISE FOR KING OF ASHES ‘File under guilty pleasure’Guardian ‘Get in at the start of a master’s new series’Daily Sport ‘Epic scope…vivid imagination…a significant contribution to the growth of the field of fantasy’Washington Post

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2022 FINALIST FOR THE BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE 2022 FINALIST FOR THE URSULA LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022 WATERSTONES AND ESQUIRE BEST BOOKS OF 2022 ‘Haunting and luminous … An astonishing debut’ – Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta 'A powerfully moving and thought provoking read. At times sublime, strange and deeply human' Adrian Tchaikovsky, bestselling author of the Children of Time series Siberia, 2031. After a virus, unearthed from melting permafrost, unleashes a deadly plague upon humanity, those left alive are forced to adapt to a new world, and do so in myriad moving and inventive ways. Among those adjusting to this new normal are an aspiring comedian, employed by a theme park designed for terminally ill children, who falls in love with a mother trying desperately to keep her son alive; a scientist who, having failed to save his own son from the plague, gets a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects — a pig — develops human speech; and a widowed painter and her teenage granddaughter who must set off on cosmic quest to locate a new home planet. A story of unshakeable hope that seamlessly crosses literary lines, How High We Go in the Dark follows a cast of intricately linked characters spanning hundreds of years as humankind endeavours to restore the delicate balance of the world. Wonderful and disquieting, dreamlike and all too possible. [How High We Go in the Dark] reaches far beyond our stars while its heart remains rooted to Earth, and reminds us that our wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of our world - Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree Trade ReviewHaunting and luminous, How High We Go in the Dark orchestrates its multitude of memorable voices into beautiful and lucid Science Fiction that resembles a fitful future memory of our present. An astonishing debut * Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta *Imaginative and fascinating … On a sentence level, the writing in this book is simply beautiful ... An immersive, hypnotic read * Roxane Gay *A powerfully moving and thought provoking read. At times sublime, strange and deeply human * Adrian Tchaikovsky, bestselling and award-winning author of the Children of Time series *As ambitious as it is intimate, How High We Go in the Dark is both a prescient warning and a promise of human resilience in the face of any odds. Sequoia Nagamatsu masterfully connects each slice of life into one epic and unforgettable tale, spanning centuries and generations. His debut envisions a future that is at once wonderful and disquieting, dreamlike and all too possible. It reaches far beyond our stars while its heart remains rooted to Earth, and reminds us that our wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of our world. -- Samantha ShannonLike a Polaroid photograph, How High We Go in the Dark takes time to show its true colours. When they finally appear, the effect is all the more dazzling ... His novel, with its emphasis on family, mutual acceptance and the often unorthodox ways in which we are all connected, will be admired as much by fans of Becky Chambers’s hugely popular Wayfarers series as by readers of Richard Powers’s Booker-shortlisted Bewilderment. It is a truly genre-transcending work in which sense of wonder and literary acumen are given boundless opportunity to shine * Guardian *Moving and thought-provoking… A welcome addition to a growing trend of what we might call the ‘speculative epic’: genre-bending novels that use a wide aperture to tackle large issues like climate change while jumping between characters, timelines and even narrative modes… Nagamatsu squarely hits both the ‘literary’ and ‘science fiction’ targets, offering psychological insights in lyrical prose while seriously exploring speculative conceits… How High We Go in the Dark is a book of sorrow for the destruction we’re bringing on ourselves. Yet the novel reminds us there’s still hope in human connections, despite our sadness * New York Times *A refractive glass exploring themes of loss, mourning and recovery through an impressive variety of characters, moods and situations …The elegiac opening story is about a man mourning his grown-up daughter as he studies a 30,000-year-old corpse … Nagamatsu’s footwork is impressive as he skips from trope to trope, and epoch to futuristic epoch * The Times *A novel that is both grimly timely while also moving past our usual notions of time to reveal a wider view— Sequoia Nagamatsu allows his story to unspool with such a great sense of scope, freedom, and clarity, creating a stunning mosaic of experience and humanness * Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake *Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go in the Dark is a sprawling, epic debut that ventures from the Arctic to interstellar space, from life to what may come after it. With precision and harrowing prescience, Nagamatsu envisions the effects - both cultural and planetary - of a mysterious, devastating pandemic; but he explores, too, the astonishing commitment, resilience, and capacity for resilience that enables life - human and otherwise - to reach for survival. Sequoia Nagamatsu is a writer whose imagination is matched only by his compassion, the kind we need to light our way through the dark * Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists *How High We Go in the Dark is wondrous not just in the feats of imagination, which are so numerous that it makes me dizzy to recall them, but also in the humanity and tenderness with which Sequoia Nagamatsu helps us navigate this landscape, to find a way to survive while holding onto the things that make us human. This is a truly amazing book, one to keep close as we imagine the uncertain future * Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here *One of the best novels I've read recently ... Reimagines this world and the next to come * Alexander Chee *Wildly imaginative, pandemic prescient … Nagamatsu depicts his homeland’s reaction to a deadly virus with a droll eye … a terrifyingly original novel * Independent.co.uk, Books of the Month *A prescient warning of an all-too-plausible future and a spellbinding mosaic of characters who stand as a testament to human inventiveness in the face of catastrophe, Nagamatsu’s ambitious, haunting debut announces the arrival of an astonishing new voice in science fiction * Waterstones, Books to Read in 2022 *With How High We Go in the Dark, Sequoia Nagamatsu has done the impossible: written a book expansive enough to tackle the enormity of our climate crisis—and then gone further, to capture our even larger capacity for creation. It is clear from this book that Nagamatsu possesses one of literature’s most vibrant and generous imaginations. You will fall in love with these characters and, in so doing, remember your love for the world. How High We Go in the Dark rejects the idea of the novel as the story of an individual and bravely takes on the collective nature both of global warming and of how we can face it. * Matthew Salesses, author of The Hundred Year Flood *Gorgeous, terrifying, compassionate. With funerary skyscrapers, a generation ship painted with history, and a pyramid of souls reaching for light, How High We Go in the Dark is both powerful and original. Nagamastu elegantly dissects disaster with an eye toward empathy and curiosity. At this book’s center is a great big beautiful heart. An exceptional accomplishment that left me equal parts hope and wonder * Erika Swyler, author of Light From Other Stars and The Book of Speculation *A book of incredible scope and ambition, a polyphonic elegy for the possible, for all that might be won and lost in the many worlds we make together: the world of our families, our civilization and our planet, the planets beyond. Sequoia Nagamatsu’s debut generates fresh wonder at all we are, plus hope for all we might become, in these unforgettable futures yet to be * Matt Bell, author of Appleseed *Like an ice core carved from the frozen depths of an ancient sea, this is a novel that captures the drama across eons, containing the glittering secrets of some future history. An astonishing vision of the end of the Anthropocene * Matthew Baker, author of Why Visit America *You can try to compare Sequoia Nagamatsu to George Saunders or Charlie Kaufman or David Mitchell, but his is a singular voice and this is a book so original and wondrous and reality-shredding that it defies easy summary or categorization, like a dream that feels more vivid than life. It’s brave and prescient, completely bananas and yet absolutely moving, packed with humor and heart. I loved it * Benjamin Percy, author of Ninth Metal, Red Moon, and Thrill Me, and writer of X-Force and Wolverine for Marvel Comics *How High We Go in the Dark is not a plague novel; it is an after plague novel. Sequoia Nagamatsu nimbly bounds through time, space, and species while tackling the question, Where do we go from here? My favorite kind of speculative fiction—philosophical and hopeful; endlessly inventive, with a beating heart * Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry *Both epic and deeply intimate, Nagamatsu’s debut novel is science fiction at its finest, rendered in gorgeous, evocative prose and offering hope in the face of tragedy through human connection. * Booklist, starred review *Exactly the white-hot missive of hope, humanity, and compassion you need … Each story is a marvel of imagination… Rich in scope and vision, with each nested story masterfully rippling across others, this is a visionary novel about grief, resilience, and how the human spirit endures * Esquire *Wildly imaginative, pandemic prescient … A terrifyingly original novel * Independent.co.uk *Spanning countries and centuries, an ambitious speculative debut * Highlights of the Year, Guardian *A brave, thoughtful and sometimes moving novel * SFX *An intergenerational mosaic of loss and love … Here is imagery unforgettable and awe-inspiring … Nagamatsu has crafted a dazzling work of ambition, compassion, and imagination that grapples with all these complexities. It offers a whisper of what might matter most, and how high we might go – together – in dark * Lunate *A product of more than 10 years’ labor, this novel will ring out sharply in today’s pandemic world .… Nagamatsu blends literary and visionary verve in a narrative winning comparison to Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven * Library Journal *A book that is innately, essentially human in a way few writers manage to * Lightspeed *Expansive and breathtaking * Debutiful *Deeply hopeful and cathartic, How High We Go in the Dark challenges preconceptions about speculative and science fiction * Bad Form Review *Nagamatsu conjures a world that is at once unrecognisable and frighteningly close to our own. It’s an ambitious and timely piece of speculative fiction that is both harrowing and hopeful * Monocle *Resonant of inventive hybrid novels such as Bewilderment by Richard Powers, Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel and XX by Rian Hughes … This story ultimately demonstrates how we can each form our own destinies * Lonesomereader.com *Sequoia Nagamatsu is being hailed as one of the most exciting new writers of 2022 * Popshot Quarterly *I loved [How High We Go in the Dark] ... It exists at the intersection of bleak and beautiful, where hope lies. * Hayley Campbell *How High We Go in the Dark is an awe-inspiring, devastating, genre-busting rollercoaster of empathy, tragedy, joy and compassion. This book will break your heart - and mend it, too. I loved it * Kesia Lupo, author of We Are Bound By Stars *Desolate and sad, but also ambitious and lightly insane. Talking pigs, roller coaster euthanasia machines for children, generational trauma. I suspect this will be a book that gets a lot of attention and it should * Jenny Lawson, author of Broken *

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Book SynopsisFrom internationally bestselling author Terry Goodkind, comes this outstanding epic adventure set in the captivating world of his classic Sword of Truth novels.As her husband, Richard, desperately searches for his beloved, who only he remembers, he knows that if she doesn't soon discover who she really is, she will unwittingly become the instrument that will unleash annihilation. But Kahlan learns that if she ever were to unlock the truth of her lost identify, the evil itself would finally possess her, body and soul.If she is to survive in a murky world of deception and betrayal, where life is not cheap but fleeting, Kahlan must find out why she is such a central figure in the war-torn world swirling around her. What she uncovers are secrets darker than she could ever have imagined.Trade ReviewPraise for Terry Goodkind: ‘A real born storyteller'Anne McCaffrey 'Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy'Publishers Weekly

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Book Synopsis WILL THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME HELP KATY FIND HER WAY HOME? 'Rebecca Serle is a maestro of love in all its forms' GABRIELLE ZEVIN'An extraordinary, beautiful, magical book' JILL MANSELLWhen Katy's mother dies, she's left reeling from the loss. Carol had been her best friend, her anchor, and they'd been so close to their dream of travelling to Positano together.Feeling untethered from her own life and unable to connect with anyone, Katy makes a rash decision. In a bid to keep her mother close, she follows in a young Carol's footsteps, flying to Italy alone.Katy had imagined a holiday painted by grief but finds more comfort than she had expected. Then, in a sharp twist of fate, Carol's past and Katy's present collide, leaving Katy to wonder if she ever really knew her mother at all...'A clever, immersive novel - gorgeous!' CESCA MAJOR, author of Maybe Next Time'Really can't recommend this enough - beautiful, inspiring . . . the perfect summer read' Reader review'Breathtakingly original and heartbreakingly emotional' LAURA JANE WILLIAMS, author of Love Struck'Rebecca Serle is now officially an auto buy author for me' Reader review'Startlingly fresh and utterly compelling' HOLLY MILLER, author of What Might Have Been'Beautifully heartbreaking and reaffirming all at once' Reader reviewTrade ReviewI loved In Five Years but with One Italian Summer Rebecca has truly excelled herself. An extraordinary, beautiful, magical book. (And now I NEED to visit Positano...) * JILL MANSELL, author of SHOULD I TELL YOU? *Startlingly fresh and utterly compelling, One Italian Summer is a spellbinding story of love, loss and hope, so beautifully depicted I felt I lived and breathed every word of Katy's journey along with her. It's extraordinary storytelling - a book with magic on every page * HOLLY MILLER, author of THE SIGHT OF YOU *Breathtakingly original and heartbreakingly emotional, One Italian Summer is a tearjerker of a masterpiece that combines family, romance, and feeling lost, found and hopeful, set against the hauntingly evocative backdrop of one of the most beautiful places on earth. I was floored by it * LAURA JANE WILLIAMS, author of THE LUCKY ESCAPE *A gorgeous story that swept me away to Italy - breathtaking! * EMMA COOPER, author of IT WAS ALWAYS YOU *One Italian Summer is a feast for the senses. Serle is the queen of taking a truly original idea and breathing life and heart into every corner of it. I couldn't love her books more * LAURA PEARSON, author of I WANTED YOU TO KNOW *One Italian Summer is the perfect escapist read. Compelling, moving and masterfully told * LAURA KAY, author of THE SPLIT *Rebecca Serle is a maestro of love in all its forms * GABRIELLE ZEVIN, author of YOUNG JANE YOUNG *Honestly what a book - she's so bloody clever - sparing with words but able to write with real poetry. The whole book was so vivid and gorgeous and I am SO HERE for women's fiction that surprises - which this did in spades. Loved it and would read anything she ever writes * CESCA MAJOR, author of THE LAST NIGHT *Rebecca Serle has crafted a beautiful love story which shows her character's grief slowly ebbing away and being replaced by something new * IPAPER *[One Italian Summer is] wonderful on grief and love, and every reader lucky enough to still have their mother will want to hug her tight after this * DAILY MAIL *There is more than a touch of magic in this new novel from the author of In Five Years. Beautifully and sensitively written, exploring themes of grief, loss and the power of love, this haunting, touching tale is sure to get under your skin * SUNDAY EXPRESS *This is a captivating and poignant read, exploring relationships, the importance of family bonds and how we carry on after loss * CANDIS *A beautiful love story that turns its own pages as you are sucked into the Italian summer sun * WOMAN'S WAY *A beautiful love story that turns its own pages as you are sucked into the Italian sun * HERALD *Rebecca Serle writes such clever and original stories, ones which never turn out how I expected (this is a good thing!) and are full of emotion * NB MAGAZINE *In these cynical times full of snark and memes, it's nice to surrender to magic every now and then * PRESS ASSOCIATION *Poignant and beautiful exploration of loss, grief and how we heal our hearts * CULTUREFLY *

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Book SynopsisNona Grey's story reaches its shattering conclusion in the third instalment of Book of the Ancestor.THEY CAME AGAINST HER AS A CHILD. NOW THEY FACE THE WOMAN.The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor's armies are in retreat.Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun's habit before war is on their doorstep.Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war.The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it's a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her.A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.HOLY SISTER completes the Book of the ATrade Review‘An excellent writer’George R.R. Martin ‘Dark, passionate, tense, with a female hero anyone could relate to–I was utterly fascinated! This is no pretty, flowery tale, but one of vastly different people struggling to survive when a hostile government comes to power’#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce ‘This is a book very distinct from everything that came before; what it has in common though is a narrative that pulls no punches, and characters that are beautifully, brokenly, repellently, cleverly human’Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews ‘I had never thought it was possible to find a greater character than the Emperor Jorg Ancrath. I had never even slightly considered that there might be a fantasy world out there toppling that of Τhe Final Empire, and most definitely, I had never thought that I could love a book more than The Night Angel. But here we are’BookNest ‘Any other author is going to have to smack the ball way, way out of the park to top this read’Parmenion Books

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Book SynopsisSometimes we must look to the past to survive the future.Q wants a simpler and safer life. His work as a quantum cryptographer for the government has led him to believe a crisis is imminent for civilisation and he's looking for somewhere to ride out what's ahead.He buys a ruined farmhouse in Cornwall and begins to build his own self-sufficient haven. Over the course of this quest he meets the eccentric characters who already live on the moors nearby - including the park ranger in charge of the reintroduced lynxes and aurochs that roam the area; a holy man waiting for the second coming on top of a nearby hill; an Arthurian knight on horseback and the amorous ghost of an Edwardian woman who haunts the farmhouse.As life in the cities gets more complicated, and our systems of electronic control begin to fall apart, Q flourishes in the wild Cornish countryside. His new way of life brings him back in tune with his teenage children, his ex-wife, and his own sense of who he is. He also grows close to Eva, energetic and enchanting, who is committed to her own quest for love and meaning.In this entertaining and heart-warming novel Louis de Bernières makes us reconsider what is really precious in our short and precarious lives.‘Marked by de Bernieres’ customary light touch and wry humour...This quirky novel is timely... a feelgood story about friendship and love – vintage de Bernieres.’ Daily MirrorTrade ReviewBeguiling...Set in a jollier dystopia than the norm, it tells the tale of “Q”, a cryptographer who takes refuge from the madding crowd in Cornwall * Observer *Marked by de Bernieres’ customary light touch and wry humour...This quirky novel is timely... a feelgood story about friendship and love – vintage de Bernieres. * Daily Mirror *A knockabout satire with twists aplenty * Mail on Sunday *A wonder worthy of Wyndham...wry, wise * Daily Mail *Heaps of old-fashioned adventure * The Times *

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Book SynopsisFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA'Daphne du Maurier told of Britain leaving the EU fifty years ago' LUCY SCHOLES, THE TIMES'The spirit of Britannia embodied' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'She wrote exciting plots ... a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN 'It is rather awful, Emma thought as she walked across the fields down to the farm, how this business is leading us all into subterfuge and deception, and we can't really tell who is friend and who is enemy ... 'Emma wakes up one morning to an apocalyptic world. The cosy existence she shares with her grandmother, a famous retired actress has been shattered: there's no telephone, no radio and an American warship sits in the harbour. England has withdrawn from the European Common Market and, on the brink of bankruptcy has decided that salvation lies in a union - political, military and economic - with the United States. Theoretically it is to be an equal partnership, but it soon begins to look like a takeover bid.As the two women piece together clues about the 'friendly' military occupation on their doorstep; family, friends and neighbours come together to resist the interlopers.Trade ReviewShe wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense, and she was, too, a writer of fearless originality * Guardian *Consistently entertaining * Sunday Times *Daphne du Maurier told of Britain leaving the EU fifty years ago -- Lucy Scholes * The Times *The spirit of Britannia embodied * Sunday Telegraph *One of the last century's most original literary talents * Daily Telegraph *A diverse and engrossing cast of characters ... provocative, diverting * Chicago Tribune *

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Book Synopsis'Frankly superb. This pummelling eco-thriller camouflages the true understory' of societal collapse, and glows in the dark with original thinking' David Mitchell, author of Utopia AvenueA speculative thriller about the end of all things, set in the Pacific Northwest. A harrowing descent into a secret world.''Jane Smith'' receives an unexplained envelope containing the key to a storage unit. And inside that storage unit is a taxidermy hummingbird and directions to a taxidermy salamander. Somehow, this bizarre treasure hunt, that Jane never expected or asked for, sets in motion a series of events that quickly put her and her family in danger.As she desperately seeks answers, she discovers time is running out for her and possibly for the world.This is climate fiction at its most urgent and gripping' The New York TimesVisionary, dark, beautiful, and strange, that rare novel that coaxes you into imagining the unimaginable' Kristen Roupenian, author of You Know You Want This: Cat Person andTrade Review Praise for Hummingbird Salamander: ‘Every now and again a writer reimagines noir fiction for their generation. Now it’s the turn of Jeff VanderMeer… He proves more than up to the task … a gripping kick-the-door-down investigation of wildlife smuggling that expands maniacally to include all that our planet has lost as the sixth extinction gathers pace … This is natural history as police procedural; and life on Earth as the scene of a crime’ The Times ‘An enigmatic eco-thriller that delivers on the subject of worlds – inner worlds such as the biosphere – that are coming apart’ Observer ‘VanderMeer is utterly confident and convincing in his storytelling… The action is delivered in short, punchy prose that builds up its own irresistible rhythm as the book progresses to a climax that deals with the possible end of the world, yet does so with nuance and thought-provoking speculation … A terrific piece of work’ Big Issue ‘A violent, darkly witty adventure, haunted by the threat of looming environmental apocalypse … while there's an urgency and a justified anger here, there's also a necessary glimmer of hope, a suggestion that perhaps we're not all completely doomed. Well, not yet, anyway.’ Will Salmon, SFX Magazine ‘An existential mindfuck cleverly disguised as a thriller … Visionary, dark, beautiful, and strange, that rare novel that coaxes you into imagining the unimaginable’ Kristen Roupenian, author of You Know You Want This: Cat Person and Other Stories ‘Quirky, compelling … The engine that drives it is speculation about the future not only of civilisation, but of all life on this planet.’ Guardian ‘Harrowing, gripping, and profound. It's both a thriller and a requiem for a disappearing world. I expect this novel will haunt me for a long time’ Emily St. John Mandel, author of The Glass Hotel

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Book SynopsisThe crowning achievement of an astonishing career, Boneland' concludes the story that began over fifty years ago in The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'.If the sleeper wakes, the dream diesProfessor Colin Whisterfield spends his days at Jodrell Bank, using the radio telescope to look for his lost sister in the Pleiades. At the same time, and in another time, the Watcher cuts the rock and dances, to keep the sky above the earth and the stars flying.Colin can't remember; and he remembers too much. Before the age of twelve years and nine months is a blank. After that he recalls everything: where he was, what he was doing, in every minute of every hour of every day.But Colin will have to remember what happened when he was twelve, if he wants to find his sister. And the Watcher will have to find the Woman. Otherwise the skies will fall, and there will be only winter, wanderers and moonTrade Review‘From Harry Potter to The Hunger Games, adults have been enthusiastically been reading children’s books over recent years. Garner predates the cross over phenomenon by decades, but he has never been just a children’s writer: he’s far richer, odder and deeper than that’ Guardian ‘He deploys short, accurate words better than anyone else writing in English today, and he makes it look simple. Boneland is the strangest, but also the strongest of Garner’s books. It feels like a capstone to a career that has taken him, as a writer, to remarkable places, and returned him to the same place he started, to the landscape of Alderley Edge and to the sleepers under the hill’ The Times ‘Boneland hooks into the mind, haunting, provoking…This novel functions like a dream, containing hints at insights that, once we wake, we yearn to grasp again’ Telegraph ‘There is much left unexplained. However, this is a novel for all the children who loved ‘The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen’ but who have now grown up.’ Four out of Five stars. Sarah Kingsford, Express

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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)

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Book SynopsisTHE FIRST BOOK IN AN ELECTRIFYING NEW SERIES set in the world of the number one New York Timesbestselling I AM NUMBER FOUR______________The Loric didn''t make us monsters and they didn''t make us heroes. We choose what happens next.Taylor Cook thought of the invasion as just a bad dream. It had ended over a year ago, and none of the fighting happened anywhere near her small town. She''d heard about teens who were suddenly developing incredible abilities, but she had never really believed it. Not until the day she discovered she was one of them - a human with Legacies.Now Taylor is being sent off to the Human Garde Academy. A place where teens from across the globe can learn to control their new powers and discover what they are truly capable of. There they will be trained by the Loric - the very same people who helped win the war and who are also responsible for unleashing the Legacies on the planet. As part of this

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Book Synopsis'Very highly recommended.’ Louise DouglasAD 61Brittania is in the hands of the Romans but when the conquering army betray the dead King Prasutagus by defiling his daughters, his Queen, Boudicca, is determined to regain her land.Iceni slave Brea remembers little of the time before the Romans, and has grown used to their louche and indulgent customs. She diligently goes about her duties looking after the artless Aurelia, wife-to-be of the handsome war hero Marcellus, but her longing for freedom and her desire to find her lost father, are never far from her mind.Present DayWhen Hanna returns to Norfolk from years working abroad, the strange dreams of her adolescence return: indistinct figures in tunics, mighty soldiers in armour, gladiators, temples, an Iceni warrior woman leading her people. Gradually Hanna’s dreams begin to slip into the present as visions in the famous mists rolling across the fens, and as shocks of recognition when a new face moves to her childhood home.As Hanna realises that she has a connection with a tragedy that occurred many years before, so Brea has to understand that her fate is bound up with her Roman master. And as the drumbeat of rebellion gets ever closer Brea must make the fatal choice between love and loyalty while Hanna has to find a way to make peace with the past.USA Today bestselling author Judy Leigh writing as Elena Collins, brings you this heart-breaking and unforgettable timeslip novel, perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine, Diana Gabaldon and Louise Douglas.Praise for Elena Collins:'Very highly recommended.’ Louise Douglas'The Lady of The Loch held me spellbound from the first page to the last. With two storylines beautifully woven together to create a seamless tale of love, loss, betrayal and, above all, hope, it’s a must-read. Collins’s detailed knowledge of the period trickles through the tale wrapping the reader in a vivid shifting world as it moves between the 14th century and present day. Cleverly researched and exquisitely written, The Lady of The Loch is a timeless story of hope, family and love. I loved it.' Alexandra WalshWhat readers are saying about Elena Collins:'Loved this book, didn't want it to end well worth 5 stars. I will definitely read more books by this author.I love the duel story line and this author writes a lot like my other favorite author Barbara Erskine.''I really enjoyed The Witches Tree also written by Elena Collins ... and The Lady of the Loch was just simply amazing! The characters will stay with me for a long time..and that's a sign of a great book!''This was fabulous, I couldn’t put it down, read in two days and was so sorry that I’d finished it! Loved her first book but this was something else, I was totally gripped, beautiful story and I actually felt like I was back in 1307, best book I’ve read in a long time, hope I don’t have to wait too long for the next one.''This was such an evocative and atmospheric story, it was truly engrossing to the point that on a very sleepless night I ended up reading until 4am to finish the book, because I was thinking about it so much! I loved being whisked away to Scotland in 1307, and enjoyed the way the story came full circle in the present day.'

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Book SynopsisThe thrilling epic fantasy sequel to No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller, GODKILLER. THE INSTANT NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER!War is coming, godkiller.Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Now they are stirring, whispering of war. Godkiller Kissen sacrificed herself to vanquish the fire god Hseth and save her friends, but gods cannot be destroyed so easily and neither can godkillers.Reeling from the loss of Kissen, young noble Inara and her little god of white lies, Skedi, seek answers to the true nature of their bond. The secrets they uncover could determine the outcome of the war.Meanwhile, Elogast, no longer a loyal knight of King Arren, has been charged with destroying the man he once called friend. The king vowed to eradicate all gods, but has now entered into an unholy pact with the most dangerous of them all.The kingdom is on the brink of destruction. What will they each sacrifice to save it?Praise for GODKILLER:Godkiller will have you in its grasp from the first pages' SamanTrade Review‘I absolutely adored Godkiller. This novel has everything – adventure, wonderful characters, tenderness, humour, passion’ Elodie Harper, internationally bestselling author of the Wolf Den trilogy ‘A wonderful, gritty, explosively violent, and beautifully realized debut’ Daily Mail ‘Kaner thrusts readers into a grisly world of treacherous gods in her enthralling debut’ Publishers Weekly ‘In this debut trilogy launch, already a bestseller in the UK, Kaner provides a satisfying payoff, along with twists setting up a sequel with much higher stakes’ Library Journal ‘Kaner’s debut offers all the bloodshed, demons, and magic a fantasy fan could want’ Financial Times ‘Dark, gritty and highly immersive’ The Fantasy Hive

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

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Book Synopsis''An original ... a delight to read'' The TimesOn an ordinary day in a strangely unfamiliar London, Kleinzeit is fired from his advertising job and told he must go to hospital with a skewed hypotenuse. There on Ward A4, he falls in love with the divine, rosy-cheeked Sister and is sent spinning into a quest involving, among other things, a glockenspiel, sheets of yellow paper, Orpheus, the Underground and that dirty chimpanzee, Death.''Kleinzeit, is a sort of holy fool, a fierce, lonely intelligence desperately trying to make sense of a hopeless world. A tour de force ... entirely delightful'' Auberon Waugh, Evening StandardTrade ReviewA very funny quest for creativity and sanity ... There are no boring sentences in a Hoban novel. -- Richard Preston * The Times *Russell Hoban is one of our greatest, timeless novelists. * The Times *Masterly ... a mosaic in which each tiny fragment of wit or dirt or profundity has its appointed place. * Times Literary Supplement *A second tour-de-force... entirely delightful. -- Auberon Waugh * Evening Standard *Brimming with humanity and humour... brilliant handling of language. * Glasgow Herald *Russell Hoban is our Ur-novelist, a maverick voice that is like no other. * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe first book in The Soldier Son Trilogy, from the author of the bestselling Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies.Nevare Burvelle anticipates a golden future. He will follow his father into the army, to the frontier and thence to an advantageous marriage.Over twenty years the army has pushed the frontiers of Gernia as far as the Barrier Mountains, home to the enigmatic Speck people, who retain the last vestiges of magic in a progressive world. Exotic and misunderstood, they are believed to spread a sexual plague which has ravaged the frontier, decimating entire regiments.Such beliefs will affect Nevare's military training at the Academy, where he will experience injustice and foul play. But his world view will also be challenged by his unconventional cousin Epiny. And on Dark Evening, when the carnival comes to Old Thares, it will bring with it the first Specks Nevare has ever seenTrade Review‘Every new Robin Hobb novel is a cause for celebration’George R.R. Martin 'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers…what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.'THE TIMES ‘Hobb is a remarkable storyteller’GUARDIAN

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Book Synopsis THEY DESTROYED HER WORLD. BUT SHE'S THEIR ONLY HOPE… Avry’s power to heal the sick should earn her respect in the plague-torn land of Kazan. Instead she is feared. Her kind are blamed for the horrifying disease that has taken hold of the nation. When Avry uses her forbidden magic to save a dying child, she faces the guillotine. Until a dark, mysterious man rescues her from her prison cell. His people need Avry’s magic to save their dying prince. The very prince who first unleashed the plague on Kazan. Saving the prince is certain to kill Avry – yet she already faces a violent death. Now she must choose – use her healing touch to show the ultimate mercy or die a martyr to a lost cause?

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Book Synopsis1501: the turbulence of Henry VIII''s reign brings passion and pain to the Morlands as they achieve ever greater wealth and prestige.Paul, great-grandsom of Elanor Morland, has inherited the Morland estates, and his own Amyas is set to be his heir. But Paul fathers a beloved illigitimate son, and bitter jealousy causes a destructive rift between the two half-brothers which will lead to death.Paul''s niece, Nanette, becomes a maid-in-waiting to Anne Bolyen, and at the court of Henry VIII she becomes embroiled in the King''s bitter feud with Rome.Through birth and death, love and hatred, triumph and heartbreak, the Morlands continue proudly to claim their place amongst England''s aristocracy.

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Book SynopsisMetro Best New Books to Read in Spring Pick Glossary Magazine Highly Anticipated Fiction Pick A road trip beneath clear blue skies and a blazing sun: a reclusive artist is forced to abandon his home and follow two young sisters across a post-pandemic Europe in search of a safe place. Is this the end of the world? Meanwhile two computer scientists have been educating their baby in a remote location. Their baby is called Talos, and he is an advanced AI program. Every week they feed him data, starting from the beginning of written history, era by era, and ask him to predict what will happen next to the human race. At the same time they're involved in an increasingly fraught philosophical debate about why human life is sacred and why the purpose for which he was built - to predict threats to human life to help us avoid them - is a worthwhile and ethical pursuit. These two strands come together in a way that is always suspenseful, surprising and intellectually provocative: this is an extraordinarily prescient and vital work of fiction - an apocalyptic road novel to frighten and thrill.Trade ReviewChilling, cryptic-apocalyptic, and highly thought-provoking -- Andrew Hunter Murray, Sunday Times Best-selling author of The Last DayHighly readable and hugely important ­- an apocalyptic road trip into our near future informed and shaped by the most pressing issues of our present * Owen Sheers *Achingly believable, unsensational, and chilling * The Times *A book of insight and foresight, lit with wit and gorgeous with intelligence -- Jay Griffiths, author * Wild: An Elemental Journey *Under the Blue is a novel with a terrible beauty. Oana Aristide gives us so much to think about: environmental destruction, the melting of the polar ice, eco-terrorism, but all within a heart-stopping story of three survivors travelling through Europe alone. I couldn't look away -- Claire Fuller, author * Bitter Orange *A super-smart and relentlessly gripping addition to the ecofiction genre, Under the Blue is by turns chilling, incisive, and casually hilarious. It also features one of the most convincing sentient-AI characters in recent fiction -- Sandra Newman, author * The Heavens *The discussions between human and AI are fascinating, revealing different ways of perceiving reality ... a beautifully written, emotionally gripping book. -- GuardianOana Aristide has woven deep questions about ethics, artificial intelligence, our treatment of the natural world and the prospect of human extinction into a page-turning thriller with a surprising ending -- Peter Singer, author * The Most Good You Can Do *Chillingly evocative and relentlessly unsettling. A compelling battle for humanity's survival fought simultaneously on both the physical and intellectual fronts. -- Chris BrookmyreHighly readable and chilling. Threads together a pandemic storyline with the implications of AI in a way that is very intriguing and especially relevant today -- Mark Lynas, author * Our Final Warning: Six Degrees of Climate Emergency *Under the Blue fuses the 'keep moving' urgency that drives apocalyptic road novels with a restrained love story and a science fiction that is at once unnerving, tender and credible -- Cynan Jones, author * The Dig *Terrifying but hopeful, smart, vital and urgent: the ultimate must-read. -- Charles Foster, author * Being a Beast *What an extraordinary book this is; ostensibly a compelling, addictive post-apocalyptic thriller, but also a ferociously intelligent examination of artificial intelligence, a highly accomplished treatise on the function of art, and a lyrical, moving, vitally urgent plea for expanded ecological awareness. It is a book with the force of prophecy -- Niall Griffiths, author * Broken Ghost *A clear-eyed, unstinting challenge to all our complacencies that is unsettling, brave, philosophical, and as fast-paced as a thriller. A Frankenstein for modern times that, maybe, if we are lucky and if we listen to what it has to say, just might be the book to change our lives * Laura Beatty *A startling, intellectual, post-Covid adventure * New Scientist *Under the Blue's depth of thought shows through in its parallels with real events, and its angle on the subject emerges gradually but resonantly... a sad, angry novel with a surprising note of hope * SFX *

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Book SynopsisFROM THE BESTSELLING WRITER OF REBECCA'The House on the Strand is prime du Maurier . . . ' NEW YORK TIMES'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN 'No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification . . . ' MARGARET FORSTER When Dick Young's friend, Professor Magnus Lane offers him an escape from his troubles in the form of a new drug, Dick finds himself transported to fourteenth-century Cornwall. There, in the manor of Tywardreath, the domain of Sir Henry Champerhoune, he witnesses intrigue, adultery and murder.The more time Dick spends consumed in the past, the more he withdraws from the modern world. With each dose of the drug, his body and mind become addicted to this otherworld and his attempts to change history bring terror to the present and put his own life in jeopardy.Trade ReviewThe House on the Strand is prime du Maurier ... She holds her characters close to reality; the past she creates is valid, and her skill in finessing the time shifts is enough to make one want to try a little of the brew himself * New York Times *She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense, and she was, too, a writer of fearless originality * Guardian *No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification ... She satisfied all the questionable criteria of popular fiction, and yet satisfied the exacting requirements of "real literature", something very few novelists ever doHistorical science-fiction with heightened emotional drama, a very Oultander-like novel, if you will * Medium *The House on the Strand is prime du Maurier. . . . She holds her characters close to reality; the past she creates is valid, and her skill in finessing the time shifts is enough to make one want to try a little of the brew himself * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL PRIZE 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR SHORT STORY OF THE YEAR AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR ALCS TOM-GALLON TRUST AWARD 'Unsettling, unpredictable, and brilliant' Roddy Doyle 'In sumptuous and evocative prose, Sheila Armstrong writes stories that are unnerving and unsettling. Stories which make you go, wait, wait, what was that? ' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground On a boat offshore, a fisherman guts a mackerel as he anxiously awaits a midnight rendezvous. Villagers, one by one, disappear into a sinkhole beneath a yew tree. A nameless girl is taped, bound and put on display in a countryside market. A dazzling and disquieting collection of stories, how to gut a fish places the bizarre beside the everyday and then elegantly and expertly blurs the lines. An exciting new Irish writer whose sharp and lyrical prose unsettles and astounds in equal measure, Sheila Armstrong’s exquisitely provocative stories carve their way into your mind and take hold. 'Dark, devilishly well written and full of atmosphere, How to Gut a Fish is one of the most original and affecting short story collections I’ve read in years' Jan Carson, author of The Fire StartersTrade ReviewThe stories in this collection are unsettling, unpredictable, and brilliant -- Roddy DoyleIn sumptuous and evocative prose, Sheila Armstrong writes stories that are unnerving and unsettling. Stories which make you go, wait, wait, what was that? * Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground *Armstrong’s short stories make tremendously good company, each one transported me to a place I’d never been before. Dark, devilishly well written and full of atmosphere, How to Gut a Fish is one of the most original and affecting short story collections I’ve read in years. * Jan Carson, author of Malcolm Orange Disappears *Do you know when you read a sentence that is so good, it does weird things to your insides? You kind of shudder with satisfaction and hope for more. Well, I am addicted to good sentences, and Sheila Armstrong is my dealer. The stories in How to Gut a Fish are gorgeously weird, inspiring curiosity both on and off the page. If you’re anything like me, they will send you into a fit of ferocious googling: What is star jelly? How old is the moon? The story titles are works of art in themselves. This is the good stuff. Hook it to my veins. * Louise Nealon, author of Snowflake *This exquisitely wrought collection made me feel as if I were inhabiting another realm: sensuous, tactile, beautiful and disturbing. Sheila Armstrong's hypnotic prose has a haunting, lingering, dreamlike effect. * Lisa Harding, author of Bright Burning Things *It’s not often I open a book to find prose this exciting, original and frankly envy-inducing. Line by line, these stories set a series of small fires in my head, and they’re still burning * Zoe Gilbert, author of Folk *I loved it. I found the stories completely hypnotic and strange. (Armstrong) has a meditative and mesmerising voice, and her description of everyday life is perceptive and profound. * Megan Bradbury, author of Everyone is Watching *

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Book SynopsisThe thrilling sequel to Sailing To Sarantium and the concluding novel of The Sarantine Mosaic, Kay's sweeping tale of politics, intrigue and adventure inspired by ancient Byzantium.Beckoned by the Emperor Valerius, Crispin, a renowned mosaicist, has arrived in the fabled city of Sarantium. Here he seeks to fulfill his artistic ambitions and his destiny high upon a dome that will become the emerror''s magnificent sanctuary and legacy.But the beauty and solitude of his work cannot protect his from Sarantium''s intrigue. Beneath him the city swirls with rumors of war and conspiracy, while otherworldly fires mysteriously flicker and disappear in the streets at night. Valerius is looking west to Crispin''s homeland to reunite an Empire a plan that may have dire consequences for the loved ones Crispin left behind.In Sarantium, however, loyalty is always complex, for Crispin''s fate has become entwined with that of Valerius and his Empress, as well as Queen Gisel, his own monarch exiled in STrade ReviewPraise for LORD OF EMPERORS: ‘LORD OF EMPERORS is wonderful. I never expect less from Guy Gavriel Kay’ Robert Jordan Praise for Guy Gavriel Kay: ‘A fine, intelligent series. Probably the best of its kind’ British Fantasy Society ‘A remarkable achievement. The essence of high fantasy’ Locus ‘Kay has delivered such a magnificent conclusion – I can’t praise it enough. THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY will be read and reread for many years to come’ Fantasy Review ‘Packed with action…’The Times ‘A boldly complex and intelligently articulated romance.’USA Today ‘A brilliant and complex portrayal of good and evil.’Publishers Weekly.

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Book SynopsisIn the little town of Palomo Grove, two great armies are amassing; forces shaped from the hearts and souls of America.In this New York Times bestseller, Barker unveils one of the most ambitious imaginative landscapes in modern fiction, creating a new vocabulary for the age-old battle between good and evil. Carrying its readers from the first stirring of consciousness to a vision of the end of the world, The Great and Secret Show is a breathtaking journey in the company of a master storyteller.Trade ReviewPraise for Clive Barker: ‘An invocation of both magic and the imagination… A majestic maze of mythmaking’WASHINGTON TIMES ‘Passionate and ingenious… A ride with remarkable views’TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ‘A fabulous, engrossing war of the worlds’PEOPLE MAGAZINE ‘Barker dislocates your mind’MAIL ON SUNDAY

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Book SynopsisSecond novel in the chilling and epic new fantasy series from the bestselling and critically-acclaimed author of PRINCE OF THORNS and RED SISTER. ''If you like dark you will love Mark Lawrence. And when the light breaks through and it all makes sense, the contrast is gorgeous'' ROBIN HOBBOn Abeth there is only the ice. And the Black Rock.For generations the priests of the Black Rock have reached out from their mountain to steer the ice tribes' fate. With their Hidden God, their magic and their iron, the priests' rule has never been challenged.But nobody has ever escaped the Pit of the Missing before.Yaz has lost her friends and found her enemies. She has a mountain to climb and even if she can break the Hidden God's power her dream of a green world lies impossibly far to the south across a vast emptiness of ice. Before the journey can even start she has to find out what happened to the ones she loves and save those that can be saved.Abeth holds its secrets close, but the stars shine brTrade Review‘An excellent writer’#1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin ‘Mark Lawrence gets better with every book. It has a drive to it, a pulse, a gearshift that kicks higher and higher’Fantasy Book Review ‘Dark, passionate, tense, with a female hero anyone could relate to–I was utterly fascinated! This is no pretty, flowery tale, but one of vastly different people struggling to survive when a hostile government comes to power’#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce 'If you like dark you will love Mark Lawrence. And when the light breaks through and it all makes sense, the contrast is gorgeous'#1 New York Times bestselling author Robin Hobb

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Book SynopsisGore Vidal''s fictional recreation of the Roman Empire teetering on the crux of Christianity and ruled by an emperor who was an inveterate dabbler in arcane hocus-pocus, a prig, a bigot, and a dazzling and brilliant leader.

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Book Synopsis1772: Althought George III reigns over a peaceful England, his colonies in the Americas are claiming independence and a tide of revolutionary fervour is gripping France.Allen Morland and his beloved wife Jemimas work unstintingly to bring Morland Palace back to its former glory. Their seven children often bring them heartache, but they are sustained by their love of each other.The Mordland adventurer, Charles, emingrates to Maryland in persuit of the heiress Eugenie, but finds himself in the midst of the American claim for indepdence. Meanwhile, Henry, the family''s bastard offshoot, pursues pleasure relentlessly but pennilessly until he finds a niche for himself in the fashionable Parisian salons, whilst outside revolution creeps closer...

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Book SynopsisA chilling geopolitical thriller and real-world cautionary tale presenting a dark yet very possible future of war between the US and China from two former military officers and award-winning authors THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A rippingly good read' Wired______________12 March 2034.In the South China Sea, US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is conducting routine freedom of navigation patrol while US Marine aviator Major Chris Wedge' Mitchell tests a new stealth technology near Iranian airspace.By the end of the day, Wedge will be an Iranian prisoner, and Hunt's destroyer will lie at the bottom of the ocean.And a new, terrifying era will be at hand.So begins a disturbingly plausible novel, co-authored by an award-winning novelist and decorated Marine veteran and the former commander of NATO, a legendary admiral.Everything in 2034 is an imaginative extrapolation from present-day fTrade ReviewIf you’re looking for a compelling beach read this summer, I recommend the novel 2034 -- Thomas L. Friedman * The New York Times *This crisply written and well-paced book reads like an all-caps warning for a world shackled to the machines we carry in our pockets and place on our laps, while only vaguely understanding how the information stored in and shared by those devices can be exploited. * The Washington Post *Consider this another vaccine against disaster. Fortunately, this dose won't cause a temporary fever—and it happens to be a rippingly good read. Turns out that even cautionary tales can be exciting, when the future we’re most excited about is the one where they never come true * Wired *There is conflict and catastrophe on a large scale, and it unfolds, as major conflicts tend to, with surprising twists and turns . . . This is not a pessimistic book about America’s potential, but the picture of the world it paints before the central conflict will be a difficult one for many to accept, albeit one well supported by facts * Wall Street Journal *I could not stop reading 2034. With sharply drawn, vibrant characters caught in an all too plausible future conflict, the novel left me fascinated, moved, thrilled and, ultimately, haunted -- Phil Klay, author of MissionariesAn unnerving and fascinating tale of a future . . . The book serves as a cautionary tale to our leaders and national security officials, while also speaking to a modern truth about arrogance and our lack of strategic foresight . . . The novel is an enjoyable and swiftly paced but important read * The Hill *Utterly engrossing . . . [2034] is incredibly well-written, deeply thought-provoking, and it makes for uncomfortable and sober reading—in the best of ways...Elliot Ackerman is one of the finest writers to come out of this generation of military veterans and officers -- Joshua Huminski * Diplomatic Courier *A frightening look at how a major-power showdown might race out of control. . . . This compelling thriller should be required reading for our national leaders and translated into Mandarin * Kirkus *Those seeking a realistic look at how a future world war might play out will be rewarded * Publishers Weekly *Chilling yet compulsively readable work of speculative fiction . . . Ackerman and Stavridis have created a brilliantly executed geopolitical tale that is impossible to put down and that serves as a dire, all-too-plausible warning that recent events could have catastrophic consequences * Booklist *War with China is the most dangerous scenario facing us and the world. Absent a strategic method to manage our differences, Jim Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman’s chilling novel presents a realistic series of miscalculations leading to the worst consequences. A sobering, cautionary tale for our time -- Jim Mattis, General, U.S. Marines (Ret.) and 26th Secretary of DefenseA brilliant thriller! Masterfully plotted and elegantly written, 2034 is a literary tour-de-force. Let’s just hope none of it comes true -- Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Near DarkA real page-turner, 2034 is a novel about a conflict we hope never happens. Drawing on their deep operational and diplomatic backgrounds, Admiral Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman have conjured a nightmare we desperately need to avoid. The novel is a cautionary tale for our times, and a reminder how quickly events can spin out of control—even before 2034 -- Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense 2006-20112034 is an exciting, interesting, and informative novel about a hypothetical future war with China that is largely determined by actual decisions already made...Anyone who is concerned about where today’s military technology decisions are taking us should read this book -- Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn and Deep River

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Book SynopsisA best fiction book of 2021 for The TimesHilarious Fiery phrases spit and crackle. Disgust expands and bursts into belly laughs a very funny book' Sunday TimesThought-provoking, timely, and extremely funny' MetroShriver said that her favourite novels are those that pack both an intellectual and emotional punch. With Should We Stay or Should We Go, she's added triumphantly to their number' The TimesWitty and thought-provoking' Woman's WeeklyI think Shriver's novels are wonderful fun, smart and, perhaps because of their author's unconventional political views, unlike anything else you'll read' Financial TimesEntertaining and poignant' Daily MailVery moving Shriver has the magic ability to make the reader invested in the fate fates, I should say of her characters'Daily TelegraphWickedly witty' SpectatorDecidedly timely' ScotsmanThis sharp-elbowed satire is also a brusquely tender portrait of enduring love' Washington Post-Determined to die with dignity, Kay and her husband Cyril both hTrade Review‘An acerbically funny thought experiment… A contrarian on the page as well as in real life, Shriver is on fine form here, messing with her character’s lives while asking the big questions about mortality with a rigorous lack of sentimentality’ The Times books of the year ‘There’s something bracing about reading a novelist so admirably heartless, watching her pull the legs off her characters again and again… I think Shriver’s novels are wonderful… fun, smart and, perhaps because of their author’s unconventional political views, unlike anything else you’ll read’ Financial Times ‘A work of undeniable moral seriousness, yet one that’s never just a series of (admittedly juicy) discussion points. Even the most fantastical outcomes are envisaged with exhilarating thoroughness — while Cyril and Kay remain the same richly conceived characters throughout. Despite the grimness of the premise, the book also offers the stirring sight of a writer clearly enjoying herself’ The Times ‘It’s hideous — but also hilarious. Through the potent spell of Shriver’s language, horror gets alchemised into amusement. Fiery phrases spit and crackle. Disgust expands and bursts into belly laughs… a very funny book’ Sunday Times ‘After a (pun intended) deathly start, Shriver’s typically provocative novel manages to be both entertaining and poignant, with the novelist even poking fun at herself as she questions what makes a good innings. It might (almost) be a beach read’ Daily Mail ‘Shriver uses a ‘parallel universe’ structure to explore various outcomes – and somehow makes conversations about death feel far from taboo’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Some books become so popular that the lucky author can thereafter churn out any old cobblers, confident in the knowledge that it will be published and find an audience. Lionel Shriver never took that easy route’ Irish Independent

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Book SynopsisThe gripping thriller from the bestselling author of VOX and QA compelling, fast paced read.' GuardianThe queen of dystopia' Nina Pottell, PrimaExplosive' Heat''Provocative, sinister, and fascinating'' Stephanie Wrobel, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Recovery of Rose GoldClever and chilling and all too plausible' Carole Johnstone, author of Mirrorland* * * * * * * * * * *Miranda Reynolds has lost her home, her job and her husband all thanks to an economic collapse that has brought America to its knees.The shops are empty; the streets no longer safe. Miranda and her daughter Emma have nowhere left to turn.There is one final hope, a self-sufficient haven for women who want to live a life free from men. Femlandia.For Miranda, the secluded Femlandia is a last resort. Life outside the gates is fraught with danger, but there's something just as sinister going on within.Welcome to Femlandia It's no place like home.* * * * * * * * * * *What readers are saying about FEMLANDIA''I felt Trade Review‘Dalcher is adept at writing genuinely scary high-concept fiction’ SFX ‘The queen of dystopia.’ Nina Pottell, PRIMA ‘[Dalcher] knows how to hit the emotional buttons…this is a compelling, fast paced read.’ GUARDIAN ‘ I read it with my breath held, unable to stop until I'd reached the explosive ending. You will definitely want to discuss this one with your book club.’ STEPHANIE WROBEL, author of THE RECOVERY OF ROSE GOLD ‘Equally as chilling and gripping as her debut, VOX’ RED ‘Clever and chilling – and all too plausible – Femlandia is a timely story about survival and the corruptive nature of power. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it!’ CAROLE JOHNSTONE, author of MIRRORLAND 'Shocking, provocative, subversive, FEMLANDIA is a fantasy of female empowerment that curdles into a nightmare.' KIA ABDULLAH, author of NEXT OF KIN ‘A real page-turner’ BELLA 'Another superb novel from the author of VOX and Q’ BELFAST TELEGRAPH 'Both gripping and terrifyingly disturbing in equal measures.' LISA HALL, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS ‘A no-holds-barred thriller and thought-provoking read for fans of Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE, NaomiAlderman’s THE POWER, and Kim Liggett’s THE GRACE YEAR.’ Library Journal ‘Engrossing. Dalcher’s novel is imaginative, urgent, and compulsively readable, not mention incredibly cool.’ AMANDA MONTELL, author of CULTISH ‘This wildly provocative glimpse into the future is sure to spark lively discussions…Dalcher remains a writer to watch’ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

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Book SynopsisBrilliant, a definite page turner. They combine real historical events with fascinating fictional characters.The twenty-three volumes of the Morland Dynasty series has been completely repackaged in the most elegant style, using contemporaneous artwork for each period. This wonderful series opens with the back drop of the Wars of the Roses with the marriage between Eleanor Morland and a scion of the influential house of Beaufort. It is a union which establishes the powerful Morland dynasty and in the succeeding volumes of this rich tapestry of English life, we follow their fortunes through war and peace, political upheaval and social revolution, times of pestilence and periods of plenty, and through the vicissitudes which afflict every family - love and passion, envy and betrayal, birth and death, great fortune and miserable penury...The Morland Dynasty is entertainment of the most addictive kind.

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