Speculative fiction
Faber & Faber The Guyana Quartet
Book SynopsisThis epic masterpiece is a radical landmark in modern literature, reissued with a foreword by poet Ishion Hutchinson to mark Wilson Harris' centenary.'An exhilarating experience ...
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Complete Short Stories From the author of The
Book SynopsisThe second in a two volume collection of short stories by the acclaimed author of Empire of the Sun', Crash' and Super-Cannes'. The new edition is introduced by Adam Thirwell.With eighteen novels over four decades from The Drowned World' in 1962 to his final novel Kingdom Come' in 2006 J.G. Ballard is known as one of Britain's most celebrated and original novelists.However, during his long career he was also a prolific writer of short stories; in fact, many people consider that he is at his best in the short-story format. These highly influential stories have appeared in magazines such as New Worlds, Amazing Stories and Interzone, and in several separate collections, including The Terminal Beach', The Venus Hunters', Vermilion Sands', Low-Flying Aircraft' and Myths of the Near Future'.Set out in the original order of publication and frequently the point of conception for ideas he further developed in his novels, these stories provide an unprecedented opportunity to see the imaginatioTrade Review‘A marvel … there is something a little shaming in reading Ballard: you have to face the fact that there exist writers with such fresh imaginations they can’t write five pages without stumbling on an alternate world’ Zadie Smith ‘Each of Ballard’s 98 short stories is like a dream more perfectly realized than any of your own … Simply a master story writer – the maker of unforgettable artefacts in words, each as absolute and perplexing as sculptures unviewable from a single perspective’ Jonathan Lethem ‘One of the most haunting, cogent and individual imaginations in contemporary literature’ William Boyd
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group The Princeling The Morland Dynasty Book 3
Book Synopsis1558: Elizabeth I is on the throne, though still challenged by Mary, and her Protestant faith threatens the Catholic Morland family.The reign of Elizabeth I means that the Morlands must seek new spheres of influence to restore their fortunes. John, heir to Morland Place, rides north to wed the daughter of Black Will Percy, the Borders cattle lord, and learns that the way to win her heart is through blood and battle. His gentle sister, Lettice, has also travelled north to marry the ruthless Scottish baron, Lord Robert Hamilton, and in the treacherous court of Mary, Queen of Scots, she has to learn the bleak and bitter lessons of survival...
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group The Oak Apple The Morland Dynasty Book 4 04
Book Synopsis1630: after long years of peace the reign of Charles I brings brutal civil war to England.The clash between King and Parliament is echoed at Morland Place when Richard brings home a Puritan bride while his brother, Kit, joins Prince Rupert and the Royalist cavalry, leaving their father Edmund desperately trying to steer a middle course between the fighting factions.As the war grinds on, bitterness and disillusion replace the early fervour, and the schisms between husband and wife, father and son, grow deeper. Edmund struggles grimly through it all in an attempt to keep the Morland fortune intact, but he is thwarted by the estrangement between his sons and then alienated from his beloved wife, Mary.
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Swanfolk
Book Synopsis'Magical and disturbing' Adam ThirlwellAn astonishing, mind-bending novel about a woman discovering a community of swan-people from one of Iceland's greatest writers.*SHORTLISTED FOR THE ICELANDIC WOMEN'S LITERATURE PRIZE*In the not-too-distant future, a young spy named Elísabet Eva is about to discover something that will upend her life.Elísabet likes to take long solitary walks near the lake. One day, she sees two creatures emerging from the water, half-human, half-swan. She follows them through tangles of thickets into a strange new reality.Pulled into the monomaniacal, and often violent, quest of the swanfolk, Elísabet finds her own mind increasingly untrustworthy. Soon, she is forced to reckon with the consequences of her involvement with these unusual beings, and a past life she has been trying to evade.'Ómarsdottir's skills as a poet and playwright are evident' Helen Oyeyemi, New York Review of BooksTrade Review'Magical and disturbing' Adam Thirlwell -- Adam ThirlwellA wild adventure... Ómarsdóttir's novel is kaleidoscopic; the more you look at it, the more you see. * Lucy Writers *One of the most original authors in contemporary Icelandic literature...known for subverting traditional binaries like fantasy and realism, feminine and masculine, good and evil, and the animal and the human. * Orð um bækur *One of [this country's] most respected authors. -- Egill Helgason * Kiljan *A master of the unexpected. -- Steingerður Steinsdóttir * Vikan *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Before You Knew My Name
Book SynopsisA GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BOOK OF THE YEAR''Spellbinding'' Elly Griffiths''The most wonderful book. Unusual, beautiful, feminist, gripping, deserves to win prizes. I loved it so much.'' Marian Keyes''A brave and timely novel which will fuel the debate on women''s rights to walk safely through our streets. I raced through the pages, anxious for resolution, yet at the same time not wanting this beautiful writing to finish.'' Clare MackintoshThis is not just another novel about a dead girl.When she arrived in New York on her 18th birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city''s latest Jane Doe, an unidentified murder victim.Ruby Jones is also trying to start over; she travelled halfway around the world only to find herself lonelier than ever. Until she finds Alice Lee''s body by the Hudson River.Trade ReviewAn exquisitely written, absolutely devastating novel, which gives a voice to all the women who never made it home. * Red *The most wonderful book. Unusual, beautiful, feminist, gripping, deserves to win prizes. I loved it so much. -- Marian KeyesA brave and timely novel which will fuel the debate on women's rights to walk safely through our streets. I raced through the pages, anxious for resolution, yet at the same time not wanting this beautiful writing to finish. -- Clare Mackintosh, author of I Let You GoA really remarkable book - so fresh and original. I've never read anything quite like this. -- Laura Barnett, author of The Versions of UsAll the suspense and tension we expect from crime fiction - but with complex characters and themes that linger for longer. * Guardian *I fell head over heels in love with this heartbreaking, beautiful and hugely important novel. Jacqueline Bublitz's prose is luminous and the up-all-night, just-one-more-page plot is brilliantly clever and original. Everyone should read this book. -- Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn’t CallStood out among the many thrillers because it focuses on the victim and her life rather than her killer, with echoes of The Lovely Bones * Good Housekeeping *I was mesmerised by this exquisitely written, heartbreaking, lyrical story of friendship from beyond the grave. -- Jane Corry, author of My Husband's WifeAn extraordinary and hypnotic read that has stayed with me months after reading. -- Nina Potell, PrimaFiercely topical and full of compassion, Before You Knew My Name starts where many thrillers and news stories do: the murder of a young woman. But instead of a hunt for the killer, this novel explores the personhood of the victim-who she was, what she loved, all the years that were stolen from her. It's a story about female agency and value in the face of male violence, and also about resilience, about memory, about how love adapts and survives. -- Julie Cohen, author of TogetherA brilliantly powerful read, Before You Knew My Name is an astonishing debut. -- Lucy Mangan, journalistDevastating but beautiful... gives a voice to all the women who never made it home. The writing is exquisite and rarely has a story seemed so prescient of the here and now. -- Sarra Manning, journalistExquisitely composed, with a muscular feminist sensibility, Before You Knew My Name is both elegiac and rhapsodic in its examination of the deaths - and lives - of women. -- Jessica Moor, author of KeeperAn unputdownable debut - striking, moving, gripping throughout and so sharp on the things that unite us. -- Elizabeth Kay, author of Seven LiesI absolutely relished this clever, original and moving novel. Jacqueline Bublitz is a fantastically adept writer, creating a wonderful cast of characters and a hugely engaging portrait of city life. -- Nell Frizzell, author of The Panic YearsJacqueline Bublitz snatches back the power, giving voice to those whose stories deserve to be told. It is powerful, beautiful. I loved it. -- Kate Sawyer, author of The StrandingFeminist, fierce, beautiful and urgent with a story that NEEDS to be told. I read parts with my heart breaking and parts that could have been ripped from my own soul. It made me feel seen. -- Bethany Clift, author of Last One At The PartyAn astounding debut novel that every woman will feel in their bones. At last, a whodunnit, where the victim is the front and centre of the story. Beautifully written, real, feminist and properly haunting, it deserves all the awards. -- Lizzy Dent, author of The Summer JobFull of raw poignancy, explored through the author's expressive mastery of language. * Woman’s Weekly *Heart-breaking yet rewarding . . . fans of The Lovely Bones will enjoy this story. * Woman *
£7.19
HarperCollins Publishers Rides A Dread Legion
Book SynopsisThe first book in a brand new series by the master of epic fantasy, Raymond E. Feist. Ten years after the cataclysmic events of Wrath of a Mad God took place, Midkemia now faces a new danger thought buried in myth and antiquity.A lost race of elves, the taredhel or people of the stars', have found a way across the universe to reach Midkemia. On their current home world, these elves are hard pressed by a ravaging demon horde, and what was once a huge empire has been reduced to a handful of survivors. The cornerstone of taredhel lore is the tale of their lost origins in the world they call simply Home', a place lost in the mists of time. Now they are convinced that Midkemia is that place, and they are coming to reclaim it.Ruthless and arrogant, the taredhel intend to let nothing stand in their way; but before long, Pug and the Conclave realise that it''s not necessarily the elves, but the demon horde pursuing them where the true danger lies. And hanging over Pug always is the prophecy thTrade ReviewPraise for Raymond E. Feist: ‘File under guilty pleasure’Guardian ‘Get in at the start of a master’s new series’Daily Sport ‘Well-written and distinctly above average… intelligent… intriguing.’Publishers Weekly ‘ Epic scope…vivid imagination…a significant contribution to the growth of the field of fantasy.’Washington Post
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Song of Middleearth
Book SynopsisAvailable for the first time in paperback, this is the pre-eminent critical study, and exploration, of how myth and legend played such a significant role in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.The Song of Middle-earth takes a fresh look at The Lord of the Rings, digging deep into the foundations of Tolkien's world to reveal the complex tapestry of history and mythology that lies behind his stories.The charge that Tolkien''s work was merely derivative that he extracted elements from other mythologies and incorporated them into his own fiction is dismissed in favour of a fascinating examination of the rich historical background to Middle-earth.From the mythic tradition of the Tales told in The Book of Lost Tales: I to the significance of oral storytelling throughout the history of Middle-earth, this book examines the common themes of mythology found within Tolkien's work.In doing so, The Song of Middle-earth demonstrates how Tolkien's desire to create a new mythology for England is not only apTrade Review.
£9.49
Quercus Publishing The Coral Bones: The breathtaking novel
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the British Science Fiction Association award for best novel, and the Kitschies Red TentacleMarine biologist Hana Ishikawa is racing against time to save the coral of the Great Barrier Reef, but struggles to fight for a future in a world where so much has already been lost.Seventeen-year-old Judith Holliman escapes the monotony of Sydney Town during the nineteenth century, when her naval captain father lets her accompany him on a voyage, unaware of the wonders and dangers she will soon encounter.Telma Velasco is hunting for a miracle in a world ravaged by global heating: a leafy seadragon, long believed extinct, has been sighted. But as Telma investigates, she finds hope in unexpected places.Past, present and future collide in this powerful elegy to a disappearing world - and vision of a more hopeful future.Trade ReviewA rich and brilliant novel about the connectedness of humanity in itself and with its world: beautifully written and compellingly drawn, layering history, present day and the future with brilliancy and power. It's a novel about the climate crisis, but it's a naturalist's novel too, with some wonderfully, vividly observed writing about sealife from coral to sharks and seahorses. Just marvellous * Adam Roberts, author of The Thing Itself *A beautifully crafted love letter to our endangered coral reefs. E.J. Swift confirms her reputation for writing elegant, heartfelt and compelling eco-fiction * Anne Charnock, Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Dreams Before the Start and Bridge 108 *Beautifully realised, vivid versions of past, present and future combine in The Coral Bones to powerful effect. It gave me much to think about. I won't forget it * Aliya Whiteley, author of Skyward Inn and The Loosening Skin *E.J. Swift pulls no punches in this beautiful and terrifying yet boldly hopeful novel. The wonder of the Great Barrier Reef is laid out for us via a vivid multi-dimensional tour through the lenses of past, present and future' * Vicki Jarrett, author of Always North *A thoughtful, immersive, very human story that speaks to current fears and hopes for our world * Guardian *E.J. Swift's The Coral Bones is a piercing and acute novel which cannot leave you indifferent. It rages like a stormy ocean, but it also offers you a serene picture of the world's beauty - something not to be lost * British Fantasy Society *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Complete Short Stories
Book SynopsisFirst in a two volume collection of short stories by the acclaimed author of Empire of the Sun', Crash' and Super-Cannes'. The new edition is introduced by Adam Thirwell.With eighteen novels over four decades from The Drowned World' in 1962 to his final novel Kingdom Come' in 2006 J.G. Ballard is known as one of Britain's most celebrated and original novelists.However, during his long career he was also a prolific writer of short stories; in fact, many people consider that he is at his best in the short-story format. These highly influential stories have appeared in magazines such as New Worlds, Amazing Stories and Interzone, and in several separate collections, including The Terminal Beach', The Venus Hunters', Vermilion Sands', Low-Flying Aircraft' and Myths of the Near Future'.Set out in the original order of publication and frequently the point of conception for ideas he further developed in his novels, these stories provide an unprecedented opportunity to see the imagination of Trade Review‘More than one thousand compelling pages from one of the most haunting, cogent and individual imaginations in contemporary literature’ William Boyd ‘A marvel … there is something a little shaming in reading Ballard: you have to face the fact that there exist writers with such fresh imaginations they can’t write five pages without stumbling on an alternate world’ Zadie Smith ‘Simply a master story writer – the maker of unforgettable artefacts in words’ Jonathan Lethem ‘Indispensable … probably the most original English writer of the last century’ China Miéville
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers The Armies of Daylight Book 3 Darwath Trilogy
Book SynopsisA whirlwind fantasy classic set in the richest world imaginable, with unforgettable characters and the highest stakes The Armies of Daylight is the third and final book in Barbara Hambly's epic Darwath Trilogy.Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste.The wizards have been slaughtered, cities destroyed, and people have scattered in terror.Few have witnessed more of the destruction than Rudy and Gil two ordinary Californians who found their way across the Void, and took up arms in defence of a strange and magical world. She learned the ways of war, while he found within himself the powers of a great wizard. Both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge. Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart.Finally, Rudy, Gil, and the rest of mankind's survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or Trade ReviewPraise for Barbara Hambly: ‘Wondrous’Brandon Sanderson ‘This is literary alchemy of the highest order, and it confirms Hambly’s place as one of the best new fantasists’Locus ‘An enviable and intricate talent’Janny Wurts
£8.54
Faber & Faber Palace of the Peacock Faber Editions
Book SynopsisThe visionary masterpiece, tracing a riverboat crew''s dreamlike jungle voyage ...''My new all time favourite book ... A magnificent, breathtaking and terrifying novel.'' Tsitsi Dangarembga''An exhilarating experience ... Makes visions real and reality visions ... Genius.'' Jamaica Kincaid''A masterpiece: I love this book for its language, adventure and wisdoms.' Monique Roffey''Revel in the inviolate, ever-deepening mystery of Wilson Harris's work.'' Jeet Thayil''The Guyanese William Blake Such poetic intensity.'' Angela CarterI dreamt I awoke with one dead seeing eye and one living closed eye ...A crew of men are embarking on a voyage up a turbulent river through the rainforests of Guyana. Their domineering leader, Donne, is the spirit of a conquistador, obsessed with hunting for a mysterious woman and exploiting indigenous people as plantation labour. But their expedition is plagu
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group The Black Pearl
Book Synopsis1659: Cromwell''s protectorate is drawing to a close, and the restoration of the monarchy can only improve the fortunes of the Morland family.The years of civil war and their aftermath have left Morland Place in dire straits, but with the return of the King, Ralph Morland believes he can rebuild the family estates. For his beautiful and ambitious cousin, Annunciata, the Restoration means a journey to London - one that leads to the amours and intrigues of Charles''s court and to the unlocking of her mysterious past.A new and kinder age is dawning - a time for healing wounds - but more uncertainty, conflict and sorrow await both Ralph and Annunciata before they can find peace and forgiveness...
£10.44
Pushkin Press The Trials of Lila Dalton
Book SynopsisAn inventive and ambitious speculative courtroom thriller - Shutter Island meets The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle 'I look up to find twelve strangers staring back at me... I realise I'm the one they're waiting for.' Lila Dalton has no memory of how she got to this courtroom. The man in the docks is accused of mass murder, and she's his barrister - but she can't remember anything about the case. She can't remember anything at all. Lila is stranded on an island hundreds of miles from the UK, where the most serious crimes go to trial. The next plane out doesn't leave for days. And she's being watched. Someone keeps breaking into her hotel room to leave cryptic notes, threatening her with deadly consequences if she doesn't get her client off... Can Lila Dalton win her case and solve the mystery of her own identity?Trade Review'I found this book unputdownable from the first page. As the mystery deepens, readers will be on the edge of their seats, desperate to know what happens next' - Sophie Hannah'Stuart Turton meets Agatha Christie - a locked room puzzle with hints of the supernatural, brilliantly told through the lens of the judicial system. A truly intriguing and intelligent mystery which had me gripped from the start. Totally recommend.' - Sarah Moorhead, author of The Treatment'A strikingly clever debut and high concept legal thriller which grips from the first page and never lets up. The claustrophobic setting and fast-paced narrative make for a great story' - Guy Morpuss'Original and feverishly compulsive' - Sabine Durrant, author of Finders, Keepers'Inventive, bold and insightful, The Trials of Lila Dalton is a captivating exploration of the nature of truth. L. J. Shepherd's gripping debut transcends crime fiction and presents a speculative tale that challenges our notions of justice' - Adam Hamdy, author of The Other Side of Night
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Crusoes Daughter
Book SynopsisIn 1904, when she was six, Polly Flint went to live with her two holy aunts at the yellow house by the marsh - so close to the sea that it seemed to toss like a ship, so isolated that she might have been marooned on an island. And there she stayed for eighty-one years, while the century raged around her, while lamplight and Victorian order became chaos and nuclear dred. Crusoe''s Daughter, ambitious, moving and wholly original, is her story.Trade ReviewShe does fiction as it should be done, with confidence and insight -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie * Observer *
£8.99
Pan Macmillan The Silence
'An apocalyptic novel for our times' – Guardian'Horrifyingly resonant' – ObserverSuperbowl Sunday, 2022. A couple wait in their Manhattan apartment for their final dinner guests to arrive. The game is about it start. The missing guests' flight from Paris should have landed by now.Suddenly, screens go blank. Phones are dead. Is this the end of civilization? All anybody can do is wait.From one of America’s greatest writers, The Silence is a timely and compelling novel about what happens when an unpredictable crisis strikes.'The Silence is Don DeLillo distilled . . . a straight shot of the good stuff' – Spectator
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Impossible The No.1 Kindle bestseller and
Book Synopsis*Shortlisted for the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction**Shortlisted for the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel 2023**Shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2023*Discover the love story of the yearUtterly delightful' NEW YORK TIMESI feel the same way as when I first read One Day' EMMA GANNON[A] humdinger of a love story' SUNHoly s***' GILLIAN MCALLISTERThe book with the IMPOSSIBLE twist read it to believe it _____________________________________________________________One day, NICK and BEE cross paths over a misdirected email. The connection is instant, electric, they feel like they've known each other forever.Nick buys a new suit, gets on a train. Bee steadies her nerves, gets a pep talk from her best friend Leila. This is it.Except it isn't.Because as they prepare to meet under the clock at Euston station, the universe throws in a twist you'd never see coming . . .*JOIN THE OBSESSION NOW**Number 1 Kindle bestseller the w/e 02/05/2022*Readers are falling for ITrade Review‘Holy s***. This book. I loved everything about it. The zingy dialogue, the romance, the suspense. The alternate history . . . It’s a love story of the greatest kind’ GILLIAN MCALLISTER ‘Some books become cultural touchstones that people bond over for years, like One Day or The Time Traveller’s Wife. You remember where you were when you read them, and how you felt. Impossible is one of those books’ LAURA PEARSON 'What an absolute joy of a book! Witty, engaging and so emotionally resonant, IMPOSSIBLE is the book we all need right now!’ SARAH PINBOROUGH ‘It is amazing, NEVER EVER EVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I WISHED I’D WRITTEN A BOOK SO MUCH. I am BAWLING. Bawling. An actual masterpiece’ ANSTEY HARRIS ‘Brilliant! I devoured every page. Warm, witty and original’ SARAH MORGAN ‘An absolutely addictive read . . . I was swept away by Bee and Nick’s impossible love story and I was utterly hooked from the start. Genuinely unputdownable’ JENNIFER SAINT ‘I have DEVOURED Impossible and I'm going to go as far as to say I think it's one of the best rom coms I have ever read. It's so funny, so original, so beautifully mad – I am seething with envy that I didn't write it myself’ SOPHIE COUSENS ‘It is indeed amazing. It has twisted my brain – in a good way – and made me wonder how much of it could be true. Ingenious and beautifully executed’ JILL MANSELL ‘Oh my goodness . . . Funny, unique, moving and complex – Lotz has taken an utterly fascinating premise and placed two wonderfully witty people at its heart’ CESCA MAJOR ‘My mind is officially blown . . . What a book! Breathtakingly original, clever and unputdownable. A work of total genius’ SARAH J HARRIS ‘It knocked my socks off! Such a ridiculously clever, hilarious read with characters so real, I'll never forget them. One of the best, most original love stories I ever read’ JESSICA RYN
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Last Beekeeper
Book SynopsisReminds me of Khaled Hosseini, poignant and heartwarming Simply a beautiful story that had me reading until 3:30 in the morning' Sarah, NetGalleyI am a friend of the bees. Like you.'So, you have been waiting for me?'The forest has been waiting for you.'Pakistan, 1974: The secret-wreathed trees of Harikaya have always called to Hassan. He knows if he doesn't find the last beekeeper and salvage a precious jar of his mythical black honey before the floods come, his mother will lose her sight.But then he wins a scholarship to study with the state governor in Karachi amidst a brewing storm of political turmoil and simmering espionage.His entire world is turned upside down when he meets Maryam, the governor's niece visiting from London.All the while the fate of his mother and his promise to the bees calls him back to the forest, and so he must decide: Maryam or the beekeeper, England or Pakistan, his head or his heart.One of the most exciting debuts of 2021, this is a lyrical historical noveTrade Review‘Reminds me of Khaled Hosseini, poignant and heartwarming… Simply a beautiful story that had me reading it until 3:30 in the morning’ Sarah, NetGalley ‘I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really appreciate the representation it gives my community’ Resham, NetGalley ‘An absolutely beautifully written novel’ Eszter, NetGalley ‘Magnificent! Perfect for a long summer’s day spent in a hammock’ Literary Redhead, NetGalley ‘A beautiful story of finding hope’ Zoe, NetGalley ‘This is Siya Turabi’s debut novel… I fell in love with her lyrical writing, her vivid descriptions and her tale of family and friendship as well as her love of nature and the expression of its magic’ Norma, NetGalley ‘The story has a lot of magical elements and sort of a fairy tale feeling at times as poetry and the bees envelop Hassan’ Sara, NetGalley
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Purgatory Poisoning An utterly gripping crime
Book SynopsisA fabulously funny celestial crime caper, full of wit, warmth and heart.' Helen LedererHow do you solve your own murder when you're already dead?Purgatory (noun):1. Where the dead are sent to atone.2. A place of suffering or torment.3. A youth hostel where the occupants play Scrabble and the mattresses are paper thin.When Dave wakes up in his own personal purgatory (St Ives Youth Hostel circa 1992), he's shocked to discover he's dead. And worse he was murdered.Heaven doesn't know who did it so with the help of two rogue angels, Dave must uncover the truth.As divine forces from both sides start to play the game, can Dave get out of this alive? Or at the very least, with his soul intact?An utterly gripping and page-turning mystery for fans of Murder Before Evensong and The Appeal from the winner of the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Prize!.Readers LOVE The Purgatory PoisoningVery original, very funny, and very well written. I loved it!' NetGalley reviewer ?????A hilarious story I liTrade Review.
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group Notes from the Burning Age
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
£17.09
Faber & Faber Hav
Book SynopsisHav gives us Jan Morris at her most delightful and most suggestive. The city is a magical place - yet behind its arcane splendours are darker implications. The traditional Roof Race is peculiarly exciting, the waterfront is picturesque, the wistful call of a trumpeter from a distant rampart is wonderfully evocative, and every street corner is haunted by memories of illustrious visitors - Freud, Diaghilev, Marco Polo, Lawrence of Arabia and countless others. But Morris''s visit ends in flight when an unidentified enemy arrives to seize control.When Jan Morris returns to Hav, some twenty years later, she finds that her account of her earlier visit is banned - and discovers a place that has rebuilt itself, transformed by a new energy and now dominated by a totemic tower 2000 feet tall. But as the old Hav was in many ways an allegory of the last century, so the city in its new incarnation offers no less elusive hints, echoes and portents of our 21st century world. As a deTrade Review"'A deeply civilised and civilising book.' The Times"
£10.44
Hodder & Stoughton The Colours of Death: A gripping crime novel set
Book Synopsis'Breathtakingly original, and a captivating sense of place' Val McDermid, bestselling author of Still Life'Compelling and original, this glints with freshness' Daily Mail'A brilliantly inventive and twisty tale' Claire McGowan, bestselling author of The Push'A good detective story . . . intriguing' Guardian'A distinctive, intriguing, immersive debut' Mari Hannah, multi-award winning author of Without a Trace The Murder In the Gare do Oriente, a body sits, slumped, in a stationary train. A high-profile man appears to have died by throwing himself repeatedly against the glass. But according to witnesses, he may not have done this of his own accord. The City Lisbon 2021. A small percentage of the population are diagnosed as Gifted. Along with the power comes stigma and suspicion. The Detective In a prejudiced city, Gifted Inspector Isabel Reis is hiding her own secrets while putting her life on the line to stop an ingenious killer.A violent and mysterious crime. Suspected Gifted involvement. A city baying for blood. And a killer who has only just begun . . .'A bold, compelling police drama a step beyond the ordinary with writing to match' Helen Fields, bestselling author of The Shadow Man'This is crime fiction with a twist . . . This was a gripping and highly invented thrill ride. I can't wait for more' Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man'An amazing genre-bending debut' David Jackson, bestselling author of The ResidentTrade ReviewThis is crime fiction with a twist. Detective Inspector Reis is in pursuit of a killer. Nothing new there, but the murders take place in an alternative Lisbon, Portugal where the population is split into gifted or non-gifted and Inspector Reis is registered as gifted due to her being a telepath. This was a gripping and highly invented thrill ride. I can't wait for more * Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man *Patricia Marques crafts a riveting mystery about power, privilege, and murder. Genuinely gripping, The Colours of Death has immense heart and an intriguing, fully realized world * Lori M. Lee, author of Forest of Souls *An absolute knockout * Nicolás Obregón, author of Unknown Male *An amazing genre-bending debut * David Jackson, bestselling author of The Resident *A distinctive, intriguing, immersive debut * Mari Hannah, multi-award winning author of Without a Trace *Marques sets Lisbon alight with this beautifully drawn thriller. Gifted detective Isabel Reis is everything we want from our protagonists - original and compelling, unique and fascinating. A story that'll leave you red-eyed and sleep deprived, The Colours of Death is a bold, compelling police drama a step beyond the ordinary with writing to match * Helen Fields, bestselling author of The Shadow Man *The Colours of Death is that rarest of things, a completely original crime novel. It's also a bit brilliant, and I as much inhaled it as read it * W. C. Ryan, author of A House of Ghost *Stigma and paranoia loom large in Marques's beautifully realised alternate Lisbon. Isabel's predicament is an intriguing, and paradoxical one - it's isolating to hear the thoughts of everyone around you. A vivid, fast-moving mystery * Kate Mascarenhas, author of The Psychology of Time Travel *The Colours of Death is a wonderful, intriguing and original speculative thriller by a sensational debut author. Visit a Lisbon filled with danger, death, and delicious food. You won't regret it * Alexandra Benedict, author of Braided Hearts *Patricia Marques debut takes the classic crime novel and the evocative setting of Lisbon, and utterly transforms both with a fascinating speculative twist. Pacy, immersive and brain-shiveringly clever. A brilliantly original crime story * Philippa East, author of Safe and Sound *A brilliantly inventive and twisty tale * Claire McGowan, bestselling author of The Push *A brilliant read. The premise and characters are intriguing, the story completely compelling - I couldn't put it down - and I loved the beautifully depicted setting of Lisbon * Debbie Howells, bestselling author of The Bones of You *Breathtakingly original, and a captivating sense of place * Val McDermid *Compelling and original, this glints with freshness * Daily Mail *A good detective story . . . intriguing * Guardian *Crime fiction with a twist * SFX Magazine *A very confident, original debut novel . . . One of the best debut novels that I've read this year and Patricia Marques is a writer to watch * Shots Mag *This is a novel that will have purists tutting. Until they start reading and allow themselves to be seduced by its setting, characters and deft handling of the underlying idea. Then, like me, they'll be fascinated * Express *A tantalising spin on crime, with a dash of fantasy * Peterborough Telegraph *Pacy, gripping, and a fresh as hell blast across the bows of police procedurals * Adam Simcox, author of The Dying Squad *A great crime debut . . . a world of division and paranoia brought vividly to life, best enjoyed over a pastel de nata * The Express *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Anyone
Book Synopsis'An intense, superbly crafted, edge of your seat thrill ride' Sylvain Neuvel, author of SLEEPING GIANTS If you could be ANYONE, who would you be? When a brilliant female scientist searching for an Alzheimer's cure throws a switch - and finds herself mysteriously transported into her husband's body, she will change her life - and the world - forever.Two decades later, 'flash' technology allows individuals the ability to transfer their consciousness into other bodies for specified periods, paid, registered and legal. Society has been utterly transformed by the process, from travel to warfare to entertainment. But beyond the reach of the law is a sordid black market called the darkshare, where desperate vessels anonymously rent out their bodies, no questions asked . . . for any purpose. Anami has her own reasons for using it, and they start with revenge.Like BLADE RUNNER crossed with GET OUT, Charles Soule's thought-provoking work of speculative fiction takes us to a world where identity, morality, and technology collide.Trade ReviewFast-paced and suspenseful. Soule's uncomfortable vision of the future will please readers of cutting-edge speculative fiction * Publishers Weekly *An intense, superbly crafted, edge of your seat thrill ride. I loved the two slowly converging storylines, not to mention the most dedicated, hardcore character I've read in a long, long time * Sylvain Neuvel, author of Sleeping Giants *A sharp, prescient investigation of the human mind inside a breakneck thriller that will have you riveted until the very last twist * Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M *An imaginative, time-fragmented thriller about the bitter and potentially deadly consequences of body-snatching * Kirkus Reviews *A remarkable, consequential novel and a terrifying wake-up call * Susan Henderson, author of The Flicker of Old Dreams *Explosive * Booklist *A wonderfully mysterious thriller that proves Soule is as much a master of prose as he is of comic book script * Chuck Wendig, NYT bestselling author of Wanderers *This volatile and unpredictable novel will entertain and keep you guessing until the very end * New York Journal of Books *The Oracle Year has all of the elements of a straight-ahead Action thriller, while exploring faith, politics, and personal responsibility with heart and a sly, satirical wit straight out of the funny pages * B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog *
£8.99
Canongate Books Cosmogramma
Book SynopsisIn his sharply crafted, unnerving first collection of speculative fiction shorts, Courttia Newland envisages an alternate future as lived by the African diaspora.Robots used as human proxies in a war become driven by all-too-human desires; Kill Parties roam the streets of a post-apocalyptic world; a matriarchal race of mer creatures depends on inter-breeding with mortals to survive; mysterious seeds appear in cities across the world, growing into the likeness of people in their vicinity.Through transfigured bodies and impossible encounters, Newland brings a sharp, fresh eye to age-old themes of the human capacity for greed, ambition and self-destruction, but ultimately of our strength and resilience.Trade ReviewImaginative, precise and always fun. Courttia Newland invites us into new worlds with deftness and imagination, storytelling and creativity that has no rival in the UK. Another future classic from one of the most important writers of British literature -- DEREK OWUSUNewland's work is tender but urgent, grounded but visionary. Risks don't frighten him. These highly imaginative, often cautionary tales seem the product of a world governed by outrage, anxiety and unease. You won't forget them in a hurry. Nor should you -- RUPERT THOMSONA rich, diverse collection of short stories * * Guardian * *An extraordinary collection - vital, strange and brilliant -- JENNI FAGANDeeply satisfying . . . Newland is a class act * * Times * *Whether it's the uncanny dream made flesh or the old Manichean battle far into the future, these stories surprise, are dizzying and intricate * * Irish Times * *The stories in Cosmogramma are shot through with a sense of foreboding, a feeling that we as a species are heading for self-annihilation if we don't get our act together and fast. In that sense, and in several others, the stories feel unsettlingly contemporary and can - and should - be read as a last call to action. "The Sanofka Principle" in particular bent my mind out of shape, in a good way. Now there's a story that requires (and repays) close reading! -- STEPHEN THOMPSONIt's no small feat to so immediately and repeatedly appeal to readers' hearts and minds, and Newland's mastery of short-format storytelling is sure to impress. Speculative fiction fans won't be able to put this down * * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * *An exquisitely imaginative collection of speculative short stories, unlike anything I've ever read . . . Newland succeeds in capturing the reader's attention and refusing to let go of it until the very end . . . an important addition to Black British literature . . . Newland becomes a paramount figure within the genre * * Bad Form * *The combination of excellent world and character building and the rising intensity of each story as the book progresses means Cosmogramma is hard to put down * * New Scientist * *
£11.69
Imbrifex Books Scarecrow Has a Gun: A Novel
Book SynopsisNever trust other people's memories, and watch out for your ownSean Whittlesea was there when his wife was murdered. He saw the light leave her eyes. He held her dead body in his arms. He knows he wept, but he cannot recollect a single other detail. Tormented by the tragedy, Sean relives the horror over and over again. As he struggles to recall what really happened, his imagination serves up an endless chain of scenarios. The truth, however, remains hidden in the vault of his memory, and the key is nowhere to be found. Nearly two decades later, Sean, now remarried and a father of two, wins a bizarre contest hosted by his eccentric boss. The prize is the Memory Palace, a state-of-the-art black box that purportedly allows its possessor to relive every moment he has ever experienced, playing out all the memories on a screen.While the small machine at first appears to be the answer to the mystery surrounding the death of his wife, it instead upends Sean’s life. He pushes his family further and further away as the Memory Palace forces him to confront harsh realities and difficult questions that he lacks the strength to face or answer. Spiraling downward, Sean encounters increasingly harrowing challenges that force him to realize that his memory is not the only thing at stake. To recover the truth about his past, Sean must fight for his very life.Trade Review"Suffused with an atmosphere that suggests J.G. Ballard and Paolo Coelho chained together in a basement while a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, Scarecrow Has a Gun is at once disquieting and illuminating, eerie and sincere.”—Martin Seay, award-winning author of The Mirror Thief“An intriguing, existential mystery, an exploration of an unhappy marriage, and a paranoid science fiction thriller. Scarecrow Has a Gun is positively Neapolitan!”—Nick Mamatas, author of The Second Shooter“Michael Paul Kozlowsky’s brutally eccentric Scarecrow Has a Gun is a masterclass in Cartesian storytelling—simultaneously evoking Christopher Nolan’s clockwork precision and JG Ballard’s ultra-modern sense of irony.”— Jeff Chon, author of Hashtag Good Guy With a Gun“Scarecrow Has a Gun is a propulsive read that spirals deep into the intersections of memory, technology, and the shifting boundaries between the real and the unreal."— Nicholas Rombes, author of The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing and The Ramones’ Ramones"A whodunit wrapped inside sci-fi story and blended with a compelling and clear-eyed examination of how memory works."— Brett Riley, author of Comanche, Lord of Order, and Freaks"With writing that's both sharp and dense, Michael Paul Kozlowsky's Scarecrow Has A Gun is a labyrinthine mystery that feels as if David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo had collaborated on a Philip K. Dick adaptation. It's a gut-punch meditation on the way our brains process mediation, memory, trauma, and grief."—Tex Gresham, author of Sunflower, Heck, Texas, and This Is Strange June"This engrossing and inventive novel entertains on multiple levels. It’s a mind-bending mystery, in which the pursuit of the truth about his wife’s murder threatens the main character’s trust in his powers of perception and his very sense of self. It’s a horror-show-worthy take on corporate ambition, overreach, and villainy."—Beth Castrodale, author of I Mean You No Harm, Marion Hatley and In This Ground“What an original and captivating sci-fi read! I totally loved the real life references and often found myself so intrigued I had to then go search for confirmation and further information. Things really ramped up towards the end and I was glued to the text. I enjoyed the dark undercurrent and found the ending deeply satisfying as well as super clever.”—Caroline Lewis, Librarian at St. Jospeh’s College Mildura
£15.19
Imbrifex Books Scarecrow Has a Gun: A Novel
Book SynopsisNever trust other people's memories, and watch out for your ownSean Whittlesea was there when his wife was murdered. He saw the light leave her eyes. He held her dead body in his arms. He knows he wept, but he cannot recollect a single other detail. Tormented by the tragedy, Sean relives the horror over and over again. As he struggles to recall what really happened, his imagination serves up an endless chain of scenarios. The truth, however, remains hidden in the vault of his memory, and the key is nowhere to be found. Nearly two decades later, Sean, now remarried and a father of two, wins a bizarre contest hosted by his eccentric boss. The prize is the Memory Palace, a state-of-the-art black box that purportedly allows its possessor to relive every moment he has ever experienced, playing out all the memories on a screen.While the small machine at first appears to be the answer to the mystery surrounding the death of his wife, it instead upends Sean’s life. He pushes his family further and further away as the Memory Palace forces him to confront harsh realities and difficult questions that he lacks the strength to face or answer. Spiraling downward, Sean encounters increasingly harrowing challenges that force him to realize that his memory is not the only thing at stake. To recover the truth about his past, Sean must fight for his very life.Trade Review"Suffused with an atmosphere that suggests J.G. Ballard and Paolo Coelho chained together in a basement while a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, Scarecrow Has a Gun is at once disquieting and illuminating, eerie and sincere.”—Martin Seay, award-winning author of The Mirror Thief“Michael Paul Kozlowsky’s brutally eccentric Scarecrow Has a Gun is a masterclass in Cartesian storytelling—simultaneously evoking Christopher Nolan’s clockwork precision and JG Ballard’s ultra-modern sense of irony.”— Jeff Chon, author of Hashtag Good Guy With a Gun“Scarecrow Has a Gun is a propulsive read that spirals deep into the intersections of memory, technology, and the shifting boundaries between the real and the unreal."— Nicholas Rombes, author of The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing and The Ramones’ Ramones"A whodunit wrapped inside sci-fi story and blended with a compelling and clear-eyed examination of how memory works."— Brett Riley, author of Comanche, Lord of Order, and Freaks"With writing that's both sharp and dense, Michael Paul Kozlowsky's Scarecrow Has A Gun is a labyrinthine mystery that feels as if David Cronenberg and Don DeLillo had collaborated on a Philip K. Dick adaptation. It's a gut-punch meditation on the way our brains process mediation, memory, trauma, and grief."—Tex Gresham, author of Sunflower, Heck, Texas, and This Is Strange June"This engrossing and inventive novel entertains on multiple levels. It’s a mind-bending mystery, in which the pursuit of the truth about his wife’s murder threatens the main character’s trust in his powers of perception and his very sense of self. It’s a horror-show-worthy take on corporate ambition, overreach, and villainy."—Beth Castrodale, author of I Mean You No Harm, Marion Hatley and In This Ground“What an original and captivating sci-fi read! I totally loved the real life references and often found myself so intrigued I had to then go search for confirmation and further information. Things really ramped up towards the end and I was glued to the text. I enjoyed the dark undercurrent and found the ending deeply satisfying as well as super clever.”—Caroline Lewis, Librarian at St. Jospeh’s College Mildura
£10.19
HarperCollins Publishers Naked Empire
Book SynopsisFrom internationally bestselling author Terry Goodkind, comes this outstanding epic adventure set in the captivating world of his classic Sword of Truth novels.The Sword of Truth is Terry Goodkind''s wonderfully creative, seamless, and stirring epic fantasy set in a fascinating world rich in detail, history and incredible violence. Nakled Empire provides a perfect jumping-in point for new readers.Reluctant hero turned magical warrior Richard Rahl has long since learned the wizard''s first rule (People are stupid and will believe almost anything) and accepted his fate. With his beloved Kahlan Amnell, the last Mother Confessor, he has battled unearthly adversaries, military foes, the Underworld, the malign and wild magic of the Old World, even the elements themselves.Now Terry Goodkind, acclaimed and superlatively gifted storyteller, delivers another thrilling novel, with all the complexity and taut characterization we''ve come to expect from this master of fantasy.Trade Review'A real born storyteller'Anne McCaffrey 'Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy' Publishers Weekly
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers A Crown Imperilled The Chaoswar Saga 2 The
Book SynopsisThe penultimate volume of the mighty Riftwar Cycle from best selling author Raymond E. Feist.War rages in Midkemia but behind the chaos there is disquieting evidence of dark forces at work.Jim Dasher's usually infallible intelligence network has been cleverly dismantled; nowhere is safe. He feels that the world is coming apart at the seams and is helpless to protect his nation.Quiet palace coups are underway in Roldem and Rillanon; and King Gregory of the Isles has yet to produce an heir. In each kingdom a single petty noble has risen from obscurity to threaten the throne.Lord Hal of Crydee and his great friend Ty Hawkins, champion swordsman of the Masters' Court, are entrusted with the task of smuggling Princess Stephané and her lady-in-waiting, the lovely but mysterious Lady Gabriella, out of Roldem to a place of greater safety. But is there any safe haven to be found?Meanwhile, Hal's younger brothers Martin and Brendan are attempting to hold the strategic city of Ylith against an onslaught of Keshian Dog Soldiers, and a mysterious force from beneath the sea. The Kingdom might lose Crydee and recover; but if Ylith falls, all is lost.An unknown player appears to orchestrating these conflicts. Can Pug and the Conclave of Shadows track down this source before Midkemia is destroyed?Trade ReviewPraise for Raymond E. Feist: ‘File under guilty pleasure’ Guardian ‘Get in at the start of a master’s new series’ Daily Sport ‘Well-written and distinctly above average… intelligent… intriguing’ Publishers Weekly ‘ Epic scope…vivid imagination…a significant contribution to the growth of the field of fantasy’ Washington Post
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Sleepless
Book SynopsisThe Circle meets Black Mirror in a thrilling, plausible and gripping debut. Frighteningly inventive.' John Marrs, bestselling author of The OneWow wow wow! What a story that was! An unputdownable thriller Absolutely brilliant read that had me on the edge of my seat!' NetGalley reviewer, 5 starsDon't close your eyes. Don't fall asleep. Don't let them in.Thea is an insomniac; she hasn't slept more than three hours a night for years.So when an ad for a sleep trial that promises to change her life pops up on her phone, Thea knows this is her last chance at finding any kind of normal life.Soon Thea's sleeping for longer than she has in a decade, and awakes feeling transformed. So much so that at first she's willing to overlook the oddities of the trial the lack of any phone signal; the way she can't leave her bedroom without permission; the fact that all her personal possessions are locked away, even her shoes.But it soon becomes clear that the trial doesn't just want to help Thea sleep. ITrade Review ‘An original and action-packed thriller, with a perfectly unnerving premise that hooked me from the start.’ Philippa East, author of Little White Lies ‘A complex, clever novel with memorable characters and a dash of sci-fi. A truly gripping rollercoaster ride through a dark, dystopian land.’ Vikki Patis, author of Girl, Lost 'A tense, unsettling psychological thriller that’ll leave you wondering if there’s something more behind your own sleepless nights!' Karin Nordin, author of Where Ravens Roost
£7.19
Little, Brown Book Group The Husbands
Book SynopsisLITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE meets THE STEPFORD WIVES in the spectacular new novel from the New York Times bestselling author Chandler Baker.***SOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM*** Behind every successful woman . . . there''s a secret worth KILLING for ''A howl of feminist rage, but one that is pure fun'' STYLIST PRAISE FOR CHANDLER BAKER''Honest, timely, and completely thrilling'' REESE WITHERSPOON''Furious and relevant'' CLARE MACKINTOSH''Slick, smart, fierce'' SARAH VAUGHAN''Chandler Baker is the queen of the feminist thriller'' SALLY HEPWORTH ''Incredible . . . it made me angry in the best possible way'' JESSICA MOOR ''The Husbands may just save your marriage'' CELIA WALDEN ______________''A howl of feminist rage, but aTrade ReviewChandler Baker, queen of the feminist thriller, has delivered once again! The Husbands is a poignant exploration of what it would take for women to have it all ... and it's as sobering as you might imagine. My head is still spinning. I can already hear the book club discussions! -- Sally HepworthEvery weary wife needs to read this book. You'll belly laugh in recognition, sob in recognition - but ultimately, The Husbands may just save your marriage -- Celia WaldenIncredible. . . The Husbands expresses a truth that needed to be articulated, that will resonate with every woman I know. It made me angry in the best way. -- Jessica MoorEvery once in a while there's a book that stays with you - whether the subject resonates, makes you think or quite simply shocks. The Husbands does all that, and more. * Woman & Home *Soon to become a film, this clever novel is well worth a read and perfect for book clubs * Belfast Telegraph *An utterly addictive page-turner * Daily Mail *The deviously dark twists keep the reader hooked until the shocking climax * Candis *This gender-swapping Stepford Wives story is as creepy as it is delicious * Good Housekeeping *
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Future
Book SynopsisGripping' MARGARET ATWOOD''A fabulous, witty writer on the digital world' SUNDAY TIMES''A little Atwood, a little Gibson, all Alderman, it's brilliant and I loved it'' LAUREN BEUKESThe latest novel from the Women's Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Power, The Future is a white-knuckle tour de force and dazzling exploration of the world we have made and where we are going.Lai Zhen is about to die. As an Internet-famous survivalist, she's spent her life prepping for the end of the world. But now, desperate and cornered in a mall in Singapore, she's mad she might go out not knowing what the hell is going on. If she makes it out alive, what kind of a future will be waiting for her?Across the world, Martha Einkorn works the room at a gathering of mega-rich companies hell-bent securing a future just for them. Covert weapons, private weather, technological prophecy, when Martha fled her father's compound she may have left the cult behind, but if the apocalyptic warnings of his fox and Trade Review'Gripping … about to sweep the charts' Margaret Atwood 'Alderman has crafted characters readers will want to follow wherever they go—even to the end of the world. A smart, engrossing fable about digital technology and human community' Kirkus Starred Review ‘Alderman has gone from promising young author to publishing phenomenon, a writer gifted with the double Midas touch of commercial success and literary prestige … Alderman is a fabulous, witty writer on the digital world’ Sunday Times ‘This is a terrific novel that, for all its dystopian elements, may even make you optimistic about what lies ahead’ SFX Magazine 'The endless intrigue and surprising twists keep the pages turning' Publishers Weekly 'Playful, incisive, horribly relevant and surprisingly hopeful, The Future is a thrill ride that’s also a powerful manifesto. A little Atwood, a little Gibson, all Alderman, it’s brilliant and I loved it' Lauren Beukes, bestselling author of The Shining Girls 'It is the genius of Naomi Alderman to embed a smart and thought-provoking meditation inside a page-turner of a book. This is one wild (and thoughtful) ride' Karen Joy Fowler, bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 'How can a novel of big ideas be such compulsively readable entertainment? A nail-biting love story and a witty page-turner about the pros and cons of human civilization, The Future is a wow' Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room 'The Future couldn't be more timely, or more welcome … a rollicking, fun-packed thriller with juicy stakes, constantly escalating twists, and a cast of characters who feel like they already exist somewhere out there in our fragile, free-wheeling present' Alastair Reynolds, author of Eversion
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers One Christmas Morning
Book SynopsisWonderfully heart-warming, it made me cry, filled my heart with hope, and cast a magical spell on me' M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in EverwoodWonderfully heart-warming, it made me cry, filled my heart with hope, and cast a magical spell on me until I'd turned the very last page' M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in EverwoodHaunting, magical and sparkling with Christmas spirit, One Christmas Morning is a festive love story with a difference . . . A warm and powerful debut' Holly Miller, The Sight of You -They say you know when you meet the one.The moment Eva locked eyes with James over a library bookshelf, she knew she'd found her soulmate. Over ten years, they fell in love, got married and made plans to start a family. Until everything changed one Christmas three years ago, and they've been drifting apart ever since.Eva hopes a friend's Christmas party at an old manor house in Cornwall will give them the chance to reconnect but the last thing she expects is to wake up on Christmas morning in the body oTrade Review Praise for Rachel Greenlaw and One Christmas Morning ‘Haunting, magical and sparkling with Christmas spirit, One Christmas Morning is a festive love story with a difference. A clever and cathartic novel about healing, grief, facing up to ourselves and letting go, it tugged on my heartstrings and took me through every emotion possible. A warm and powerful debut’ Holly Miller, The Sight of You 'Perfectly heartwarming' The Debut Digest 'The book I didn't know I needed to read – gorgeous, Christmassy and compelling’ Ella Allbright, The Last Charm ‘Wonderfully heart-warming, One Christmas Morning is a beautifully festive second-chance romance that made me cry, filled my heart with hope, and cast a magical spell on me until I’d turned the very last page’ M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in Everwood ‘One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw is a festive treat. An intelligent, romantic story of star-crossed lovers, I was completely absorbed by the millennial Scrooge Eva’s predicament. Greenlaw’s debut is a shimmering success’ Laura Shepperson, The Heroines 'Relatable and captivating' The Sunday Post
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group TheCampaigners by HarrodEagles Cynthia Author
Book Synopsis1815: Napoleon''s escape from Elba and the preparations for battle entangle the Morland family in a web of romance and heartbreak.The Allied Army is gathering in Flanders, and where the army is, the fashionable world must go- so London society hastens to Brussels to enjoy the most exhilarating Season ever.For Heloise it brings a renewed acquaintance with her former suitor, to Duc de Veslne-d''Estienne; while Rosamund must finally come to terms with her feelings for her cousin Marcus; and for Sophie, a meeting with an enigmatic French major could well alter her future.But as romance flourishes in a warlike atmosphere, the looming shadow of battle only makes the dancers whirl more feverishly. And when the Army marches out to face the might of the French at Waterloo, one question is in every heart: which of them will not come back?
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group The Husbands
Book Synopsis''A howl of feminist rage, but also one that is pure fun'' StylistThe wives here are different. They are living proof that women can have it all: successful careers, loving families, beautiful homes.Their husbands are different too. They are living proof that men can do just as much as women. They can remember the kids'' schedules, use an iron and notice when the house needs dusting.Nora thinks she''s found the perfect new home for her family. But when she agrees to get involved in a wrongful death case in the neighbourhood, Nora becomes convinced that there''s a dark secret at the heart of this perfect world.For these women, it seems the secret to having it all is worth killing for . . .''This gender-swapping Stepford Wives story is as creepy as it is delicious'' Good HousekeepingTrade ReviewChandler Baker, queen of the feminist thriller, has delivered once again! The Husbands is a poignant exploration of what it would take for women to have it all ... and it's as sobering as you might imagine. My head is still spinning. I can already hear the book club discussions! -- Sally HepworthEvery weary wife needs to read this book. You'll belly laugh in recognition, sob in recognition - but ultimately, The Husbands may just save your marriage -- Celia WaldenIncredible. . . The Husbands expresses a truth that needed to be articulated, that will resonate with every woman I know. It made me angry in the best way. -- Jessica MoorEvery once in a while there's a book that stays with you - whether the subject resonates, makes you think or quite simply shocks. The Husbands does all that, and more. * Woman & Home *Soon to become a film, this clever novel is well worth a read and perfect for book clubs * Belfast Telegraph *An utterly addictive page-turner * Daily Mail *The deviously dark twists keep the reader hooked until the shocking climax * Candis *This gender-swapping Stepford Wives story is as creepy as it is delicious * Good Housekeeping *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Our Missing Hearts
Book SynopsisTHE REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICKTHE PANDORA BOOK CLUB PICKA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA hottest book for THE TIMES, DAILY MAIL, THE INDEPENDENT, VOGUE, STYLIST, TIME MAGAZINE, EVENING STANDARD, THE I and THE IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAY.''It''s impossible not to be moved'' Stephen King, New York Times ''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)From the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes one of the most anticipated books of the year - the inspiring new novel about a mother''s unbreakable love in a world consumed by fear.Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in Harvard''s library. He knows 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 *
£17.00
Orion Publishing Co Hammered
Book SynopsisFrom Elizabeth Bear comes a near-future tale about a woman who was engineered for combat in a world that's running out of time.Trade ReviewA gritty and painstakingly well-informed peek inside a future we'd all better hope we don't get * Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon *A remarkable SF writer who's leaving many of her contemporaries in the dust * SFReviews *What Bear has done in Hammered is create a world that is all too plausible . . . an unnerving peek into a future humankind would be wise to avoid * SciFi.com *A tightly plotted page-turner. The noir universe [Bear] creates is as hard-edged as the people who inhabit it * SFRevu *A tense, involving and character-driven read . . . a doozy of a ride * New York Review of Science Fiction *A roller coaster of a good thriller * SF Crowsnest *
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Empire of Wild
Book SynopsisA kinetic, imaginative, and sensuous gothic novel inspired by traditional Canadian Métis legends.Trade ReviewDeftly written, gripping and informative. Empire of Wild is a rip-roaring read! * Margaret Atwood *Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive . . . Cherie Dimaline is a voice that feels both inevitable and necessary. * Tommy Orange, author of THERE THERE *Settle in for an utterly compelling blend of propulsive narrative, starkly beautiful writing and passionate, near dysfunctional love, based in the mixed-heritage Métis community of western Canada. * Daily Mail *A blend of close-knit emotional bonds and ambiguous menace... Dimaline's novel is able to take the plot to some unexpectedly phantasmagorical places without losing sight of its emotional core... Stories and their telling run throughout this book, from official histories to tales of uncanny and mythic creatures whispered about late at night... Dimaline here turns an old story into something newly haunting and resonant. * New York Times Review of Books *Empire of Wild is a small book. But it is not a slight book. It is close, tight, stark, beautiful - rich where richness is warranted, but spare where want and sorrow have sharpened every word. And through multiple narrators (including free-floating, disjointed chapters from Victor which haunt every major angle of the plot), disconnected timelines, the strange geographies of memory and storytelling, Dimaline has crafted something both current and timeless, mythic but personal. It is the story of Joan and her love. Joan and her loss. Joan and her family. Joan and her monster. * NPR *Sharp. * New Yorker *Wildly entertaining and profound and essential. * New York Times *Exhilarating. * Lit Hub *Revelatory... Gritty and engaging, this story of a woman and her missing husband is one of candor, wit and tradition." * Ms. Magazine *Dimaline trusts her readers. Her characters reiterate the importance of heritage, culture, and representation to their careless and dismissive youth, but she uses language that compels everyone to take heed - native or not; old or young... Dimaline has written this narrator as if she is moving from room to room, traveling through the pages: yes, she has seen and survived it all and when it comes right down to it, Dimaline makes it clear that when it comes to standing up for her people, she is wildly excited about the choreography of a damn good fight. * Chicago Review of Books *The novel is at times sad, at times humorous, and at times terrifying. Smartly written with believable characters, a tight plot, and breathtaking sentences, this is a must-read literary thriller. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Canadian writer Cherie Dimaline blends fantasy, monsters and contemporary First Nation struggles in a powerful and inventive novel... Empire of Wild seamlessly mixes realistic characters with the spiritual and supernatural. As much a literary thriller as a testament to Indigenous female empowerment and strength, Empire of Wild will excite readers with its rapid plot and move them with its dedication to the truths of the Métis community. * Book Page (starred review) *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Body Tourists: The gripping, thought-provoking
Book Synopsis'Her observation of our species is tender, precise, illuminating' Hilary Mantel THE NEW NOVEL BY THE BOOKER LONGLISTED AND ARTHUR C CLARKE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE TESTAMENT OF JESSIE LAMBADAPTED FROM THE HIT BBC RADIO 4 PLAY'An ambitious and important writer' New York Times'Unputdownable and often thought-provoking' Sunday Times'Grimly plausible' GuardianIn this version of London, there is a small, private clinic. Behind its layers of security, procedures are taking place on poor, robust teenagers from northern Estates in exchange for thousands of pounds - procedures that will bring the wealthy dead back to life in these young supple bodies for fourteen days.It's an opportunity for wrongs to be righted, for fathers to meet grandsons, for scientists to see their work completed. Old wine in new bottles.But at what cost?MORE PRAISE FOR JANE ROGERS AND BODY TOURISTS:'Gripping' Mail on Sunday'Very much a novel about human nature . . . an insightful examination of the things people truly value' SciFi Now'A wonderfully versatile novelist' Penelope Lively'Rogers' prose flows elegantly and with effortless power' Observer'A compulsive and compelling slice of fiction' Sunday ExpressTrade ReviewHer observation of our species is tender, precise, illuminating -- Hilary MantelUnputdownable and often thought-provoking * Sunday Times *Grimly plausible . . . Moving * Guardian *Rogers has never been afraid to expose the dark underside of people's psyches, their shoddy motives and secret compulsions * Guardian *Gripping and thought-provoking * Mail on Sunday *[A] compulsive and compelling slice of fiction * Sunday Express *Body Tourists is very much a novel about human nature. Told through a variety of different perspectives . . . the novel is an insightful examination of the things people truly value * SciFi Now *Jane Rogers is a wonderfully versatile novelist -- Penelope LivelyAn ambitious and important writer * New York Times *Rogers' prose flows elegantly and with effortless power * Observer *A clever, bold and entertaining novel with serious undercurrents concerning medical ethics, class privilege, deprivation and manipulationAs the trials are marred by unforeseen battles between will and flesh, tantalising moral questions are raised about gender, class, race, mortality and the pursuit of ever smarter, ever more human artificial intelligence. * Bookanista *An extraordinary novel about an ordinary situation - the unravelling of a marriage -- (Review of CONRAD AND ELEANOR) * The Times *Brilliantly done - a sustained exploration of the polarities at the enduring heart of love -- (Review of CONRAD AND ELEANOR) * Guardian *A literary dystopia that packs an emotional punch . . . The novel does not set up an elaborate apocalypse, but astringently strips away the smears hiding the apocalypses we really face. -- (Review of Booker-longlisted THE TESTAMENT OF JESSIE LAMB) * Independent on Sunday *Beautifully constructed and controlled . . . an absorbing, nuanced drama about moral choices and personal responsibility -- (Review of THE VOYAGE HOME) * Sunday Telegraph *A voyage of self-discovery that is eloquent, lucid and entirely enthralling -- (Review of THE VOYAGE HOME) * Daily Mail *A startling and gripping exploration of love, grief, responsibility and power that moves effortlessly from the personal - the pain of a woman who has recently lost her father - to one of the most hotly debated and emotive issues of the moment, the plight of asylum seekers . . . A wonderfully humane and vividly written story that will keep you entranced until the last page -- (Review of THE VOYAGE HOME) * Red Magazine *A triumphant creation . . . the authorial voice has a chameleon quality; she speaks with tongues. And the tongue here is persuasive indeed -- (Review of ISLAND) * Independent *Rogers' use of genuine historical detail is brilliant, she knows exactly what to use, and when to stop. * Canberra Times *Cuts to the bone * Sunday Times *Her observation of our species is tender, precise, illuminating -- Hilary MantelJane Rogers is a wonderfully versatile novelist -- Penelope LivelyAn ambitious and important writer * The New York Times *Cuts to the bone * The Sunday Times *Rogers has never been afraid to expose the dark underside of people's psyches, their shoddy motives and secret compulsions * Guardian *Roger's prose flows elegantly and with effortless power * Observer *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Book Of Echoes: An astonishing debut.
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHOR'S CLUB FIRST NOVEL AWARD, THE RSL CHRISTOPHER BLAND PRIZE and THE HWA DEBUT CROWN AWARD'A new classic' SARA COLLINS, author of THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON'Impassioned. Lyrical and affecting' GUARDIAN_____________Brixton 1981. Sixteen-year-old Michael is already on the wrong side of the law. In in his community, where job opportunities are low and drug-running is high, this is nothing new. But when Michael falls for Ngozi, a vibrant young immigrant from the Nigerian village of Obowi, their startling connection runs far deeper than they realise.Narrated by the spirit of an African woman who lost her life on a slave ship two centuries earlier, her powerful story reveals how Michael and Ngozi's struggle for happiness began many lifetimes ago.Through haunting, lyrical words, one unforgettable message resonates: love, hope and unity will heal us all._____________'A searing, rhapsodic novel. Filled with beauty, devastation and the power of ancestral connections that ripple through the ages' IRENOSEN OKOJIE, author of NUDIBRANCH'A gorgeous book' ALEX WHEATLE, author of BRIXTON ROCK_____________Readers love THE BOOK OF ECHOES:'A powerful and honest debut which is going to stay with me for a long time' *****'You can feel Amaka's passion rising off the page' *****'BRILLIANT, thoughtful and masterfully crafted' *****'Oh my goodness, the book itself is even more beautiful and haunting than the cover' *****Trade ReviewBEST NEW FICTION: A beautifully written testament to oppression that reverberates across the centuries. * DAILY MAIL *Searing and rhapsodic. Filled with beauty, devastation and the power of ancestral connections that ripple through the ages * IRENOSEN OKOJIE *Bewitching. I almost felt like I time-travelled back into Brixton 1981. A gorgeous book - totally recommended. * ALEX WHEATLE, author of BRIXTON ROCK *An absorbing debut * SUNDAY EXPRESS *Impassioned. Lyrical and affecting * GUARDIAN *Powerfully redemptive * INDEPENDENT *Fierce and poignant * TATLER *BEST BOOKS for FEBRUARY * COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE *Powerful, impassioned, thought-provoking * DAILY MAIL Staycation Sensations *A beautiful rich story that shows how hope can get people through the worst of times * PRIDE MAGAZINE *A breath-taking read. Both intimate and sweeping * LOUISE HARE, author of THIS LOVELY CITY *Bewitching. I almost felt i'd time-travelled back to Brixton in the 1980s. Highly recommended * ALEX WHEATLE, author of BRIXTON ROCK *
£8.54
Salt Publishing The Chameleon
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Collyer Bristow Prizes 2019Shortlisted for The Betty Trask Prize and AwardsLonglisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2019John is infinite. He can become any book, any combination of words – every thought, act and expression that has ever been, or ever will be, written. Now 800 years old, John wants to tell his story. Looking back over his life, from its beginnings with a medieval anchoress to his current lodgings beside the deathbed of a Cold War spy, John pieces together his tale: the love that held him together and, in particular, the reasons for a murder that took place in Moscow fifty years earlier, which set in train a shattering series of events.Samuel Fisher’s debut, The Chameleon is a love story about books like no other, weaving texts and lives in a family tale that leads the reader on an extraordinary historical journey, a journey of words as much as of places, and a gripping romance.Trade ReviewThe Chameleon could be considered something of a love story, both about books, and between the people that read them. It follows the story of a family through the years, the memories that shaped them, and the impact of past events on their relationship through the years. In the early stages of the novel we meet a man who is approaching the final days of his life, but in this novel a man’s mortality is portrayed from the perspective of someone infinite, someone who has lived for centuries. * The Owl on the Bookshelf *A fantastic new talent (recommended by Eley Williams!) … [a] mesmerising debut novel (and it really is brilliant). * The Book Hive *Over the weekend I read and hugely enjoyed The Chameleon by Samuel Fisher. It is a novel narrated by an 800-year-old shapeshifting book. It can turn into any book it wants to. It tells the story of the people who have owned it down the years. -- Scott PackAs well as being a new novelist, Fisher is also a founder of Peninsula Press, a small independent publisher whose list to date shows a predilection for innovative and experimental voices. It’s a partiality replicated in this wonderful, funny and audacious debut. Who knows what my copy of The Chameleon will turn into while my back is turned but I look forward to discovering whatever voice or artefact Samuel Fisher will throw himself into next. -- John Boyne * The Irish Times *You might expect a debut by a bookseller to be a hymn to the joy of books, but writing from the actual viewpoint of a book (here the narrator, who can transform himself into any combination of words, places himself at the centre of various events over the past 800 years) takes that love to a whole new level. Fisher has so much fun with this tricksy conceit that the very human story he settles on (amid nods to Virginia Woolf, Jorge Luis Borges and Dylan Thomas), of a cold war spy looking back on a life, takes time to hit home. That it eventually does is testament to his infectious enthusiasm for the power of the novel. -- Ben East * The Observer *Be it a love story, a thriller or a work of history, a written account makes those it depicts last forever. Revelling in its own wizardry, The Chameleon weaves a captivatingly reflexive tale around the life-giving possibilities of the printed word … Fisher practices a deft sampling technique, mixing in snippets of literary classics into his tale and reflecting on their relevance. The result is a compelling narrative and a subtle meditation on literary history. * Hackney Citizen *It seems only natural that if a bookseller was going to write a novel, it should be about books. Fortunately that's exactly what Wivenhoe’s Samuel Fisher has done although The Chameleon, which was released by cool indie publishers Salt this week, is a very different kind of book altogether. That’s because Samuel’s main character John can become any book, any combination of words, every though, act and expression that has ever been, or will ever be, written. -- Neil D’Arcy Jones * Colchester Gazette *This is undoubtedly a literary novel about a family and relationships, but also it’s about a love of books and it’s a spy story. It’s not surprising that the author set up a bookshop, you can almost imagine him spending time rooting through the stock and absorbing stories for this novel. -- Paul Burke * Nudge-Book Magazine *The concept of a self-aware book is the kind of literary conceit that, in the wrong hands, could lead to the worst excesses of post-modern fiction. The book does, after all, identify with Borges’ tale of the infinite library as though it’s “an autobiography written by a future version of myself”. Roger’s story, in turn, is essentially quite a slight vignette that would struggle to fill a novel on its own. But by marrying them together, Fisher balances and intermingles the two strands so that they sustain an engrossing, satisfying and quite touching novel. Greater love hath no book than that it would transform itself into a biography of its most cherished owner. -- Alastair Mabbott * The Herald *Writing a book as the Book is no small feat. One would expect it to be formally inventive, rich with the works of others yet boundlessly original – replete with unusual vocabulary and recourse to every image ever written. It is a credit to the author and to Salt Publishing that The Chameleon carries it off with aplomb. -- Venetia Welby * Review 31 *Fisher’s handling of tone, dialogue and prose that allows the story to be the star of the show. The narrative of Roger and Margery’s relationship, and the affect of the wars of the 20th century on multiple generations of their family is compelling and genuinely pulls at the emotions, while the depiction of 1950s Moscow and London creates an atmospheric noir backdrop. The book’s playfulness and wit allow the novel time to breathe and to entertain. Its stylistic peculiarities augment and bring depth to the plot, rather than usurping its role as the main event. -- Robert Greer * London Magazine *Like its namesake, this little book slithers and slips away from categorisation. Refusing to be pinned down, it is uniquely mischievous and marvellous. I’m quite sure Fisher could have made extremely good novels out of any one of its stories in The Chameleon. Instead, he chose to tell them all, and in doing so gave us a masterpiece. -- Elanor Dymott * Judge, The Betty Trask Prize *
£9.49
Salt Publishing Dreamtime
Book Synopsis‘So, where is he then, your dad?’ The world may be on a precipice but Sol, fresh from Tucson-desert rehab, finally has an answer to the question that has dogged her since childhood. And not a moment too soon. With aviation grinding to a halt in the face of global climate meltdown, this is the last chance to connect with her absentee father, a US marine stationed in Okinawa. To mend their broken past Sol and her lovelorn friend Kit must journey across poisoned oceans to the furthest reaches of the Japanese archipelago, a place where sea, sky and earth converge at the forefront of an encroaching environmental and geopolitical catastrophe; a place battered by the relentless tides of history, haunted by the ghosts of its past, where the real and the virtual, the dreamed and the lived, are ever harder to define.In Dreamtime Venetia Welby paints a terrifying and captivating vision of our near future and takes us on a vertiginous odyssey into the unknown.Trade ReviewFiction to look out for in 2021 A host of dazzling second novels in the offing … Venetia Welby’s exquisite and hallucinogenic Dreamtime is set in a near future in which we have lost the battle against climate change. -- Alex Preston * The Observer *Welby’s vision of our cobbled-together future—lives lost to the glamour of screens while civilisation corrodes—has an energy and charm of its own. Her descriptions of an earthquake-cracked Tokyo carry the noodley whiff and steamy press of Blade Runner’s neon-washed landscapes. And the hopelessly hybridised culture of Okinawa, where the stars and stripes jostles with local animist shrines, pulses with colour. It even left me with a hankering for “taco rice”, a dish as bastardised as its Tex Mex via Tokyo roots. -- Alex Diggins * Exacting Clam *Venetia Welby’s arresting blend of chaos, love, mystery, myths and the supernatural, animals both real and shapeshifting, and the consequences of abuse in the private and public spheres, illustrate how human relationships are complicated and tricky. The world conjured by Welby is weird and elusive, as is the relationship of humans with Nature. Her beautifully stylized writing has a lyrical strange quality to it. The future is envisioned as being one of increased disempowerment. * BookBlast *Venetia Welby’s new novel, Dreamtime, is set in 2035, a time of rising sea levels and extreme weather events. It follows Sol as she completes a stint in rehab in Arizona, grappling with the trauma of her upbringing in a cult and searching for her absent father. -- Jemima Skala * Literary Review *Dreamtime is an often deeply disturbing, haunting and nightmarish read, and yet is complete and realistic in an organic way. Welby doesn’t pretend she has any answers. The novel is, in essence, a presentation of harrowing truths and the confusion they cause. It’s not the first book to wrangle such themes against the backdrop of environmental catastrophe, and it won’t be the last. But it is probably the best you’ll read this year. * High Rise and Ink *This remarkable, disturbing work of literary fiction is like Heart of Darkness meets The Tempest. Revisiting the Animal Groom fairytale, it is set in the not-too-distant future, when humans are clinging onto existence by their fingernails thanks to environmental devastation. The human and environmental costs of violent, dominating masculinity are inescapable. At the same time, true love between a man and a woman is capable of transcending the bleakness. * Wild Women Writing Club *This uniquely multi-layered, multi-genre storyline, is wonderfully textured, brutally and frighteningly intense, deep and rich in atmosphere, ever evolving and written by an author who has complete confidence in the visual imagery of her words to lift the narrative and dialogue from the pages and make it come sickeningly to life. * Fiction Books *Welby’s writing style is original and uncompromising – as she proved in her debut, Mother of Darkness. Dreamtime is a step up but not away from this ability to conjure empathy for those whose behaviour is rebarbative. The sense of place – and how out of place incomers can be with their self-entitled behaviour – adds strength to a captivating tale tinged with regret. Man’s destructive behaviour continues despite the clear warnings of where it will lead. This is a disturbing journey exploring many varieties of abuse – of people and place – and the ripples triggered. A story laced with shadows and beauty that reminds the reader how much we look away when to see becomes challenging. An arresting window into a future that is worryingly believable. -- Jackie Law * neverimitate *This book is such a unique experience, it takes you to a place where you have to hand yourself over to the narrative, and trust that you will, more or less, return. It has a narcotic effect as it transports you to a near future, and the final ceremony that Dreamtime are putting addict, Sol, through before she is considered ‘cured’ and is released to the world beyond the dome, to the arid ,dry deserts of Arizona. * Rachel Read It *What a scintillating surprise this incredible book is, the cover is indeed mesmerising and its detail definitely sets the tone for its enthralling contents. When I read the details for this novel, what attracted me to it, was my own fascination of how other people, Venetia in this case, envision the future! Trust me, Venetia’s fictitious concepts for what’s instore for the world; are deliciously horrifying and if you thought the Covid-19 pandemic has been trying…then what might come next, will blow your mind, mine is still reeling from the possibilities. * The Fallen Librarian *
£10.80
Vintage Publishing The Need
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2019 A New York Times 2019 Notable Book2019 BOOK OF THE YEAR: Oprah Magazine, Time, Vulture, and Entertainment Weekly 'The Need is a profound meditation on the nature of reality, a fearless examination of parenthood, and also somehow a thriller. This is an extraordinary and dazzlingly original work from one of our most gifted and interesting writers' Emily St. John MandelShe crouched in front of the mirror in the dark, clinging to them. The baby in her right arm, the child in her left. There were footsteps in the other room...Molly is exhausted, anxious, losing her grip on reality. Her husband is away and she is running between her children and her job, where things are unravelling. She’s a paleobotanist, working at a fossil quarry, and has recently unearthed artefacts that defy understanding; the coke bottle with the lettering that leans the wrong way, an alternate version of the Bible. Where do these things come from?At home, as dusk falls, she gets jumpy. Are those footsteps out in the hall? What was that noise? She holds her two small children close to her, and tries to pull herself together. But her worlds of work and home are about to collide. She discovers that the stranger in her sitting room knows everything about her life and, as their identity becomes chillingly clear, this intruder makes a demand of Molly that upends everything, forcing her to reckon with her most unspeakable fears. The Need is a gripping, unsettling and stunningly original story that probes deep truths about motherhood, and explores grief, loss and how we treat others. It's a compulsive, reality-warping novel that makes us rethink our world, and question how far we would go to protect the ones we love.'The atmosphere is as close and taut as a thriller, but this is, in fact, both a highly original examination of grief and an extraordinarily vivid evocation of motherhood -- the moments of terror and hilarity, the visceral burden of it, and the fleeting, but almost transcendent, joy' Daily Mail'A chilling novel from a blazing talent' Observer Trade ReviewA chilling novel from a blazing talent...in addition to being a cerebral meditation on motherhood at its most elemental – fierce, beatific, sanity-thieving – it’s an adroitly executed thriller with a quasi-sci-fi twist. Mercilessly tense throughout, its opening chapter is a belter... A bracingly singular achievement, it’s surreal, blackly comic and ultimately generous. -- Hephzibah Anderson * Observer *[A] frenzied fever dream of a novel. Read it as a sci-fi thriller, or understand it instead as metaphorical; either way, it’s a page-turner… magnificent... This is a smart, sharp book that cuts to the heart of what it’s like to be a mother -- Lucy Scholes * Financial Times *Phillips can conjure pure nightmare in a single sentence… Thrillingly disturbing, frighteningly insightful about motherhood and love, and spilling over with offhand invention, The Need is one of this year’s most necessary novels. -- Sarah Ditum * Guardian *The atmosphere is as close and taut as a thriller, but this is, in fact, both a highly original examination of grief and an extraordinarily vivid evocation of motherhood -- the moments of terror and hilarity, the visceral burden of it, and the fleeting, but almost transcendent, joy -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *Helen Phillips’s novel begins to reveal itself, veering away from what looks initially like conventional suspense into something more speculative and philosophical with nods to both sci-fi and horror...the what-ifs animate this novel, the narrative splitting and looping back on itself as it tries out parallel possibilities, various fantasies and nightmares... frightening and maddening and full of dark comedy.. Phillips, as careful with language as she is bold with structure, captures many small sharp truths * New York Times *The Need is a profound meditation on the nature of reality, a fearless examination of parenthood, and also somehow a thriller. This is an extraordinary and dazzlingly original work from one of our most gifted and interesting writers -- Emily St. John MandelPhillips writes exceptionally well of the insatiable demands two young children can make on a mother... yet this is also a horror story about the vulnerability of motherhood that doubles up as a love letter to the miracle existence of children. At the same time, Phillips consistently plays tricks with the reader's perspective...and with the possibility of parallel realities, rooted in a mother's worst possible fears, playing out at the level of science fiction... One of the most heart-stopping motherhood novels you'll read all year * Metro *So smart and brave about motherhood... Molly's struggle to remain her full self while giving so much away is electrifying... Mothers will recognize so much in this fresh novel -- but they aren't the only ones who should read it. Phillips has found a way to make these experiences universal -- Bethanne Patrick * Washington Post *An enthralling book. With its short chapters, unsettling prose and riveting suspense, it feels designed for binge-reading. But keep an eye on the clock. Immersion in this novel before bedtime is a recipefor sleeplessness. * Economist *It’s a classic opening: a woman hears an intruder in her home while her husband is away, grabs her two young kids and hides in terror. But the true power of Helen Phillips’ brilliantly paced thriller emerges when Molly, a paleobotanist, comes face to face with the only person in the world who can shake her identity as a mother—a person who brings her to question her very reality. Phillips taps into the overwhelming anxiety that comes with love in its deepest, truest form, a sense of fierce protectiveness one need not be a parent to understand -- Lucy Feldman * Time's Best Fiction Books 2019 *An exciting, enjoyably eccentric novel that more than delivers as both a reality-warping thriller and a searching meditation on motherhood * Mail on Sunday *The weirdness of everyday life is beautifully explored… The Need's true subject is motherhood, rendered here as a painful, visceral, almost impossibly tender undertaking. In contrast to this extreme normality, the supernatural elements tingle like bugs against the skin. In all, a grand achievement. The novel exists on that narrow borderlinewhere strangeness merges with the mundane, and Phillips is both an explorer, and a brilliant chronicler of this murky realm. * Spectator *Sinister, existential and written in blazing prose * i *I love Helen Phillips's wild, brilliant, eccentric brain -- Lauren GroffHelen Phillips is one of the most exciting young writers working today, and I envy those who get to discover her work here for the first time -- Jenny OffillThis book held me hostage, invaded my dreams and my waking thoughts, and readjusted my brain; Phillips is, as always, doing something at once wildly her own and utterly primal. Maybe it doesn't surprise me that the strangest book I've read about motherhood is also the best, but it does thrill me -- Rebecca Makkai, author of THE GREAT BELIEVERSHelen Phillips has created an existential page-turner that captures, with perfect sharpness, the fierce delirium of motherhood, the longing to understand the workings of our universe, and the wondrous and terrifying mystery that is time. The Need is a brain-bending heartbreaker of a novel, and definitive proof that Helen Phillips is one of the most spellbindingly original writers working today -- Laura Van Den Berg, author of THE THIRD HOTELThis is a book about the biggest things you can imagine--the dreadful potentiality of life, the fierceness of love, and the terrifying and exhilarating mystery of motherhood. Helen Phillips writes at the nexus of science fiction and psychological realism, conjuring a narrative so mind-bending and immersive that it'll change what you see as real. She is an author at the height of her power, and we are so lucky to be living in her moment -- Alexandra Kleeman, author of YOU TOO CAN HAVE A BODY LIKE MINEThe Need is a spellbinding novel, both unsettling and irresistible. The best fiction finds the uncanny within the familiar; it makes us feel the fantastical undercurrent of our embodied lives. With exquisite economy and evocative prose, Phillips manifests the surreal, terrifying, and visceral experience of motherhood -- Dana Spiotta, author of INNOCENTS AND OTHERSA superbly engaging read – quirky, perceptive, and gently provocative... Suspenseful and mysterious, insightful and tender, Phillips' new thriller cements her standing as a deservedly celebrated author with a singular sense of story and style * Kirkus, starred review *
£15.29
Cornerstone H(A)PPY
Book Synopsis*WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2017**SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2018**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018*A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEARA TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEARAN INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEARFrom the internationally acclaimed, Man Booker-shortlisted Nicola Barker comes a new novel, a post-post apocalyptic story that overflows with pure creative talent.Imagine a perfect world where everything is known, where everything is open, where there can be no doubt, no hatred, no poverty, no greed. Imagine a System which both nurtures and protects. A Community which nourishes and sustains. An infinite world. A world without sickness, without death. A world without God. A world without fear.Could you...might you be happy there?H(A)PPY is a post-post apocalyptic Alice in Wonderland, a story which tells itself and then consumes itself. It's a place where language glows, where words buzz and sparkle and finally implode. It's a novel which twists and writhes with all the terrifying precision of a tiny fish in an Escher lithograph – a book where the mere telling of a story is the end of certainty.Trade ReviewNicola Barker’s H(A)PPY is a work of vaulting ambition. It is deathly serious but played out with the lightest of touches. She takes the vapid discourse of social media blather, with all its ‘likes’ and ‘favourites’, and extrapolates madly to make a language for an utterly believable future world, a world enslaved by the blandness of its technology. Line by line, the novel carefully builds its music and teases out its crazed riffs. It’s very funny but there are pockets of great eeriness, and of savagery even. It’s a novel-as-object, too, with a typography employed as visual code, but its design always has a narrative purpose. Only a writer of uncanny ability could bring this novel to such memorable, pulsing life. It’s very moving. -- Kevin BarryH(A)PPY is anything but conventional, subverting the traditions of sci-fi, typography and narrative … The coloured words are joined by a host of typographical flourishes, making the book a bravura piece of design … Barker is as gnomic, terrifying and glorious as ever. -- Justine Jordan * Guardian *Nicola Barker’s kaleidoscopic new novel is a socio-political futurama with a wildness and honesty all of its own … What wonders there are in Nicola Barker’s bewildering, fatiguing and deliciously stimulating new novel … Echoing and quoting literary styles and situations, disrupting the words on the page – via those coloured inks, blank pages, typographical games – in a manner that traces a line from Laurence Sterne to avant-gardists such as BS Johnson, Deborah Levy and Tom McCarthy … But H(a)ppy ventures far beyond a retread of narratological theory … Any description of H(a)ppy can only fail to do justice to its wildness and its honesty. It is a superb novel by a genuinely experimental and committed novelist. In Barker’s hand, narrative, however fragile, not only survives but thrives. -- Alex Clark * Observer *(Barker) specialises in formal eccentricity, thematic novelty, stylistic excess ... Her new book is her strangest yet, an avant-garde slice of dystopian science fiction that thumbs its nose...at the conventions of the genre ... It is a small miracle that this uncompromising anti-novel about the collapse of narrative absolutely works ... Barker is as innovative and idiosyncratic as ever. -- Edmund Gordon * Sunday Times *No book Nicola Barker writes is remotely like a book by anyone else, which is one of the many reasons to celebrate her. Also, no two books by Nicola Barker are doing remotely the same thing, which is another. So you never quite know what you’re in for. And H(A)PPY, even by her own extravagant standards, is very strange indeed … Barker has always been a visionary writer – visionary in style, with past and present interpenetrating in dream and hallucination. But her interest in religious visions and theology here comes to the fore … As I say, Barker is not remotely like any other writer. With its typographical jiggering about (words really do change colour, and some pages have blocks of identical text or no text at all), and its favouring of symbols and ideas over characters, setting and story, it’s more like a poem or artwork than a novel. Still, it’s quite something. I’m just not sure what. -- Sam Leith * Literary Review *With polychromatic printing, creative typography and sheer inspiration, the post-apocalyptic novel has been turned on its head … In most fiction set in totalitarian states, the principal protagonist will gradually realise the monstrosity of the regime…Nicola Barker, one of our greatest contemporary novelists, with typical élan, turns this paradigm inside out … This must be the most beautifully designed book I have read since Mark Z Danielewski’s House of Leaves … As the novel progresses, Barker pulls off an astonishing piece of technique … She is the most unpredictable novelist I know. -- Stuart Kelly * The Scotsman *The English novelist Nicola Barker began publishing in the mid-1990s, hit her stride almost immediately … Barker seems to find writing fiction as natural as breathing, and there’s a strong imaginative streak to almost everything she does … The Prospero role is here assumed by Barker herself, and the parallel is fairly close: creative to excess, more than capable of abusing her omnipotence, blurring the border between genius and dazzle. -- Leo Robson * New Statesman *A trailblazing sci-fi writer makes a bleak future seem fun ... Nicola Barker is the high priestess of weird ... H(A)PPY is the story of one woman's escape from a controlling matrix formed by a powerful artificial intelligence ... As Mira's journey of emancipation progresses, a full-on typographic melodrama explodes off the page ... It's confusing but fun. Barker, along with David Mitchell and Dave Eggers, is an important trailblazer for literary sci-if. H(A)PPY does not present a cheerful version of the future of humanity, but in her hands it is a hauntingly convincing one. -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *Lately, no destination on the map of fiction has welcomed so many visitors as the twin islands of utopia and dystopia. When she entered this populous domain, Nicola Barker – the rule-busting, genre-twisting maverick author of 11 previous novels – was never likely to deliver an orthodox post-catastrophe fable of lonely revolt against an all-powerful, all-knowing tyranny … As ever, Barker spins her ingredients into a wild, antic performance with a tuning – comic, satirical, mystical, downright weird – all her own … You might treat H(A)PPY as a creative uprising against the iron laws of dystopia itself … Beautifully designed pages … An occult musical theme drifts through her dystopian architecture … At times I was tempted to read H(A)PPY as a delirious allegory of the “tuning wars” among musicians … Barker layers the emerging tale of Mira’s disobedience with overtones that hum in the background … Not only the ideas but the very words on the page spiral, loop, morph and shatter. Barker’s expressive typography enacts the breakdowns, and breakthroughs, of Mira’s mutiny: not some avant-garde stunt, but the method of George Herbert’s “pattern poems”, or of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy … She succeeds in tuning the dystopian genre to a fresh, uncanny pitch. -- Boyd Tonkin * Financial Times *H(A)PPY is Barker’s most audacious and important novel since Darkmans … A clever exploration of the compulsive and destructive power of narrative … Language, grammar and typography spiral out of control until they reach the crescendo of a typographical cathedral composed of a “billion tiny calculations” … Barker has always been a wildly experimental writer and never more so than now … [H(A)PPY] demonstrates her visceral sensitivity to words. -- Ruth Scurr * Times Literary Supplement *
£17.00
Aderyn Press Arrow Garden, The
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Aderyn Press Sandstone City, The
Book Synopsis
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Tongues of Serpents The Temeraire Series Book 6
Book SynopsisNaomi Novik's stunning series of novels follow the global adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars.Convicted of treason and stripped of rank and standing, Temeraire and Lawrence are transported to the prison colony at New South Wales. With them travel three dragon eggs destined to be handed over to second-rate officers willing to accept so remote an assignment including one former acquaintance, Captain Rankin, whose cruelty once cost a dragon its life.They arrive at a young Australian colony in turmoil after the overthrow of the military governor, William Bligh formerly Captain Bligh, late of HMS Bounty. Eager to escape the political quagmire, Laurence and Temeraire accept a mission to pioneer a route through the forbidding Blue Mountains and into the interior of Australia. But when one of the dragon eggs is stolen, the surveying expedition becomes a despeTrade Review‘These are beautifully written novels, not only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart.’Peter Jackson ‘Novik won me over with her first novel… the combination of military history, sympathetic characters, and engaging style makes this series great, intelligent fun.’The Times ‘Plenty of intrigue, swordplay, exotic locations, plausible invention. In short a treat.’The Telegraph ‘Novik has stirred the passions with a genre-busting historical fantasy of the first order.'Sunday Sport 'In the best tradition of fantasy, historical fiction and nautical novels.'Guardian
£10.44
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Grid
Book Synopsis''A highly original, electrifying read'' The Times''A stylish, riveting thriller'' Daily Mail''An assured page-turner ... it combines action and foreign locations with big ideas a la Dan Brown'' Sunday TimesThe US President Thompson has been dreaming of his own death. A repeating nightmare that hounds him night after night that he can''t ignore: something tells him it''s not just a dream, it feels too real.Thompson''s doctor, military psychiatrist Josh Cain, is summoned to a church tower near the White House. He thinks he is there to talk down another suicidal ex-Marine. But the man he finds tells him of a plot to kill Thompson, revealing secrets he can''t possibly have known - just seconds before a sniper''s bullet takes him out . . .Battles have been fought man to man, then machine to machine, and even in cyberspace. But now there is a different battlefield emerging: human consciousness and the fight for Trade ReviewA vividly drawn, propulsive thriller, that also probes the effects of grief and trauma * The Times, Books of the Year *This stylish, riveting thriller explodes into a world of 'psychic spies' and dark plots to undermine the world * Daily Mail *An assured page-turner ... it combines action and foreign locations with big ideas a la Dan Brown * Sunday Times *This is a highly original, electrifying read ... In less assured hands this could have seemed absurd, but Cook’s crisp, hard-boiled prose makes the outlandish feel alarmingly plausible. * The Times *Frightening in its subject matter and brilliantly written. It’s a book you will not want to put down * Crime Review *
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Rise of a Merchant Prince Book 2 The Serpentwar
Book SynopsisThe second book in Raymond Feist's bestselling quartet: The Serpentwar Saga.It's hard to build a business empire in the midst of magic and murderAfter a harrowing brush with the armies of the Emerald Queen Roo Avery is now free to choose his own destiny. His ambition is to become one of the most powerful merchants in Midkemia.But nothing can prepare him for the dangers of the new life he has chosen, where the repayment of a debt can be as deadly as a knife in the shadows and betrayal is always close at hand.But the war with the Emerald Queen is far from over and the inevitable confrontation will pose the biggest threat yet to Roo''s newfound wealth and power.Trade ReviewPraise for Raymond E. Feist: ‘Fantasy of epic scope, fast-moving action and vivid imagination’ Washington Post ‘A fine yarn . . . vivid . . . suspenseful . . . the action is non-stop’ Booklist ‘File under guilty pleasure’Guardian ‘Well-written and distinctly above average… intelligent… intriguing.’Publishers Weekly
£9.49
