Traditional or cultural fiction and true stories, tales and retellings

Book SynopsisThe second book in an exciting Arthurian trilogy.Twelve long, blood-soaked years, have passed since Artor fulfilled his destiny and was crowned the High King of the Britons. Against all odds, Artor has united Celtic Britain and with a last great campaign, has banished the Saxon scourge. The legend of Camlann has begun. But even as Artor''s kingdom is at its zenith, even as he has succeeded in conquering all external threats to his rule, his kingdom is being undermined from within. Not only is Artor betrayed by the one person he should be able to trust, he has also learned of appalling perversion at the heart of his kingdom. He must make a terrible choice. Does he commit a deed that leaves him open to comparison with the despotic Uther Pendragon, or does he let evil go unchecked? The burden of leadership, of power, now rests solely - and heavily - on Artor''s shoulders for Myrddion Merlinus, master tactician, guiding light for so many years, has left Artor to Trade ReviewPraise for M. K. Hume: 'Hume brings the bloody, violent, conniving world vividly to life...will appeal to those who thrill to Game of Thrones and other tales of intersecting, ever-warring, noble lineages * Kirkus Review *Historical fiction of the most bloodthirsty and roistering kind * Australian Bookseller & Publishers Magazine *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPraise for the Elemental Masters series:“Lackey’s fantastical world of Elementals, plus her delightful Nan and Sarah, create an amusing contrast for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and John Watson…. The mix of humor, history, fantasy, and mystery is balanced in a way that any reader could pick up the book and thoroughly enjoy it from beginning to end.” —RT Reviews“The Paris of Degas, turn-of-the-century Blackpool, and the desperation of young girls without family or other protection come to life in a story that should interest a broad readership.” —Booklist“All in fine fairy-tale tradition…. It’s grim fun, with some nice historical detail, and just a hint of romance to help lighten things.” —Locus“The action and dialogue flow freely, mingling with beautiful descriptions of European countryside and just a hint of romance.... A well-developed heroine and engaging story.” —Publishers Weekly“The fifth in the series involving the mysterious Elemental Masters, this story of a resourceful young dancer also delivers a new version of a classic fairy tale. Richly detailed historic backgrounds add flavor and richness to an already strong series that belongs in most fantasy collections. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal“The Elementals novels are beautiful, romantic adult fairy tales. Master magician Mercedes Lackey writes a charming fantasy.” —Worlds of Wonder“Ms. Lackey is a master in fantasy, and this visit to an alternate historical England is no exception. Vivid characterization and believable surroundings are flawlessly joined in a well-detailed world.” —Darque Reviews"I find Ms. Lackey's Elemental Masters series a true frolic into fantasy." —Fantasy Book Spot

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Book SynopsisIn this new paranormal fantasy series, a powerful woman who can see the dead must choose whether to forge a new path for herself and her family…. “The problem with ghosts is that they don’t quite realize that they’re dead.”   Voada Paorach can see the dead. It is a family trait, but one that has had to remain hidden since the Mundoan Empire conquered her people’s land three generations ago. But this ghost isn’t the same as the others she has glimpsed, the lost souls she has helped to find their way to the land beyond life.  This ghost demands that Voada follow a new path, one that will mean leaving behind everything and everyone she has known and loved.   Voada will come to understand the power that her people possess, but she will also learn the steep price that must be paid for such a gift. Fast-moving and intense, A Fading Sun explores grief, sacrifice, amTrade ReviewPraise for A Fading Sun:"Leigh’s complex and substantial fantasy series opener adds elaborate spellcasting and powerful sorcerers to the legend of Celtic warrior queen Boudica repelling the Romans.... Leigh skillfully weaves together a comprehensive and rich mythology, intricate fight sequences, and a mother’s all-consuming revenge." —Publishers Weekly"Readers, who will detect a resemblance to Ireland, Scotland, and England during the Roman era, will eagerly anticipate the sequel." —Booklist"Leigh builds a vivid, thrilling and exciting new world that will captivate and hold the imagination in A Fading Sun." —RT Reviews"Stephen Leigh’s A Fading Sun is another powerful entry in the category of stories about the change wrought by empires—for better or worse." —Barnes & Noble Sci-fi & Fantasy Blog

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Book SynopsisMagic, danger, and adventure abound for messenger Karigan G'ladheon in the sixth book in Kristen Britain's New York Times-bestselling Green Rider epic fantasy series.Zachary Davriel Hillander, High King of Sacoridia, rues how much he has had to give up to lead his realm, including the freedom to live and love as he chooses. When an embassy from Eletia arrives to propose a joint venture between their realms to seek out an old ally in the north, he is dismayed to learn that the one Sacoridian they have in mind to accompany their guide is the woman he truly loves but cannot have: Green Rider Karigan G’ladheon.Karigan has only just returned from a dark future where Sacoridia has been conquered and is ruled by a despotic emperor, and she has not recovered in heart or mind. As if that is not enough, the castle ghosts won’t leave her alone. Though Zachary is loath to part from her so soon after her return, he knows she is the best choice tTrade ReviewPraise for the Green Rider series“Green Rider is a wonderfully captivating heroic fantasy adventure.... Kristen Britain’s likable heroine and fast-paced plot kept me eagerly turning pages. This is the rarest of finds: a truly enjoyable read.” —Terry Goodkind, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Sword of Truth series “Kristen Britain is one of the most astonishing fantasy writers working today. She has created a richly imagined world where magic is as real as courage, and where a young woman's heroism can change the course of history.” ―Tess Gerritsen, author of The Apprentice “Britain packs her exciting sixth Green Rider epic fantasy with new perils for her heroine, Karigan G’ladheon.... The pages fly by in this dramatic tale.” —Publishers Weekly “Britain’s latest combines familiar characters with new allies and enemies as it builds to a crucial point in the history of the land. Readers of epic fantasy and series followers will want this finely honed, skillfully crafted tale.” —Library Journal “Britain provides plenty of action…and a good command of character.” —Booklist “In masterly fashion, Britain ultimately manages to bring the major plotlines together in a big battle.... A rousing, satisfying adventure.” —Locus “There is something about returning to read a new book the Green Rider series that just makes me happy.... Addictive comfort reads that make me want to curl up with it until I finish.” —Speculative Herald “The gifted Ms. Britain writes with ease and grace as she creates a mesmerizing fantasy ambiance and an appealing heroine quite free of normal clichés.” —RT Book Reviews “This captivating fantasy is filled with adventure, action, and heroes. Karigan grows tremendously as a person and in the end finds her own place in this world. The characters, including minor ones, are well-developed and the plot is complex enough to get the reader thinking. This is a real page-turner.” —VOYA “Kristen Britain writes so beautifully that I never want to have to put her books down.” ―Fantasy Book Review

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPraise for Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon"Readers of Neil Gaiman and Harry Turtledove will have encountered similar takes on the spirit realm; Talabi’s freshness is in his language, his caustically amusing protagonist, and his commitment to having more fun than noir usually allows. Readers are in for a rollicking thrill ride." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Defiantly ambitious...an action-packed thrill ride.... Talabi’s snarky narration keeps the tone light, while leaving room for a sweet love story." —The Washington Post"A vivid, entertaining tale of love, power and revenge." —The Guardian"Talabi keeps in balance his kinetic mix of noir heist fiction, erotic romance, political intrigue, and supernatural fireworks without distracting too much from the genuinely affecting relationship between Nneoma and Shigidi, who are a pair we wouldn’t mind seeing again, and won’t forget anytime soon.” —Locus"Talabi weaves a high-stakes, fast-paced tale of corporate greed, an interdimensional heist, and warring deities entrenched in Yoruba culture. Perfect for fans of the Ocean’s film franchise and Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006), this book will have readers holding their breath as Shigidi and Nneoma try to accomplish the impossible." —Booklist"Rich in lore, deeply referential of the fantasy genre, instructive without being preachy and accessible even to casual readers...a fine display of Talabi’s dexterity as a writer and his keen eye for story and a fine demonstration of how grossly underutilized African mythology has been in world fantasy." —Edwin Okolo, The Republic"An unabashedly erotic and page-turning tale, blending the urban and the mythic in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s works, yet fizzing with a kinetic energy which, at least within the genre of contemporary adult fantasy, feels utterly refreshing and gloriously entertaining." —Strange Horizons"Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon is an explosion made of other explosions. As soon as I read the opening—taut, rollicking, rooted in physicality and emotion—I was charmed. This book is incantation, a sorcerous working that bound me to its story and drew me along as it sped toward its destination. Wole Talabi is a brilliant short fiction writer, and now he is revealed as a brilliant novelist, as well!" —Alex Jennings, author of The Ballad of Perilous Graves“Fast and sharp as talons, Shigidi is a high-stakes art heist love story with Nigerian gods and demons and some Succession-level corporate politics and Alan Moore-ish deep dives into occult lore and mythologies. If you thought Killmonger was right or loved American Gods and Akata Witch, this one is very much for you.” —Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls and Broken Monsters “Wole Talabi brings us an imaginative tale of ancient deities with modern problems--where answering prayers and winning at the cut throat competition for adherents is the best way to maintain the bottomline. Shigidi is a richly written story of love between immortals, a high stakes supernatural heist, and a sweeping adventure across time, space, and perhaps realms of existence. This is godpunk, done with style. And I'm absolutely here for it!” —P. Djèlí Clark, author of A Master of Djinn and Abeni’s Song“A high octane thriller that is simply unputdownable. Talabi deftly weaves different mythos spanning centuries across continents and borders to create a truly fantastical story. Gods, demons, magicians, giants, all jostling for power and prestige within an all too human story. This remarkable debut rocked my world." —T. L. Huchu, author of The Library of the Dead“Shigidi is a tale that will excite any lover of contemporary African fantasy. What better thrill than two globetrotting, timetrotting, worldtrotting beings caught between a love story, a heist and a ghastly contract with a spirit company? Talabi's imagination, already obvious in previous works, shines through, offering us a world of deities and monstrosities trading in belief and supplication. An innovative addition to the godpunk roster—if you loved David Mogo, you'll love this!” —Suyi Davies Okungbowa, author of the Nameless Republic trilogy“For those who feel as if they’ve been waiting years for a novel by Wole Talabi, Shigidi surpasses expectations. It’s fast-paced and fun, clever and beautiful. Filled with characters you want to spend time with in a world that is fresh and exciting.” —Temi Oh, author of Do You Dream Of Terra-Two and More Perfect"Shigidi is a multi-hued narrative where fear is a colour...this is a tale that will unmoor any reader from the safety of their comfort zone to gallivant, stimulated, across spirit worlds and cityscapes." —Aurealis"Rich in lore, deeply referential of the fantasy genre . . .a fine display of Talabi’s dexterity as a writer and his keen eye for story and a fine demonstration of how grossly underutilized African mythology has been in world fantasy." — Edwin Okolo, The Republic

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Book SynopsisARRRRGH! Come aboard for seafaring pirates, ghosts, and spooky tales from the coast of North Carolina. With pirate lore and history abundant for this seaside area, join storyteller Cynthia Moore Brown as she explores graveyards, haunted houses, and locations with spirits that have sparked shivers within audiences for decades. Read about actual places with ghosts revealed. Dare to experience misty, dangerous railroad tracks at the site of a death by train in Wilmington. Hear ghostly children play in a home at Pelican Reef. Find out what it might feel like to be buried alive and why the saying, saved by the bell, might be important to some. Walk with pirate ghosts on the old Chandlers Wharf, and visit with a foggy spirit moving aimlessly near Cape Fear River. Visit Topsail Island where the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard's flagship, may still sail with her ghostly pirates haunting the waters and marshes. Whether history, unsolved mysteries, legends, or just plain scary happenings, these tales will keep you shuddering long into the night.

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Book SynopsisSouth Carolina, one of the oldest states in the Union has a very haunting history. Here find 30 ghostly stories from the coastal, central, and Piedmont areas. Find out about the famous Gray Man who wanders the beaches of Pawleys Island, warning residents of oncoming danger. Hear the ruckus raised by the ghost of legendary pirate Stede Bonnet, who is still seen and heard at night near the spot of his demise. Hear the sounds of battle on the calmest of evenings in Charleston, smell the smoke and gunpowder, and feel the strong sadness where soldiers fell at Fort Sumter. Visit the Cool Springs Plantation where some ghostly parties never end. From a monster at college to ghost lights in modern buildings, and more, South Carolina is home to spirits, spooks, and all manner of unearthly beings from eras long past.

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Book SynopsisExperience 10 heart-pounding tales of the Midwest based on history, lore, and legends from around the regionperfect for telling around the campfire. Discover what it feels like to be a ghost or to bring one home. Explore what may be lurking at the bottom of a lake at a favorite vacation spot. Solve the mystery and unlock the secrets of a strange journal brought forth by an old doctor who may or may not be a part of this world. Unearth one of the seven gateways to hell and venture into the fiery depths below. Determine for yourself what is real and what is fiction, as these and other haunting tales paint a landscape rife with creepy paranormal activity.

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Book SynopsisA collection of over five thousand Yoruban proverbs arranged according to theme. It includes an introduction, which provides a framework and description of Yoruba cultural beliefs, the proverbs are arranged by theme into five sections: the good person; the fortunate person; relationships; human nature; rights and responsibilities; and truisms.Trade Review“Obviously aimed at the specialist, it nevertheless also offers the casual reader considerable rewards. It’s not an inexpensive volume, but it’s a bargain for what it, in many respects, a monumental achievement.”—Complete Review"When it comes to the correct usage of Yoruba proverbs, Mr. Owomoyela should know."—Chronicle of Higher Education“This gigantic collection contains 5,235 Yoruba proverbs, their English translations, excellent brief annotations on usage and contexts, and a 38-page introduction! The tome also comes with a companion website . . . of even more proverbs. Readers will find in the book, preceded by two earlier proverb collections and one trickster tales compilation, a truly majestic culmination of Oyekan Owomoyela’s four-decade long labor at constructing a formidable textual archive of Yoruba oral literatures. . . . The size of this collection . . . attests to Owomoyela’s preeminence in proverb studies. The elephant of contemporary proverb scholarship has rustled the bush again, and only an incompetent liar or a malicious euphemist would report after perusing this book that he has merely ‘caught a fleeting glimpse of something’ in the forest of African proverb studies.”—Adeleke Adeeko, Research in African Literatures

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Book SynopsisOne-Smoke Stories is a collection of folk tales from Native American, Spanish Colonial, mestizo, and European American peoples of the Southwest retold in the enthralling words of one of the bestselling writers of her day, Mary Austin.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of tales and traditions from the Southwest includes stories of lost mines stacked with bars of gold, mule loads of silver cached away, and fabulous Jesuit treasures buried when the order was expelled from New Spain. Some of the tales also offer other views of "treasure".

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Book SynopsisA delicious mix of East and West, of wonder and irony, The Fox and Dr. Shimamura is a most curious novelTrade Review"A wonderful and most of all wonderfully told story." -- Die Zeit"What a beautiful book!" -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"The Fox & Dr. Shimamura is a cornucopia of strange pathologies and historical oddities, spanning multiple continents and languages, that breaks down the polarities between religion and science, supernatural hauntings and neurotic hauntings, and Eastern and Western cultural ideologies. Dr. Shimamura, a Japanese neurologist who travels to the hotspots of psychiatry in early twentieth-century Europe, thinks in both Japanese and German, and harbors a slight disdain for the backwardness of Japanese science; yet while he prides himself on being a supremely rational, modern man, he can’t shake the conviction that he is possessed by a fox that slithers under his skin. Christine Wunnicke takes her place alongside the Japanese-German writer Yoko Tawada as an adept celebrator of cosmopolitan intermixture and the magic of subverting monocultural systems." -- Gregory Ariail - Kenyon Review"A marvel, a wonder—a deeply strange little novel about medicine, memory, and fox possession. With her delicate prose, arch tone, and mischievous storytelling, Wunnicke proves herself a master of the form." -- Kirkus (starred review)"A mythical, mystical, and at times bizarre tale of a late nineteenth-century Japanese doctor who is sent to remote areas of the Shimane prefecture to cure women of fox possession. Wunnicke slyly reminds us that, although women are powerless, even when it comes to treating their own illnesses, they find ways to quietly assert their will over men." -- Melissa Beck - Music and Literature"Wunnicke paints nightmarishly hectic European scenes in a palette of absinthe and Toulouse-Lautrec, and alternates them with nightmarishly static scenes of Shimamura’s declining, colorless present in Japan. Connections proliferate like reflections in a house of mirrors, fascinating and also vaguely queasy — the narrative is disorienting in every sense of the word. But absurdist fiction, like psychotherapy, requires an investment of energy and a suspension of judgment. The Fox and Dr. Shimamura is worth the effort." -- New York Times Book Review"Christine Wunnicke’s glittering, absurdist jewel of a novel." -- New York Times Book Review"The Fox and Dr. Shimamura recovers the almost magical counternarratives running parallel to key moments in the history of western modernity. Shimamura is marked as someone who is navigating the hazy boundaries of gender, finding through the fox spirit some access to an internalized femininity that is rebuked by his society in the form of history’s most gendered diagnosis. Rich and engaging." -- The Carolina Quarterly"An appealingly haunting novel, slightly off-kilter, suggesting the unknown and the unknowable." -- M.A. Orthofer - The Complete Review"A miniature voyage around the world and into the not-so-distant past. Wunnicke’s deftly drawn vignettes of Dr. Shimamura’s life provide tantalizing glimpses into the manifestations of Eastern and Western psychiatry at the turn of the last century." -- Catherine Venner - World Literature Today"Wunnicke spoofs the misogynist history of psychology in this clever and rewarding novel of slippery memories tinged with Japanese myths: this gracefully amusing blend of history and imagination will beguile readers.""“Delightfully crazy—very nicely told: Wunnicke succeeds in drawing us into the logic of this mad world, where the fox moving under a girl’s skin is as vivid (and believable?) as Charcot’s demonstration of the arc of la grande hysterie.”" -- Rosmarie Waldrop

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Book Synopsis“The best one,” as Clarice Lispector called The Apple in the Dark, her famously intense 1961 novelTrade Review"The Apple in the Dark is a retelling, a reversal, a recasting of the creation myth: a very unlikely bestseller, it’s very, very different from anything else she ever wrote. If you put it between The Besieged City, which comes before it, and The Passion According to G. H., which comes after, you’ll see just how radically experimental she was: how little she repeated herself, how she ‘made it new’ every single time." -- Benjamin Moser"A fitting capstone to a remarkable publishing endeavor." -- Sophia Stewart - The Millions"An experimental novel about becoming, existing, and being remade: seductive." -- Kirkus Reviews"May we all, after reading The Apple in the Dark, ‘stand in the calm profundity of the mystery." -- Carlos Valladares - Frieze"This existential epic of a desperate criminal…stands among Lispector’s finest and most enigmatic achievements." -- Publishers Weekly (starred)""What in other hands might make for the premise behind a noir novel, Clarice Lispector uses to explore metaphysical questions of being, of existence expressed in a coiling language in which concrete nouns torque into abstract conceptions pushing sense to the limits of coherence…The Apple in the Dark represents Lispector at the height of her creative powers.”" -- Tom Bowden - The Book Beat

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Book SynopsisA brilliant new translation of the Brazilian modernist epic that aims to capture the country’s complex identityTrade Review"Macunaíma is a miracle. There’s nothing like it in all of literature. Katrina Dodson is a hero." -- Mario Bellatin"An explosion of language… The obvious comparison for English speakers would be Ulysses, as an encyclopedia of styles, of language forms." -- Fredric Jameson"We are so fortunate that Mário de Andrade’s rollicking Macunaíma is finally reappearing in English in Katrina Dodson’s dazzling translation." -- John Keene"Macunaíma is above all a vision of mythical Brazilian consciousness, a picaresque epic of birth, triumph, decline and death." -- The New York Times"Mário wrote our Odyssey and, with a swing of his native club, created our classical hero and the national poetic idiom for the next fifty years." -- Oswald de Andrade"He’s an anti-hero hero, questioning and contradictory. Macunaíma is an emblem of the marvelous, metamorphosed into the errant question mark of his one-legged constellation. An anti-normative hero who points to a future, eventually more open, world." -- Haroldo de Campos"An explosion of language… The obvious comparison for English speakers would be Ulysses, as an encyclopedia of styles, of language forms." -- Fredric Jameson"Macunaíma is a self-consciously nation-founding novel that reads like a thick broth of painful historical truth, quoted myth, and irreducible pleasures. Rarely is so much pleasure given and pain revealed by overlapping languages." -- Arto Lindsay"A deliberately provocative text, slangy, comical, antiliterary, assuming all the apparent contradictions of the struggle against European seriousness in its various forms." -- Pascale Casanova"Electrifying and perplexing, this cornerstone of Brazilian literature shouldn’t be missed." -- Publishers Weekly"To describe Macunaíma as sui generis would hardly scratch the surface." -- Ratik Asokan - 4Columns"One of our sacred books, whose name we dare speak only on our knees." -- César Aira

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Book SynopsisWinner of 2018 National Book Award in Translated Literature Library Journal Best Books of 2018 Yoko Tawada’s new novel is a breathtakingly light-hearted meditation on mortality and fully displays what Rivka Galchen has called her “brilliant, shimmering, magnificent strangeness”Trade Review"Near-future Japan has been cut off from the outside world, leaving 108-year-old Yoshiro trapped with his great-grandson Mumei in a spartan "temporary" house. The population is divided between those born before the calamity—whose life spans have been mysteriously lengthened—and those enfeebled by it: "The aged could not die; along with the gift of everlasting life, they were burdened with the terrible task of watching their great-grandchildren die." Tawada’s novel is infused with the anxieties of a 'society changing at the speed of pebbles rolling down a steep hill,' yet she imagines a ruined world with humor and grace." -- Publishers Weekly"Tawada, who writes in both Japanese and German, uses a light tone that frequently leans into gentle abstraction and wry humor, producing a slim novel that charms as much as it provokes reflection." -- Kiri Falls - The Japan News"Recessive, lunar beauty [with] a high sheen. Her language has never been so arresting—flickering brilliance." -- Parul Sehgal - The New York Times"Persistent mystery is what is so enchanting about Tawada’s writing. Her penetrating irony and deadpan surrealism fray our notions of home and combine to deliver another offbeat tale. An absorbing work from a fascinating mind." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"The Emissary carries us beyond the limits of what is it is to be human, in order to remind us of what we must hold dearest in our conflicted world, our humanity." -- Sjón"A mini-epic of eco-terror, family drama and speculative fiction. Tawada’s interest is satirical as much as tragic, with public holidays chosen by popular vote (Labour Day becomes Being Alive Is Enough Day) and a privatized police force whose activities now centre on its brass band. It’s this askew way of looking at things amid the ostensibly grim premise, and a sprightly use of language that makes The Emissary a book unlike any other." -- Guardian""Like sashimono woodwork, Tawada needs no exposition to nail down her dystopia. The Emissary achieves a technically impossible balance of open-hearted fable and cold-blooded satire."" -- Financial Times"An airily beautiful dystopian novella about mortality. Tawada’s quirky style and ability to jump from realism to abstraction manages to both chastise humanity for the path we are taking towards destruction and look hopefully toward an unknown future." -- Enobong Essien - Booklist"A phantasmagoric representation of humanity’s fraught relationship with technology and the natural world." -- Brian Haman - Asian Review of Books"Charming, light, and unapologetically strange...There’s an impish delight in [each] sentence that energizes what is otherwise a despairing note. Tawada finds a way to make a story of old men trapped in unending life and children fated to die before their time joyful, comic, and—frankly—a huge comfort." -- J.W. McCormack - BOMB"A Hieronymus Bosch–like painting in novel form. Tawada's charming surrealism imparts an off-kilter quality to her work that would make it feel slight, if it weren’t for the density, precision, and uniqueness of her mind. A slim and beguiling novel in Margaret Mitsutani’s enchanting and flawless translation." -- Marie Mutsuki Mockett - Public Books""Everywhere in the Japan of Yoko Tawada’s The Emissary, strange mutations unfold. In the years (perhaps decades, or perhaps generations) since an environmental catastrophe, the basic tenets of biology have broken down. Children are born weak, with birdlike bones and soft teeth. The elderly, in turn, are youthful, athletic, seem to have been ‘robbed of death’. Men begin to experience menopausal symptoms as they age. Everyone’s sex changes inexplicably and at random at least once in their lives...Tawada has gifted us a quiet new magical realism for the Anthropocene."" -- Rebecca Bates - The White Review

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Book SynopsisThe ancestors have awakened. Somebody has called them. The long-dead are stirring. Jah ways are mysterious ways.Trade Review"A lyrical convocation of reggae, roots healing, the history of Half Way Tree, of duppies and fearsome body-swapping, of dangerous youthmen and deliberate revolution—here is prose steeped deep in portents, parables, and a profusion of signs. Marcia Douglas lets the sounds fall from on high, in prose that chants down Babylon and confirms the coming, sweeter than can be reckoned, of Zion." -- Caribbean Beat"Marcia Douglas’s book is as marvellous as its title – one of the most stunning new works of Jamaican fiction I have had the pleasure of reading. The novel that is not unlike the island that it tries to capture – as musical as it is brutal, and here is writing as full of poetic heft as it is of narrative drive; even as you want to linger and relish in the language, the novel demands that you turn the page." -- Kei Miller"The spirit of Bob Marley dominates this novel, which evokes the rich, bottom-heavy sounds of Marley's music. You can't tell the living and the dead here without a score card, and a score card would be too linear... Think of this book as a haunted island with spectral voices and inscrutable mysteries." -- Kirkus"The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim... has the air of a spell. A beautiful and otherworldly book; a work of poetry steeped in history and rich with imagination. Douglas has a way of conveying the sense of wonder that powers the island's creative spirit. Douglas writes with an almost Biblical diction...Weaving a complex and warmhearted tale — one told through multiple voices — against a backdrop of violence. She can be uproariously funny too — the patois practically jumps off the page, and things can go from light to dark in an instant. Her chapters are tracks that all work well as singles, but when played together pulsate with great power." -- Juan Vidal - NPR"Mind-blowing." -- Publishers Weekly"Rhapsodic, poetic, scripturally engaged and endlessly inventive. Not only is the electric atmosphere of Jamaica evoked with sensuousness, delicacy and love; so is the ‘dub-side,’ a studio yard just the other side of death, where Bob Marley and a toothless and lisping Haile Selassie discuss the relative merits of routes to Zion." -- Review 31"A magical realist journey through the history of Rastafarianism, Bob Marley & Jamaica—not necessarily in that order. Rhapsodic, poetic, scripturally engaged and endlessly inventive. Not only is the electric atmosphere of Jamaica evoked with sensuousness, delicacy and love; so is the ‘dub-side,’ a studio yard just the other side of death, where Bob Marley and a toothless and lisping Halle Selassie discuss the relative merits of routes to Zion." -- Review 31"A powerful woman-centered version of Jamaican her-story." -- SX Salon"Calling Marcia Douglas's new novel, The Marvellous Equations of the Dread, "original" would be so lazy, a banal understatement bordering on pointless. Also tempting, because the book evades pithy description, at least one that makes any sense. But here's a shot: Bob Marley has been reincarnated, in a manner of speaking, as Fall-down man, joining other recently revived ghosts—including but not limited to Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie, and the Queen of Sheba. They're hanging out in the clock tower of Half Way Tree, a Kingston intersection notable more for its history than its traffic. What are they doing there? Beyond Jah, who knows? The Marvellous Equations is a marvelous tour through time and Jamaica's often tumultuous history, an ode to Rastafarianism, reggae music, and its resilient and resolute people, all inextricably intertwined." -- Jon Foro - The Amazon Book Review"Miraculous." -- Matt Alston - The Believer"Massively creative, The Marvellous Equations of The Dread draws from—and continues—a long Caribbean musical tradition." -- The Millions"Brave and strange: in the great cosmic scheme of this book there's constant traffic between this world and the next." -- Colin Grant - The New York Review of Books"Marvellous Equations of the Dread is a celebration of the conflicted Jamaican experience. The women in Marcia Douglas’s books are proud women: they are the descendants of Queen Nanny, the Maroon chieftain who, according to legend, could catch the bullets of the British soldiers between her teeth." -- The Rumpus"A pulsating tale revolving around the return of Bob Marley’s spirit on a Kingston street corner dubbed Half Way Tree—it's about the transmigration of souls, Rasta dreams, and the powerful vibrations of consciousness passed down through generations. A whirlwind of a novel that sways to an irresistible beat." -- Vanity Fair"Marvellous Equations of the Dread harkens back to the past of slavery, oppression, and violence to account for the situation in Jamaica today...Mystical." -- World Literature Today"A vast panorama of a small corner of Kingston, a musical novel where the music is reggae, a historical documentary set in the present: As the illustrious and anonymous living and dead materialize to reenact, retell, and undo their life stories, it’s impossible to resist reading these voices out loud, adding your own to this orchestrated hubbub." -- Eliot Weinberger"A rollicking, music-rich, dream-filled, polyphonic tour through Jamaica’s past and present, both in this world and, on the “dub-side,” beyond it, The Marvellous Equations of the Dread is a masterpiece of linguistic and narrative inventiveness, a contemporary literary marvel." -- John Keene

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisFor as long as Mississippi has existed (and then some), flocks of phantoms have haunted the mortal inhabitants of the Magnolia State. In Thirteen Mississippi Ghosts and Jeffrey, best-selling folklorist Kathryn Tucker Windham, along with her trusty spectral companion Jeffrey, introduces thirteen of the state's most famous ghost stories.

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Book SynopsisThis first-ever translation of Sholom Aleichem’s rediscovered innovative novel Moshkeleh the Thief has a riveting plot, an unusual love story, and a keenly observed portrayal of an underclass Jew replete with characters never before been seen in Yiddish literature. Trade Review"Sholom Aleichem's humor comes through in Curt Leviant's lyrical and delightful translation."—Ilka Gordon, Association of Jewish Libraries“This almost-forgotten novel by one of the greatest Jewish writers of all time is revelatory, vividly depicting an all-too-rarely-seen side of Yiddish literature and Jewish life; its rendering here, by one of Jewish literature’s greatest translators, provides a crackling energy befitting its material. Don’t start it too late in the evening; you won’t be able to put it down.”—Jeremy Dauber, Columbia University professor and author of The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem“This rediscovered short novel by Sholom Aleichem is a gem—a vivid representation of the underside of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, funny, touching, and biting. Curt Leviant has done a remarkable job with the English translation, aptly catching the pungent colloquial character of the Yiddish.”—Robert Alter, emeritus professor of Hebrew and comparative literature, University of California, Berkeley, and author of The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary“Moshkele Ganev flies in the face of so much of what we think of when we imagine Eastern European Jewish life. Here, Sholom Aleichem brings us the broadest of visions of that world, not merely by dramatizing the shady characters on society’s margins, but also by inviting us into their emotional lives and uncovering the complicated power structures that can turn them into heroes. For any reader who cares about the Jewish past, this never-before-translated gem will be a revelation—and a delight.”—Dara Horn, author of Eternal Life: A Novel“More than a century after his death, Sholom Aleichem has a new (or rather a newly rediscovered) book out, and it was worth the wait. Thanks to Curt Leviant for rescuing this unusual love story from obscurity, translating it so beautifully, and, at long last, giving it the readership it deserves.”—Aaron Lansky, author of Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish BooksTable of ContentsContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction Chapter 1. Discusses ThievesChapter 2. He Displays His Mettle Early OnChapter 3. His Fight with the Goliath of ZlodeyevkeChapter 4. He Dislikes Mazepevke Jews, and Justifiably SoChapter 5. Chaim Chosid’s Daughter Scandalizes Mazepevke and the Town Goes Topsy-TurvyChapter 6. Chaim Chosid’s Son-in-Law Has an IdeaChapter 7. Turns Back for a While to Discuss Lofty MattersChapter 8. Which Strays Off Course a Bit, Yet Still Has Relevance to the NovelChapter 9. An Undeserved SlapChapter 10. Moshke Has a PlanChapter 11. A Walk in the Monastery GardenChapter 12. Hens Lay Eggs, Jewish Girls Make BabiesChapter 13. On Philosophy, Love, and Other MattersChapter 14. Jews Buy Wine for the SederChapter 15. This Pesach NightChapter 16. Monastery Bells Are RingingChapter 17. A Dangerous LeapChapter 18. A Posted Letter and Some Comments by the AuthorChapter 19. Henekh the Cantor Looks for a JobChapter 20. What a Story! What a Tale!

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Book SynopsisTo the world you are an abomination; a monster with unholy abilities. You're shunned and left to fend for yourself. Your only chance of survival is to tap into that dark potential - would you do it?In an isolated mountain community, sometimes a child is born with two hearts. Such a child - a striga - is considered a dangerous demon, which must be abandoned on the edge of the forest to protect the community. The only choice the child's mother can make is whether to leave her home with her infant, or stay behind and try to forget.Miriat made her choice. She and her nineteen-year-old striga daughter, Salka, now live a life of deprivation and hardship in a remote village, where to follow the impulses of the other heart is forbidden.But Salka is headstrong and young, and when threatened with losing everything, she is forced to explore the depths of her true nature, testing the bonds between mother and child.File Under: Fantasy&Trade Review"Captivating, provocative and poignant – not to be missed.""This is well worth your time!”"a very personal story you won’t be able to stop thinking about long after the tale is told.""enchanting fairy tale with real-world themes.""Houston has gifted us with a folktale that is both mythically resonant and all too human.""This intimate fantasy offers a heartfelt reflection on what it means to be human that is sure to please.""a coming-of-age tale set in a lavishly detailed backdrop drawn from the writer’s native Slavic mythology""A fresh and provocative spin on the Slavic Stiga mythology, The Second Bell is a smart and complex journey into the meaning of family, community, nature and possibility. A gripping read and full of heart.”"Fans of mythical yarns and medieval fantasies will enjoy this easy-to-read fable.""A masterful tale.""A claustrophobic but very human tale of bad decisions rather than (totally) bad people."

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Book SynopsisFBI agent Michael Childs is tasked with tracking down a serial killer with an obsession for victims born with twelve fingers and toes. But he discovers something much more startling about himself…The only link between a series of grisly murders in New York City is that the victims were all born with twelve fingers and twelve toes. These people are known in occult circles as the Nephilim, a forsaken people, descendants of fallen angels. After a break in the case leads to supposedly killed-in-action Marine sniper Anaba Raines, Michael finds the soldier alive and well, but shockingly no longer human. Michael then discovers that he is also a Nephilim, and next on the killer’s list. Everything Michael once thought of as myth and magic starts to blur the lines of his reality, forcing him to accept a new fate to save the innocent, or die trying.File Under: Urban Fantasy [ Four Horsemen Heaven and HelTrade Review"Highly recommended.""Jackson opens Hell's stable door and releases fallen angels and demons onto each fast-moving page.""You won’t want to miss this hell of a ride!""this is one book where the action moves the story at a thrilling pace." "a brilliantly plotted, hard-hitting fantasy deeply rooted in the mythos of the human, the divine, the angelic and the equine." "action-packed debut""a stunning debut""Jackson's frenetic action, imaginative storytelling, and unapologetic prose will keep your heart pounding.”"If you ever wondered what it would be like if Good Omens was mashed up with The Black Stallion, with a dash of Loki, then this is the book for you!""Readers who relish dynamic, well-written action scenes, wry Avenger-like humor, and biblical folklore will eagerly anticipate a sequel.""Forging a Nightmare is one hell of a debut, and I look to more adventures from Ms. Jackson’s pen.”"It’s an excellent debut that meshes crime fiction and horse novels with the apocalypse""Everything moves at a satisfyingly snappy pace"

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Book SynopsisG. Willow Wilson was born in New Jersey in 1982. After graduating with a degree in History and coursework in Arabic language and literature, she moved to Cairo, where she became a contributor to the Egyptian opposition weekly Cairo Magazine until it closed in 2005. She has written for politics and culture blogs across the political spectrum, and has previously written a graphic novel, Cairo, illustrated by M. K. Perker, and a series of comics based on her own experiences, for D.C. Comics.Trade ReviewAn exhilarating techno-thriller but also far more than that... Wilson has created in this rich, literate novel a profound dialogue between tradition and modernity, belief and non-belief, fairy tale and urban reality. * Guardian *Brilliant... witty, imaginative and unorthodox in all senses * Observer *Among the most original and challenging books of 2012, and my personal pick for at least one major award in 2013. * Guardian *Charming and original * Sunday Telegraph *Wilson writes beautifully, tells a great story, and even makes computer hackery seem like magic. * Sunday Times *A Harry Potter-ish action-adventure romance [that] unfolds against the backdrop of the Arab Spring... Improbably charming... A bookload of wizardry and glee. * New York Times *Marvelous... Intoxicating... Hugely entertaining... It doesn't take magical powers to predict it will be one of the year's best-loved books. * Washington Post *

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Book Synopsis In his classic study of the cultural history of Han China, Michael Loewe uses both archaeological discoveries and written records to sketch the conceptual background of various artifacts of the Han period, and shows how ancient Chinese thought is as much informed by mythology as it is dependent on reason. Originally published as Chinese Ideas of Life and Death: Faith, Myth and Reason in the Han Period (202 BC-AD 220), this edition includes a new Preface that discusses relevant discoveries made since the first publication and an updated list of other works on relevant topics. Trade Review. . . this is a slight book but one that belies its unpretentious appearance. It is in fact the best introduction available to the cultural background of Han China. --Paul W. Kroll, Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews

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Book SynopsisTrade Review. . . this is a slight book but one that belies its unpretentious appearance. It is in fact the best introduction available to the cultural background of Han China. --Paul W. Kroll, Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews

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Book SynopsisIn this lively and accessible account, with illustrations on nearly every page, Michael Loewe gives us a vivid picture of the lives of peasants working the land, the lives of town inhabitants, and the elaborate hierarchy of institutions and civil servants that sustained the vast imperial government. In a new Preface and an updated Bibliography, Loewe calls our attention to the significance of scholarly research and discoveries since the original publication of his classic work.

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Book SynopsisA collection of epics from the Miao (Hmong) ethnic group of southwest China. The poetic narratives, traditionally performed by two groups of singers, relate the creation of the world and the people and creatures in it. These mythic narratives serves as encyclopedias of traditional myths, legends, and folk customs of the Miao people.Trade ReviewBender has published translations and studies of Chinese minority nationality epics and folktales since the early 1980s. The current volume brings together about 20 Miao (Hmong) epic songs, grouped into six parts: 'Prelude', 'Song of Gold and Silver', 'Song of the Ancient Sweet Gum', 'Song of Butterfly Mother,' 'The Great Flood', and 'Westwards, Upriver'. Historical, geographic, ethnographic, linguistic, and folkloristic introductions help the reader understand the internal logic of the songs and the myths, legends, and folk customs of the Miao. Including ample notes and a selected bibliography, this is a book for those interested in folklore, epics, mythology, and ethnography. Summing up: Recommended. --J. W. Walls, CHOICETalk about 'persistent cultures'--this translation of the great epic, mythic tellings of the Miao/Hmong peoples is a window into a huge ancient soul of sustainable spirit and practice. Mark Bender's commentary provides context and details of places and singers that makes it even richer. This book provides new insights into how deeply oral recitation and performance can be embedded in a whole society, and some fresh, stunning stories. --Gary Snyder, author of Mountains and Rivers Without End

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Book Synopsis Butterfly Mother is a collection of epic songs from the rich oral tradition of the Miao (Hmong) people of southwest China. These poetic narratives, traditionally performed by two groups of singers, relate the creation of a world in which everything is alive, and listeners find that besides mountains, rivers, trees, and creatures, inanimate objects are also ''born'' and have spirits. In his engaging introduction, Mark Bender places these mythic narratives in their social and historical context, describing the workings and traditions of Miao society. Brimming with cultural lore, Butterfly Mother is a virtual encyclopedia of time-honored myths, legends, and folk customs of the Miao people. Trade ReviewBender has published translations and studies of Chinese minority nationality epics and folktales since the early 1980s. The current volume brings together about 20 Miao (Hmong) epic songs, grouped into six parts: 'Prelude', 'Song of Gold and Silver', 'Song of the Ancient Sweet Gum', 'Song of Butterfly Mother,' 'The Great Flood', and 'Westwards, Upriver'. Historical, geographic, ethnographic, linguistic, and folkloristic introductions help the reader understand the internal logic of the songs and the myths, legends, and folk customs of the Miao. Including ample notes and a selected bibliography, this is a book for those interested in folklore, epics, mythology, and ethnography. Summing up: Recommended. --J. W. Walls, CHOICETalk about 'persistent cultures'--this translation of the great epic, mythic tellings of the Miao/Hmong peoples is a window into a huge ancient soul of sustainable spirit and practice. Mark Bender's commentary provides context and details of places and singers that makes it even richer. This book provides new insights into how deeply oral recitation and performance can be embedded in a whole society, and some fresh, stunning stories. --Gary Snyder, author of Mountains and Rivers Without End

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Book SynopsisA cornerstone of Chinese popular culture, the legend of the White Snake the admirable demon who loves her victim has been continually rewritten, reinterpreted, and readapted for over five hundred years. This title opens a window into the variety of pre-modern Chinese popular literature.Trade ReviewBoth by introducing the legend in such artfully rendered translations and showing its evolution over time, Idema has opened an extraordinary window on traditional Chinese popular culture.In keeping with his record, Idema's scholarship is outstanding. His ability to translate popular texts into comparably idiomatic English is an outstanding achievement. An extremely valuable text for teaching. --Hugh R. Clark, Ursinus CollegeThese are very readable translations . . . [this] book would serve well as a textbook in Chinese folklore or religion classes as well as a sourcebook for the comparativist who knows little or no Chinese. --David Elton Gay, Indiana University, in the Journal of Folklore ResearchThis slim volume actually contains a microcosm of premodern Chinese literature in which we see the growth and transformations of a core theme through several genres. We thereby learn much about the story of White Snake, of course, but this approach also has much to teach us about the nature and dynamics of Chinese popular literature in general--and about the methodology of its study.--Philip Clart, University of Leipzig

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Book Synopsis A cornerstone of Chinese popular culture, the legend of the White Snake--the admirable demon who loves her victim--has been continually rewritten, reinterpreted, and readapted for over five hundred years. The Precious Scroll of Thunder Peak was one of the most popular nineteenth-century versions of the legend. In bringing together translations of the Scroll, four anonymous youth books, and other texts related to the development of the White Snake legend, this volume opens a window into the richness and variety of premodern Chinese popular literature. It also illustrates the ways in which traditional and modern Chinese societies have treated a host of vital cultural issues, including the role of women in society, perceptions of sexuality, and folk religion. Wilt L. Idema''s Introduction traces the evolution of the legend and places the translated texts in the history of Chinese popular literature and culture. Annotations explaining terms and references Trade Review Both by introducing the legend in such artfully rendered translations and showing its evolution over time, Idema has opened an extraordinary window on traditional Chinese popular culture. In keeping with his record, Idema's scholarship is outstanding. His ability to translate popular texts into comparably idiomatic English is an outstanding achievement. An extremely valuable text for teaching. --Hugh R. Clark, Ursinus College These are very readable translations . . . [this] book would serve well as a textbook in Chinese folklore or religion classes as well as a sourcebook for the comparativist who knows little or no Chinese. --David Elton Gay, Indiana University, in the Journal of Folklore Research This slim volume actually contains a microcosm of premodern Chinese literature in which we see the growth and transformations of a core theme through several genres. We thereby learn much about the story of White Snake, of course, but this approach also has much to teach us about the nature and dynamics of Chinese popular literature in general--and about the methodology of its study.--Philip Clart, University of Leipzig

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Book Synopsis

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