Search results for ""ORION""

Conventions are a vital element of bidding in bridge. Unless they are easily and clearly understood they can be destructively dangerous. This book contains the most common conventions you are likely to encounter at the duplicate table, together with defensive measures you can take, plus countermeasures against each part of the defensive methods. Importantly, however, bridge continues to evolve. The material in the additional chapter covers the most recent developments in bridge bidding and will give you ideas for inclusion in your regular partnerships.

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'A masterpiece' Martin Amis 'The coolest, hottest writer in America' Chicago TribuneA major Hollywood film starring John Travolta, GET SHORTY has also been adapted for TV with Chris O'Dowd and Ray Romano.Miami loan shark Chili Palmer is ice-cool, whether he's retrieving stolen property or collecting money for the mob. Chasing a bad debt leads him to the bright lights of Hollywood - and to a true story that would make a great movie. Soon he's pitching to Harry Zimm, a B-grade horror flick producer trying to make a comeback. As the lure of Tinseltown's dream-makers and gorgeous wannabe starlets becomes increasingly hard to resist, Chili gets caught up in murder,revenge and romance. Will his killer movie ever get made, or will it just get him killed . . . ?'In Hollywood, home of movies, gorgeous women, players and fast operators - every move you make is a potential scene ... Nerve-shattering suspense, crackling dialogue and scathing wit from 'the hottest thriller writer in the US' Time Magazine'One of the most hilarious and cynical Hollywood revenge novels ever written' Playboy'Extremely funny, bursting with sustained passages of black comedy . . . a major American novel' Guardian

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The perfect companion to Baz Luhrmann's forthcoming biopic Elvis, a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler.What was it like to be Elvis Presley? What did it feel like when impossible fame made him its prisoner? As the world's first rock star there was no one to tell him what to expect, no one with whom he could share the burden of being himself - of being Elvis.On the outside he was all charm, sex appeal, outrageously confident on stage and stunningly gifted in the recording studio. To his fans he seemed to have it all. He was Elvis. With his voice and style influencing succeeding generations of musicians, he should have been free to sing any song he liked, to star in any film he was offered, and to tour in any country he chose. But he wasn't free. The circumstances of his poor beginnings in the American South, which, as he blended gospel music with black rhythm and blues and white country songs, helped him create rock and roll, had left him with a lifelong vulnerability. Made rich and famous beyond his wildest imaginings when he mortgaged his talent to the machinations of his manager, 'Colonel' Tom Parker, there would be an inevitable price to pay. Though he daydreamed of becoming a serious film actor, instead he grew to despise his own movies and many of the songs he had to sing in them. He could have rebelled. But he didn't. Why? In the Seventies, as the hits rolled in again, and millions of fans saw him in a second career as he sang his way across America, he talked of wanting to tour the world. But he never did. What was stopping him?BEING ELVIS takes a clear-eyed look at the most-loved entertainer ever, and finds an unusual boy with a dazzling talent who grew up to change popular culture; a man who sold a billion records and had more hits than any other singer, but who became trapped by his own frailties in the loneliness of fame.

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'Syrian cuisine deserves a high place in our culinary knowledge and Itab and Dina, with their brilliant recipes and fascinating stories, are the perfect authors to do this' Ruth Rogers'So much more than a cookbook' Evening Standard'I give this to everyone as a present... and it's always a total hit. The recipes are easy to follow, beautifully presented and perfect for anyone keen to experiment with oh-so-trendy Middle Eastern flavours.' Harriet Addison, The TimesSyria has always been the marketplace for the most delicious ingredients from East and West, a meeting-point for travellers and traders, where spices and sweetness collide. Nothing unites and inspires Syrians as much as food. Even now, in possibly the country's darkest hour, Syrian families in tiny flats from Beirut to Berlin are searching out the best tomatoes, lemons, pomegranates and parsley to recreate the taste of home.Friends and passionate cooks Itab and Dina met Syrian women in the Middle East and Europe to collect together the very best recipes from one of the world's greatest food cultures. They spent months cooking with them, learning their recipes and listening to stories of home. From hot yoghurt soup with turmeric to cherry meatballs, this is a delicious celebration of the unique taste, culture and food of Syria - and a celebration of everything that food and memory can mean to an individual, to a family and to a nation.

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CRIMEA, 1914 When the Tzar's head of security is assassinated, Erast Fandorin is called to investigate: the killer has been overheard mentioning a 'black city' so Fandorin and his trusty companion, Masa, head to Baku, the burgeoning Russian capital of oil. But from the moment they arrive in the city - a hotbed of corruption and greed by the Caspian Sea - they realise someone is watching their every move, and they will stop at nothing to derail their investigation. Having suffered a brutal attack and with Masa's life hanging by a thread, Fandorin is forced to rely on the help of an unexpected new ally, and he begins to suspect the plot might be part of something larger - and much more sinister. With war brewing in the Balkans and Europe's empires struggling to contain the threat of revolution, Fandorin must try and solve his most difficult case yet - before time runs out.

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The American mafia has long held powerful sway over our collective cultural imagination. But how many of us truly understand how a clandestine Sicilian criminal organisation came to exert its influence over nearly every level of American society?In BORGATA: RISE OF EMPIRE, former mafia member Louis Ferrante pulls back the curtain on the criminal organisation that transformed America. From the potent political cauldron of nineteenth-century Sicily to American cities such as New Orleans, New York and the gangster's paradise of Las Vegas, Ferrante traces the social, economic and political forces that powered the mafia's unstoppable rise. We follow the early mob as they provide alcohol to the American public during prohibition, aid U. S. Naval Intelligence during the Second World War, establish a gambling mecca in the Nevada desert - and unofficially take control of the island of Cuba.Ferrante's vivid portrayal of early American mobsters - among them Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky - fills in crucial gaps of mafia history to deliver the most comprehensive account yet of the world's most famous criminal fraternity.This volume is the first in a groundbreaking new trilogy from a man who has seen it all from the inside. Ferrante's masterful account journeys from the group's inauspicious beginnings to the height of their power as the most influential organised criminal network in America.

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Eliza Altairsky-Lointaine is the toast of Moscow society, a beautiful actress in an infamous theatre troupe. The estranged wife of a descendant of Genghis Khan, her love life is as colourful as the parts she plays: her ex-husband has threatened to kill anyone who courts her. He appears to be making good on his promise. Fandorin is contacted by concerned friend - the widowed wife of Chekhov - who asks him to investigate an alarming incident involving Eliza. But when he watches Eliza on stage for the first time, he falls desperately in love . . . Can he solve the case - and win over Eliza - without attracting the attentions of the murderer he is trying to find?

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FROM THE CREATOR OF DOWNTON ABBEY and THE GILDED AGE'A modern classic that will fill any Downton-shaped hole' Daily Express It is the evening of 15 June 1815, and the Duchess of Richmond has thrown a magnificent ball in Brussels for the Duke of Wellington. The guests include James and Anne Trenchard - who have made their money in trade - along with their beautiful daughter Sophia.When the Trenchards move into the fashionable new area of Belgravia some twenty-five years later, they are surrounded by some of London society's most influential families. But something happened that night of the ball, so long ago, that threatens their new status. Because behind Belgravia's magnificent doors is a world of secrets, gossip and intrigue. 'Stunning' Mail on Sunday'Written with brio, the novel races along with all the page-turning suspense of a thriller' Woman & Home'A jolly romp about Fellowes's favourite subject, class' Sunday Times'Immersive and intriguing' Stylist

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A young woman is making a living faking it as a cut-price psychic (with some illegal soft-core sex work on the side). She makes a decent wage mostly by telling people what they want to hear. But then she meets Susan Burke. Susan moved to the city one year ago with her husband and 15-year-old stepson Miles. They live in a Victorian house called Carterhook Manor. Susan has become convinced that some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home. The young woman doesn't believe in exorcism or the supernatural. However when she enters the house for the first time, she begins to feel it too, as if the very house is watching her, waiting, biding its time . . . The Grownup, which originally appeared as 'What Do You Do?' in George R. R. Martin's Rogues anthology, proves once again that Gillian Flynn is one of the world's most original and skilled voices in fiction.

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Like a third of the UK population, Julia has a chronic pain condition. According to her doctors, it can't be cured. She doesn't believe them. She does believe in miracles, though. It's just a question of tracking one down. Julia's search for a cure takes her on a global quest, exploring the boundaries between science, psychology and faith with practitioners on the fringes of conventional, traditional and alternative medicine. Raising vital questions about the modern medical system, Heal Me is also a story about identity in a system skewed against female patients, and the struggle to retain a sense of self under the medical gaze.

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'A persuasive and highly readable account of how rising inequality, and not just absolute poverty, is undermining our politics, social cohesion, long-term prosperity and general well-being' Barack ObamaInequality makes us feel poor and act poor, even when we're not. It affects our mood, decision-making and even our immune systems. Using groundbreaking research in psychology and neuroscience, Keith Payne explains how inequality shapes our world and influences our thinking, how we perform at work and respond to stress - and what we can do to combat its most insidious effects on our lives.'Eye-opening' Susan Cain, author of Quiet'Important, timely and beautifully written' Adam Atler, author of Irresistible

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'Compulsive reading . . . rich, strange, beautiful' Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk'A strange, new and captivating look at a magical realm . . . Lavishly entertaining' Independent'Enthralling . . . a literary feast' StylistThe world had forgotten Mr Crowe and his mysterious gifts. Until he killed the poet. He lived a secluded life in the fading grandeur of his country estate. His companions were his faithful manservant and his ward, Clara, a silent, bookish girl who has gifts of her own. Now Dr Chastern, the leader of a secret society, arrives at the estate to call Crowe to account and keep his powers in check. But it is Clara's even greater gifts that he comes to covet most. She must learn to use them quickly, if she is to save them all.

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After a life of sex, drugs and the Communards, recounted in his acclaimed memoir Fathomless Riches, the Reverend Richard Coles devoted himself to God and Christianity. So what is life like for the parson in Britain today? From his ordination, through Advent and Christmas to Lent and Easter, Reverend Coles gives us a unique insight into his daily experience in the ministry, with all the joy, hope, drama and difficulty that entails. Written with extraordinary charm and compassion, Bringing in the Sheaves will inspire and inform all who read it.'All the humour, quirky characters and incidents that life - and death- serve up' Mail on Sunday

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This book is for you if you are serious about wanting to improve your duplicate skills. If you and your partner adopt most of the bidding methods recommended in the Guide to Better Duplicate Bridge and you regularly follow the guide-lines for declarer play and defence geared towards matchpoint thinking, you should find that your scores will improve significantly. Guide to Better Duplicate Bridge was first published in 1995 and this edition contains the standard methods which have proved successful in the past as well as recent developements, how they work, when they apply and why you can expect to obtain better scores by adopting them.

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A petty thief who called himself John Smith was arrested in 1877, for theft through fraudulent behaviour. He was convicted and sent to prison. In 1852, Adler and Adolf Beck's father died on a glacier, and their lives separated. One became a respected climate scientist; the other a globally renowned opera singer, or so he claimed. They remained in touch, to share details of the mysterious voices only they could hear. In 2050, Charles Ramsey also has a twin. Greg is a climate journalist. Charles used to be a police profiler, but his redundancy leads to him being sent home with an experimental chip in his head. His brother urges him to explore a little-known aspect of their family history. All these people are connected, impossibly, inexorably. All their lives will intersect. And the climate of their world will keep on changing.

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Gareth L. Powell would be the first to tell you that he doesn't know everything about being a writer, or about getting published, or about life when your work is in a bookshelf. But his field-guide to publishing, About Writing, is absolutely here to help writers on every stage of their journey.Whether you need a bit of writing inspiration or tips on how to find your voice, are struggling to manage writing alongside a day job, want some no-nonsense advice about working with an agent or a publisher or are all at sea with social media, this updated and expanded guide is a must have.Positive, blunt and refreshingly honest, this is a guide to the practical business of writing from a professional author with a decade's experience, who has navigated working with publishers of all sizes, and walked the path from debut to award-winner. Written with Gareth L. Powell's trademark warmth and wisdom, About Writing is here to help you achieve your goals, and write your own story.Originally published by Luna Press, this new edition contains updated tips, advice and information, plus more than 20,000 words of new material.

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes the final book in an epic series about a girl who will travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves from destruction.Spensa made it out of the Nowhere, but what she saw in the space between the stars has changed her forever. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she's had about her own strange Cytonic gifts. The Superiority didn't stop in it's fight for galactic dominance while she was gone, though. Spensa's team, Skyward Flight, was able to hold Winzik off, and even collect allies to help with the cause, but it's only a matter of time until humanity - and the rest of the galaxy - falls. Defeating them will require all the knowledge Spensa gathered while in the Nowhere. But being Cytonic is more complicated than she ever could have imagined. Now, Spensa must ask herself: how far is she willing to go for victory, if it means losing herself - and her friends - in the process.The final book in the Skyward series will free humanity, or see it fall forever.

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Aspects is the great John M. Ford's last novel, unpublished in his lifetime. It is a fantasy novel unlike any other, filled with politics and manners, swords and sorcerous machine guns, ancient empires and the onward march of progress. The master author's lost work is finally here.A forbidden romance.Magic running rampant.A monarchy coming to an end.The world is changing, and with it a nation begins the process of dismantling the royal family and building a democracy in their place. A delicate and dangerous task, which sparks political intrigue in the halls of Parliament and power struggles that draw in the nobility, Archmages, and idealists alike . . . even before the Gods choose to meddle, in favour of old hierarchies. Against this backdrop of political turmoil comes the powerful story of two lovers torn apart by the fragile new system . . . and a lost woman, overlooked in the power struggles, striving to find the help she needs to control her own powers. 'The best writer in America, bar none' Robert Jordan'A great writer who is really f*ck*ng brilliant' Neil Gaiman

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The thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed Pact and Pattern series, which started with The Hand of the Sun King. Perfect for fans of Robin Hobb and Shelley Parker-Chan.THE PACTS HAVE BEEN BROKEN. THE REBELLION HAS FAILED.Foolish Cur has fallen into a trap. By resorting to forbidden magic when he failed to overthrow the Emperor, he has done exactly as the gods wanted. Now they are free to wage their war, twisting the world into new forms, as strange and terrible beasts walk the earth.To fix what he has caused will take every ounce of Foolish Cur's cunning. But mending the pattern of the world is too large a task for one man alone. As the Empire, rebellion and the landscape itself crumble, he and those still fighting for freedom will be drawn together to end the struggle against Emperor Tenet and the gods for good.But Foolish Cur does not know what such a task will ask of him. And, powerful though he may be, the costs may be more than he is willing to pay . . .The breath-taking conclusion to the Pact and Pattern series, this British Fantasy Award-nominated story is filled to the brim with magic, mystery and political intrigue.'Superb in every way' Netgalley reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'I am at a loss to say how moved I am by these characters and their struggles. The Pact & Pattern Trilogy is one of the best things I've read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'An absolute masterclass in world building . . . Pact & Pattern as an Anime asap please' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A fantastic conclusion to this trilogy' Netgalley reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'If you like Robin Hobb, Ken Liu, or even Steven Erikson, I'd recommend giving it a try' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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'Darkly entertaining police procedural with a difference' CRIME REVIEW'Fizzes with life' - STUART TURTON, Costa First Novel Award winner'A thrilling ride with dark humour, action and a touching side that's hard to forget' SUN five stars (book of the week)WHO BETTER TO SOLVE A MURDER THAN A DEAD DETECTIVE?When Detective Inspector Joe Lazarus storms a Lincolnshire farmhouse, he expects to bring down a notorious drug gang; instead, he discovers his own dead body and a spirit guide called Daisy-May. She's there to enlist him to the Dying Squad, a spectral police force made up of the recently deceased. Joe soon realises there are fates far worse than death. To escape being stuck in purgatory, he must solve his own murder. Reluctantly partnering with Daisy-May, Joe faces dangers from both the living and the dead in the quest to find his killer - before they kill again.Recruits are loving THE DYING SQUAD:'At times evocative of Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim series, but without its hardboiled cynicism, this is an impressive and memorable debut' CRIME TIME'Whip-smart, fresh with a dash of dark humour, The Dying Squad is a wildly entertaining read. Highly recommended' - ADAM HAMDY, Sunday Times bestselling author'Adam has crafted something unique with The Dying Squad, mashing fantasy and crime together in a way I've not seen before . . . I'm sure it will be a huge success' - JAMES OSWALD, author of the Sunday Times bestselling Inspector McLean series'Superbly plotted and packs an emotional heft rarely seen in a debut' - MW CRAVEN, CWA Gold Dagger Award winner 'Funny, creepy and compelling' - ANNA STEPHENS, acclaimed author of Godblind 'Grim, wry and inventive, a twisting tale with both guts and heart. Never has Lincolnshire seemed more desolate, or more menacing' - DAVID WRAGG, The Black Hawks

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It all started thirty years ago on Mars. By the time it was finished, the town of Desolation Road had been witness to every abnormality yet seen on the Red Planet. From Adam Black's Wonderful Travelling Chautauqua and Educational 'Stravaganza, to the Astounding Tatterdemalion Air Bazaar, nowhere else boasts such sights for the wandering lucky traveller. Its inhabitants are just as storied. From Dr. Alimantando -- founder and resident genius -- to the Babooshka, a barren grandmother with a child grown in a fruit jar; from Rajendra Das, mechanical hobo whose way with machines bordered on the mystic, to the Gallacelli brothers, identical triplets who fell in love with - and married - the same woman.There's nowhere quite like Desolation Road. Once you go there, you may never be the same again.

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The This is the new social media platform everyone is talking about. Allow it to be injected into the roof of your mouth and it will grow into your brain, allow you to connect with others without even picking up your phone. Its followers are growing. Its detractors say it is a cult. But for one journalist, hired to do a puff-piece interview with their CEO, it will change the world forever.Adan just wants to stay at home with his smart-companion Elegy - phone, friend, confidante, sex toy. But when his mother flees to Europe and joins a cult, leaving him penniless, he has to enlist in the army. Sentient robots are invading America, but it seems Adan has a surprising ability to survive their attacks. He has a purpose, even if he doesn't know what it is.And in the far future, war between a hivemind of AIs and the remnants of humanity is coming to its inevitable end. But one woman has developed a weapon which might change the course of the war. It's just a pity she's trapped in an inescapable prison on a hivemind ship.

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In a sizzling new Argeneau novel from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands, a gorgeous mortal encounters his greatest temptation...For almost a century, Ildaria Garcia has been on the run, a trouble magnet with a knack for taking down bad guys. Lately, her vigilante tendencies have drawn unwelcome attention to her fellow Immortals. Forced to relocate, Ildaria is supposed to lay low in a new town. Instead, she quickly entangles herself with six and a half feet of muscular, tattooed trouble.Joshua James Simpson Guiscard, aka G.G., knows a lot about Immortals-enough to make him wary. Yet from the moment Ildaria walks into his club, he feels desire stronger than anything he's known. Accepting the fact that they might be life mates is disconcerting. But when her past catches up to them, G.G. faces a choice-confront his demons at last, or lose a passion that's hot as hell.

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In 2145AD John Hackett's adventure is just beginning.In Year 30, Mela's story is coming to a close.Hackett, in his trusty ship the Perseus, is not just a space traveller - beginning his travels with an expedition to Neptune and back - but, thanks to the time-dilation effect, a time traveller as well. His new mission will take him to Andromeda, to get a close-up look at the constellation which will eventually crash into the Milky Way, and give humanity a heads-up about the challenges which are coming.A mission which will take him five million years to complete.Not only is Hackett exploring unknown space, but he will return to a vastly different time.Mela's world is coming to an end. Erosion is eating away at the edges of every landmass - first at a rate of ten metres a year, but fast accelerating, displacing people and animals as the rising Tide destroys everything in its path. Putting more and more pressure on the people - and resources - which remain.She and her people have always known that this long-predicted end to their home, one of the Thousand Earths, is coming - but that makes their fight to survive, to protect each other, no less desperate . . . and no less doomed.A beautiful, page-turning story which interweaves the tale of these two characters, separated by both space and time, in a hopeful exploration of humanities' future, this is Stephen Baxter at his best.

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Take a deep breath and immerse yourself in this stunning new novella from #1 Bestselling author Joanne Harris.When you can find me an acre of land,Every sage grows merry in time,Between the ocean and the sandThen will you be united again.(Inspired by The Child Ballads 2 & 19)So begins a beautiful and tragic quest as a heartbroken mother sets out to save her lost daughter, through the realms of the real, of dream, and even into the underworld itself.But determination alone is not enough. For to save something precious, she must give up something precious, be it a song, a memory, or her freedom itself . . .Beautifully illustrated by Bonnie Helen Hawkins, this is a stunning and original modern fairytale.

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What would happen to the world if the sun went out?New epic sci-fi from Stephen Baxter, the award-winning author whose credits include co-authorship of the Long Earth series with Terry Pratchett.By the middle of the 21st century, humanity has managed to overcome a series of catastrophic events and maintain some sense of stability. Space exploration has begun again. Science has led the way.But then one day, the sun goes out. Solar panels are useless, and the world begins to freezeEarth begins to fall out of its orbit.The end is nigh.Someone has sent us a sign.

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The citizens of Karachi wake up and discover the sea missing from their shores, the last Parsi on Earth must escape to other worlds when debt collectors come knocking, and a family visiting a Partition-themed park gets more entertainment than they bargained for.These stories and others showcase the epic scope of science fiction from the South Asian subcontinent. Offering a fresh perspective on our hyper-global, often alienating and always paranoid world, New Horizons brings together tales of masterful imagination where humanity and love may triumph yet.

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One of the very best must-read novels of all time - with a new introduction by Roddy Doyle'A well told tale signifying a good deal; one to be read again and again' THE TIMES'The book I wish I had written ... It's so far away from my own imagination, I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin' Roddy Doyle'Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power' OBSERVER'There was a wall. It did not look important - even a child could climb it. But the idea was real. Like all walls it was ambiguous, two-faced. What was inside it and what was outside it depended upon which side of it you were on...'Shevek is brilliant scientist who is attempting to find a new theory of time - but there are those who are jealous of his work, and will do anything to block him. So he leaves his homeland, hoping to find a place of more liberty and tolerance. Initially feted, Shevek soon finds himself being used as a pawn in a deadly political game.With powerful themes of freedom, society and the natural world's influence on competition and co-operation, THE DISPOSSESSED is a true classic of the 20th century.

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Paris, 1633. Louis XIII is king of France . . . and Cardinal Richelieu governs the country. One of the most dangerous and most powerful men in Europe, Richelieu keeps a steady eye on the enemies of the Crown, to thwart their spies and avert their warmongering. But he's up against people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, including forging alliances with France's oldest and deadliest enemies: Spain, and the Court of Dragons.The nobility keep tiny dragonnets as pets; royal couriers ride tame wyverns, and lethal man-shaped scaled dracs roam the country. But the power rising from the Court of Dragons is anything but mundane, and they're determined to raise true dragons: ancient, terrible, utterly merciless . . . and poised to move against France . . .This edition includes: The Cardinal's Blades, The Alchemist in the Shadows and The Dragon Arcana.'A fast-moving story, full of action, intrigue, and swashbuckling adventures' Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews'Deeply satisfying... . Pevel lets each of his fascinating characters shine in turn while weaving them together in a rich plot with just the right mix of inevitability and surprise. The storytelling is wonderful' Publishers Weekly'History and alternate history buffs, including fans of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, should flock to this stylish, swashbuckling fantasy'Library Journal

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The planet was called Pyrrus, a strange place where all the beasts, plants and natural elements were designed for one specific purpose: to destroy man.The settlers there were supermen, twice as strong as ordinary men and with milli-second reflexes. They had to be. For their business was murder.It was up to Jason dinAlt, interplanetary gambler, to discover why Pyrrus had become so hostile during man's brief habitation.This omnibus contains all three novels in the Deathworld trilogy!

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Set in the twenty-second century after the repeal of the Nineteenth Amendment, the novel reveals a world where women are once again property, denied civil rights, and banned from public life. In this world, Earth's wealth relies on interplanetary commerce, for which the population depends on linguists, a small, clannish group of families whose women breed and become perfect translators of all the galaxies' languages. The linguists wield power, but live in isolated compounds, hated by the population, and in fear of class warfare. But a group of women is destined to challenge the power of men and linguists. Nazareth, the most talented linguist of her family, is exhausted by her constant work translating for the government, supervising the children's language education in the Alien-in-Residence interface chambers, running the compound, and caring for the elderly men. She longs to retire to the Barren House, where women past childbearing age knit, chat, and wait to die. What Nazareth does not yet know is that a clandestine revolution is going on in the Barren Houses: there, word by word, women are creating a language of their own to free them of men's domination. Their secret must, above all, be kept until the language is ready for use. The women's language, Láadan, is only one of the brilliant creations found in this stunningly original novel, which combines a page-turning plot with challenging meditations on the tensions between freedom and control, individuals and communities, thought and action.

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Vakov Fukasawa is a Reaper. An elite soldier injected with a dangerous drug called stormtech: the DNA of a genocidal alien race, the Shenoi. It makes him stronger, faster, more aggressive. At a price.A price that, if the House of Suns cult isn't stopped, all of humanity will have to pay.Vakov saved his estranged brother from the cult and killed their leader. Now they want his head on a spike, and they're hunting him and his friends down to get it, while continuing their mission to awaken the Shenoi and plunge the galaxy into mindless violence and chaos. There's a dangerous journey ahead, but Vakov and his misfit crew of eccentric aliens, troubled bounty hunters and rogue hackers will take any risk to stop the alien awakening. Only there's one risk Vakov hasn't shared: the one he himself poses. He got a terrifying glimpse of the Shenoi in the depths of interstellar space, and the violent nightmares he's suffered since suggest their DNA isn't just inside his body - he might already be fighting them for his mind . . .Praise for Stormblood:'Stormblood is a high stakes adrenaline filled adventure featuring two estranged brothers suddenly on opposite ends of an addict's war. And it's real damn good' - Nick Martell, author of THE KINGDOM OF LIARS'A captivating military sci-fi debut. Stormblood tells a splendid story about two brothers divided by war that is full of comradeship, actions, and conflict' - Novel Notions'A magnificent and explosive adrenaline-fest . . . Szal's debut is an absolute must read for fans of gritty, action-packed, detective and military SF' - Grimdark Magazine'This frenetic, grisly sucker-punch of a book manages to be everything you could want from sci-fi, while also carving out its own niche with a rusty slingshiv' - Fantasy Book Review'Vakov Fukasawa is a former soldier, addicted to the biotech inside his own body that makes him constantly crave for action. And there is plenty of action in this fast moving novel, but not at the expense of ideas, or of humanity, or of vivid descriptions of Szal's carefully imagined war-torn galaxy' - Chris Beckett' This is what 21st century Sci-Fi ought to be' - Miles Cameron, author of ARTIFACT SPACE'A serious punchy space opera espionage that never loses sight of the human cost. Szal is adept at interweaving big SF ideas and fast-paced action to craft a compelling story' - Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of CHILDREN OF TIME

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After her capture at the hands of Grandmother and the Second Empire, Karigan G'ladheon is making halting progress towards recovery. Karigan takes on increasingly dangerous missions, haunted by the specter of her torturer, Nyssa, and sinking ever further into the mire of her recollections of the past and the losses she's sustained.Meanwhile, the forces of the Second Empire are moving on Sacoridia and their primary target is a vulnerable garrison that guards a crucial mountain pass. Faced with new fatherhood and a country on the verge of war, King Zachary sends a contingent of soldiers and Green Riders to the pass--but his own recovery from the events of the north is not yet complete either.Reunited with her fellow Riders at the pass, Karigan takes on a leadership role, but quickly finds that the Riders are not as she last left them. As tension mounts and war draws ever closer to the heart of Sacoridia, Karigan must discover what it truly means to be a Rider and a hero of the realm--and what sacrifices must be made to truly heal from her past.

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A literary masterpiece from one of the great writers of our time: 'Ursula Le Guin is a chemist of the heart' David Mitchell'Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new' Two people, until recently strangers, find themselves on a long, tortuous and dangerous journey across the ice. One is an outcast, forced to leave his beloved homeland; the other is fleeing from a different kind of persecution. What they have in common is curiosity, about others and themselves, and an almost unshakeable belief that the world can be a better place. As they journey for over 800 miles, across the harshest, most inhospitable landscape, they discover the true meaning of friendship, and of love.

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A true classic - and the 'single most beautiful...and unjustifiably forgotten novel of the twentieth century' Neil GaimanLud-in-the-Mist is a prosperous country town situated where two rivers meet: the Dawl and the Dapple. The Dapple springs from the land of Faerie, and is a great trial to Lud, which rejects anything 'other', preferring to believe only in what is known, what is solid. Nathaniel Chanticleer, a dreamy, melancholy man, is deliberately ignoring a vital part of his own past; a secret he refuses even to acknowledge. But with the disappearance of his daughter, and a long-overdue desire to protect his son, he realises Lud is changing - and something must be done.

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One hundred years from now, and against all the odds, Earth has found a new stability; the political order has reached some sort of balance, and the new colony on Mars is growing. But the fraught years of the 21st century have left an uneasy legacy ...Genetically engineered alpha males, designed to fight the century's wars have no wars to fight and are surplus to requirements. And a man bred and designed to fight is a dangerous man to have around in peacetime. Many of them have left for Mars but now one has come back and killed everyone else on the shuttle he returned in.Only one man, a genengineered ex-soldier himself, can hunt him down and so begins a frenetic man-hunt and a battle survival. And a search for the truth about what was really done with the world's last soldiers.BLACK MAN is an unstoppable SF thriller but it is also a novel about predjudice, about the ramifications of playing with our genetic blue-print. It is about our capacity for violence but more worrying, our capacity for deceit and corruption.This is another landmark of modern SF from one of its most exciting and commercial authors.

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The sequel to the darkly fantastic WE ARE THE DEAD: with more unflinching action, A FOOL'S HOPE sees Jia's revolutionaries dig in their heels as they learn that wars aren't won in a day.War takes everything.From Tinnstra, it took her family and thrust her into a conflict she wanted only to avoid. Now her queen's sole protector, she must give all she has left to keep Zorique safe.It has taken just as much from Jia's revolutionaries. Dren and Jax - battered, tortured, once enemies themselves - must hold strong against their bruised invaders, the Egril.For the Egril intend to wipe Jia from the map. They may have lost a battle, but they are coming back. If Tinnstra and her allies hope to survive, Jia's heroes will need to be ready when they do.With more bone-crunching action, tough choices and impossible odds, fans of Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence and Ed McDonald will find something to love in this series.'One of the best fantasy novels of the year' Novel Notions'Probably my favourite book of the year' The Chronicler'One of the best books I've read this year' Starlit Book* * * * * * * * * *THE LAST WARBook One: We Are the DeadBook Two: A Fool's HopeBook Three: Until the Last

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THE TIME HAS COME.SEKINOWARI - THE LAST WAR - HAS ARRIVED.The breakneck conclusion to the trilogy that started with We Are the Dead. To beat the ultimate evil, sometimes the price is more than you can pay . . . The war with the Egril has changed Tinnstra forever. A coward no more, she'll go to any length to defeat every last one of her enemies.Zorique has grown into her powers. It's time for her to lead her army into Jia and spearhead the fight for her homeland.But at what cost? The Egril emperor Raaku - the Son of Kage himself - is waiting for them. And he intends to destroy Zorique, Tinnstra and all their allies.They will need to put everything on the line if Jia hopes to see the dawn.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *PRAISE FOR THE LAST WAR:'Like Tarantino crossed with David Gemmell' Peter McLean, author of Priest of Bones'Dark, brutal, wonderful' Nick Martell, author of The Two-Faced Queen'A must-read for all fans of the genre' The Chronicler'Heart-hammering' Novel Notions'Staggering, marvellous and gripping' Grimdark Magazine'An adventure that's rich in darkness and bloodshed' SFX

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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES TOP FIVE BESTSELLER'Moves at a cracking pace and, with neat plot twists and cliffhangers, is page-turning fun' GuardianSeven resistance fighters will free the galaxy from the ruthless Empire - or die trying.After Eris faked her death, she thought she had left her old life as Princess Discordia - heir to the galaxy's most ruthless empire - behind. But joining the Novantaen Resistance, an organisation opposed to the Empire's voracious expansion, throws her right back into the fray.Resistance fighter pilot Clo has been given a mission: infiltrate an Empire spaceship ferrying deadly cargo to gain vital intelligence. A task made all the more difficult when she's forced to partner with an old enemy - Princess Discordia herself, Eris.They discover more than they bargained for on the ship: fugitives with first-hand knowledge of the Empire's inner workings. With this information, these women might just bring the Empire to its knees. But the clock is ticking: Eris's brother Damocles, new heir to the throne, plans to disrupt a peace summit with the only remaining free alien people, ensuring the Empire's total domination. Unless this band of unlikely rebels stops him, millions will die . . .

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Lynx and the rest of the Cards are heading south. There's money in their pockets, beer in their hands and a simple job ahead - sun, sea and not getting shot at much. Throw in the prospect of a bar fight and it's almost a holiday. But the volatile Mage Islands are a powder-keg, one just waiting for a spark. A bloody-handed exile perhaps, or the agent of a foreign power preparing for war. Maybe even a bunch of trigger-happy drunks who've upset the balance of magic across the Riven Kingdom.Or all three together, that'd definitely work...

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Elizabeth Bear's near-future trilogy concludes with the fate of the world in the palm of Jenny Casey's artificially reconstructed hand . . .Give Canada's Master Warrant Officer Jenny Casey an inch and she'll take a galaxy. That's just the kind of person a world on the brink of destruction needs. The year is 2063, and Earth has been brutalized. An asteroid flung at Toronto by the PanChinese government has killed tens of millions and left the equivalent of a nuclear explosion in its wake. Humanity must find another option . . .Perched above the devastation in the starship Montreal, Jenny is still in the thick of the fray. Plugged into the worldwire, connected to a brilliant AI, her mind can be everywhere and anywhere at once. But it's focused on the mysterious alien beings right outside her ship. Are they there to help - or destroy? With Earth a breeding ground for treason and betrayal as governments struggle to assign blame, Jenny holds the fate of humankind in her artificially reconstructed hand . . .

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Three of the greatest SF novels in the world in one bumper omnibus'An astonishing science fiction phenomenon' WASHINGTON POST'I know nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings' Arthur C ClarkeHerbert's evocative, epic tales are set on the desert planet Arrakis, the focus for a complex political and military struggle with galaxy-wide repercussions.Arrakis is the source of spice, a mind-enhancing drug which makes interstellar travel possible; it is the most valuable substance in the galaxy. When Duke Atreides and his family take up court there, they fall into a trap set by the Duke's bitter rival, Baron Harkonnen. The Duke is poisoned, but his wife and her son Paul escape to the vast and arid deserts of Arrakis, which have given the planet its nickname of Dune.Paul and his mother join the Fremen, the Arrakis natives, who have learnt to live in this harsh and complex ecosystem. But learning to survive is not enough - Paul's destiny was mapped out long ago and his mother is committed to seeing it fulfilled.Read the series which inspired the 2021 Denis Villeneuve epic Oscar nominated film, Dune, starring Oscar Isaac, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Josh Brolin.* * * * * * * * * * * * *'This is - quite simply - the most magnificent Sci-Fi epic ever written . . . The scope of Asimov's Foundation, the attention to detail and context of Tolkien's LotR, coupled with an unmatched visionary socio-ecological messianic narrative that is scarily relevant today ' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Frank Herbert's immortal space opera that created many of the tropes we take for granted inside them is a book that doesn't need my endorsement . . . the nobility is some of the most decadent and depraved in fiction . . . It's a fantastic book, amazing story' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'The blend of science-aversion, exploitation of the naive by systematic manipulation of religion and witchcraft, and the harsh realities of life in a barren and mineral depleted desert is astounding. I love these books!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Herbert succeeds at juxtaposing so many different elements: ecology, religion, consciousness, feudalism, space travel... gawsh, I could go on! . . . It is a mainly character-driven plot, with the three books in this trilogy focusing on the Atreides family on Dune . . . I think everyone should delve into this world, let themselves be absorbed by it. It makes you question your reality, your choices, your relationships and the impact you have on the world, or the impact the world has on you' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Dune perhaps epitomises science-fiction. The willingness to embrace big ideas and show them playing out on a broad canvas . . . You have to read it to believe it' Goodreads reviewer

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'Like an episode of Black Mirror written by Stephen King' John Marrs, bestselling author of The One 'Immersive, claustrophobic . . . addictive' GuardianWin and All Your Dreams Come True™! ;) Charlie and his friends have entered the God Game. Tasks are delivered through their phones. When they accomplish a mission, the game rewards them. Charlie's money problems could be over. Vanhi can erase the one bad grade on her university application. It's all fun and games - at first. Then the threatening messages start. Obey me. Mysterious packages show up at their homes. Shadowy figures start following them. Who else is playing this game, and how far will they go to win? As Charlie looks for a way out, there's only one rule he knows for sure.If you die in the game, you die for real.'Smart, propulsive and gripping' Harlan Coben, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author

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'A raucous, boldly inventive tale' BOOKLIST'Provides a "Black Mirror"-like warning of new technology without the heavy feeling of dread' USA TODAYThe magnificent sequel to Hank Green's #1 New York Times bestselling debut novel, An Absolutely Remarkable ThingThe statues disappeared in an instant. While they were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction without ever lifting a finger. They also contributed to the untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into their path, naming them the Carls and gaining viral fame in an avalanche of conspiracy theories.When April's friends try to carry on with their lives, a series of clues arrive - mysterious books that seem to predict the future - and which also seem to suggest April may be very much alive . . . But there's a bigger mystery to solve.Did the Carls ever really leave us, and what happens if they're here to stay?A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is a bold and brilliant conclusion that asks whether anyone has the right to change the world.

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ADAPTED BACKWARDS VIA THE FUTURE FROM THE RADIO 4 SERIES BEFORE IT WAS MADE A richer, deeper, more comprehensive exploration of the Quanderhorn phenomenon. With added secrets.England, 1952.A time of peace, regeneration and hope. A Golden Age.Unfortunately, it's been 1952 for the past 65 years.Meet Professor Quanderhorn: a brilliant, maverick scientific genius with absolutely no moral compass. Assisted by a rag-tag crew - his part-insect "son" (reputedly 'a major breakthrough in Artificial Stupidity'), a recovering amnesiac, a brilliant scientist with a half-clockwork brain, and a captured Martian hostage - he'll save the world.Even if he has to destroy it in the process.With his Dangerous Giant Space Laser, Utterly Untested Matter Transfuser Booth and Fleets of Monkey-driven Lorries, he's not afraid to push the boundaries of science to their very limit.And far, far beyond ...

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From the bestselling author of the epic Malazan Book of the Fallen, comes a story of mankind's first contact and a warning about our future. An alien AI has been sent to the solar system as representative of three advanced species. Its mission is to save the Earth's ecosystem - and the biggest threat to that is humanity. But we are also part of the system, so the AI must make a choice. Should it save mankind or wipe it out? Are we worth it?The AI is all-powerful, and might as well be a god. So it sets up some conditions. Violence is now impossible. Large-scale destruction of natural resources is impossible. Food and water will be provided for those who really, truly need them. You can't even bully someone on the internet any more. The old way of doing things is gone. But a certain thin-skinned US president, among others, is still wedded to late-stage capitalism. Can we adapt? Can we prove ourselves worthy? And are we prepared to give up free will for a world without violence?And above it all, on a hidden spaceship, one woman watches. A science fiction writer, she was abducted from the middle of the street in broad daylight. She is the only person the AI will talk to. And she must make a decision.

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The end is coming.Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him - but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. It's past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. It's a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough.Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law...

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The second book of Earthsea in a beautiful hardback edition. Complete the collection with A Wizard of Earthsea, The Furthest Shore and TehanuWith illustrations from Charles Vess'[This] trilogy made me look at the world in a new way, imbued everything with a magic that was so much deeper than the magic I'd encountered before then. This was a magic of words, a magic of true speaking' Neil Gaiman'Drink this magic up. Drown in it. Dream it' David MitchellIn this second novel in the Earthsea series, Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, and everything is taken from her - home, family, possessions, even her name. She is now known only as Arha, the Eaten One, and guards the shadowy, labyrinthine Tombs of Atuan.Then a wizard, Ged Sparrowhawk, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Tenar's duty is to protect the Ring, but Ged possesses the light of magic and tales of a world that Tenar has never known. Will Tenar risk everything to escape from the darkness that has become her domain?

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