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Threshold
by Rob DoyleRob has spent most of his confusing adult life wandering, writing, and imbibing literature and narcotics in equally vast doses. Now, stranded between reckless youth and middle age, between exaltation and despair, his travels have acquired a de facto purpose: the immemorial quest for transcendent meaning. On a lurid pilgrimage for cheap thrills and universal truth, Doyle's narrator takes us from the menacing peripheries of Paris to the drug-fuelled clubland of Berlin, from art festivals to sun-kissed islands, through metaphysical awakenings in Asia and the brink of destruction in Europe, into the shattering revelations brought on by the psychedelic DMT. A dazzling, intimate, and profound celebration of art and ageing, sex and desire, the limits of thought and the extremes of sensation, Threshold confirms Doyle as one of the most original writers in contemporary literature.
Apeirogon
by Colum McCann'Nothing like any book you've ever read' MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM'A quite extraordinary novel. Colum McCann has found the form and voice to tell the most complex of stories, with an unexpected friendship between two men at its powerfully beating heart' KAMILA SHAMSIE Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin live near one another – yet they exist worlds apart. Rami is Israeli. Bassam is Palestinian. Rami's license plate is yellow. Bassam's license plate is green. It takes Rami fifteen minutes to drive to the West Bank. The same journey for Bassam takes an hour and a half. Both men have lost their daughters. Rami's thirteen-year-old girl Smadar was killed by a suicide bomber while out shopping with her friends. Bassam's ten-year-old daughter Abir was shot and killed by a member ofthe border police outside her school. There was a candy bracelet in her pocket she hadn't had time to eat yet. The men become the best of friends. In this epic novel – named for a shape with a countably infinite number of sides – Colum McCann crosses centuries and continents, stitching time, art, history, nature and politics into a tapestry of friendship, love, loss and belonging. Musical, muscular, delicate and soaring, it is a book for our times from a writer at the height of his powers.
The Storm Keepers' Battle: Storm Keeper Trilogy 3 (The Storm Keeper Trilogy)
by Catherine DoyleFionn Boyle, Storm Keeper of Arranmore, is facing the fight of his life. The terrifying all- powerful sorceress Morrigan has been raised from the dead and has sealed off the island from all help. Fionn is the only thing that stands between her and a dark future. He's got to find a way to defeat her. But there are some terrible choices in store for Fionn as the dark sorcerer begins to take his nearest and dearest for her own. With only two candles left to burn, will Fionn master his powers in time to stop her?
The Lost Girl King
by Catherine Doyle'The Lost Girl King echoes Lord of the Rings and Narnia, whilst being original and fresh. It's sure to become a classic of its own' - Aisha Bushby, author of A Pocketful of Stars'A glorious gulp of a summer adventure' - Piers Torday, author of The Lost Wild'Nobody writes peril, wit and wonder as well as Catherine Doyle … a modern Diana Wynne Jones' - Dave Rudden, author of Irish Children's Book of the Year, Knights of the Borrowed Dark**********Amy and Liam Bell have been packed off to stay at Gran's house in the wilds of Connemara for the summer. Out for a walk on the first morning of their holiday, they trace the flight of a hawk to a nearby waterfall – only to watch the bird disappear through it. Intrigued, the children follow and soon realise they've discovered the entrance to Tír na nÓg, the legendary land of eternal youth.But they've been tricked. Almost immediately Liam is captured by a troop of headless horsemen who take him to Tarlock, the ruling sorcerer of Tír na nÓg, who is seeking the bones of a human child for a sinister new spell.Packed with edge-of-your seat adventure, incredible imagination, humour and warmth, The Lost Girl King is the rare kind of story that has you reading long past lights out.
The Dawn Chorus: A Bone Season novella
by Samantha ShannonAn ebook exclusive which bridges the story between the previous and forthcoming instalments of Samantha Shannon's international phenomenon series The Bone Season Paige Mahoney and Arcturus Mesarthim have arrived in the Scion Citadel of Paris. Exhausted by her efforts against Scion, Paige has no choice but to remain in hiding, away from the revolution she started, so she can heal and come to terms with her mental and physical scars. In the confines of a safe house, Arcturus and Paige begin to reconnect after following separate paths for weeks. As they wait for contact from the mysterious Domino Programme – an espionage network operating in Scion – their present begins to mirror their past.
The Last Good Man
by Thomas McMullan'A Scarlet Letter for our times' MARGARET ATWOOD'An extraordinary and disquieting work of imagination, and as original as any novel I've read in recent memory' ROB DOYLEDuncan Peck has travelled alone to Dartmoor in search of his cousin. He has come from the city, where the fires are always burning.In his cousin's village, Peck finds a place with tea rooms and barley fields, a church and a schoolhouse. Out here, the people live an honest life – and if there's any trouble, they have a way to settle it. They sit in the shadow of a vast wall, inscribed with strange messages. Anyone can write on the wall, anonymously, about their neighbours, about any wrongdoing that might hurt the community. Then comes the reckoning. The stranger from the city causes a stir. He has not been there long before the village wakes up to the most unspeakable accusation; sentences daubed on the wall that will detonate the darkest of secrets. A troubling, uncanny book about fear and atonement, responsibility and justice, and the violence of writing in public spaces, The Last Good Man dares to ask: what hope can we place in words once extinction is in the air?
Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun
by Guillermo del Toro Cornelia FunkeThis enthralling novel, inspired by the 2006 film, illustrates that fantasy is the sharpest tool to explore the terrors and miracles of the human heartYou shouldn't come in here. You could get lost. It has happened before. I'll tell you the story one day, if you want to hear it. In fairy tales, there are men and there are wolves, there are beasts and dead parents, there are girls and forests. Ofelia knows all this, like any young woman with a head full of stories. And she sees right away what the Capitán is, in his immaculate uniform, boots and gloves, smiling: a wolf.But nothing can prepare her for the fevered reality of the Capitán's eerie house, in the midst of a dense forest which conceals many things: half-remembered stories of lost babies; renegade resistance fighters hiding from the army; a labyrinth; beasts and fairies.There is no one to keep Ofelia safe as the labyrinth beckons her into her own story, where the monstrous and the human are inextricable, where myths pulse with living blood ...
Princess Snowbelle and the Snow Games
by Libby FrostFar away in the glistening land of Frostovia, Snowbelle and her brothers are preparing for the Snow Games contest. Snowbelle's best friend, Sparkleshine, and her brothers are competing too. As the first race starts, competition is fierce, but when Snowbelle and Sparkleshine's horse race goes awry, Sparkleshine learns that winning is not the most important thing.An uplifting and charming tale of teamwork and friendship in a winter wonderland. This eBook comes with a glorious audio accompaniment read by CBeebies star Justin Fletcher, complete with rich sound effects and sparkling wintery music!
The TinyWing Fairies
by Suzanne BartonAlways on the lookout for mysteries to solve, and finding new adventures around every corner, the TinyWing Fairies are quite the team! Join Pippin, Marthy, Tiffin and Little Ess as they head out into the frosty night to investigate the source of a strange noise that is keeping the fairies from sleeping. Whatever can it be?With snowy, atmospheric backdrops and illustrations full of pretty patterns and textures, this warm and reassuring story about night-time noises is the perfect comfort for wakeful little ones. There's not a frilly pink outfit to be seen! This eBook comes with a glorious audio accompaniment read by CBeebies star Justin Fletcher, complete with rich sound effects and magical wintery music!
I Went Trick-or-Treating
by Paul HowardI went trick-or-treating and I scared... a naughty, warty toad, a sliding, gliding ghost, a howling, growling wolf and some super silly skeletons...When a brother and sister go trick-or-treating, they compete to see who can scare the creepiest creatures. As they try to remember each hair-raising encounter, everything escalates – until they get the biggest fright of all! A new take on an old favourite, children will love this laugh-out-loud, test-your-memory story, with ghosts, skeletons, a spooky pirate ship and much, much more! From the illustrator of the bestselling The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, this is a hilarious follow-up to I Went to the Supermarket and I Went to See Santa. This eBook comes with a glorious audio accompaniment read by CBeebies star Justin Fletcher, complete with spooky Halloween sound effects.
A Vow So Bold and Deadly (The Cursebreaker Series)
by Brigid KemmererKINGDOMS WILL CLASH. CHOOSE YOUR SIDE.Grey has been revealed as the rightful prince of Emberfall. But the kingdom is crumbling fast, torn between his claim and that of the reigning Prince Rhen and Princess Harper. Newly crowned as Queen of the enemy kingdom Syhl Shallow, Lia Mara struggles to rule with a gentler hand than her mother. But as Grey moves closer to claiming the crown of Emberfall, both Harper and Lia Mara are forced to question where they stand – and how far they can follow the dictates of their hearts. Brigid Kemmerer's heart-pounding saga comes to a thrilling climax, as two kingdoms come closer and closer to conflict – and an old enemy resurfaces who could destroy them all.
The Raven Heir
by Stephanie BurgisCordelia and her triplets Rosalind and Giles have lived safely in the castle at the centre of the forest all their lives, protected by the spells their mother has woven. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is when she turns into a dragonfly or a blackbird and can fly beyond the great stone walls. But then one day the outside world comes to them. Two rival dukes and their soldiers have come for the triplets – because whoever is the eldest is the heir to the throne.But their mother knows that since the Raven Crown was broken, no one has been able to rule the kingdom of Corvenne and live, and she will not give up any of her children to that death sentence. When she refuses to reveal which child is the eldest, she is taken prisoner, and Cordelia and her brother and sister find themselves on the run in a dangerous new world. And as they set out across Corvenne to rescue their mother, Cordelia begins to see that there is a deep magic at work, driving her towards a destiny that could tear her family apart, take away her freedom forever or, just maybe, heal a kingdom devastated by a war that has raged for generations.
The Raven Throne
by Stephanie BurgisCordelia has been crowned the Raven Queen. But with new power comes new danger. The unmissable sequel to The Raven Heir and conclusion to the epic middle-grade fantasy series perfect for fans of Abi Elphinstone and Piers Torday.Once their triplet Cordelia became the Raven Queen, Giles and Rosalind knew they would have to learn to behave at court. No more fighting for Rosalind and no more singing for Giles. What they didn't foresee was having to foil a plot against their sister. When Cordelia falls into an enchanted sleep and cannot be woken, Rosalind and Giles must quest across the kingdom to seek help from the ancient spirits of the land. But their family's greatest enemies lurk at every turn and it will take all of the triplets' deepest strengths to fight against them.A thrilling finale to the magical and mystical series.
Havenfall (Havenfall #1)
by Sara Holland"Vibrant." – Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints "An enchanting and thrilling contemporary fantasy." – Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it--at any cost. New York Times bestselling author Sara Holland crafts a breathtaking new contemporary fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Holly Black.Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds--each with their own magic--together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return. For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie's brother. It's where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it's where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle. But this summer, the impossible happens--a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She'll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she's letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie--no one can be trusted, and no one is safe . . . Sara Holland takes the lush fantasy that captured readers in Everless and Evermore and weaves it into the real world to create a wholly captivating new series where power and peril lurk behind every door.
We Are All Astronauts: Discover what it takes to be a space explorer!
by Ms Kate PankhurstREACH FOR THE STARS and learn all about SPACE in this fact-packed new book from the bestselling creator of the FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN series! Mixing STEM topics with a sweet story of figuring out your place in the world, this is the perfect introduction to space for the next generation of space travellers, whoever they may be.Budding astronaut Luna Scope wants nothing more than to blast off into space and explore the cosmos, but how does she go from a cardboard rocket in her room to running experiments on the International Space Station? Enter Granny, who's about to teach Luna just how to make her dream a reality. From discovering what shooting stars are really made of and learning how to complete a spacewalk, to rocket building lessons by Mary Jackson and space shuttle trips with Mae Jamison– Luna and her Granny take us on a crash course adventure into how to become a successful astronaut. Meeting incredible female space pioneers along the way, Granny takes Luna on a fact-filled space adventure showing her that ANYONE can be an astronaut if they dream big enough. In fact, just by standing on planet Earth, you're already closer than you think...From Kate Pankhurst, award-winning creator of FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN, this is the first in a new series tackling popular non-fiction topics in fun new ways. Inspiring young readers to aim high, dream big and see that they too can reach for the stars!
The Wild Way Home
by Sophie Kirtley'So good I read it twice' - Hilary McKay, author of The Skylarks' War'This thrilling time-slip adventure oozes magic and heart' - Bookseller EDITOR'S CHOICEWhen Charlie's longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie's world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It's become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins. For Charlie has unwittingly fled into the Stone Age, with no way to help the boy or return to the present day. Or is there?What follows is a wild, big-hearted adventure as Charlie and the Stone Age boy set out together to find what they have lost – their courage, their hope, their family and their way home.Fans of Piers Torday and Stig of the Dump will love this wild, wise and heartfelt debut adventure.
Bad Mermaids Meet the Sushi Sisters (Bad Mermaids)
by Sibéal PounderMeri Pebble, professional spy mermaid, has a new mission. She's going to be a personal assistant to the Sushi Sisters (famous for their notorious appearance on reality TV programme Catwalk Prawn, and for driving around in a submarine shaped like a giant bit of sushi). Beattie, Mimi, Zelda and Steve the talking seahorse are coming along for the ride as the least convincing glam squad ever. Meanwhile, on land, their human friend Paris is moving from California to a castle in Scotland complete with a loch rumoured to be haunted by a mermaid. The gang soon realise there's something o-fish-ally fishy about the Sushi Sisters – but could it lead them all the way to Paris's loch? And what has the loch got to do with things like mercats and hamstars (half hamster, half starfish)? Things are getting sea-riously weird in the fourth book in Sibéal Pounder's Bad Mermaids series!
Blood to Poison
by Mary WatsonSeventeen-year-old Savannah is cursed. It's a sinister family heirloom; passed down through the bloodline for hundreds of years, with one woman in every generation destined to die young. The family call them Hella's girls, named for their ancestor Hella; the enslaved woman with whom it all began. Hella's girls are always angry, especially in the months before they die. The anger is bursting from Savannah – at the men who cat-call her in the street, at her mother's disingenuous fiancé, even at her own loving family. Each fit of rage is bringing her closer to the edge and now Savannah has to act to save herself. Or die trying. Because the key to survival lies in the underbelly of Cape Town, where the sinister veilwitches are waiting for just such a girl. Blood to Poison is a furious and mesmerising story about discovering magic, historical rage and love in all its guises.
A Day of Fallen Night (The Roots of Chaos)
by Samantha Shannon'A magnificent, sweeping epic' JENNIFER SAINT, Sunday Times-bestselling author of ARIADNE'Shannon is simply a master of the genre' C. S. PACAT, New York Times-bestselling author of DARK RISE'A tremendous triumph' LONDON SHAH, award-winning author of the LIGHT OF THE ABYSS series'A gorgeous, glittering epic' DAILY MAIL____________________A return to the world of Samantha Shannon's Sunday Times and New York Times-bestselling The Priory of the Orange Tree____________________Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms – but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose. To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow – exactly where she wants to be. The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate. When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.Intricate and epic, A Day of Fallen Night sweeps readers back to the world of A Priory of the Orange Tree, showing us a course of events that shaped it for generations to come.**Chosen as a book of 2023 by the Metro, Cosmopolitan, Nerd Daily, PinkNews and Waterstones**
Phoenix Flame (Havenfall #2)
by Sara HollandNew York Times bestselling author Sara Holland continues her blockbuster contemporary fantasy series, Havenfall, with this unforgettable sequel.'Sara Holland is a fierce storyteller' STEPHANIE GARBERAfter saving the inn at Havenfall from the wicked Silver Prince, Maddie thought all her problems were over. The Silver Prince has been banished, her uncle the beloved Innkeeper is slowly recovering from a mysterious coma, and there are still a few weeks of summer left to spend with her handsome more-than-just-a-friend Brekken. But danger still looms and Maddie soon realises there's more work to be done to protect Havenfall, the safe haven between worlds that her family has run for centuries. Maddie must embark on a dangerous mission: to venture into the icy Realm of Fiordenkill and put an end to the black market trading of souls that threatens the balance of the Realms. As Maddie tries to accomplish these seemingly impossible tasks, she stumbles upon family secrets that could change everything. What if saving everyone means destroying the only home she's ever known? This next breathtaking fantasy from the bestselling author of Everless is perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Holly Black.
The Lightning Catcher
by Clare WezeAlfie has noticed a few things since his family moved to Folding Ford. He really misses life in the city. He and his sister don't exactly fit in here. But the most interesting one is that the weather is BONKERS. One frost-covered branch on one tree in the middle of June? A tiny whirlwind in a bucket in the garden? Only in Folding Ford. Armed with his bike, a notepad and his new best mate Sam, Alfie is going to investigate. His best clue is Nathaniel Clemm … the only thing in town weirder than the weather. When Alfie 'investigates' Mr Clemm's garden, only SLIGHTLY illegally, he finds a strange box that freezes his trainers and makes his teeth tingle. And when he opens it, only SLIGHTLY deliberately, SOMETHING gets out. Something fast, fizzing and sparking with electricity and very, very much alive. But the creature from the box brings trouble of its own, and as barometers and tempers go haywire in Folding Ford, Alfie finds himself at the centre of a perfect storm.Skellig meets Stranger Things in this funny, heartfelt adventure story perfect for fans of Ross Welford, Christopher Edge and Frank Cottrell Boyce.
The Storm Swimmer
by Clare WezeThe author of THE LIGHTNING CATCHER is back with an exciting, imaginative and heartfelt middle grade novel perfect for fans of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant and The Shark Caller.Summer was supposed to be Ginika's time for fun, friends and fairs. But instead she's been sent to live at the dead-end seaside boarding house her grandparents run. Even though her parents say it's just for a little while, she can't help feeling abandoned and heartbroken to be missing out on everything she loves back home.And then she meets Peri. He leaps and dives through the water like a dolphin and he talks like a burst of bubbles. He's not exactly a mermaid, but he's definitely something Ginika's never seen before.His family is far away too, but unlike Ginika, he loves his independence. As Ginika shows Peri her world, she starts to feel free as well. They don't need anyone else when they've got each other. But then the lights and noise of the human world start to change Peri. And when things spin out of control, Ginika must be the bravest she's ever been to face her fears and make the hardest decision of her life.Join Ginika and Peri as they dive beneath the waves and walk the lands that will take them into each other's worlds on an adventure they will never forget and a life-changing friendship.
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke'Just read Susanna Clarke's extraordinary Piranesi … Like nothing else' Justine Jordan, GuardianThe long-awaited return from the author of the multi-million copy bestselling Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellPiranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has?Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell transported over four million readers into its mysterious world. It became an instant classic and has been hailed as one of the finest works of fiction of the twenty-first century. Fifteen years later, it is finally time to enter the House and meet Piranesi. May your Paths be safe, your Floors unbroken and may the House fill your eyes with Beauty.'A book to look out for in 2020' – Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Express, SFX'Piranesi astonished me. It is a miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling, at once a gripping mystery, an adventure through a brilliant new fantasy world, and a deep meditation on the human condition: feeling lost, and being found. I already want to be back in its haunting and beautiful halls!' MADELINE MILLER 'What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being, what a tick-tock-tick-tock of reveals, what a pure protagonist, what a morally squalid supporting cast, what beauty, tension and restraint, and what a pitch-perfect ending. Piranesi is an exquisite puzzle-box far, far bigger on the inside than it is on the outside' DAVID MITCHELL'Piranesi is a gorgeous, spellbinding mystery that gently unravels page by page. Precisely the sort of book that I love wordlessly handing to someone so they can have the pleasure of uncovering its secrets for themselves. This book is a treasure, washed up upon a forgotten shore, waiting to be discovered' ERIN MORGENSTERN
The Kingdoms
by Natasha PulleyFor fans of Matt Haig, Stuart Turton and Bridget Collins comes a sweeping historical adventure from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street'Original, joyous and horrifying, The Kingdoms is an awe-inspiring feat of imagination and passion which had me in tears by the end' - Catriona WardCome home, if you remember. The postcard has been held at the sorting office for ninety-one years, waiting to be delivered to Joe Tournier. On the front is a lighthouse – Eilean Mor, in the Outer Hebrides.Joe has never left England, never even left London. He is a British slave, one of thousands throughout the French Empire. He has a job, a wife, a baby daughter. But he also has flashes of a life he cannot remember and of a world that never existed – a world where English is spoken in England, and not French. And now he has a postcard of a lighthouse built just six months ago, that was first written nearly one hundred years ago, by a stranger who seems to know him very well. Joe's journey to unravel the truth will take him from French-occupied London to a remote Scottish island, and back through time itself as he battles for his life – and for a very different future.
The Girl and the Mermaid
by Hollie HughesAlina and her granny live in a lighthouse by the sea: a home filled with the warmth of Granny's magical stories. But Alina is worried. Granny's memories and stories are starting to fade away, and she doesn't know how to bring them back. Then one day, she meets a mermaid on the rocks near the lighthouse – and she's swept into a magical deep-sea adventure that will change everything. An instant classic from the bestselling creators of The Girl and the Dinosaur.