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Bestselling author Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension, both with his extraordinary fiction and gripping writing for television. The Awkward Black Man collects seventeen of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to showcase the full range of his remarkable talent.Mosley presents distinct characters as they struggle to move through the world in each of these stories?heroes who are awkward, nerdy, self-defeating, self-involved, and, on the whole, odd. He overturns the stereotypes that corral black male characters and paints a subtle, powerful portrait of each of these unique individuals. In "e;The Good News Is,"e; a man's insecurity about his weight gives way to a serious illness and the intense loneliness that accompanies it. Deeply vulnerable, he allows himself to be taken advantage of in return for a little human comfort in a raw display of true need. "e;Pet Fly,"e; previously published in the New Yorker, follows a man working as a mailroom clerk for a big company?a solitary job for which he is overqualified?and the unforeseen repercussions he endures when he attempts to forge a connection beyond the one he has with the fly buzzing around his apartment. And "e;Almost Alyce"e; chronicles failed loves, family loss, alcoholism, and a Zen approach to the art of begging that proves surprisingly effective.Touching and contemplative, each of these unexpected stories offers the best of one of our most gifted writers.

Every war come down to the flash of bright steel.Even when the air is full of magic . . .Aranthur and his friends have come together across different continents and realms with one purpose: to strike back against the forces which have torn a hole in the heavens and threaten to tear the world beneath them apart as well.With time running short, and treason at home, there are battles to be fought on the field, in the magical arena, and in the ever-deadly realm of politics, and they cannot fail anywhere or everything will fall. Victory will require enemies to trust one another, old foes to fight together, spies to reveal the truth and steadfast allies to betray long-corrupt rulers.Is Aranthur, a twenty-year-old student, really the master strategist to bring it all together?And can he and his friends build enough trust to overcome aeons of lies when their plans inevitably fall to pieces? Do they even know, for sure, who the enemy is . . . ?Praise for Miles Cameron'A masterclass in how to write modern fantasy . . . Miles Cameron is at the top of his game' John Gwynne'A fresh take on the typical farm boy turned hero fantasy, this is everything you could possibly want in a fantasy series' The Bibliophile Chronicles'A stirring, gritty and at times quite brutal epic fantasy' Tor.com'This series promises to be the standout epic fantasy for the ages' Fantasy Book Critic

When Maggie's latest placement arrives on her doorstep, it is clear that Sean, Dougie and their big sister Mary have been through unspeakable traumas in their short?lives. Violent and malnourished,?the siblings have been left to fend for themselves by their drug-addicted parents. Maggie must use all of her skills and experience as a foster carer to help these damaged siblings to learn to be children again. With much love, care and patience, their behaviour gradually starts to improve and social services start looking for a forever family for them. But alarm bells start to ring when Maggie meets the couple who have been matched to adopt the siblings. It is clear that they're looking for the perfect, ready-made family, and they're not going to get it with these vulnerable brothers and sister. Despite raising her concerns with social services, Maggie is powerless to prevent the adoption from going ahead and she must put aside her own fears to help the siblings settle in with their new parents. But she can't shake the feeling of dread as she waves them goodbye.A few months later, Maggie's worst nightmares come true when she learns that the children have been handed back to the care of social services following the breakdown of the adoption. Maggie must fight to get the children returned to her, but is it too late to undo the damage that has been done?

Packed with action, love and betrayal, Tom Grass's electrifying heist thriller is a gripping reinvention of the Dickens classic, OLIVER TWIST.Soon to be a major film starring Michael Caine, Lena Headey, Rita Ora and Raff Law.Eighteen-year-old Twist doesn't have much. No money, no home and no family. All he has is his reputation as one of the most daring street artists in London - whose unique skills are matched only by his infamous talent as a climber and freerunner.But when he finds himself on the run from the police, he knows that he could be about to lose the last thing he has left - his freedom. Until he is saved by the mysterious Dodge. When Dodge introduces him to con artist and art 'collector' Cornelius Faginescu, Twist realises that he finally has the chance to be part of something. All that he has to do is put aside his moral objections and learn to steal...

Special edition of the award-winning Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES - includes exclusive extra material.'Britain's best crime novelist' DAILY EXPRESS'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee ChildIn the 1960s, the infamous Bible John terrorised Scotland when he murdered three women, taking three souvenirs. Thirty years later, a copycat is at work, dubbed Johnny Bible. DI John Rebus's unconventional methods have got him in trouble before - now he's taken away from the inquiry and sent to investigate the killing of an off-duty oilman. But when his case clashes head-on with the Johnny Bible killings, he finds himself in the glare of a fearful media, whilst under the scrutiny of an internal enquiry. Just one mistake is likely to mean losing his job - and quite possibly his life.

Sometimes murder is the easy way out...A brilliant Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.'Britain's No.1 crime writer' Daily Mirror'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee ChildA mugging gone wrong ... or murder?A dissident Russian poet is found dead - at the same time a delegation of Russian businessmen arrives in town. For some, it is crucial that the case is closed quickly, clinically and with the minimum of attention.But DI Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke believe this is something more than a random attack - especially after a particularly nasty second killing. Then, a brutal and premeditated assault on a local gangster puts Rebus in the frame - and he may not survive long enough to solve anything...

'Ben Aaronovitch's masterfully crafted world of magic, ghosts and gruesome crimes gives the late, great Terry Pratchett a run for his money' The Sun'Great, great fun' Simon Mayo, Radio 2My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England. Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden ... and there's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying.

The long-awaited companion to the New York Times bestsellers Graceling and FireEight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue and her country were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck's death, believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle - curious, disguised and alone - to walk the streets of her own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year long spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.Whatever that past holds.Two thieves, who have sworn only to steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, who possesses an unidentified Grace, may also hold a key to her heart ...

A must-read title for all fans of Patrick Rothfuss and Trudi Canavan, FIRE is an exceptional fantasy novel. From the deft characterisation to the gripping story, the fast-paced action to the evocative prose, this is one of the strongest fantasy novels of the year. Set in a world of stunningly beautiful, exceptionally dangerous monsters, Fire is one of the most dangerous monsters of all - a human one. Marked out by her vivid red hair, she's more than attractive. Fire is mesmerising.But with this extraordinary beauty comes influence and power. People who are susceptible to her appeal will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. They will turn away from their families, their work, and their duties for her. They will forget their responsibilities to please her ... and worse, crush nations, neglect kingdoms and abuse their power.Aware of her power, and afraid of it, Fire lives in a corner of the world away from people, and away from temptation. Until the day comes when she is needed - a day when, for her king, she has to take a stand not only against his enemies, but also against herself ...

Arthur Oakes is an outsider. His mother was protesting against the government's nuclear bombs, and something went wrong, and someone died. Now she is in prison. His father is long gone. Arthur spends his time lost in English mythology and unfulfilled dreams about the girls in his college. But one unintended incident - one moment of standing up for another underdog - leaves his mother in danger and him with orders to steal rare books from the college library. And the events that will unfold from that one moment of bravery will lead to slaughter.The gang of six use a book covered in human skin in an arcane ritual, and summon the evil dragon King Sorrow. They enter into a pact - he will kill the couple who have been terrorising the group by easter, in exchange for their worship. But dragons are not to be trusted, and now they must repeat the ritual every year - including choosing who he will kill... An epic, sprawling novel set in the 80s in Midwest America and going through to 2022 in England, with a massive cast led by six clever, damaged protagonists battling all manner of menaces, both supernatural and all too human.

Hakan Veil is back, and he's pissed off.He's an Overrider by trade - gene-tweaked to cryo-sleep shipboard across interplanetary space, but wake up running hot and save the day if ever things go wrong: take out the pirate assault team before they can board, put down the mutiny before it can take hold, save the ship from whatever ails it - meteor strike, hull breach, crew crisis, reactor failure, fuel or atmosphere leak - and bring the cargo safely home. Fast-thinking, no need for sleep, running on stored energy that lets him work hard and fast until the situation is resolved, he's the ultimate First Responder, hardwired to fix the problem, whatever and wherever it is.At the other end of the cycle - getting ready to hibernate for a solid few months - it's a different story. Slower, eating more, not quite so crisp. Because by then the emergency is supposed to be over. Exiled by his employers to Mars for failing to execute a captive, Veil found himself thrust into the violent chaos arising from the Earth Oversight audit. He took out the powerful and corrupt with extreme prejudice, uncovered a major political conspiracy, defeated a cell of hardened undercover spec ops provocateurs. In the end, he brought a rough and ready kind of stability to the faction-riven Red Planet.You could say he's owed some much needed downtime.Only now there's a new f*cking emergency. And it's only just getting up to speed. The son of a Martian corporate aristo has gone missing under mysterious circumstances; a charismatic tech-messiah believed long dead appears to be back in business at the head of his cult; and high above the Martian surface, military grade orbital platforms are falling out of the sky like storm-struck birds. Once again, Hakan Veil finds himself in the midst of rising chaos, and once again it looks like he's the only one equipped to deal with the crisis.And he's in no mood for any of it.

The inspirational true story of India's race to the stars - and the women who made it possible.On November 5, 2013, a rocket launched toward Mars. It was India's first interplanetary mission, named Mangalyaan, and a huge gamble. Nine months later, when Mangalyaan successfully entered into Mars' orbit, it created history. Until this point, when we thought of rocket scientists, we imagined men from NASA in crisp white shirts. But India's success instead came from the genius and tireless efforts of scientists in silk sarees. With a Whistle in the Dark follows the stories of three women central to the building of India's space programme, and the success that came after. These women got Indian rockets to Mars, but faced cultural and gender barriers so immense, that by pursuing a life of science, they started a rebellion.

Rivers are the great natural arteries that run through our lives. We have tapped them, navigated them, dammed them and worshipped at them. From the ancient ecosystems of Egypt to the sinking cities of Shanghai and London, what we do with our rivers tells us about who has power and what we value. Now, when environmental regulations are at their strongest and a passion for wild swimming is flourishing, when the Amazon is on fire and some of our major river systems are dying, it has never been clearer that rivers are intertwined with humanity at our best and our worst. Liquid History is story of the Nile, Danube, Niger, Mississippi, Ganges, Yangtze and the Thames. It is a story of imperial frontiers, alluvial gold, kidnappings, slavery, de-colonialism, creation myths and the killing of rivers. It is about those who've lived and died on these rivers and their endless capacity for invention: their harnessing of oases and aquifers, their lotus pools and hanging gardens, their gigantic canal systems and elaborate fishing rituals, their absolute powers and their sly rebellions. At its heart are the empire-builders of the Chinese dynasties, Romans and Hindus and their river gods, the Habsburgs and Ottomans, Mughal emperors, the people of the Niger from Mali's golden age to today, struggles of life and death on the Mississippi, and the dethroning of the British on the rivers of their unruly imperial subjects. This is the story of us, in seven rivers.

The voice, the dressing-gown, the cigarette in its holder, remain unmistakable. There is rarely a week when one of Private Lives, Hay Fever, and Blithe Spirit is not in production somewhere in the world. Phrases from Noël Coward's songs - "Mad About The Boy", "Mad Dogs and Englishman" - are forever lodged in the public consciousness. He was at one point the most highly paid author in the world. Yet some of his most striking and daring writing remains unfamiliar. As T.S. Eliot said, in 1954, "there are things you can learn from Noël Coward that you won't learn from Shakespeare".Coward wrote some fifty plays and nine musicals, as well as revues, screenplays, short stories, poetry, and a novel. He was both composer and lyricist for approximately 675 songs. Louis Mountbatten's famous tribute argued that, while there were greater comedians, novelists, composers, painters and so on, only "the master" had combined fourteen talents in one. So central was he to his age's theatre that any account of his career is also a history of the British stage. And so daring was Coward's unorthdoxy in his closest relationships, obliquely reflected throughout his writing, that it must also be a history of sexual liberation in the twentieth century. In Oliver Soden's sparkling, story-packed new Life, the Master finally gets his due.

The Great Pyramid of Giza. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Colossus at Rhodes. The Lighthouse of Alexandria. The statue of Zeus at Olympia. The temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The scale and majesty of the seven wonders of the ancient world still enthral us today. In a thrilling, colourful narrative enriched with the latest archaeological discoveries, bestselling historian Bettany Hughes tells the story of the ancient world through its legendary achievements in engineering technology, sophisticated planning and religious devotion.

Napoleon warned 'Let China sleep; when she wakes, she will shake the world'. Lawrence James's magisterial history analyses the relationship between Britain and China between the beginning of the Opium Wars in 1839 and the transfer of power in Hong Kong in 1997. THE LION AND THE DRAGON reveals the part that Britain played in the awakening of China, then covers relations between the two countries during the period when an aroused China did indeed shake the world. Lawrence James also follows the parallel trajectories of four competitive empires - the British, the Chinese, the Russian and the Japanese - during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and then the fortunes of a fifth imperial power, the United States. Successive British governments saw China as a source of wealth which needed to be protected. Local objections were seen off by force (the 'Opium' wars of 1839-42, 1856-7 and 1859-60) whose results proved that the Qing emperors could not protect their country. Indian troops were deployed in each campaign and manned Britain's small garrisons in Hong Kong, Shanghai and other Treaty ports. Yet Britain never sought to make China into another India. Rather it allowed the emperors and their officials to govern, so long as they were docile and amenable to British needs. Paramount were the internal stability and fiscal responsibility that were the lubricants of trade. A unified nation with economic and military muscle, and aware of its distant past as one of the great nations of the world, has been intent on reversing her recent history. Lawrence James vividly chronicles a time when this huge nation's divisions encouraged foreigners to treat her as a treasure-house to be plundered at will. This warning from history explains why China's present rulers brook neither dissent nor popular unrest.