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'Awe-inspiring. Prepare to fall in love with epic fantasy all over again.' ANNA SMITH SPARK, author of The Court of Broken KnivesThe thrilling opening chapter in an epic new fantasy from the author of The Malazan Book of the Fallen...Many years have passed since three Teblor warriors brought carnage and chaos to Silver Lake. Now the tribes of the north no longer venture into the southlands. The town has recovered and yet the legacy remains. Indeed, one of the three, Karsa Orlong, is now revered as a god, albeit an indifferent one. In truth, many new religions have emerged and been embraced across the Malazan world. There are those who worship Coltaine, the Black-Winged Lord, and the cult of Iskar Jarak, Guardian of the Dead, is popular among the Empire's soldiery.Responding to reports of a growing unease among the tribes beyond the border, a legion of Malazan marines marches towards Silver Lake. They aren't quite sure what they're going to be facing, but, while the Malazan military has evolved and these are not the marines of old, one thing hasn't changed: they'll handle whatever comes at them. Or die trying.And in those high mountains, a new warleader has risen amongst the Teblor. Scarred by the deeds of Karsa Orlong, he intends to confront his god even if he has to cut a bloody swathe through the Malazan Empire to do so. But further north, a new threat has emerged and now it seems it is the Teblor who are running out of time. Another long-feared migration is about to begin and this time it won't just be three warriors. No, this time tens of thousands are poised to pour into the lands to the south. And in their way, a single company of Malazan marines . . . It seems the past is about to revisit Silver Lake, and that is never a good thing . . .
One of our most distinguished military historians tells the story of six defining battles . . .Every battle is different. Each takes place in a different context - the war, the campaign, the weapons. However, battles across the centuries, whether fought with sticks and stones or advanced technology, have much in common. Fighting is, after all, an intensely human affair; human nature doesn't change. So why were battles fought as they were? What gave them their shape? Why did they go as they did: victory for one side, defeat for the other? In exploring six significant feats of arms - the war and campaign in which they each occurred, and the factors that determined their precise form and course - The Shape of Battle answers these fundamental questions about the waging of war.Hastings (1066) - everyone knows the date, but not, perhaps, the remarkable strategic background.Towton (1461) - the bloodiest battle to be fought on English soil. Waterloo (1815) - more written about in English than any other but rarely in its true context as the culminating battle in the longest war in 'modern' times.D-Day (1944) - a battle within a larger operation ('Overlord'), and the longest-planned and most complex offensive battle in history. Imjin River (1951) - this little known battle of the Korean War was the British Army's last large-scale defensive battle. Operation Panther's Claw (2009) - a battle that has yet to receive the official distinction of being one: an offensive conducted over six weeks with all the trappings of 21st-century warfare yet whose shape and face at times resembled the Middle Ages. The Shape of Battle is not a polemic, it doesn't try to argue a case. It lets the narratives - the battles - speak for themselves.
'The ultimate in feelgood fiction reads, it will fill your heart with Christmas spirit.' Milly Johnson, author of Woman in the Middle'Warm-hearted and witty, this is an absolute delight.' Hazel Prior, bestselling author of Away with the PenguinsThis Christmas will be the most special of them all...Elderly widow Sabine knows this will be her last Christmas in her beloved home, Mitras Castle. Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers from her childhood, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day.Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought.But when the snow begins to fall and Sabine's family arrive at the house - including Dido's teenage crush Xan - tensions rise around the castle's future and long-buried mysteries begin to unravel...As past secrets come to light, can this still be a magical Christmas to remember?_________Praise for Trisha Ashley:'One of the best writers around' Katie Fforde'Full of down-to-earth humour' Sophie Kinsella'A warm-hearted and comforting read' Carole MatthewsReaders are falling in love with One More Christmas at the Castle:***** 'Trisha's Christmas stories are the perfect start to the festive season'***** 'Pure Christmas escapism with plenty of mulled wine and mince pies'***** 'This is cosy, festive, fun and so much more. I wanted to move into the castle and join in all the festivities!'
Brought to you by Penguin. And then there were three . . .Three years ago, the sisters confronted their demon father in that strange other-world called Everwhere. It was a battle that ended in a devastating loss, and the scars they carry seem to have slowly pushed the sisters apart . . .One sister, still raw with grief, is now a near recluse but determined to use her powers to resurrect what she has lost.Another has made the journey to learn more of her family, her culture and her roots.And another seems to have turned her back on what she is and opted to lead a more normal life.But now the sisters are about to be brought together once more. Because when the clock strikes midnight, when October ticks into November, when autumn wilts into winter, when All Hallows' Eve becomes All Saints' Day, the sisters Grimm will turn twenty-one and reach the zenith of their powers.And on this night, at this time, in this place called Everwhere, anything is possible . . .(c) Menna van Praag 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
With all the wit, knowledge and wisdom of one of the UK's foremost cultural commentators, Stephen Bayley takes the reader on a satirical roller-coaster ride through the world of art and design in the late 20th century.'Brilliantly drawn ..the pages are full of Wildean paradoxes' The Spectator______________________________Someone once said you can find beauty anywhere. But all Eustace Dunne can see is ugliness. The buildings are grey, the people are tired and unimaginative, the food is inedible and life is drab, drab, drab. Growing up in an England ravaged by the Second World War, Eustace resolves to make things beautiful again. A mercurial stint in art school gives him a springboard into a world that is changing so fast you have to hold on tight to keep up. And in that world, ambition, timing and a modicum of talent can transform you into anything you want to be. Before long he's an artist, a designer, a restaurateur, an entrepreneur, a genius. But becoming a bastion of perfect taste can be a grubby business. Eustace's charm may have secured his influence on the homes and hearts of a nation, but there are still people out there who know where the bodies are buried...
'Joyous and funny, [with] emotional hidden depths.' JILL MANSELLWhat might your family say about you if you weren't in the room....?________Escape with the new Sophie Kinsella romcom about family love, family tensions and family secrets.Effie's still not over her parents splitting up a year ago and her dad and his awful new girlfriend are posting photos everywhere (with the hashtags #viagraworks and #sexinyoursixties). Now they're selling the beloved family home and holding a 'house-cooling' party, but Effie hasn't been invited. Then she remembers her precious Russian dolls, safely tucked away up a chimney, and has no choice but to go back for them. She'll just creep in, grab the dolls and leave. No one will know she was ever there.But Effie can't find the dolls. And as she secretly clambers around dusty attics, hides under tables and tries (and fails) to avoid bumping into her ex-boyfriend, she discovers unexpected truths about her family - and even about herself.With time running out, Effie starts to wonder if the only way to find out what's really going on with her family is to simply crash the party...Expect shocking secrets, hilarious mix-ups and an unforgettable romance!________'The best kind of escapism.' LUCY DIAMOND 'Joyous and funny, but also contains emotional hidden depths. I absolutely loved it!' JILL MANSELL'The Party Crasher has all the wit, humour, warmth and wonderful characters that I love about Sophie's books.' JO THOMASReaders are raving about The Party Crasher!'Addictive, moving in places and downright laugh-out-loud in others, I couldn't put this down!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'I loved this book . . . authentic and relatable.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Funny, witty and thought provoking.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I was fascinated, moved and entertained by every page. This is the kind of book the world needs right now' DONAL RYAN_______________'My dictionary's first two definitions of 'comrade' are:A close companion.An intimate associate or friend.The third one is:A fellow soldier.My friends have been all those things to me.'In this stunning essay collection, award-winning journalist Rosita Boland explores the many friendships that have shaped her life. Surprising and beautiful, she writes about the imaginary friends of early childhood, books that have provided companionship and joy, kindred spirits met while travelling, the friend she hoped might become something more, and also the friendships that become lost over time.Life-affirming, affecting and wise, Comrades is a powerful exploration of what it is to live, to connect, and to be human in this world._______________'A moving, beautiful and deeply felt meditation on friendship, loyalty and connectedness in a disconnected world' HILARY FANNIN
I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. Legal name Meredith Gentry, because Princess looks so pretentious on a driver's license. I was the first faerie princess born on American soil, but I wouldn t be the only one for much longer... Merry Gentry, ex-private detective, now full-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but when she learned she was about to have triplets, she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has plagued the high ranks of faerie for centuries. Now nobles of the both courts of faerie are coming to woo Merry and her men at their home in exile in the Western Lands of Los Angeles, because they will do anything to have offspring of their own. Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, is a more dangerous problem. He tried to seduce Merry, and failing that, raped her. He's using the human courts to sue for visitation rights, claiming that one of the children is his. And though Merry knows she was already pregnant when he took her, she can't prove it. To save herself and her babies from Taranis Merry will use the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: a god of death, a warrior known as the Darkness, The Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and her dearest loves, and they will face down the might of the high courts of faerie - while trying to contain the war, to keep it from spreading to those innocent humans who are in very real danger of becoming collateral damage...
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