It is 4034 AD. Humanity has made it to the stars. Fassin Taak a Slow Seer at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers will be fortunate if he makes it to the end of the year. The Nasqueron Dwellers inhabit a gas giant on the outskirts of the galaxy in a system awaiting its wormhole connection to the rest of civilisation. In the meantime they are dismissed as decadents living in a state of highly developed barbarism hoarding data without order hunting their own young & fighting pointless formal wars. Seconded to a military-religious order hes barely heard of
- part of the baroque hierarchy of the Mercatoria the latest galactic hegemony
- Fassin Taak has to travel again amongst the Dwellers. He is in search of a secret hidden for half a billion years. But with each day that passes a war draws closer
- a war that threatens to overwhelm everything & everyone hes ever known. As complex turbulent flamboyant & spectacular as the gas giant on which it is set the new science fiction novel from Iain M. Banks is space opera on a truly epic scale.


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More than fifty years after Algerian independence Albert Camus' Algerian Chronicles appears here in English for the first time. Published in France in 1958 the same year the Algerian War brought about the collapse of the Fourth French Republic it is one of Camus' most political works--an exploration of his commitments to Algeria. Dismissed or disdained at publication today Algerian Chronicles with its prescient analysis of the dead end of terrorism enjoys a new life in Arthur Goldhammer's elegant translation. Believe me when I tell you that Algeria is where I hurt at this moment " Camus who was the most visible symbol of France's troubled relationship with Algeria writes "as others feel pain in their lungs." Gathered here are Camus' strongest statements on Algeria from the 1930s through the 1950s revised & supplemented by the author for publication in book form. In her introduction Alice Kaplan illuminates the dilemma faced by Camus: he was committed to the defense of those who suffered colonial injustices yet was unable to support Algerian national sovereignty apart from France. An appendix of lesser-known texts that did not appear in the French edition complements the picture of a moralist who posed questions about violence & counter-violence national identity terrorism & justice that continue to illuminate our contemporary world." ...

First Aid in English Reader A offers a diverse collection of fiction non-fcition & poetry from many different cultures. Texts are drawn from a range of different genres with attractive illsutrations to help engage the reader's attention. Arranged thematically the texts are interspersed with comprehension questions & exercises designed to contribute to the reader's own writing skills. Suitable for use in the whole class or by individuals pairs & groups. ...

Sometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles like a taffeta skirt along the floor.' Grace Marks. Female fiend? Femme fatale? Or weak & unwilling victim? Around the true story of one of the most enigmatic & notorious women of the 1840s Margaret Atwood has created an extraordinarily potent tale of sexuality cruelty & mystery. ...

' This story of friendship love grief & growing up will yank on the heartstrings. & then some' Look Alice Bliss is fifteen. She's smart funny & clever. Not afraid to stand up for the things she believes in. She also idolizes her father & when he leaves home to fight a war she doesn't believe in Alice is distraught. She & her mother negotiate his absence as best they can -- waiting impatiently for his letters throwing themselves into school & work respectively bickering intermittently & in Alice's case falling for the boy next door -- but then they're told that he's missing in action & have to face up to the fact that he may never return. 'A powerful coming-of-age story of love family & grief' Big Issue 'I put down this book & thought there is no one like this girl so fully has Harrington brought a new Alice to life' Sarah Blake bestselling author of The Postmistress ' Compassionate & intelligent.. .strong storytelling & a rich emotional core' Jenny Downham author of Before I Die ...

Alice Cooper: Golf Monster is the full account of how Cooper became one of the biggest rock stars on the planet with hits like School's Out" & " Elected" nearly lost it all to alcoholism & then turned things around by finding a healthy obsession (golf) to replace his unhealthy addiction to alcohol. While most will be familiar with his wild mascaraed visage & vaudevillian on-stage theatrics perhaps few will have been aware of the double life Alice Cooper leads. He still tours the world with his band playing a hundred gigs a year; snake coiled round his neck beheaded by guillotine at the end of every show...but three hundred days out of that year Cooper is on the course. Alice Cooper: Golf Monster is an unlikely & captivating tale of wretched excess life-saving redemption ghoulish make-up power chords & five-irons to the centre of the green. Both humorous & candid this book reveals another dimension to a man who has epitomised rock 'n' roll for the last forty years." ...

Social mores come under bestselling author Philippa Gregorys acute scrutiny in this reissue of a long-unavailable novel of betrayal revenge & liberation! Alice Hartley can no longer arouse the interest of her pompous husband the adulterous professor. Despite her efforts she still leaves him cold. Just as she is compelled to face this chilling truth she meets Michael a young student with an excessive libido. In Michael Alice discovers an endless supply of all she has sought: revenge sex & a large house suitable for conversion. Soon the house is thigh-deep with women joyfully casting off the shacles of their oppression. Sadly some narrow-minded neigbours & numerous forces of the law seem completely impervious to all those healing vibrations! ...

Alice in Sunderland" is a graphic novel like no other. Bryan Talbot takes the city of Sunderland & the story of Lewis Carroll & Alice Liddell (the 'real' Alice) as the spine of his story & around them spins a spectacularly diverse range of different stories. He explores Carroll's links with Sunderland & shows how the city inspired his masterpieces. He delves into the city's history from the Venerable Bede to George Formby from its heyday as the greatest shipbuilding port in the world to its present multicultural mix. Talbot's artwork is a spectacular mixture of different styles: black & white ink line & pencil drawing watercolour collage & digitally manipulated photographic artwork. His stories are told from the stage of the Sunderland Empire theatre an Edwardian music hall & the book is a genuine variety performance. In " Alice in Sunderland" he shows
- triumphantly
- how local history is national history in microcosm how one story begets another. The result is a landmark book in the graphic field."

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Sequel to New York Times "bestselling manga " Alice in the Country of Hearts" His name is Boris & despite his human form & piercings & tattoos he is not your typical punk teenager. For he is the Cheshire Cat complete with cat ears & a tail & a penchant for riddles. Boris is in madly love with Alice & Alice is vulnerable & lonely. But will she fall for the Cheshire Cat?" "" ...

Kidnapped by a handsome man with rabbit ears Alice Liddell finds herself abandoned in an odd place called Wonderland & thrust into a game " the rules of which she has yet to learn. Alice ever the plucky tomboy sets off to explore & get the lay of this strange land intent on finding her rude kidnapper & giving him a piece of her mind (and her fist). But little does she know that shes wandered right into the middle of a dangerous power struggle involving just about all of Wonderlands attractive weapon-happy denizens. & the only way for Alice to return home is to get acquainted with the lot of them?! How in the world will she manage that & still manage to stay alive?!" ...