Set sail for the read of your life.. . Patrick O' Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. Master & Commander is the first of Patrick O' Brian's now famous Aubrey/ Maturin novels regarded by many as the greatest series of historical novels ever written. It establishes the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey RN & Stephen Maturin who becomes his secretive ship's surgeon & an intelligence agent. It contains all the action & excitement which could possibly be hoped for in a historical novel but it also displays the qualities which have put O' Brian far ahead of any of his competitors: his depiction of the detail of life aboard a Nelsonic man-of-war of weapons food conversation & ambience of the landscape & of the sea. O' Brian's portrayal of each of these is faultless & the sense of period throughout is acute. His power of characterisation is above all masterly. This brilliant historical novel marked the debut of a writer who grew into one of our greatest novelists ever the author of what Alan Judd writing in the Sunday Times has described as 'the most significant extended story since Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time'. ...

From dungeon to cathedral from brothel to hermit's hut the gambits of the mighty face the power of seers & stars. In the fortress of Bren mad King Kylock & the wizard Baralis spread their sadistic terror across the shattered kingdoms. Meanwhile the fallen knight Tawl & Jack the baker's boy meet in a quest to save widowed Melliandra & her unborn child. The conflict that follows will rewrite the meaning of Destiny & unknit the very fabric of Time.. .MASTER & FOOL is the conclusion to the Book of Words
- an epic tale of grandeur & magic which has been acclaimed as one of the most brilliant fantasy debuts for many years. For more information on this or any other Orbit book visit the Orbit website at www.orbitbooks.co.uk
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Afflicted by classic paranoia the self-styled Master & God sees enemies everywhere. As he vents his suspicions no one is safe. A reluctant hero Gaius Vinius Clodianus is h&-picked for high rank in the Praetorian Guard a brave man striving for decency in a world of corruption & deceit. Flavia Lucilla tending the privileged women at court hears the intimate secrets of a ruler who plays with the lives of his subjects as if he were indeed a careless god. In the dark shadow of Domitian's reign Clodianus & Lucilla play out their own complex tale of resilience friendship & love. Unwilling witnesses to Domitian's descent into insanity these ordinary people must choose between their sworn duty to protect the Emperor & an act of courage that will change the future of Rome. ...

In a book of unprecedented scope--now available in a larger format--Iain Mc Gilchrist presents a fascinating exploration of the differences between the brains left & right hemispheres & how those differences have affected society history & culture. Mc Gilchrist draws on a vast body of recent research in neuroscience & psychology to reveal that the difference is profound: the left hemisphere is detail oriented while the right has greater breadth flexibility & generosity. Mc Gilchrist then takes the reader on a journey through the history of Western culture illustrating the tension between these two worlds as revealed in the thought & belief of thinkers & artists from Aeschylus to Magritte.A landmark new book.... It tells a story you need to hear of where we live now."--Bryan Appleyard " Sunday Times""A very remarkable book.... Mc Gilchrist who is both an experienced psychiatrist & a shrewd philosopher looks at the relation between our two brain-hemispheres in a new light not just as an interesting neurological problem but as a crucial shaping factor in our culture... splendidly thought-provoking.... I couldnt put it down."--Mary Midgley " The Guardian" Named one of the best books of 2010 by " The Guardian"" ...

Moscow 1929: a city that has lost its way amid corruption & fear inhabited by people who have abandoned their morals & forsaken spirituality. But when a mysterious stranger arrives in town with a bizarre entourage that

Includes:: a giant talking cat & a fanged assassin all hell breaks loose. Among those caught up in the strange & inexplicable events that transpire in the capital are the Master a writer whose life has been destroyed by Soviet repression & his beloved Margarita. Their adventures reveal a story that began two thousand years ago in ancient Jerusalem
- & its resolution will decide their fate. Considered one of the finest creations of Russian literature in the 20th century The Master & Margarita is an amazing work of fantasy a love story a biting satire on Soviet life & a lot more. Mikhail Bulgakovs last book & crowning achievement it has been written in secrecy burned & restored & banned for decades. Its author who worked on it until his final days never saw it in print. This new translation faithfully reproduces the style & idiomatic flow of the text so that English-speaking audiences may fully enjoy Bulgakovs masterpiece.


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Mikhail Bulgakovs The Master & Margarita" is a fiercely satirical fantasy that remained unpublished in its authors home country for over thirty years. This " Penguin Classics" edition is translated with an introduction by Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky the acclaimed translators of Tolstoys Anna Karenina. In Soviet Moscow God is dead but the devil
- to say nothing of his retinue of demons from a loudmouthed gun-toting tomcat to the fanged fallen angel Koroviev
- is very much alive. As death & destruction spread through the city like wildfire condemning Moscows cultural elite to prison cells & body bags only a madman the " Master & Margarita" his beautiful courageous lover can hope to end the chaos. Written in secret during the darkest days of Stalins reign & circulated in samizdat form for decades when " The Master & the Margarita" was finally published it became an overnight literary phenomenon signalling artistic freedom for Russians everywhere. This luminous translation from the complete & unabridged Russian text is accompanied by an introduction by Richard Pevear exploring the extraordinary circumstances of the novels composition & publication & how Bulgakov drew on carnivalesque folk traditions to create his ironic subversion of Soviet propaganda. This edition also contains a list of further reading & a note on the text. After finishing high school Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) entered the Medical School of Kiev University graduating in 1916. He wrote about his experiences as a doctor in his early works " Notes of a Young Country Doctor". His later works treated the subject of the artist & the tyrant under the guise of historical characters but " The Master & Margarita" is generally considered his masterpiece. If you enjoyed " The Master & Margarita" you might like Jonathan Swifts " Gullivers Travels" also available in " Penguin Classics". " One of the great novels of the 20th century a scary darkly comic allegory". (" Daily Telegraph")."

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The Master & Margarita" is one of the most famous & best-selling Russian novels of the 20th century despite its surreal environment of talking cats Satan & mysterious happenings. Naxos Audio Books presents this careful abridgement of a new translation in an imaginative reading by the charismatic Julian Rhind-Tutt. With War & Peace & Crime & Punishment among the Naxos Audio Books best-sellers this too promises to be a front title." ...

The FLASH is seeing double.. .or triple! Three crooks mirror images of one another are robbing CENTRAL CITY. & when the SCARLET SPEEDSTER chases them they disappear into a shiny storefront window without crashing. Theres only one thing left to do: FLASH has to zoom through the looking glass himself. On the other side he doesnt believe his eyes. He finds a dazzling kingdom ruled by the mesmerizing menace of the MIRROR MASTER! If the super hero cant fight off his foes hypnotic tricks it will be lights out for the FASTEST MAN ALIVE! ...

A stirring adventure novel set amid the tumultuous clashes between the Roman & Carthaginian empires battling for control of the Mediterranean North Africa & Rome itself. Atticus the young Greek captain is now a commander of the growing Roman navy blockading a port near Tunis when the Roman legions suffer terrible defeat by the triumphant Carthaginian army spearheaded by the elephant charges. He & his ships escape together with the main body of the Roman fleet out manoeuvred by the more skilful Carthaginians & then caught & almost completely annihilated by a terrible storm. Atticus & his crew are among the handful of survivors & being the messenger of this news to the Senate in Rome brings Atticus into political troubles almost as stormy as the sea. He begins to feel not only that a Greek will never be accepted by the Romans but also that the behaviour of many both politicians & soldiers is such that he is not sure that he wants to be a Roman. Full of dramatic battles by land & sea led by tremendous characters on both sides MASTER OF ROME is a powerful novel the third in this bestselling series by a born storyteller. ...

One of Sidney Sheldons most popular & bestselling titles repackaged & reissued for a new generation of fans. Kate Blackwell is one of the richest & most powerful women in the world. She is an enigma a woman surrounded by a thousand unanswered questions. Her father was a diamond prospector who struck it rich beyond his wildest dreams. Her mother was the daughter of a crooked Afrikaaner merchant. Her conception was itself an act of hate-filled vengeance. At the extravagent celebrations of her ninetieth birthday there are toasts from a Supreme Court Judge & a telegram from the White House. & for Kate there are ghosts ghosts of absent friends & of enemies. Ghosts from a life of blackmail & murder. Ghosts from an empire spawned by naked ambition... Sidney Sheldon is one of the most popular storytellers in the world. This is one of his best-loved novels a compulsively readable thriller packed with suspense intrigue & passion. It will recruit a new generation of fans to his writing. ...