The Mediterranean 1571. For hundreds of years the Ottoman Empire has ruled the seas. But the seas are only a gateway to the lands they covet beyond. The armies of the Turk are picking off colonies & small islands & if the Mediterranean falls then finally perhaps the balance of power between crescent & cross will tip... It has been a momentous summer
- armies assembling Cyprus besieged & men flayed alive their bodies displayed as trophies on opposing galleys. Now as the sun rises on one October day history will be written in blood. Five hours will shape history. Countries all over western Europe have sent ships & men. Caught up in it are Hodge & Ingoldsby
- two young English adventurers who have survived the siege of Malta & are already living on borrowed time. Now it seems the debt must be repaid...

...

HBOs hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martins internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE & FIRE the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A CLASH OF KINGS is the second volume in the series. The Iron Throne once united the Sunset Lands but King Robert is dead his widow is a traitor to his memory & his surviving brothers are set on a path of war amongst themselves. At Kings Landing the head of Lord Eddard Stark rots on a spike for all to see. His daughter Sansa is betrothed still to his killers son Joffrey
- Queen Cerseis son though not the son of her late husband Robert. Even so Joffrey is now a boy-king Cersei is his regent & war is inevitable. In Dragonstone Roberts brother Stannis has declared himself king while his other brother Renly proclaims himself king at Storms End
- & Eddard Starks fifteen year old son Robb wears the crown of the north at Winterfell. A comet in the night sky red & malevolent the colour of blood & flame can only be an omen of murder & war. Stanniss child Princess Shireen dreams of dragons waking from stone. & a white raven has brought word from the Citadel itself foretelling summers end. It has been the longest summer in living memory lasting ten years & the smallfolk say it means an even longer winter to come... The first rule of war is never give the enemy his wish. But winter will be the biggest enemy. From beyond the Wall the undead & Others clamour for freedom & from beyond the sea the long-dead Dragon Kings daughter hatches her revenge. Robb Stark will be exceedingly lucky to reach adulthood.

...

HBO's hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martin's internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE & FIRE the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A CLASH OF KINGS is the second volume in the series. Throughout Westeros the cold winds are rising. From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding lands of Winterfell chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms stake their claims through tempest turmoil & war. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky
- a comet the colour of blood & flame
- five factions struggle for control of a divided l&. Brother plots against brother & the dead rise to walk in the night. Against a backdrop of incest fratricide alchemy & murder the price of glory is measured in blood.

...

HBOs hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martins internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE & FIRE the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A CLASH OF KINGS is the second volume in the series. A beautifully presented slipcased edition of A CLASH OF KINGS. The Iron Throne once united the Sunset Lands but King Robert is dead his widow is a traitor to his memory & his surviving brothers are set on a path of war amongst themselves. At Kings Landing the head of Lord Eddard Stark rots on a spike for all to see. His daughter Sansa is betrothed still to his killers son Joffrey
- Queen Cerseis son though not the son of her late husband Robert. Even so Joffrey is now a boy-king Cersei is his regent & war is inevitable. In Dragonstone Roberts brother Stannis has declared himself king while his other brother Renly proclaims himself king at Storms End
- & Eddard Starks fifteen year old son Robb wears the crown of the north at Winterfell. A comet in the night sky red & malevolent the colour of blood & flame can only be an omen of murder & war. Stanniss child Princess Shireen dreams of dragons waking from stone. & a white raven has brought word from the Citadel itself foretelling summers end. It has been the longest summer in living memory lasting ten years & the smallfolk say it means an even longer winter to come... The first rule of war is never give the enemy his wish. But winter will be the biggest enemy. From beyond the Wall the undead & Others clamour for freedom & from beyond the sea the long-dead Dragon Kings daughter hatches her revenge. Robb Stark will be exceedingly lucky to reach adulthood.

...

The second volume of A Song of Ice & Fire the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. Now a major Sky Atlantic TV series from HBO featuring a stellar cast. Throughout Westeros the cold winds are rising. From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding lands of Winterfell chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms stake their claims through tempest turmoil & war. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky
- a comet the colour of blood & flame
- five factions struggle for control of a divided l&. Brother plots against brother & the dead rise to walk in the night. Against a backdrop of incest fratricide alchemy & murder the price of glory is measured in blood.

...

Quint is travelling with his father Wind Jackal on a mission to track down & bring to justice Turbot Smeal the man who started the fire that killed their family. Having left behind his studies at the Knights Academy Quint is now eager to learn what it really means to be a sky pirate & to learn from his father. But Wind Jackal is consumed by his desire to capture Smeal
- & his judgement is flawed. His actions endangers the lives of his crew
- & his son. As they travel from the taverns & backstreets of Undertown & the wonders of the shipbuilders yards to the dark dangers of the Deepwoods where Quint & Maris become separated from the rest of the crew & encounter some terrifying creatures
- & finally to the mysterious ghostly sky-wreck in Open Sky where they discover the truth about Smeal
- & face a new terror...



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Barcelona & Real Madrid: two of the most powerful & popular clubs in world football & one of the worlds most bitter sporting rivalries. Going far beyond the boundaries of just sport alone this is a rivalry at the heart of Spanish life taking in politics & culture & splitting a country in two. El Clasico gets to the heart of that rivalry investigating the intrigue the larger-than-life characters the key flashpoints & their consequences. From civil war bloodshed to 40 years of fascism & links with General Franco the clubs shared history is the stuff of a Robert Harris novel &
Includes:: murdered presidents from both clubs player kidnappings acts of hooliganism
- & thats before you start thinking of the volatile football matches themselves. The book contains numerous interviews with key figures such as Luis Figo & Hristo Stoichkov (two of the main hate figures from both clubs) Joan Laporta (Barcelonas most successful president & having entered politics Catalonian separatisms poster boy) & various ex-players ex-managers agents referees hooligans editors historians sociologists filmmakers novelists photographers TV presenters & celebrity fans. The two clubs are packed with international superstar players
- including the worlds two best players in Leo Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo
- & 10 of the starting 11 players from Spains 2010 World Cup final victory play with either Barcelona or Real Madrid. This is a story with resonance around the sporting world with many instantly recognisable figures to an international audience such as Jose Mourinho. But it is also a tale of a country divided by a bitter rivalry.



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CLASS IS DEAD! Or so everyone claims. Who better to refute this than Jilly Cooper! Describing herself as 'upper middle class' Jilly claims that snobbery is very much alive & thriving! Meet her hilarious characters! People like Harry Stow-Crat Mr & Mrs Nouveau-Richards Samantha & Gideon Upward & Jen Teale & her husband Brian. Roar with laughter at her horribly unfair observations on their everyday pretensions
- their sexual courtships choice of furnishings clothes education food careers & ambitions... For they will all remind you of people that you know!
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While it is perhaps impossible to produce a definitive history of the Class 47 in one volume this book gets close to achieving such an ambition. The Brush Type 4 (later Class 47/48) was the single largest type of main-line diesel-electric locomotive to be constructed by British Railways with 512 being built at Crewe Works & at Brushs Falcon Works at Loughborough between introduction in 1962 & the end of production five years later. Allocated to all BR regions with the exception of the Southern the class was to see widespread use on a great variety of traffic from top-link passenger expresses to more mundane freight workings. Over the 50 years since the types introduction the class has been subject to much modification & a great variety of livery has been carried particularly in the years since Sectorisation & Privatisation. Up to 1986 only five examples of the class had been withdrawn all the result of accident damage but from the end of that decade & especially since Privatisation & the arrival of the now-ubiquitous Class 66 there has been a slow but inexorable decline in the classs numbers although a quantity of both Class 47 & modified Class 57 types remain in main-line service. A significant number are also now entering preservation. This book marks the 50th anniversary of the class & is the result of many years of detailed research in the archives rewriting much of the accepted wisdom of the types history. ...

When CHERUB kids go undercover no one suspects that they are trained professionals working to infiltrate criminal organisations that have eluded MI5 & the police for years. James Adams is on his biggest mission yet working to nail Europe's most powerful cocaine dealer. He'll need all his specialist training if he's going to bring down the man at the top. The reason for CHERUB's existence is simple: adults never suspect that children are spying on them. ...