"There will always persist in my mind the sound of dead leaves crunching under my feet and that wisp of warm air that caressed my face like invisible hands. I walked a few steps and simply fell to the ground without life”.
This may well be the end of a novel, but on Despair Avenue, it is only the beginning. With his death, the protagonist is trapped in a kind of threshold, somewhere between alive and dead. His journey takes him to his old place of residence and to meet again with the one who was once his family. It will then be when she understands how much she has changed and the grave danger that lies ahead. Views: 36
Dub Steps has a strange long aftertaste. It is science fiction with ordinary characters trying to understand what it is to be alive. People have gone, suddenly, inexplicably, and the remaining handful have to find each other and start again. In that new beginning they wrestle with identity, race, sex, art, religion and time, in a remarkably realistic, step-by-step way. Nature comes back, Johannesburg becomes wonderfully overgrown, designer pigs watch from the periphery walls, and the small group of survivors have to find ways of living with their own flaws and the flaws of each other. The aftertaste comes from the surprisingly real meditations in the middle of the end: after all simulated reality has gone, what human reality is left? There are no clichés in this book, but there is plenty of humour, originality and a gripping, unusual interrogation of the ordinary but really extraordinary fact of being alive. Views: 29
A disillusioned photojournalist finds solace close to home in this "subtle, beautifully written" novel from the award-winning author of Pure (The Boston Globe). Clem Glass was a successful photojournalist, firm in the belief that photographs could capture truth and beauty—until he went to Africa and witnessed the aftermath of a genocidal massacre. Clem returns to London with his faith in human nature shattered and his life derailed. Nothing—work, love, sex—can rouse his interest and no other outlook can restore his faith. The one person Clem is able to connect with is his sister, who has made her own sudden retreat from reality into the shadows of mental illness, and he finds some peace nursing her back to health in rural Somerset. Then news arrives that offers him the chance to confront the source of his nightmares. From the celebrated author of Ingenious Pain and Oxygen, this is a... Views: 27
Andrew Miller's The Crossing is a fascinating modern tale of a brave and uncompromising woman's attempt to seize control of her life and fate. Who else has entered Tim's life the way Maud did? This girl who fell past him, lay seemingly dead on the ground, then stood and walked. That was where it all began. He wants her—wants to rescue her, to reach her. Yet there is nothing to suggest Maud has any need of him, that she is not already complete. A woman with a talent for survival, who works long hours and loves to sail—preferably on her own. When Maud finds her unfulfilling mariage tested to the breaking point by unspeakbale tragedy, she attempts an escape from her husband and the hypocrisies of society. In her quest she will encounter the impossible and push her mind and body to their limit. A wise and thrilling portrait of an irreducible heroine who asks no permission and begs no pardon, the book will resonate with sophisticated female readers, of... Views: 20
The marooned UN survivors continue to try to establish peaceful relations with the competing factions on Mars, a challenge that becomes more urgent when a radically changed Earth finally does answer their distress calls. Because Earth does fear what’s happened on Mars, perhaps enough to attempt once again to destroy all life on the surface. Views: 19
Saul Casey, an Oxford University student inadvertently harnesses universal energy into his mobile phone from an ancient relic and unwittingly becomes a ‘Sentinel’ charged with saving the universe from Dark energy. Views: 15
Earth’s reckless use of a nuclear weapon has threatened the lives of those living in Melas, prompting a band of Nomads to seek a new home in the more livable—and more dangerous—Coprates to the east. A young Eternal embarks on a journey to prove himself a hero. A former enemy tries to earn her place in the UN planetary forces. And a terrifying new threat arises from a world that never happened. Views: 15
Praise for Blood of Kings: 'Extremely compelling..... an almost Game of Thrones feel at times. The novel is certainly a page-turner...I look forward to reading a continuation' Ancient Warfare Magazine'This is a brilliantly written and scrupulously researched historical novel that uniquely captures the atmosphere surrounding the rise to power of Darius, the greatest king of Ancient Persia. His story is interwoven with parallel events in Egypt and Greece, making this novel of absorbing interest to anybody with an interest in the ancient world' Dr John Curtis, OBE, FBA, formerly Keeper of the Department of Middle East, the British MuseumIt is 530 BC and Cyrus the Great has carved out the largest Empire the world had ever seen, making Persia the undisputed superpower of the ancient world. But there is treachery afoot, and Cyrus's life is in danger. In a fast paced tale of love, war, betrayal and revenge,... Views: 12
As the peoples of Mars find themselves caught in an escalating war between an oppressive Earth and an apparently invincible enemy who claims to be from an alternate future, Colonel Ram awakens to find that he has been remade into an immortal superhuman in order to try to save all that he holds dear. But those he would help are terrified of what he’s become. And he’s not the only one of his kind… Views: 9
•Valentina: a teenager who ended her life with a cutter. •Marta: a mother who does not admit the atrocious act of her daughter. •Ismael: a university student who begins to lose his fears. •Lazarus del Río: Former Chief Inspector of Police, expelled and disqualified for life. What's after Valentina's suicide? Follow the investigation of Lazarus del Río and know the truth hidden after Valentina's death. A short history of suspense very well developed. Do not stop reading until you reach the end! Views: 9
