Life has an energy all its own. It thrives where no one would ever believe. It clings to the smallest toehold. It flourishes given any chance at all.Jane Markett was an up-and-coming exo-archeologist.. She was not about to let a bunch of stodgy, slow colleagues slow down her search for Zat-Mat-Kut, an ancient alien religious site. What happened, though, was not what anybody expected.Life has an energy all its own. It thrives where no one would ever believe. It clings to the smallest toehold. It flourishes given any chance at all.Jane Markett was an up-and-coming exo-archeologist when she first set foot on Zari-Kut-3 over a year ago. She was not about to let a bunch of stodgy, slow colleagues slow down her headlong search for Zat-Mat-Kut, an ancient alien religious site.The best android on this planet, Zack was the key to it all for Jane. He was more than just a strong back, his sensors were second to none. He was the latest in artificial intelligence. He was the key to her fast-track career path to fame and glory. All she had to do was convince Chuck, the Head Researcher in charge of this dig.What happened, though, was not what anybody expected.

Your favourite fairytales from a BIG, BAD point of view. Pre-order the brand-new Fairytale Diary from bestselling author, Ben Miller, now! The big, bad wolf hasn't had a great winter. He's cold, lonely and hungry . . . But things are about to change - he's going to take the Fairytale Woods by STORM. But while he knows he's BIG and BAD, no one else seems to be scared of him, they just keep meddling with his plans – the troll under the bridge, the three annoying pigs, and that pesky Little Red Riding Hood! This is going to take all his brain power and his most cunning smile, to catch Grandma and reclaim his place at the top of the food chain! Turn the page, share the adventure in a hilarious and magical story for all the family, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli.

Collected for the first time in one volume, Messenger Runs includes the novellas, short stories, and deleted scenes from Peter V. Brett's internationally bestselling Demon Cycle—The Great Bazaar, Brayan's Gold, and Messenger's Legacy—gorgeously illustrated by Dominik Broniek, as well as a comprehensive grimoire of magic wards.In Brayan's Gold and The Great Bazaar, follow the adventures of young Arlen Bales, who would one day become the legendary Warded Man. Arlen knows Messenger work is dangerous. They must brave the demon-infested nights, delivering mail and sometimes dangerous cargo to remote locations. Already, a vengeful rock demon stalks him for cutting off its arm.Yet like so many before him, Arlen seeks the legendary lost fighting wards—a way to finally face the demons on their own terms. There were countless ruins of the old world between the walled Free Cities. Could one of them hold the key to humanity's survival?In...

Adventures Among Books

Christmas magic, delivered! The brand-new festive blockbuster from Ben Miller - the perfect stocking-filler for all the family. Pre-order now! It's business as usual in the run up to Christmas at Santa's Workshop - and toy elves Holly and Tog are busy making gifts for children all around the world. But Father Christmas isn't feeling well, and Holly is worried that things won't be finished on time. Inventing a robot to help out with festive duties seems like a fantastic idea, until Father Christmas is KIDNAPPED and a race against time to save him and the big day begins. Funny and heartwarming, this beautifully illustrated pocket-sized story shows the importance of family at Christmas, and all year round. 'A sheer delight for all kids both big AND small' Ruth Jones on The Night I Met Father Christmas 'Bubbles with warmth and mischievous humour . . . irresistible' Alexander Armstrong on The Night I Met Father...

When Thetra’s parents are assassinated by unknown murderers, it leaves him eager for revenge. He sets out with his brother Arek to hunt down the killers. They find them in the city’s restaurant, acting as normal citizens of Toage, but they attack them with their weapons. Arek has a bucket of paint poured on him, and Thetra must save his brother's life.There is only one dragon that can save Thetra.There is only one army Thetra must protect.Everyone else is his enemy.When Thetra’s parents are assassinated by unknown murderers, it leaves him eager for revenge. He sets out with his brother Arek to hunt down the killers. They find them in the city’s restaurant, acting as normal citizens of Toage, but they attack them with their weapons. Arek has a bucket of paint poured on him, and Thetra must save his brother's life. He has never saved a man’s life before, and he does not know what to do.

The thrilling conclusion to Quest of the Jedi storytelling from the #1 New York Times best-selling High Republic initiative! An enthralling and relentlessly paced young adult adventure set in the world of the High Republic, 150 years before stories of Phase I: Light of the Jedi. Meet fortune-seeking explorers, enigmatic followers, and valiant Jedi whose intersecting paths on the planet Dalna will set them on a collision course that will haunt the Republic for centuries to come. Don't miss these other young adult adventures of Star Wars: The High Republic! Path of Deceit by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland Into the Dark by Claudia Gray Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older

Top 100 Books Master Skylark - A Story of Shakspere\'s Time by John Bennett There was an unwonted buzzing in the east end of Stratford on that next to the last day of April, 1596. It was as if some one had thrust a stick into a hive of bees and they had come whirling out to see. The low stone guard-wall of old Clopton bridge, built a hundred years before by rich Sir Hugh, sometime Mayor of London, was lined with straddling boys, like strawberries upon a spear of grass, and along the low causeway from the west across the lowland to the town, brown-faced, barefoot youngsters sat beside the roadway with their chubby legs a-dangle down the mossy stones, staring away into the south across the grassy levels of the valley of the Stour. Punts were poling slowly up the Avon to the bridge; and at the outlets of the town, where the streets came down to the waterside among the weeds, little knots of men and serving-maids stood looking into the south and listening. Some had waited for an hour, some for two; yet still there was no sound but the piping of the birds in white-thorn hedges, the hollow lowing of kine knee-deep in grassy meadows, and the long rush of the river through the sedge beside the pebbly shore; and naught to see but quiet valleys, primrose lanes, and Warwick orchards white with bloom, stretching away to the misty hills. But still they stood and looked and listened. The wind came stealing up out of the south, soft and warm and sweet and still, moving the ripples upon the river with gray gusts; and, scudding free before the wind, a dog came trotting up the road with wet pink tongue and sidelong gait. At the throat of Clopton bridge he stopped and scanned the way with dubious eye, then clapped his tail between his legs and bolted for the town. The laughing shout that followed him into the Warwick road seemed not to die away, but to linger in the air like the drowsy hum of bees--a hum that came and went at intervals upon the shifting wind, and grew by littles, taking body till it came unbroken as a long, low, distance-muffled murmur from the south, so faint as scarcely to be heard.

To know Puss, Junior once is to love him forever! That\'s the way everyone feels about this adventurous cat who is the son of a very famous father, Puss in Boots. In the Puss in Boots, Jr series of ten books written by David Cory and originally published in 1917-1922, Puss, Junior discovers that he is the son of the illustriious Puss in Boots and he begins a journey across New Mother Goose Land to find his famous father. Along the way, Puss Junior meets characters from children\'s fiction and nursery rhymes, helps the weak and downtrodden, and learns something about life from everyone he meets. In Books 1 and 2, Puss searches for and finds his father. Books 3 through 10 tell of more adventures afterward and some adventures that were left out of the first two books. In Book 1, Puss discovers his identity and meets Yankee Doodle Dandy, the Queen of Hearts, Mother Goose, Old King Cole, and many other characters. He joins a circus, climbs Jack\'s beanstalk, and attends a wedding. The original illustrations by Elizabeth Jones Babcock are included in the stories. Nine of these have been enlarged and printed in the back of the book as coloring pages for crayon or colored pencil. Adults using colored pencils can create vintage-looking pictures. The Puss in Boots, Jr books are lovely reminders that simple words can awaken the imaginations of children and adults alike, just as they did one hundred years ago. The original stories have been very slightly edited to change archaic words and references. Reading level is second grade but much younger children will enjoy hearing the stories read to them.

A festive adventure that will take you round the world in the third of the top-ten bestselling Christmas Elf Chronicles from Ben Miller. Pre-order now! Father Christmas needs a holiday. He isn't feeling well and someone seems determined to ruin the festivities. It's up to Christmas Elves, Tog and Holly, to find a way to deliver the presents on time and bring the Christmas magic back for everyone. A laugh-out-loud race against time with a heartwarming message of teamwork, and the perfect stocking filler for all the family to enjoy this Christmas.

In the cataclysm of the battle of the gods, a portal to Hell has been opened, releasing legions of unnatural creatures that have pushed humanity to the edge of extinction. While warring deities clash with fallen angels, the only hope for mankind’s survival lies with the most unlikely heroes: Former assassin Rachel Hael has rejoined blood-magician Mina Greene and her little dog, Basilis, on one last desperate mission to save the world from the ravages of Hell. As Rachel travels to the final confrontation she has both sought and feared, she begins to realize that time itself is unraveling. And so she must prepare herself for a sacrifice that may claim her heart, her life, her soul—and even then it may not be enough.

Suspended by chains over a seemingly bottomless abyss, the ancient city of Deepgate is home to a young angel, an assassin, and a psychotic murderer hungry for revenge—or redemption. But soon a shocking betrayal will unite all three in a desperate quest.... The last of his line, Dill is descended from legendary Battle-archons who once defended the city. Forbidden to fly and untrained even to wield the great sword inherited from his forebears, he has become a figurehead for a dying tradition. Now he lives a sheltered existence in one of Deepgate’s crumbling temple spires under the watchful eye of the Presbyter who rules the city. Spine assassin Rachel Hael has better things to do than oversee the Presbyter’s angel. Each dark moon she must fight for her life among the city chains, hunting an immortal predator with a taste for blood. But when a traitor brings enemies to Deepgate’s doorstep, Dill and Rachel are forced into an uneasy alliance with the city’s oldest and most dangerous foe. They must journey down into the uncharted chasm to save their sprawling metropolis—and themselves—from annihilation. Once they descend however, they learn that what lies below is far more sinister than what they’ve been taught to expect. From the Hardcover edition.

From actor, author, and comedian Ben Miller comes an illustrated middle grade fantasy adventure following a brother and sister who stumble into a magical new world—perfect for fans of Half Upon a Time and Land of Stories!Lana loves stories, especially the ones she and her brother, Harrison, share in their make-believe games. But when Harrison decides he's too grown-up to play with Lana anymore, she's too lonely to find the wonder in storytelling...until something magical happens. Lana discovers a portal to a fairy tale world hidden in the strange new supermarket in town! But these aren't the happy-ever-after fairy tales that Lana knows—they are darker and more dangerous, and the characters need Lana's help to defeat an evil witch. But she can't do it alone. Can she convince Harrison to believe in stories again and journey to the world with her before it's too late?

When John Corwin embarked on his new life, building a campground, he had no idea what awaited him. Running from his past and trying to control his future, he would find love, adventure and the answers to life that others only dreamed about. Along the way, he would have to fight against an evil that wanted to take away everything. There are answers in the Mist. But they come with a price.A dark future awaits...After a decade of storms, disease, drought, and riots, the US conquers its troubles by militarizing its government. Old democratic allies in Europe respond uneasily to the change.in 2055 Arinna and Michael Prescot are just two of the many former soldiers sent to foreign embassies in the hopes of strengthening faltering US alliances. But as the US becomes embroiled in new internal terrorism, its agents in Europe are offered intimidation and lies rather than explanations. And the price of seeking the truth to events back home is steep.As the growing conflict in the US threatens the peace of Europe and tips the world toward World War III, choices of loyalty need to be made - if Michael and Arinna can determine who to trust and if the price of their help is worth the cost. Global events hinge on a few individuals as an apocalyptic war threatens Europe, and no one is more unprepared than its potential saviors.Stories from the War consists of eleven interlinked short stories that are a prelude to the military dystopian thriller trilogy Friends of my Enemy.Set in Europe, this near future fiction series of novels unfolds through the intersecting lives of a small handful of people and explores adult themes, both dark and hopeful, of friendship, romance, and family, including how these influences direct everyday choices which ripple outwards to impact governments on the verge of an apocalypse. Because not all influence is good, and not all decisions can be made in time.What readers are saying:“Part one of what appears to be an interesting tale of tangled relationships and covert happenings in a future earth torn asunder with riots and natural disasters. Strong characterization and believable scenarios coupled with a setting that is thought provoking and entertaining. I want to read the next one. Check this story out!” - J.Williams 4 stars“Autumn has done it again. This book will grab you and carry you from beginning to end without a moment of boredom. Think of the quotation "The Enemy of my enemy is my friend" and you gain some insight into the substance of the story. I normally like Fantasy Adventure, but this novel was a great walk through something a little different. Can't recommend it enough.” - Victor 5 stars