Faber and Faber

Tells the definitive history of the Arab peoples from the seventh century, when the new religion of Islam began to spread from the Arabian Peninsula westwards, to the present day. For this edition, Malise Ruthven continues the history to include such recent events as the crisis in Iraq, the civil war in Algeria and the aftermath of September 11th.

Meet the Plamglotis who, born without feet, swallows its hands to walk on looking for food. Unfortunately, when it finds food it can't eat because its mouth is already full. The Underblenge has a snerbulent splench sucker that captures prey by sticking to their face and suffocating them, as its suckers are impossible to prize off. Unfortunately it can't catch anything as it can't move from the rock it was born on. The Grundit, who staggers around half-witted and grumpy causing trouble. Its favourite hobby is to use... the Puddloflaj as a mode of transport. (The Baby Puddloflaj, incidentally, can be used as a water bomb). There are 35 characters to get to know. Each one is introduced in stunning full-colour with the help of Rob Steen's remarkable, original and modern artwork which was created using a combination of traditional media and computer techniques.

Arthur has vanished, or so his family thinks. If they only knew that he is in the back garden, where he has been shrunk into the world of the Minimoys. It is a world of danger and excitement, where Arthur, helped by the fiery Princess Selenia and her mischievous brother Betameche, has a difficult quest: he must rescue his grandfather, find lost treasure and save the kingdom of the Minimoys. But the answer to his quest lies deep within the garden at Necropolis, a forbidden city ruled by the evil wizard Maltazard. And to reach it, Arthur must cross a vast world of fierce battles and terrible monsters. And once you he has found the forbidden city... will he ever return?

When railwayman Jim Stringer is assigned to drive holiday makers to Blackpool in the summer of 1905, he thinks he's struck lucky. But his dreams are soon destroyed — when his train meets a huge millstone on the line. A thriller of sabotage, this book brings a twist to tales of Edwardian England, steam railways and amateur sleuthing.

When railwayman Jim Stringer moves to the garish and tawdry London of 1903, he finds his duties are confined to a mysterious graveyard line. Perplexingly, the men he works alongside have formed an instant loathing for him. And his predecessor has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Can Jim work out what is going on before he too is travelling on a one-way coffin ticket aboard the Necropolis Railway? A gripping detective story, fabulously rich in atmosphere and period detail, The Necropolis Railway steams toward an unexpected conclusion.

Sarah Wode-Douglas is an aristocratic Englishwoman making her living in literary London, until she impulsively journeys across the world to Kuala Lumpur. Here, she encounters the strange and forgotten poet Christopher Chubb, whose secrets Sarah is compelled to discover.

The War of the End of the World is one of the great modern historical novels. Inspired by a real episode in Brazilian history, Mario Vargas Llosa tells the story of an apocalyptic movement, led by a mysterious prophet, in which prostitutes, beggars and bandits establish Canudos, a new republic, a libertarian paradise.

Mario Vargas Llosa, the internationally acclaimed author of The Storyteller, adds his own finely-tuned poetic polish to this erotic exploration of carnality in one family. He turns the proverbial romantic triangle on its ear to create this New York Times bestselling erotic novel. French flaps and six full-color pages of classic artworks.

Amelie, a well-intentioned and eager young westerner, goes to Japan to spend a year working at the Yumimoto Corporation. Returning to the land where she was born is the fulfilment of a dream for Amelie, but working there turns into a comic nightmare of terror and self-abasement. Disturbing, hilarious and totally convincing Fear and Trembling displays an elegant and shrewd understanding of the intricate ways Japanese relationships are made and spoiled.

Ka returns to Istanbul and takes a commission to report on the municipal elections in Kars near the Russian border. There he discovers a dangerous atmosphere, with tensions running high between the political Islamists and the enlightened, pro-Western Turkish military.

Twenty-three illustrated gothic tales from the dark corridors of the imagination of the creative genius behind Batman, Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish. Burton`s lovingly lurid illustrations evoke both the sweetness and tragedy of a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children — hopeful, yet hapless beings.

'People like to think that money and love are opposites. Anna Moore, tax inspector A2 Grade, has come to be less sure...' Anna is assigned to investigate John Law, code maker, code breaker and the world's first quadrillionaire. What follows is a lesson in generosity and greed, and a powerful discovery of love.

The discovery of an unidentified, decomposed corpse in a railway wagon marks the beginning of Zen's most difficult and dangerous case. Set against the backdrop of the 3000-year-old city of Catalina, in the shadow of Mount Etna, Blood Rain finds Aurelio Zen at his most desperate and driven.

Annie Dunne and her cousin Sarah live and work on a small farm in a remote and beautiful part of Wicklow in late 1950s Ireland. All about them the old green roads are being tarred, cars are being purchased, a way of life is about to disappear. When Annie's nephew and his wife are set to go to London to find work, their two small children, a little boy and his older sister, are brought down to spend the summer with their grand-aunt. A summer of adventure, pain, delight and ultimately epiphany unfolds in this poignant and exquisitely told story of innocence, loss and reconciliation

A psychologist arrives at a research space station called Prometheus, his mission to ascertain whether research into the mysterious planet of Solaris should be terminated. He finds Prometheus all but deserted, its straggling crew seemingly haunted by hallucinations of figures from their pasts.

Fifteen-year-old Vernon Gregory Little is in trouble, and it has something to do with the recent massacre of 16 students at his high school. Soon, the quirky backwater of Martirio, barbecue capital of Texas, is flooded with wannabe CNN hacks, eager for a scapegoat.

Tom is horrified when his parents tell him he is to stay on Aunt Millie's farm while they are away on a trip. When he arrives, he finds the farm every bit as strange and uncomfortable as he feared — that is, until the appearance of the black fox.

Classic novel by a Nobel prize winner about a group of boys who, after a plane crash, set up a primitive society on an uninhabited island. Vietnamese translation by Le Chu Cau. In Vietnamese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Trained as a cosmonaut for the Soviet space programme, the hero of this novel, whose name combines the Russian word for special police force and the Ancient Egyptian sun god, finds that his mission to the moon develops unexpectedly, and builds to a bizarre conclusion.

In the late 1590s, the Sultan secretly commissions a great book: a celebration of his life and his empire, to be illuminated by the best artists of the day — in the European manner. At a time of violent fundamentalism, however, this is a dangerous proposition. Even the illustrious circle of artists are not allowed to know for whom they are working. But when one of the miniaturists is murdered, their Master has to seek outside help. Did the dead painter fall victim to professional rivalry, romantic jealousy or religious terror? With the Sultan demanding an answer within three days, perhaps the clue lies somewhere in the half-finished pictures... Orhan Pamuk is Turkey's leading contemporary novelist and in «My Name is Red», he has fashioned an unforgettable tale of suspense, and an artful meditation on love and deception.

Chosen by Paul Auster out of 4000 stories submitted to his American radio programme, these 180 stories provide an illuminating portrait of America in the 20th century. The selection requirement of the stories was that they should be true and not previously published.

Mixing fiction and nonfiction, Skinner breathes new imaginative life into the story of a twentieth century icon. Bewitched by the beauty of a troupe of native dancers and the strange music of the gamelan, Margaretha changes her name to Mata Hari and goes to Paris, where she is drawn into a web of espionage resulting in her death by firing squad.

The classic collection of nonsense by the greatest nonsensicalist of all time, Edward Lear — inventor of the limerick, and creator of the Jumblies and The Owl and the Pussy Cat.

It is 1948. Japan is rebuilding her cities after the calamity of World War II, her people putting defeat behind them and looking to the future. The celebrated painter, Masuji Ono, fills his days attending to his garden, his house repairs, his two grown daughters and his grandson; More... his evenings drinking with old associates in quiet lantern-lit bars. His should be a tranquil retirement. But as his memories continually return to the past — to a life and career deeply touched by the rise of Japanese militarism — a dark shadow begins to grow over his serenity.