Orion Books

Dave Robicheaux left his drinking days behind him many years ago, but he still feels guilt over a tragic event he wasn't sober enough to prevent. Dallas Klein, a gambling addict and bar buddy of Dave's when Dave was posted to Miami PD, was killed in an armed robbery he'd been forced to engineer. Two decades later, several incidents in Dave's life in Iberia Parish link to those involved. First he meets Dallas' daughter, Trish, who keeps odd company and is blackballed by the local casinos. Then the supposed suicide of a young girl appears to be connected to the man Dallas owed money to back in the Miami days. Dave's inability to let things alone gets him involved with two very powerful criminals, both wanting to protect their sons from the trouble they court, and both with the attitude of the privileged and white. When a young black drug dealer gets on the wrong side of the boys, tensions run high and there are more needless deaths — causing Dave to come to blows with the FBI, the DA's office and a thug who has little regard for any life but his own.

Flanders, 1625. After his tussles with the Inquisition and the intrigue of the Spanish court, Captain Alatriste has returned to the mud and desperation of the long war in Flanders. This is Iñigo's first experience of war and the realities of hand to hand combat. It is on the battlefield that he will finally have the chance to become a man and prove his worth. The troops are weary and ill-nourished and the winter has been long. As Spain sinks ever further into depravity and corruption, the soldiers have not been paid and must survive by whatever ways they can. Mutiny is in the air, on the lips of every Spaniard but they are strong and their famous iron discipline has brought them many victories against the Calvinist forces of the heretics. Reputation, honour, and the glory of Spain will keep them in the fight, but for how long? Meanwhile, the Captain's trusted friend Quevedo's star is rising at court and he keeps Alatriste appraised of the machinations of his arch-enemy Luis de Alquézar and the notorious assassin with the black heart, Gualterio Malatesta.

Pierson's puppeteers, strange, three-legged, two-headed aliens, have discovered an immense structure in a hitherto unexplored part of the universe. Frightened of meeting the builders of such a structure, the puppeteers set about assembling a team consisting of two humans, a puppeteer and a kzin, an alien not unlike an eight-foot-tall, red-furred cat, to explore it. The artefact is a vast circular ribbon of matter, some 180 million miles across, with a sun at its centre — the Ringworld. But the expedition goes disastrously wrong when the ship crashlands and its motley crew faces a trek across thousands of miles of the Ringworld's surface.

The epic voyage of the spacecraft Leonora Christine will take her and her fifty-strong crew to a planet some thirty light-years distant. But, because the ship will accelerate to close to the speed of light, for those on board subjective time will slow and the journey will be of only a few years' duration. Then a buffeting by an interstellar dustcloud changes everything. The ship's deceleration system is damaged irreperably and soon she is gaining velocity. When she attains light-speed, tau zero itself, the disparity between ship-time and external time becomes almost impossibly great. Eons and galaxies hurtle by, and the crew of the Leonora Christine speeds into the unknown.

The end is coming. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. It's past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home. With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. It's a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough. Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it. While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law...

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much — not because she's not pretty — she's a very cute bubbly blonde — or not interested in a social life. She really is ...but Sookie's got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome — and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he's fussy about his food, he doesn't like suntans and he's never around during the day ...Yep, Bill's a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble — of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie's colleagues at the bar is killed, and it's beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim ...

The town of Rossmore is a special place, full of character and charm. Nestled beside the Whitethorn Woods, the town has grown since the days when it was small and friendly and everyone knew everyone else; now it has chain stories and traffic problems and housing estates. But it still has the woods, with the well dedicated to St Ann, where generations have come to pray or make wishes or just to look back at the pretty little town. Which is why there is going to be such a fuss about the plans for the new road, cutting through Whitethorn Woods. The people of Rossmore are divided. No one is more concerned than the curate, Father Brian Flynn, who has no idea which faction to support. Surely Neddy Nolan's family should take the compensation being offered for their land? But wasn't Neddy's mother given a cure at the well many years ago? And what about the childless London woman who came to Whitethorn Woods begging the saint for help, with unexpected consequences? Full of Maeve Binchy's warmth, humour and compassion, «Whitethorn Woods» tells of the people of Rossmore, each with their own story, as they wait for the great road of progress...

Tom's life is not what it once was. His marriage to the beautiful Nora is on the rocks and he now sees his two young children only on her say so. His best friend — and best man — Neil has moved away to California to teach neurology. He has one successful book — on human psychology — but he now wiles away the time teaching bored grad students. But that all changes when Neil comes back into his life. For it seems that his best friend was no teacher — he was working for the US government, cracking the minds of suspected terrorists. But now it is Neil himself that has cracked and gone AWOL — what's more he has left behind evidence that he has been employing his unique skills on civilians — obsessed with the idea that he can control the human brain. Thus begins a terrifying sequence of events as Neil starts to kidnap and mutilate people with a connection to Tom. But it is only when he gets near his ultimate target does he reveal the full horror of his plan...

High in the Andes, Dr. Henry Conklin discovers a 500-year-old mummy that should not be there. While deep in the South American jungle, Conklin's nephew, Sam, stumbles upon a remarkable site nestled between two towering peaks, a place hidden from human eyes for thousands of years. Ingenious traps have been laid to ensnare the careless and unsuspecting, and wealth beyond imagining could be the reward for those with the courage to face the terrible unknown. But where the perilous journey inward ends — in the cold, shrouded heart of a breathtaking necropolis — something else is waiting for Sam Conklin and his exploratory party. A thing created by Man, yet not humanly possible. Something wondrous...something terrifying.

For university professor David Webb — forever caught between two identities — life can never be ordinary. Lately he seems to have found some well-earned normality. But David is still haunted by the splintered nightmares his former life — as Jason Bourne. Soon he finds himself embroiled in a Central Intelligence operation to hunt down a terrorist organisation planning a major attack, and is plunged into the deadliest and most tangled assignment of his double life — and the murky underworld he's been trying to escape. With his own side trying to take him down, all the while an assassin as brilliant and damaged as himself is getting closer by the minute...

It is a matter of historical record that during the latter part of World War II, England's top-secret Ministry of Serendipity enlisted the services of arch-magician Aleister Crowley to create a Homunculus. Why? Well that's a long story, spanning almost seven decades as it follows the life and career of Tyler, rock star, private eye — and notable for the fact that he almost saved Mankind. The cast of millions also includes ukulele maestro George Formby, Mick Jagger, Mama Cass, Elvis Presley and Lazlo Woodbine. And Tyler's brother, Andy, who impersonates animals (and who single-handedly brought about the Swinging Sixties). And a lady named Clara from Croydon, who unlocked the meta-phenomena of the Multiverse. And a corner shopkeeper from Brentford, who created a sitting room for God. And a great many living dead. Oh yes, and it also involves a monster in human form whose intention it is to turn the Earth into a Necrosphere, a planet totally devoid of life...

There's only one vampire Sookie Stackhouse is involved with — at least voluntarily — and that's Bill. But recently he's been a little distant — in another state distant. His sinister and sexy boss Eric has an idea where to find him, and next thing Sookie knows she's off to Jackson, Mississippi, to mingle with the underworld at Club Dead. It's a dangerous little haunt where the elusive vampire society can go to chill out and suck down some Type O — but when Sookie finally finds Bill caught in an act of serious betrayal she's not sure whether to save him, or to sharpen some stakes. The Sookie Stackhouse books are delightful Southern Gothic supernatural mysteries, starring Sookie, the telepathic cocktail waitress, and a cast of increasingly colourful characters, including vampires, werewolves and things that really do go bump in the night.

Sookie comes to the rescue of a naked, amnesiac vampire — and ends up in the middle of a war between witches, werewolves and vampires! Sookie Stackhouse is a small-town cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's pretty. She does her job well. She keeps to herself — she has only a few close friends, because not everyone appreciates Sookie's gift: she can read minds. That's not exactly every man's idea of date bait — unless they're undead — vampires and the like can be tough to read. And that's just the kind of guy Sookie's been looking for. Maybe that's why, when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn't just drive on by. He hasn't got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy — and dead — as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he's sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie's help — because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie's investigation into what's going on leads her straight into a dangerous battle between witches, vampires and werewolves. But there could be even greater danger — to Sookie's heart, because the kinder, gentler Eric is very hard to resist. The Sookie Stackhouse books are delightful Southern Gothic supernatural mysteries, starring Sookie, the telepathic cocktail waitress, and a cast of increasingly colourful characters, including vampires, werewolves and things that really do go bump in the night.

'The pace of this kind of travel has not much changed since Fogg set out in 1872. Trains may be a little faster, but there are certainly no high-speed rail links yet across India, China or the USA. Passenger services have practically disappeared from the world's shipping lanes ... Recourse to air travel, even as a convenient means of escape, was not allowed'. Following the route taken by Phileas Fogg 115 years earlier, Michael Palin set out from the Reform Club to circumnavigate the world. The rules were simple, but nothing else about the trip was straightforward... From a tour of Venice on a rubbish barge to ship spotting at the Suez Canal and the bicycle rush hour and snake snacks in China, this is an unparalleled tribute to man's ability to make life difficult for himself.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the world was left wondering about its destiny. Russia is still an enormous power with a population exceeding 140 million, immense military resources and giant energy reserves — in short, a vast land full of promise and opportunity. Russia has the potential to be a force of stability or a force of turmoil, but when it comes to global affairs, can she be persuaded to join the world order? Will yesterday's revolutionary power become tomorrow's stabilizer? Professor Stuermer's authoritative and timely account considers a Russia going through a defining phase after the departure of Vladimir Putin. History is on the move: we face an open and challenging future in which Russia, for better or for worse, will play a key role.

On a hot summer afternoon in Washington DC 1972, three white teenagers, stoned and fearless, drive a stolen car into a rough, black neighbourhood. Taunting local black kids through the car window, they speed off to what they think is safety. They find themselves trapped in a dead-end street whilst an angry mob gathers. In the ensuing chaos, two of the white boys manage to escape, but Billy — the third friend — is shot dead. Thirty-five years later, one of these men reaches out to another, opening a door that could lead to salvation. However, another survivor of that day is now out of prison, and is looking for reparation in any form he can find it...

'It was not the question of an isolated assassination, but rather of beginning a complete overthrow of the regime' July 20 1944. A fearless group of German officers attempted to act against the horrors of Nazism and put an end to the war by killing Adolf Hitler. But Operation Valkyrie failed, and one by one the plotters were found out, tortured and executed. Philipp von Boeselager — who supplied the explosives that would rip through the Führer's bunker — miraculously escaped death. In this unique memoir Philipp tells his extraordinary life story and the part he played in this, and three other dramatic attempts on Hitler's life. He recounts how a small band of resisters dared to stop evil and prevent profound loss of lives. Ultimately they failed but the legacy of their courage endures.

e United States is locked into three prolonged conflicts without much hope of early resolution. Iran is pursuing a nuclear programme; the aftermath of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has seen unrelenting intercommunal violence; and the Taliban have got back into Afghanistan. Lawrence Freedman teases out the roots of each engagement over the last thirty years and demonstrates with clarity and scholarship the influence of these conflicts upon each other. The story is complex and often marked by great drama. First, the countries in dispute with America are not themselves natural allies; second, their enmity was not, at first, America's choice. Third, the region's problems cannot all be traced to the Arab-Israeli dispute. Unique in its focus, this book will offer not only new revelations but also remind us of what has been forgotten or has never been put in context.

Chris is 25. He has a job in advertising he despises — despite being naturally brilliant at creating shamelessly successful campaigns — an 'artistic' girlfriend, and his two best mates from university, who spend a lot of time playing pool, drinking Grolsch and quoting lines from Robocop at each other. But Chris's life is about to change. The eighties are coming to an end and he must take decisive action if he is to fulfil what he suspects is his true potential. So, after pre-emptively celebrating the fact he is about to hand in his resignation, Chris goes to bed drunk in 1988 but very unexpectedly wakes up in 2006, with an unbelievable hangover, a long-suffering (and worryingly 'old'-looking) stranger for a wife, a life that hasn't turned out the way he had hoped for at all, and an unnerving amount of new body hair...

Irresistible tales of love, friendship, passion and betrayal from some of the top names in fiction. A woman planning not just what she wants to wear to a school reunion, but who she wants to be ...A couple hoping to start a new life in Spain — and completely misunderstanding what they each want ...A girl who's brother falls in love with a beautiful male impersonator ...A woman haunted by ghosts from her past ...A newly divorced mother taking her teenage daughter to Crete for a holiday, longing to be young again, until she remembers how awful it is to be 17 ...From Maeve Binchy to Jane Fallon, Adriana Trigiani to Alexander McCall Smith, this is the must-have collection of the year.

1918 was the critical year of battle as the Great War reached its brutal climax. Warfare of an epic scale was fought on the Western Front, where ordinary British soldiers faced the final test of their training, tactics and determination. That they withstood the storm and began an astonishing counterattack, is proof that by 1918, the British army was the most effective fighting force in the world. But this ultimate victory came at devastating cost. Using a wealth of previously unpublished material, historian Peter Hart gives a vivid account of this last year of conflict — what it was like to fight on the frontline, through the words of the men who were there. In a chronicle of unparalleled scope and depth, he brings to life the suspense, turmoil and tragedy of 1918's vast offensives.

Sookie's beginning to get used to being surrounded by all varieties of undead, changeling, shapeshifting and other supernatural beings — but even she has her limits. She'd really like to take a while to get over being betrayed by Bill, her long-time vampire lover, and get used to her new relationship with the sexy shapeshifter Quinn — but instead, she finds herself attending the long-planned vampire summit, the destination of choice for every undead power player around, as a sort-of human 'Geiger counter' for Sophie-Anne Leclerq, vampire queen of Louisiana. But the job is fraught with difficulties. Sophie-Anne's power base has been severely weakened by Hurricane Katrina, and she's about to be put on trial during the event for murdering her king. Sookie knows the queen is innocent, but she's hardly prepared for other shocking murders: it looks like there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. With secret alliances and backroom deals the order of the day — and night — Sookie must decide which side she'll stand with — and quickly, for her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

While on the trail of Al Qaeda lieutenant Abu Qasim, ex-burglar turned CIA operative Tommy Carmellini photographs an American mobster boarding a yacht in the harbour of the island of Capri. Tommy's boss, Jake Grafton, sends him to find the link, if there is one, between the mobster, Fioratti, and Al Qaeda. Meanwhile Fioratti is busy planning a terror-for-hire strike that will make him rich beyond the dreams of avarice. Soon Tommy and Jake are embroiled in a stew of American mobsters, killers and thieves, and the clock is ticking...

The history of democratic politics in Britain since the coming of universal male suffrage in 1918 is a dramatic one, crowded with events and colourful figures. As well as the great events of war and economic crises, and the quieter drama of constitutional change, this era has been studded with democratic protests of every sort. The story opens more than 350 years ago. The Levellers of the 17th century, 18th-century radicals, the Chartists and the Reform Acts are all part of the unsteady and fiercely contested progress towards a democratic constitution. Dreams, visions and ideals are important too — of George Orwell, and Enoch Powell, Milton, Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke, Churchill and Lord Salisbury, Aneurin Bevan and Tony Benn — for they have also shaped our outlook.