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The Tyrant (Masquerade #3)
by Seth Dickinson‘Makes Game of Thrones look like Jackanory’ Independent on The TraitorThe Tyrant is a sweeping fantasy of empire and intrigue - the third book in Seth Dickinson’s powerful, critically acclaimed fantasy quartet, MasqueradeAfter years of service to the corrupt Imperial Republic of Falcrest, Baru Cormorant finally knows how to destroy it. She’s discovered a deadly, weaponized blood plague. And if she releases it, the epidemic will kill millions . . . not just in Falcrest, but worldwide.As her divided mind turns on itself, Baru's enemies close in. She must choose between genocidal retribution, and a harder path. All she has to do is defeat a conspiracy of kings, spies, and immortals, manipulate the outcome of two great wars, and steal the greatest riches in the world. If Baru triumphs, she can force Falcrest to abandon its colonies and make right its crimes. But does she want a slim chance at justice — or certain revenge?The Tyrant follows The Traitor and The Monster in this extraordinary quartet, and is published as The Tyrant Baru Cormorant in the US.
The Tyrant and the Squire
by Terry JonesDeep in the Crusades, Tom has run away from home to discover what the noble life of a knight is really like. But now that his dreams have come true and he has been knighted, all is not as rosy as he'd hoped. Terry Jones is known for his work with Monty Python, his stories for children (which won him the Children's Book Award) and his medieval books. In The Tyrant and the Squire he uses his inimitable comic imagination and originality to combine all three of these elements and create a perfect story for children and grown-ups alike.The Tyrant and the Squire is a glorious adventure from one of the UK's best-known comic performers.
The Tyrant of Hades (Cageworld #3)
by Colin KappSmoothly, remorselessly, inhumanly, the controlled flow of people continued. As each of the great planetary shells approached population maximum, the surplus of mass of humanity was transported out: Mars shell, Asteroid, Jupiter. Inexorably they filled the space made ready for them by Zeus, the master-minding intelligence.Jupiter shell, Saturn, Uranus...But at Uranus shell the ordered, ever-outward flow stopped and the pressure of the countless billions had pushed the shell to the very edge of catastrophic breakdown. Beyond Uranus lay ready Neptune shell. Zeus-designed, Zeus-built but no longer Zeus-controlled. Another giant intelligence had usurped all power, was refusing to operate the system that alone gave any future to Solaria.And so it was that Maq Ancor, Master Assassin, Magician Cherry and Sine Anura became the eyes of Zeus as they journeyed to the place where all systems failed, where chaos and the Tyrant of Hades ruled.
Tyrant’s Blood: Book 2 Of The Valisar Trilogy (The Valisar Trilogy #2)
by Fiona McIntoshThe second instalment of Fiona McIntosh’s gripping epic fantasy, set in a world torn by revenge, love and ancient magic.
The Tyrant's Law: Book 3 of the Dagger and the Coin (Dagger and the Coin #3)
by Daniel AbrahamThe great war cannot be stopped. The tyrant Geder Palliako begins a conquest aimed at bringing peace to the world, though his resources are stretched too thin. When things go poorly, he finds a convenient target among the thirteen races and sparks a genocide. Clara Kalliam, freed by having fallen from grace, remakes herself as a 'loyal traitor' and starts building an underground resistance movement that seeks to undermine Geder through those closest to him. Cithrin bel Sarcour is apprenticing in a city that's taken over by Antea, and uses her status as Geder's one-time lover to cover up an underground railroad smuggling refugees to safety. And Marcus Wester and Master Kit race against time and Geder Palliako's men in an attempt to awaken a force that could change the fate of the world.
Tyrant's Throne: The Greatcoats Book 4 (The Greatcoats #4)
by Sebastien de Castell'First-rate fiction, first rate adventure, first rate full stop' - Sunday Times bestseller Conn Iggulden.Would you - could you? - uphold the law at the cost of those you love?Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats, is on the brink of fulfilling his dead King's dream: Aline is about to take the throne and restore the rule of law once and for all.But for the Greatcoats, nothing is ever that simple. In neighbouring Avares, an enigmatic new warlord is uniting the barbarian armies and even worse, he is rumoured to have a new ally: Falcio's old nemesis Trin. With the armies of Avares at her back, she'll be unstoppable.Falcio, Kest and Brasti go racing north to stop her, but in those cold, treacherous climes they discover something altogether different - and far more dangerous: a new player plans to take the throne of Tristia, and the Greatcoats, for all their determination and skill, may not be able to stop him.
The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4)
by Rick RiordanYou will get to the Tiber alive. You will start to Jive.I am ApolloI will rememberThe former God Apollo, cast out by his father, Zeus, is having a pretty rough time of it.Well, for one thing, he's called Lester. But being an awkward mortal teenager is the least of his worries.Though he and his friends (some of them) have emerged from the Burning Maze, rescued the Oracle and lived to fight another day, they can't escape the tragedy that has befallen them, or the terrible trials still to face.So, with heavy heart, Apollo (OK, Lester) and Meg have a triumvirate still to defeat, oracles to rescue, and prophecies to decipher, so that the world may be saved, and Lester may ascend into the heavens to become Apollo once again.But, right now, Caligula is sailing to San Francisco to deal with Camp Jupiter personally, and they have to get their first. Or risk its destruction . . .
U.F.O. 517
by Bron Fane Lionel Fanthorpe Patricia FanthorpeInnumerable explanations have been put forward for the phenomena, known popularly as U.F.O'S and Flying Saucers. Eminent psychologists explain them as purely mental phantasmagoria - symptomatic of mankind's age-old desire for "saviours from the sky".Enthusiastic arm-chair cosmonauts regard them as irrefutable proof that super intelligences from Out There are watching the Earth. A few un-scrupulous publicity seekers and practical jokers cash in on the public's curiosity and weird stories of little green men and pink ants go the rounds.Amateur military tacticians decide that the saucers are either out new secret weapons or the experimental weapons of some alien power.Interest rises and falls. The Great Debate continues.There are some other possibilities . . . and the implications of some are so horrifying that mere monsters from Beyond would be a pleasant anti-climax. This mature, challenging novel is not recommended for those who like to think of the everyday world in terms of permanence and security with humanity safely established at the head of creation.Elspeth Jermyn came dangerously close to the truth, and slowly but surely gathered a small group of helpers together. They worked in strictest secrecy against the Saucer Phenomena and the invidious menace behind it . . . if they failed, life would have no real meaning.
Ubik: The Screenplay (S.F. MASTERWORKS #1)
by Philip K. DickGlen Runciter is dead.Or is he?Someone died in the explosion orchestrated by his business rivals, but even as his funeral is scheduled, his mourning employees are receiving bewildering messages from their boss. And the world around them is warping and regressing in ways which suggest that their own time is running out.If it hasn't already.
UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age: Millennial Conspiracism (Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies)
by David G. RobertsonHow-and why- were UFOs so prevalent in both conspiracy theories and the New Age milieu in the post-Cold War period? In this ground-breaking book, David G. Robertson argues that UFOs symbolized an uncertainty about the boundaries between scientific knowledge and other ways of validating knowledge, and thus became part of a shared vocabulary. Through historical and ethnographic case studies of three prominent figures-novelist and abductee Whitley Strieber; environmentalist and reptilian proponent David Icke; and David Wilcock, alleged reincarnation of Edgar Cayce-the investigation reveals that millennial conspiracism offers an explanation as to why the prophesied New Age failed to arrive-it was prevented from arriving by malevolent, hidden others. Yet millennial conspiracism constructs a counter-elite, a gnostic third party defined by their special knowledge.An overview of the development of UFO subcultures from the perspective of religious studies, UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age is an innovative application of discourse analysis to the study of present day alternative religion.
UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age: Millennial Conspiracism (Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies)
by David G. RobertsonHow-and why- were UFOs so prevalent in both conspiracy theories and the New Age milieu in the post-Cold War period? In this ground-breaking book, David G. Robertson argues that UFOs symbolized an uncertainty about the boundaries between scientific knowledge and other ways of validating knowledge, and thus became part of a shared vocabulary. Through historical and ethnographic case studies of three prominent figures-novelist and abductee Whitley Strieber; environmentalist and reptilian proponent David Icke; and David Wilcock, alleged reincarnation of Edgar Cayce-the investigation reveals that millennial conspiracism offers an explanation as to why the prophesied New Age failed to arrive-it was prevented from arriving by malevolent, hidden others. Yet millennial conspiracism constructs a counter-elite, a gnostic third party defined by their special knowledge.An overview of the development of UFO subcultures from the perspective of religious studies, UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age is an innovative application of discourse analysis to the study of present day alternative religion.
Uglies (Uglies #1)
by Scott WesterfeldTally lives in a world where your sixteenth birthday brings aesthetic perfection: an operation which erases all your flaws, transforming you from an 'Ugly' into a 'Pretty'. She is on the eve of this important event, and cannot wait for her life to change. As well as guaranteeing supermodel looks, life as a Pretty seems to revolve around having a good time. But then she meets Shay, who is also fifteen - but with a very different outlook on life. Shay isn't sure she wants to be Pretty and plans to escape to a community in the forest - the Rusty Ruins - where Uglies go to escape ' turning'. Tally won't be persuaded to join her, as this would involve sacrificing everything she's ever wanted for a lot of uncertainty. When she is taken in for questioning on her birthday, however, Tally gets sent to the Ruins anyway - against her will. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she could ever imagine: find her friend Shay and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. What she discovers in the Ruins reveals that there is nothing 'pretty' about the transformations. . . And the choice Tally makes will change her world forever. 'The longing for fairy-tale beauty has never looked so sinister' - Amanda Craig, The Times 'Fast paced, exciting and thought-provoking. ' The Bookseller's Choice 'With a beginning and ending that pack hefty punches, this introduction to a dystopic future promises an exciting series. ' Kirkus *starred review* 'Superb sci-fi. ' Amanda Craig, The Times Supplement 'Westerfeld introduces thought-provoking issues' Publishers Weekly 'Naughty children, from Max in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, to Tally in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy, have the imagination and energy to go beyond convention. ' The Times 'This exciting story makes you realise how important it is not to judge people by appearances. ' Newcastle Upon Tyne Journal 'This book is a real thrill-ride and the world utterly convincing. ' Trashionista. com 'Vivid, relevant and exhilarating dystopia which somehow manages to be thought-provoking and wicked good fun at the same time. It's official: I'm an Uglies fangirl. ' I was a teenage book geek (Blog), 'Fun, and the many by-the-skin-of-your-teeth escapes and hoverboard chases, plus the non-stop action plotting were enough to catch my attention and have me eagerly wanting more. ' The Book Smugglers
Uki and the Ghostburrow (The Five Realms #6)
by Kieran LarwoodFrom bestselling author and winner of the Blue Peter Book Award, this is the sixth adventure set in the world of Podkin One-Ear.After capturing Charice, there is only one spirit left for Uki to find: Mortix, the most dangerous of all. With his friends Jori, Cole and Kree, Uki heads to Eisenfell - the greatest city in Hulstland - only to find that Mortix has taken control of Emperor Ash and is plotting to conquer the whole Five Realms with her terrifying army.Uki must dodge the Endwatch, the Shrikes, Clan Septys and the guards and find a way to complete his quest before all is lost.'Storytelling perfection.' Sophie Anderson'One of my sons very favourite authors.' Romesh Ranganathan'Superb.' Max Porter'It's jolly good fun . . . expect sequels to breed like . . . well, rabbits.' SFX on The Legend of Podkin One-Ear
Uki and the Outcasts (The Five Realms)
by Kieran LarwoodFrom bestselling author and winner of the Blue Peter Best Story Book Award, Uki and the Outcasts is the first in a new trilogy set in the world of Podkin One-Ear.'EXCELLENT,' says the bard. 'It's probably a good idea for you to know about him.''Wait . . . him? Who's him?' said Rue.'Uki,' says the bard. 'Uki Patchwork. The Magpie Demon. Uki of the Two Furs.'From the Ice Wastes beyond the Cinder Wall emerges an unlikely hero. Rejected by his village and left to die, young Uki is given life and unique powers by a long-buried spirit from the time of the Ancients . . . and a life or death mission.Joined by two other outcasts - a trained assassin who refuses to kill people and a very short rabbit who rides the fastest jerboa on the plains - Uki must capture Valkus, the Spirit of War, before rabbitkind destroys itself in conflict.A thrilling new book set in the Five Realms of Podkin One-Ear.'Storytelling perfection.' Sophie Anderson'One of my sons very favourite authors.' Romesh Ranganathan'Superb.' Max Porter
Uki and the Swamp Spirit (The Five Realms #5)
by Kieran LarwoodFrom bestselling author and winner of the Blue Peter Best Story Book Award, Uki and the Swamp Spirit is the fifth title set in the world of Podkin One-Ear.Uki had the sensation of a sickly green light, spreading out through the networks of water. Of tendrils connecting all the creatures of the marsh in a web . . . Linking itself so it could poison it all and destroy it.Uki and his friends have two more spirits to find and capture. After defeating Valkus, they make for Clarice, who is spreading disease through the swamps. Can Uki and his friends outwit him - all whilst they themselves are being chased by the Endwatch and Jori's clan of assassins?'Storytelling perfection.' Sophie Anderson'One of my sons very favourite authors.' Romesh Ranganathan'Superb.' Max Porter'It's jolly good fun ... expect sequels to breed like... well, rabbits.' SFX on The Legend of Podkin One-Ear
Uller Uprising: Terro-human Future History Novel (Mobi Classics Ser.)
by H. Beam Piper"ZNIDD SUDDABIT!"So the Ulleran challenge begins, with the rantings of a prophet and a seemingly incidental street riot. Only when a dose of poison lands in the governor-general's whiskey does it become clear that the "geeks" have had it up to their double-lidded eyeballs with the imperialist Terran Federation's Chartered Uller Company. Then, overnight, war is everywhere.How it will end is in the (merely) two Terran hands of the new governor-general, a man shrewd enough to know that "it is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." The problem is, the particular piece of knowledge he needs hasn't been used in 450 years. . . .
Ultima (A\proxima Novel Ser. #2)
by Stephen BaxterFresh from his latest collaboration with Terry Pratchett on the Long Earth sequence Stephen Baxter now returns to the mysteries and challanges first hinted at in his acclaimed novel PROXIMA.In PROXIMA we discovered ancient alien artifacts on the planet of Per Ardua - hatches that allowed us to step across light years of space as if we were stepping into another room. The universe opened up to us. Now in ULTIMA the consequences of this new freedom make themselves felt. And we discover that there are minds in the universe that are billions of years old and they have a plan for us. For some of us. But as we learn the true nature of the universe we also discover that we have countless pasts all meeting in this present and that our future is terrifyingly finite. It's time for us to fight to take back control.This is grand scale, big idea SF of the best possible sort. It is set to build on the massive success of PROXIMA and define Stephen Baxter's work going forward.
Ultima and Worldbuilding in the Computer Role-Playing Game
by Carly A. Kocurek Matthew PayneUltima and World-Building in the Computer Role-Playing Game is the first scholarly book to focus exclusively on the long-running Ultima series of computer role-playing games (RPG) and to assess its lasting impact on the RPG genre and video game industry. Through archival and popular media sources, examinations of fan communities, and the game itself, this book historicizes the games and their authors. By attending to the salient moments and sites of game creation throughout the series’ storied past, authors Carly A. Kocurek and Matthew Thomas Payne detail the creative choices and structural forces that brought Ultima’s celebrated brand of role-playing to fruition. This book first considers the contributions of series founder and lead designer, Richard Garriott, examining how his fame and notoriety as a pioneering computer game auteur shaped Ultima’s reception and paved the way for the evolution of the series. Next, the authors retrace the steps that Garriott took in fusing analog, tabletop role-playing with his self-taught lessons in computer programming. Close textual analyses of Ultima I outline how its gameplay elements offered a foundational framework for subsequent innovations in design and storytelling. Moving beyond the game itself, the authors assess how marketing materials and physical collectibles amplified its immersive hold and how the series’ legions of fans have preserved the series. Game designers, long-time gamers, and fans will enjoy digging into the games’ production history and mechanics while media studies and game scholars will find Ultima and World-Building in the Computer Role-Playing Game a useful extension of inquiry into authorship, media history, and the role of fantasy in computer game design.
The Ultimate Battle: The Ultimate Battle (Beast Quest: New Blood)
by Adam BladeMeet three new heroes with the power to tame the Beasts! Amy, Charlie and Sam - three children from our world - are bound by a powerful legacy. They are descendants of the Guardians of Avantia, an elite group of heroes trained by Tom - the star of Beast Quest. Now the time has come for a new generation to fulfil its destiny ...In book 4, The Ultimate Battle, the children face their greatest challenge yet, as their Quest transports them magically to Avantia, home of their ancestors - the original Guardians. There they meet the legendary Tom and Elenna themselves, but it's not long before a new battle ensues. Their old enemy, Illia Raven, is determined to hatch and control a Beast of her own, and will stop at nothing in her attempts to dominate the world ...Perfect for existing Beast Quest fans and new readers alike, Beast Quest: New Blood is tailor-made to appeal to boys and girls who are hungry for adventure. Join a new generation of heroes as they discover their destiny, and experience the awesome power of the Beasts as never before!
The Ultimate Discworld Companion
by Terry Pratchett Stephen BriggsThe absolute, comprehensive, from Tiffany Aching to Jack Zweiblumen guide to all things Discworld, fully illustrated by Paul Kidby.The Discworld, as everyone knows, is a flat world balanced on the back of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the shell of the giant star turtle, the Great A'Tuin, as it slowly swims through space.It is also the global publishing phenomenon with sales of over 70 million books worldwide (but who's counting?). There's an awful lot of Discworld to keep track of. But fear not! Help is at hand. For the very first time, everything (and we mean everything) you could possibly want to know has been crammed into one place.If you need a handy guide to locales from Ankh-Morpork to Zemphis . . .If you can't tell your Achmed the Mads from your Jack Zweiblumens . . .If your life depends on distinguishing between the Agatean Empire and the Zoons . . .Look no further. Updated and perfected by Stephen Briggs, the man behind The Ultimate Discworld Companion's predecessor Turtle Recall, this is your ultimate guide to Sir Terry Pratchett's beloved fantasy world.
The Ultimate Egoist: The Complete Stories Of Theodore Sturgeon (Gateway Essentials #1)
by Theodore SturgeonThe Ultimate Egoist, the first volume of The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, contains the late author's earliest work, written from 1937 to 1940. Although Sturgeon's reach was limited to the lengths of the short story and novelette, his influence was strongly felt by even the most original science fiction stylists, including Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and Gene Wolfe, each of whom contributes a laudatory foreword. The more than 40 stories here showcase Sturgeon's masterful knack with clever, O. Henry-ish plot twists, sparkling character development, and almost archetypal, why didn't I think of that? story ideas. Early Sturgeon masterpieces include "It," about the violence done by a creature spontaneously born from garbage and mud, and "Helix the Cat," about an inventor's bizarre encounter with a disembodied soul and the cat that saves it. Sturgeon's unique genius is timelessly entertaining.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy: The definitive illustrated guide
by David Pringle Tim DedpulosThis essential reference book details everything the novice needs to know about the genre and everything the well-read fan is calling out for. Lavishly illustrated and expertly informed, it is edited by Tim Dedopulos and David Pringle, editor and co-founder of the internationally acclaimed Interzone magazine, and features forewords by legendary authors Terry Pratchett and Ben Aaronovitch. They have assembled a team of expert contributors to compile a visually stunning, informative and fascinating guide to the world of fantasy, from its origins and early trailblazers to the cultural phenomena of today's mega fantasy properties.
The Ultimate Jungle
by Michael G. Coney"Mankind will cease to exist at 6pm GMT on 28th March 3256". A computer prediction which threw the world into panic. What to do? Build a starship and take the chosen few to a new home in the stars. Or search for an alternative timestream where mankind goes on forever.Matt Helm is to captain the last space shuttle carrying passengers to the starship, but his irrepressible desire for Fern Angelus corrupts his sense of duty. He agrees to take part in her time experiments.Set against a background of passion and longing, Matt's uncanny success with mind projection meets unforseen complications. He projects his mind to a future Earth: a world of shallow, extensive seas, mutated trees growing in layers on each other's branches, and strangely evolved animals like snappersnouts, humpers and energy creatures.Matt's strange visions eventually meet reality when he discovers that the last load of passengers for the starship has been left behind; and he is one of them.
The Ultimate Man
by John E. Muller Lionel Fanthorpe Patricia FanthorpeEver since science began seriously investigating the potentials of electronics, man has toyed with the idea of creating robots. The dawn of the robot age has already broken. We have automatic telephone exchanges. We fly planes with robot pilots. We send self-sufficient instruments into the void to record and transmit cosmic information.Frobisher was a brilliant theorist, years ahead of his time. He worked out a scheme that took long patient decades of planning. His great moment came. The robots were a success. Frobisher was a kindly old man. There was nothing evil in his plans. But the world is not entirely inhabited by kindly old men with high visions. Someone else got hold of the plans and the robots embarked on a career of international crime and pillage.Despite his pacifist ideals, the old professor tried to combat the evil which he had unwittingly released . . . the results were staggering.
The Ultimate Story Collection: Ultimate Collection Beast Quest: The Story Treasury Ebk (Beast Quest #1)
by Adam BladeA bumper collection of six full colour Beast Quest stories in one book. Perfect for all fans of Beast Quest - and new ones!