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Orion Books
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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. |
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It is 1835, and with the birth of the Industrial Revolution, railway fever sweeps the country. Pyke is uneasy with the luxury his aristocratic marriage has brought him, and when he is unofficially asked to investigate a decapitation, he can not resist the chance to resuscitate the old skills he learned on the streets. But with the industrial world comes a new and faceless enemy: men who have money and power, and who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of both. For Pyke, with his young wife and child and an elevated place in society to protect, the stakes have suddenly become alarmingly high. From the sweat shops of the east end to the palace of the Queen-in-waiting; from the elegant drawing rooms of the newly rich, to the blood-spattered backrooms of London's taverns, Pyke's investigation stirs up a hornets' nest of trouble. As the death toll rises, an alluring woman from his past returns, Pyke must draw on all of his resources if he is to protect his family, and survive. |
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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... |
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'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. |
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Roman Londinium, Saxon Lundenwic, the medieval City of London, the great metropolis that has survived the Plague, the Fire and the Blitz — it's all here, along with the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Madam Tussaud's, the London Eye and all the famous landmarks. Richard Brassey has a gift for focussing on just the colourful details children will enjoy, and on each page the narrative breaks out into stories, anecdotes, jokes, fascinating facts and accounts of famous Londoners. With excitingly busy pages packed with lively pictures and witty captions, this is a brilliant introduction to London past and present. |
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In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in Chust and despite the inhospitability of the villagers settle there as woodcutters. Tomas digs a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so they have their own little island kingdom. Peter doesn't understand why his father has done this, nor why his father carries a long battered box everywhere they go, and why he is forbidden to know its mysterious contents. But when a band of gypsies comes to the village Peter's drab existence is turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy princess, Sofia, intoxicated by their love of life and drawn into their deadly quest. For these travellers are Vampire Slayers and Chust is a dying community — where the dead come back to wreak revenge on the living. Amidst the terrifying events that follow, Peter is stunned to see his father change from a disillusioned man to the warrior hero he once was. Marcus draws on his extensive research of the vampire legend which permeates traditions throughout the world and sets his story in the forbidding and remote landscapes of the 17th century. Written in his usual distinctive voice, this is also the story of a father and his son, of loss, redemption and resolution. |
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It's been many years since fourteen-year-old Freya's life was ruled by an obsession with angels — an obsession which destroyed her family. She has a burgeoning social life at school, and feels adjusted in the world. But then the angels return, and Freya discovers that she herself is a guardian angel. What makes matters worse is the arrival of the strange new girl, Stephanie, who craves for herself the angelic power that Freya resists. Learning to harness this difficult new friendship and her otherworldly abilities are complicated tasks, fraught with difficult decisions to make and dangerous situations to negotiate. Every time Freya helps one of her wards, she puts her own life at risk. And then there are her fellow angels — understanding what they want from her is perhaps the hardest task of all. |
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«It began with a blinding light, a divine revelation from a mysterious intelligence that called itself Valis. And with that, the fabric of reality was ripped open and laid bare so that anything seemed possible, but nothing seemed quite right. Part science fiction, part theological detective story — in which God plays both the missing person and the perpetrator of the ultimate crime, «Valis» is both disorienting and eerily funny, and a joy to read.» |
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The discovery of another habitable world might spell salvation to the three bitterly competing power blocs of the resource-starved 21st century; but when their representatives arrive on Jem, with its multiple intelligent species, they discover instead the perfect situation into which to export their rivalries. Subtitled, with savage irony, 'The Making of a Utopia', Jem is one of Frederik Pohl's most powerful novels. |
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Glen 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. |
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«The fifth and final part of the complete collected stories shows Philip K. Dick at the very height of his outstanding powers. The twenty-five tales were written between 1963 and 1981, just a few months before he died, and include two stories which have been turned into box office smashes: the title story, filmed as Total Recall, and «The Little Black Box», which grew into his masterpiece Blade Runner.» |
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The story of Scotland from the Ice Age to the Vikings, the Picts and the Romans, to Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Flora Macdonald, Sir Walter Scott, Logie Baird, Keir Hardie and many more famous Scots up to the present day. Each page is packed with colourful pictures and witty captions and speech bubbles, and a pithy text gives the facts and tells the story.This is a fun book, but it covers the material in a way that will make it attractive both to schools and to tourists. With NESSIE, THE LOCH NESS MONSTER a continuing bestseller in Scotland, Richard Brassey is the perfect author/illustrator for a book that should have a long life ahead. His co-author, Stewart Ross, is an ex-teacher with a special interest in Scottish history. |
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World War III is raging — or so the millions of people crammed in their underground tanks believe. For fiteen years, subterranean humanity has been fed on daily broadcasts of a never-ending nuclear destruction, sustained by a belief in the all powerful Protector. Now someone has gone to the surface and found no destruction, no war. The authorities have been telling a massive lie. Now the search begins to find out why. |
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Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once home to the March family — fascinating, manipulative Isabelle, brutal, dangerous Charlie, and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House hides a chilling secret which strikes at the very heart of each of them, tearing their lives apart... Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past — and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has Angelfield been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic writer Vida Winter? And what is the secret that strikes at the heart of Margaret's own, troubled life? As Margaret digs deeper, two parallel stories unfold, and the tale she uncovers sheds a disturbing light on her own life... |
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The Russian invasion of Finland in November 1939 was a critical turning point in world history. Only now, with the opening of the Russian archives can this extraordinary story be told in full. Two months after his cynical alliance with Hitler and their joint invasion of Poland, Stalin ordered the Red Army to crush the Finns. Everybody expected a walk-over: the odds were 10:1 in Stalin's favour. But the Finns fought bravely, and the Red Army — its high command decimated by Stalin's purges — fumbled to defeat after defeat. Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers died in the snow. Only after four months and the massing of over a million men and thousands of guns did the Russians break through and force the Finns to accept terms. The 'Winter War' revealed Stalin's army to be as badly led as it was poorly equipped. Hitler's generals, previously so nervous about their leader's plan to invade Russia that they contemplated a coup d'etat to remove him, were now convinced they could win. Stalin's blunder in Finland led directly to the Nazi invasion of Russia the following year. In Britain and France, the spectacle of Russia invading a neutral neighbour shattered the left-wing political parties (although the DAILY WORKER's headline on the opening day of the invasion was 'HEROIC RED ARMY SMASHES MARAUDING FINNS). Attlee expelled one pro-Russian MP and cleared the way for a coalition with the Conservatives. Paradoxically, the 'Winter War' also saved the Red Army and Stalin. With the results of the purges all too clear, Stalin promoted outspoken technocrats like Zhukov and accepted reforms that would enable the Russians to survive the German assault in 1941 and ultimately stop them at Stalingrad. |
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DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT Lead investigator on a murder case that saw the arrest of the son of a wealthy and powerful man, Harry Bosch now finds himself in the midst of a high stakes trial where his every method is questioned. Meanwhile, criminal profiler Terry McCaleb is called to a murder scene where the killer has left a message that seems to implicate Bosch. The pair, first at odds, must now work together to clear Harry's name… CITY OF BONES When the bones of a young boy are found scattered in the Hollywood Hills, Harry Bosch is drawn into a case that recalls the darkest memories from his own haunted past. Then a love affair begins to blossom for Bosch — until a disastrous mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before, as he faces an unimaginable decision… LOST LIGHT When he left the LAPD, Harry Bosch took a file with him — the case of a film production assistant murdered four years earlier during a $2 million robbery on a movie set. The LAPD think the stolen money was used to finance a terrorist training camp. Thoughts of the original murder victim are lost in the federal zeal, and when it seems the killer will be set free to aid the feds' terrorist hunt, Bosch finds himself in conflict with his old colleagues and the FBI. |
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DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER: Dexter Morgan can't stand the sight of blood. Which makes his job as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami PD a little tricky. But it means that he's very tidy when it comes to his hobby: murder. After all, even though Dexter only ever kills bad people, he doesn't want to draw attention to it. But now there's another killer out there who's being a whole lot less subtle¿ DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER: Miami's best-dressed serial killer is getting twitchy — he hasn't killed for months. Ever since their paths first crossed, Sergeant Doakes hasn't let Dexter Morgan out of his sight. Then a body turns up, mutilated and barely alive. To trap the torturer, Doakes and Dexter will have to work together, if they can trust each other. It's a devil's pact and one of them will have to be the bait... DEXTER IN THE DARK: When Dexter is brought in to analyse a charred headless corpse, it seems he's dealing with a killer even more sinister than he is, and one with a personal interest in him. And with Dexter now having a wedding to plan and a family to protect, the stakes are high. As he realises his step-children might share his blood-lust, if he's ever to help them target it, Dexter will first have to stay alive himself. |
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Building a snowman brings out Henry's competitive streak; he sets up his Monstrous Makeovers business to rival Moody Margaret's Miraculous Makeovers; things go badly wrong when a famous author comes to school; and he thinks 'You'll all be sorry when I'm dead' and spends a rainy day writing his will. |
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Jack has always had an affinity with the supernatural, people who lived long ago and whose spirits remain in this world. Following his father's death, he and his mother move to an isolated house. Instantly, Jack senses the presence of the previous owner. But he is soon aware of other spirits reaching out to claim him ¿ At the heart of the house is the Ghost Mother — long dead, but still mourning her daughter, for whose death she feels responsible — who has imprisoned four children, from different times and families. She has intercepted their passage from the living world to the afterlife and draws her strength by leeching their souls. Is it her intention that Jack meets the same fate? Or has she other plans for her latest resident? Jack's encounter with ghosts leads him to the terrifying Nightmare Passage — a kind of purgatory to which spirits are violently, viciously condemned. His survival depends on his own powers, his understanding of the Ghost Mother's guilt, his contact with her dead daughter, and the resolution of his own grief. 'Breathe' is a compelling stand-alone novel, not for the faint-hearted but immensely rewarding for its psychological depth and the literally breathless action sequences, the hallmarks of Cliff's writing. |
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Four favourite HORRID HENRY stories: Horrid Henry and the Comfy Black Chair, Horrid Henry's Haunted House, Horrid Henry's School Fair, and Horrid Henry Minds his Manners. |
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