Literature & Fiction

This bundle contains Truth Be Told, Calculated Risk, and Heroic Measures. 

Michael Palin's diaries begin when he was newly married and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of television comedy. But Monty Python was just around the corner...Enjoying an unlikely cult status early on, the Pythons then proceeded to tour the USA and Canada. As their popularity grew, so Palin relates how the group went their separate ways, later to re-form for stage shows and the celebrated films The Holy Grail and Life of Brian.

England, 1903. Giles, the new Earl of Stainton, is struggling to bring his family's estate back to order after the death of his father, and he has little time to spare for his young pregnant wife, Kitty. She lives in fear of her mother-in-law, who won't give up the reins of the household. Will she ever truly be mistress of Ashmore Castle? Perhaps if her coming child is a boy, that will change the balance of power...

Sven Saxon Sword is content with his life but King Sweyn Forkbeard wants to use the Dragon Sword to help him claim a kingdom across the seas from Denmark. With Prince Cnut at his side, Sven has to fight not only the English but also Danes who change sides, Scots keen to grab land themselves and even the oathsworn of the new Danish king.

When the call came it seemed like the answer to my prayers. My career as a voice actor had been over for months and me and my little girl Scarlet were living back at my mum’s place. I felt like a failure professionally—and with Scarlet having problems at school, as a parent as well. So, when I was asked to narrate a new book by disappeared novelist Philippa Roberts I jumped at the chance, even if it meant leaving Scarlet with my ex, Hugo, for a few weeks. Hugo, with his perfect new home and his perfect new girlfriend Saskia. But this isn’t a dream come true. It’s a nightmare.

Before Adam Farrer’s family relocated to Withernsea in 1992, he’d never heard of the Holderness coast. The move represented one thing to Adam: a chance to leave the insecurities of early adolescence behind. And he could do that anywhere. What he didn’t know was how much he’d grow to love the quirks and people of this faded Yorkshire resort, in spite of its dilapidated attractions and retreating clifftops. While Adam documents the minutiae of small-town life, he lays bare experiences that are universal. 

At 17, Renee Rushmore lives at home with her father Ivan—a cruel man who rules the house with an iron fist and keeps Renee isolated and alone. She is desperate to escape him, but with no friends to help her, what hope does she have? Then war breaks out. With factories and farms looking to take on female workers, Renee dares to hope that her freedom might be within grasp. And when she hears through a kindly local farmhand named Jimmy that Oak Valley Farm is in need of help, she might just have found her chance.

Kat beat the bad guys and scored a pile of credits deep enough for her to fill a kiddy pool and go swimming in it. What she didn’t expect was for the mastermind of her plight to survive, as well as do her a favor: She removed her from the Arcology, and enrolled her in the GroCorp corporate college. She knows the Arcology, but this is a chance to earn enough credits to set her family up for life. But people are disappearing, and betrayal lurks around every corner. Kat is out of her depth, and everyone is playing for keeps.

Late 21st-century Earth is overcrowded, her natural resources dwindling rapidly. World governments and greedy mega corporations are forced to work together toward a solution. A crew of ten humans are sent to Mars aboard Hyperion I to locate a suitable site and establish the first colony. After a months-long flight to the red planet, just as they are about to descend to the surface, problems arise. A careless accident kills a crew member, damages the ship, forcing the others to launch early. And that's just the beginning of their troubles.

For Esther, it’s proving hard not to feel bitter watching Lucas enjoying his successful career, not to mention the attentions of his gorgeous, intelligent, and predictably younger lover. She meanwhile is struggling to forge a new life for herself, navigating the pitfalls of modern dating, while trying not to despair at the cost of living as a single woman of a certain age. Then Lucas faces a shattering accusation at the same time as their children Dylan and Lily, start to implode.

Forced into early retirement, the former sergeant crawled into a bottle and stayed there, moving from planet to planet, looking for some reason to keep on living. Until, that is, he wandered into a bar owned by an old marine buddy who offered to help. Curiosity was Decker's other major failing and in short order he was on the run, hunted by a shadowy government organization, and in possession of a secret that could destroy the Commonwealth. It was a secret to die for, and the people on his trail wanted to make sure he did.

Suffering invasions, riots, and hunger, the decaying Roman Empire staggers against its most ancient enemy—Persia. Undefeated in over a century, the Shahanshah’s vast armies cross the Tigris, hungry to reclaim lands that once had been the jewel of their heritage. Driving Persia’s invasion are the vaunted Immortals, an elite band of Persian warriors unmatched in prowess. Set against the invading forces are the undermanned and ill-equipped forces of Flavius Belisarius. 

Using fossil gene redemption (FGR), geneticist Kevin G. Harrigan experiments with genes from a frozen "ice man". His work prompts Iraqi leader Ismail Mon to provide resources for exciting new research that enables Harrigan's team to regenerate extinct "cryptids" and human subspecies from the Ice Ages. But FGR can be the basis for genetic weapons of mass destruction; United States intelligence and defense leaders must act! Ancient of Genes shows new megafauna regeneration methods by which the only prophecy held in common among major religions and myth traditions could manifest.

2090. Retired millennial Olivia has fallen into a familiar routine. Gardening. Painting. Keeping the stray cat off the grass. Until Dotty, her new seven-year-old neighbor, starts fiddling with her pristine front lawn. Olivia must now choose between the memories of her past or the promise of companionship. A funny story of female friendship spanning generations. 

As the king of Sippar, Ahsan is surrounded by unparalleled luxury, fawning attendants, and a gorgeous wife. It's the life he's always dreamed of, except for three small problems. One, the palace oracle foretells of a threat that could leave the king dead and the city in ruins. Two, his marriage to the sharp-tongued priestess Nirah is already in trouble—and they aren't even really married. Three, Ahsan is not the real king, but a criminal condemned to die in his place. Selected for the role of imposter king, Ahsan must take the fates' wrath and assassins' knives upon himself.