Dark Ages Literature

Ellie is twenty-one. She’s already decided that she’s one of life’s losers. She has no friends, no family, and not much of a life, and although she’s not happy, she’s not sad either; she just is. Life, she believes, is mapped out from birth, and there’s nothing she can do to change it. Until, one day, she discovers that if she’s prepared to do what others won’t, she can have everything she ever wanted. Her life begins to change, and she starts to make friends, and she begins to believe that maybe she can have what everyone else has.

The year was 1997. For Brian “Legs” Hamilton and his friends, it was the summer that followed graduation from college, the summer before life as an adult actually began—back when they were still invincible. Legs and his friends embark upon one last road trip before they must face the real world. They set their sites on rafting amidst the canyons of the Rio Grande River along the Mexican border as their final chaotic drug-fueled exploit. A five-day adventure that was supposed to be the best time in these young men’s lives ends as a nightmare that will haunt them forever.

Follow Mary Jade VonStine as her world is turned upside down with the murders of her parents. Now, Mary must go to a faraway kingdom, and live with her distant royal family. How will Mary adapt to a strange country and her family? When her family is all a bunch of monsters mostly vampires, werewolves, and other undead creatures, how will Mary survive and cope living with them, and what of the assassins who seek to kill her? Who knows - there may be more to Mary than just your typical southern tomboy

It’s the end of summer 2003. George W. Bush has recently declared the mission in Iraq accomplished, the unemployment rate is at its highest in years, and Martha Stewart has just been indicted for insider trading. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Midwest, Troy Augustus Loudermilk (fair-haired, statuesque, charismatic) and his companion Harry Rego (definitely none of those things) arrive at America’s most prestigious creative-writing program, to which Loudermilk has recently been accepted for his excellence in poetry. Loudermilk, however, has never written a poem in his life.

After the performance of a lifetime at the sold-out Stade de France, comic Édouard Bresson decides to vanish. Très drôle. His estranged son Arthur isn’t laughing. Édouard has sent him a letter and instructions to a puzzle - a treasure hunt for the son he ignored and misses and loves. If Arthur is willing to find out everything there is to know about his father and to understand the choices he made, all he has to do is put the pieces together. As the trail of clues winds its way through the past, what unfolds is a surprising journey of forgiveness, family, and self-discovery.

Twenty-eight-year-old Lana Green has never been good at making friends. She’s perfectly happy to be left alone with her books. Or at least that’s what she tells herself. Nancy Ellis Hall was once a celebrated writer. Now 80, she lives alone in her North London house and thinks she’s doing just fine. But dementia is loosening Nancy’s grip on the world. When Lana and Nancy become unconventional housemates, their lives will change in ways they never expected. But can an unusual friendship rescue two women who don’t realise they need to be saved?

It's Valentine's Day, and Ellie Knight finds herself eating Nutella in the bar stock after a no-show date. But single doesn't have to be the loneliest number, does it? She goes back home to her flatshare and weird flatmates. It's okay there's black mould everywhere, right? With a hangover from hell, she goes to the office job she thought she would have quit by now. Doesn't everyone hate their job? Maybe Ellie isn't following the official life plan, but perfect is overrated.

Danny Garvey was a 16-year-old footballing prodigy. Professional clubs clamoured to sign him, and a glittering future beckoned. And yet, his early promise remained unfulfilled, and Danny is back home in the tiny village of Barshaw to manage the struggling junior team he once played for. What’s more, he’s hiding a secret about a tragic night, 13 years earlier, that changed the course of several lives. There’s only one Danny Garvey, they once chanted...and that’s the problem.

Thirteen-year-old Al Mathews always considered himself ordinary. He didn’t believe in magic, monsters, or anything out of the ordinary—until the day he was attacked by a Pawn. Chased by a shadow and forced to defend himself from a fencer, Al's world is about to be turned upside down. When he moves to a new town, Al hopes to leave his troubled past behind. But trouble seems to follow him. With a group of unlikely friends, Al finds himself caught in a battle between good and evil. As dark forces close in, Al must make life-or-death decisions, racing against time to save those he cares about.

War explodes across the skies! Discharged from the navy, Ary is free to end the Storm. As long as it exists, his curse marks him for death. To survive, he must part from his wife. Chaylene, still an officer in the navy, hides her pain as Ary leaves. She wants to be by his side. Duty compels her to stay. Haunted by the nightmares of battle, she must discover her inner strength. Her husband and friends need her more than ever. Will she rise to the occasion? Or will her personal demons destroy her?

In an enchanting land of magic and mystery, fifteen-year-old Alina finds herself at the heart of a prophecy, where her powers will either save or doom the entire realm. While the Dark Fairy King maneuvers the pieces in his malicious game, Alina journeys into a mystical parallel world and discovers her powers of healing and traveling—a gift that would prove detrimental in the hands of evil. As darkness rises, Alina must not only come to terms with the discovery of her family's secrets, but also accept the expectations placed upon her in this realm of magic.

A thrilling gothic debut. The untimely death of a student at a girls’ boarding school marks the first in a haunting series of escalating supernatural events, and uncovers buried truths of teenage repression, queer desire, and the everyday horror of coming of age. "A truly impeccable novel...

A wickedly funny coming-of-age novel about a misfit teenager in London determined to eliminate the one thing standing between her and a good life: her father I think it’s safe to say that my father was probably always an abomination of nature. It’s 1974 in London and Connie Costa’s already...

Meet Sonny Anderson, funny failed LA Galaxy hopeful, recovering misophonic meth-head and Shaun of the Dead-obsessed survivor. On his 21st birthday, gifted the opportunity of inheriting a life-changing sum of money, Sonny needs answers to a few important questions. For instance, where is his mother? He last saw her age five when his dad kidnapped him and took him to live on a commune in Brazil. His dad claimed to be a spiritual guru, but what kind of man was he really? To find his answers Sonny must leave his home in California and return to the UK, his country of birth.

Life is short. Jimmy's life may prove shorter. His gang mates have grown up and shipped out, and the nine to five is grinding Jimmy into a person he no longer recognizes. There has to be more to existence than waking up every Saturday with a half-eaten kebab and empty wallet. The wide blue skies of America sing a siren's song, and Jimmy decides he's ready to give life a do-over - even if it means leaving his childhood sweetheart Kelly behind.

This is a touching coming-of-age tale about a young man struggling to deal with his father's cancer diagnosis. As Dad edges ever closer to his destiny, the relationship with his son reaches boiling point, but how will their final encounter pan out? Gently fusing the humorous with the tragic, this London-based drama will have you crying both tears of joy and sadness.

Spokane, Washington, is nearly perfect for most people, but Jack Fitzpatrick is not one of them. Hours after graduation and armed with his final paycheck from his nemesis, Jack heads for Southern California. Dreams are a dime a dozen in the City of Angels. Broke, barely scraping by, and hating his life as a temp, L.A. is definitely not what Jack expected. But after reading "Best Paying Jobs of 1987" in Time magazine, he decides to go after the only one he thinks he has a shot at: institutional bond broker.

A clever but obnoxious teen (think Youth in Revolt's Nick Twisp) is stuck in his parents' basement during a uniquely literary yet crowd-pleasing apocalypse. It involves not zombies but a breakdown in general logic and order. Lloyd's mother, a William Blake scholar, goes mad in a flurry of Blakean invective. Lloyd's neighbor clips toenails on her lawn. An acting group believes a tribute to Dennis Hopper might save the world.

Archer is a semi-celebrated novelist and sex-toy heir. His best friend, John, is as earnest as Archer is feckless. John's girlfriend, Sara, envies Archer's writing career. And Sara's roommate, Lucas, wishes he'd never lost his girlfriend to the man. Money, friendship, and resentment unspool in the conversations we have as we're coming of age and coming to grips.

The story of a father and son - and is it true, as Wordsworth claimed, that "the child is father of the man" or can one's character actually change as one grows older?