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The city is Beszel, a rundown metropolis on the eastern edge of Europe. The other city is Ul Qoma, a modern Eastern European boomtown, despite being a bit of an international pariah. What the two cities share, and what they don't, is the deliciously evocative conundrum at the heart of China Mieville's The City & The City. Mieville is well known as a modern fantasist (and urbanist), but from book to book he's tried on different genres, and here he's fully hard-boiled, stripping down to a seen-it-all detective's voice that's wonderfully appropriate for this story of seen and unseen. His detective is Inspector Tyador Borlu, a cop in Beszel whose investigation of the murder of a young foreign woman takes him back and forth across the highly policed border to Ul Qoma to uncover a crime that threatens the delicate balance between the cities and, perhaps more so, Borlu's own dissolving sense of identity. In his tale of two cities, Mieville creates a world both fantastic and unsettlingly familiar, whose mysteries don't end with the solution of a murder. далее

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Professor Andrew Hale rejoins Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1963 after receiving a coded message, quickly finding himself entangled in a plot involving the biblical Ark and the fall of the Iron Curtain. далее

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Latro forgets everything when he sleeps. Writing down his experiences every day and reading his journal anew each morning gives him a poignantly tenuous hold on himself, but his story's hold on readers is powerful indeed. The two previous novels, combined in Latro in the Mist (Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete) are generally considered classics of contemporary fantasy. Latro now finds himself in Egypt, a land of singing girls, of spiteful and conniving deities. Without his memory, his is unsure of everything, except for his desire to be free of the curse that causes him to forget. The visions Gene Wolfe conjures, of the wonders of Egypt, and of the adventures of Latro as he and his companions journey up the great Nile south into unknown or legendary territory, are unique and compelling. Soldier of Sidon is a thrilling and magical fantasy novel, and yet another masterpiece from Gene Wolfe.  далее

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Following a scalding row with her mother, fifteen-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: a sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as “the radio people,” Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena. Now, as she wanders deeper into the English countryside, visions and coincidences reorder her reality until they assume the aura of a nightmare brought to life.For Holly has caught the attention of a cabal of dangerous mystics—and their enemies. But her lost weekend is merely the prelude to a shocking disappearance that leaves her family irrevocably scarred. This unsolved mystery will echo through every decade of Holly’s life, affecting all the people Holly loves—even the ones who are not yet born.A Cambridge scholarship boy grooming himself for wealth and influence, a conflicted father who feels alive only while reporting from occupied Iraq, a middle-aged writer mourning his exile from the bestseller list—all have a part to play in this surreal, invisible war on the margins of our world. From the medieval Swiss Alps to the nineteenth-century Australian bush, from a hotel in Shanghai to a Manhattan townhouse in the near future, their stories come together in moments of everyday grace and extraordinary wonder. далее

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When Song of Kali was published in 1985, Dan Simmons was virtually unknown, having published only a few short stories. But this sharp, vivid novel struck a raw nerve. A startled and amazed readership could only gasp in wonder and horror at the apparent ease with which the author made readers feel that they were living the nightmarish reality he so potently conveyed in the pages of this blood-curdling novel. Here is Calcutta, perhaps the foulest and most crime-ridden city in the world: filthy, stench-ridden, crawling with vermin both human and otherwise, possessed of evils so vile that they beggar description. In this steaming, fetid cradle of chaos, the ordeal of an American man and his family plays out, moment by moment, page by page, in a novel so truly frightening that otherwise jaded readers will quail in fear at its gut-wrenching finale. One of the great masterpieces of horror of this century, Song of Kali will leave an indelible imprint on your soul. Once you read it, you'll never forget it. . . . Never. далее

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Lavie Tidhar was in Dar-es-Salaam during the American embassy bombings in 1998, and stayed in the same hotel as the Al Qaeda operatives in Nairobi. Since then he and his now-wife have narrowly avoided both the 2005 King’s Cross and 2004 Sinai attacks—experiences that led first to his memorable short story “My Travels with Al-Qaeda” and later to the creation ofOsama.“In a world without global terrorism Joe, a private detective, is hired by a mysterious woman to find a man: the obscure author of pulp fiction novels featuring one Osama Bin Laden: Vigilante...”“Joe’s quest to find the man takes him across the world, from the backwaters of Asia to the European Capitals of Paris and London, and as the mystery deepens around him there is one question he is trying hard not to ask: who is he, really, and how much of the books is fiction? Chased by unknown assailants, Joe’s identity slowly fragments as he discovers the shadowy world of the refugees, ghostly entities haunting the world in which he lives. Where do they come from? And what do they want? Joe knows how the story should end, but even he is not ready for the truths he’ll find in New York and, finally, on top a quiet hill above Kabul—nor for the choice he will at last have to make... далее

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In this exhilarating, moving new work, Guy Gavriel Kay casts brilliant light on the ways in which history—whether of a culture or a family—refuses to be buried. Ned Marriner, fifteen years old, has accompanied his photographer father to Provence for a six-week «shoot» of images for a glossy coffee-table book. Gradually, Ned discovers a very old story playing itself out in this modern world of iPods, cellphones, and seven-seater vans whipping along roads walked by Celtic tribes and Roman legions. On one holy, haunted night of the ancient year, when the borders between the living and the dead are down and fires are lit upon the hills, Ned, his family, and his friends are shockingly drawn into this tale, as dangerous, mythic figures from conflicts of long ago erupt into the present, claiming and changing lives. далее

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To a mortician, the preparation of a corpse is an art. The smooth, silent exchange of blood and embalming fluid is like a symphony to be orchestrated. The presentation of the deceased -- lying in a shining casket framed by flowers -- is an exquisitely composed tableau. And the burial itself is the magnificent climax to his craftsmanship. — Clive Barker also knows how to prepare a body for the grave.He knows how to plunge his readers into unearthly depths, spiraling from dark horror to dizzying madness. He knows how to lower the body temperature to an icy chill -- and make the heart pound faster and faster.Until it stops...To a mortician, the preparation of a corpse is an art. The smooth, silent exchange of blood and embalming fluid is like a symphony to be orchestrated. The presentation of the deceased - lying in a shining casket framed by flowers - is an exquisitely composed tableau. And the burial itself is the magnificent climax to his craftsmanship.Clive Barker also knows how to prepare a body for the grave.He knows how to plunge his readers into the unearthly depths, spiraling from dark horror to dizzying madness. He knows how to lower the body temperature to an icy chill - and make the heart pound faster and faster. далее

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Quizá los olores evoquen el privilegio de la invisibilidad. Antes del tacto, sucede el olor, como mensajero de una esencia que sabe desaparecer en el aire y ser agente de un gran poder. La seducción que despliega el olor es implacable: se instala en nosotros y sella su poderío en los tejidos de la memoria. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille tiene su marca de nacimiento: no despide ningún olor y por ello hace temer la presencia de algún demonio. Al mismo tiempo posee un don excepcional: un olfato prodigioso que le permite percibir todos los olores del mundo. Desde la miseria en que nace, abandonado al cuidado de unos monjes, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille lucha contra su condición y escala posiciones sociales convirtiéndose en un afamado perfumista. Crea perfumes capaces de hacerle pasar inadvertido o inspirar simpatía, amor, compasión… Para obtener estas fórmulas magistrales debe asesinar a jóvenes muchachas vírgenes, obtener sus fluidos corporales y licuar sus olores íntimos. Su arte se convierte en una suprema e inquietante prestidigitacion. Patrick Süskind, convertido en maestro del naturalismo irónico, nos transmite una visión ácida y desengañada del hombre en un libro repleto de sabiduría olfativa, imaginación y enorme amenidad. Su persuasión iguala la de su personaje y nos propone una inmersión literaria en el arco iris natural de los olores y en los turbadores abismos del espíritu humano. далее

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Обращение человека с животными, рассказанное одной крысой - ренегатом из одного научного центра.

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Flyleaf: After ten years of quietude, author Christopher Priest (nominated one of the Best of Young British Novelists in 1983) returns with a triumphant tale of dueling prestidigitators and impossible acts. In 1878, two young stage magicians clash in a darkened salon during the course of a fraudulent sйance. From this moment, their lives spin webs of deceit and exposure as they feud to outwit each other. Their rivalry takes them both to the peak of their careers, but with terrible consequences. It is not enough that blood will be spilt — their legacy is one that will pass on for generations. The Prestige is a chimerical triumph of storytelling magic, a fiercely compelling tale of revenge and illusion. Awarded Britain's prestigious James Tait Black Memorial Prize and nominated also for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, The Prestige is a masterpiece of imaginative storytelling. далее

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Sent from the Well-Built City to a barren mining town, physiognomist Cley is directed to find the thief who has stolen a supernatural and legendary white fruit that grew in the Earthly Paradise.

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When critics and readers caught scent of Patrick Suskind's "Perfume", it became an instant "New York Times" bestseller in hardcover and paperback. The reviews were sensational, word-of-mouth was incredible — and now it is back in an all-new trade paperback format. "A tour de force of the imagination." — "People." далее

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Третий том трилогии «Лионесс», получивший награду за лучшее в мире произведение в жанре «фэнтези», привлекает наше внимание к Мэдук, подброшенной феями и принятой Казмиром за свою внучку, дочь принцессы Сульдрун. В отличие от принцессы Сульдрун, лишь пассивно сопротивлявшейся несносным правилам замка Хайдион, Мэдук бойко защищается — в частности, бросается гнилыми фруктами. Приведенный в ярость ее проказами, король Казмир объявляет конкурс, обещая выдать ее замуж за победителя, но у Мэдук другие планы — она вербует в качестве эскорта помощника конюшего по прозвищу «сэр Пом-Пом» и бесстрашно отправляется на поиски своего настоящего отца. В странствиях они сталкиваются с мошенниками, феями, троллями, ограми и старцем, ищущим потерянную молодость, а также с невзрачным и слегка выщербленным предметом кухонного обихода под наименованием «чаша Грааля». По мере того, как волшебники Шимрод и Мурген изучают предзнаменования катаклизма, готового произвести переворот в магическом мире, король Казмир планирует убийство, которое позволит ему править железной рукой объединенными государствами всех Старейших островов; тем не менее, удовлетворение его грандиозных амбиций осложняется одним малозаметным, но существенным недосмотром — он забыл принять в расчет существование Мэдук!   далее

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Anthony Van Horne, the disgraced captain of an oil tanker that spilled its cargo, is approached by the angel Raphael at the Cloisters in New York to command his former ship on an important mission. It seems God has died, and his two-mile-long corpse has fallen into the ocean at 0° latitude, 0° longitude. The Vatican would like the captain to tow God to a remote Arctic cave for a quiet burial. Naturally, things don’t work out this simply, and the complications form the events of this splendid comic epic. As more and more folks with varying perspectives become aware of the covert mission, more hell, if you will, breaks loose. The author, an SF crossover, puts the weighty subject and its possible ramifications to clever use on many levels. He packs the story with sailing matters, cultural criticism, theology, physics, and more but still manages to keep the encounter bubbly and inviting.   Won World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1995. Nominated for Nebula Award in 1994. Nominated for Hugo, Clarke, and Locus awards in 1995.  далее