Mercenary

Piers Anthony - Var ​the Stick
Sol ​controlled the mountain, and Sos the Empire. No one could calculate the destruction which would follow if they went to war. Var - half animal, half man - rescued from the badlands was the chosen one. Exiled from his own legion, supported only by his courage and skill, he wandered the Earth, fleeing certain death for him and for Soli, the valiant companion he loved more than life itself.

Piers Anthony - Sos ​the Rope
They ​call him Sos - a man mightier in strength and spirit than the greatest warriors of post-Blast legend. His past is shrouded in enigma, but now he wanders the Earth, writing a heritage in blood and bravery. To some, he is savior; to others, agent of cataclysm. One man alone bears the terrible curse of his friendship. Two mortal women share his doom-driven love. Yet only Sos knows the ultimate purpose of his strange, violent mission on Earth: save mankind - or destroy it forever.

Piers Anthony - Phaze ​Doubt
The ​merged worlds of Phaze and Proton face a new threat from an invading force- leaving the fate of the two planets in the hands of Nepe and Flach, two children possessing magical powers.

Piers Anthony - Unicorn ​Point
The ​combined magic and technology between the parallel worlds of Phaze and Proton is not enough to save the planets from a conquering invasion. Only Mach and Bane - robot and wizard, linked between worlds - have any chance of stopping this threat.

Piers Anthony - Robot ​Adept
The ​robotic Mach and the human Bane are the only contact between the technological world of Photon and the fantastical world of Phaze. So the Adverse Adepts devise a scheme to control the duo by kidnapping their lovers.

Piers Anthony - Out ​of Phaze
Two ​worlds - the scientific Proton and the magical Phaze - exist side by side. Now, Mach has crossed from Proton to Phaze, switching places with his counterpart Bane. And both must learn to survive in environments alien to their own nature.

Piers Anthony - Juxtaposition
Stile ​had problems on two different worlds. On Proton he was threatened with murder, and on Phaze, an alternate world ruled by magic, he had to master magic, fight a dragon, win the friendship of a lady unicorn, locate his enemy among the paranoid Adepts and return out of Phaze to win the Great Games on Proton. After that, he was ready to face the real problems!

Piers Anthony - Blue ​Adept
In ​Book Two of the epic adventure that began in _Split Infinity,_ Stile discovers life on Proton and Phaze is getting more difficult. On Proton he's a serf trying to prove his right to exist by competing in the Great Games. And on Phaze, where only magic worked, he was the Blue Adept trying to master the powers of sorcery. On both worlds, someone was trying to assassinate him. And as if that weren't enough, he has to win the love of Lady Blue, fight a dragon, discover the ultimate weapon, and of course, seek out the all-powerful Citizen who was trying to kill him!

Piers Anthony - Split ​Infinity
_Split ​Infinity_ is the first book in Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series. Here two worlds exist side by side: Proton and Phaze. Proton is a science fiction world, where everything works in a logical and scientific manner. Phaze is a fantasy world similar to Anthony's Xanth in that there's no such thing as science - it's all done with magic! The wild plot involves a young adventurer named Stiles who lives in Proton and learns that his "double" in Phaze has been murdered. To solve his own demise, Stiles must travel between the two realities, each abounding with the expected confusions and unexpected plot twists for which Anthony is famous. An artful blending of SF and fantasy clichés and situations, _Split Infinity_ shows Piers Anthony at the top of his ingenious game(s).

Philip Reeve - Mortal ​Engines
London ​is hunting its prey. For too long, London has been hiding in the hills, safe from bigger, faster, HUNGRIER cities. Now London must feed. But as the chase begins, events within the walls take a sinister turn... The breathtaking first instalment of the award-winning MORTAL ENGINES quartet.

Piers Anthony - Chthon
Chthon ​was Piers Anthony’s first published novel in 1967, written over the course of seven years. He started it when he was in the US Army, so it has a long prison sequence that is reminiscent of that experience, being dark and grim. It features Aton Five, a space man who commits the crime of falling in love with the dangerous alluring Minionette and is therefore condemned to death in the subterranean prison of Chthon. It uses flashbacks to show how he came to know the Minionette, and flashforwards to show how he dealt with her after his escape from prison. The author regards this as perhaps the most intricately structured novel the science fantasy genre has seen. It was a contender for awards, but not a winner.

C. S. Forester - A ​Ship of the Line
May, ​1810 - and thirty-nine-year-old Captain Horatio Hornblower has been handed his first ship of the line . . . Though the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland is 'the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy' and a crew shortage means he must recruit two hundred and fifty landlubbers, Hornblower knows that by the time Sutherland and her squadron reach the blockaded Catalonian coast every seaman will do his duty. But with daring raids against the French army and navy to be made, it will take all Hornblower's seamanship - and stewardship - to steer a steady course to victory and home . . . This is the sixth of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower.

Michelle Paver - Outcast
A ​thrilling story of friendship, survival, and the need to belong. For two moons Torak has hidden a terrible secret—and now it is revealed. He bears the mark of the Soul-Eater, and must pay the price. Cast out from the clans, he is alone and on the run: cut off from his best friend, Renn, and his beloved pack-brother, Wolf. He flees to the haunted reed-beds of Lake Axehead, where he is hunted by the Otter Clan, taunted by the Hidden People, and, as soul-sickness claims him, he falls prey to an even greater menace. Tormented by secrets and broken trust, he uncovers a deception that will turn his world upside down.

Michelle Paver - Soul ​Eater
It's ​winter, and Wolf, Torak's beloved pack-brother, has been captured by an unknown foe. In a desperate bid to rescue him, Torak and Renn must brave the frozen wilderness of the Far North. As they battle for survival amid howling blizzards and the ever-present menace of the great white bear, their friendship is tested to the breaking point, and Torak is forced to get closer to his enemies than ever before. . . . Soul Eater is a haunting story of loyalty and loss, a chilling portrayal of the nature of evil, and the next step in the perilous journey that began with Wolf Brother and Spirit Walker.

Michelle Paver - Wolf ​Brother
Thousands ​of years ago the land is one dark forest. Its people are hunter-gatherers. They know every tree and herb and they know how to survive in a time of enchantment and powerful magic. Until an ambitious and malevolent force conjures a demon: a demon so evil that it can be contained only in the body of a ferocious bear that will slay everything it sees, a demon determined to destroy the world. Only one boy can stop it—12 year old Torak, who has seen his father murdered by the bear. With his dying breath, Torak’s father tells his son of the burden that is his. He must lead the bear to the mountain of the World Spirit and beg that spirit’s help to overcome it. Torak is an unwilling hero. He is scared and trusts no one. His only companion is a wolf cub only three moons old, whom he seems to understand better than any human. Theirs is a terrifying quest in a world of wolves, tree spirits and Hidden People, a world in which trusting a friend means risking your life.

Iain Pears - The ​Bernini Bust
British ​art historian Jonathan Argyll has just sold a minor Titian to an American museum for a highly inflated price. But as he complacently awaits his cheque in the Californian sunshine, trouble erupts: the museum's billionaire owner is murdered, a dubious art dealer disappears, and a Bernini bust, apparently smuggled out of Italy, is missing. Things could hardly be worse, and the situation calls for assistance from his friends General Bottando and Flavia di Stefano of the Italian National Art Theft Squad, especially as things do get worse - the killer's attention turns to Jonathan himself. Cleverly mixing murder with art, _The Bernini Bust_ is a witty and intriguing mystery from the bestselling author of _An Instance of the Fingerpost._

Julianna Baggott - Burn
The ​fate of the world is more fragile than ever as Pures battle Wretches and former allies become potential enemies. Inside the Dome Patridge has taken his father's place as leader of the Pures. His intent had been to bring down the Dome from the inside with the help of the secret resistance force led by Partridge's former teacher Glassings. But from his new position of power, things don't seem quite as clear. Perhaps his father had been right. Perhaps if the world is to survive it needs the Dome--and Partridge--to rule it. Outside the Dome Pressia and Bradwell continue piecing together the clues left to them by their parents from the time before the detonations. Soon they will be able to help heal the Wretches, freeing them from their monstrous fusings and the Dome's oppression once and for all. But their success also depends on Partridge. Can they still trust their friend and ally to see their plan through? Or will a new war begin?

P. G. Wodehouse - The ​Mating Season
Fans ​of P. G. Wodehouse's comic genius are legion, and their devotion to his masterful command of the hilarity borders on an obsession. The Mating Season is a time of love, mistaken identity, and mishap for Bertie, Gussie Fink-Nottle and other guests staying at Deverill Hall-luckily there's unflappable Jeeves to set things right.

Michelle Paver - Ghost ​Hunter
Winter ​is coming. Souls' Night draws near. Eostra, the Eagle Owl Mage, holds the clans in the grip of terror. Torak must leave the Forest and seek her lair in the Mountain of Ghosts, while Renn faces an agonizing decision. Wolf, their faithful pack-brother, must overcome wrenching grief. And in the final battle against the forces of darkness, Torak will make the most shattering choice of all. Ghost Hunter, the final book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, draws the reader for the last time into the shadowy world of the deep past and brings Torak to the end of his incredible journey.

Ian Rankin - Bleeding ​Hearts
The ​death of a TV reporter from a single bullet wound to the heart - a dramatic news story, an unsolved crime... but the twist in the tale is that this time it's the man who fired the bullet whose asking all the questions. Michael Weston wants to know how come the police were on his tail so quickly. What was it about this journalist that got someone so rattled enough to want her permanently out of the picture? Might she just have been a stooge, the job a set-up arranged to see him safely behind bars? His first task is to find the writer of his pay cheque, the second is to make sure he doesn't get caught. Because one thing's for certain - the longer he sticks around to find out, the bigger the risk of making mistakes, revealing his cover and maybe even losing his life.