The war is ending, perhaps ended. For the castle and its occupants the troubles are just beginning. Armed gangs roam a lawless land where each farm and house supports a column of dark smoke. Taking to the roads with the other refugees, anonymous in their raggedness, seems safer than remaining in the ancient keep. However, the lieutenant of an outlaw band has other ideas and the castle becomes the focus for a dangerous game of desire, deceit and death. Iain Bank’s masterly novel reveals his unique ability to combine gripping narrative with a relentlessly voyaging imagination. The narrative technique and sheer brio of A Song of Stone reveal a great novelist at the height of his powers.
Kapcsolódó könyvek
Donna Grant - Forbidden Highlander
Fallon McLeod has gifts any warrior would covet—fierce strength, unmatched skill, even immortality. But those gifts have come at a price that puts everyone he loves at risk. Only when his brother, Quinn, is taken captive does Fallon leave the seclusion of his Highland home to seek the king’s aid. And though every woman at court would gladly be his for the asking, one alone causes desire to roar to life within him: beautiful, mysterious Larena Monroe.
Rumors swirl around the castle about “The McLeod” but Larena knows the truth. Like Fallon, Larena is searching for a way to vanquish the evil Druid who wants to wreak havoc on earth. Drawn to Fallon in spite of her fear, she surrenders to a passion that shocks them both with its raw intensity. But Larena dares not hope for more—not when she holds a secret that could turn her fiery Highland love against her forever…
Graeme Obree - Flying Scotsman
Graeme Obree's story begins with a tough upbringing in the Ayrshire valleys, where he found his escape by taking to the roads on his bike. But amidst the record attempts, media feeding frenzy and thrilling head-to-head duels with Chris Boardman, Graeme was fighting another battle. In this book, he recounts his biggest battle against depression.
Kresley Cole - If You Desire
He tried to run....
In his youth, Hugh MacCarrick foolishly fell in love with a beautiful English lass who delighted in teasing him with her flirtatious ways. Yet he knew he could never marry her because he was shadowed by an accursed family legacy. To avoid temptation, Hugh left home, ultimately becoming an assassin.
She tried to forget him....
Jane Weyland was devastated when the Highlander she believed would marry her abandoned her instead. Years later, when Hugh MacCarrick is summoned to protect her from her father's enemies, her heartache has turned to fury -- but her desire for him has not waned.
Will passion overwhelm them?
In hiding, Jane torments Hugh with seductive play. He struggles to resist her because of deadly secrets that could endanger her further. But Hugh is no longer a gentle young man -- and toying with the fever-pitched desires of a hardened warrior will either get Jane burned...or enflame a love that never died.
Kresley Cole - If You Dare
Can he exact revenge?
High in the Pyrenees, a band of mercenaries led by Courtland MacCarrick wages war for General Reynaldo Pascal. When Court turns on the evil general, Pascal orders him killed, but Court narrowly escapes and exacts revenge by kidnapping Pascal's exquisite Castilian fiancée.
Can she deny her passions?
Lady Annalía Tristán Llorente despises her towering, barbaric captor almost as much as she does Pascal. Her inexplicable attraction to the Highlander only fuels her fury. But nothing will stop her from returning to Pascal—for if she doesn't wed him, she signs her brother's death warrant, as well as her own.
Can there be love between them?
From the moment Court discovers that Anna's prim façade masks a fiery, brave lass, his heart's ensnared, and he dares to defy the curse that has shadowed his life—to walk with death or walk alone. But Pascal vows that he'll hunt the two, never stopping until he's destroyed them both.
Robert Louis Stevenson - A Child's Garden of Verses
Robert Louis Stevenson, famed author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped, captures the spirit of childhood in this classic collection of children's verse.
Celebrating his own memories of being a child, these lyrical, perceptive, often funny poems describe the world around him, from the sights and sounds of garden and nursery to gentle philosophical thoughts and exciting, imaginary journeys to exotic islands.
Beautifully illustrated by Millicant Sowerby, these much loved poems are as popular now as when they were first published over a century ago.
'Still the best book of poems on being a child in the English language' - Observer
Ian Rankin - Knots & Crosses
The very first Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author.
'And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you... '
'That sort of thing' is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of many policemen hunting the killer.
And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve.
Ian Rankin - Tooth and Nail
They call him the Wolfman - because he takes a bite out of his victims and because they found the first victim in the East End's lonely Wolf Street. Scotland Yard are anxious to find the killer and Inspector Rebus is drafted in to help. But his Scotland Yard opposite number, George Flight, isn't happy at yet more interference, and Rebus finds himself dealing with racial prejudice as well as the predations of a violent maniac. When Rebus is offered a serial killer profile of the Wolfman by an attractive female psychologist, it's too good an opportunity to miss. But in finding an ally, he may have given his enemies an easy means of attack.
Ian Rankin - Watchman
Miles Flint has been a successful middle manager in the shadowy ranks of British intelligence until recent mistakes, including a botched surveillance of an Arab assassin, put his career and reputation in jeopardy. Suspecting that the killer evaded him because of a tip from one of his own, Miles launches his own mole hunt, casting himself in a role that's uncomfortably active for him—especially as his search leads back to his wife, Sheila. And Miles's doings seemingly strike a nerve within the organization, getting him dispatched on a perilous IRA bombing-related mission.
Peter May - Entry Island
When Detective Sime Mackenzie boards a light aircraft at Montreal's St. Hubertairfield, he does so without looking back. For Sime, the 850-mile journey aheadrepresents an opportunity to escape the bitter blend of loneliness and regret thathas come to characterise his life in the city.Travelling as part of an eight-officer investigation team, Sime's destination lies inthe Gulf of St. Lawrence. Only two kilometres wide and three long, ENTRY ISLAND ishome to a population of around 130 inhabitants - the wealthiest of which has justbeen discovered murdered in his home.The investigation itself appears little more than a formality.
Peter May - The Chessmen
A new start has brought new optimism for Fin Macleod. Now permanently re-settled on his Hebridean childhood home of the Isle of Lewis, the ex-Detective Inspector has been employed by a local landowner to oversee security on his estate: ostensibly a simple task for a man of Fin's experience. When an investigation into illegal activity on the land brings Fin into contact with elusive local poacher and former school friend Whistler Macaskill, Fin is afforded an opportunity to connect with the happier days of his teenage years. But as Fin catches up with Whistler, the two witness a freak natural phenomenon - a 'Bog Burst' - which spontaneously drains a Lewis loch of its water, revealing a mud-encased light aircraft with a sickeningly familiar moniker on its side. Both men know what they will find inside - the body of friend and musician Roddy Mackenzie, whose flight disappeared more than seventeen years before. But when Whistler's face appears to register something other than shock at the sight of Roddy's remains, Fin feels an icy chill of apprehension. As he closes in on Whistler's secret, Fin is unprepared for how the truth about the past will alter the course of the future.
Peter May - The Lewis Man
A MAN WITH NO NAME
An unidentified corpse is recovered from a Lewis peat bog; the only clue to its identity being a DNA sibling match to a local farmer.
A MAN WITH NO MEMORY
But this islander, Tormod Macdonald - now an elderly man suffering from dementia - has always claimed to be an only child.
A MAN WITH NO CHOICE
When Tormod's family approach Fin Macleod for help, Fin feels duty-bound to solve the mystery.
Peter May - The Blackhouse
A brutal killing takes place on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland: a land of harsh beauty and inhabitants of deep-rooted faith.
A MURDER. Detective Inspector Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh to investigate. For Lewis-born Macleod, the case represents a journey both home and into his past.
A SECRET. Something lurks within the close-knit island community. Something sinister.
A TRAP. As Fin investigates, old skeletons begin to surface, and soon he, the hunter, becomes the hunted.
Donna Grant - Dangerous Highlander
First in a breathtaking new series, the bold and passionate Lucan MacLeod—one of three brothers cursed by dark magic for eternity—is driven by desire for the one woman he dare not let himself possess…
He is magnificently strong—and dangerously seductive. One of the fiercest of his clan, Lucan MacLeod is a legend among warriors, inspiring fear in man and woman alike. For three hundred years, he has locked himself away from the world, hiding the vengeful god imprisoned in his soul. But then, a young lass caught in a raging storm awakens his deepest impulses…and darkest desires.
Cara doesn’t believe the rumors about MacLeod castle—until the majestic Highland warrior appears like a fiery vision in the storm, pulling her into his powerful arms, and into his world of magic and Druids. An epic war between good and evil is brewing. And Lucan must battle his all-consuming attraction for Cara—or surrender to the flames of a reckless, impossible love that threatens to destroy them both…
Karen Marie Moning - The Dark Highlander
Journey to a world of ancient magic, breathtaking sensuality, thrilling time-travel... Journey to the world of The Dark Highlander. Crisscrossing the continents and the centuries, here is a novel as gripping as it is sensual—an electrifying adventure that will leave you breathless...
I am Dageus MacKeltar, a man with one good conscience and thirteen bad ones, driven to sate my darkest desires...From his penthouse lair high above Manhattan, Dageus looks out over a glittering city that calls to the darkness within him. A sixteenth century Scot trapped between worlds, he is fighting a losing battle with the thirteen Druids who possess his soul, dooming him to an eternity of sexual pursuit. When Chloe Zanders, student of antiquities, is drawn into his world, she finds the insatiable Alpha male an irresistible lure.
Before long, she is caught up in an ancient prophecy that will sweep her back in time to medieval Scotland. Plunged into a world of timeless magic and dark seduction, she will soon face the challenge of a lifetime: fighting thirteen evil spirits for the heart of one irresistible man...
Karen Marie Moning - The Immortal Highlander
Enter a world of timeless seduction, of ancient intrigue and modern-day passion. Enter the dazzling world of Karen Marie Moning whose acclaimed Highlander novels have captivated readers, spanning the continents and the centuries, bringing ancient Scotland vividly to life. In a new novel brimming with time-travel adventure and sensual heat, the nationally bestselling author of The Dark Highlander delivers a love story that will hold you in thrall and a hero you will most certainly never forget...
Ian Rankin - The Hanging Garden
Detective Inspector Rebus is buried under a pile of paperwork generated by his investigations into a suspected war criminal. But an escalating dispute between the upstart Tommy Telford and Big Ger Cafferty's gang gives Rebus an escape clause. Telford is known to have close links with a Newcastle gangster nicknamed Mr Pink Eyes - a Chechen bringing refugees into Britain as prostitutes. When Rebus takes under his wing a distraught Bosnian call girl, it gives him a personal reason to make sure Telford takes the high road back to Paisley and pronto. Then Rebus's daughter is the victim of an all too professional hit-and-run and Rebus knows that now there is nothing he wouldn't do to bring down prime suspect Tommy Telford - even if it means cutting a deal with the devil.
Ian Rankin - Doors Open
For the right man, all doors are open... Mike Mackenzie is a self-made man with too much time on his hands and a bit of the devil in his soul. He is looking for something to liven up the days and perhaps give new meaning to his existence. A chance encounter at an art auction offers him the opportunity to do just that as he settles on a plot to commit a 'perfect crime'. He intends to rip-off one of the most high-profile targets in the capital - the National Gallery of Scotland. So, together with two close friends from the art world, he devises a plan to a lift some of the most valuable artwork around. But of course, the real trick is to rob the place for all its worth whilst persuading the world that no crime was ever committed. But soon after he enters the dark waters of the criminal underworld he realises that it's very easy to drown...
Robert Louis Stevenson - Kidnapped
Classic adventure novel, set in the year 1751, centers around David Balfour, a young Scotsman orphaned by the death of his father. Betrayed by his uncle, the young hero is shanghaied and headed for bondage in the New World, until a swashbuckling highlander comes to his rescue. Stirring, suspenseful; considered by Stevenson his best fiction.
Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
'All human beings ... are commingled out of good and evil'
Dr Jekyll has been experimenting with his identity. He has developed a drug which separates the two sides of his nature and allows him occasionally to abandon himself to his most corrupt inclinations as the monstrous Mr Hyde. But gradually he begins to find that the journey back to goodness becomes more and more difficult, and the risk that Mr Hyde will break free entirely from Dr Jekyll's control puts all of London in grave peril.
Carol Ann Duffy - Selected Poems
‘Poetry, like love, depends on a kind of recognition. So often with Duffy does the reader say, “Yes, that’s it exactly,” that she could well become the representative poet of the present day’ Sean O’Brien, Sunday Times.
‘Selected Poems’ contains poetry chosen by Carol Ann Duffy from her acclaimed volumes, ‘Standing Female Nude’ (1985), ‘Selling Manhattan’ (1987), ‘The Other Country’ (1990) and ‘Mean Time’ (1993, winner of the Forward Poetry Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Award), together with three poems from ‘The World's Wife’.