Gollancz strana 23 z 25

Two 19th century stage illusionists, the aristocratic Rupert Angier and the working-class Alfred Borden, engage in a bitter and deadly feud; the effects are still being felt by their respective families a hundred years later. Working in the gaslight-and-velvet world of Victorian music halls, they prowl edgily in the background of each other's shadowy life, driven to the extremes by a deadly combination of obsessive secrecy and insatiable curiosity. At the heart of the row is an amazing illusion they both perform during their stage acts. The secret of the magic is simple, and the reader is in on it almost from the start, but to the antagonists the real mystery lies deeper. Both have something more to hide than the mere workings of a trick.

Scaldingly sarcastic yet enduringly empathetic, THE ZAP GUN is Dick's remarkable novel depicting the insanity of the arms race. Lars Powderdry and Lilo Topchev are counterpart weapons fashion designers for a world divided into two factions - Wes-bloc and Peep-East. Since the Plowshare Protocols of 2002, their job has been to invent elaborate weapons that only seem massively lethal. But when alien satellites hostile to both sides appear in the sky, the two are brought together in the dire hope that they can create a weapon to save the world, a task made all the more difficult by Lars falling in love with Lilo, even as he knows she's trying to kill him.

It began with a blinding light, a divine revelation from a mysterious intelligence that called itself VALIS. And with that, the fabric of reality was ripped open and laid bare so that anything seemed possible, but nothing seemed quite right. Part science fiction, part theological detective story in which God plays both the missing person and the perpetrator of the ultimate crime, VALIS is both disorienting and eerily funny, and a joy to read.

THE SELLAMILLION is NOT a parody of Tolkien's THE SILMARILLION. That would be pointless because although all Tolkien fans have a copy, only three of them have read past page 40. It is, however, a parody of all that Tolkien created as he worked on LOR D OF THE RINGS. The history of the elderly days. Early missing drafts of LORD OF THE RINGS. A correspondence between the author and publisher on whether it should be a Bellybutton Stud of Doom rather than a Ring of Power. An experimental version of L OTR as if written by Dr Seuss. That sort of thing. It'll be funny. Possibly hilarious. The author's told us it will be. Promised even. And he did write THE SODDIT. And that was quite funny.Upozornenie: Vzhľadom na častejšie obmeny vydaní tejto knihy v zahraničí, kus, ktorý vám zašleme, nemusí mať rovnakú obálku ako je zobrazená tu. Zobrazená obálka môže byť iba ilustračná. Obsah knihy aj cena budú však identické, bez ohľadu na obálku.

Barry Trotter is 22 and has never left the Hogwash School of Magic - there's been no need; after all, G.K. Rollin's books about him have made him a millionaire and Barry is perfectly happy to while away his days as a perpetual (loaded) student. The hoardes of Muddles who hang around outside Hogwash desperate to see him, touch him, are a bit of pain, but he can deal with that. But then comes news that Hollywood is planning a film of Rollin's first book about Barry. And they all know what that means: loss of creative control; cheap merchandising; millions more Muddles swarming over Hogwash. Barry agrees a plan with Bumblemore; the film must be stopped. BARRY TROTTER AND THE SHAMELESS PARODY is an incisive and hilarious parody of the Harry Potter phenomenon. There are slyly affectionate digs at the books themselves, but Gerber's main scorn is directed at the monster that the Harry Potter franchise has become. The book has a creative energy all its own, introducing characters and a hilarious take on magic that even J.K Rowling might appreciate.

In the grand tradition of the parody bestseller Bored of the Rings, this uproarious literary spoof follows the Tolkienesque adventures of Bingo "Sac" Grabbings, a rather unremarkable Soddit of Upper Middle Earth. He ventures forth (despite very sore and swollen feet indeed!) alongside Gandef the Coughing Wizard and a band of psoriasis-scratching, who-knows-what's-in-the-pipe-puffing dwarves, as they set out to relieve the haughty dragon Smug of his ill-gotten gold. With the recent blockbuster bo x office success of the Lord of the Rings films, the time is ripe for someone to poke a bit of good-natured fun at the phenomenon that is The Hobbit, and this hilarious parody succeeds brilliantly. Written by an acknowledged expert on all things Tolk ien, it both salutes and skewers the classic novel, reinventing the tale of a courageous little being whose amazing persistenceand more than a bit of Soddit luckbelies his diminutive stature.Upozornenie: Vzhľadom na častejšie obmeny vydaní tejto kn ihy v zahraničí, kus, ktorý vám zašleme, nemusí mať rovnakú obálku ako je zobrazená tu. Zobrazená obálka môže byť iba ilustračná. Obsah knihy aj cena budú však identické, bez ohľadu na obálku.

1st edition paperback, vg++

ARMCHAIR TRAVEL FOR THE MIND: It was Sita Dulip who discovered, whilst stuck in an airport, unable to get anywhere, how to change planes - literally. With a kind of a twist and a slipping bend, easier to do than describe, she could go anywhere - be anywhere - because she was already between planes ...and on the way back from her sister's wedding, she missed her plane in Chicago and found herself in Choom. The author, armed with this knowledge and Rornan's invaluable Handy Planetary Guide - although not the Encyclopedia Planeria, as that runs to forty-four volumes - has spent many happy years exploring places as diverse as Islac and the Veksian plane. CHANGING PLANES is an intriguing, enticing mixture of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and THE HITCH HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, a cross between Douglas Adams and Alain de Botton: a mix of satire, cynicism and humour by one of the world's best writers.

SOUL OF THE FIRE saw the political machinations that have dogged the midlands reach new heights as the Chimes ran free and threatened magic everywhere. As the novel ended Kahlan has narrowly avoided death and now she and Richard Rahl, the Seeker, must strive again to save the world from the resurgent armies of the Emperor Jagang. From the very first page FAITH OF THE FALLEN PITCHES Richard and Kahlan into their most desperate fight yet, a fight where worlds once again hang in the balance. Richard must embark on a course of action that will leave his people feeling betrayed and vulnerable and which will take both he and Kahlan away from the protection of the D'Haran armies. But he has no choice, Richard, who distrusts prophecy more than anyone, has had a vision. It is a vision he is compelled to follow.

Son Goku is a naive young monkey-tailed boy whose quiet life is completely over-turned when he is nearly run over by a precocious and spiky girl caled Bulma. She is on a quest to collect seven Dragon Balls and thereby be granted one wish. But the balls are scattered all over the world and Bulma gets much more than she bargained for when she tricks Son to hand over the dragon ball he owns and gets him to join her quest. Son Gokumay be tiny and naive but he's supernaturally strong, has a magic staff and owns a flying cloud. Also he's not as stupid as he appears. A wonderfully energetic and fast moving fantastic quest propelled by the witty and sharp interplay between Bulma and Goku.

One man, Richard Cypher, holds the key to the fate of three nations, of humanityBut until he learns the Wizard's First Rule his chances of succeeding in his task are slim. And his biggest problem is admitting that magic exists at all...A novel of incomparable scope and brimming with atmospheric detail: in a world where heart hounds stalk the boundaries for unwary human prey, blood-sucking flies hunt on behalf of their underworld masters, and where artists can draw more than your likeness, there is no place to hide, nowhere safe. Here magic makes love twice as sweet, betrayal and loss twice as bitter.

Geralt is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. He roams the country seeking assignments, but gradually comes to realise that while some of his quarry are unremittingly vile, vicious grotesques, others are the victims of sin, evil or simple naivety. One reviewer said: 'This book is a sheer delight. It is beautifully written, full of vitality and endlessly inventive: its format, with half a dozen episodes and intervening rest periods for both the hero and the reader, allows for a huge range of characters, scenarios and action. It's thought-provoking without being in the least dogmatic, witty without descending to farce and packed with swordfights without being derivative. The dialogue sparkles; characters morph almost imperceptibly from semi-cliche to completely original; nothing is as it first seems. Sapkowski succeeds in seamlessly welding familiar ideas, unique settings and delicious twists of originality: his Beauty wants to rip the throat out of a sensitive Beast; his Snow White seeks vengeance on all and sundry, his elves are embittered and vindictive. It's easily one of the best things I've read in ages.'

Substance D -- otherwise known as Death -- is the most dangerous drug ever to find its way on to the black market. It destroys the links between the brain's two hemispheres, leading first to disorentation and then to complete and irreversible brain damage. Bob Arctor, undercover narcotics agent, is trying to find a lead to the source of supply, but to pass as an addict he must become a user, and soon, without knowing what is happening to him, he is as dependent as any of the addicts he is monitoring.