Tor

The seventh book in Robert Jordan's internationally bestselling epic fantasy series, THE WHEEL OF TIME, now reissued with a stunning new cover design. The war for humanity's survival has begun. Rand al' Thor, the Dragon Reborn, has escaped the snares of the White Tower and the first of the rebel Aes Sedai have sworn to follow him. Attacked by the servants of the Dark, threatened by the invading Seanchan, Rand rallies his forces and brings battle to bear upon Illian, stronghold of Sammael the Forsaken ...In the city of Ebou Dar, Elayne, Aviendha and Mat struggle to secure the ter' angreal that can break the Dark One's hold on the world's weather - and an ancient bane moves to oppose them. In the town of Salidar, Egwene al'Vere gathers an army to reclaim Tar Valon and reunite the Aes Sedai ...And in Shadar Logoth, city of darkness, a terrible power awakens ...Find out more about this title and others at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

Acknowledging that she was different from everyone else wasn’t difficult for Wendy Everly – she’d always felt like an outsider. But a new world and new family is a hard for any girl to accept easily. Leaving behind the mysterious country of her birth, she is determined to fit back into normal life. But the world she’s left behind won’t let her go that easily. Kidnapped and imprisoned by her true family’s enemies, Wendy soon learns that the lines between good and evil aren’t as defined as she thought. And those things she’d taken for granted may have been lies all along. With the help of the dangerously attractive Loki, she escapes back to the safety of Förening – only to be confronted by a new threat. It’s time to make a choice – can she put aside her personal feelings for the sake of her country? Torn between duty and love she must make a choice that could destroy her one chance at true happiness. ‘Generated an excitement not felt in the industry since Stephenie Meyer or perhaps even J. K. Rowling’ New York Times, ‘A fast-paced romance … addictive’ Guardian on Switched , 'Drew me in and kept me hooked...cracking pace' Sunday Express on Switched

Wendy Everly knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her and accused her of having been switched at birth. Although certain she’s not the monster her mother claims she is – she does feel that she doesn’t quite fit in . . . She’s bored and frustrated by her small town life – and then there’s the secret that she can’t tell anyone. Her mysterious ability – she can influence people’s decisions, without knowing how, or why . . . When the intense and darkly handsome newcomer Finn suddenly turns up at her bedroom window one night – her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past, the answers to her strange powers and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist. Förening, the home of the Trylle. Finally everything makes sense. Among the Trylle, Wendy is not just different, but special. But what marks her out as chosen for greatness in this world also places her in grave danger. With everything around her changing, Finn is the only person she can trust. But dark forces are conspiring – not only to separate them, but to see the downfall everything that Wendy cares about. The fate of Förening rests in Wendy’s hands, and the decisions she and Finn make could change all their lives forever .

Wendy Everly can barely remember what it was like to feel like a normal girl. She'd wished for her life to be different but everything is so much more complicated than she'd expected. And she certainly hadn't dreamt she'd be getting married at eighteen to a man she didn't love - all for the sake of duty. As the big day approaches, Wendy can't stop thinking about two different men - and neither of them are her husband-to-be. Finn - quiet, strong and determined to do what's right, and Loki - dark and seductive, a sworn enemy who once saved her life. With all-out war just days away, Wendy needs to act quickly if she is to save her friends and family. But while her loyalties and duties are to her people, deeper passions are leading her elsewhere. And as her worlds collide, Wendy must sacrifice everything she loves to save them. But will it be enough?

THEY WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO CLAIM IT AS THEIR OWN In 2016 a pair of amateur astronomers spot an unidentified object -- an object one hundred kilometres across and heading towards Earth. As it approaches, NASA and the Russian-Indian-Brazilian Coalition race to land vehicles on the unexplored surface. With power, money and politics behind each mission, both crews have orders to stop at nothing to get there first. Zack Stewart, NASA's team leader, is determined to succeed. But as they're about to land, violent explosions from the meteorite's surface propel it directly into Earth's orbit. Analysis shows the explosions were timed and deliberate -- but by whom and why? As the world holds its breath, Zack makes a discovery that will change the course of humanity...forever. 'Recalls Arthur C. Clarke at his heights ...

Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of their group. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she's had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove - and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed. Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. As she uncovers the truth about her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.

In the wake of the apparent self-destruction of the Forerunner empire, two humans -- Chakas and Riser -- are like flotsam washed up on very strange shores indeed. They find themselves on an inverted world where horizons rise into the sky and where humans of all kinds are trapped in a perilous cycle of neglect. They have become strategic pawns in a cosmic game whose madness knows no end -- a game of ancient vengeance between the powers who seeded the galaxy with life, and the Forerunners. In the company of a young girl and an old man, Chakas begins an epic journey across a lost and damaged Halo in search of a way home, an explanation for the warrior spirits rising up within, and for the Librarian's tampering with human destiny. This journey will take them into the domain of a powerful and monstrous intelligence who claims to be the Last Precursor, and who now has control of both this Halo and the fate of Forerunners and humans alike. Called the Primordial by ancient human warriors, this intelligence may control the fate of not only Chakas, Riser, and the rest of humanity, but all of sentient life.

Adventures await Rector "Wreck 'em" Sherman. About to turn eighteen, he's facing ejection from the orphanage that passed for home. He should also choose a trade, but work is scarce in steam-powered Seattle. And Rector has more unconventional plans. He's started dealing in sap, a yellow narcotic produced by rebels and outlaws within the city's toxic walled enclave. What's worse, he's been sampling his wares. Other problems include being haunted by an old friend with a grudge. The pressure builds until he sneaks behind the wall himself, seeking both (un)gainful employment and excitement. As rumoured, he finds a terrifying host of the hungry undead, and then there's the monster. Rector's certain that his attacker wasn't human, or undead. But he's going to need more proof than his own addled word to expose it. His new mission becomes a compulsion when others witness the creature's destructiveness, and give its kind a name. The Inexplicables. Praise for the series: 'Everything you'd want ...pure mad adventure' Cory Doctorow, 'Adventure of rollicking pace and sweeping proportions' Scott Westerfeld, 'Cherie Priest is the high priestess of steampunk' The Seattle Times

Josephine Early, New Orleans brothel owner and Union spy, has a mission. And it might just end the Civil War. She must deliver Ganymede, an astonishing prototype submarine, to the North. But the giant war machine is at the bottom of a lake, no one has safely piloted it and she must sneak its huge bulk past enemy forces. Luckily, she knows the right man for the job. She hasn't seen former lover and air-pirate Andan Cly for years, but has a sweet job to tempt him back. He agrees to help, but his primary mission is to retrieve supplies for blighted Seattle, where noxious gas has forced residents underground and undead rotters menace the city. Although legit, the Seattle run makes Cly uncomfortable. He no longer flies sap, disapproving of the drug's ugly side-effects, and the job is funded with sap money. Josephine's jaunt could be a great distraction. But will they make history, or end up at the bottom of the ocean?

In the last years of the Forerunner empire, chaos rules. The Flood -- a horrifying shape-changing parasite -- has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies. Internal strife within the ecumene has desperately weakened Forerunner defences. Too little, too late, the legal rate of Juridicals is only now investigating possible crimes by the Master Builder and others. Evidence-gathering agents, known collectively as Catalog, have been dispatched to collect testimony from the Librarian and both Didacts: the Ur-Didact, treacherously abandoned in a Flood-infested system, and the Bornstellar Didact, who accompanies the Librarian as she preserves specimens against the dire possibility of Hal extermination. Facing the imminent collapse of their civilization, the Librarian and Ur-Didact reveal what they know about the relationship between the long-vanished Precursors and the Flood. The Precursors created many technological species, including humanity and the Forerunners. But the roots of the Flood may be found in an act of enormous barbarity, carried out beyond our galaxy ten million years before. Because of that barbarism, a greater evil looms. Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian -- husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict -- hold the keys to a solution. Facing the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time -- to prevent an insane evil from dominating the entire universe.

Almost nothing is known for sure about this ancient race. Worshipped by the Covenant as gods, their engineering relics pepper the galaxy, and their connection to humanity remains unanswered. Devoted fans of both the books and games will finally get to delve deep into the era of these enigmatic beings, and discover for themselves the epic story behind one of the great mysteries of the 'Halo' universe: the complete disappearance of the Forerunners from existence.

ONE GIRL AND A GRIFFIN AGAINST AN EMPIRE: A DYING LAND The Shima Imperium verges on collapse. Land and sky have been poisoned by clockwork industrialisation, the Lotus Guild oppresses the populace and the nation's Shogun is lost to his thirst for power. AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST Yukiko and her warrior father are forced to hunt down a griffin at the Shogun's command. But any fool knows griffins are extinct -- and death will be the price of failure. A HIDDEN GIFT Disaster strikes and Yukiko is stranded in the wilderness with a fabled griffin, now furious and crippled. Although she hears his thoughts and saved his life, Yukiko knows he'd rather see her dead than help her. And discovery of the talent allowing them to communicate would mean her execution. Yet together, the pair will form an indomitable bond, and rise to challenge an empire. 'Mythic creatures, civil unrest, and a strong female protagonist? I'm afraid I missed everything you said after "Japanese Steampunk." That's all I really needed to hear' Patrick Rothfuss, 'Rocketing action, eccentric and convincing characters ...I'll be waiting for more from Mr Kristoff' K.W. Jeter

This is a follow-up to The Voyage of the Sable Keech tracing the journey of an Old Captain, Orbus a sadist in charge of a crew of masochists - to a planetary wasteland called The Graveyard' lying between the Polity and the Prador Kingdom. An ancient war drone by the name of Sniper has stowed away aboard his spaceship, and the purpose of the journey is not entirely what the captain expected. Also heading in the same direction is the Prador king and the Prador Vrell. Vrell, having been mutated by the Spatterjay virus into something powerful and dangerous, has seized control of a Prador dreadnought, killing much of its crew, and is intent on heading back to the Prador Third Kingdom to exact vengeance on the King of the Prador, who tried to have him killed. All three ships are heading towards a climatic confrontation to The Graveyard, where underlying truths about the virus are revealed and an ancient menace to civilization reappears

Cursed to be a siren, Gemma's life is slowly being destroyed. Struggling to move away from the savage darkness she needs to survive, she's desperate to break the curse that has turned her into a monster and is keeping her from the family -- and boy -- that she loves. But the alluring yet lethal sirens, Penn, Thea and the newly initiated, Liv have no intention of letting her go. The key to her freedom lies with an ancient scroll and Gemma's frantic search leads her to someone who might be able to help--the mysterious immortal Diana, who cursed Penn and her sisters thousands of years ago. But Diana will not give up her secrets easily and unless Gemma and her sister Harper can unlock the scroll's powers then Penn will trap Harper's boyfriend Daniel and destroy the two sisters for good.

The dark is rising ...Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drugs bust of his career. Then his prize suspect Rob Toshack is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. But nothing about Toshack's murder is normal. Toshack had struck a bargain with a vindictive entity, whose occult powers kept Toshack one step ahead of the law -- until his luck ran out. Now, the team must find a 'suspect' who can bend space and time and alter memory itself. And they will kill again. As the group starts to see London's sinister magic for themselves, they have two choices: panic or use their new abilities. Then they must hunt a terrifying supernatural force the only way they know how: using police methods, equipment and tactics. But they must all learn the rules of this new game - and quickly. More than their lives will depend on it. 'He's gone and written a novel too! I suspect it will be just as good as everything else he's written, and that's not fair at all' George R R Martin.

WELCOME TO HUMANITY'S NEW WAR: SILENT, HIGH STAKES, AND UNSEEN. This is a life-or-death mission for ONI's black-ops team, Kilo-Five, which is tasked with preventing the rutheless Elites, once the military leaders of the Covenant, from regrouping and threatening humankind again. What began as a routine dirty-tricks operation - keeping the Elites busy with their own insurrection - turns into a desperate bid to extract one member of Kilo-Five from the seething heart of an alien civil war. But troubles never come singly for Kilo-Five. Colonial terrorism is once again surfacing on one of the worlds that survived the war against the Covenant, and the man behind it is much more than just a name to Spartan-010. Meanwhile, the treasure trove of Forerunner technology recovered from the shield world of Onyx is being put to work. And a kidnapped Elite plots vengeance on the humans he fears will bring his people to the brink of destruction.