When she purchases a tiny figurine of a winged horse, Georgia's life is greatly altered as this talisman has the power to take her back to different periods in time and away from the chaos in which she lives, such as the land of Remora where the excitement of the Stellata, the annual horse race, has brought the city to life. Reprint.
Explores "a world in which cataclysmic events have left the Autarchy of Aygrima--the one land blessed with magical resources--cut off from its former trading partners across the waters, not knowing if any of those distant peoples still live. Yet under the rule of the Autarch, Aygrima survives. And thanks to the creation of the Masks and the vigilance of the Autarch's Watchers, no one can threaten the security of the empire"--Dust jacket flap.
Waking in Anaskar Prison, covered in blood and accused of murder, nobody will listen to Notch's claims of innocence until he meets the future Protector of the Monarchy, Sofia Falco. But Sofia has her own burdens. The first female Protector in a hundred years, her House is under threat from enemies within, the prince has made it clear he does not want her services and worst of all, she cannot communicate with her father's sentient mask of bone, the centuries-old Argeon. Without the bone mask she cannot help anyone -- not herself, and certainly not a mercenary with no powerful House to protect him. Meanwhile, far across the western desert, Ain, a young Pathfinder, is thrust into the role of Seeker. Before winter storms close the way, he must leave his home on a quest to locate the Sea Shrine and take revenge on the people who drove his ancestors from Anaskar, the city ruled by the prince Sofia and Notch are sworn to protect, whether he wants their help or not.
Narrative history of Brisbane's experience during the 'Spanish Flu' epidemic in 1919. Non-fiction for a general audience. Research funded by Brisbane City Council (Lord Mayor's Helen Taylor History Research Award).
A brilliantly dark and compelling novel set in Venice from 'the medieval CJ Sansom' (Jeffery Deaver) 1358. Oswald de Lacy, Lord Somershill, is in Venice, awaiting a pilgrim galley to the Holy Land. While the city is under siege from the Hungarians, Oswald lodges with an English merchant, and soon comes under the dangerous spell of the decadent and dazzling island state that sits on the hinge of Europe, where East meets West. Oswald is trying to flee the chilling shadow of something in his past, but when he finds a dead man on the night of the carnival, he is dragged into a murder investigation that takes him deep into the intrigues of this mysterious, paranoid city. Coming up against the feared Signori di Notte, the secret police, Oswald learns that he is not the only one with something to hide. Everybody is watching somebody else, and nobody in Venice is what he or she seems. The masks are not just for the carnival.
Hwang Sun-won, a prolific storyteller, astonished the critics with his collection The Book of Masks, published when he was over sixty, with its intensity and psychological depth.
Bold and inventive in style, City of Night is the groundbreaking 1960s novel about male prostitution. Rechy is unflinching in his portrayal of one hustling 'youngman' and his search for self-knowledge among the other denizens of his neon-lit world. As the narrator moves from Texas to Times Square and then on to the French Quarter of New Orleans, Rechy delivers a portrait of the edges of America that has lost none of its power. On his travels, the nameless narrator meets a collection of unforgettable characters, from vice cops to guilt-ridden married men eaten up by desire, to Lance O'Hara, once Hollywood's biggest star. Rechy describes this world with candour and understanding in a prose that is highly personal and vividly descriptive.
"Superb...A thoroughly satisfying, disturbing novel." -Cleveland Plain Dealer In City of Masks, the first Cree Black novel, parapsychologist Cree and her partner take a case in New Orleans's Garden District that leaves them fearing for their own lives. The 150-year-old Beauforte House has long stood empty, until Lila Beauforte resumes residence and starts to see some of the house's secrets literally come to life. Tormented by an insidious and violent presence, Lila finds herself trapped in a life increasingly filled with childhood terrors. It takes Cree's unconventional take on psychology and her powerful natural empathy with Lila to navigate the dangerous worlds of spirit and memory, as they clash in a terrifying tale of mistaken identity and murder.