"A Feast of Sorrows--Angela Slatter's first U.S. collection--features twelve of the World Fantasy and British Fantasy Award-winning Australian author's finest, darkest fairy tales, and adds two new novellas to her marvelous cauldron of fiction. Stories peopled by women and girls--fearless, frightened, brave, bold, frail, and fantastical--who take the paths less traveled by, accept (and offer) poisoned apples, and embrace transformation in all its forms."--Amazon.com.
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize A Massachusetts Book Award “Must Read” Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, this “addictively readable first novel” (Kirkus Reviews) features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction. In the twenty-sixth year of Augustus Caesar’s reign, Marcus Gavius Apicius has a singular ambition: to serve as culinary adviser to Caesar. To cement his legacy as Rome’s leading epicure, the wealthy Apicius acquires a young chef, Thrasius, for the exorbitant price of twenty thousand denarii. Apicius believes that the talented Thrasius is the key to his culinary success, and with the slave’s help he soon becomes known for his lavish parties and sumptuous meals. For his part, Thrasius finds a family among Apicius’s household, which includes his daughter, Apicata; his wife, Aelia; and her handmaiden Passia, with whom Thrasius falls passionately in love. But as Apicius draws closer to his ultimate goal, his dangerous single-mindedness threatens his young family and places his entire household at the mercy of the most powerful forces in Rome. “A gastronomical delight” (Associated Press), Feast of Sorrow is a vibrant novel, replete with love and betrayal, politics and intrigue, and sumptuous feasts that bring ancient Rome to life.
The Ulster Cycle continues with The Sorrows, three stories that dramatically portray Ireland's cultural heritage. The first, "The Fate of the Children of Tuirenn," is a tragic tale in which three brothers must pay a blood fine for murdering an enemy of their clan-a reflection of the great sorrow, which is Ireland's Civil War. "The Fate of the Children of Ir" tells of an evil stepmother who transforms her four stepchildren into swans. After nine hundred years they are released from their fate, symbolizing the triumph of Christianity over paganism. "The Fate of the Children of Uisliu" introduces us to Conchobor, the Red Branch King, as he forces the young yet strong-willed Deidre to be his wife-just as England sought to force the Irish into servitude. Filled with adventure and tragedy, The Sorrows provides another insightful look into Ireland's past through three of her most enduring tales. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
You’ve heard the story before: an orphaned boy, raised by a wise old man, comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil threatening his world. But what if that hero were destined to become the new dark lord? The Academy of Chaenbalu has stood against magic for centuries. Hidden from the world, acting from the shadows, it trains its students to detect and retrieve magic artifacts, which it jealously guards from the misuse of others. Because magic is dangerous: something that heals can also harm, and a power that aids one person may destroy another. Of the academy’s many students, only the most skilled can become avatars—warrior thieves, capable of infiltrating the most heavily guarded vaults—and only the most determined can be trusted to resist the lure of magic. More than anything, Annev de Breth wants to become one of them. But Annev carries a secret. Unlike his classmates who were stolen as infants from the capital city, Annev was born in the village of Chaenbalu, was believed to be executed, and then unknowingly raised by his parents’ killers. Seventeen years later, he struggles with the burdens of a forbidden magic, a forgotten heritage, and a secret deformity. When Annev is subsequently caught between the warring ideologies of his priestly mentor and the Academy’s masters, he must finally decide whether to accept the truth of who he really is ... or embrace the darker truth of what he may one day become.
Mistress Gideon is a witch. The locals of Edda's Meadow, if they suspect it of her, say nary a word-Gideon has been good to them, and it's always better to keep on her good side. Just in case. When a foolish young shapeshifter goes against the wishes of her pack, and gets herself very publicly caught, the authorities find it impossible to deny the existence of the supernatural in their midst any longer; Gideon and her like are captured, bound for torture and a fiery end. Should Gideon give up her sisters in return for a quick death? Or can she turn the situation to her advantage? PRAISE FOR OF SORROW AND SUCH "Of Sorrow and Such takes you to dark, unsettling places. Angela Slatter's magic is earthy, bodily and beleaguered; in the hands of tough, clever Patience Gideon it's a powerful instrument for wresting justice from a hostile world. A riveting read." — Margo Lanagan, World Fantasy Award winning author of Black Juice and Sea-Hearts At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A captivating novel of Renaissance Italy detailing the mysterious life of Bartolomeo Scappi, the legendary chef to several popes and author of one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time, and the nephew who sets out to discover his late uncle’s secrets—including the identity of the noblewoman Bartolomeo loved until he died. When Bartolomeo Scappi dies in 1577, he leaves his vast estate—properties, money, and his position—to his nephew and apprentice Giovanni. He also gives Giovanni the keys to two strongboxes and strict instructions to burn their contents. Despite Scappi’s dire warning that the information concealed in those boxes could put Giovanni’s life and others at risk, Giovanni is compelled to learn his uncle’s secrets. He undertakes the arduous task of decoding Scappi’s journals and uncovers a history of deception, betrayal, and murder—all to protect an illicit love affair. As Giovanni pieces together the details of Scappi’s past, he must contend with two rivals who have joined forces—his brother Cesare and Scappi’s former protégé, Domenico Romoli, who will do anything to get his hands on the late chef’s recipes. With luscious prose that captures the full scale of the sumptuous feasts for which Scappi was known, The Chef’s Secret serves up power, intrigue, and passion, bringing Renaissance Italy to life in a delectable fashion.
Welcome to the beautiful magic, restless passion and exquisite horror of Angela Slatter's impeccably imagined tales. In the cathedral-city of Lodellan and its uneasy hinterland, babies are fashioned from bread, dolls are given souls and wishes granted may be soon regretted. There are ghosts who dream, men whose wings have been clipped and trolls who long for something other. Love, loss and life are elegantly dissected in Slatter's earthy yet poetic prose. As Rob Shearman says in his Introduction: 'Sourdough and Other Stories manages to be grand and ambitious and worldbuilding-but also as intimate and focused as all good short fiction should be . . . The joy of Angela Slatter's book is that she's given us a set of fairy tales that are at once both new and fresh, and yet feel as old as storytelling itself.' Contains: 'Introduction' by Robert Shearman, 'The Shadow Tree', 'Gallowberries', 'Little Radish', 'Dibblespin', 'The Navigator', 'The Angel Wood', 'Ash', 'The Story of Ink', 'Lost Things', 'A Good Husband', 'A Porcelain Soul', 'The Bones Remember Everything', 'Sourdough', 'Sister, Sister', 'Lavender and Lychgates', 'Under the Mountain, 'Afterword' by Jeff VanderMeer.
Many Catholics are unaware of our holy traditions on and powerful devotions to the Sorrows of Mary. Based on Scripture and the lives of the Saints, this little book will open eyes and hearts to the Sorrows of Our Lady.
19 BRAND NEW TALES TO CHILL YOUR BLOOD AND HAUNT YOUR DREAMS! The first in an annual anthology series, inspired by the Pan and Fontana books of yesteryear! "The figure crouched over his mother was... taking something from her, sliding some spidery thing that struggled and screamed soundlessly out of her side and into his leathery dark bag..." - THE NIGHT DOCTOR by Steve Rasnic Tem "I saw her skin turn black and erupt in blisters and pustules as in one last mute appeal she stretched her hand towards me over the flames..." - THE BOOK AND THE RING by Reggie Oliver "There wasn't much of a struggle even when Tomas lashed him, limb by limb, to the stakes, although he had plenty to say to Tomas's back as he walked away. It was when Tomas reappeared, leading the shaggy, horned thing from the barn, that Mr Sunshine really started to squeal..." - CURES FOR A SICKENED WORLD by Brian Hodge
Angela Slatter’s No Good Deed is a dark fantasy tale of magic, ghosts, and marriage set in her World Fantasy Award-winning Sourdough universe. Isobel assumed her wedding would be the grandest day of her life, but when she wakes in a ghost-filled tomb still wearing her bridal veil, it’s clear events have taken an unexpected turn. With the assistance of a vengeful spirit Isobel escapes her imprisonment, but her new husband Adolphus will not be pleased to discover his wife is alive. As Isobel comes to understand her husband’s darkest secret, the newlyweds begin a deadly dance that only one will survive. This chapbook presents a stand-alone Sourdough story that does not appear in any of the three mosaic collections devoted to Slatter’s world of myth and magic, plus a chronology for all the publications that have appeared thus far.
