The international-bestselling Russian fantasy author continues the adventures of Sir Max, the lazy gumshoe of the enchanted city of Echo. The tales of Sir Max, who was a daydreaming loser before he discovered the parallel world of Echo, have become an international literary sensation. In the second novel of the Labyrinths of Echoes series, Max is still a hardened smoker, glutton, and all-around loafer. But once again, he finds himself travelling to an alternate universe where he must root out illegal magic as an agent of the Secret Investigative Force. This time, Sir Max is called upon to handle a peculiar political dispute, investigate strange happenings in the cemetery, and when Echo’s police captain is poisoned, he must lead a team of magicians in pursuit of magical outlaws. “Echo is a world of all sorts of plots, a sort of Krypton with tobacco and the counter-universe’s equivalent of vodka.” —Kirkus Reviews
The acclaimed Russian author’s international-bestselling fantasy series continues in this “unpredictable, mysterious” novel that’s “full of surprises” (Publishers Weekly). In The Stranger’s Magic, Sir Max once again travels to the enchanted parallel world of Echo, where magic is commonplace and he fits right in. As an investigator of illegal magic with the Secret Investigative Force, Max has made more than a few enemies. Now one “pretty boy” Nennurex Kiexla has set out for revenge against Max in the most insidious of ways—by infiltrating his dreams. Plunging back into the highly original realm first portrayed in The Stranger (Fandomania.com’s #1 Book of 2009) and continued in The Stranger’s Woes, Frei’s new novel blends fantasy, horror, philosophy, and comedy in this tale that will have readers “entranced” (Publishers Weekly). “Fans of Jasper Fforde and Susanna Clark will happily jump into Frei’s world.” —USA Today “If Harry Potter smoked cigarettes and took a certain matter-of-fact pleasure in administering tough justice, he might like Max Frei.” —Kirkus Reviews on The Stranger
Follows the adventures of a vice-driven loafer who becomes a celebrity in a magical parallel universe for his membership in an enchanted secret agent organization and his talent for solving extravagant and imaginative cases.
A local woman is killed in a tragic car crash, but it isn’t a clear-cut drunk driving case. The victim’s blood contains high alcohol levels, but she rarely drank a drop. Meanwhile, a reality TV show begins shooting in the town, and as cameras shadow the stars’ every move, tempers start to flare. When a drunken party ends with an unpopular contestant’s murder, all eyes turn to the cast and crew. Could there be a murderer among them? The ratings spike as the country tunes into a real-life murder mystery. Detective Patrik Hedstrom finds himself increasingly unable to focus on the strange circumstances of the first case, but what if that holds the key to a series of other unsolved cases across Sweden? Under the unforgiving media spotlight, Patrik tackles his toughest investigation yet.
“A brilliant and humane philosophy for our confused age.”—Samantha Power, author of A Problem from Hell Drawing on a broad range of disciplines, including history, literature, and philosophy—as well as the author's own experience of life on three continents—Cosmopolitanism is a moral manifesto for a planet we share with more than six billion strangers.
'Wonderfully dark, extremely funny' proclaimed ADAM KAY, author of the No.1 bestselling This is Going to Hurt 'A filmic romp with great characters, a jet-propelled plot, and a winning premise' said the GUARDIAN JASON MANFORD thinks it's 'Hilarious. You'll never look at Manchester the same way again.' The Chronicles of St Mary's series author JODI TAYLOR declared 'I loved this . . . great premise - great story - great characters . . . hugely enjoyable.' And THE TIMES called it 'ripping entertainment from start to finish.' There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them . . . A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own. When tragedy strikes in her first week on the job The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they'd previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined. The Stranger Times is the first novel from C.K. McDonnell, the pen name of Caimh McDonnell. It combines his distinctive dark wit with his love of the weird and wonderful to deliver a joyous celebration of how truth really can be stranger than fiction. Readers love The Stranger Times: ***** 'A delight from start to finish - laugh out loud funny yet with plenty of thrills.' ***** 'Full of wit and humour, and knows how to keep the reader hooked.' ***** 'You'll soon fall in love . . . fans of Pratchett, Gaiman, Aaronovich will be blown away.'
The international-bestselling Labyrinths of Echo series reaches its thrilling conclusion as Sir Max’s many adventures come “all to one glorious end” (Kirkus Reviews). The adventures of Sir Max, who was a daydreaming loser before he discovered the parallel world of Echo, have become an international literary sensation. Now, in The Stranger’s Shadow, Max leads the Minor Secret Investigative Force on their most dangerous mission yet. When people in Echo start mysteriously dying, Max must travel to the Dark Side of Echo, where the shadows of the dead reside, to destroy the Lonely Shadow. But behind the Lonely Shadow lurks an even darker force. Someone has been manipulating its power to attack Echo. Now the redoubtable Max must venture into a realm of unparalleled danger. “If Harry Potter smoked cigarettes and took a certain matter-of-fact pleasure in administering tough justice, he might like Max Frei.” —Kirkus Reviews on The Stranger
A preeminent sociologist of race explains a groundbreaking new framework for understanding racial inequality, challenging both conservative and liberal dogma. In this timely and provocative contribution to the American discourse on race, William Julius Wilson applies an exciting new analytic framework to three politically fraught social problems: the persistence of the inner-city ghetto, the plight of low-skilled black males, and the fragmentation of the African American family. Though the discussion of racial inequality is typically ideologically polarized. Wilson dares to consider both institutional and cultural factors as causes of the persistence of racial inequality. He reaches the controversial conclusion that while structural and cultural forces are inextricably linked, public policy can only change the racial status quo by reforming the institutions that reinforce it.
Identifies the benefits and consequences of the nation's paradigm shift toward more preventive and proactive approaches to conflict, arguing that the seeds of such a shift were planted prior to the events of September 11.
