Seemannsgarn vom Feinsten: ein Feuerwerk bäriger Ideen Daß Walter Moers mehr als das Kleine Arschloch zeichnen kann, hat er längst bewiesen. Sogar in den Sprechblasen ist er hervorragend ohne Worte ausgekommen, als der Pinguin zweimal klopfte. Und nun sein erster Roman: Eine genial dicke Schwarte von 720 Seiten, in der ein Geistesblitz den nächsten jagt. Grün und gelb möchte man vor Neid werden: Wo hat der Mann bloß die vielen Ideen her? In seinen dreizehneinhalb Leben begegnet der Blaubär gehässigen Stollentrollen, unangenehmen Nattifftoffen, quasselnden Tratschwellen, durch die Wüste ziehenden Gimpeln, dem Wahnsinn, Fredda, der Berghutze -- eine Figur skurriler als die andere. Ab und an illustriert der Zeichner Moers die Gestalten des Erzählers Moers, ein Glücksfall natürlich, aber im Vordergrund steht der Text, unerschütterlich. Und hier entfaltet sich in vollen Zügen, was der eine oder andere bereits geahnt haben mag: Moers ist ein begnadeter, ironischer Erzähler. Mit wieviel Sprachwitz er arbeitet, wie er an Ausdrücken feilt, Begegnungen verschachtelt komponiert, Satzrhythmen herstellt und wieder auflöst, das nötigt Respekt ab. Und man freut sich über die irrwitzigen Inhalte der Abenteuer. Ob er mit dem Rettungssaurier Mac als Navigator fliegt, eine Fata Morgana am Wüstenboden verklebt, durch Dimensionslöcher stürzt oder sich ein Duell mit dem Lügengladiator liefert: die Spannung bleibt ungebrochen (außer beim sechsten Kapitel), die unzähligen Geschichten sind unglaublich. Münchhausen entpuppt sich als blutiger Lehrling im Vergleich zu Moers. Auch wenn sich beim Lesen gelegentlich Assoziationen zu Texten von Michael Ende oder Janosch einstellen mögen: Der Roman ist kein Kinderbuch, sondern nachdenklich machende (haben Sie schon mal über eine Tornado-Haltestelle nachgedacht?) Literatur, die bestens unterhält. Das vielgesuchte Leichte, das so schwer zu machen ist: hier ist es. --Sophie Thoma

The darkly funny, moving debut novel from acclaimed Scottish author of Hings and HWFG, Chris McQueerSince dropping out of school three years ago with no qualifications, no pals, and no ambition, Jamie Skelton spends most of his days asleep and most of his nights wanking, playing video games with his online friend, Lee, and occasionally making the journey downstairs to the kitchen for a microwave burger. He hasn't left the house in months, and now he's not sure he can. Fiona, Jamie's maw, is trying her best, but since finding the courage to kick out her abusive husband her confidence has never recovered. She goes to work every day, but otherwise she's not that different from her son - withdrawn from life, without friends. She knows their lives can't carry on like this, but she's at a loss to know how to change things. When Fiona tries to get Jamie to apply for a job, he sees her as the cause for all of his problems. Then Lee tells Jamie he's realised there's a name for what they are - incels - and that there's a guy he's met through the forums they can go stay with in London, to get away from their nagging mams. But running away from his problems at home, Jamie may actually run towards something much worse.Praise for Chris 'Charlie Brooker on Buckfast' Martin Compston, Line of Duty'[McQueer's] talent zings off the page' Guardian'Impressive' Eric Idle, Monty Python

The darkly funny, moving debut novel from acclaimed Scottish author of Hings and HWFG, Chris McQueerSince dropping out of school three years ago with no qualifications, no pals, and no ambition, Jamie Skelton spends most of his days asleep and most of his nights wanking, playing video games with his online friend, Lee, and occasionally making the journey downstairs to the kitchen for a microwave burger. He hasn't left the house in months, and now he's not sure he can. Fiona, Jamie's maw, is trying her best, but since finding the courage to kick out her abusive husband her confidence has never recovered. She goes to work every day, but otherwise she's not that different from her son - withdrawn from life, without friends. She knows their lives can't carry on like this, but she's at a loss to know how to change things. When Fiona tries to get Jamie to apply for a job, he sees her as the cause for all of his problems. Then Lee tells Jamie he's realised there's a name for what they are - incels - and that there's a guy he's met through the forums they can go stay with in London, to get away from their nagging mams. But running away from his problems at home, Jamie may actually run towards something much worse.Praise for Chris 'Charlie Brooker on Buckfast' Martin Compston, Line of Duty'[McQueer's] talent zings off the page' Guardian'Impressive' Eric Idle, Monty Python

Author of sales sensation If We Were Villains returns with a story about a ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave. Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story. One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn’t there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom? Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks—and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought. Atmospheric and eerie, with the ensemble cast her fans love and a delightfully familiar academic backdrop, Graveyard Shift is a modern Gothic tale in If We Were Villains author M. L. Rio’s inimitable style.