50th Anniversary Edition, with a new introduction by David Mitchell and a new afterword by Charlie Jane Anders Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters... Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

A century of American history unfolds through the eyes of a giant tortoise with a heightened awareness for live music, the location of edible flowers, and the nuances of human behavior in this spellbinding debut novel. Snatched from her ancestral lands, a giant tortoise finds herself in an exclusive estate in southern California where she becomes an astute observer of societal change. Her journey is one of discovery, as she learns to embrace the music of jazz and the warmth of human connection. The tortoise’s story is enriched by her bond with Takeo, the estate’s gardener, who sees her as a being with thoughts and feelings, not just a creature to be observed. The tortoise’s mind and heart are further expanded by Lucy, a young girl who names the tortoise Magic and shares a friendship that transcends species. Together, they witness the estate’s transformation into a haven for industry titans, politicians, and rock stars, each leaving their mark on the world and on Magic’s heart. The tortoise embraces her role as a muse with gusto and witnesses how diverse human harmonies and the mighty winds of social change both uplift people and tear them apart. Over the course of her lifetime, the estate changes ownership, bringing raucous Hollywood parties, and animals both familiar and unexpected. There are also threats, as the estate’s idyll is not immune to the ravages of a damaged planet. Through each era, the tortoise remains a refreshingly honest, humble, and endearing narrator whose unique vantage point illuminates the transcendent power of compassion, the unexpected connections that shape how we see ourselves and each other, and the wide-reaching effects of choice—or the lack thereof. The Tortoise’s Tale is a whimsical yet profound exploration of humanity’s entangled journey, a call to recognize the interconnectedness of all life, and the potential for healing. Kendra Coulter’s debut novel is a moving portrait of resilience and hope, perfect for fans of Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures.

When her cousin and wife fail to return from a walk, this story takes a sinister turn to a quest of survival A woman takes a holiday in the Austrian mountains, spending a few days with her cousin and his wife in their hunting lodge. When the couple fails to return from a walk, the woman sets off to look for them. But her journey reaches a sinister and inexplicable dead end. She discovers only a transparent wall behind which there seems to be no life. Trapped alone behind the mysterious wall she begins the arduous work of survival. This is at once a simple account of potatoes and beans, of hoping for a calf, of counting matches, of forgetting the taste of sugar and the use of one's name, and simultaneously a disturbing dissection of the place of human beings in the natural world. **PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE YELLOW WALLPAPER, STATION ELEVEN AND THE MARTIAN VINTAGE EARTH is a collection of novels to transform our relationship with the natural world. Each one is a work of creative activism, a blast of fresh air, a seed from which change can grow. The books in this series reconnect us to the planet we inhabit - and must protect. Discover great writing on the most urgent story of our times.

What if one half of a pair of twins no longer wants to live? What if the other can’t live without them? This question lies at the heart of Jente Posthuma’s deceptively simple What I’d Rather Not Think About. The narrator is a twin whose brother has recently taken his own life. She looks back on their childhood, and tells of their adult lives: how her brother tried to find happiness, but lost himself in various men and the Bhagwan movement, though never completely. In brief, precise vignettes, full of gentle melancholy and surprising humour, Posthuma tells the story of a depressive brother, viewed from the perspective of the sister who both loves and resents her twin, struggles to understand him, and misses him terribly.

Yasuko lives a quiet life, working in a Tokyo bento shop, a good mother to her only child. But when her ex-husband appears at her door without warning one day, her comfortable world is shattered. When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime...

Music is magic in this novel set in a fantastical version of New Orleans where a battle for the city's soul brews between two young mages, a vengeful wraith, and one powerful song. Nola is a city full of wonders. A place of sky trolleys and dead cabs, where haints dance the night away and Wise Women help keep the order. To those from Away, Nola might seem strange. To Perilous Graves, it’s simply home. In a world of everyday miracles, Perry might not have a talent for magic, but he does know Nola’s rhythm as intimately as his own heartbeat. So when the city’s Great Magician starts appearing in odd places and essential songs are forgotten, Perry realizes trouble is afoot. Nine songs of power have escaped from the piano that maintains the city’s beat, and without them, Nola will fail. Unwilling to watch his home be destroyed, Perry will sacrifice everything to save it. But a storm is brewing, and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Nola’s time might be coming to an end.

We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become? In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.

A red algae bloom has taken over Mercy, Louisiana. Ever since a devastating hurricane, mutated wildlife lurks in the water that rises by the day. But Mercy has always been a place where monsters walk in plain sight. Especially at its heart: The Cove, where Noon’s life was upended long before the storm at a party her older boyfriend insisted on. Now, Noon is stuck navigating the submerged town with her mom, who believes their dead family has reincarnated as sea creatures. Alone with the pain of what happened that night at the cove, Noon buries the truth: she is not the right shape. When Mercy’s predatory leader demands Noon and her mom capture the creature drowning residents, she reluctantly finds an ally in his deadly hunter of a daughter and friends old and new. As the next storm approaches, Noon must confront the past and decide if it’s time to answer the monster itching at her skin.

From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes The Tea Dragon Society, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut. In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement. But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood. Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

Mancher Leser wird sich jetzt fragen: "Was habe ich eigentlich die letzten zwei Jahre gemacht, nachdem ich mit Die Siedler von Catan durch war?" Seitdem ist tatsächlich kein neues Buch mehr von Rebecca Gablé erschienen. Das Warten hat ein Ende: Die Hüter der Rose ist erschienen -- lesen Sie einen Textauszug! Das Buch ist ein eigenständiger Roman, gleichzeitig aber auch die Fortsetzung von Das Lächeln der Fortuna und somit der zweite Teil einer großen Trilogie. Zwei Familien, die Waringham und die Lancaster, spielen auch in Die Hüter der Rose eine zentrale Rolle. Der Plot ist in der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts angesiedelt und erstreckt sich über einen Zeitraum von 30 Jahren. So erzählt Rebecca Gablé ihre Geschichte vor dem Hintergrund der letzten Phase des "Hundertjährigen Krieges" zwischen England und Frankreich. John of Waringham ist gerade einmal dreizehn Jahre alt, als er beschließt, von zu Hause Reißaus zu nehmen. Er hat Angst, von seinem Vater in eine klerikale "Karriere" gedrängt zu werden. Am Hof von Henry V., genannt Harry, gelingt ihm ein atemberaubender Aufstieg, John wird schnell zum Ritter und zum Helden. Der plötzliche Tod des Königs trifft nicht nur John hart, ganz England gerät in eine prekäre Situation: Der legitime Thronfolger ist acht Monate alt -- ein Baby! Es entsteht ein Machtvakuum, das wie durch einen unheilvollen Sog Tod und Verderben bringt. Auch Johns Leben ist bedroht ... Worin liegt das Besondere der historischen Romane von Rebecca Gablé? Was macht sie so erfolgreich? In Kürze lautet die Antwort: die gelungene Balance zwischen Fiktion und Wahrheit. Einerseits wird die Geschichte auch dieses Mal wieder so elegant und spannend erzählt, dass man irgendwann gar nicht mehr wissen möchte, welcher Charakter denn nun "in Wahrheit" fiktiv und welcher real ist. Andererseits wird die Atmosphäre der Zeit in Die Hüter der Rose so lebendig, wird das England des 15. Jahrhunderts so gegenwärtig, dass man der Autorin abnimmt, dass das Leben der Menschen an diesem Ort und zu dieser Zeit sich genau so "angefühlt" haben muss. Auf diese indirekte Weise erfährt man dann auch, wie viel Recherche und fundiertes Wissen den Gablé-Romanen zugrunde liegen. Und warum es eben dann doch manchmal zwei Jahre dauert, bis ein neues Buch der Autorin erscheint. --Carsten Hansen, Literaturtest Rebecca Gablé im Interview "Das Leben ist zu kurz für alle Romane, die in einem schlummern." In ihrem neuesten Werk Die Hüter der Rose entführt Rebecca Gablé ihre Leser ins England des 15. Jahrhunderts. Im Interview beschreibt die Bestsellerautorin ihren Helden John of Waringham, erzählt von ihrem Besuch in Coventry und gibt Einblick in ihre Zukunftspläne. Historische Romane von Rebecca Gablé auf einen Blick Das Lächeln der Fortuna Das zweite Königreich Der König der purpurnen Stadt Die Siedler von Catan Die Hüter der Rose

Ganz hinten, in einem verlassenen Tal, herrscht Aufregung. Stimmt es wirklich, daß die Menschen kommen und das ganze Tal überfluten wollen? Die Drachen, die sich hierher zurückgezogen haben, beratschlagen, was zu tun ist. Lug, ein junger, mutiger und abenteuerlustiger Drache folgt dem Rat des weisen Schieferbart und macht sich auf, den Saum des Himmels zu suchen, die ursprüngliche Heimat der Drachen. Doch nicht nur er und das Koboldmädchen Schwefelfell sind dorthin unterwegs. Auch der geheimnisvolle Goldene hat schon seine Raben auf die Suche geschickt.