Tiga belas cerita pendek merentang dari masa prakedatangan Cornelis de Houtman hingga awal Indonesia merdeka. Masing-masing menggoda kita untuk berimajinasi tentang sejarah Indonesia dari sudut pandang yang khas: mantan tentara yang dibujuk membunuh suami kekasih gelapnya; perwira yang dipaksa menembak Von Imhoff; wartawan yang menyaksikan Perang Puputan; inspektur Indo yang berusaha menangkap hantu pencuri beras; administratur perkebunan tembakau Deli yang harus mengusir gundik menjelang kedatangan istri Eropanya; nyai yang begitu disayang sang suami tetapi berselingkuh. Iksaka Banu "peniup ruh" yang jitu dalam menghidupkan masa lalu. Di tangannya, kisah berlatar sejarah tersingkap apik, rinci, dan dramatik.——Kurnia Effendi, cerpenis dan sastrawan senior Cerita-cerita dalam kumpulan ini membawa kita kepada era kolonialisme yang jarang digali oleh penulis Indonesia modern. Dengan riset yang serius dan teliti, Iksaka Banu mengisahkan tentang cinta, keintiman, kemesraan sekaligus pengkhianatan dan kekejian di antara tokoh-tokoh pribumi dan Belanda.——Leila S. Chudori, Peraih Khatulistiwa Literary Award 2013

SIAPKAH KAU MENUKAR HASRAT TERBESARMU DENGAN NYAWA? Datanglah pada pukul 11 .11 malam ke restoran kusam dan kosong yang hanya diterangi lilin itu. Di dalamnya ada sosok misterius yang mirip seorang pemuda, tapi kau tahu dia bukan manusia. Duduklah di depan sosok itu. Ucapkan permintaanmu: jadi artis terkenal, menyingkirkan mantan yang terobsesi, atau balasan atas orang yang melecehkan adikmu. Semua itu pasti terkabul. Setelahnya, kau harus siap membayar dengan apa saja, bahkan nyawa....

Suatu hari kelak, sebelum salah satu di antara aku dan kau tersangkut maut, pada hari ulang tahun kau, ketika tidak ada pekerjaan kantor yang melarang kau cuti, aku akan mengajak kau menjadi tua renta, kemudian mengajak kau kembali menjadi anak-anak

SIAPKAH KAU MENUKAR HASRAT TERBESARMU DENGAN NYAWA? Datanglah pada pukul 11 .11 malam ke restoran kusam dan kosong yang hanya diterangi lilin itu. Di dalamnya ada sosok misterius yang mirip seorang pemuda, tapi kau tahu dia bukan manusia. Duduklah di depan sosok itu. Ucapkan permintaanmu: jadi artis terkenal, menyingkirkan mantan yang terobsesi, atau balasan atas orang yang melecehkan adikmu. Semua itu pasti terkabul. Setelahnya, kau harus siap membayar dengan apa saja, bahkan nyawa....

-- Pemenang Sayembara Menulis Novel Dewan Kesenian Jakarta 2012 -- “...ditulis dengan teknik penceritaan yang intens, serius, eksploratif, dan mencekam.” (Dewan Juri Sayembara Menulis Novel Dewan Kesenian Jakarta 2012) Surat Kertas Hijau Segala kedaraannya tersaji hijau muda Melayang di lembaran surat musim bunga Berita dari jauh Sebelum kapal angkat sauh Segala kemontokan menonjol di kata-kata Menepis dalam kelakar sonder dusta Harum anak dara Mengimbau dari seberang benua Mari, Dik, tak lama hidup ini Semusim dan semusim lagi Burung pun berpulangan Mari, Dik, kekal bisa semua ini Peluk goreskan di tempat ini Sebelum kapal dirapatkan Sitor Situmorang, 1953 Dari sebuah sajak, seorang penulis memindahkan suatu baris dan menjadikannya suatu judul, lantas melanjutkannya dengan kalimat demi kalimat, yang akhirnya terbentuk menjadi roman ini. Saya kira itulah cara yang baik untuk merayakan keberadaan kata, di tengah dunia yang lebih sering tak sadar bahwa kata itu ada, sehingga menyia-nyiakannya. Namun menulis bukanlah satu-satunya cara, karena masih ada cara lain untuk merayakannya, yakni membacanya. —Seno Gumira Ajidarma

The strange kid at school, the odd woman in the apartment building, the troublesome man at work. Such people exist everywhere, in everyone’s lives. All it takes is a word for it to start. An unsettling question, a bizarre remark, or even a kind apology. Once their hooks sink in, the cracks form. Darkness floods into the recesses until nothing else remains, and then...Sirens, screaming, dull thuds on the pavement. They have always existed. They just are. And when they show up, people die.

A spellbinding story about two girls whose friendship is so intense it not only threatens to destroy them, it changes the trajectory of history. Marie Antoine is the charismatic, spoiled daughter of a sugar baron. At 12 years old, with her blond curls and her unparalleled sense of whimsey, she's the leader of all the children in the Golden Mile, an affluent strip of 19th century Montreal. Until one day in 1873, when Sadie Arnett, dark-haired, sly, and brilliant, moves to the neighborhood. Marie and Sadie are immediately united by their passion and intensity, and they attract and repel each other in ways that light each of them on fire. Marie with her bubbly charm sees the light and sweetness of the world, whereas Sadie's obsession with darkness is all consuming. Soon their childlike games take on a thrill of danger and then become deadly. Forced to separate, they spend their teenage years engaged in acts of alternating innocence and depravity--until a singular event unites them once more, with dizzying effects. And after Marie inherits her father's sugar empire and Sadie disappears into the city's gritty underworld, a revolution of the working class begins to foment. Each of them will have unexpected roles to play in events that upend their city--the only question is whether they will find each other once more. Traveling from a repressive finishing school to a vibrant brothel, taking readers firsthand into the brutality of factory life and the opulent lives of Montreal's wealthy, When We Lost Our Heads dazzlingly explores gender and power, sex and desire, class and status, and the terrifying power of the human heart when it can't let someone go.

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of Djinn Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer. So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage. Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city -or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…

A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi . A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world. Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse. Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind. Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war. As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.

In a court of secrets, loyalty is currency—and love is the most dangerous gamble of all. In the sprawling realm of Great Yu, power has only recently been placed in the hands of women. Generals lead armies, ministers shape dynasties, and alliances are forged as easily in the bedchamber as on the battlefield. General Zhen Wenjun and Chief Minister Wei Tingxu appear to be the perfect couple—two brilliant women bound by marriage and ambition. But beneath the surface of silk and ceremony lies a deadly game of masks and motives. Trust is a weapon. Affection is a risk. And neither woman is exactly who she claims to be. As rival factions stir unrest and the imperial court teeters on the edge of transformation, Zhen and Wei must navigate the shifting sands of betrayal, duty, and desire. In a world where power is never given—only taken—can love survive when everything else is strategy? At the World’s Mercy is a masterful work of baihe historical fiction, weaving espionage, slow-burn romance, and political ambition into a tale as elegant as it is ruthless.

The strange kid at school, the odd woman in the apartment building, the troublesome man at work. Such people exist everywhere, in everyone’s lives. All it takes is a word for it to start. An unsettling question, a bizarre remark, or even a kind apology. Once their hooks sink in, the cracks form. Darkness floods into the recesses until nothing else remains, and then...Sirens, screaming, dull thuds on the pavement. They have always existed. They just are. And when they show up, people die.

TEMAN SAYA MENGHILANG. Jika Anda memiliki informasi, mohon hubungi saya. Teman saya adalah editor baru yang sempat memegang proyek untuk edisi khusus sebuah majalah okultisme. Karena tugas tersebut, ia mengumpulkan dokumen dan materi dari berbagai sumber hingga akhirnya menyadari keanehan yang tersembunyi di suatu tempat di wilayah Kinki …. Buku ini merangkum berbagai tulisan dari sejumlah media yang ia dan saya kumpulkan. Sebagian besar dari tulisan di dalamnya memiliki keterkaitan dengan “suatu tempat” di wilayah Kinki. Oleh karena itu, saya butuh bantuan. Jika Anda memiliki informasi, mohon hubungi saya.

The novel that lit the Japanese publishing world on fire: From a breathtaking up-and-coming writer, a twenty-first century Catcher in the Rye that brilliantly explores toxic fandom, social media, and alienated adolescence. Akari is a high school junior obsessed with "oshi" Masaki Ueno, a member of the popular J-Pop group Maza Maza. She writes a blog devoted to him, and spends hours addictively scrolling for information about him and his life. Desperate to analyze and understand him, Akari hopes to eventually see the world through his eyes. It is a devotion that borders on the religious: Masaki is her savior, her backbone, someone she believes she cannot survive without--even though she's never actually met him. When rumors surface that her idol assaulted a female fan, social media explodes. Akari immediately begins sifting through everything she can find about the scandal, and shares every detail to her blog--including Masaki's denials and pleas to his fans--drawing numerous readers eager for her updates. But the organized, knowledgeable persona Akari presents online is totally different from the socially awkward, unfocused teenager she is in real life. As Masaki's situation spirals, his troubles threaten to tear apart her life too. Instead of finding a way to break free to save herself, Akari becomes even more fanatical about Masaki, still believing her idol is the only person who understands her. A blistering novel of fame, disconnection, obsession, and disillusion by a young writer not much older than the novel's heroine, Idol, Burning shines a white-hot spotlight on fandom and "stan" culture, the money-making schemes of the pop idol industry, the seductive power of social media, and the powerful emotional void that opens when an idol falls from grace, only to become a real--and very flawed--person.