Hammer To Fall

British agent Joe Wilderness returns in “Lawton’s ongoing recreation of Cold War chicanery . . . one of the great pleasures of modern spy fiction” (Mick Herron, award-winning author of the Slough House series). It’s London, the swinging sixties, and by all rights, MI6 spy Joe Wilderness should be having as good a time as James Bond. But alas, his postings are more grim than glamorous. In the wake of an embarrassing disaster for MI6 in a divided Berlin, Wilderness is reprimanded with a posting to remote northern Finland under the guise of a cultural exchange program to promote Britain abroad. Bored by his work, with nothing to spy on, Wilderness strikes a deal with his old KGB pal Kostya to smuggle vodka into the USSR. But there is something fishy about why Kostya has suddenly turned up in Finland—and MI6 intelligence from London points to a connection with cobalt mining in the region, a critical component in the casing of the atomic bomb. Wilderness’s posting is getting more interesting by the minute, but more dangerous too. Moving from the no-man’s-land of Cold War Finland to the wild days of the Prague Spring, and populated by old friends—including Inspector Troy—and old enemies alike, Hammer to Fall is a gripping tale of deception and skullduggery, of art and politics—a page-turning story of the always-riveting life of the British spy. “Lawton scores another hit.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A jaw-dropping finale that will leave readers palpitating for more.” —Booklist (starred review) “A terrific thriller: fun, satisfying, and humane.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

It's London, the swinging sixties, and by rights MI6 spy Joe Wilderness should be having as good a time as James Bond. But alas, in the wake of an embarrassing disaster for MI6, Wilderness has been posted to remote northern Finland in a cultural exchange program to promote Britain abroad. Bored by his work, with nothing to spy on, Wilderness finds another way to make money: smuggling vodka across the border into the USSR. He strikes a deal with old KGB pal Kostya, who explains to him there is a vodka shortage in the Soviet Union - but there is something fishy about Kostya's sudden appearance in Finland and intelligence from London points to a connection to cobalt mining in the region, a critical component in the casing of the atomic bomb. Wilderness's posting is getting more interesting by the minute, but more dangerous too. Moving from the no-man's-land of Cold War Finland to the wild days of the Prague Spring, and populated by old friends (including Inspector Troy) and old enemies alike, Hammer to Fall is a gripping tale of deception and skulduggery, of art and politics, a page-turning story of the always riveting life of the British spy.

REVISED & EXPANDED 2ND EDITION The Queen Chronology is a comprehensive account of the studio and live recording and release history of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor, who joined forces in 1971 as the classic line-up of the rock band Queen. Years of extensive research have gone into the creation of the Chronology, which covers the very beginnings of band members' careers, their earliest songwriting efforts and recording sessions, through the recording and releasing of Queen's 15 original studio albums with their classic line-up, to the present-day solo careers of Brian May and Roger Taylor. All of this information is presented date by date in chronological order, with detailed descriptions of each song version, including those both released and known to be unreleased. Every Queen and solo album, single, non-album track, edit, remix and extended version is examined, as are known demos or outtakes, pre-Queen recordings and guest appearances.

A thoughtfully curated and gloriously illustrated retrospective of the band’s studio releases, Queen, comes just in time for the 45th anniversary of their debut LP and biopic. Formed in 1970, Queen went on to become one of the most popular—and most successful—rock bands of all time. Even following the untimely death of beloved and magnetic frontman Freddie Mercury, and nearly 50 years after their formation, interest in the band has continued, evidenced by scores of reissues, arena tours with surviving members, and a feature-film biopic. In this new installment in Voyageur Press’s Album by Album series, rock journo Martin Popoff convenes a cast of 19 Queen experts and superfans to discuss all 15 of the band’s studio albums (including their soundtrack for the 1980 film Flash Gordon). Panelists include Queen experts, rock journalists, musicians, and record industry figures. The results are freewheeling discussions delving into the individual songs, the circumstances that surrounded the recording of each album, the band and contemporary rock contexts into which they were released, and more. The engaging text of this beautifully designed book is illustrated throughout with rare live performance and candid offstage photography, as well as scads of rare Queen ephemera. The Album by Album series is a unique approach to the rock bio, injecting the varied voices of several contributors. The results have even the most diehard fans rushing back to their MP3 players (or turntables) to confirm the details and opinions expressed!

This book contains a comprehensive digest of information on the construction, tuning, and repair of pianos scattered over of about thirty thousand columns of the journal Work and supplies concise information on the details of the subjects on which it treats.

Found as a babe amidst the dead and dying in the wake of a great battle, raised as the beloved son of blacksmith and warrior Hagar Hammersmith, Logan always knew that he was different. And with curses and stares and sometimes with fists, the villagers of Solan Bay did their best to makes sure he would never forget it. But on that day, the day the slavers came to Solan Bay and left him for dead in a pool of his own blood, everything changed. Logan learned the truth of his existence, of his destiny. Forged in the heat of battle, tempered in blood, Logan was an instrument of change. Fuelled by rage and loss, Logan begins a journey to set things right. If setting things right means changing the world - so be it!

Few bands embodied the pure excess of the Seventies like Queen. Theatrical, brilliant, even mercurial – there has never been another band like them, or a frontman like Freddie Mercury. Their performance at the 1985 Live Aid Concert is the stuff of legend and 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are the Champions' have become anthems at sporting events around the world. With one of the most iconic videos ever, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ achieved even greater recognition through inclusion in the movie Wayne's World. Their 1981 Greatest Hits album has sold more than 25 million copies to date. Queen were one of the biggest Eighties stadium rock bands of the Eighties but the death of frontman, songwriter and producer Mercury at the start of the Nineties brought the band to a premature halt. This book tells the full story of the band and its members from pre-Queen to post Freddie.