The Bone Flower

A deliciously Gothic and atmospheric novel, one for fans of Susan Hill and Andrew Michael Hurley 'A writer who never ceases to surprise' Jenny Offill, author of Weather On a November evening in Victorian London, the moneyed but listless Edward Monteith stokes the fire at his local gentlemen’s club, listening to stories of supernatural experiences and theories of life after death. His curiosity leads him to a séance, where he falls under the spell of a beautiful flower seller. But Victorian society does not look kindly on love between a gentleman of means and a Romani girl, and when he faces being cut off by his family, Edward makes a decision with horrifying consequences. Two years later Edward is married and anticipating the birth of his first child, in a beautiful house lined with orange blossom trees. But the wrongs of the past are not so easily forgotten, and the boundary between the living and the dead begins to thin… A deliciously chilling Gothic novel, The Bone Flower is a deeply human story about guilt, betrayal and the cruelty of social expectations. A dark, uncanny love story from the author of Polari prize-shortlisted Prodigal and The Children's Home, The Bone Flower will delight fans of Edward Carey and Essie Fox.

Can One Woman Alone Defeat a God? I slid to a stop and gasped when I saw the black-robed monster hunched over Father s bed mat. Its long, matted hair glistened in the moonlight, and it sang in a harsh voice that sounded like bones snapping. I screamed, my heart thudding as if trying to break out of my chest. Tenth century Mexico is a world in great upheaval. Incursions from the north bring constant warfare as clashing politics and faiths battle for supremacy. At the fore stands Smoking Mirror, a bloodthirsty god bent on subjugating humanity with his hunger for human hearts. Now his high priest, Ihuitimal, has conquered Culhuacan, one of the Toltecs' most powerful kingdoms. When Smoking Mirror s archenemy, the Feathered Serpent, tasks Quetzalpetlatl, exiled princess of Culhuacan, to help his mortal son Topiltzin end human sacrifice, she eagerly embraces her new destiny. It means avenging her father's murder at the hand of her uncle Ihuitimal, but for Topiltzin who's more than just a brother to her she will do anything. Even sacrifice her own heart. A wonderfully immersive look at the Tolteca civilization, which brings to life the old myths giving voice to a strong cast of characters who linger with the reader long after they have closed the book. Aliette de Bodard, 2013 Nebula Award winner Morganfield delivers an elegant tale of love and honor, passion and betrayal a fascinating journey through the tangled webs of rivalry and betrayal that surround a royal family in the world of the ancient Toltecs. J. Kathleen Cheney, author of The Golden City "

Gods, Blood, Magic. A darkness has taken control of Culhuacan, one of the Toltec's most powerful kingdoms. The bloodthirsty sorcerer god Smoking Mirror has sent her patron god-the benevolent Feathered Serpent-into exile, but the Feathered Serpent is determined not only to regain his sacred city, but also to end human sacrifice all together. Princess Quetzalpetlatl barely escaped Culhuacan with her life, but when the Feathered Serpent tasks her with helping his mortal son Topiltzin fulfill his divine mandate, she eagerly embraces her destiny. Finally she can avenge her father's murder at the hands of the Smoking Mirror's high priest, and return home. Yet the price for involving herself in a war among the gods is high, paid in blood and loss. But for Topiltzin-who's more than just a brother to her-she's willing to do anything. Even sacrifice her own heart. "A wonderfully immersive look at the Tolteca civilization, which brings to life the old myths-giving voice to a strong cast of characters who linger with the reader long after they have closed the book." - Aliette de Bodard, 2013 Nebula winning author of Immersion "Morganfield delivers an elegant tale of love and honor, passion and betrayal ... a fascinating journey through the tangled webs of rivalry and betrayal that surround a royal family in the world of the ancient Toltecs." - J. Kathleen Cheney, author of The Golden City

You put up tiles outside, which is for the sake of beauty and atmosphere, but you still put up such places in the window. Isn't this a' wave' fee? And Qin Tianqi's hands just grabbed the tile, which is really killing me!

Gordion is a paramount site for understanding the culture of central Anatolia over more than 3,000 years, from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period, but is most renowned for its Iron Age horizon, when it was royal capital of the mighty Phrygian kingdom. The hundreds of bone and ivory artifacts excavated at Gordion constitute a highly diverse body of material, and this publication presents one of the largest and most important assemblages of its kind in the Near East. The artifacts give remarkable insight into the tools used in crafts and manufacturing processes, a variety of decorative items, the artistic developments among local craftspeople, as well as indications of trading connections with other regions to the east and west. Ivory was a highly valued material used for decorative pieces in many areas around the eastern Mediterranean. The objects from Gordion are a significant addition to this corpus and illustrate both widely dispersed features common in other contemporary ivory-working centers, as well as the singular motifs and styles that developed in the Phrygian milieu. A unique assemblage of ivory horse trappings from the Early Phrygian Citadel are an important illustration of this cultural confluence. While bone was primarily used for strictly utilitarian objects, there are numerous pieces that show this lowly material could be used for high quality items such as inlays set into the wooden furniture exceptionally attested at Gordion. Even the sheep knuckle bone (astragal), decorated with incised designs and letters, gives a glimpse into the daily life in the community.

Two girls reluctantly bound by fate must weather a dangerous courtship as a prophesied war grows ever closer in Jasmine Skye's high-stakes, queernormative dark fantasy debut, Daughter of the Bone Forest. Rosy is a bone familiar, gifted with the power to shift into animals marked with exposed bone. She spends most of her days in the magical Bone Forest, caring for her feral grandmother and hiding her powers to avoid conscription by the Witch King’s army. Until the day that Princess Shaw, a witch known as Death’s Heir, visits the Forest. When Rosy saves Shaw’s life, the princess offers her the chance to attend the prestigious school, Witch Hall, as payment. Though Rosy is wary of Shaw’s intentions, she cannot pass up the opportunity to find the cure for her grandmother’s affliction. But at Witch Hall, Rosy finds herself embroiled in political games she doesn't understand. Shaw wants Rosy for her entourage, a partner to help lead the coming war. All Rosy wants is to stay out of trouble until she can graduate and save her grandmother, but she can't deny her attraction to Shaw or the comfort Shaw’s magic gives her. Will Rosy give in to her destiny, or will the Bone Forest call her home once and for all?

Death is her gift. Discovering the truth about her forgotten past sets Quetzalpetlatl-former Queen of Tollan and High Priestess of Quetzalcoatl-on a new journey, to rebuild her life from the ashes of the Feathered Serpent's deception. Her top priority is to rescue her son from the underworld, but the Lord of the Dead will only resurrect him in exchange for the most powerful of the gods: Quetzalcoatl himself. For such a dangerous mission, Quetzalpetlatl needs help. She finds allies among the gods, but the only one willing-and powerful enough-to take on the Feathered Serpent is the one god who's responsible for so much of her personal pain these last thirty-five years. The Smoking Mirror holds the key to everything she's ever longed for...if she's willing to give him the one thing he's sought for countless bundles of year. But with Tollan's throne and the future of the Tolteca empire at stake, is the price one that humanity can afford to pay?