The Palace Of Dreams

When it was first published in the author's native country, THE PALACE OF DREAMS was immediately banned. The novel revolves around a secret ministry whose task is not just to spy on its citizens, but to collect and interpret their dreams. An entire nation's unconscious is thus tapped and meticulously laid bare in the form of images and symbols of the dreaming mind.

In the mid-1930s, two Irish Americans travel to the Albanian highlands with an early model of a marvelous invention, the tape recorder. Their mission? To discover how Homer could have composed works as brilliant and as long as The Iliad and The Odyssey without ever putting pen to paper. The answer, they believe, can be found only in Albania, the last remaining habitat of the oral epic. But immediately upon their arrival, the scholars’ seemingly arcane research excites suspicion and puts them at the center of ethnic strife in the Balkans. Mistaken for foreign spies, they are placed under surveillance and are dogged by gossip and intrigue. It isn’t until a fierce-eyed monk from the Serbian side of the mountains makes his appearance that the scholars glimpse the full political import of their search for the key to the Homeric question.

Eternity is a long time to be watching over your shoulder... The Tide is turning, and the Immortals who have walked the world for eons are once again coming into their powers and stepping from obscure boltholes to take control once more. The very mortal lady Arkady knows of their plans but holds out little hope of being able to stop them. Branded and sold into slavery, Arkady fears all she knows and loves is lost—her husband, Stellan, was probably dead by now, hanged by the Immortal Jaxyn for his own nefarious purposes; and Declan Hawkes, the King of Glaeba's Spymaster and her childhood friend — perhaps the only other human she knew who might risk everything to save her — doesn't even know she's in danger. She will turn to her new owner for help ... but learning the truth about him may cost them both their lives. And Stellan? Well, it turns out he isn't dead and Jaxyn's plans hit a snag when he realises that Stellan, the one man who can challenge him for the Glaeban throne, has sought asylum in neighbouring Caelum. Strangely enough, the Empress of the Five Realms (a Tide Lord in hiding no more), and the Tide Lords, Tryan and Elyssa, seem to be on Stellan's side ... Plots within plots. Magic tinges the very air and the Tide will bring mayhem and madness to both mortal and Immortal alike. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

From Fouad Ajami, an acclaimed author and chronicler of Arab politics, comes a compelling account of how a generation of Arab intellectuals tried to introduce cultural renewals in their homelands through the forces of modernity and secularism. Ultimately, they came to face disappointment, exile, and, on occasion, death. Brilliantly weaving together the strands of a tumultuous century in Arab political thought, history, and poetry, Ajami takes us from the ruins of Beirut's once glittering metropolis to the land of Egypt, where struggle rages between a modernist impulse and an Islamist insurgency, from Nasser's pan-Arab nationalist ambitions to the emergence of an uneasy Pax Americana in Arab lands, from the triumphalism of the Gulf War to the continuing anguished debate over the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords. For anyone who seeks to understand the Middle East, here is an insider's unflinching analysis of the collision between intellectual life and political realities in the Arab world today.

Taking us back to a time that is half history, half myth and wholly magical, bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni gives voice to Panchaali, the fire-born heroine of the Mahabharata, as she weaves a vibrant retelling of an ancient epic saga. Married to five royal husbands who have been cheated out of their father's kingdom, Panchaali aids their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war. But she cannot deny her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna—or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most dangerous enemy—as she is caught up in the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

A sumptuously evocative story set in 18th century India from bestselling author Charlotte Betts, perfect for readers of Dinah Jefferies, Lucinda Riley and Jenny Ashcroft. 'Romantic, engaging and hugely satisfying' Katie Fforde on The Apothecary's Daughter India, 1798. Beatrice Sinclair, a grieving young widow facing financial destitution, has travelled from Hampshire to Hyderabad to visit her brother, an employee of the British East India Company. There, she is astonished to discover that he has married a beautiful Indian girl and lives with his wife's extended family in a dilapidated palace, the Jahanara Mahal - famed for the theft of a fabled diamond many years ago. As an outsider in an unfamiliar world, Bee faces many challenges - not least of all building a new and meaningful life after the heartbreak she has endured. Meanwhile the French and British forces become locked in a battle over India's riches, and matters are complicated further by the presence of the dashing Harry Wyndam: a maverick ex-soldier and suspected spy. With rebellion in the air, Bee must decide where her loyalties lie . . . Reader reviews for Charlotte Betts: 'You will never be disappointed with a Charlotte Betts book!' Amazon reviewer 'Well-written and thought-provoking' Goodreads reviewer 'A fantastic story loaded with history' Amazon reviewer

The familiars Aldwyn the cat, Skyler the blue jay, and Gilbert the tree frog are off on an all-new adventure in the series that Michael Buckley, bestselling author of The Sisters Grimm and NERDS series, says "combines the magic of Harry Potter and the adventure of Warriors." With inventive magic, laugh-out-loud humor, and a mysterious conspiracy that will take all the familiars' wits to unravel, Palace of Dreams is the familiars' most extraordinary adventure yet. Peace has returned to the queendom of Vastia. Paksahara has been defeated, and the three familiars Aldwyn, Skyler, and Gilbert are the heroes to thank. But when a birthday celebration at the palace goes dreadfully wrong, and Queen Loranella falls victim to a curse, it seems the familiars are the prime suspects. After narrowly escaping the palace dungeons, they'll have to embark on a quest to clear their names—a quest that will lead them across Vastia and even into the magical land of dreams.