The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness - the same greatness which would herald the catastro

From the moment Homo Sapiens descended from the trees, possibly onto their heads, humanity has striven towards civilization. Fire. The Wheel. Running Away from furry things with more teeth than one might reasonably expect-all are testament to man's ultimate supremacy. It is a noble story and so, of

SUMMARY: In 1037, a senior civil servant of the Byzantine empire faces a tedious journey to Greece, escorting the Army payroll. His only companions are a detachment of the Empire's elite Guard, recruited from Viking Scandinavia. When the wagon sheds a wheel, he passes the time talking with two vet

As everyone knows, when great warriors die, their reward is eternal life in Odin's bijou little residence known as Valhalla. But Valhalla has just changed. It has grown. It has diversified. Just like any corporation, the Valhalla Group has had to adapt to survive. Unfortunately, not even an omniscie

**The acclaimed author of *Rubicon* and other superb works of popular history now produces a thrillingly panoramic (and incredibly timely) account of the rise of Islam.** No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab e

**_An Orc on the Wild Side_ is the latest comic masterpiece from one of the funniest writers in fantasy.** ** ** **For more from Tom Holt, check out:**** **_The Management Style of the Supreme Beings_ _The Good, The Bad, and the Smug_ _The Outsorcerer's Apprentice_ _When It's a Jar_ _Doughnut_

It touches all our livesour triumphs and tragedies, our proudest achievements, our most traumatic disasters. Alloyed of love and fear, death and fire, and the inscrutable acts of the gods, insurance is indeed the force that binds the universe together. Hardly surprising, therefore, that Frank Carpen

Colin Hollinghead is a young man going nowhere fast. Working for his dad might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but starting at the bottom in the widget-making industry has, predictably, lost its appeal. And now the business is in trouble. At least his father has a plan to turn things aroun

**A SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER** **'A stunning blockbuster' Robert Fisk** **'A compelling detective story of the highest order' \*Sunday Times**\* In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two great empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on, and one ha

pt. I. Introduction. Known unknowns -- pt. II. Jahiliyya. Iranshahr ; New Rome ; The children of Abraham ; Countdown to apocalypse -- pt. III. Hijra. More questions than answers ; The forging of Islam -- Envoi: plus c̜a change? -- Timeline -- Dramatis personae.;No less significant than the collapse

In these eight darkly comic stories, Tom Howard explores the instincts for violence and tenderness that mark his character's lives. A brother and sister wander the pier after a deadly plague destroys most of humanity. A high school bully struggles to overcome his demons. A man in the grips of dement

**The author of *Killer Choice*, a thriller "full of shocks and twists you won't see coming" (Lee Child), delivers another nail-biting novel about a hit-and-run and a lie that goes horribly wrong.** **Her son accidentally kills a man.** **They cover it up.** **Then everything goes wro

This is the story of Jane who finds the novel she is working on starts to write back. She's already realized novel writing isn't such a piece of cake after all, and the world of fiction is a far more complicated place than she ever imagined.

"This is the second installment of the story begun in "The Osage Rose." Set in 1923, two years after the first novel, this sequel follows two detectives, the Irish ex-cop J.D. Daugherty, and the part-time detective/part time auto mechanic/fulltime Oklahoma Cherokee Hoolie Smith as they investigate t

Duncan's boss doesn't think he's cut out to be a lawyer. He isn't a pack animal. He lacks the killer instinct. But when his best friend from school barges his way back into Duncan's life, along with a full supporting cast of lawyers, ex-wives, zombies, and snow-white unicorns, it's not long before t

### Review 'Holland has the rare gift of making deep scholarship accessible and exciting. A brilliant and completely absorbing study' A. N. Wilson, author of The Victorians 'This is the best one-volume narrative history of the Rome between King Tarquin and Emperor Augustus I have ever read. The sto