Abacus Into the Labyrinth Карризи Донато

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 had vanished for ever, while the other was a dismembered, bleeding trunk. In their place, a new superpower had arisen: the empire of the Arabs. So profound was this upheaval that it spelled, in effect, the end of the ancient world • But the changes that marked the period were more than merely political or even cultural: there was also a transformation of human society with incalculable consequences for the future. Today, over half the world's population subscribes to one of the various religions that took on something like their final form during the last centuries of antiquity. Wherever men or women are inspired by belief in a single god to think or behave in a certain way, they bear witness to the abiding impact of this extraordinary, convulsive age - though as Tom Holland demonstrates, much of what Jews, Christians and Muslims believe about the origins of their religion is open to debate

Rome was first ruled by kings, then became a republic. But in the end, after conquering the world, the Republic collapsed. Rome was drowned in blood. So terrible were the civil wars that the Roman people finally came to welcome the rule of an autocrat who could give them peace. 'Augustus,' their new master called himself: 'The Divinely Favoured One' • The lurid glamour of the dynasty founded by Augustus has never faded. No other family can compare for sheer unsettling fascination with its gallery of leading characters. Tiberius, the great general who ended up a bitter recluse, notorious for his perversions; Caligula, the master of cruelty and humiliation who rode his chariot across the sea; Agrippina, the mother of Nero, manoeuvring to bring to power the son who would end up having her murdered; Nero himself, racing in the Olympics, marrying a eunuch, and building a pleasure palace over the fire-gutted centre of his capital

From his chlidhood in Fez, having fled the Christian Inquisition, through his many journeys to the East as an itinerant merhcant, Hasans story is a quixotic catalogue of pirates, slave girls and princesses, encompassing the complexities of a world in a state of religious flux. Hasan too is touched by the instability of the era, performing his hadj to Mecca, then converting to Christianity, only to relapse back to the Muslim faith later in life • In re-creating his extraordinary experiences, Amin Maalouf sketches an irrisistible portrait of the Mediterranea world as it was nearly five centuries ago - the fall of Granada, the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, Renaissance Rome under the Medicis: all contribute to a background of spectacular colour, matched only by the picaresque adventures of Hasan's life

1983 was a supremely dangerous year - even more dangerous than 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the US, President Reagan massively increased defence spending, described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire" and announced his "Star Wars" programme, calling for a shield in space to defend the US from incoming missiles. Yuri Andropov, the paranoid Soviet leader, saw all this as signs of American aggression and convinced himself that the US really meant to attack the Soviet Union. He put the KGB on alert to look for signs of an imminent nuclear attack. When a Soviet fighter jet shot down Korean Air Lines flight KAL 007 after straying off course over a sensitive Soviet military area, President Reagan described it as a "terrorist act" and "a crime against humanity"

From the award-winning author of Curtain Call, Freya and Our Friends in Berlin comes a sweeping story of art and love through the lens of a single painting • A celebrated artist of the Georgian era paints his two young daughters at the family home in Bath. The portrait, known as "Molly &the Captain", becomes instantly famous, its fate destined to echo down the centuries, touching many lives • In the summer of 1889 a young man sits painting a line of elms in Kensington Gardens. One day he glimpses a mother at play with her two daughters and decides to include them in his picture. From that moment he is haunted by dreams that seem to foreshadow his doom • A century later, in Kentish Town, a painter and her grown-up daughters receive news of an ancestor linking them to the long-vanished double portrait of "Molly &the Captain"

Dominion tells the epic story of how those in the West came to be what they are, and why they think the way they do. Ranging from Moses to Merkel, from Babylon to Beverley Hills, from the emergence of secularism to the abolition of slavery, it explores why, in a society that has become increasingly doubtful of religion's claims, so many of its instincts remain irredeemably Christian. Christianity's enduring impact is not confined to churches. It can be seen everywhere in the West: in science, in secularism, in gay rights, even in atheism. It is - to coin a phrase - the greatest story ever told

Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswanan private investigator of 'traditional build', is now married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. The Agency is busy, but Mma Ramotswe cannot ignore the plea which is made by a woman who comes to her with a tale of particular misfortune. Unfortunately, her attempts to help are interrupted by a close encounter between her tiny white van and a bicycle, and by a spectacular disagreement between her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and one of the apprentices at the garage. This apprentice has found a fancy girlfriend who drives a Mercedes-Benz. How can he be rescued from his folly And as for Mma Makutsi, she has found a dancing class, and a man who may not be able to dance very well, but who admires her greatly

Старая женщина каждое утро неизвестно почему просыпается в одно и то же время и едет в глухой лес, где однажды находит двенадцатилетнего мальчика. Мальчик жив и здоров, однако не в состоянии объяснить, что с ним произошло: он вообще не говорит. Единственный, кто может помочь, - Пьетро Джербер, флорентийский гипнотизер, специалист по работе с травмированными детьми. Джербер, еле переживший все, что выпало на его долю в романе "Дом голосов", берется за дело, голос к мальчику возвращается - и голос этот рассказывает чужую и очень страшную историю. Историю, случившуюся много лет назад; в ней были похищения, исчезновения, убийства, взрывы, а также орки - и ребенок, который заблудился во взрослом мире необъяснимой жути и так и не смог найти выход

In fairy tales, there are men and there are wolves, there are beasts and dead parents, there are girls and forests.Ofelia knows all this, like any young woman with a head full of stories. And she sees right away what the Capitan is, in his immaculate uniform, boots and gloves, smiling: a wolf.But nothing can prepare her for the fevered reality of the Capitan's eerie house, in the midst of a dense forest which conceals many things: half-remembered stories of lost babies; renegade resistance fighters hiding from the army; a labyrinth; beasts and fairies.There is no one to keep Ofelia safe as the labyrinth beckons her into her own story, where the monstrous and the human are inextricable, where myths pulse with living blood

Half Boy. Half God. ALL Hero • Honestly, blowing up another school was the last thing I wanted to do • As the son of a Greek God, I've had my share of near-death disaster - and now my arch enemy Luke wants to invade our camp via an ancient labyrinth • If he succeeds, thousands of bloodthirsty monsters will attack. So it's goodbye sunshine, hello darkness as four of us descend into the terrifying underground and beyond

This was my home. This harbour and sea. These golden alleys. But the town I grew up in has disappeared • Broken by the death of her husband, Ri, a successful international artist living in London, returns to her ancestral home of Crete. The Greek island is known for its ancient myth and mass tourism, but when Ri returns she finds a secret, darker history. As the home she left deals with a looming Brexit, and the home she rediscovered grapples with a refugee crisis, Ri confronts her changing identity. Unearthing stories from her family's past leaves a permanent mark on her understanding of herself, her relationship to her country, and her art • Lyrical, unsettling and evocative, Daughters of the Labyrinth explores the power of buried memory and the grip of the past on the present, and questions how well we can ever know our own family

В последней книге цикла «Перси Джексон и боги-олимпийцы» уже знакомые нам герои предпринимают всё возможное, чтобы сорвать планы Луки, коварного сына Гермеса. Злейший враг Перси ищет брешь в защите лагеря Полукровок, чтобы ничего не помешало вторжению армии Кроноса на Олимп • Теперь Перси и его друзья вынуждены направиться в опаснейшее место этого мира – Лабиринт смерти. Ведь только артефакт, хранящийся в глубине подземелий, позволит героям опередить силы зла… • Роман Рика Риордана «Перси Джексон и Лабиринт смерти» является четвёртой книгой в цикле «Перси Джексон и боги-олимпийцы» и может стать отличным подарком для любителей ретеллингов, греческой мифологии и жанра фэнтези • Книга на английском языке • Percy Jackson and The Battle of the Labyrinth is the fourth exciting adventure in Rick Riordan's bestselling series