Head of Zeus The Story. Loss. Great Short Stories for Women by Women Mantel Hilary, Munro Alice, Kavan Anna

A special reissue from Head of Zeus's bestselling anthology collection of the very best Irish short stories, selected by Sinead Gleeson, author of Constellations, winner of the Irish Book Award Non Fiction Book of the Year 2019 • There have been many anthologies of the short story as it developed in Ireland, but never a collection like this • The Art of the Glimpse is a radical revision of the canon of the Irish story, uniting classic works with neglected writers and marginalised voices – women, Traveller folk-tales, neglected 19th-century authors and the first wave of 'new Irish' writers from all over the world now making a life in Ireland. Sinead Gleeson brings together stories that range from the most sublime realism to the downright bizarre and transgressive, some from established literary figures and some that have not yet been published in book form

By a riverbank in Africa, two lovers meet for the first time. They make a promise to meet again the next day, same time, same place, but only one of them shows up • This sounds like the beginning of a love story, but it's more than that, for this breathtaking tale takes the reader into the heart of a vibrant world, a complex and intriguing civilisation of warriors and kings, philosophers and artists, parents and lovers. A world and culture which is about to end for, glimpsed on the horizon, seen but unsuspected, beautiful ships with white sails are waiting

Twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction • The second annual instalment to the 'rare and wonderful' (The Times) The Best of World SF Volume 1, this collection of twenty-nine stories, including eight original and exclusive additions, represents the state of the art in international science fiction • Navigating around the globe, The Best of World SF Volume 2 features writers from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Grenada, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, The Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe • Each story has been selected by World SF expert and award-winning author Lavie Tidhar

A gripping historical adventure set in the second century AD and based on legends of King Arthur, The Iron Way is the second in Tim Leach's breathtaking Sarmatian Trilogy • AD 175, Vindolanda, Britannia. After their cavalry was broken by the legions on the frozen waters of the Danube, Sarmatian warrior Kai bought his peoples' lives with a pledge to serve Rome. Bound to the will of the Emperor, the Sarmatians are ready to fight and eager to die – death in battle is the only escape from the dishonour of their defeat • Exiled from their home lands, they are ordered to take the Iron Way to the far north and the very edge of the Empire. Here, a great wall of stone cuts across the land as straight as the stroke of a sword. On one side, Rome's dominion; on the other, mist and rumours – stories of men closer to giants, of warriors who fight without fear or restraint

A Story of Sabotage, Betrayal and the Terrible Sadness of Exile • Scotland, 1940: The Fronsac, a French warship, blows up in the Firth of Clyde. The disaster is witnessed by three locals. Jackie, a young girl who thinks she caused the explosiong by running away from school. Her mother Helen, a spirited woman married to a dreary young officer; and their lodger, a Polish soldier whose country has just been erased from the map by Hitler and Stalin • All their lives will be changed by the death of the Fronsac

My dear Isabelle, in the attic you will find a box with your name on it • Isabelle's archaeologist father dies leaving a puzzle: a mysterious African amulet. But what is it? And why did he want her to have it? On impulse she takes a plane to Morocco to find out. But has Isabelle's curiosity got the better of her? • Almost killed in an accident which damages the amulet (revealing more of its secrets), she realises she must be careful. But when her rescuer, Taib, who knows the dunes and their peoples, offers to help uncover the amulet's history, she cannot resist uncovering the story of Tin Hanan – She of the Tents – who made a legendary desert crossing alone, and her descendant Mariata • Across years and over hot, shifting sands, tracking the Salt Road, the stories of Isabelle and Taib, Mariata and her lover, become entangled with that of the lost amulet

AD 634 • Anglo Saxon Britain • Confusion and conflict continue as warlords battle across Britain to become the first King of the English • After a stunning victory against the native Waelisc, Beobrand returns to a hero's welcome. His valour is rewarded by wealth and land by Oswald, King of Northumbria • Exhausted, he retires to his new estate with his bride only to find himself surrounded once again by enemies old and new. With treachery and death on all sides, Beobrand fears he will lose all he holds dear • On a quest for revenge and redemption, he accepts the mantle of lord, leading his men into the darkest of nights and the bloodiest of battles • The Cross and the Curse is the second gripping, action-packed instalment in The Bernicia Chronicles

They will see me hang for this • London, 1855. In the grey mist of the early morning a body is dumped on the shore of the Thames by a boatman in a metal canoe. Talk soon spreads of the killer and his striking accomplice: a young widow in mourning dress • Birdie Quinn's sleeplessness led her to the river that morning. She has always been wilful, haughty, different... but is she a murderess? • To clear her name, she must retrace the dead man's footsteps to Orkney and the far north. A dangerous journey for a woman alone, but one she must make to save her life • This gripping, richly layered historical thriller is perfect for fans of The Familiars, The House Between Tides and The Confessions of Franny Langton

Gritty, heartrending and unputdownable – the story of two sisters sent first to an English, then an Australian orphanage in the aftermath of World War II • Rita and Rosie Stevens are only nine and five years old when their widowed mother marries a violent bully called Jimmy Randall and has a baby boy by him. Under pressure from her new husband, she is persuaded to send the girls to an orphanage – not knowing that the papers she has signed will entitle them to do what they like with the children • And it is not long before the powers that be decide to send a consignment of orphans to their sister institution in Australia. Among them – without their family's consent or knowledge – are Rita and Rosie, the throwaway children

Escape to the frost-sparkling Yorkshire Dales for some festive fun under the mistletoe! • It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for costume shop owner Becky Finn. Leaving London to move back home to the twinkly rural village of Egglethwaite, she plans to build a new life for herself with fiance, Cole • Keen to raise funds for the struggling village hall she loved as a child, Becky finds herself at the head of a colourful group aiming to revive the Egglethwaite Christmas pantomime. But when that festive feeling sets in, she discovers there's more to panto than innuendo and slapped thighs • Falling in love was not in the script! But as opening night grows closer, she starts to wonder if the panto will ever make it to the stage and, with handsome co-star Marcus on the scene, if she has chosen her right leading man

God bless you, England, on this glorious Year of Our Lord, 1145 • Things are definitely not right in Nottingham. Rebecca, daughter of a Jewish money-lender, has a sense for it • A mad monk schemes to resurrect the Christ from body parts. A bone harpist murders creatures of legend for a price. A fae creature binds its wings and embraces a new God and his son • And don't even mention the Hood. The Man in Green. The Prince of Thieves. The tick-tock taker of the ten-toll tax • What hope have the series of sheriffs sent to hold the peace? • It's the forest, you see. Sherwood. Ice Age ancient, impenetrable, hiding a dark and secret heart. But hearts, no matter how black, no matter how hidden, are not immune to change. The old world is dying... and a terrifying new one is waiting to take its place

Internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling popular science writer Lawrence Krauss explores cosmology's greatest unanswered questions • Three of the most important words in science are 'I don't know'. Not knowing implies a universe of opportunities – the possibility of discovery and surprise. Our understanding of cosmology has advanced immeasurably over the last five hundred years of modern science, yet many fundamental mysteries of existence persist. How did our Universe begin, if it even had a beginning? How big is it? What's at the bottom of a black hole? How did life on Earth arise? Are we alone? Is time travel possible? • These mysteries define the scientific forefront, the threshold of the unknown. To explore that threshold is to gain a deeper understanding of just how far science has progressed