Thirteen-year-old Eli Papadapoulous is worried. Even though he's part of in the most powerful family in the world. Even though his grandfather founded InfiniCorp, the massive corporation that runs everything in the bustling dome-cities. Even though InfiniCorp ads and billboards are plastered everywhere, proclaiming: DON'T WORRY! INFINICORP IS TAKING CARE OF EVERYTHING! Recently, Eli noticed there's something wrong with the artificial sky. It keeps shorting out, displaying strange colors and random, pixellated images. And though the Department of Cool and Comfortable Air is working overtime, the dome-city is hotter than it's ever been. Eli has been raised to believe that the dome-cities are safe and comfortable; that the important thing is to keep working, keep consuming; that InfiniCorp knows better than he, and he should leave everything in their hands. But now he begins asking questions.

It was a day like any other day. People were going about their business, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, life was going on as usual. Suddenly, without warning, people started disappearing all over the world! Was it a mass alien abduction? Had cults gathered their people to some remote spot in the world? Or, had the unthinkable happened? Had the prophecy of Jesus Christ's return finally come true? Follow three women who come face to face with their Bible teaching. The newlywed who lost her husband; her best friend, who had strong Christian parents, and their friend who lost all of her children, but not to Christ. They had heard of Christ's return, but didn't believe it would really happen. They lived almost as if there were no God. Now, who'll survive? Who'll give in to the new world leader? What would you do if it were you?

Crack in the Sky continues the development of the young Titus Bass as he gradually learns the lore of the mountain man. From a raucous rendezvous of trappers to a searing fight with Comanche, from a frigid winter's chill to the angry heat of a chase with horse thieves, Titus Bass's West comes alive in the pages of this remarkable novel--and in its final scene, Titus Bass will meet young Josiah Paddock and form the deep friendship explored in the pagers of Carry the Wind.

When is a sofa not a sofa? When it is the entry to another world . . . Nine-year-old Conor's day doesn't start well. His right arm seems to be missing! Then he appears to have grown horns. But it's the next event that proves fateful. His mum catches her skirt on a loose spring in the sofa. It's time to replace the sofa . . . obviously. But money is tight. So when Conor sees an old sofa bobbing in the tide as he walks to school, about to strand itself on the muddy shore, it seems like fate is working in his favour. But there's something very strange about this particular sofa . . .

When a repairman accidentally discovers a parallel universe, everyone sees it as an opportunity, whether as a way to ease Earth's overcrowding, set up a personal kingdom, or hide an inconvenient mistress. But when a civilization is found already living there, the people on this side of the crack are sent scrambling to discover their motives. Will these parallel humans come in peace, or are they just as corrupt and ill-intentioned as the people of this world?

For almost 40 years, the author has lived and worked all over the world, from the United Kingdom to South Korea, Indonesia, China, Ukraine, Mongolia and Sri Lanka. He witnessed revolutions, debated with the International Monetary Fund, played golf with Chief Financial Officers of some of the world's largest companies, discussed bond financing with Ministers of Finance, and saw currencies lose 500% of their value in just a few months. He travelled extensively and went above and beyond what tourists and journalists typically get to see when visiting countries. He paints a picture of political, financial economic crises with devastating detail and a cool sense of humour. He has no compassion with politicians or corporate citizens who pretend all is fine and blame everything that goes wrong on the outside world, instead of themselves. Mongolia: Cracks in the Eternal Blue Sky is the first book in the series Life is Good, Potentially. The author takes us on a journey starting in 2016 when he arrives in Mongolia and ends in 2020 after abruptly being locked out of the country because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With deep emotional engagement he writes about the state of the country, from semi-feral horses on nearly pristine steppe, to failed property projects in Ulaanbaatar. He describes in painful accuracy why presidents and politicians are the reason why Mongolia is not the rich country it could - and should - be, how chicanery in the banking sector destroyed what little international credibility the country had, and why the number of people living below the poverty line does not reduce when the economy booms. The people the author writes about all have a name, the issues are all true and the facts accurate. Still, the book is meant to be generic. The author hopes it will contribute to an improvement of the political and social situation of Mongolia, a country where Life is Good, not just potentially.

This sprawling, episodic novel by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author is a “tour de force sci-fi outing . . . a wonderful read” (Fantasy Literature). 2077. With Earth reeling from centuries of unregulated population growth and environmental decimation, a new religion has taken root. The Vorsters worship science and the material world over all else, searching for the promise of immortality through new technology and the promise of heaven among the physical stars. But on Venus, a renegade sect has found its home. The Harmonists find the answers to life’s eternal questions in their own spirituality and in their own bodies, which have undergone genetic changes on Venus, giving them paranormal abilities. With humanity’s future at stake, religion becomes a political business, and both groups will have to face their motivations and manipulations when a shocking discovery threatens the balance of power in the universe. “The absorbing story of an overpopulated and economically depressed world clinging to the outcome of a religious schism for its salvation.” —sff180

Of humanity there are darker tales. Stories that take some squinting to see through. Unconventional stories. Tales that threaten to break the heart by cruel twists of fate, the dogs of war, or demons that are all too real; whether they be of unrequited love or a karmic slap in the face. Happy endings take a time in coming, and some never arrive. But through all the darkness there is light, a glimmer of hope and wonder...if one has the will to see it.

I'm pretty sure that by the time I finish high school, I'll be cracked into a pile of shards, beyond repair. At fifteen, Clover is finding the going tougher than she expected. Her life is close to being derailed on the rocky terrain of family, friendship, first love, acts of defiance and a planet on the brink of environmental disaster. So when Keek breaks his promise to her, and school sucks, and her mother is impossible, and her beloved old dog is dying, and her dad is in the wind, and the girls at school are awful and the footy-boys are bullies and she's arrested for vandalism - well, what else can she be but a little bit broken? Can Clover pull herself together - or will she spiral further out of control? When life feels like it's fracturing, how do you find a way to feel whole?

A coming-of-age story that follows a young shaman named Pitu as he learns to use his powers and ultimately finds himself lost in the world of the spirits.