Seventeen-year-old Kinta is an innocent young woman enjoying an idyllic life in her seaside village—until the high priestess, Vylaine, suddenly becomes aware of Kinta and her mother’s special powers. They have no choice but to embark on a desperate journey to escape the clutches of evil tyranny, leaving all their lives hanging perilously in the balance. Along the way, Kinta meets an unlikely friend who joins her on her travels and helps her transition from an awkward teenager to a confident young woman as well as to discover her true destiny and first love. As the family stands resolute in the daunting face of seemingly hopeless adversity, they refuse to buckle under immense pressure or risk compromising their values until peace is restored to their land. But will they be successful in their mission or die trying? In this exciting fantasy novel, a teenager sets out on a twisting, turning, coming-of-age journey where she matures into a courageous warrior determined to seek freedom and justice for all.

Newlyweds, Kinta and Vaalyun, and their pet dog, Misty, depart on their epic adventures as a trio in an old wooden sailing boat. They make their way undaunted into previously unknown, uncharted territory, searching for new land that they can call their own. The three intrepid travellers leave their homes' safety and security and head down a swollen river as they search for any excitement that they can find along the way. In their exciting travels, they find that there are people everywhere in need of their help. So, they set out to help fight injustice wherever they see persecution. It takes them on a journey of discovery, which teaches about themselves, then about their travelling companions, and finally the vast areas of the world outside their usual sphere of existence. They also discover some incredible new skills.

This is an innovative study of how British Colonial rule and society in Malayan towns and plantations transformed immigrants into British subjects.

New in the Short History of Asia series, edited by Milton Osborne, this is a readable, well-informed and comprehensive history of Malaysia from ancient past to hyper-modern present day.

Losing Hearts and Minds explores the loss of British power and prestige in colonial Singapore and Malaya from the First World War to the Malayan Emergency. During this period, British leaders relied on a growing number of Asian, European and Eurasian allies and servicepeople, including servants, police, soldiers, and medical professionals, to maintain their empire. At the same time, British institutions and leaders continued to use racial and gender violence to wage war. As a result, those colonial subjects closest to British power frequently experienced the limits of belonging and the broken promises of imperial inclusion, hastening the end of British rule in Southeast Asia. From the World Wars to the Cold War, European, Indigenous, Chinese, Malay, and Indian civilians resisted or collaborated with British and Commonwealth soldiers, rebellious Indian troops, invading Japanese combatants, and communists. Historian Kate Imy tells the story of how Singapore and Malaya became sites of some of the most impactful military and anti-colonial conflicts of the twentieth century, where British military leaders repeatedly tried—but largely failed—to win the "hearts and minds" of colonial subjects.

In the 1880s, an estimated 4,000 people lived in the Kinta District of Malaya. Twenty years later, with the discovery of tin deposits, the population had increased to 123,000, comprised mainly of Chinese immigrants who found employment as coolies in the open-cast mines. Although the tin industry was gradually brought under the control of the British colonial government, the lives of the workers largely remained beyond its reach. This study of the Chinese working people in Kinta over a 100-year period explores how their lives have been affected by these changes and how they have adjusted in order to meet the challenges posed by changing situations.