“A surprising page-turner...Compelling. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal (starred review), Debut of the Month An astronaut returns to Earth after losing her entire crew to an inexplicable disaster, but is her version of what happened in space the truth? Or is there more to the story…A tense, psychological thriller perfect for fans of Dark Matter and The Martian. After Catherine Wells’s ship experiences a deadly incident in deep space and loses contact with NASA, the entire world believes her dead. Miraculously—and mysteriously—she survived, but with little memory of what happened. Her reentry after a decade away is a turbulent one: her husband has moved on with another woman and the young daughter she left behind has grown into a teenager she barely recognizes. Catherine, too, is different. The long years alone changed her, and as she readjusts to being home, sometimes she feels disconnected and even, at times, deep rage toward her family and colleagues. There are periods of time she can’t account for, too, and she begins waking up in increasingly strange and worrisome locations, like restricted areas of NASA. Suddenly she’s questioning everything that happened up in space: how her crewmates died, how she survived, and now, what’s happening to her back on Earth. Smart, gripping, and compelling, this page-turning sci-fi thriller will leave you breathless.

Sequel to Colleen Drippé's book Gelen, Vessel of Darkness continues the story of Fen Colony, home of the Drayak tribe and their psychically gifted gelens. Mutated from Earth normal, these semi-outcasts have now begun to find a place within the tribe. Vess Lorn's son, known as Spear, a gelen himself, but also a member of the Drayak royal house, has been elected king of Drakendon -- and things will never be the same.It isn't an easy job, however. Spear must not only juggle an uneasy alliance with the stranded forces of Net Central, the offworlders, but also confront a new menace. Dilich Hayan, powerful gelen and North Islander, has arrived at the Drayak Citadel, carrying with him an ancient curse as well as the hopes of his own unbalanced people. Through his patterning, a bridge is formed with a new power rising in the west and suddenly not only the gelens but everyone in the colony is threatened.Dilich is not happy as the "vessel of darkness" and tries to fight free. But his own struggles are not enough -- both king and queen (Ella Trenre, a gelen whose powers equal those of Dilich) must stake everything in the battle, along with Rac Marcus Wolfbane, a newly ordained priest, the pirate, Render, Spear's two smuggler brothers, and Racka, a man tormented by the murder of his former mistress, who serves as the king's advisor.

The acclaimed author of Labyrinth of Ice charts the legendary sixteenth-century adventurer’s death-defying navigation of the Amazon River. In 1541, Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his lieutenant Francisco Orellana searched for La Canela, South America’s rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, “the golden man.” Quickly, the enormous expedition of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, and hunting dogs were decimated through disease, starvation, and attacks in the jungle. Hopelessly lost in the swampy labyrinth, Pizarro and Orellana made the fateful decision to separate. While Pizarro eventually returned home in rags, Orellana and fifty-seven men continued into the unknown reaches of the mighty Amazon jungle and river. Theirs would be the greater glory. Interweaving historical accounts with newly uncovered details, Levy reconstructs Orellana’s journey as the first European to navigate the world’s largest river. Every twist and turn of the powerful Amazon holds new wonders and the risk of death. Levy gives a long-overdue account of the Amazon’s people—some offering sustenance and guidance, others hostile, subjecting the invaders to gauntlets of unremitting attacks and signs of terrifying rituals. Violent and beautiful, noble and tragic, River of Darkness is riveting history and breathtaking adventure that will sweep readers on a voyage unlike any other. Praise for Buddy Levy and River of Darkness “In River of Darkness, Buddy Levy recounts Orellana’s headlong dash down the Amazon. Like Mr. Levy’s last book, Conquistador, about the conquest of Mexico, River of Darkness presents a fast-moving tale of triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds. . . . Though impromptu, the expedition was one of the most amazing adventures of all time.” —Wall Street Journal “An exciting, well-plotted excursion down the Amazon River with the early Spanish conquistador. . . . [A] richly textured account of the rogue, rebel and visionary whose discovery still resonates today.” —Kirkus Reviews “A rollicking adventure . . . Levy successfully conveys the Amazon’s power and majesty, while shedding light on the futility of humanity’s attempt to tame it.” —The A.V. Club

The 15th anniversary edition of a brilliant, action-packed and gripping novel of Charles Darwin's voyage on the Beagle - longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. New introduction from Daisy Goodwin. 'A master storyteller' Sunday Times In 1831 Charles Darwin set off in HMS Beagle under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy on a voyage that would change the world. This is the story of a deep friendship between two men, and the twin obsessions that tear them apart, leading one to triumph, and the other to disaster. 'An outstandingly good first novel. A page-turning action-adventure combined with subtle intellectual arguments. The meticulous research enriches this fascinating tale' Sunday Telegraph

When the goddess Bayla fails to take over Liyana's body, Liyana's people abandon her in the desert to find a more worthy vessel, but she soon meets Korbyn, who says the souls of seven deities have been stolen and he needs Liyana's help to find them.

They Both Die at the End meets The Loneliest Girl in the Universe in this mind-bending sci-fi mystery and tender love story about two boys aboard a spaceship sent on a rescue mission, from two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer. Stonewall Honor Award winner! Two boys, alone in space. Sworn enemies sent on the same rescue mission. Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor with no memory of a launch. There’s more that doesn’t add up: evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship’s operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away. But nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed—not when he’s rescuing his own sister. In order to survive the ship’s secrets, Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together and learn to trust each other . . . especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive. * Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of the Year * A Booklist Editor's Choice of the Year * A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book of the Year * A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults & Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Book of the Year *

WINNER OF THE MIDWEST BOOK AWARD The imagination of a girl, the retelling of family stories, and the unfolding of a rich and often painful history: Parneshia Jones’s debut collection explores the intersections of these elements of experience with refreshing candor and metaphorical purpose. A child of the South speaking in the rhythms of Chicago, Jones knits “a human quilt” with herself at the center. She relates everything from the awkward trip to Marshall Fields with her mother to buy her first bra to the late whiskey-infused nights of her father’s world. In the South, “lard sizzles a sermon from the stove”; in Chicago, we feast on an “opera of peppers and pimento.” Jones intertwines the stories of her own family with those of historical black figures, including Marvin Gaye and Josephine Baker. Affectionate, dynamic, and uncommonly observant, these poems mine the richness of history to create a map of identity and influence.

An unforgettable portrait of a marriage tested to its limits. When Dan, a writer with a passion for underground comics, and his wife Bekah, a potter dedicated to traditional Japanese ceramics, met through a mutual friend, they swiftly fell in love. “Of all the women I’ve ever met,” Dan told a friend, “she’s the first one who felt like family.” But at Christmas, as they prepared for the birth of their first child, tragedy struck. Based on Daniel Raeburn’s acclaimed New Yorker essay, Vessels: A Love Story is the story of how he and Bekah clashed and clung to each other through a series of unsuccessful pregnancies before finally, joyfully, becoming parents. In prose as handsomely unadorned as his wife’s pottery, Raeburn recounts a marriage cemented by the same events that nearly broke it. Vessels is an unflinching, enormously moving account of intimacy, endurance, and love.

At the dawn of time, two ancient adversaries battled for control of Earth. One man rose to stand at humanity's side. A soldier whose name we still remember today... Angelic Special Forces Colonel Mikhail Mannuki'ili has suffered from dissociative amnesia ever since his species was slaughtered as a child. The Cherubim said he must never try to remember what happened during the Seraphim Genocide. Whenever he tries, he blacks out and people end up dead. But old ghosts refuse to remain buried. With the village destroyed and whispers the white-winged Angelic is his own Prime Minister, each night, his dead ch�ad ph�sadh visits his nightmares to warn him about the lizard at the door. As Abaddon closes in on Earth, Lucifer deals with the fallout from his recent possession, Gita tries to clear her name, and Ba'al Zebub rallies a new threat against Assur, Mikhail must find a way to rescue his pregnant wife without succumbing to the terrifying power he can wield, but not control, in this fourth installment of the Sword of the Gods saga. "You will, hold your breath, you will pray, you will cry, you will plead, you will hope, and you will have your heart broken. An amazing epic journey into the minds of a lone warrior of God, and those who follow him..." -Reader review "If Hollywood were to pick this up as a TV series, I could see it as popular as other shows like Game of Thrones, Penny Dreadful, Preacher, etc., etc..." -Reader review

After hurricane Adolph turns New York City into Big Apple Sauce, the good life goes on and on and on for one-percenters like Margaret Hughes. Margaret looks like she's twenty-two, but she's really more than a hundred years old thanks to the life-extension technology she and her father developed in the 20th century. As the chief neurosurgeon of the Hughes Medical Center, she "youthanizes" only wealthy clientele. Her practice virtually insures the status quo. Rich, famous, beautiful: Margaret has it all. But she's kind of bored until Chase Lyman saunters into her life one hot and thirsty afternoon. Chase comes from the wrong side of the tracks - or would if there were any tracks left. The infrastructure crumbled decades ago. As a rollerblading medical courier, Chase relishes the challenge of swiftly transporting organs from donor to recipient. He has his pick of the "grinder" groupies, his own pigeons and all the warm beer he can drink. Yep, life is good until Chase begins a steamy affair with Margaret, who pretends she's only a nurse. Margaret continues the ruse until Chase is mistakenly kidnapped by religious fanatics with a grudge against life-extension, her father and the center. Driven by guilt - certainly not love - Margaret mounts a daring rescue attempt that forces her to rethink the consequences of her life's work upon herself, Chase and humankind. " -- "Creepily Brilliant!" -- "Smart and funny (and thrilling too!)" -- "A razor-sharp sci-fi romp that, like the best speculative fiction, is really a sly, funhouse reflection of the world today." -- "You're confronted with some disturbing moral choices, but left laughing out loud along the way." -- "I was intrigued on page one and hooked on page two. After the first chapter I couldn't put it down." -- "Reminds me of some of T.C. Boyle's more outrageous novels, darkly funny, slightly preposterous and yet so so possible." -- "Hilarious and haunting, spinning us into a future that makes today look like a cake walk."" " -- "Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction." -- "It's a short hop from today's obsessions with youth and surgically-enhanced beauty to total body recycling, at least for the top .01 percent." -- "One minute I'm completely creeped out and horrified. The next I'm laughing. And yes, feeling a little guilty for doing so." -- "If you like a fast read, with wit and incredibly interesting characters and more plot than you can shake a cosmetic surgeon's knife at, you'll love The Vessel." -- "Sign me up for renewal at The Hughes Renewal Center. I want my own vessel. Hell yeah I do."" If you enjoy Margaret Atwood, Robin Cook, Philip K. Dick or Neil Gaiman you'll love Rita Kempley's THE VESSEL.