Лучшие книги Клэр Норт

В одиннадцатый раз жизнь Гарри Огаста подходит к концу. И он точно знает, что будет дальше: он родится вновь, в то же время, в том же месте и при тех же обстоятельствах. А еще — будет помнить абсолютно все о прошлых жизнях. Казалось бы, так будет всегда… Но внезапно у смертного одра Гарри Огаста появляется девочка и передает послание: мир приближается к неизбежной катастрофе. Теперь Гарри Огасту, находясь в прошлом, предстоит предотвратить события будущего, которые могут изменить ход мировой истории навсегда.

Это случилось очень давно. Но я помню своего убийцу — он напал на меня на одной из темных улиц Лондона. Теряя сознание, я упала и коснулась его… Так произошло мое первое «переключение». Я стояла и наблюдала за собственной смертью глазами своего убийцы.

Теперь я могу выбирать себе любое тело, любую жизнь — на день или на целые годы. Я могу быть кем угодно.

Так кто же я?
Я — никто.
Я — любовь.
Я — это вы.

Мое имя - Хоуп Арден. Хотя вы вряд ли меня помните, даже если мы встречались уже тысячу раз. Все началось, когда мне исполнилось шестнадцать. Папа стал забывать подвезти меня в школу, мама - позвать к ужину, а для лучшей подруги я превратилась в незнакомку. Не важно, что я говорю, что делаю, какие преступления совершаю, - вы все равно меня не вспомните. И теперь пришло время рассказать мою историю. Кем бы ты ни был, читатель, - вот мои слова. Моя правда. Слушай. И помни меня.

Семнадцать лет назад царь Одиссей отплыл с острова Итака на войну с Троей. Вместе с ним уехали все мужчины, способные держать оружие, да и взор богов Олимпа обратился в ту же сторону. Никто из мужчин не вернулся. Жена Одиссея Пенелопа, женщины Итаки и их богини остались управлять островом. Но время идет, и множатся слухи о смерти Одиссея, поэтому потенциальные женихи начинают один за другим стучаться в дверь Пенелопы. Ни один из них не достаточно силен, чтобы претендовать на пустой трон Одиссея, и Пенелопа знает, что любой ее выбор может ввергнуть Итаку в кровавую гражданскую войну. Только благодаря хитрости, остроумию и доверенному…

In 17th Century Venice exists a mysterious establishment known only as the Gameshouse.
There, fortunes are made and fortunes are broken over games of chess, backgammon and every other game under the sun.
But those whom fortune favours may be invited to compete in the higher league . . . a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on a scale as big as the British Isles.
Not everyone proves worthy of competing in the higher league. But one woman, who is about to play, may just exceed everyone's expectations.
Though she must always remember: the higher the stakes, the more deadly the rules . . .

The Gameshouse is an unusual institution. Many know it as the place where fortunes can be made and lost though games of chess, backgammon - every game under the sun. But a select few, who are picked to compete in the higher league, know that some games are played for higher stakes - those of politics and empires, of economics and kings... In 1930s Bangkok, one higher league player has just been challenged to a game of hide and seek. The board is all of Thailand - and the seeker may use any means possible to hunt down his quarry - be it police, government, strangers or even spies...

The Gameshouse is an unusual institution.

Many know it as the place where fortunes can be made and lost though games of chess, backgammon - every game under the sun.

But a select few, who are picked to compete in the higher league, know that some games are played for higher stakes - those of politics and empires, of economics and kings...

And now, the ultimate player is about to step forward.

'CLAIRE NORTH BRINGS A POWERFUL, FRESH AND UNFLINCHING VOICE TO ANCIENT MYTH' Jennifer Saint, author of Sunday Times bestseller AriadneFollowing the critically acclaimed Ithaca and House of Odysseus comes the final novel in Claire North's Songs of Penelope trilogy - an exquisite, gripping tale that breathes life into ancient myth. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before.Many years ago, Odysseus sailed to war and never returned. For twenty years his wife Penelope and the women of Ithaca have guarded the isle against suitors and rival kings. But peace cannot be kept forever, and the balance of power is about to break . . .A beggar has arrived at the Palace. Salt-crusted and ocean-battered, he is scorned by the suitors - but Penelope recognises in him something her husband, Odysseus, returned at last. Yet this Odysseus is no hero. By returning to the island in disguise, he is not merely plotting his revenge against the suitors - vengeance that will spark a civil war - but he's testing the loyalty of his queen. Has she been faithful to him all these years? And how much blood is Odysseus willing to shed to be sure?The song of Penelope is ending, and the song of Odysseus must ring through Ithaca's halls. But first, Penelope must use all her cunning to win a war for the fate of the island and keep her family alive, whatever the cost . . .Praise for the Songs of Penelope 'Darkly fascinating, raw and breathtaking' Jennifer Saint, author of Sunday Times bestseller Ariadne'Richly poetic . . . This is an impassioned plea for the lost, disenfranchised queens of ancient Greece, a love letter to the silenced women of history' Booklist'Everything I've wanted in a a vibrant cast, full of suspense, told with a phenomenal narrative voice - this is an absolute masterpiece' Sarah Bonner, author of Her Perfect Twin'Penelope is proving to be an outstanding epic hero in her own right. The world building is sensational' Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den'Conjures up a world in which women, abandoned by their men, must weave their own destinies' The Times'Claire North has set a new standard for Ancient Greek retellings. Absolutely sublime' Hannah Lynn, author of Athena's ChildThe Songs of Penelope House of OdysseusThe Last Song of Penelope

From one of the most imaginative writers of her generation comes an extraordinary vision of the future.
Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age - a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven's world, such material must be closely guarded, so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.
But when the revolutionary Brotherhood approaches Ven, pressuring him to translate stolen writings that threaten everything he once held dear, his life will be turned upside down. Torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he's willing to go to save this new world, and how much he is willing to lose.
Notes from the Burning Age is the remarkable and captivating new novel from the award-winning Claire North that puts dystopian fiction in a whole new light.

Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets . . .
It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost though chess, backgammon - every game under the sun.
But those whom fortune favours may be invited to compete in the higher league . . . where the games played are of politics and nations, of economics and kings. It is a contest where Capture the Castle involves real castles and where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent.
Among those worthy of competing in the higher league, three unusually talented contestants play for the highest stakes of all . . .

An enthralling collection of new and classic tales of the fearsome Djinn, from bestselling, award-winning and breakthrough international writers.
Imagine a world filled with fierce, fiery beings, hiding in our shadows, in our dreams, under our skins. Eavesdropping and exploring; tormenting us, saving our souls. They are monsters, saviours, victims, childhood friends.
And they are everywhere. On street corners, behind the wheel of a taxi, in the chorus, between the pages of books. Every language has a word for them. Every culture knows their traditions. Every religion, every history has them hiding in their dark places.
There is no part of the world that does not know them. They are the Djinn.
With stories from Neil Gaiman, Nnedi Okorafor, Amal El-Mohtar, Catherine Faris King, Claire North, E.J. Swift, Hermes (trans. Robin Moger), Jamal Mahjoub, James Smythe, J.Y. Yang, Kamila Shamsie, Kirsty Logan, K.J. Parker, Kuzhali Manickavel, Maria Dahvana Headley, Monica Byrne, Saad Hossain, Sami Shah, Sophia Al-Maria and Usman Malik.

Не так давно на песках острова Итака Орест, сын Агамемнона, казнил мать и вернулся в Микены, чтобы занять трон. Хотя он не мог поступить иначе, чувство вины медленно сводит его с ума. Тогда его сестра Электра устраивает возвращение Ореста на Итаку в надежде, что мудрая Пенелопа найдет способ излечить его вдали от любопытных взглядов микенцев и Менелая, царя Спарты, который страстно желает занять престол племянника. Оказавшись в ловушке между двумя безумными королями, Пенелопа, Электра и верные служанки сражаются за судьбу острова в мире, где правят безжалостные мужчины, под ироничные комментарии рассказчицы — богини Афродиты.

House of Odysseus is the follow up to award-winning author Claire North's Ithaca "a powerful, fresh, and unflinching" reimagining (Jennifer Saint) that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men.

In the palace of Odysseus, a queen lies dreaming . . .

On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace—a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.

Orestes' hands are stained with his mother's blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra's life on Ithaca's sands. Now, wracked with guilt, he grows ever more unhinged. But a king cannot be seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae.

Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the furies circle him. His uncle Menelaus, the blood-soaked king of Sparta, hungers for Orestes' throne—and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.

Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope must find a way to keep her home from being crushed by the machinations of a battle that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus' wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.

Each woman has a secret, and their secrets will shape the world

A hauntingly powerful novel about how the choices we make can stay with us forever, by the award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K.

South Africa in the 1880s. A young and naive English doctor by the name of William Abbey witnesses the lynching of a local boy by the white colonists. As the child dies, his mother curses William.

William begins to understand what the curse means when the shadow of the dead boy starts following him across the world. It never stops, never rests. It can cross oceans and mountains. And if it catches him, the person he loves most in the world will die.

Gripping, moving, and utterly thought-provoking, this novel proves once again that Claire North is one of the most innovative voices in modern fiction.

What if your life were defined by a number?

What if any crime could be committed without punishment, so long as you could afford to pay the fee assigned to that crime?

Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full.

But when Theo's ex-lover Dani is killed, it's different. This is one death he can't let become merely an entry on a balance sheet.

Because when the richest in the world are getting away with murder, sometimes the numbers just don't add up.

Charlie has a new job. He gets to travel, and he meets interesting people, some of whom are actually pleased to see him.

It's good to have a friendly face, you see. At the end.

But the end of all things is coming. Charlie's boss and his three associates are riding out, and it's Charlie's job to go before.

Sometimes he is sent as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. He never knows which

Bangkok 1938: Nach einer durchzechten Nacht wacht der legend?re Spieler Remy Birke auf und erinnert sich nur vage an das Versteckspiel, auf das er sich eingelassen hat. Das Spielfeld: ganz Thailand. Der Einsatz: all seine Erinnerungen. Eine atemlose Jagd beginnt! Der Spielhaus-Zyklus: Das Spielhaus existiert jenseits von Raum und Zeit. Eingeweihte spielen hier um die wirklich interessanten Gewinne: die Macht ?ber ganze Reiche, Einfluss, sogar Lebensjahre. Legend?re Spieler k?nnen so den Jahrhunderten trotzen. Doch je h?her der Einsatz, desto t?dlicher die Regeln. In drei Novellen entf?hrt Claire North uns in die faszinierende, Kontinente und Jahrhunderte umspannende Welt des Spielhauses.

Вестник Смерти – очень необычная, но далеко не самая плохая работа. И молодой англичанин Чарли знает об этом не понаслышке.
Во-первых, его работодатель респектабельный, вежливый и любезный.
Во-вторых, кто же откажется разъезжать по всему миру, вручая людям маленькие, но приятные подарки от мистера Смерти: иногда перед неизбежным уходом, а иногда – как предостережение от совершения роковых ошибок.
Из перуанских гор – во льды Гренландии. Из Мексики, где Смерть издавна почитают как божество, – в знойную Нигерию.
Однако у каждой профессии есть свои минусы. И очень скоро Чарли предстоит познакомиться с гораздо менее приятными сторонами своей работы…

New York, Gegenwart: Silver ist einer der besten Spieler der Welt. Nun will er es mit der Spielmeisterin aufnehmen, der Herrin des Spielhauses. Dieses ultimative Duell wird auf dem gesamten Globus ausgetragen. Silver riskiert nicht weniger als seine Seele – doch das Spiel wird auch das Antlitz der Welt ver?ndern – Der Spielhaus-Zyklus: Das Spielhaus existiert jenseits von Raum und Zeit. Eingeweihte spielen hier um die wirklich interessanten Gewinne: die Macht ?ber ganze Reiche, Einfluss, sogar Lebensjahre. Legend?re Spieler k?nnen so den Jahrhunderten trotzen. Doch je h?her der Einsatz, desto t?dlicher die Regeln. In drei Novellen entf?hrt Claire North uns in die faszinierende, Kontinente und Jahrhunderte umspannende Welt des Spielhauses.