Гевин Экстенс – лучшие книги

Роман «Вселенная против Алекса Вудса» воспевает курьезные случайности, астрономию и астрологию, произведения Курта Воннегута и неожиданные нити, соединяющие все и вся, которые и формируют этот мир. Метеорит угодил в Алекса Вудса, когда тому было 10 лет, оставив шрамы и уготовив мальчику необычное будущее. Сын гадалки, педантичный и страннный, удобная мишень для хулиганов, Алекс не мог похвастаться счастливым детством. Вся его жизнь изменилась, когда он знакомится с мистером Петерсоном, человеком, который научил его простой истине: у тебя в жизни есть только один шанс. И ты должен не упустить его. Рассказ Алекса балансирует на тонкой грани…

It all starts, as these things sometimes do, with a dead man.

He was a neighbour, not someone Abby knew well, but still, finding a body when you only came over to borrow a tin of tomatoes, that comes as a bit of a shock.

At least, it should.

And now she can't shake the feeling that if she hadn't gone into Simon's flat, if she'd had her normal Wednesday night instead, then none of what happened next would have happened.

And she would never have met Melody Black . . .

Wild and witty, searing and true, THE MIRROR WORLD OF MELODY BLACK is about the fine line that separates normal from not - and how life can spin, very swiftly, out of control.

So far in his life, Gabriel - selfish, arrogant and happy to be so - has only ever thought about two things: money and himself. When he's diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, he doesn't see why anything should change.

But as the tumour grows, something strange starts happening. Whether Gabriel likes it or not, he's becoming . . . nicer. Kinder. A better person.

And then he meets Caitlin. Before, he wouldn't even have glanced at her; now he's entranced. But real change takes time - and time is something Gabriel just doesn't have.

As each day brings him closer to his last, has the one opportunity for a second chance passed him by?

Beneath the stars, on a stony beach, stand two brothers.

They are wearing lifejackets that are too big for them and their most precious belongings are sealed in waterproof bags tucked inside the rucksacks on their backs.

Turkey is behind them. Two or three kilometres' swim away is the Greek island of Samos, now only a smudge in the moonlight.

Their feet are blistered from walking, their energy is failing.

They wade forward into the Aegean Sea and count one, two, three.

This is the story of what happens next.

This is the story of Mohammed and Zain.

Brothers. Sons. Refugees.

It all starts, as these things sometimes do, with a dead man.
He was a neighbour, not someone Abby knew well, but still, finding a body when you only came over to borrow a tin of tomatoes, that comes as a bit of a shock.
At least, it should.
And now she can't shake the feeling that if she hadn't gone into Simon's flat, if she'd had her normal Wednesday night instead, then none of what happened next would have happened.
And she would never have met Melody Black . . .
Wild and witty, searing and true, The Mirror World of Melody Black is about the fine line that separates normal from not - and how life can spin, very swiftly, out of control.

Beneath the stars, on a stony beach, stand two teenage brothers.
They are wearing lifejackets that are too big for them and their most precious belongings are sealed in waterproof bags tucked inside the rucksacks on their backs.
Turkey is behind them and Europe lies ahead, a dark, desperate swim away.
They don't know what will come next, but they're about to meet a man who does. He calls himself Jesus, the Messiah. He is barefoot, dishevelled and smells strongly of alcohol.
And he doesn't believe in chance meetings. He believes he has information about the future - information that will change three lives forever...