Maxima Library

An assignment brings Vincent – permanent student and budding young writer – into the world of Sebastian Wells and the Prometheus League. Under the guise of a Victorian gaming society it operates extremist and covert activities. Threatening exposure, Vincent is thrown into a game of life or death.

An anthology of stories

The city is at the centre of all good crime writing: Los Angeles has Raymond Chandler, Chicago has Sara Paretsky and Mexico City has Paco Taibo. London has the contributors to London Noir who explore the dark underbelly of London and celebrate the triple by-passed heart of England's capital city. They reveal London to be a city of mayhem and depravity not to be recommended to tourists from Miami!

In this thrilling collection of original stories some of today's hottest paranormal authors delight, thrill and captivate readers with otherworldly tales of magic and mischief. In Jim Butcher's ' Curses' Harry Dresden investigates how to lift a curse laid by the Fair Folk on the Chicago Cubs. In Patricia Briggs' 'Fairy Gifts,' a vampire is called home by magic to save the Fae who freed him from a dark curse. In Melissa Marr's 'Guns for the Dead,' the newly dead Frankie Lee seeks a job in the afterlife on the wrong side of the law. In Holly Black's 'Noble Rot,' a dying rock star discovers that the young woman who brings him food every day has some strange appetites of her own.

Featuring original stories from 20 authors, this dark, captivating, fabulous and fantastical collection is sure to have readers coming back for more.

British Fantasy Society (nominee)

A hotel offers a taboo service for its troubled clients, a vampire library attacks its readers, and a young man discovers the cutlery of the Marquis de Sade. Incarceration, incantations, romance, revenge and the end of the world occur in this collection of gothic tales.

An anthology of stories

Following the huge success of the previous BBM collections comes the latest batch of stories from the UK's top-flight crime writers. Alongside an "Inspector Morse" story from Colin Dexter and a "Rumpole" tale from John Mortimer, is Jake Arnott's first short story and a wealth of exclusive stories from some of Britain's most exciting up-and-coming young crime writers. An ideal present for anyone who has ever enjoyed a good murder-mystery, "The Best British Mysteries 2006" will cause many sleepless nights of avid page turning!

Thirty-five short stories from the top names in British crime fiction, by the likes of Lee Child, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, Jake Arnott, Val McDermid, and more.