A virtuoso performance from a literary talent who crafts a vividly drawn history of an imaginary country. In this stylistic tour de force, Stephen Marche creates the entire culture of a place called Sanjania—its national symbols, political movements, folk heroes, a group of writers dubbed "fictioneers," a national airline called Sanjair, and a rich literary history. This richly detailed story takes you to an island nation whose English-speaking citizens draw upon the English, American, Australian, and Canadian literary traditions. Marche has compiled this brilliant anthology, guiding the reader from the rough-and-tumble pamphlets of 1870s Sanjania to the extraordinary longing of the writings of the Sanjanian Diaspora. These works develop into a Rashomon-like story, introducing us to illustrious Sanjanian figures such as the repentant prostitute Pigeon Blackhat and the magically talented couple Caesar and Endurance. The result is a vibrant evocation of a country—from the birth pangs of its first settlers and their hardy vernacular to its revolutionary years and all the way to the present.

"A strange plague called the 'Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget--small things at first, like where they left their keys, then the not-so-small things like how to drive or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily. There is no cure. But far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, a universal healer hailed as 'ambrosia' has been discovered. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab has been built eight miles under the sea's surface. When the station goes incommunicado, a brave few descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths...and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine"--Page [4] of cover.

A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean in this 'thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure' (New York Times) LONGLISTED FOR THE SNHN NATURAL HISTORY BOOK PRIZE Edith Widder grew up determined to become a marine biologist. But after complications from a surgery during college caused her to go temporarily blind, she became fascinated by light as well as the power of optimism. Below the Edge of Darkness explores the depths of the planet's oceans as Widder seeks to understand bioluminescence, one of the most important and widely used forms of communication in nature. In the process, she reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviours and animals. Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all of it set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosystem. 'A vivid account of ocean life' ROBIN MCKIE, GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY 'Edie's story is one of hardscrabble optimism, two-fisted exploration and groundbreaking research. She's done things I dream of doing' JAMES CAMERON 'A book of marvels, marvellously written' RICHARD DAWKINS

Dive deep with Gail Gibbons as she explains the mechanics and discoveries of deep-sea exploration. The surface of the moon is more familiar to us than the deep sea of our own planet. Many oceanographers are trying to change that. To explore the deep sea, they climb into submersibles and employ Remotely Operated Vehicles to find out more about the ocean and ocean floor. In Exploring the Deep, Dark Sea, nonfiction rockstar Gail Gibbons invites readers along for a journey to the depths of the ocean. Without leaving home, readers will learn about the types of animals found at different sea levels. With her trademark combination of clearly-labeled diagrams, infographics, and accessible language, Gibbons explains the technology for exploration, and the many fascinating discoveries scientists have made in the darkest reaches of the ocean. A perfect introduction for aspiring oceanographers, marine biologists, and conservationists, this new edition has been vetted by an expert oceanographer.

The northern lights are strangely glowing in the skies, moving east, slowly slithering over territories that have never seen them before. These are not simply aurora borealis following a course or a meteorological anomaly, this is an ancient call unseen for generations invoking some hidden tribes from all over the world to unite and deal with the great prophecy which is finally unfolding thanks to the birth of a boy named Andre. His ancestors concealed a big family secret: An obscure pact that makes him the materialization of the second fruit of Eden, an intangible weapon of evil intended to destroy the creation in these modern days. According to the prophecy, the boy will bring obscurity and destruction to the world, but there’s also hope: the prophecy advises that he can also be the one to end that darkness that has already summoned old enemies from World War II and a new and powerful secret society eager to control Andre’s abilities. Thanks to this, some ancestral hidden forces in the forest have decided to emerge to protect the boy, they are the Reliquums, the keepers of the universal balance, and they will use their bond with nature and the powers they get from the universe to protect the child and the world at all cost.

The short story and the short story cycle have long been considered a marginal genre, free to make room for fresh or risk-taking voices. But in thematizing masculinity in crisis, the genre uses the premise of the marginal to elevate recuperative masculinity politics and nostalgia for traditional patriarchy. Despite the scholarly tendency to link marginal genres and marginalized voices, features of the CanLit infrastructure – including genre criticism and literary prize culture – are complicit in normalizing hegemonic masculinity and the Settler colonial project. Bearers of Risk examines how male Canadian writers mobilize the early twenty-first-century short story cycle as an illustration of post-9/11 recuperative masculinity politics, exposing the tendency to position White, heteronormative men’s viewpoints as objective. Neta Gordon introduces the civil bearer of risk, a figure who comprehends the position of men as being marked by or for failure, and who reasserts masculine authority as civil duty towards community. This book looks at contemporary experimental short story cycles, debut cycles by ethnically minoritized and immigrant writers, and cycles unified by setting, whether suburban, urban, or rural. Bearers of Risk unsettles popular notions of the inherent outsider status of the short story cycle while also scrutinizing expressions of recuperative masculinity politics through which men assert their right to reclaim the centre.

This World Fantasy Award winner in the vein of Animal Farm delves into a lab worthy of a mad Nazi scientist—but run by a brilliantly sadistic rodent. In the annals of American literature, there has never been a character quite like Doctor Rat, PhD. From one of the most indispensable storytellers in speculative fiction, this biting satire introduces a narrator of learned charm and humor, and a twisted logic that is absolutely chilling. Doctor Rat is a credit to his species. A survivor of the most refined scientific experiments, now removed from the maze, he has become a valued and productive member of the academic community. When he must administer a lethal dose, he comforts his fellow rats with his compassionate slogan: “Death is freedom.” But everything changes when animals worldwide begin to rebel, refusing to accept their proper places in the natural order of things: as test subjects, pets, or food. And only Doctor Rat has the courage to defend mankind from the ungrateful animal kingdom. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “dazzlingly original” and “occasionally quite beautiful,” Doctor Rat is a sly and stylish indictment of fanaticism in mice and men. “A truly imaginative impresario . . . [Doctor Rat] teases your conscience with educated wit and versatile improvisation, not to mention the casual flick of the tail about to be cut off.” —Kirkus Reviews