On the island of Jayangan, old beliefs and magic exist side by side with new pop songs and motorcycles. . . . Adi is a fisherman's son, proud to be studying with the greatest of traditional sword makers. Dewi is the daughter of a healer, curious about the world beyond her quiet village. Neither Adi nor Dewi is prepared for the sudden violence that transforms their lives. Both are propelled into an epic battle in which even the mystical spirits of Jayangan are threatened and helpless. Charged with a desperate quest to find the mysterious Snow, Fire, and Sword, Adi and Dewi know only that if they fail, their beloved homeland will fall to an evil shrouded in impenetrable darkness. Can two children of the modern world succeed where the most powerful and ancient spirits cannot? Set against the backdrop of a mythic Indonesia, Sophie Masson's gripping fantasy will leave readers breathless.

I see you blink with surprise. A girl? you are thinking. Surely a girl cannot be asamurai. But you are wrong. Kimi dreams of being a great samurai warrior, but she and her sister, Hana, are young ladies of ancient Japan, daughters of the Jito of the province. Her future seems clear: Girls do not become samurai. Then, a murderous betrayal shatters the sisters' world. Suddenly, Kimi and Hana are thrown headlong into a life of warrior codes, deadly swords, and dangerous enemies. Life has swept them into an adventure more heart-pounding than the sisters ever could have imagined . . . and once it has been set in motion, nothing will ever be the same.

Omar didn't choose to be the tyrant's heir - but if he has courage, he can choose his fate... Omar didn't ask to be the nephew of the ruthless dictator of Mesomia - and he certainly doesn't want to inherit a country whose people are in fear for their lives. He hasn't a choice, though - until the day he is saved from a deadly ambush by Latifa, a beggar girl. When his uncle places Latifa under a Spell of Darkness, Omar can't stand by and watch his rescuer die. Neither can Ketta, Latifa's white cat and a jinn in disguise. Together, the two embark on an extraordinary adventure to find the spell's antidote - through the eerie, hostile marshlands, then flying on an enchanted carpet to the perilous mountain stronghold of a rebel werewolf clan. But they must face their greatest danger when they return to the palace. Balancing on a knife-edge - at the mercy of the tyrant's terrifying mood swings and cruel punishments, the evil Secretary's machinations, and the rebels' own plans for the fate of the country - Omar will learn the true meaning of courage before his journey is over.

Revenge, magic, love and hatred - and a curse so powerful it has lasted for centuries. In the desert kingdom of Ameerat, the al-Farouk family lives in luxury in a beautiful palace. But their great wealth comes at a terrible price - the curse of Zohreh, laid on the family 100 years earlier by another merchant who was cheated of her riches, and manifesting itself in a horrible death by fire that strikes certain members of the family. Khaled al-Farouk, the eldest son of the family, is desperate to make amends for the wrong done by his ancestor, but Zohreh's descendants are nowhere to be found. Or so they think. For far away in Parsari, Soheila, one of the younger members of Zohreh's clan, has vowed to revenge her ancestor. She leaves her home early one morning, dressed as a boy, and makes the long journey across land and sea to Ameerat, where she manages to inflitrate the al-Farouk household to await her moment of retribution. And so begins an amazing, exciting, moving, scary, and humorous adventure that will take Khaled and Soheila right into the heart of the Arabian Nights, into the strange world of the jinns as well as dangerous human intrigues, to great danger, suspense, and a stunning climax.

The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud. In the northern wastes a savage horde is poised to invade the Kingdom of the North where Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown. Throughout Westeros, the war for the Iron Throne rages more fiercely than ever, but if the Wall is breached, no king will live to claim it.

HBO’s hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martin’s internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A STORM OF SWORDS: BLOOD AND GOLD is the SECOND part of the third volume in the series. ‘Colossal, staggering . . . one of the greats’ SFX