Cirrus@Austlit

'What happens when the world stops turning? As half the world is trapped in constant light and half the world remains in constant night, ordinary people must find ways to continue their simple vet extraordinary lives. From Zucchini growers in the Sierra Madre; to the barman aboard a diurnal cruise ship; from the witch beneath the Amazon bridge; to the divorced men who still cycle despite the crumbling world; the stories range across the world and explore the magic that remains amongst the everyday, even where there is no day.' (Publication summary)

'Fans of W A Noble's Beast-Speaker trilogy will be pleased that the series has been expanded to include a fourth book which takes the story in a truly unexpected direction. The war is long over and the children who were its victims and heroes are growing up quickly. But just when life seems to be granting them a period of peace and normality, they are called upon to find a cure for the mysterious disease eating away at the limbs and life of their city's leader. Ancient cryptic clues lead them to a far-away and long forgotten mountain enclave where Seeger encounters a very different kind of beast to anything he has seen before. Even with the timely assistance of some dragons, the outcome of this quest remains in the balance until the final pages.' (Publication summary)

'"Readers young and old will enjoy this thrilling parable of the crystal apple. Enhanced by stunning illustrations by D. M. Cornish this is a feast indeed." -Rosanne Hawke, acclaimed author of Wolfchild, Across the Creek, The Wish Giver and Chandani and the Ghost of the Forest "I found The Crystal Apple a captivating read and would have enjoyed sharing it with my own four children when they were young. . . . The Crystal Apple reminds us of the wonderful virtues of unconditional love, self sacrifice, and generosity. I look forward to sharing the story with my grandchildren." -Marcel Rijken, Principal at Temple Christian College. National Chair of Christian Schools Australia ''An enchanting and gripping story for children, providing an easy stepping stone to the gospel of Jesus." -Chris Jolliffe, senior pastor at Trinity Church Aldgate SA.' (Publication summary)

'Wolfbrother is an against the odds tale of two brothers, Beacan and Bram, who must draw upon all their strength, and all they have been taught, in order to survive the gladiatorial slaughter of the Roman colosseum and find their way back home. The fact that Beacan and Bram are two grey wolves make their journey across late Roman Europe to their home in the forests of Scotland even more difficult. Along the way their faith in their creator, their clan and in each other are tested to the limits. But if they can beat the odds and make it home, can things ever be the same again? Can they ever be the same again?' (Publication summary)

'I'm not dead.

'My first thought when I opened my eyes to the brilliant white room at Zepail and the felling like life has been dragged from my bones. It probably has, because the last thing I remember is black-fire and pain and Zanar's healing strands fragmenting as Dad shot death from his hands. 'I'm not dead, ' I say, to the boy collapsed beside me on the floor.

'Early days yet.' Zanar lifts his head to survey the door-less room. 'That's part one of our plan achieved.'

'Locked in a room sealed with magic and on trial for murder, Uriel is hoping for justice but when the Lighspeakers of Meldin name her Abomination she's forced to run, blinking through space to the forest. With Zanar, disowned Heir to the World; the dragons who are her relatives; and the newly made Lord of Deep Forest she might be safe.

'But Uriel's father is the Death lord and when he threaens her friends, she comes out of hiding. With a psychotic pet dragon, a half-broken healer, and an ability to move through death, Uriel's about to face down her dad, and the winged monsters who stand behind him. The odds aren't good.'

Source : publication summary

'When he became a huntsman, Levi knew he was leaving his past behind. Huntsmen were unknown. Mistrusted. Unforgivable. Expendable. Despised warriors who hunted the dark terrors in the wild, knowing they would never be mourned. But when Levi and his group are sent to hunt a sinister creature that turns whole villages against each other, they soon realise this could be an enemy far beyond any of them, and their only hope might lie in the most unexpected of allies ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In a world where people are controlled by strings, a young woman named Serie struggles against the bidding of her strings and her own desires. With the help of a mysterious friend, Tristian, Serie learns how to live a life without her strings. Her journey to freedom is mixed with turmoil and new experiences. Only when Serie joins The Stringless, does she discover what freedom truly means.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When the paths of a broken Australian soldier and a cursed medieval village cross, the stage is set for a conflict with disastrous consequences for all involved, or, just perhaps, for healing and reconciliation that few believed possible.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Dragon Home is the jaw-dropping conclusion to the Beast-Speaker trilogy. Seeger and his friends are horribly damaged from their experiences as child soldiers in books 1 and 2 of the trilogy. Returning home is also difficult and their longing for meaning and belonging catapult them into an adventure to rescue a trafficked girl and save the dragons’ ancient home from evil. But how can they win a war with so few resources?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Overcome by the death of his closest friend, Destiny Unsought, Timothy risks all in an abandoned pursuit through the mysterious mountains of Sanctum, the traditional home of the Mighty Ones and the resting place of the dead. There, with no hope of return, he finds the answer to the dark sea of his own soul and the destiny to which he was born. But first he must do what no other had done before him: cross back from death to life.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Holly finds her way as a lost child to Neverland, it is a paradise for a girl who loves adventure. But her life with the outlaws is plagued by a dark shadow: their sworn enemy, the mischievous Peter Pan, now captain of the pirate ship, the Jolly Roger. Holly finds the troublesome Pan strangely appealing, but he pays no attention to her – until one day she steals his name.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Back on Earth after his life-changing encounter with the people of the planet Arboretum, Timothy Martin learns of a developing crisis in the Galaxy. The Shadow is growing and threatens Earth’s nearest populated planet with oppression and malice. Responding to this threat, the Custodians of Arboretum find themselves in mortal danger. Timothy accepts a plea to come to their aid. But will he be able to make a difference? Can an answer be found to combat the Shadow? Will the black sea of Timothy’s inner world thwart his chance to save his friends?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When eighty-seven year old Floyd Willis walked into the Great Wood that winter, he did not know what he would find.

'They said he had dementia, and that he could no longer live on his own. But about one thing his memory was quite clear. He was certain about the woman he met in the Great Wood when he became lost in it when he was a small child.

'What Floyd found, for the second time in his life, was a passage into Faerie, and into the realm of the Winter Fae. But the idyllic snow-blanketed land he remembered is now threatened by a darkness that Floyd must come to terms with. Can Floyd, now an old man, do anything to help those who once came to his aid so many winters ago?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bernard Crowley and his sister Inch are ordinary, elderly magicians, barely making ends meet, especially since the Northern Church began to declare so many different types of magic to be heretical. Their friend Closer is even worse off. The price of magic materials keeps going up, and the poor man can hardly keep his magical wheelchair in operation.

'Their Destinies are changed one Midwinter when they experiment with various charms, a mirror, and a book called Giddens of Happenstance. A Kildareen wizard called Lucy Wilde begins to pursue the artifact they have inadvertently created, and even more mysterious forces work to change the shape of their whole lives.

'Will they be able to prevent their discovery from falling into the wrong hands?'  (Publication summary)

'Timothy Martin is a respected lecturer in Astronomy who has spent most of his life trying to put behind him the trauma of a childhood dominated by ‘visions’.

'But the visions have returned, more real than ever. Not only does see other places, but he is now able to step into them. When he becomes fixated on the star Delta Crucis in the Southern Cross constellation, he sees a vision of a world orbiting it and impulsively takes a step  ̶  two hundred and forty-five light years into space. He did not expect to survive. Nor did he expect to land in the midst of an alien city. And he certainly did not expect to threaten the well-being of another world, one that he finds disturbingly  ̶  at peace. At stake is not only his own destiny, but that of an entire world.' (Publication summary)

'The Tale of Alathimble Spaide is a collection of fantasy tales and poems to amuse and delight. The book includes tales of wizards, gnomes, ogres, trolls, vampires and one dragon who isn't all that he appears to be. The main character of the title work is a hapless magician and his pet pig who together, through shared misfortune and ineptitude, become unlikely heroes. for the reader searching for deep and serious fantasy, we strongly recommend Tolkien. For those simply looking for a bit of frivolous fantastical fun, this is the book for you.'

Source: Back-cover blurb.