Historical Fiction

In einem von Hungersnot geplagten Dorf in einer staubigen gelben Ebene werden zwei Kindern zwei Schicksale zuteil. Einem Jungen: Größe. Einem Mädchen: Nichts … Im Jahr 1345 steht China unter der harten Herrschaft der Mongolen. Für die hungernden Bauern der Zentralebene ist Größe etwas, das es nur in Geschichten gibt. Als dem achten Sohn der Familie Zhu, Zhu Chongba, ein Schicksal voller Größe prophezeit wird, rätseln alle, wie es sich erfüllen soll. Das Schicksal des Nichts, das hingegen die kluge und tüchtige zweite Tochter der Familie erhält, entspricht ganz den Erwartungen. Als ein Banditenüberfall die beiden Kinder zu Waisen macht, ist es jedoch Zhu Chongba, der der Verzweiflung erliegt und stirbt. Verzweifelt bemüht, ihrem eigenen vorherbestimmten Tod zu entgehen, nimmt das Mädchen die Identität ihres Bruders an und tritt als junger männlicher Novize in ein Kloster ein. Dort lernt Zhu, angetrieben von ihrem brennenden Überlebenswillen, dass sie zu allem fähig ist, ganz gleich, wie herzlos es sein mag, um sich vor ihrem Schicksal zu verbergen. Nachdem ihr Zufluchtsort zerstört wird, weil er den Aufstand gegen die mongolische Herrschaft unterstützt hat, nutzt Zhu die Gelegenheit, um ein völlig anderes Schicksal für sich zu beanspruchen: die verlassene Größe ihres Bruders. Mulan trifft auf Das Lied des Achill; ein meisterhaftes, poetisches Debüt über Krieg und Schicksal, das sich über ein episches alternatives China erstreckt.

He was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Temujin's young life was shaped by a series of brutal acts: the betrayal of his father by a neighboring tribe and the abandonment of his entire family, cruelly left to die on the harsh plain. But Temujin endured—and from that moment on, he was driven by a singular fury: to survive in the face of death, to kill before being killed, and to conquer enemies who could come without warning from beyond the horizon. Through a series of courageous raids against the Tartars, Temujin's legend grew. And so did the challenges he faced—from the machinations of a Chinese ambassador to the brutal abduction of his young wife, Borte. Blessed with ferocious courage, it was the young warrior's ability to learn, to imagine, and to judge the hearts of others that propelled him to greater and greater power. Until Temujin was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of a thousand warhorses, to subject unknown nations and even empires to his will.

Achilleus, »den bedste af alle grækere«, søn af den grusomme havgudinde Thetis og den legendariske kong Peleus, er stærk, hurtig og smuk, uimodståelig for alle, der møder ham. Patroklos er en kejtet ung prins, forvist fra sit hjemland efter en chokerende voldshandling. Bragt sammen af tilfældet knytter de et ubrydeligt bånd, selv om de risikerer gudernes vrede. De trænes af kentauren Cheiron i krigskunst og lægekunst, men da nyheden kommer om, at Helena af Sparta er blevet bortført, kaldes alle Grækenlands helte til at belejre Troja i hendes navn. Forført af løftet om en strålende skæbne slutter Achilleus sig til deres sag, og splittet mellem kærlighed til og frygt for sin ven følger Patroklos efter. De ved ikke, at de grusomme skæbnegudinder vil sætte dem begge på en prøve som aldrig før og kræve et frygteligt offer.

A historical YA novel that takes place during the Greenwood Massacre of 1921, in an area of Tulsa, OK, known as the Black Wall Street. Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Wilson is, on the surface, a town troublemaker, but is hiding that he is an avid reader and secret poet, never leaving home without his journal. A passionate follower of WEB. Du Bois, he believes that black people should rise up to claim their place as equals. Sixteen-year-old Angel Hill is a loner, mostly disregarded by her peers as a goody-goody. Her father is dying, and her family’s financial situation is in turmoil. Also, as a loyal follower of Booker T. Washington, she believes, through education and tolerance, that black people should rise slowly and without forced conflict. Though they’ve attended the same schools, Isaiah never noticed Angel as anything but a dorky, Bible toting church girl. Then their English teacher offers them a job on her mobile library, a three-wheel, two-seater bike. Angel can’t turn down the money and Isaiah is soon eager to be in such close quarters with Angel every afternoon. But life changes on May 31, 1921 when a vicious white mob storms the community of Greenwood, leaving the town destroyed and thousands of residents displaced. Only then, Isaiah, Angel, and their peers realize who their real enemies are.

Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania. But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows. Now, with only days to spare until the dybbuk takes over Alter’s body completely, the two boys must race to track down the killer—before the killer claims them next. Death lurks around every corner in this unforgettable Jewish historical fantasy about a city, a boy, and the shadows of the past that bind them both together.

Magic doesn't exist in the broken city of Lkossa anymore, especially for girls like sixteen-year-old Koffi. Indentured to the notorious Night Zoo, she cares for its fearsome and magical creatures to pay off her family's debts and secure their eventual freedom. But the night her loved ones' own safety is threatened by the Zoo's cruel master, Koffi unleashes a power she doesn't fully understand—and the consequences are dire. As the second son of a decorated hero, Ekon is all but destined to become a Son of the Six—an elite warrior—and uphold a family legacy. But on the night of his final rite of passage, a fire upends his plans. In its midst, Ekon not only encounters the Shetani—a vicious monster that has plagued the city and his nightmares for nearly a century—but a curious girl who seems to have the power to ward off the beast. Koffi's power ultimately saves Ekon's life, but his choice to let her flee dooms his hopes of becoming a warrior. Desperate to redeem himself, Ekon vows to hunt the Shetani down and end its reign of terror, but he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, Koffi believes finding the Shetani and selling it for a profit could be the key to solving her own problems. Koffi and Ekon—each keeping their true motives secret from the other—form a tentative alliance and enter into the unknowns of the Greater Jungle, a world steeped in wild magic and untold dangers. The hunt begins. But it quickly becomes unclear whether they are the hunters or the hunted. In this much-anticipated series opener, fate binds two Black teenagers together as they strike a dangerous alliance to hunt down the ancient creature menacing their home—and discover much more than they bargained for.

London, 1799. Dora Blake, an aspiring jewelry artist, lives with her odious uncle atop her late parents' once-famed shop of antiquities. After a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, her uncle begins to act suspiciously, keeping the vase locked in the store's basement, away from prying eyes—including Dora's. Intrigued by her uncle's peculiar behavior, Dora turns to young, ambitious antiquarian scholar Edward Lawrence who eagerly agrees to help. Edward believes the ancient vase is the key that will unlock his academic future; Dora sees it as a chance to establish her own name. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth, she comes to understand that some doors are locked and some mysteries are buried for a reason, while others are closer to the surface than they appear. Steeped in mystery and rich in imagination, an exhilarating historical novel set in Georgian London where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations, and romance.

A time twisting alternative history that asks whether it's worth changing the past to save the future, even if it costs you everyone you've ever loved. Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English—instead of French—the postcard is signed only with the letter “M,” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself, and he's determined to find the writer. The search for M, though, will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire's Royal Navy. In the process, Joe will remake history, and himself.

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can. When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death… only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side.

The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards. In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there. Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother. Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?

Der erste Band einer fesselnden neuen Dilogie über ein ungleiches Spionagepaar, das sich als Ehepaar ausgibt, um eine Reihe brutaler Morde im Shanghai der 1930er-Jahre zu untersuchen. Wir schreiben das Jahr 1931 in Shanghai, und die Bühne ist bereitet für ein neues Jahrzehnt voller Intrigen. Vor vier Jahren wurde Rosalind Lang von der Schwelle des Todes zurückgeholt, doch das seltsame Experiment, das sie rettete, ließ sie auch aufhören zu schlafen und zu altern – und ermöglicht es ihr, von jeder Wunde zu heilen. Kurz gesagt, Rosalind kann nicht sterben. Nun setzt sie, verzweifelt auf der Suche nach Erlösung für ihre verräterische Vergangenheit, ihre Fähigkeiten als Auftragsmörderin für ihr Land ein. Codename: Fortuna. Doch als die Kaiserlich Japanische Armee ihren Invasionsmarsch beginnt, nimmt Rosalinds Mission eine neue Wendung. Eine Mordserie sorgt in Shanghai für Unruhe, und die Japaner stehen unter Verdacht. Rosalinds neue Befehle lauten, die ausländische Gesellschaft zu infiltrieren und die Schuldigen hinter dem Terrorplan zu identifizieren, bevor noch mehr Menschen ihres Volkes getötet werden. Um Verdacht zu verringern, muss sie sich jedoch als Ehefrau eines weiteren nationalistischen Spions, Orion Hong, ausgeben. Obwohl Rosalind Orions unbekümmerte Haltung und sein Playboy-Gehabe zum Wahnsinn treiben, ist sie bereit, für das größere Wohl mit ihm zusammenzuarbeiten. Doch Orion verfolgt seine eigene Agenda, und Rosalind hat Geheimnisse, die sie lieber begraben halten möchte. Während beide versuchen, die Verschwörung aufzudecken, stellen die zwei Spione bald fest, dass dieses Rätsel tiefere und erschreckendere Schichten hat, als sie es sich je vorgestellt hätten.

Salama Kassabová studovala farmacii, když v Sýrii propuklo volání po svobodě. Ještě měla rodiče a staršího bratra; ještě měla domov. Žila normální život dospívající dívky. Teď Salama dobrovolničí v nemocnici v Homsu a pomáhá zraněným, kteří každý den proudí dveřmi dovnitř. Tajně však zoufale hledá způsob, jak opustit svou milovanou zemi dřív, než její švagrová Layla porodí. Je tak zoufalá, že zhmotnila fyzické ztělesnění svého strachu v podobě imaginárního společníka Chawfa, který pronásleduje každý její krok ve snaze ji udržet v bezpečí. Ale i když ji Chawf nutí odejít, Salama se zmítá mezi věrností své zemi a přesvědčením, že musí přežít. Musí čelit kulkám a bombám, vojenským útokům i svému proměnlivému smyslu pro morálku, než se snad konečně bude moci volně nadechnout. A když se setká s chlapcem, kterého měla potkat jednoho osudného dne, začne pochybovat o svém odhodlání vůbec opustit domov. Salama se brzy musí naučit vidět události kolem sebe takové, jaké skutečně jsou — ne jako válku, ale jako revoluci — a rozhodnout se, jak i ona bude volat po svobodě Sýrie.

Listening Length: 8 hours and 33 minutes New York City, 1922. Nicolás Caraveo, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Minnesota, has no interest in the city’s glamor. Going to New York is all about establishing himself as a young professional, which could set up his future—and his life as a man—and benefit his family. Nick rents a small house in West Egg from his 18-year-old cousin, Daisy Fabrega, who lives in fashionable East Egg near her wealthy fiancé, Tom—and Nick is shocked to find that his cousin now goes by Daisy Fay, has erased all signs of her Latina heritage, and now passes seamlessly as white. Nick’s neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby, whose castle-like mansion is the stage for parties so extravagant that they both dazzle and terrify Nick. At one of these parties, Nick learns that the spectacle is all for the benefit of impressing a girl from Jay’s past—Daisy. And he learns something else: Jay is also transgender. As Nick is pulled deeper into the glittery culture of decadence, he spends more time with Jay, aiming to help his new friend reconnect with his lost love. But Nick's feelings grow more complicated when he finds himself falling hard for Jay's openness, idealism, and unfounded faith in the American Dream.

The first in a gripping new historical fantasy series that intertwines Irish mythology with real-life history, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men is the thrilling debut novel by Shauna Lawless. They think they've killed the last of us... 981 AD. The Viking King of Dublin is dead. His young widow, Gormflaith, has ambitions for her son – and herself – but Ireland is a dangerous place and kings tend not to stay kings for long. Gormflaith also has a secret. She is one of the Fomorians, an immortal race who can do fire-magic. She has kept her powers hidden at all costs, for there are other immortals in this world – like the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of warriors who are sworn to kill Fomorians. Fódla is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann with the gift of healing. Her kind dwell hidden in a fortress, forbidden to live amongst the mortals. Fódla agrees to help her kin by going to spy on Brian Boru, a powerful man who aims to be High King of Ireland. She finds a land on the brink of war – a war she is desperate to stop. However, preventing the loss of mortal lives is not easy with Ireland in turmoil and the Fomorians now on the rise...