Dazzling new short stories from Salman Rushdie that transport us around the world from Bombay neighbourhoods to elite English universities, in his first new fiction since "Victory City".
Welcome back to the Full Moon Coffee Shop, serving up star-spun treats and magical insights for the holidays.
In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a Christmastime Kyoto moon.
Satomi is devoted to her job in Tokyo, but when her long-distance boyfriend hints that he is going to propose to her on Christmas Day, she feels pulled between the career that she loves and a quieter life in the country. What will the magical cats see for her future?
A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unknowingly carrying a deadly weapon: a mutated strain of super-flu that will wipe out 99 percent of the world’s population within a few weeks. Those who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge—Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a peaceful community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious “Dark Man,” who delights in chaos and violence. As the dark man and the peaceful woman gather power, the survivors will have to choose between them—and ultimately decide the fate of all humanity.
Who knows what the storm will blow in…
Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.
She's young. She's alone. And she's covered in blood.
Dear Reader,
Just when you think it can't get any worse, the universe seems to take that as a personal challenge. The Devil's Backbone Society has their fingers everywhere. It's more than a secret society―it's a leash and a prison sentence. The elders insist it's about making connections that will help you for the rest of your life, but what they don't tell you is how long―or, in this case, short―your life might be.
The society has already cost me―cost us. Blood. Sweat. Tears.
Lives.
Now, it may take more than what I have to give. A part of me wants to be here, wants to see this through to the end. But the rest of me?
The rest of me worries that even if I watch my back, it won't be enough. How do I protect them? How do I protect these handsome, crazy, over-the-top men that I'm falling for?
How do I save them from the society and themselves? And more importantly, how do I save myself?
Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.
The Stand is a truly terrifying reading experience, and became a four-part mini-series that memorably brought to life the cast of characters and layers of story from the novel. It is an apocalyptic vision of the world, when a deadly virus runs amok around the globe. But that lethal virus is almost benign compared to the satanic force gathering minions from those still alive to destroy humanity and create a world populated by evil.
Unpopular at school and subjected to her mother’s religious fanaticism at home, Carrie White does not have it easy. But while she may be picked on by her classmates, she has a gift she’s kept secret since she was a little girl: she can move things with her mind. Doors lock. Candles fall. Her ability has been both a power and a problem. And when she finds herself the recipient of a sudden act of kindness, Carrie feels like she’s finally been given a chance to be normal. She hopes that the nightmare of her classmates’ vicious taunts is over . . . but an unexpected and cruel prank turns her gift into a weapon of horror so destructive that the town may never recover.
When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
SALEM
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
I was supposed to be marrying my fiancé, looking forward to a tropical honeymoon. Instead, I found myself on a ferry headed for historic Balfour Manor on Blackridge Island, in the Pacific Northwest. Now I’m stranded, with a woman I’m irresistibly drawn to.
Rayne holds secrets as dark and mysterious as her old house. Crimson shadows stalk the halls and strange voices call out in the night—but it's she who haunts me most.
Following a gruesome murder, the island's true nature is revealed, and every night becomes a fight for survival. Something is stalking the forest, killing indiscriminately . . .
And this time, we're its prey.
RAYNE
Death has followed me since childhood. My mother's murder and father's violent death changed me, teaching me just how cruel the world could be.
I never got what I wanted, until Salem showed up at my door. She’s adventurous, beautiful, and doomed if she stays here. Now, I suddenly have something to lose: the woman who broke down my walls and saw through my mask, who showed me I'm worth loving.
My family has long been buried, but even the vilest of secrets must be dug up again to survive the evil that hunts us. I finally have something to fight for, and I'll do whatever it takes to save her.