Ten tales are told by the souls of animals killed in human conflicts in the past century or so, from a camel in colonial Australia to a cat in the trenches in World War I, from a bear starved to death during the siege of Sarajevo to a mussel that died in Pearl Harbour. Each narrator also pays homage to an author who has written imaginatively about animals during much the same time span: Henry Lawson, Colette, Kafka, Virginia Woolf, Tolstoy, Günter Grass, Julian Barnes, and others. These stories are brilliantly plotted, exquisitely written, inevitably poignant but also playful and witty. They ask us to consider profound questions. Why do animals shock us into feeling things we can't seem to feel for other humans? Why do animals allow authors to say the unsayable? Why do we sometimes treat humans as animals, and animals as humans? Can fiction help us find moral meaning in a disillusioned world?
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A charming Australian story of two little rock sprites who fall into the hands of Octo the Octopus and escape, only to be captured by Pegler the Pirate, a seagull with a lame leg, who sails a ship with the black sails, with a ban of queer little animals of the bush with gipsy blood in them, who were wandering on the sea because they were tired, of the land. Peglar imprisons them in his sea castle. Can Marl the fairy rescue them? Told and illustrated by Pixie O'Harris. -
Book II of Harry Potter. Harry is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Just to start the new school year right, he is liberated from his bedroom prison by the Weasley boys driving their Dad's flying car after a messy encounter with Dobby the house elf, an obnoxious aunt and a heavily decorated cake. Much to the boys' disgust and Mrs. Weasley's girlish delight, their new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher is Gilderoy Lockhart, a narcissistic, egotistical con-man and the school is terrorised by attacks on students by an unseen enemy that Gilderoy is too scared to tackle. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened....Cover art by Cliff Wright. -
Book I of Harry Potter. Harry Potter thinks he's an ordinary boy. His parents, as far as he knows, died in a car crash and his only relatives are his Uncle and Aunt Dursley and awful Cousin Dudley. But when an owl arrives with Harry's letter advising him that he is to be admitted to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his life is turned upside down. He learns about Platform 9 3/4, how to fly on a broomstick, how to play Quidditch and engages in a deadly duel with the dark wizard who murdered his parents. Cover art by Thomas Taylor. -
Book II of The Winter King's War. Tristan had rescued Allaire from the dread fastness of Nimir, evil master of Winterwaste, restored the tenth ring to Princess Elisena and now stands reluctantly revealed as Calandra’s king - but his right is almost universally disputed, his ancient castle has no walls, his wife is betrothed to a dead man, and his throne will kill him during his crowning unless he can lay hands on the long-lost sword of the Last King. And his homegrown magic is no more reliable than it’s ever been. He seeks the sword by magical means, without success. Galan of Radak - and his sorcerer Reynaud - are laying siege to Crogen castle. After an attempt on his life, Tristan departs for Kovelir, convinced that Crewzel’s fortune-telling cards can give him a clue to the missing sword’s location. -
Book II of the Warrior of Mars trilogy. Michael Kane, 20th century scientist travels again through space and time to face the perils of eons-old Mars. I found myself in a tangle of soft yielding flesh that seemed boneless...And the faces! They were vile parodies of human faces and resembled nothing so much as the ugly little vampire bat of Earth, flat faces with huge nostrils let into the head. gashes of mouths full of sharp little fangs, half-blind eyes, dark and wicked... Originally published as Blades of Mars. Cover art by Tim White. -
Book I of Tales Of The Otori. In the ancient Oriental lands of the Otori, Takeo, a young boy, is one of the Hidden, a reclusive people who know only the ways of peace. In an instant, all that Takeo has ever known is taken away by the murderous Tohan clan in a massacre. Rescued by a mysterious lord, Takeo begins a quest for revenge, using supernatural skills that he never knew he had. Mastering these skills, he sets out on a journey of treachery, honour, loyalty, beauty and magic. -
Book I of The Sidhe Legends. In a grey Irish dawn, a woman of the wild whispered to the warrior Cuculain of great adventure, of a majestic red-headed queen, of war chariots ready for battle - and of an evil Druid who would turn the blackest magic against the forces of Ulster. Cuculain knew only he could stop the slaughter of the angry Irish queen. -
A timeless classic that deserves a place on the shelves with Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland. At the urging of Fiver, a rabbit with psychic ability, a group of rabbits leave their warren and set out to find a new home away from danger and Men. They meet with many adventures with other rabbits and creatures, but are determined to do what it takes to gain their haven. Cover art from the animated film by Martin Rosen.
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Brak The Barbarian III. Brak staggers across the desert of Logol, his pony dead, his food exhausted. There he meets a strange pair of highborn twins, whose throne has been stolen by a usurper. Can he trust them? He has no choice, if he wants to escape the wasteland alive. Cover art by Bob Fowke -
Redwall Book IX. The Tears of All Oceans are missing. Six magnificent rose-colored pearls - the Pearls of Lutra - which inspire passion and greed in all who see them, have been stolen and passed from hand to hand, leaving a cryptic trail of death and deception in their wake. And now Ublaz Mad Eyes, the evil emperor of a tropical isle, is determined to let no one stand in the way of his desperate attempt to claim the pearls as his own. At Redwall Abbey, a young hedgehog maid, Tansy, is equally determined to find the pearls first, with the help of her friends. And she must succeed, for the life of one she holds dear is in great danger. Cover art by Fangorn.
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Volume III of the Histories of King Kelson. King Kelson and Dhugal were gone, falling over the edge of the cliff into the raging waters below, betrayed by the sudden storm that had caught the expedition. Now, huddled under a borrowed cloak beside a small fire in the miserable campsite, Conall realised they would never find Kelson alive - and that made Conall's father, Nigel, the king - and Conall himself heir to the throne. No need to suffer any pangs of guilt. He could forget that, but for the accident, Dhugal and Kelson might have drunk from the flask Conall had drugged. For now Conall was only one small step from the throne - and from Rothna, Kelson's intended bride. Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet.
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Briar Rose: Jane Yolen
$5.00Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma’s stories of Briar Rose. Becca would have sworn the stories were made up, but on her deathbed Gemma extracts from Becca a promise to fulfill three impossible requests: find the castle, find the prince, and find the spell-maker. Her vow sends Becca on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth...in the forests of Germany patrolled by the German army in World War II. It is a tale of castles, of mists, of thorns; of a beautiful sleeping princess and an astonishing revelation of death and rebirth. -
Book I of The Wars Of Light And Shadow. The world of Athera lives in eternal fog, its skies obscured by the malevolent Mistwraith. Only the combined powers of two half-brothers can challenge the Mistwraith’s stranglehold: Arithon, Master of Shadow and Lysaer, Lord of Light. Arithon and Lysaer will find that they are inescapably bound inside a pattern of events dictated by their own deepest convictions. Yet there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith - as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well. For between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world, its harmony and its future, in their hands. Cover art by Janny Wurts. -
Mercycle: Piers Anthony
$5.00A discreet advertisement brings a group of apparently disparate individuals together to a bizarre rendezvous - on the ocean floor. There's Don, an archaeologist and chronically shy; Gaspar, a marine biologist who suffers from terminal directness; middle-aged Pacifica and Melanie, who normal exterior masks a strange genetic imbalance...and they seem on the face of it to have little in common, except their feeling that they are part of a greater plan - a feeling that grows as they embark on their strange odyssey across the bed of the ocean. They mystery of being out of phase with the world above water is heightened by that surrounding the Elaph - a mystery which is ultimately revealed to be more significant and bewildering than they ever could have imagined. Cover art by Steve Crisp. -
Book I of Landover. Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, complete with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement had promised. But after he purchased it for a million dollars, Ben Holiday discovered that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention. Such as the fact that the kingdom was falling into ruin. The barons refused to recognise a king and taxes hadn't been collected for years. The dragon, Strabo, was laying waste to the countryside, while the evil witch, Nightshade, was plotting to destroy no less than everything. And if that weren't enough for a prospective king to deal with, Ben soon learned that the Iron Mark, terrible lord of the demons, challenged all pretenders to the throne of Landover to a duel to the death - a duel no mere mortal could hope to win. But Ben Holiday had one human trait that even magic couldn't overcome. Ben Holiday was stubborn...Cover art by Darrell K. Sweet. https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/the-black-unicorn-terry-brooks/ -
Book/DVD: Rise Of The Horde: Christie Golden
$5.00–$8.00Book II of World Of Warcraft. Though the young Warchief Thrall ended the demon curse that had plagued his people for generations, the orcs still wrestle with the sins of their bloody past. As the rampaging Horde, they waged a number of devastating wars against their perennial enemy - the Alliance. Yet the rage and bloodlust that drove the orcs to destroy everything in their path nearly consumed them as well. Long ago, on the idyllic world of Draenor, the noble orc clans lived in relative peace with their enigmatic neighbors, the Draenei. But the nefarious agents of the Burning Legion had other plans for both of the unsuspecting races. The demon-lord Kil'jaeden set in motion a dark chain of events that would succeed not only in eradicating the Draenei, but forging the orc clans into an single, unstoppable juggernaut of hatred and destruction. Cover art by Glenn Rane. DVD: Travis Fimmel; Paula Patton; Ben Foster: preloved; very good condition; regions 2,4 and 5 -
Waylander: David Gemmell
$5.00Book III of The Drenai Saga. The Drenai King is dead - murdered by a ruthless assassin. Enemy troops swarm into Drenai lands. Their orders: kill every man, woman and child. But there is hope...Stalked by men who act like beasts and beasts who act like men, the warrior Waylander must journey to the shadow-haunted lands of the Nadir to find the legendary Armour of Bronze. With this, he can turn the tide. But can he be trusted? He is Waylander the Slayer. He is the traitor that killed the King...Cover art by Bob Warner. https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/quest-for-lost-heroes-david-gemmell/
