Kwezi is a 19-year-old boy that discovers he has superpowers. Set against a contemporary South African backdrop, the series merges urban and indigenous cultural themes in an exciting and educational story.

Gold City is under siege! Power dynamics have shifted!

The day of reckoning has finally come and neither Kwezi nor his companions could have expected to conront a threat as devastating as this.

The second standalone novel in Stephen King's Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch) - and the basis of the third season of Mr Mercedes, an AT&T Audience Original Series (10 September 2019). 1978: Morris Bellamy is a reader so obsessed by America's iconic author John Rothstein that he is prepared to kill for a trove of notebooks containing at least one more unpublished novel. 2009: Pete Saubers, a boy whose father was brutally injured by a stolen Mercedes, discovers a buried trunk containing cash and Rothstein's notebooks. 2014: After thirty-five years in prison, Morris is up for parole. And he's hell-bent on recovering his treasure. Now it's up to retired detective Bill Hodges - running an investigative company called 'Finders Keepers' - to rescue Pete from an ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris... Not since Misery has King written with such visceral power about a reader with such a dangerous obsession. Finders Keepers is spectacular suspense, and it is King writing about how literature shapes a life for good, for bad, for ever.

Hakan Veil is back, and he's pissed off. He's an Overrider by trade - gene-tweaked to cryo-sleep shipboard across interplanetary space, but wake up running hot and save the day if ever things go wrong: take out the pirate assault team before they can board, put down the mutiny before it can take hold, save the ship from whatever ails it - meteor strike, hull breach, crew crisis, reactor failure, fuel or atmosphere leak - and bring the cargo safely home. Fast-thinking, no need for sleep, running on stored energy that lets him work hard and fast until the situation is resolved, he's the ultimate First Responder, hardwired to fix the problem, whatever and wherever it is. At the other end of the cycle - getting ready to hibernate for a solid few months - it's a different story. Slower, eating more, not quite so crisp. Because by then the emergency is supposed to be over. Exiled by his employers to Mars for failing to execute a captive, Veil found himself thrust into the violent chaos arising from the Earth Oversight audit. He took out the powerful and corrupt with extreme prejudice, uncovered a major political conspiracy, defeated a cell of hardened undercover spec ops provocateurs. In the end, he brought a rough and ready kind of stability to the faction-riven Red Planet. You could say he's owed some much needed downtime. Only now there's a new f*cking emergency. And it's only just getting up to speed. The son of a Martian corporate aristo has gone missing under mysterious circumstances; a charismatic tech-messiah believed long dead appears to be back in business at the head of his cult; and high above the Martian surface, military grade orbital platforms are falling out of the sky like storm-struck birds. Once again, Hakan Veil finds himself in the midst of rising chaos, and once again it looks like he's the only one equipped to deal with the crisis. And he's in no mood for any of it.

There are few bits of history more mythologised, sensitive and political than Sparta, but luckily we have Bayliss' Dan Snow, creator of History Hit

Sparta - its legendary warriors and steadfast resilience are famous throughout the world as a model for toughness, justice and masculinity. The Spartans' reputation as fighters is matched only by their mythic code of honour. Their torch has been carried by footballers and politicians, video games and philosophers alike.

But who really were the Spartans? And what was the driving force behind the rise - and dramatic fall - of Sparta?

Sparta traces the story of Ancient Greece's most iconic city-state, from its humble beginnings as a hamlet in the Peloponnese to its meteoric rise as the foremost military superpower of the Classical world. Andrew Bayliss uncovers the eclectic quirks that set Sparta above its rivals: its famous double monarchy, the harsh methods for raising children as soldiers and the unique role of women in Spartan life.

Sparta was an ancient superpower, and its legacy is still shaping popular culture and politics today. This is the story of its rise and fall.

Discover some of the great Canadian authors and titles you've been missing. This guide describes and organizes according to reading interests more than 500 of the best contemporary Canadian fiction titles available today. Canadian fiction offers a wealth of diverse pleasures to readers, from high-toned literary works to down-and-dirty genre fiction. However, apart from the big names and superstars, many of these authors are not well known outside of Canada. Designed to help readers' advisors in the United States, Canada, and other English-speaking countries make informed reading recommendations to their patrons, this guide provides readers' advisors and readers with an overview of Canadian fiction, covering more than 650 popular titles—mainstream and genre fiction— most published within the past decade. The guide categorizes mainstream titles according to primary appeal features (language, character, setting, and story), and identifies the secondary appeal when there is one. Genre fiction, covered in a separate section, is organized according to standard genres (fantasy, romance, etc.), with subdivisions for subgenres and themes. For each title bibliographic information and a brief annotation is provided. Subjects are listed, along with awards, and an indication of whether the title is appropriate for book groups. A read on section with references to some 2,400 titles, leads you to titles with similar features. Indexes cover author/title and subject (including awards, genre, series character names). An appendix contains information on Canadian Book Awards. A readers' advisory guide and reference tool, this book is also an important aid for collection development.

Swamp or bog? Guilt or shame? Clementine or tangerine?

We like to think that we choose our words with care, but are we using them with any degree of accuracy - or should that be precision?

For hair-splitters and language lovers, Dictionary of Fine Distinctions explores the world of the vanishingly small, teasing apart the terms that we tend to collapse, conflate, or confuse. An illustrated odyssey into minute differences in meaning, Eli Burnstein's unputdownable guide will hone your wits, tickle your brain, and deepen your appreciation for the infinite (and infinitesimal) nuances all around us.

In the luscious, dark conclusion to the series that began with One Dark Window, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she's wrought - perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten's For the Wolf and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last, and most important one remains to be found: The Twin Alders.

If they are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.

And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth's head. The Nightmare. And he's not eager to share any longer.

The Hunger of the Gods continues John Gwynne's acclaimed Norse-inspired epic fantasy series, packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest. As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own - and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance. Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her. Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god. Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead . . . and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth. Praise for The Bloodsworn series: 'A masterfully crafted, brutally compelling Norse-inspired epic' Anthony Ryan 'Visceral, heart-breaking and unputdownable' Jay Kristoff 'A satisfying and riveting read. The well-realised characters move against a backdrop of a world stunning in its immensity. It's everything I've come to expect from a John Gwynne book' Robin Hobb

Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream? Edgar Allan Poe

At 14, Julia Z became infamous as the "orphan hacker," a teenage prodigy who broke the law and captivated a nation. Now, years later, she's trying to leave that life behind, hiding in the quiet suburbs of Boston. But her fragile anonymity is shattered when a desperate lawyer bursts into her life, begging for her help to find his wife-a celebrated artist who uses AI to craft shared dreams for thousands of followers and who has been kidnapped by a criminal syndicate.

Against her better judgment, Julia embarks on a harrowing journey across the country, drawn ever-deeper into the shadows of the American dream. As she tracks the criminals, she confronts not only their perilous schemes but also the ghosts of her own past. Resourceful, relentless, and deeply contemptuous of authority, Julia must dig deep into her unique skillset and fractured psyche to uncover the truth - and to hold onto hope when everything around her descends into darkness.

This is the first book in an electrifying new series that masterfully intertwines the urgent thriller with thought-provoking speculation on the future of art in an age dominated by artificial intelligence. Julia Z is a bold, unforgettable heroine destined to captivate readers - a literary creation as rich and compelling as the Dandelion Dynasty itself.

Can you find the clues and solve the murder first?

Six people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust.

Solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote village in north Yorkshire and win a life-changing prize.

Each guest has been meticulously vetted by the shadowy Trust, which has staff on-hand to make sure everyone plays fair. But with the village about to be cut off by a snow storm, they must be extra vigilant.

The game is set - but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.

And when the prize is to die for, it's so tempting to inject a little murder into the mystery...

The perfect gift for crime fiction lovers and fans of Janice Hallett, Alexandra Benedict and Alex Pavesi.

Included in the i newspaper's best new crime and thriller books to read in September 2025.