The end of the world changes things. But most of all, it changes people too.
Six weeks after the world began counting its days in fading sunsets, Ava finds herself at a complete loss. Cassie is away, Roy is gone, and the last time she saw Brad, he was bleeding from three stab wounds to his chest with his right leg chopped off. With Connor by her side, all she knows now is that she has to survive – because real life is no game.
When rumours on the whereabouts of the Lightbringer – the elusive leader of the Pure – begin to surface among the myths, Ava and her friends decide to buff up their chances of survival with a welcome addition to their party. But the search for the alien leader is filled with uncomfortable truths, and, with the Ferals and the Hostiles taking over the Earth, Ava once again feels she’s way underleveled for the big battle ahead.
In the company of a cheery half-spider woman, a loyal dragon-horse, horned battle elves, and a host of stiff hopping corpses, Ava will have to unlock her own strength to fight the horrors of what’s to come.
An Extra Life token would really come in handy right now.
Part travelogue, part memoir, and part commentary, Writer’s Postcards is a collection of essays that examine imagination and culture through the lens of geography. A flaneuse and person of the world, Dipika Mukherjee takes readers through various encounters from her highly mobile life: the lugubrious literature of Brazil; the linguistic diversity in China and Tibet; and meeting the Dalai Lama while travelling as a lone woman through New Delhi. She examines the political unrest in Myanmar after the brief international reach of Burmese books; weighs in on Chicago’s literary landmarks and famous writers; reminisces on the languid feasting of Diwali celebrations at Port Dickson by the Malaysian-Bengali community; and finds new notions of home, identity, and belonging in the Netherlands-among many others.
Thought-provoking and unabashed in its entirety, this is a collection of essays that goes beyond the personal and communal to examine issues of international concern.
Five Elementals. A fallen kingdom. One survivor to restore it.
Following the events of last winter, Desert Rose flees the Oasis Kingdom with the rogue prince Wei,
his mother, and a newfound magical power in tow. When she learns that her father’s soul is trapped in the Darklands and can only be freed if the prophesied Elemental finds the spring, Desert Rose sets out to eliminate the other Elementals-starting with the one found in Oasis Kingdom’s biggest enemy, Lettoria. Meanwhile, in the Oasis Kingdom, newly crowned emperor Meng finds his position jeopardised by the return of his older brother, the exiled Prince Han. To secure the throne (and his life), he travels to Lettoria with his secret assassin Windshadow and proposes an alliance.
As their fates cross again, Desert Rose and Windshadow must join hands to defeat the Metal Elemental while Wei and Meng collude to restore the kingdom-and home-they left behind. But when Lettoria and Oasis Kingdom finally clash in a long-brewing war, Han reveals his dark ambition and a secret weapon that will unmake the kingdom and threaten the fates of all involved . . . a weapon that only an Elemental can destroy.
“We are going to help him die Cassie,” Shantavi told me that afternoon, over steaming cups of soy milk latte, as casually as if announcing a gardening project.
Cassie was an international student at Harvard, the most prestigious university in the world. She was shy and observant, yet underneath her quiet disposition was a desire to experience the world to the fullest, beyond her traditional boundaries and limitations.
One fateful night at the university campus, a free-spirited, daredevil student from the extension school named Shantavi came into her life and they became fast friends over the next four years.
In the spring semester of Cassie’s senior year, Shantavi disclosed to her that she was looking for a partner-in-crime to consort with a wealthy elderly benefactor who planned to kill himself in a year’s time. In exchange for companionship and assistance in the suicide process, they would inherit all his assets and properties after his death.
Thus began the premise for a thrillingly seductive spiral down a rabbit hole over the spring break in Florida, where Cassie inevitably had to cross a point of no return.
Radical Islam is an enduring global challenge that presents a national and international security threat. Instigation by hate preachers, inadequate government, societal attention, religious and reciprocal radicalization have allowed this threat to manifest into terrorist violence. Extremist ideologies have infiltrated religious, educational, and digital spaces and thus, terrorism’s shadow continues to shroud the safety and stability of countries and communities worldwide today.
On 21 April 2019, the world’s most dangerous threat movement, the Islamic State, mounted one of its deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka. The surge of fear, suspicion, and prejudice following what is now known as ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre’ fragmented the country, imbuing hatred and anger against the Muslim community. Years later, the radicalization pipeline remains intact, and the threat persists. With the global expansion of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, will the world witness attacks of a similar or greater scale in the future?
Equal parts treatise and reference material, Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International Community answers this question by tracing the genesis, threat trajectory, and aftermath of the bombings and the personalities behind them. With unprecedented access to accounts from Islamic State detainees, affected families, intelligence specialists, and investigators, the book reflects on lessons learned and provides insight into how such attacks are organized and what measures can be taken to prevent or respond to these threats effectively.
Phoebe Wong would do anything to escape a British winter. But it may cost her more than her airfare.
Sunsets, tacos and margaritas all sound perfect to exhausted forty-three-year-old single mum Phoebe with a dead-end job in Southwark. When her long distance boyfriend in New York invites her to meet him in Florida, she couldn’t wait to jump on a plane with her toddler. Arriving with her teething child at her boyfriend’s Key West ‘vacay home’ before him, she is robbed on her first night. With no money, cards or passports, she is grateful for the support of friendly locals. At a BBQ, she meets an old expat British businessman. Her boyfriend arrives eventually, apologetic, and takes her out to a posh seafood dinner. But when the British expat is shot that night in the same restaurant’s car park, Phoebe is trapped in a put-up job, and her boyfriend’s delayed arrival is suspiciously timed. If this place has turned darker and chillier than London, she wants out.
Will she be able to pull herself and her daughter away from danger?
The unique Chinese-style illustrations will engage children and the stories will instill wise oriental philosophies of life such as diligence, courage and kindness.
The books were written and illustrated by award-winning authors and artists. The team has won awards such as Feng Zikai Chinese Childen’s Picture Book Award, Hsin Yi Picture Book Award, Bingxin Children’s Literature Award and Hong Kong Youth Literary Awards. The series was reviewed by consultant Dr Wang Jing, a professor of children’s literature at Shanghai Normal University and a student of renowned Chinese children’s literature Mei Zihan.
On the third day of the lunar new year, adults will always tell their children to go to bed early. They believe that on the evening of this day, the mouse’s daughter is going to get married. Read on to find out why!
The unique Chinese-style illustrations will engage children and the stories will instill wise oriental philosophies of life such as diligence, courage and kindness. The books were written and illustrated by award-winning authors and artists. The team has won awards such as Feng Zikai Chinese Childen’s Picture Book Award, Hsin Yi Picture Book Award, Bingxin Children’s Literature Award and Hong Kong Youth Literary Awards. The series was reviewed by consultant Dr Wang Jing, a professor of children’s literature at Shanghai Normal University and a student of renowned Chinese children’s literature Mei Zihan.
Lady Meng Jiangnu is an important Chinese tale about devotion and love. Lady Meng Jiangnu’s husband was pressed into service and sent as labourer to build the Great Wall of China. He died while building the Wall and upon hearing this news, Lady Meng Jiangnu wept so bitterly that a part of the Great Wall collapsed. Her pain brought to fore the atrocities of the unkind ruler.
