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Books published by publisher Orion Pub Co

  • The Great Dune Trilogy : Dune', 'Dune Messiah', 'Children of Dune

    Frank Herbert

    Paperback (Orion Pub Co, Nov. 15, 2005)
    Herbert's evocative, epic tales are set on the desert planet Arrakis, the focus for a complex political and military struggle with galaxy-wide repercussions. Arrakis is the source of spice, a mind enhancing drug which makes interstellar travel possible; it is the most valuable substance in the galaxy. When Duke Atreides and his family take up court there, they fall into a trap set by the Duke's bitter rival, Baron Harkonnen. The Duke is poisoned, but his wife and her son Paul escape to the vast and arid deserts of Arrakis, which have given the planet its nickname of Dune. Paul and his mother join the Fremen, the Arrakis natives, ho have learnt to live in this harsh and complex ecosystem. But learning to survive is not enough - Paul's destiny was mapped out long ago and his mother is committed to seeing it fulfilled.
  • The Christmas Mystery

    Jostein Gaarder, Sarah Gibb

    Paperback (Orion Pub Co, Oct. 15, 1999)
    Fifty years ago a girl disappeared from her home in Norway. She ran after a lamb and found herself travelling right across Europe to Palestine, and back through 2000 years to meet the Holy Family in Bethlehem. There she met angels, shepherds, wise men and other biblical characters who joined her on her pilgrimage; and she heard of many of the things that happened in the world in the last 2000 years.In present-day Norway, a boy acquires a strange old Advent calendar. Hidden in each of the windows is a tiny piece of paper. Little by little these pieces unfold the girl's story and as we learn what happened to her, another story is revealed - that of the strange old man who made the calender.
  • Endurance : An Illustrated Account of Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic

    Alfred Lansing

    Hardcover (Orion Pub Co, Aug. 31, 2000)
    ‘Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew make today’s hightech adventurers look like dilettantes. Their interminable voyage across frozen land and open sea is one of the most harrowing survival stories of all time.’ Sebastian Junger, author of the bestselling The Perfect Storm.In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail for the South Atlantic on board the Endurance. The object of the expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice. For seventeen months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs and then on the stormiest seas on the globe, were castaways in this most savage region of the world. Frank Hurley, the photographer of the expedition, documented their struggles, miraculously saving his negatives and photographs from destruction at each stage of their journey. His photographs illustrate the dramatic, terrible beauty of the lands with which they were contending. They also provide an unsurpassable insight into the extraordinary spirit of Shackleton and his crew, and their extraordinary indefatigability and lasting civility towards one another in the most adverse conditions.Lansing’s gripping narrative, based on firsthand accounts of crew members and interviews with survivors, vividly describes how the men lived together in camps on the ice until they reached land, how they were attacked by sea leopards, ate sea lion and polar bear, developed frostbite (an operation to amputate the foot of one member of the crew was carried out on the ice), and finally embarked on a 850-mile voyage in a 22-foot open lifeboat to find help.
  • The Sirens of Titan

    Kurt Vonnegut

    Paperback (Orion Pub Co, Oct. 15, 2004)
    The second novel of the acclaimed author of SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5 and most recently, TIMEQUAKE.
  • The Wizard's Promise

    Cliff McNish, Geoff Taylor

    Hardcover (Orion Pub Co, Sept. 1, 2002)
    Children the world over are flexing their powers, but it is only Rachel and Eric who finally have the skill to confront the Griddas, the terrible creatures unleashed by the High Witch. Cliff McNish writes with verve and sparkling imagination in this breathtaking novel.
  • The Klemperer Diaries I Shall Bear Witness, 1933-41

    Victor Klemperer, Martin Chalmers

    Paperback (Orion Pub Co, May 15, 1999)
    A publishing sensation in German, the publication of Victor Klemperer's diaries brings to light one of the most extraordinary documents of the Nazi period.The son of a rabbi, Klemperer was by 1933 a professor of languages at Dresden. Over the next decade he, like other German Jews, lost his job, his house and many of his friends.Throughout, he remained loyal to his country, determined not to emigrate, and convinced that each successive Nazi act against the Jews must be the last. Saved for much of the war from the Holocaust by his marriage to a gentile, he was able to escape in the aftermath of the Allied bombing of Dresden and survived the remaining months of the war in hiding. Throughout, Klemperer kept a diary. Shocking and moving by turns, it is a remarkable and important document.
  • The Space Trilogy: "Islands in the Sky", "Earthlight", "The Sands of Mars"

    Arthur C. Clarke

    Paperback (Orion Pub Co, May 15, 2001)
    Islands in the Sky, first published in 1954, sees Roy Malcolm winning a trip to the Inner Station, a space station rotating 500 miles from Earth. The Sands of Mars, set in the 21st century, has a group of pioneers struggling to change the face of this inhospitable planet. In Earthlight, two centuries hence, man has colonised the planets and the inhabitants of the Moon owe no allegiance to any nation on Earth - or to Earth itself . . . This omnibus edition of three of Arthur C. Clarke's early novels shows the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey exploring space and time in adventurous and thoughtful ways.
  • The Bourne Ultimatum

    Robert Ludlum

    Paperback (Orion Pub Co, May 15, 2004)
    It all starts with a cat-and-mouse chase to the death in a Baltimore funfair: the Jackal, Bourne's age-old antagonist, is back and Bourne is forced from his idyllic retirement with his wife and children to confront his enemy. In Europe, Russia and America there are men and women whose lust for power is disguised by their positions and respectability. Their aim: to gain control at the highest level, to avenge, to destroy. Jason Bourne has been the assassin before: now he longs for peace with his family, but the threat of the Jackal puts in jeopardy all possibility of peace ...
  • Endurance : Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic

    Alfred Lansing

    Hardcover (Orion Pub Co, Dec. 15, 2001)
    'A thrilling reading experience! One of the greatest adventure stories of our times' - New York Times Book Review. In 1914 Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men, sailed for the South Atlantic on the 'Endurance' with the object of crossing the Antarctic over land. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice. For five months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways in one of the world's most savage regions. This gripping book based on firsthand accounts of crew members, describes how the men survived, living together in camps on the ice for 17 months, how they were attacked by sea leopards, had to kill their beloved dogs whom they could no longer feed, and suffered disease with no medicines (an operation to amputate the foot of one member of the crew was carried out on the ice). Their extraordinary indefatigability and their lasting civility towards one another in the most adverse conditions shines through.
  • My Story : A Child Called It', 'the Lost Boy', 'a Man Named Dave

    Dave Pelzer

    Hardcover (Orion Pub Co, Aug. 31, 2002)
    A Child Called 'It' is Dave Pelzer’s story is of a child beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games that left one of her three sons nearly dead. No longer considered a son, or a boy, but an ‘it’, Dave had to learn how to play these games in order to survive. His bed was an old army cot in the basement and when he was allowed food it was scraps from the dogs’ bowl. Throughout, Dave kept alive the dream of finding a family who would love and care for him. This is an inspirational look at the horrors of child abuse and the steadfast determination of one child to survive despite the odds. The Lost Boy The harrowing but ultimately uplifting true story of Dave’s journey through the foster-care system in search of a family who will love him. A Man Named Dave The gripping conclusion to this inspirational trilogy. With extraordinary generosity of spirit, Dave takes us on a journey into his past. At last he confronts his father and ultimately his mother. Finally, Dave finds the courage to break the chains of the past and learn to love, trust and live for the future.
  • Endurance

    Alfred Lansing

    Paperback (Orion Pub Co, May 15, 2000)
    'One of the most remarkable tales of human courage and determination. The story is gripping and the book is a classic of its kind' Sir Ranulph Fiennes Endurance is the story of one of the most astonishing feats of exploration and human courage ever recorded. In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail for the South Atlantic on board a ship called the Endurance. The object of the expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice. For five months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways on one of the most savage regions of the world. This utterly gripping book, based on first-hand accounts of crew members and interviews with survivors, describes how the men survived, how they lived together in camps on the ice for 17 months until they reached land, how they were attacked by sea leopards, the diseases which they developed, and the indefatigability of the men and their lasting civility towards one another in the most adverse conditions conceivable.
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  • The Tail of Emily Windsnap

    Liz Kessler, Sarah Gibb

    Hardcover (Orion Pub Co, Sept. 1, 2003)
    Emily lives on a boat, but her mother has always been oddly anxious to keep her out of the water, and it is only when she has her first school swimming lesson that she discovers it is her natural element. It hardly surprises her to find that as soon as she gets into the sea, she grows a tail. Now Emily dives under water to explore a glorious world of fishes, coral, shipwrecks and, of course, mermaids. She finds a best friend - another mermaid. She learns how her mother fell in love with a merman, how her father was snatched away when Emily was a baby, and how her mother's memory was blocked by an agent of the merfolk. And in an unexpected and exciting denouement she reunites the family at last. This enchanting fantasy, with its vivid scenes of a brilliantly realized underwater world, tells the story of a delightful and wholly believable girl. Strongly plotted, it deals with universal themes of families, friendship, love and justice - all handled with a lightness of touch and an assurance that marks Liz Kessler out as a highly accomplished writer.
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