Books published by publisher Victor Gollancz, London

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.

Mankind has endured centuries of horrific plague and a particularly brutal interstellar war ...but there is still no time for peace and quiet. Stirred from aeons of sleep, the Inhibitors - ancient alien killing machines - have begun the process of ridding the galaxy of its latest emergent intelligence: mankind. As a ragtag bag of refugees fleeing the first wave of the cull head towards an apparently insignificant moon light-years away, they discover an avenging angel, a girl born in ice. She has the power to lead mankind to safety, and the ability to draw down their darkest enemy. And on a planet where vast travelling cathedrals crawl towards the treacherous fissure known as Absolution Gap, an unsettling truth becomes apparent: to beat one enemy, it may be necessary to forge an alliance with something much, much worse ...

The Discworld is, as everyone knows, and no one should now need to be told, flat. It rides through space on the back of four elephants* which, in turn, are standing on the shell of an enormous turtle. But just because it is being borne through space on the back of a turtle, doesn't mean it doesn't need gods ...The Gods Trilogy is a bumper volume containing the complete text of three of Terry Pratchett's celebrated novels: SMALL GODS Brutha is the Chosen One. His god has spoken to him, admittedly while currently in the shape of a tortoise; and Brutha now has a mission. PYRAMIDS It isn't easy, being a teenage pharaoh: you're not allowed to carry money; uninhibited young women peel grapes for you and the Great Pyramid has just exploded because of paracosmic instability ...HOGFATHER It's the night before Hogswatch ...and it's too quiet. There's snow, there're robins, there're trees covered with decorations, but there's a notable lack of the big fat man who delivers the toys ...He's gone. *There used to be five, but that's another story entirely

They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose is any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No-one ever asks them if they wanted to. This book is dedicated to those fine men...