Shadow Team is the third book in the Starbirth series. Lock Harford, a teleporter who can move his body through a dark matter dimension using the power of his mind, knows that the only way to release Britain from the grip of marauding teleporter criminals is to fight like with like.

His employers want him to head a team of enhanced-ability operatives whose special powers will be created by controlled procedures—rather than substance abuse of the illegal drug Starbirth. The dubious quality of candidates delays the process. Among them is Jimmy Mackenzie, the SAS trooper Harford knows well, who is joined by rookies Postie and Dave.

The fledgling team’s unique and memorable characters develop with likeability despite their flaws. Together, with Harford, they enter an uncertain future in which ‘defending the realm’ becomes a personal fight for their lives.

At the same time, Harford is under personal attack and he has to protect his family as well as his country against dark threats emerging from the madness of Starbirth addiction, hindered by devastating treachery closer to home.

Shadow Team GB is the third book in the Starbirth series and each book can be read as a stand-alone. The set of characters in Harford, Jimmy, Dave and Postie combine in a tale of brotherhood and humour. They take the rules, break the rules and they become so four-dimensional that the reader will miss their cohesion when the book is finished.

If you’re a history or philosophy buff, this book should be as irresistible as a kebab to a pisshead. So what’s it all about then? History, that’s what.

“Errgghhh boring boring bollocks boring, I had enough of that crap when I was at school. History just went on and on and on and on and on ….. and on and on. Nothing different ever happened.”

Well, that’s where you’re wrong, because I’m going to bring it alive. Not all history books, or even books about teaching history, have to be tedious. I’ve looked under every rock, in every nook and cranny. I’ve searched all over the place and dug up some really interesting little titbits. Stuff not a lot of people know. So stay with me on this one.

I’ve chosen to look at past events from the birth of the planet to the birth of Christ. That’s enough for one book, isn’t it? Well, not really, because I’ve gone off track a little bit from time to time, but I do tend to do that, so don’t worry about it.

If you’ve got a teenager who’s studying the history of this period, download a copy for them now because it’s all laid out nice and clear. But let me warn you, I have in the past been accused of having an inappropriate sense of humour, so if you want a little bit of a chuckle watching me make fun out of everyone I meet down the years, then this is the book for you - and if your offspring is in their early teens, then it probably isn’t the book for them.

As I say, I do tend to stray into the modern day from time to time to bring things into focus, but I promise you this book will surprise you, inform you, keep you interested and put a smile on your face from time to time. I discuss philosophers and philosophy a lot, including ancient Greek philosophers, Chinese beliefs, and philosophy from around the world, but if you think it’s all Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, there’s a lot more here to be discovered.

You’ll be surprised, for instance, at the similarities between the Celts and the Native Americans. The Rosicrucians will fascinate you, as will some of the secrets held by Alexander the Great! It’s high time we had some history books for adults!

Meet Professor Alfred Jules Ayer, a famous philosopher noted for his atheism, his disdain of all things metaphysical, and his reverence for logic, in “The Candidate.” After suffering a heart attack, he finds himself in the Greek Underworld. He never expected an afterlife, and the fabled abode is nothing like the fable, which never mentioned a salmon with human arms and legs, or a flying saucer captained by lizard man.

In “Harold,” you’ll meet a homunculus who is certain he is a one of a kind, a freak of nature. Imagine his surprise when he discovers an island populated by thousands of his kind. There he finds adventure, love, and danger. He must face thugs his size, sinister large people, a dangerous house cat, and a plethora of perplexing situations.

Irresolute poets find their plush postmortem refuge is anything but when it soon becomes a type of Hell in “Between Life and Oblivion.”

Discover the true story of Helen, the famous face that launched a thousand ships, in the tale “A More Likely Odyssey.”

Within these pages you’ll be taken on journeys beyond imagining. You’ll meet characters and explore familiar worlds through different eyes. Look beyond the hedge…

When it was published in 1995, Mary Karr's The Liars' Club took the world by storm and raised the art of the memoir to an entirely new level. Karr's comic childhood in an east Texas oil town brings us characters as darkly hilarious as any of J. D. Salinger's—a hard-drinking daddy, a sister who can talk down the sheriff at twelve, and an oft-married mother whose accumulated secrets threaten to destroy them all.

This unsentimental and profoundly moving account of an apocalyptic childhood is as funny, lively, and un-put-downable today as it ever was. Dive into a world where humor meets hardship, and resilience triumphs over adversity.

The Shifter Dimension is the second book in the Starbirth series. Follow Lock Harford, a teleporter known as a "Shifter," who uses the power of thought to move through another dimension. He works alongside the British Special Forces in global trouble spots.

Lock's employers at the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) task him with eliminating lethal weapons that threaten to bring about world war and potential global destruction. These new weapons are being used by terrorists to inflict heavy losses on British Special Forces in the conflict zones of Afghanistan and the borderlands by Iran.

Accompanied by Special Air Service troopers, including his colleague Jimmy Mackenzie and his team, Lock finds himself embroiled in fierce battles. The situation becomes critical as personal enemies, determined to eliminate Lock and Jimmy before they can locate the weapons, pursue them across the globe.

This is a powerful tale of terrorism in a dangerous world where new human powers are commonplace and growing. Intertwined with the action are elements of humanity and humor, making these books accessible to everyone and drawing readers into the lives and conflicts of the characters.

The U-10 is a survival kit you might not survive using. Activated by unreadable cards, it could create a can of soup — or an explosive grenade that looks like a can of soup. The U-10 is a guessing game of life or death.

A top-secret paramilitary agency wants the U-10 and its gadgets, the guy who has the U-10 wants to keep it, and the alien who lost the U-10 wants it back. A death squad is dispatched to retrieve the U-10 and will stop at nothing, including the destruction of Earth, to accomplish their mission.

Using the U-10 to heal battle wounds produces unexpected results. What good is a U-10 survival kit that has just three options? (A) Saves you. (B) Kills you. (C) Turns you into an alien?

Milan’s notorious playboy, Prince Tittoni, seems to have everything—Lamborghinis, exotic women, palaces throughout Europe, and business success. Ramping up his fabric company to go global with a new apparel brand, he ruthlessly stops supplying fabrics to the American client who inspired the collection. But once they meet, what’s he willing to give to get her in his bed?

Upper East Side designer Lex Easton has already endured her fair share of hard knocks. She’ll be damned if she’ll let an Italian stud muffin knock her down. So what if she named her favorite vibrator after him? With Fashion Week approaching, she’ll do whatever it takes to secure the fabrics she needs to make her clothing line an international success—even sleep with her rival.

Lex’s Louboutins are dug in deep to win this war. All’s fair in love and fashion!

Inside Scoop: Though the hero and heroine remain monogamous, their Prada-wearing friends indulge in fashionable sexual fun and games.

A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora's Cave

This Sunday Times bestseller is a miscellany of hilarious and peculiar bookshop moments:

"Can books conduct electricity?"

"My children are just climbing your bookshelves: that's ok... isn't it?"

A John Cleese Twitter question first sparked the 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' blog, which grew over three years into one bookseller's collection of ridiculous conversations on the shop floor.

From "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year's weather; and from "I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter" to "Excuse me... is this book edible?"

Here is a book for heroic booksellers and booklovers everywhere. This full-length collection illustrated by the Brothers McLeod also includes top 'Weird Things' from bookshops around the world.

Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD, a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language, which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. "My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning, and we agreed that you should resolve it . . . " He liked these questions so much that he started up What If. If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive? How dangerous is it, really, to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm? If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce? What if everyone only had one soulmate? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British empire? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? What would happen if the moon went away?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, studded with memorable cartoons and infographics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read.

Sit-down comedy? A phenom that should never be a phenomenon. Late great comedians Robin Williams, Charlie Murphy, Joan Rivers, Greg Giraldo, Don Rickles are turning over in their graves with a thorn in their side. Take my word: Share & salvage the little wit being reserved by the only true /real comedian to have ever graced the stage. Otherwise you ought'a be ashamed of yourselves!