The Boy Who Spoke To The Earth

When a young boy in search of joy asks the Earth where he can find happiness, the Earth responds and agrees to show him the way. The boy rushes excitedly through the landscapes that make the Earth most proud--the ocean, the cliffs, the forest, the desert, the mountains, and the top of the world. But the boy soon realizes happiness is much harder to find than he expected.

A darkly melancholic tale that combines Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Camus’s The Fall —Nakamura’s Akutagawa Prize-winning novel is here translated into English for the first time and is another high-water mark in this important writer’s career. As an unnamed Tokyo taxi driver works a night shift, picking up fares that offer him glimpses into the lives of ordinary people, he can’t escape his own nihilistic thoughts. Almost without meaning to, he puts himself in harm’s way; he can’t stop daydreaming of suicide, envisioning himself returning to the earth in obsessive fantasies that soon become terrifying blackout episodes. The truth is, his long-estranged father has tried to reach out to him, triggering a cascade of traumatic memories. As the cab driver wrestles with the truth about his past and the history of violence in his childhood, he must also confront his present, which is no less complicated or grim. A precursor to Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist The Thief, The Boy in the Earth is a closely told character study that poses a difficult question: Are some lives so damaged they are beyond redemption? Is every child worth trying to save? A poignant and thought-provoking tour de force by one of Japan’s leading literary voices.

"...Find out about the very strange happenings that took place on a day when Tommy decided that Earth was a dull place to live."--Jacket blurb.

Norbert, the tiny wisecracking alien from Jupiter, gets an emergency phone call from home. His sweetheart, Nerissa, has been kidnapped by an evil giant and placed in the Lost Tower of Lotubmen. He must find and rescue her, but he can't do it alone. Norbert has helped Alan through three earthly adventures. Now the tables are turned, and Norbert needs Alan's help. So Alan, the boy from Earth, comes to Jupiter and finds himself in a strange – and yet in some ways strangely familiar – environment. Richard Scrimger’s The Nose from Jupiter, A Nose for Adventure, and Noses are Red have won avid fans from Illinois to Italy. Alan is truly an everyboy. He is terrible at sports, is living through his parents’ divorce, and has to contend with bullies and even villains. But he has a secret weapon. Norbert, an alien from Jupiter, has come to Earth and established a home-from-home inside Alan’s nose. It’s from there that the wise-cracking, brave, and irresistible Norbert changes Alan’s life.

This is a fascinating science fiction novel about Rod McBan, a wealthy kid from the most prosperous planet in the galaxy, Norstrilia. He buys earth without even realizing what he has done. It is a fun, imaginative, and fast-paced novel, a must-read for science fiction fans.

Wahid’s father was a textile merchant in Karachi. His mother, however, is a djinn. Growing up in a city rife with corrupt cops and religious extremists can be challenging, and it gets downright dangerous once the djinns start hunting Wahid. To survive beings made of smokeless fire, women with feet turned the wrong way, and a violent terrorist sent to kill him, Wahid has to turn to the devil himself for help. But can Iblis be trusted? What starts as a quest to save the soul of the girl he loves, ends up on the road to the dark heart of Pakistan’s nuclear fears, and the coming of the Islamic apocalypse. Islamic mythology blended with South Asian urban horror, Sami Shah’s epic novel is filled with vivid insights into life in Pakistan, and a whole new pantheon of mythical creatures. Boy of Fire and Earth brings together Sami Shah’s Fire Boy and Earth Boy into one unputdownable volume. Praise for Sami Shah ‘His characters — human and otherwise — are skilfully drawn, and the vibrant streets of Karachi are vividly brought to life.’ —Maxine Beneba Clarke ‘Captivating. Sami Shah’s imagination is a place of wonder and terror.’ —Kamila Shamsie ‘Bold, compelling fantasy with a truly original setting.’ —Saladin Ahmed ‘I was enchanted by his lyrical and atmospheric prose — he brings the streets of Karachi to life with a deft hand, ancient folklore colliding with the modern internet age.’ —Kylie Chan

Twelve-year-old Bobby Baxter’s not the bravest kid on Earth. His list of things that scare him is up to number 689, and includes lightning, crowds, spiders, alien abductions, crocodiles, falling from great heights, falling from small heights and eggs. So when he learns that he’s the first Earthling ever chosen to attend the Galactic Space Academy, light years away from home, he’s terrified—and that’s before he discovers that someone at the academy wants the boy from Earth gone. ‘No child from Earth has ever been chosen to attend the Galactic Space Academy.’ The hologram’s eyes narrowed on Bobby. ‘Until now.’ ‘Why me?’ Bobby said, bewildered. ‘It’s a mystery to me,’ the hologram assured him. ‘What if I don’t want to go?’ ‘You may reject our offer,’ the hologram said. ‘But it would reflect badly on Earth. Not that people are thinking Earth is backward and primitive,’ he hastened to add. ‘But if they were thinking it...well...they’d be thinking it even more. If you know what I mean.’ Darrell Pitt is the author of A Toaster on Mars, shortlisted for the Russell Prize for Humour Writing, and the Jack Mason Adventures, a series of five novels including The Firebird Mystery, a CBCA Notable Book. He lives in Melbourne. ‘...a great new take on the “school-but-different” genre...the universe Pitt has crafted is imaginative and original.’ Reading Time CBCA ‘Beneath the brilliantly absurd entertaining adventure is a narrative of compassion solidarity and confidence. Wildly entertaining for the adventurous middle grade reader.’ Diva Booknerd ‘Darrell Pitt has written a fast-paced and funny novel.’ ReadPlus ‘Readers will progress from snickers to giggles to, finally, belly laughs and shouts of outrage.’ Kirkus Reviews on A Toaster on Mars ‘This novel crackles with wit...the fun doesn’t let up.’ Booklist on A Toaster on Mars