Bücher veröffentlicht von Astra Publishing House

"From a debut voice comes a genre-breaking blend of apocalyptic sci-fi and epic fantasy about a scattered group of unlikely heroes traveling across their broken mechanical planet to stave off eternal darkness"--

Through the magic of words and pictures leaps a book that's not only playful as a puppy -- it is a puppy! Honest..

Second in the bestselling Dragon Prince series returns to a lush epic fantasy world replete with winged beasts, power games of magical treachery, and a realm of princedoms hovering on the brink of war • "Marvelous!"-Anne McCaffrey When Rohan was crowned High Prince and his Sunrunner wife Sioned became High Princess, they swore to keep the peace of the lands and preserve the secret of the dragons, an inheritance they would one day pass on to their only child, Pol, heir to both princely and Sunrunner powers. But the evil influence of the former High Prince Roelstra had not ended with his death at Rohan's hands. And even as Pol grew to manhood, other young men were being trained in the ways of war, youths descended from Roelstra and claimed by Rohan's enemies as willing pawns in what could become a bloody battle for succession. Yet not all players in these games of power fought merely with words or swords. For now a foe vanquished by the Sunrunners ages ago was once again growing in strength, an enemy determined to desroy Sunrunners and High Prince alike. And the only hope of defeating these masters of dark sorcery lay in reclaiming the knowledge so carefully concealed in the long-lost- Star Scroll….

Fifteen years ago, Mercedes Lackey put pen to paper to write Arrows Of The Queen, her first novel about Valdemar, a fantasy kingdom replete with magical races and magical creatures, enemies and allies both sorcerous and mundane. This ancient land of mystery is unique even among fantasy realms, for it is protected by an elite corps -- the Heralds. These men and women gifted with extraordinary mind powers are Chosen by, and bonded with, wondrous horselike beings known as Companions. Brought by their Companions from the length and breadth of Valdemar to Haven, Valdemar's capital city, they are trained in a special school, the Collegium, and devote their lives to protecting king and kingdom. Mindspeakers, FarSeers, FarSpeakers, Firestarters, ForeSeers -- their individual talents are as varied as their backgrounds. There are even those who can channel the magical nodes in the earth itself to use for their own purposes. Garbed in their uniforms of white leather, they patrol their territory, dispensing justice and keeping the peace. They are emissaries, spies, diplomats, scouts, warriors, judges, and counselors.With eighteen novels published, and millions of copies in print, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series has won the hearts of countless readers. In response to overwhelming demand on the part of her many fans, veteran editors John Helfers and Denise Little now present The Valdemar Companion. With the help and guidance of Mercedes Lackey, Helfers and Little have compiled a reader's guide to Mercedes Lackey's best-selling world of Valdemar. Included in this comprehensive work is an all-original Mercedes Lackey Valdemar novella, as well as an essay by Lackey about Valdemar, and extensive interviews with the author and her publisher. With an overview of the history of Valdemar, detailed essays on the various races and kingdoms, a substantial concordance containing entries on every major character, device and setting, and including articles on the magical races and creatures, a chapter on the diverse Valdemar fan clubs, and a section devoted to the songs of Valdemar, along with beautifully detailed maps, The Valdemar Companion is everything any Valdemar fan could wish for.

"On monster picture day, Itty Bitty Betty Blob, who prefers dancing, rainbows and cute furry creatures instead of scaring, practices being monstery on her way to school until she makes a discovery and new friends with ideas that just feel right"--

Joe Sunday has been a Los Angeles low-life for years, but his life gets a whole lot lower when he is killed by the rival of his crime boss-only to return as a zombie. His only hope is to find and steal a talisman that he learns can grant immortality. But, unfortunately for Joe, every other undead thug and crime boss in Los Angeles is looking for the same thing.

Astra Magazine is the new literary magazine of the moment, a must-read for anyone interested in the most vital contemporary literature from around the world. Astra Magazine connects readers and writers from New York to Mexico City, Lagos to Berlin, Copenhagen to Singapore and beyond. Each issue contains prose, poetry, art and comics, artfully produced on silky smooth paper with luxurious French flaps. It's the most covetable accessory of the fall —  dark and playful, pretty and smart. The Filth issue features work by Elif Batuman, Sheila Heti, Raven Leilani, Aracelis Girmay, Samuel R. Delany, Brontez Purnell, Wayne Koestenbaum, Clarice Lispector, McKenzie Wark, Mariana Enríquez, Safiya Sinclair, Maggie Millner, and many more.There is a moral element to filth. It is both what we have been taught to hide, and the subversive pleasure in revealing it. Many of the writers in this issue are queer or trans or otherwise outsiders. When you are taught that an intrinsic part of you is shameful, you find power in that shame. All that filth, compressed by the pressure, sparkles like diamonds when it is let it into the light. Have you ever felt the relief of telling your own secrets? There’s a reason why people revel in their own filth. It’s a place for reveling

"Here is the little-known history of Otto Lilienthal, a daring man whose more than 2,000 successful flights inspired the Wright Brothers and other aviation pioneers."--Provided by publisher.

He was Tiger, born of the desert winds, raised as a slave and winning his freedom by weaving a special kind of magic with a warrior's skill. She was Del, born of ice and storm, trained by the greatest of Northern sword masters. Together, they discover a kinship and friendship that grows to love while facing dangers of both sword and sorcery.

Groundbreaking epic fantasy series in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar universe • Lambda-Award winning novels with heartfelt high adventure and magic Valdemar-the once-peaceful kingdom protected by the magic of its Herald-Mages-is now besieged on all fronts. The king lies near death, the neighboring land of Karse wages a relentless war against Valdemar, and the forces led by a master of dark forbidden magic are massing to strike the final devastating blow against the kingdom. And Vanyel, the most powerful Herald-Mage Valdemar has even known, has become the primary target of the evil which is reaching out to poison all the land. With all his fellow mages slain, Vanyel alone remains to defend his people against the dark master's army. Yet a dream vision has revealed to Vayel the fate which awaits should he and his Companion Yfandes take up the dark master's challenge. And if either Vanyel or Yfandes falters, the dream will become a horrifying reality in which both Valdemar and its last Herald-Mage must pay the ultimate price.

“A tactile approach to exploring new worlds...A nice step-up once [babies] have grasped simple concepts and animals names.” - Wall Street JournalWhen it comes to fun surprises and visual puzzles, once is never enough! You never know what you’ll find when you turn the die-cut pages for a second look at the animals in this ingenious board book.A field of flowers hides a playful lion cub, buzzy bees turn out to be chasing a curious pig, two mice sneaking some cheese must creep around a sleeping cat. And what is that mysterious creature at the end? A child in disguise! The animals in this clever board book will have children looking twice—and more!—as they turn each die-cut page to see the scene transform. Here is a great way to have fun while practicing paying attention and looking closely.

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022 - BuzzFeed, LitHub, Electric Literature, LGBTQ Reads, Latinx in Publishing*Recommended by The New York Times*"An incandescent bildungsroman." -Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review"Haunting, sublime, solemn, and true." -Robert Jones Jr., author of The Prophets"[An] intense, astute meditation on race, family, class, love, and friendship." -Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church LadiesIn this contemporary debut novel-an intimate portrait of queer, racial, and class identity -Andrés, a gay Latinx professor, returns to his suburban hometown in the wake of his husband's infidelity. There he finds himself with no excuse not to attend his twenty-year high school reunion, and hesitantly begins to reconnect with people he used to call friends.Over the next few weeks, while caring for his aging parents and navigating the neighborhood where he grew up, Andrés falls into old habits with friends he thought he'd left behind. Before long, he unexpectedly becomes entangled with his first love and is forced to tend to past wounds.Captivating and poignant; a modern coming-of-age story about the essential nature of community, The Town of Babylon is a page-turning novel about young love and a close examination of our social systems and the toll they take when they fail us.

Astra Magazine is the new literary magazine of the moment, a must-read for anyone interested in the most vital contemporary literature from around the world. Astra Magazine connects readers and writers from New York to Mexico City, Lagos to Berlin, Copenhagen to Singapore and beyond around a unified aesthetic that highlights the luxurious pleasures of reading. Each issue contains prose, poetry, art and comics, artfully produced on silky smooth paper with luxurious French flaps. The Ecstasy Issue contains work by Mieko Kawakami, Fernanda Melchor, Catherine Lacey, Leslie Jamison, Solmaz Sharif, Terrance Hayes, Don Mee Choi, Ada Limón, Chinelo Okparanta, Sayaka Murata, Katharina Volckmer, Kate Zambreno, and many more.

Potty training becomes a funny, interactive game of discovery in this pull-the-flap book about animals' toilet habits. Amusing rhymes about each animal's routine combine with the chance to make its poop appear by pulling a flap, culminating in an encouraging image of a boy on his own potty.