Showing results for "The Magic" in Literature & Fiction

Hans Castorp is, on the face of it, an ordinary man in his early 20s, on course to start a career in ship engineering in his home town of Hamburg, when he decides to travel to the Berghof Santatorium in Davos. The year is 1912 and an oblivious world is on the brink of war. Castorp’s friend Joachim Ziemssen is taking the cure and a three-week visit seems a perfect break before work begins. But when Castorp arrives he is surprised to find an established community of patients, and little by little, he gets drawn into the closeted life and the individual personalities of the residents.

Brought to you by Penguin. Over 1 million Discworld audiobooks sold – discover the extraordinary universe of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld like never before The audiobook of The Colour of Magic is read by Colin Morgan (Merlin; Testament of Youth; Belfast). BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning...

The nightmare home. We thought we'd found our haven, a cottage deep in the heart of the forest. Quaint, charming, maybe a little run-down, but so peaceful. The woodland animals and birds couldn't have been more neighbourly. That was the first part of the Magic. Midge's painting and my music soared to new heights of creativity. That was another part of the Magic. Our sensing, our feelings, our love for each other - well, that became the supreme Magic. But the cottage had an alternative side. The Bad Magic.

A prophesied king is born, but not all will benefit from his foretold conquests. In a realm where only clerics are permitted to practice magic, Kibure, a mere slave, draws the attention of much more than just his master after wielding an unknown force in a moment of desperation. In a twist of fate, Sindri, the priestess hired to strip Kibure of his power, defies the law, revealing designs of her own. This wayward pair will have to work together if they hope to evade capture at the hands of the Empire's most potent wielders.

With electricity coursing through my veins, I am the jolt that could change the world. Elementals are the rarest of all supernatural creatures. Their control over the elements ranks them as the most dangerous beings to ever walk the earth. And I should know. I'm one of them. After spending most of my life locked up, with my elemental ability being exploited as a battery to power the Lycan village, an unlikely ally has set me free. Now, I'm running for my life. But I'm not alone.

Imagine a horse-powered world where magic is used for mending, making, and healing. Magical ability is rare, but Ky Vaux—a poor boy in a poor family—discovers he’s a mender one morning when he breaks a bowl and accidentally mends it. Can Ky’s gift of magic support Ky, his mother, and his sister while they attempt to escape from his abusive and alcoholic father? When Ky’s gift proves to be even more powerful than they had hoped, they can’t help but wonder if it’ll be able to take them farther than they had dreamed!

Tad has learned more about his past, but he still doesn't know if one side or the other would imprison or kill him simply for existing. Those who know more refuse to tell him more, but share his concerns. Now though, it's time to move forward. He may not know what it means to be a fey but his goal remains the same, namely to open a shop and sell magical items. To get there though, he has a dungeon to master, errant nobles to defy, and the Lawgiver's gaze to avoid. Chaos is in his blood, and he's certain to bring it wherever he goes.

The White Dinner is a love poem to friendship, joy, elegance, and the monuments of Paris. And each year it is an unforgettable summer night, especially for Jean-Philippe Dumas, a longtime participant, and the three couples he's carefully selected to attend this exclusive and cherished event. Interweaving the stories of seven individuals, lives will be forever changed on the eve of one such White Dinner; a night that will lead to new friendships, new love, and of course, magical possibilities.

In this dizzyingly rich novel of ideas, Mann uses a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps, a community devoted exclusively to sickness, as a microcosm for Europe, which in the years before 1914 was already exhibiting the first symptoms of its own terminal irrationality.

Kenna is a human in a magic-biased world, but a night at the club changes everything. There she meets four sexy strangers who unbind the magic she never knew she had. Now, she needs their help to train her wild and unpredictable magic and to find the truth of who she really is before someone she loves gets hurt. She is tormented by events in her past, and the secret she has guarded for so long threatens to destroy everything.

When a cursed bloodstone goes missing before an eclipse set to unleash its dark influence, three strangers find their fates suddenly and impossibly intertwined. Zani, an adventurous, relic-hunting witch, is determined to outrun the future her family designed for her. Her satchel is perpetually packed full of magical cures for common travel disasters. But losing an ancient artifact might be the one catastrophe that her bag of tricks can't fix.

Dive into Thomas Mann’s monumental novel that captures the essence of a crumbling, corrupted European society on the brink of the First World War. Set against the backdrop of a lavish sanatorium nestled in the Swiss Alps, we encounter a rich tapestry of characters from the bourgeois elite, each battling ailments and seeking a cure while indulging in the fleeting pleasures of life. Amidst the specter of illness, pain, and mortality, Mann weaves a narrative that is part surreal comedy, part haunting tragedy, and part profound philosophical exploration. This novel stands as one of the pivotal ...

Brenden Vetch has a gift. With an innate sense he cannot explain to himself or describe to others, he is able to connect to the agricultural world, nurturing gardens to flourish and instinctively knowing the healing properties each plant and herb has to offer. But Brenden's gift isolates him from people and from becoming part of a community - until the day he receives a personal invitation from the Wizard Od.

You'd think being isekai'd to a new existence would be fun, especially when you find out you're the lord of a new kingdom. Except this kingdom is at war, and the stakes are the fate of humanity. Now, Matt’s going to have to figure out how to rule a Magic Kingdom at War, with magical elemental creatures, buildings that form out of the very fabric of reality and Heroes at his command against a never-ending horde of monsters. Not the reincarnation that he expected, but it's still better than working in an office cubicle.

Van, fourth son of a marquis, is just a toddler when he realizes he's been reincarnated. Thanks to his literal lifetime of knowledge, he's raised as a child prodigy--until his production magic manifests, and it's the last thing his snooty mage family wants to see! His disappointed father banishes him to a podunk town on the verge of collapse, yet Van can only see the place's potential. Can our hero's bastion of battlements build a better life than battle magic ever could?!

1925 New York. Arthur Kenzie's life's work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric...and the only one available has sworn off his abilities altogether. Rory Brodigan's gift comes with great risk. To protect himself, he's become a recluse, redirecting his magic to find counterfeit antiques.

Once upon a time, there was a forgotten era of magic and monster. But the remnants—and all memory—of the old world have been replaced by the sane, the scientific, and the rational. But sometimes the magical past isn’t content to stay past. That’s where Jack Damian comes in. It’s his joy to protect our present from the supernatural remnants of an earlier time, a different history. It’s his job to make the past safe. Jack is called to the Tate Museum, where dozens of people have disappeared beneath the surface of a painting.

As a freelance assassin, Val Thorvald leads a dangerous life. She’s learned not to stay in the same place for long and not to get too attached to anything. For example, she would never consider adopting a pet. But when she’s searching for a missing friend, she finds an abandoned silver tiger cub. The magical feline is clearly from another realm, but Val has no idea which one or how to send it back. All she knows is that it’s the only witness to her friend's kidnapping.

The streets have been my home for as long as I can remember. To get by, I use my magic tricks, bringing smiles to the faces of adults and children alike. As a warlock, my powers are limited. Nothing like a witch's magical skills. Basically, I'm a glorified magician as well as a second-class citizen. Fine. It doesn't get me down. I have my cat Fizz and Kylie Minogue's music to keep me going as I dream big. I know there's a better life out there for me.

My brother gave his life to help me escape the pack. Now after being in hiding for the last few years, I'm seeing shifters outside of their normal territory, and they're getting closer to my little patch of wolf-free paradise. If they find out I'm still alive, they'll haul me back and mate me to some random wolf, keeping me as a breeding machine to perpetuate our species. Forced imprinting is supposed to be forbidden, but if I know my pack, that won't stop them from getting what they want.