Playing War

Pick a card... Pick a side... Ryder Waites thought amnesia from a childhood accident was his biggest problem. Then a fallen angel tried to kill him on the London Underground. Now he's dodging assassins while uncovering an impossible truth: he's the heir to the Royal Court of Spades, part of one of the most powerful magical organisations in existence. But someone murdered his mother — the Queen of Spades — before she could restore his missing memories... and powers.

Why do people like to re-enact wars? Especially the civil war. Meet Jerimiah "Jerry" Wingate, who gets himself in quite the pickle when he and other new re-enactors experience just some of what our ancestors went through. If they had it to do over again, they might just take up golf.

In 1940, at just 15 years old, small-town baseball star Gene Moore was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers, who saw in him the potential to become one of the great catchers of all time. Before that could happen, though, WWII intervened. Gene's story, a surprising paean to the power and humanity of a game, is told here by his son, a first-time author who exhibits the confidence and pacing of a pro.