Sur un steamer transformé en opéra flottant, la troupe du capitaine Dumont interprète soir après soir « Le Plaisir du Pirate ». Le succès est au rendez vous, mais pour le plaisir, Dumont va un peu loin dans le macabre. Épouvantée par les créatures magiques que le maitre du bord garde à fond de cale, la danseuse Larissa s'enfuit avant d'y perdre son âme. Hélas elle est l'Étoile du Nord de Dumont, et celui ci, en bon marin, ne perd jamais le cap. Une lutte à mort s'engage, mobilisant tous les démons de l'enfer contre un ange qui ira jusqu'au bout…

Sous la forme des mémoires d'une célèbre geisha de Kyoto, le roman d'Arthur Golden est devenu un best-seller mondial. À l'occasion de la sortie du film qui en a été tiré, cette superbe histoire d'une jeune japonaise au destin exceptionnel devrait passionner de nouveaux lecteurs. Une petite fille de neuf ans, aux superbes yeux gris-bleu, tels ceux de sa mère qui se meurt, est vendue par son père, un modeste pêcheur, à une maison de geishas : ainsi commence l'histoire de Sayuri dans le japon des années trente. C'est à travers son regard d'enfant malheureuse que l'on découvrira Gion la décadente, le quartier du plaisir à Kyoto, avec ses temples resplendissants, ses théâtres raffinés et ses ruelles sombres. C'est à travers son initiation et sa métamorphose que l'on apprendra l'art d'être geisha, les rites de la danse et de la musique, les cérémonies de l'habillage, de la coiffure et du thé, comment il sied de servir le saké en dévoilant à peine son poignet, comment surtout il faut savoir attirer l'attention des hommes et déjouer la jalousie des rivales. Née sous le signe de l'eau, n'agissant jamais sans consulter son almanach, franchissant épreuve sur épreuve, Sayuri nous entraîne dans le tourbillon des choses de la vie, futile et tragique comme la Seconde Guerre mondiale qui détruira Gion. Femme amoureuse toutefois, éprise d'un homme de qualité, elle raconte aussi, toujours de sa voix limpide et inoubliable, la quête sans cesse recommencée de la liberté.

--Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Broché.

Esclave. Gladiateur. Shaman. Chef de guerre. L'énigmatique orc connu sous le nom de Thrall a joué tous ces rôles. Élevé par de cruels maîtres humains qui cherchaient à le modeler en parfait pion, Thrall a été conduit, à la fois par sa nature sauvage et par une intelligence particulièrement acérée, à poursuivre une destinée qu'il commence seulement à entrevoir. Briser sa condition d'esclave et redécouvrir les traditions ancestrales des siens. Le récit tumultueux de son parcours initiatique - une saga d'honneur, de haine et d'espoir peut enfin être révélé...

Ontmoet Golden; adembenemend mooi, charmant en zeer serieus in zijn werk. Overdag probeert hij financieel het hoofd boven water te houden als jazzpianist in een café. 's Avonds werkt hij als exclusieve gigolo voor de rich and famous and gaat letterlijk alle deuren – of ze nu toegang bieden tot een limousine, een privévliegtuig of het duurste hotel in Amerika – voor hem open.


Recensie(s)
NBD|Biblion recensie

Golden beschrijft zijn belevenissen als moderne gigolo met klanten als vermogende erfgenamen en filmsterren. Hij doet dit met behulp van schrijfster Amanda Astill. Het boek heeft zestien vrij op zichzelf staande, chronologische hoofdstukken met titels als 'Meisjes uit Essex kunnen er wat van', 'Hete seks Hollywoodstijl', 'De vergadering van de dandyvakbond' en 'Het einde van een gigolo'. Een openhartige, vrij gedetailleerde en uitgebreide schrijfstijl. In 1997 verscheen een gelijksoortig boek 'Bedgeheimen van een gigolo' door Esther Voet, dat zich afspeelt in Nederland; in 2002 verscheen Zelfportret van een jongenshoer* dat een andere insteek heeft. Paperback, vrij kleine druk.

(NBD|Biblion recensie, Iris Stekelenburg-van Halem)
(source: Bol.com)

DARK DUETS: New Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy will be published in January, 2014 by Harper Voyager. Edited by Christopher Golden, it features an extraordinary lineup of collaborative stories, with the authors of each story collaborating for the very first time. And here they are!

-TRIP TRAP by Sherrilyn Kenyon & Kevin J. Anderson 
-WELDED by Tom Piccirilli & T.M. Wright 
-DARK WITNESS by Charlaine Harris & Rachel Caine 
-REPLACING MAX by Stuart MacBride & Allan Guthrie 
-T. RHYMER by Gregory Frost & Jonathan Maberry 
-SHE, DOOMED GIRL by Sarah MacLean & Carrie Ryan 
-HAND JOB by Chelsea Cain & Lidia Yuknavitch 
-HOLLOW CHOICES by Robert Jackson Bennett & David Liss 
-AMUSE-BOUCHE by Amber Benson & Jeffrey J. Mariotte 
-BRANCHES, CURVING by Tim Lebbon & Michael Marshall Smith 
-RENASCENCE by Rhodi Hawk and F. Paul Wilson 
-BLIND LOVE by Kasey Lansdale & Joe R. Lansdale 
-TRAPPER BOY by Holly Newstein & Rick Hautala 
-STEWARD OF THE BLOOD by Nate Kenyon & James A. Moore 
-CALCULATING ROUTE by Michael Koryta & Jeffrey David Greene 
-SISTERS BEFORE MISTERS by Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Clare, and Holly Black 
-SINS LIKE SCARLET by Mark Morris & Rio Youers

The Federation people are worried about an alien ship that crashed into an Intar city, containing the highly decomposed body of a young girl, Jaldark, who had died a slow and agonizing death in space. She had been bonded to the ship through the implants in her arms and head, the pain ultimately killing her. To save the ship from a rampage somebody has to bond with it again. Will 110 be able to sacrifice himself as Jaldark had done?

SUMMARY: Frostmourne.It was caught in a hovering, jagged chunk of ice, the runes that ran the length of its blade glowing a cool blue. Below it was a dais of some sort, standing on a large gently raised mound that was covered in a dusting of snow. A soft light, coming from somewhere high above where the cavern was open to daylight, shone down on the runeblade. The icy prison hid some details of the sword's shape and form, exaggerated others. It was revealed and concealed at the same time, and all the more tempting, like a new lover imperfectly glimpsed through a gauzy curtain. Arthas knew the blade -- it was the selfsame sword he had seen in his dream when he first arrived. The sword that had not killed Invincible, but that had brought him back healed and healthy. He'd thought it a good omen then, but now he knew it was a true sign. This was what he had come to find. This sword would change everything. Arthas stared raptly at it, his hands almost physically aching to grasp it, his fingers to wrap themselves around the hilt, his arms to feel the weapon swinging smoothly in the blow that would end Mal'Ganis, end the torment he had visited upon the people of Lordaeron, end this lust for revenge. Drawn, he stepped forward.The uncanny elemental spirit drew its icy sword. "Turn away, before it is too late," it intoned.* * *His evil is legend. Lord of the undead Scourge, wielder of the runeblade Frostmourne, and enemy of the free peoples of Azeroth. The Lich King is an entity of incalculable power and unparalleled malice -- his icy soul utterly consumed by his plans to destroy all life on the World of Warcraft.But it was not always so. Long before his soul was fused with that of the orc shaman Ner'zhul, the Lich King was Arthas Menethil, crown prince of Lordaeron and faithful paladin of the Silver Hand.When a plague of undeath threatened all that he loved, Arthas was driven to pursue an ill-fated quest for a runeblade powerful enough to save his homeland. Yet the object of his search would exact a heavy price from its new master, beginning a horrifying descent into damnation. Arthas's path would lead him through the arctic northern wastes toward the Frozen Throne, where he would face, at long last, the darkest of destinies.

The fate of the world lies in their hands... Discover the magic, adventure and romance in award-winning author Christie Golden's The Final Dance Trilogy. Now, you can get all three books in one handy bundle: "On Fire's Wings," "In Stone's Clasp," and exclusively in eBook format, "Under Sea's Shadow."

From Publishers Weekly

Dark fantasists Golden (The Myth Hunters) and Lebbon (Dawn) pair up for the first time in this macabre tale that recalls Holly Black's acclaimed Valiant. As wary teenager Jasmine Towne runs from the mysterious Uncles who killed her mother, an impulsive dash into an Underground tunnel takes her to Deep Level Shelter 7-K, where she falls in with a group of homeless thieves led by the raggedly elegant Harold Pilkington Fowler. Jazz knows to fear the Uncles, who are stalking her for some magical purpose, but she never expected to see ghosts or hear the restless spirit of the old city wailing in the tunnels. With the help of enigmatic burglar Terence, Jazz investigates her mother's murder and her own mysterious origins and powers. Occasional gaps in the story logic are easy to miss amid the super-fast pacing and creepy touches that give this teen adventure plenty of character. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Jasmine Towne returns to her London home one afternoon to find her mother murdered and the killers searching for her. With a little guile and a lot of luck, she manages to slip away from her pursuers by plunging into the Tube and hiding in abandoned stations and forgotten bomb shelters. She falls in with a group of teenage thieves led by the Faginesque Harry Fowler. She takes to thieving quite quickly, and Fowler sends her out on the most difficult jobs. Emboldened by her new skills, Jazz sets out to rob the mansion of one of the very men who killed her mother. There she meets Terence, who is breaking into the same house. Through him, Jazz learns that her mother's murder, the father she never knew, and even Fowler are all tied in to a secret society striving to revive the ancient spirits and magic hidden below the streets of London and use it for their own dark gains. The only way to avenge her mother's death and to guarantee her own safety is to help Terence set the spirits free. Jazz is the perfect teen heroine: capable, confident, and possessing both a love of trouble and enough smarts to get out of it. While more dark fantasy than horror, the story does have some small grisly sections. The basic setting recalls Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (Morrow, 1997). But the bigger story and the battle over London's magic—to either set it free or to usurp it—lend a fresh take on urban fantasy.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.