Alex Bell – författare

This is The Bourne Identity . . . as if Neil Gaiman had written it . . .A man comes round on the floor of a shabby flat in the middle of Budapest. His head is glued to the floorboards with his own blood. There''s a fortune in cash on the kitchen table. And he has no idea where, or who, he is.He can do extraordinary things - speak any number of languages fluently, go three days without food or sleep, and fight with extraordinary prowess. But without a name, without a past, he''s isolated from the rest of the world; a stranger to everyone, including himself - until a chance encounter with a young scholar leads to his first friendship, and his first hint that someone out there knows more about him than he does.Someone is sending him clues about his past. Photographs hidden in books and crates of wine. Cryptic clues pointing towards a murdered woman. And clear warnings against Stephomi, his only friend. But that''s not all; Gabriel Antaeus is seeing strange, impossible things: a burning man is stalking his dreams and haunting his mirrors, his dreams are filled with violence from the past, and his pregnant young neighbour is surrounded by an extraordinary golden aura.Something dark and violent in Gabriel''s past is trying to resurface. And as he pieces the clues together, everything points towards an astounding war between angels and demons . . . and a battle not just for the future of the world, but for the minds and souls of everyone in it.

One day, without warning, Jasmyn''s husband died.Since then, everything has been different.Wrapped up in her grief, Jasmyn is trapped in a world without colour, without flavour - without Liam. But even through the haze of misery she begins to notice unusual events, as sense of being watched, a strange man visiting her home and asking pointed questions about her dead husband. Her world has been turned upside down, but even so, things are not as they should be.Eventually Jasmyn begins to explore the discrepancies that have sprung up after his death - the plane tickets to places Liam claimed he''d never visited, details of the meetings he was never supposed to have - and to follow their trail back into the events of his life.But the mysteries are deeper than she expected, and are leading her in surprising directions: into fairytales filled with swans, castles and bones; into a tale of a murder committed by a lake and a vicious battle between brothers; into legends of a lost past, and a story of stolen love.

A quirky and original comic fantasy from talented Gollancz author Alex BellLaw student Lex Trent''s world is inhabited by fearsome magicians, ageing crones and a menagerie of Gods and Goddesses. And while Lex is seemingly dedicated to his legal studies he''s always enjoyed a challenge - which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar ''The Shadowman'' who has been (luckily) evading capture for years. But Lex''s luck is about to run out because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory - all things that Lex is quite keen on - he''s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will... and he''s certainly got good experience of cheating.

Lex Trent managed to win the last Games through skill, quick-wittedness and no small amount of outright cheating. And that''s exactly how he intends to win them this time round too. Particularly as he can select his own companion for these Games and won''t be lumbered with tiresome and decrepit lawyer Mr Schmidt. Given that he knows one of the rounds will be taking place in the Wild West he''s determined to pass himself off as a cowboy so that he can scam his way into Dry Gulch house and get his hands on the legendary sword of life!