Academy – serie

'Jack McDevitt is that splendid rarity, a writer who is a storyteller first and a science fiction writer second. In his ability to absolutely rivet the reader, it seems to me that he is the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke' Stephen KingIn 2204, tragedy and terror forced a scientific team to prematurely evacuate the rare, life-supportingplanet of Maleiva III. Nineteen years later, it is hurtling through space and the opportunity to study it is about to be obliterated. With less than three weeks left before the disaster, superluminal pilot Priscilla 'Hutch' Hutchins - the only even remotely qualified professional within light years of the ill-fated planet - must lead a small scientific team to the surface to glean whatever they can about its life forms and lost civilizations before time runs out. But catastrophe awaits when they are stranded on this strange and complex world of puzzles and impossibilities. And now Hutch and her people must somehow survive on a hostile world going rapidly mad as the clock ticks towards apocalypse for a doomed enigma now called Deepsix.

'A writer who is a storyteller first and a science fiction writer second. In his ability to absolutely rivet the reader, it seems to me that he is the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke' Stephen KingThe universe has been explored - and humanity has all but given up on finding other intelligent life. Then an alien satellite orbiting a distant star sends out an unreadable signal. Is it the final programmed gasp of an ancient, long-dead race? Or the first greeting of an undiscovered life form?

'No one writing today is better than McDevitt at combining galaxy-spanning adventure with the genuine novel of ideas' Washington Post Book WorldTwo hundred years ago, humans made a stunning discovery in the far reaches of the solar system: a huge statue of an alien creature, with an inscription that defied all efforts at translation. Now, as faster-than-light drive opens the stars to exploration, humans are finding other relics of the race they call the Monument-Makers - each different, and each heartbreakingly beautiful. But except for a set of footprints on Jupiter's moon Iapetus, there is no trace of the enigmatic race that has left them behind. Then a team of scientists working on a dead world discover an ominous new image of the Monument-Makers. Somehow it all fits with other lost civilizations, and possibly with Earth's own future. And distant past. But Earth itself is on the brink of ecological disaster - there is no time to search for answers. Even to a question that may hold the key to survival for the entire human race.

You don't know what you've got until it's gone...Police academy cadet Charlie Burns can't believe his luck when the gorgeous blonde he meets in a bar murmurs those magic words: "Nothing serious, 'kay?" Mind-blowing, no-strings sex with Ever Carmichael-it's the holy grail of hookups for a guy who's too busy following in his law enforcement family's footsteps to think about getting serious. Charlie's all about casual...that is, until Ever calls it quits and his world tilts on its axis. Ever knows that when you control the relationship game, you can't get played. But for the first time, she wants more than short-term satisfaction. Step one: end her fling with commitment-phobic Charlie. Step two: sacrifice herself to the ruthless NYC dating scene. Yet everywhere she turns, there's Charlie, being his ridiculously charming self. No online match or blind date compares to the criminally hot cop-in-training, but they're over. Aren't they? If love is a four-letter-word, why does the idea of Ever seeing someone else tie Charlie up in knots? Now he's desperate to win her back...and a little date sabotage never hurt anyone, right?

FROM THE PLAYGROUND TO THE PREMIER LEAGUEBorn and raised in a small town in the United States, Leo K. Doyle has never seen the ocean or stepped foot on a plane. But Leo is a star footballer with big dreams in life.Rock-star, Olympic gold, dragon-slaying dreams.While Leo has a pet lizard named Messi and longs to one day go pro, he has no idea how to achieve his goal – until a professional scout pays a chance visit to one of Leo’s games and extends an invitation to try out for the London Dragons youth squad, known as The Academy.Leo is stunned. The London Dragons isn’t just any old football club. It’s a world-famous Premier League club. Soon Leo is off to a whole new country, embarking on the greatest adventure of his life. The downside? Only eleven players can make the team.Eleven out of two hundred of the very best youth players on the planet.Along with the gruelling competition, Leo must also face a bully intent on torpedoing his summer, a roomie who doesn’t know how to have fun, a terrifying camp director, and, most of all, Leo’s own lack of formal training and the fear he’ll never succeed. By the end of the summer, Leo will become a much better player and forever changed by his experience.But will he be good enough to make the Academy?T.Z. Layton's inspiring first book in The Academy series is perfect for primary school readers and young sports fans looking for their next exciting read.Ideal for young readers aged 7-13 looking for:Page-turning football chapter booksA humorous, action-packed, sports adventure book series like no other!

Leo K. Doyle, a small-town kid from the States, has beaten all the odds and made it into a Premier League youth squad.But he is far from the star player.In fact, he isn't even a starter – and the U14 Lewisham Knights are the worst team in the league. They're so bad that if they don't improve this year, the owner will disband the team, which could jeopardise Leo's dream of becoming a professional footballer.As if that wasn't enough to deal with, Leo has to keep up with his schoolwork, make brand new friends in a foreign country, deal with a manager who doesn't seem to like him, and survive away from home for a demanding season in the Youth Premier League.Leo believes he has the talent to help his team, but can he juggle all these balls and prove himself on the world's biggest stage?T.Z. Layton's inspiring second book in The Academy series is perfect for primary school readers and young sports fans looking for their next exciting read.Ideal for young readers aged 7-13 looking for:Page-turning football chapter books A humorous, action-packed, sports adventure book series like no other!

Leo tries to lead his team to glory in some of the most exciting, high-stakes football in the world!Last season, Leo and his teammates saved the Lewisham Knights by avoiding a last-place finish in the U14 Premier League. Their future looks bright – until they learn the adult Knights have dropped down to the second division, again putting the future of the U14s in jeopardy.All might not be lost. The team owner has entered the U14s into the Tournament of Champions, which takes place over the summer. Leo and his teammates will pack their bags and travel across Europe to play against some of the top youth teams in the world. But the tournament isn't just for pride and a trophy. Something else is at stake: a loophole that allows the winner of the tournament to stay in the youth Premier League. The competition will be fiercer than ever. No one is giving the Knights a chance to win. And as if the tournament wasn't enough to deal with, someone is trying to sabotage the team, and the Knights have a new star player with a serious attitude problem.The mountain to climb has never seemed so high. Can Leo find a way to pull his team together and have a fighting chance in the Tournament of Champions?T.Z. Layton's inspiring third book in The Academy series is perfect for primary school readers and young sports fans looking for their next exciting read.Ideal for young readers aged 7-13 looking for:Page-turning football chapter books A humorous, action-packed, sports adventure book series like no other!

Leo and his teammates are riding high after their performance in the Tournament of Champions.But last season, they still finished near the bottom of the table in the U14 Premier League. If they want to compete with the London Dragons, they have a big challenge ahead of them. Samantha is back to coach the Knights, but some of Leo's friends have moved to the U16s or transferred to other clubs. There's a whole new group of players, including Goran, a tough central midfielder who is determined to take Leo's position. To make matters worse, Leo has a setback that might ruin his season – or even his future career.The Youth Premier League is the best in the world, and Leo and his teammates will be tested like never before. Can they handle the pressure, overcome a whole new set of obstacles, and rise to the challenge of a Title Fight?T.Z. Layton's inspiring fourth book in The Academy series is perfect for primary school readers and young sports fans looking for their next exciting read.Ideal for young readers aged 7-13 looking for:Page-turning football chapter books A humorous, action-packed, sports adventure book series like no other!

Leo has become a star in the Youth Premier League and one of the brightest young football players in the world.But he faces his greatest challenge yet when he joins his junior national team and tries to lead an underdog football squad from the United States to victory in the greatest tournament of all for his age group: the U15 Cup of Nations.Unlike the Lewisham Knights, Leo's national team doesn't have a roster full of Premier League talent. Plus, the team has terrible chemistry and very little time to improve.The stakes have never been higher. The United States is the host nation, and the pressure is on to make a good showing. Can Leo become a true leader and bring his team together?Or will they flame out in the group stage and disappoint their country?T.Z. Layton's inspiring fifth book in The Academy series is perfect for primary school readers and young sports fans looking for their next exciting read.Ideal for young readers aged 7-13 looking for:Page-turning football chapter books A humorous, action-packed, sports adventure book series like no other!

Fresh off his success with the junior national football team, Leo K. Doyle is back in England and playing for the U16s, where he’ll be a newbie all over again.Will Leo get any playing time? Can he work his way into a starting lineup filled with older, bigger and more experienced players?Unfortunately, the move to a new division might be the easy part. There’s a new contender in the Youth Prem—the Southwark F.C. Scorpions—who have a roster full of superstars that play to win at any cost. They’re the dirtiest, roughest team Leo has ever faced, led by an old enemy who cheats at every turn.Starting secondary school. Meeting a pretty girl. An intense race for the title. Dealing with a tragedy that threatens to ruin the whole season.Whew.Playing at the highest level is never easy, but this might be Leo’s toughest season yet. Can he and his friends overcome their challenges and make another run at the title?T.Z. Layton's inspiring sixth book in The Academy series is perfect for primary school readers and young sports fans looking for their next exciting read.Ideal for young readers aged 7-13 looking for:Page-turning football chapter booksA humorous, action-packed adventure book series like no other!

'No one writing today is better than McDevitt at combining galaxy-spanning adventure with the genuine novel of ideas' Washington Post Book WorldA civilization-destroying Omega cloud has switched direction, heading straight for a previously unexplored planetary system - and its alien society. A handful of brave humans must try to save an entire world ... without revealing their existence.'McDevitt handles the back story so adroitly that readers unfamiliar with earlier volumes in this series should have no trouble following the action' New York Times Book Review

'Why read Jack McDevitt? The question should be: Who among us is such a slow pony that s/he isn't reading McDevitt?' Harlan EllisonTo boost waning interest in interstellar travel, a mission is sent into deep space to learn the truth about 'moonriders', the strange lights supposedly being seen in nearby systems. But the team soon discovers that their odyssey is no mere public-relations ploy, for the moonriders are no harmless phenomenon. They are very, very dangerous ... in a way that no one could possibly have imagined.'McDevitt's energetic, character-driven prose serves double duty by exploring Earth's future political climate and forecasting the potential dangers awaiting humanity among the stars' Booklist

'A writer who is a storyteller first and a science fiction writer second. In his ability to absolutely rivet the reader, it seems to me that he is the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke' Stephen KingThe year is 2255. The Academy that trained the starfarers is long gone and veteran pilot Priscilla 'Hutch' Hutchins spends her retirement supporting fund-raising efforts for The Prometheus Foundation, a privately funded organization devoted to deep space exploration. But when a young physicist unveils an efficient star drive capable of reaching the core of the galaxy, Hutch finds herself back in the deepest reaches of space, and on the verge of discovering the origins of the deadly Omega clouds that continue to haunt her.

From Nebula-Award winning Jack McDevitt comes the thrilling, edge-of-your-seat tale of interstellar pilot Priscilla 'Hutch' Hutchins's very first mission. Not to be missed by readers of Ray Bradbury and Joe Haldeman.Hutch has finally realised her dream: she's completed a nerve-bending qualification flight for a pilot's licence.Her timing is far from optimal, however. Faster-than-light travel has only recently become a reality and the World Space Authority is still learning how to manage long-range missions safely. To make matters worse, efforts to prepare two planets for colonization are killing off native life forms, outraging people on Earth. So interstellar pilots are not exactly in demand. Although Hutch fears her career may be over before it has begun, her ambition won't be denied and soon she is on the bridge of an interstellar ship, working for the corporation that is responsible for the terraforming. Her working conditions include bomb threats, sabotage, clashes with her employers ... and a mission to a world adrift between the stars which harbours a life form unlike anything humanity has ever seen.Ultimately, she will be part of a life and death struggle which will test not just her capabilities, but also her character.