New Releases by Paul Stewart

Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, high-stacking his way across the rooftops of his city in search of adventure and mystery. In each tale, he encounters a supernatural force and must battle the horrors that await him. In this new adventure, Barnaby finds himself in the fiercely competitive world of early photography, where the rewards are immense but so are the risks. After an experiment goes disastrously wrong, Barnaby is on the trail of a mad chemist with a talent for disappearing into thin air. . . .

Fleeing from the ruins of New Undertown, Rook Barkwater and his colleagues — the librarian knights, Felix Lodd and his banderbear friends — must lead the escaping population to a new life in the Free Glades. But perils aplenty are ahead for the crowd — not to mention some goblins with plans of their own. This is the dramatic and exciting conclusion to the Rook Barkwater sequence that takes the reader on a thrilling journey across the Edgeworld.

“The corpses swayed where they stood, their bony arms outstretched before them and tattered sleeves hanging limply in the foggy air. I smelled the sourness of the sewers about them; that, and the sweet whiff of death. Their sunken eyes bored into mine. I was surrounded. . . .” Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, delivering messages and running errands all over the city, day and night. Gangland funerals and diving expeditions are hazardous enough, but when the graveyards begin to give up their dead, this tick-tock lad is faced with his deadliest challenge yet. . . . A blood-curdling tale of greed and betrayal. Will Barnaby be defeated by the Legion of the Dead? Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell’s incomparable Barnaby Grimes returns for another adventure in the third installment of the brilliantly exciting horrorthriller series set in Dickensian London.

This is the story of workers'' struggles in the British car industry, from the Second World War until today. Told from the viewpoint of the workers, the book chronicles how they responded to a variety of management and union strategies, from piece rate working, through measured day work, and eventually to ''lean production'' beginning in the late 1980s. Focusing on two companies, Vauxhall-GM and Rover/BMW, this book shows how they developed their approaches to managing labour relations. It highlights the success of various forms of struggle to establish safer and more humane working environments, as well as their failures.

THE ROOK TRILOGY, Book I Rook Barkwater lives in the network of sewer chambers beneath Undertown, the bustling main city of the Edgeworld. He dreams of becoming a librarian knight—one of those sent out to explore the mysteries of their world. Somewhere out there lie the secrets of the past—including the lost floating city of Sanctaphrax—and, maybe, hope for a future free from the fear of tyranny. When his chance comes, Rook grabs it! Breaking all the rules, he sets out on a journey to the Free Glades and beyond. His luck and determination lead him from one peril to another until, buried in the heart of the Deepwoods, Rock encounters a mysterious character—the last sky pirate—and is thrust into a bold adventure that dares to challenge the might of the dreaded Guardians of the night. . . .

The newest paperback installment in the exciting Edge Chronicles! Rook Barkwater lives in the network of sewer-chambers beneath Undertown, the bustling main city of the Edgeworld. He dreams of becoming a librarian knight—one of those sent out to explore the mysteries of their world. When his chance comes, Rook grabs it! Breaking all the rules, he sets out on a journey to the Free Glades and beyond. His luck and determination lead him from one peril to another until, buried in the heart of the Deepwoods, Rook encounters a mysterious character and is thrust into a bold adventure that dares to challenge the might of the Guardians of the Night. . . .

THE TWIG TRILOGY, Book II Sixteen-year-old Twig is eager to begin his new life as a sky pirate on board the famous Stormchaser. The crew''s quest: to collect stormphrax—the precious, magical substance formed at the heart of a storm—in order to save the floating city of Sanctaphrax. Only a sky ship as powerful as the Stormchaser, piloted by a man as fearless as Cloud Wolf, could risk entering such a storm. . . .

Rook Barkwater, the young librarian knight, attempts to stop Vox Verlix, the Most High Academe, in his plot to take over Edgeworld once again.

Since his childhood in the DeepWoods, young Twig has always longed to soar above the forest canopy and explore the sky. Now a crew member on his father’s sky pirate ship, the Stormchaser, his dream seems fulfilled. But a much higher destiny awaits Twig. The lofty city of Sanctaphrax—built on a giant rock, floating high in the sky—is at the point of disaster. The city’s future is dependent on stormphrax—a valuable substance available only from the heart of a Great Storm. And only the Stormchaser, with Twig onboard, could risk entering a storm. . . . From the Hardcover edition.

THE TWIG TRILOGY, Book I When thirteen-year-old Twig discovers that he was abandoned at birth by an unknown outsider, he leaves his woodtroll family behind and sets off on a journey through and beyond the dangerous Deepwoods. As he makes his way through a nightmarish world of goblins and trogs, bloodthirsty beasts and flesh-eating trees, only two things keep Twig going: the mystery of his identity and the promise of a heroic destiny. . . .

SANCTAPHRAX WILL BE destroyed by the energy of the Mother Storm. . . . Far over the Edge, the Mother Storm is brewing—a storm more terrifying than any seen in the lifetime of any Edgelander. Sweeping in from the open sky, it must strike the source of the Edgewater River to bring new energy to the land. But in its way is Sanctaphrax, a magnificent city built on a floating rock and tethered to the land by a massive chain. Only one person can save the Edgelands from certain disaster: Twig, the young sky pirate captain who dared to sail over the Edge—and returned with his memory shattered and his crew flung far and wide. But to recover his memory and take action, Twig must first find his lost crew. And this means a journey back into the Deepwoods, and beyond. . . . “As before, Stewart’s descriptions are brilliant; Riddell’s line drawings are exquisitely detailed and notably grotesque. . . . Altogether this series is so exceptional that if I had any chance of collecting, I’d bet good money on it still being in print a century from now. . . . When’s the next book coming?”—Interzone “Fabulously illustrated. . . .”—The Sunday Times “Richly inventive. . . .”—Literary Review

Barnaby Grimes is tick-tock lad - he''ll deliver a message anywhere, any time. But strange things are afoot. One moonlit night, as Barnaby highstacks above the city, leaping from roof to roof, a huge beast attacks. He barely escapes with his life. And now his friend Old Benjamin has disappeared. Suggested level: primary, intermediate, junior secondary.

Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad on a mission: to collect a parcel from the docks and deliver it to a famous school. But dark forces have been released and, as Barnaby returns to Grassington Hall School, he is about to find out the full extent of the horror. Suggested level: primary, intermediate, junior secondary.

Quint Verginix and Maris go to help Quint''s father Wind Jackal defeat Turbot Smeal, the treacherous quartermaster.

When Ella enters her dog, Hot Dog, in the school fair''s competition, she finds that her pet has a creative approach to the commands she gives him.

Quint finally begins his training at the Knights Academy, Maris adjusts to life in Undertown, and Sanctaphrax shivers in anticipation of a legendary storm, while a storm of a different kind brews between sky-scholars and earth-scholars.

A boy, orphaned and raised in the Frozen North by reindeer herders, boards his birth parents'' sled and sets its special compass to "Home, " where he uncovers a plot that threatens his mermaid godmothers and other friends of his family.

Branding is an integral part of modern business strategy. But while there are dozens of books on branding products and marketing campaigns, nobody has applied the logic and techniques of branding to customer service -- until now. Branded Customer Service is a practical guide to moving service delivery to a new level so that brand reinforcement occurs every time customers interact with organizational representatives. Janelle Barlow and Paul Stewart show how to infuse an entire organization with brand values and create a recognizable style of service that reflects brand promises and brand images.

Maugin is a trog, destined to change from a beautiful creature into the fearsomely impressive adult termagant at her first blooding, due very soon. But an ill-fated trip above ground ends with her capture by Deepwoods slavers. Maugin''s subsequent sale to a scientist could be the end of her - but for the actions of a sky pirate, Quint Verginix.

While traveling with her family aboard the S.S. Euphonia, eight-year-old Corby Flood accidentally attracts the murderous attentions of five men, clad in bowler hats, called the Brotherhood of the Clowns as she investigates the mysterious singing coming from the ship''s hold.

The promotion of workplace partnership in the high performance workplace has become central to policy debates on the ''modernization'' of employment relations in British industry. This book provides critical insights into the dynamics of partnership by way of in-depth case studies of employee experience in an under-researched industry noted for its high concentrations of skilled workers and graduates. Drawing on rich interview and questionnaire data, the authors highlight considerable conflicts of interest in the development of partnership that derive from the competitive capitalist environment in which management strategies operate.

Clive Mantle''s talent lends the characters of the Deepwoods distinctive vocal interpretations. As the story of Twig (who thinks he''s a wood troll) unfolds, the listener is taken on a journey that is familiar, although the twists of fantasy bring new perspective to the tasks of searching for one''s identity, overcoming obstacles, and struggling with enemies. Mantle''s excellent and droll reading enhances the combination of description, humor, and wonderful characters. Sky Pirates, Rot Suckers, and Gross Mother are only a few of the creatures Twig meets, and young listeners who love descriptions of disgusting events such as compost dunking will thoroughly enjoy Twig''s mishaps.

The bestselling creators of the Edge Chronicles deliver a second helping of knightly adventures for middle-graders, in which Lance becomes caught in a web of sorcery and secrecy that even he may not be able to untangle. Illustrations.

In this second installment to Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell''s fabulous Edge Chronicles, life doesn''t get any easier for young Twig. He''s left the behind the monstrous, tooth-and-claw dangers of Beyond the Deepwoods, only to find himself plunged into the more diabolical, deadly intrigues of Undertown and the floating city Sanctaphrax. Serving aboard the magnificent sky-ship Stormchaser, Twig is still trying to prove himself to his pirate father Cloud Wolf--with mixed results. As old plots and schemes unfold, Twig learns that his father was once known as Qunitinius Verginix, "the finest Knight Academic in a hundred generations," entrusted by the Professors of Light and Darkness to secure "stormphrax" (the sacred, super-heavy substance that keeps the city of Sanctaphrax from sailing skyward). Betrayal forced Twig''s father into piracy, but the seeds sown by that misdeed have only now come to fruit, through a convoluted conspiracy of corruption. Now the Stormchaser must sail again--Twig, in tow, of course--chasing the Great Storm in search of stormphrax.

Now in paperback, the seventh title in this spectacular fantasy series - and the triumphant conclusion to the Rook Barkwater sequence. Fleeing from the ruins of New Undertown, Rook Barkwater and his colleagues - the librarian knights, Felix Lodd and his banderbear friends - must lead the escaping population to a new life in the Free Glades. But perils aplenty are ahead for the crowd - not to mention some goblins with plans of their own. This is the dramatic and exciting conclusion to the Rook Barkwater sequence that takes the reader on a thrilling journey across the Edgeworld.

Chockful of suspense, humor, and action-packed illustrations, topped off witha surprising and twisted climax, this first episode in a new adventure seriesintroduces knight-for-hire Free Knight, who is tapped to recover an enchantedcrown from the legendary Lake of Skulls.