"A model of popular-science writing" STEVEN POOLEWho was "the first speaker" and what was their first message?An erudite, tightly woven and beautifully written account of one of humanity's greatest mysteries - the origins of language.Drawing on evidence from many fields, including archaeology, anthropology, neurology and linguistics, Sverker Johansson weaves these disparate threads together to show how our human ancestors evolved into language users. The Dawn of Language provides a fascinating survey of how grammar came into being and the differences or similarities between languages spoken around the world, before exploring how language eventually emerged in the very remote human past.Our intellectual and physiological changes through the process of evolution both have a bearing on our ability to acquire language. But to what extent is the evolution of language dependent on genes, or on environment? How has language evolved further, and how is it changing now, in the process of globalisation? And which aspects of language ensure that robots are not yet intelligent enough to reconstruct how language has evolved?Johansson's far-reaching, authoritative and research-based approach to language is brought to life through dozens of astonishing examples, both human and animal, in a fascinatingly erudite and entertaining volume for anyone who has ever contemplated not just why we speak the way we do, but why we speak at all.Translated from the Swedish by Frank Perry

All I wanted to do was live my life in peace. Maybe get a cat, expand my spice farm. Really anything that doesn't involve going on a quest where an orc might rip my face off. But they say the Goddess has favourites. If so, I'm clearly not one of them.After saving the demon Fallon in a wine-drunk stupor, all he wanted to do was kill an evil witch enslaving his people.I mean, I get it, don't get me wrong. But he's dragging me along for the ride, and I'm kind of peeved about it. On the bright side, he keeps burning off his shirt.

The acclaimed author of Gods of Jade and Shadow returns with a mesmerising feminist re-imagining of Gothic fantasy, in which a young socialite discovers the haunting secrets of a beautiful old mansion in 1950s Mexico.He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me.When glamorous socialite Noemí Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging to be rescued from a mysterious doom, it's clear something is desperately amiss. Catalina has always had a flair for the dramatic, but her claims that her husband is poisoning her and her visions of restless ghosts seem remarkable, even for her.Noemí's more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing, but she heads immediately to High Place, a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside, determined to discover what is so affecting her cousin. She's tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin's new husband, who is both menacing and alluring: not of his father, the ancient patriarch who is fascinated by Noemí: and not of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi's dreams with visions of blood and doom.Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family's youngest son. Shy and gentle, he wants to help - but he might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family's past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family's once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.And Noemí, mesmerised by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to leave this enigmatic house behind . . .

What do you do if your life is no longer your own?When flight Air France 006 enters a terrifying storm, the plane - inexplicably - duplicates. For every passenger on board that day, there are now two - a double with the same mind, body and memories.Just one thing sets them apart. One plane leaves the storm in March. The other doesn't land until June. For world leaders, the emergence of the June flight raises serious alarms. No science, faith, or protocol can explain this unprecedented event.But for the passengers, a bigger question is at stake. What happens to them, now that their life is shared? What happens to those who land in June, when their March doubles make decisions that will change their lives forever?And as the doubles prepare to meet, they have an extraordinary decision to make.If there are two of them, and just one life - who gets to live it?A runaway bestseller and winner of the 2020 Prix Goncourt, The Anomaly is a genre-defying, whip-smart novel that explores the very essence of who we are.