Here we go again! In the newest appealing installment of the Discworld series, Pratchett (The Truth) takes on religion, time and... kung-fu movies? The cast includes Death; Miss Susan, Death's granddaughter; Jeremy Clockson, a clockmaker; Lobsang, a novice monk; and Lu-Tze, a sweeper at the temple of the History Monks. When a mysterious lady asks Jeremy to make a clock that is perfectly timed (even to the last tick), trouble begins it seems that such a clock would have the power to stop time completely. There would be no yesterday, no tomorrow, no next minute; in fact, everything and everyone would stop in its tracks. It's up to Miss Susan, Lobsang and Lu-Tze to figure out who in the end has decided to build the dangerous clock and how to stop him before the world crashes to a halt. Along the way we learn Rule One: "Do not act incautiously when confronting a little bald wrinkly smiling man," which is a very good lesson to learn. We also find out that Lobsang has more in store for his future than to be an apprentice monk. The story includes a quick nod to James Bond flicks with Qu, the monk who supplies gadgets to Lu-Tze and Lobsang, and at the end of Time the four (no, make that five) horsemen of the Apocalypse get to ride out for a jaunt. You don't need to catch all the in-jokes to enjoy the fun. Agent, Ralph Vincinanza. 6-city author tour.

Tiffany Aching is a trainee witch — now working for the seriously scary Miss Treason. But when Tiffany witnesses the Dark Dance — the crossover from summer to winter — she does what no one has ever done before and leaps into the dance. Into the oldest story there ever is. And draws the attention of the wintersmith himself.

As Tiffany-shaped snowflakes hammer down on the land, can Tiffany deal with the consequences of her actions? Even with the help of Granny Weatherwax and the Nac Mac Feegle — the fightin’, thievin’ pictsies who are prepared to lay down their lives for their “big wee hag.”Wintersmith is the third title in an exuberant series crackling with energy and humour. It follows The Wee Free Men.

'The world lives between those who say it cannot be done and those who say that it can ... it's just a matter of thinking creatively.'Moist von Lipwig is a con man turned civil servant. As head of the Royal Bank and Post Office of Ankh-Morpork, he doesn't really want or need another job. But when the Patrician Lord Vetinari gives you a task, you do it or suffer the consequences. In Moist's case, death.

A brand-new invention has come to the city: a steam locomotive named Iron Girder, to be precise. With the railway's introduction and rapid expansion, Vetinari enlists Moist to represent the government and keep things on track.

But as with all new technology, some people have objections, and Moist will have to use every trick in his arsenal to keep the trains running ...'The most serious of comedies, the most relevant and real of fantasies' IndependentRaising Steam is the third and final book in the Moist von Lipwig series, but the Discworld novels can be read in any order.

'Panic?' said Rincewind hopefully. He always held that panic was the best means of survival.

When the very fabric of time and space are about to be put through the wringer - in this instance by the imminent arrival of a very large and determinedly oncoming meteorite - circumstances require a very particular type of hero. Sadly what the situation does not need is a singularly inept wizard, still recovering from the trauma of falling off the edge of the world. Equally it does not need one well-meaning tourist and his luggage which has a mind of its own. Which is a shame because that's all there is...