AustLit

'His last assignment blew up in his face! Is New Ottosland ready for their new Grade Three Wizard?

'For the life of him, Gerald Dunwoody can't seem to keep a job or a roof over his head. When career disaster strikes again it looks like his days of being a wizard are over for good ... until his friend Monk, genius of the government's secret research department, helps him to get appointed as Royal Court Wizard to the King of New Ottosland. His offsider, Reg, an ensorcelled bird with a mysterious past, isn't so sure this is a good idea. But Gerald's choices are limited ...

'It's New Ottosland, or starve.

'But once he arrives it quickly becomes clear that King Lional isn't the vain, indolent young man he first appeared to be. And with the passing of time, it becomes even clearer that Lional's plans may not, in fact, be in Gerald's best interests ...' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'When a plane crashes into the Antarctic ice, exposing a massive cave beneath, a rescue and research team is dispatched.

Twenty-four hours later, all contact is lost.

Captain Alex Hunter and his highly trained squad of commandos are fast tracked to the hot zone to find out what went wrong - and to follow up the detection of a vast underground reservoir. Accompanying the team is an assortment of researchers, including petrobiologist Aimee Weir. If the unidentified substance proves to be an energy source, every country in the world will want to know about it - some would even kill for it.

Once inserted into the cave system, they don't find any survivors - not even a trace of their bodies. Primeval hieroglyphs hint at an ancient civilisation, and an ancient danger. Spectres of the dead haunt the tunnels. Within hours, one of the party will die.

"Soldiers, we are not alone. Prepare to go hot."

To bring his team out alive, Alex will need every one of his mysterious abilities beneath the dark ice.' (From the publisher's website.)