Skandian outcasts Hal, Stig, and others do battle at sea against the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race across icy waters where not everyone thinks of the competition as play.

It is 1904 and the partially deaf Asta Hedstrom is engaged to Nils, but she does not want to marry him: she would rather spend her time with her best friend Gunnar Fuglestad and his secret boyfriend, Erlend, who belongs to the wealthiest family on their Norwegian island; so when Nils gravely injures Gunnar, she shuns her marriage and moves in with Gunnar and Erlend in a secluded cabin above town--and the three misfits set out to win the annual Christmas...

"In a snow-covered land where monsters rule the icy tundra, only song weavers hold the power to control these vicious giants. But for centuries song weavers have been the subject of suspicion--how can those who hold so much power be trusted? Ever since his parents were lost on a pathfinding expedition, Ash has spent his life as an outcast. As a budding song weaver, his village marked him as a potential threat, even though all he wants to do is protect...

"Meet Chub. He's a lot like you ... if you're a short, (accidentally) bald kid who spends your life plotting to take down your middle-school nemesis. Chub knows he'll never be one of the cool kids--and he doesn't care. All he wants is to show everyone that class hero Archer 'The Arch' Norris isn't the great guy everyone thinks he is. Armed with embarrassing photos, a pair of the Arch's dirty underwear, and a talent for mischief that would make any...

'But there will be action, won't there? And daring deeds and fights and things?' 'Oh yes, lots of those, ' says the bard. 'Once the story gets going. You have to let it build up first, though. A good story comes to the boil slowly, just like a good vegetable stew.' A thrilling new book set in the Five Realms of Podkin One-Ear, Uki and the Outcasts is the stirring tale of another legendary rabbit hero. But unlike Podkin, Uki wasn't a Chieftain's son...