This is the eighth volume of stories by Reggie Oliver to be published by Tartarus Press and marks the fact that we have published over one hundred of his tales. Oliver's work is notable for its style, wit, humour and depth of characterisation, and also for its profound excursions into the disturbingly bizarre and uncanny. Behind a façade of classical elegance his stories consistently defy convention. 'The Crumblies' is a haunted house story, but is the house haunted by the dead, or the living? A retired civil servant is tormented by guilt, but is it guilt about a real, or an imagined event? In the title story, why are the inhabitants of a high-class brothel so terrified by a client who just likes to throw jam tarts at them? In these and other mysteries, we are taken to a farmhouse in the Dordogne, a Suffolk 'Rehab Clinic', a private island in the Thames, Victorian St John's Wood, the Edinburgh Festival in 1979, and many other unusual destinations. Contents: 'The Old Man of the Woods', 'Coruvorn', 'The Wet Woman', 'A Maze for the Minotaur', 'Shadowy Waters', 'A Fragment of Thucydides', 'The Crumblies', 'Monkey's', 'Collectable', 'Via Mortis', 'A Cabinet of Curiosities', 'The Armies of the Night', 'A Tartarean Century: Author's note'.

King Minos keeps a strange and dangerous beast in the maze of narrow corridors beneath his castle, known as the Labyrinth. This is the dreaded Minotaur who, every nine years is fed a horrible meal of seven young men and seven young girls from Athens, sent down to the Labyrinth to their deaths. Once inside the Labyrinth no one is ever able to find their way out… Theseus, prince of Athens, vows to kill the Minotaur, and he willingly sails to Crete with the other young Athenians destined to sate the beast’s horrible hunger. Helped by the king’s daughter, Ariadne, who has fallen in love with him, Theseus enters the Labyrinth, armed with his sword and a ball of golden thread. “Unravel it as you go into the maze and you will be able to find your way out” Ariadne tells the young man. Will Theseus kill the Minotaur? Will he be able to get out of the maze? Follow Theseus on his quest, through the Labyrinth, and see if YOU can spot where the Minotaur is lurking, and if you can follow the thread and help Theseus escape?

A dashing prince and a brave princess must join forces to defeat the monster in the maze and save the children of Athens. This exciting Greek legend comes to life in this easy-to-read version of the ancient legend. Full-color illustrations.

In this gripping Greek adventure, young explorers find out if they have what it takes to survive in ancient Greece! Budding history buffs sail the seas, outsmart a Spartan, go for gold, and decide how the plot unfolds. As they make their way through this thrilling adventure, they must use their historic knowledge and powers of deduction to complete the mission, or the Minotaur will make mincemeat out them! Graphic illustrations and puzzles bring the past to life and the book also includes a glossary and list of further reference material. Readers must use their problem-solving skills and historical knowledge to navigate through four thrilling adventures. History Quest follows the popular Maths Quest series. Questions are carefully chosen to address all aspects of life in the past. Finding the answers enables readers to advance through the story, learning more about history with every step they take. Clues are dotted along the way, and wrong turns will direct readers towards the right answer! A glossary explains historical terms and provides added reference material. The titles in the History Quest series include: Medieval Mayhem, 978-1-60992-487-4; Minotaur's Maze, 978-1-60992-486-7; Race Through Rome, 978-1-60992-484-3; Tomb of Terror 978-1-60992-485-0

"Every Saturday at noon precisely, the T. Middleton Nightingale City Library is transformed, and today Kelly, one of the library pages, arrives just in time to find herself inside the Labyrinth, confronting the Minotaur with Princess Ariadne; her fellow pages are nowhere in sight--and defeating the Minotaur is only the beginning, because other monsters of Greek mythology are also roaming the confusing corridors, and there seems to be no way out of this maze."--Provided by publisher.

It's the Assistant Librarian's birthday! When the kids surprise him, the shock is theirs - he's been turned to stone! Medusa has entered the library - and so have her friends Apollo, Perseus, Apollo and Ariadne. These Greek gods and goddesses aren't here for the party. They're here because the Library has been transformed into a labyrinth! Can anyone find their way out of this maze?

Leap into the world of Zeus the hamster and his gang of gods as they solve the mystery of the labyrinth in the second book in this hilarious modern-day take on Greek mythology.