Walter Tevis Books

Walter Tevis is the acclaimed author of The Hustler, The Man Who Fell to Earth and The Queen's Gambit.'A moral tale that has elements of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Superman and Star Wars' LA TIMES

After 20 years of hibernation, former pool champion Fast Eddie Felson is playing exhibition matches with former rival Minnesota Fats in shopping malls for prizes like cable television. With one failed marriage and years of running a pool hall, Eddie is now ready to regain the skills needed to compete in a world of pool that has changed dramatically since he left it behind, The real challenge comes when Eddie realizes that in order to compete successfully, he must hone his skills in the game of nine-ball as opposed to the straight pool that had once won him fame. With a new generation of competitors, fear and doubt and the daily possibility of failure arise, giving Fast Eddie a new challenge to overcome.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Engaging and fast-paced, this gripping coming-of-age novel of chess, feminism, and addiction speeds to a conclusion as elegant and satisfying as a mate in four. Now a highly acclaimed, award-winning Netflix series. Eight year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is, until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she’s competing for the U.S. Open championship. But as Beth hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting.

The book holds significant value in literature, recognized by scholars and academicians for its contributions to knowledge. To ensure its preservation for future generations, it has been reprinted in its original format, complete with any marks or annotations from the first publication. This approach maintains the authenticity and true nature of the work, emphasizing its enduring relevance.

This collection features the complete short fiction of a renowned author, celebrated for their bestselling work, The Queen's Gambit. It showcases a diverse range of stories that highlight the author's unique narrative style and thematic depth, offering readers a chance to explore new characters and settings. Perfect for fans and newcomers alike, this anthology promises to captivate with its blend of creativity and insight.

NOW A MAJOR GOLDEN GLOBE-WINNING NETFLIX SERIES 'Superb' Time Out 'Mesmerizing' Newsweek 'Gripping' Financial Times 'Sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years - for the pure pleasure and skill of it' Michael Ondaatje 'Don't pick this up if you want a night's sleep' Scotsman When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings, albeit fleetingly: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But she can never quite overcome her urge to self-destruct. For Beth, there's more at stake than merely winning and losing. 'I loved it. I just loved it, it really drew me in and I know nothing about chess... The writing about addiction is just fantastic. I underlined so many bits of it... I didn't want it to end' Bryony Gordon on BBC Radio 4 'Few novelists have written about genius - and addiction - as acutely as Walter Tevis' Telegraph

When it was published in 1959, The Hustler was hailed as the first (and the best)novel written about pool/billiards in the long history of the game. The novel was soon turned into a film that starred Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason. The Hustler is the story of Fast Eddie Felson, a poolroom hustler who travels from town to town conning strangers into thinking they could beat him at the game when in fact, he is a highly-skilled player who has never lost a game. But then he goes off to Chicago and comes face to face with Minnesota Fats, a king of the poolroom, and defeat and the quest to get even presents a gripping read. Tevis was based in Ohio.

The remarkable novel upon which the stunning cult film was based. 'Beautiful ... The story of an extraterrestrial visitor from another planet is designed mainly to say something about life on this one' NEW YORK TIMES Thomas Jerome Newton is an extraterrestrial from the planet Anthea, which has been devastated by a series of nuclear wars, and whose inhabitants are twice as intelligent as human beings. When he lands on Earth - in Kentucky, disguised as a human - it's with the intention of saving his own people from extinction. Newton patents some very advanced Anthean technology, which he uses to amass a fortune. He begins to build a spaceship to help the last 300 Antheans migrate to Earth. Meanwhile, Nathan Bryce, a chemistry professor in Iowa, is intrigued by some of the new products Newton's company brings to the market, and already suspects Newton of being an alien. As Bryce and the FBI close in, Newton finds his own clarity and sense of purpose diminishing. Discover the book which inspired the classic film with David Bowie and the new Paramount+ series with Chiwetel Ejiofor!

From the bestselling author of The Queen's Gambit, the landmark science fiction novel that inspired the classic 1976 film starring David Bowie and is the basis for the Showtime series A man wanders into town one day seemingly out of nowhere. He starts by peddling valuables just to get by. But he possesses uncanny scientific knowledge, which he uses to develop technologies of a marvelous nature. In time he builds a corporate empire that propels him to unimaginable wealth—but to what end? His rapid ascent to the highest levels of success is remarkable, but the vision of his enterprise begins to falter as he succumbs to afflictions that feel all-too-human, and the true purpose of his presence here on earth is in grave danger of being abandoned.

The sequel to The Hustler sees former champion "Fast" Eddie Felson return to the thrilling world of competitive pool—from the bestselling author of The Queen’s Gambit. The basis for the famed Martin Scorsese film. "Tevis writes about pool with power and poetry and tension.... Grabs the reader and doesn't let go. You don't have to appreciate pool to like this book, to appreciate its sense of living on the edge." —Washington Post Twenty years have passed since “Fast” Eddie Felson conquered the underground pool circuit. During that time he married and ran his own pool hall, but having left that all behind he’s now badly in need of money, and pool is all he knows. On the beautiful aquamarine waters of the Florida Keys, he ropes his former rival Minnesota Fats into a series of exhibition matches in the hopes of picking up a cable TV deal. But playing the old master, a terrible feeling nags at him that he’s sat on his talent and that the best part of him is now gone. And when he vows to get back in the game—seriously, this time—he finds a challenging road ahead, and the only thing standing in his way is himself.