A mythmaker of the highest order, China Mi\u00e9ville has emblazoned the fantasy novel with fresh language, startling images, and stunning originality. Set in the same sprawling world of Mi\u00e9ville's Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel, Perdido Street Station, this latest epic introduces a whole new cast of intriguing characters and dazzling creations.
Aboard a vast seafaring vessel, a band of prisoners and slaves, their bodies remade into grotesque biological oddities, is being transported to the fledgling colony of New Crobuzon. But the journey is not theirs alone. They are joined by a handful of travelers, each with a reason for fleeing the city. Among them is Bellis Coldwine, a renowned linguist whose services as an interpreter grant her passage\u2014and escape from horrific punishment. For she is linked to Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, the brilliant renegade scientist who has unwittingly unleashed a nightmare upon New Crobuzon.
For Bellis, the plan is clear: live among the new frontiersmen of the colony until it is safe to return home. But when the ship is besieged by pirates on the Swollen Ocean, the senior officers are summarily executed. The surviving passengers are brought to Armada, a city constructed from the hulls of pirated ships, a floating, landless mass ruled by the bizarre duality called the Lovers. On Armada, everyone is given work, and even Remades live as equals to humans, Cactae, and Cray. Yet no one may ever leave.
Lonely and embittered in her captivity, Bellis knows that to show dissent is a death sentence. Instead, she must furtively seek information about Armada's agenda. The answer lies in the dark, amorphous shapes that float undetected miles below the waters\u2014terrifying entities with a singular, chilling mission.
China Mi\u00e9ville is a writer for a new era\u2014and The Scar is a luminous, brilliantly imagined novel that is nothing short of spectacular.
Factotum, one of Charles Bukowski's best, follows the beer-soaked, deliciously degenerate wanderings of aspiring writer Henry Chinaski across World War II-era America. Deferred from military service, Chinaski travels from city to city, moving listlessly from one odd job to another, always needing money but never badly enough to keep a job. His day-to-day existence spirals into an endless litany of pathetic whores, sordid rooms, dreary embraces, and drunken brawls, as he makes his bitter, brilliant way from one drink to the next.
Charles Bukowski's posthumous legend continues to grow. Factotum is a masterfully vivid evocation of slow-paced, low-life urbanity and alcoholism, and an excellent introduction to the fictional world of Charles Bukowski.
Opening with the exotic Lady Death entering the gumshoe-writer's seedy office in pursuit of a writer named Celine, Pulp demonstrates Bukowski's own brand of humour and realism, opening up a landscape of seamy Los Angeles.
A Clash of Kings transports us to a world of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare unlike any we have ever experienced. A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leadersâLord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheonâwho held sway over an age of enforced peace, are dead, victims of royal treachery.
From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns as six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Amidst a backdrop of incest, fratricide, alchemy, and murder, the price of glory is measured in blood.
As the series continues, George R.R. Martin has created a work of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination. A Clash of Kings is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and evildoers who come together in a time of grim omens.
Here a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress, and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. At the center of the conflict, the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, as coveted as it is cursed, stands as a symbol of the conflict's harsh reality: when kings clash, the whole land trembles.
For fans of Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins comes Theodore Taylorâs classic bestseller and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner, The Cay. Phillip is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. War has always been a game to him, and heâs eager to glimpse it firsthandâuntil the freighter he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed.
When Phillip comes to, he is on a small raft in the middle of the sea. Besides Stew Cat, his only companion is an old West Indian, Timothy. Phillip remembers his motherâs warning about black people: âThey are different, and they live differently.â But by the time the castaways arrive on a small island, Phillipâs head injury has made him blind and dependent on Timothy.
âMr. Taylor has provided an exciting storyâŚThe idea that all humanity would benefit from this special form of color blindness permeates the whole bookâŚThe result is a story with a high ethical purpose but no sermon.ââNew York Times Book Review
âA taut tightly compressed story of endurance and revelationâŚAt once barbed and tender, tense and fragileâas Timothy would say, âoutrageous good.âââKirkus Reviews
* âFully realized settingâŚartful, unobtrusive use of dialectâŚthe representation of a hauntingly deep love, the poignancy of which is rarely achieved in childrenâs literature.ââSchool Library Journal, Starred
âStarkly dramatic, believable and compelling.ââSaturday Review
âA tense and moving experience in reading.ââPublishers Weekly
âEloquently underscores the intrinsic brotherhood of man.ââBooklist
"This is one of the best survival stories since Robinson Crusoe."âThe Washington Star
Welcome to Battleschool.
Growing up is never easy. But try living on the mean streets as a child begging for food and fighting like a dog with ruthless gangs of starving kids who wouldn't hesitate to pound your skull into pulp for a scrap of apple. If Bean has learned anything on the streets, it's how to survive. And not with fists. He is way too small for that. But with brains.
Bean is a genius with a magician's ability to zero in on his enemy and exploit his weakness. What better quality for a future general to lead the Earth in a final climactic battle against a hostile alien race, known as Buggers. At Battleschool Bean meets and befriends another future commander - Ender Wiggins - perhaps his only true rival.
Only one problem: for Bean and Ender, the future is now.
Ender's Shadow is the book that launched The Shadow Series, and the parallel novel to Orson Scott Card's science fiction classic, Ender's Game.
Javier MarĂas's A Heart So White chronicles with unnerving insistence the relentless power of the past. Juan knows little of the interior life of his father Ranz; but when Juan marries, he begins to consider the past anew, and begins to ponder what he doesn't really want to know.
Secrecyâits possible convenience, its price, and even its civilityâhovers throughout the novel. A Heart So White becomes a sort of anti-detective story of human nature. Intrigue; the sins of the father; the fraudulent and the genuine; marriage and strange repetitions of violence: MarĂas elegantly sends shafts of inquisitory light into the shadows and on to the costs of ambivalence.
"My hands are of your colour; but I shame/To wear a heart so white"âShakespeare's Macbeth.
Skilled, cautious, and anonymous, Jack Reacher is perfect for the job: to assassinate the vice president of the United States. Theoretically, of course.
A female Secret Service agent wants Reacher to find the holes in her system, and fastâbecause a covert group already has the vice president in their sights. Theyâve planned well. Thereâs just one thing they didnât plan on: Reacher.
Turquoise Draka was once a happy teenager with a wonderful family and a full life. Now, she is a hunter.
In a deadly world filled with vampires, shapeshifters, and mercenaries, she'll track any prey if the price is right. Her current assignment: to assassinate Jeshikah, one of the cruelest vampires in history.
Her employer is an unknown contact who wants the job done fast. Her major obstacle: she'll have to hide her strength and enter Midnight, a fabled vampire realm, as a human slave.
Vulnerable and defenseless, Turquoise faces her greatest challenge ever in this dark and thrilling adventure.
In 1903, a student at a military academy sent some of his verses to a well-known Austrian poet, requesting an assessment of their value. The older artist, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875â1926), replied to the novice in this series of letters â an amazing archive of remarkable insights into the ideas behind Rilke's greatest poetry. The ten letters reproduced here were written during an important stage in Rilke's artistic development, and they contain many of the themes that later appeared in his best works. The poet himself afterwards stated that his letters contained part of his creative genius, making this volume essential reading for scholars, poetry lovers, and anyone with an interest in Rilke, German poetry, or the creative impulse.
Five disparate voices inhabit Ali Smith's dreamlike, mesmerising Hotel World, set in the luxurious anonymity of the Global Hotel, in an unnamed northern English city.
The disembodied yet interconnected characters include Sara, a 19-year-old chambermaid who has recently died at the hotel; her bereaved sister, Clare, who visits the scene of Sara's death; Penny, an advertising copywriter staying in the room opposite; Lise, the Global's depressed receptionist; and the homeless Else who begs on the street outside.
Smith's ambitious prose explores all facets of language and its uses. Sara takes us through the moment of her exit from the world and beyond; in her desperate, fading grip on words and senses, she gropes to impart the meaning of her death in what she terms the "lift for dishes"âthen comes a flash of clarity: "That's the name for it, the name for it; that's it; dumb waiter dumb waiter dumb waiter."
Blended with hers are other voices: Penny's bland journalese and Else's obsession with metaphysical poetry.
Hotel World is not an easy read: disturbing and witty by turns, with its stream-of-consciousness narrators reminiscent of Virginia Woolf's The Waves, its deceptively rambling language is underpinned by a formal construction. Exploring the "big themes" of love, death, and millennial capitalism, it takes as its starting point Muriel Spark's Momento Mori ("Remember you must die") and counteracts this axiom with a resolute "Remember you must live".
Ali Smith's novel is a daring, compelling, and frankly spooky read.
A Warning from the Publisher:
Many readers have questions about Lemony Snicket, author of the distressing serial concerning the trials of the charming but unlucky Baudelaire orphans, published under the collective title A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Before purchasing, borrowing, or stealing this book, you should be aware that it contains the answers to some of those questions, such as the following:
Our advice to you is that you find a book that answers less upsetting questions than this one. Perhaps your librarian, bookseller, or parole officer can recommend a book that answers the question, "Aren't ponies adorable?"
Tales from Earthsea delves deeper into the enchanting world of Earthsea, presenting readers with five captivating tales. These stories unfold during times both preceding and succeeding the era chronicled in the original novels. Accompanying these tales is an insightful essay that invites readers to explore the rich tapestry of Earthseaâits people, languages, history, and the very essence of its magic.
The collection includes:
Readers are also treated to new maps and a special essay that delves into Earthsea's history, languages, literature, and magic, offering a comprehensive guide to this beloved fantasy realm.
Polly has two sets of memories...
One is normal: school, home, friends. The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was ten and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother's house. Polly's just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed.
But what did she do? Why can't she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love â and perhaps Polly herself â will be lost.
When I was twelve, a fortune teller told me that my one true love would die young and leave me all alone. Everyone said she was a fraud, that she was just making it up. I'd really like to know why the hell a person would make up a thing like that.
Written with the snap, glitter, and wit of The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, God-Shaped Hole is a memorable, poignant love story that will leave you weeping with laughter.
It is told in the wry, vulnerable voice of Beatrice "Trixie" Jordan who replies to a personal ad, "If your intentions are pure I am seeking a friend for the end of the world." In doing so, she meets Jacob Grace, a charming, effervescent thirty-something writer, a free spirit who is a passionate seeker of life.
He possesses his own turn of phrase and ways of thinking and feeling that dissonantly harmonize with Trixie's off-center vision as they roller coaster through the joys and furies of their wrenching romance. Along the way, they try to come to terms with the hurt brought about by their distant fathers who, in different ways, forsook them.
This story will prove so touching you will rush to share it with a friend or loved one or even a stranger.
Mary Saunders, a lower-class London schoolgirl, was born into rough cloth but hungered for lace and the trappings of a higher station than her family would ever know. In 18th-century England, Mary's shrewd instincts will get her only so far, and she despairs of the plans made for her to carve out a trade as a seamstress or a maid. Unwilling to bend to such a destiny, Mary strikes out on a painful, fateful journey all her own.
Inspired by the obscure historical figure Mary Saunders, Slammerkin is a provocative, graphic tale and a rich feast of a historical novel. Author Emma Donoghue probes the gap between a young girl's quest for freedom and a better life and the shackles that society imposes on her.
From the author of the masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front, The Black Obelisk is a classic novel of the troubling aftermath of World War I in Germany. A hardened young veteran from the First World War, Ludwig now works for a monument company, selling stone markers to the survivors of deceased loved ones. Though ambivalent about his job, he suspects thereâs more to life than earning a living off other peopleâs misfortunes.
A self-professed poet, Ludwig soon senses a growing change in his fatherland, a brutality brought upon it by inflation. When he falls in love with the beautiful but troubled Isabelle, Ludwig hopes he has found a soul who will offer him salvationâwho will free him from his obsession to find meaning in a war-torn world. But there comes a time in every manâs life when he must choose to liveâdespite the prevailing thread of history horrifically repeating itself.
The Prince and the Pauper, a novel by American author Mark Twain, marks Twain's first foray into historical fiction. Set in 1537, it weaves the tale of two young boys, born on the same day and identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper dwelling with his abusive, alcoholic father in the squalid quarters of Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Edward VI of England, the son of Henry VIII.
Fascinated by each other's life and their uncanny resemblance, they decide to switch places "temporarily". This decision leads to a series of adventures that highlight the stark contrasts between their lives. Edward, mistaken for Tom, experiences the brutal reality of a London pauper's life, while Tom, now mistaken for Edward, navigates the intricacies of royal court life, constantly fearing discovery.
Through their experiences, Twain critiques social hypocrisy and injustice, emphasizing the absurdity of basing one's worth on their social status. Edward's firsthand encounters with the harsh realities faced by the lower classes prompt him to vow for a more merciful reign, should he regain his rightful position.
Ultimately, The Prince and the Pauper is not just a story of mistaken identity but a commentary on the human condition, exploring themes of identity, empathy, and social justice.
Miles Vorkosigan graduates from the Academy, only to find himself embroiled in a whirlwind of unexpected events. He joins a mutiny, is placed under house arrest, and embarks on a secret mission. Along the way, he reconnects with his loyal Dendarii Mercenaries, rescues his Emperor, and thwarts an interstellar war.
This is just another day in the life if you're Miles.
When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."
Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history.
Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is having a streak of bad luck. First her co-worker is killed, and no one seems to care. Then she comes face-to-face with a beastly creature that gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn't enjoy it).
The point is: they saved her life. So when one of the bloodsuckers asks for a favor, she obliges - and soon Sookie's in Dallas, using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She's supposed to interview certain humans involved, but she makes one condition: the vampires must promise to behave and let the humans go unharmed. But that's easier said than done, and all it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly....
The Golden Age is set 10,000 years in the future in our solar system, an interplanetary utopian society filled with immortal humans.
Phaethon, of Radamanthus House, is attending a glorious party at his family mansion celebrating the thousand-year anniversary of the High Transcendence. There, he meets an old man who accuses him of being an imposter, and then a being from Neptune who claims to be an old friend.
The Neptunian tells him that essential parts of his memory were removed and stored by the very government that Phaethon believes to be wholly honorable. It shakes his faith. Is he indeed an exile from himself? He can't resist investigating, even though doing so could mean the loss of his inheritance and his very place in society.
His quest must be to regain his true identity and fulfill the destiny he chose for himself.
The Golden Age is just the beginning of Phaethon's story, which will continue in The Phoenix Exultant.
Within Cole Matthews lies anger, rage and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years. This time he caught Peter Driscal in the parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Now, Peter may have permanent brain damage and Cole is in the biggest trouble of his life.
Cole is offered Circle Justice: a system based on Native American traditions that attempts to provide healing for the criminal offender, the victim, and the community. With prison as his only alternative, Cole plays along. He says he wants to repent, but in his heart, Cole blames his alcoholic mom, his abusive dad, wimpy Peter (everyone but himself) for his situation.
Cole receives a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. There, he is mauled by a mysterious white bear of Native American legend. Hideously injured, Cole waits for death. His thoughts shift from anger to humility. To survive, he must stop blaming others and take responsibility for his life.
Rescuers arrive to save Cole's body, but it is the attack of the Spirit Bear that may save his soul.
Ben Mikaelsen paints a vivid picture of a juvenile offender, examining the roots of his anger without absolving him of responsibility for his actions, and questioning a society in which angry people make victims of their peers and communities. Touching Spirit Bear is a poignant testimonial to the power of a pain that can destroy, or lead to healing.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an epic saga of brotherhood and rivalry, of loyalty and treachery, of victory and death, forming part of the indelible core of classical Chinese culture and continues to fascinate modern-day readers.
In 220 EC, the 400-year-old rule of the mighty Han dynasty came to an end and three kingdoms contested for control of China. Liu Pei, the legitimate heir to the Han throne, elects to fight for his birthright and enlists the aid of his sworn brothers, the impulsive giant Chang Fei and the invincible knight Kuan Yu. The brave band faces a formidable array of enemies, foremost among them the treacherous and bloodthirsty Ts'ao Ts'ao.
The bold struggle of the three heroes seems doomed until the reclusive wizard Chuko Liang offers his counsel, and the tide begins to turn.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is China's oldest novel and the first of a great tradition of historical fiction. Believed to have been compiled by the playwright Lo Kuan-chung in the late fourteenth century, it is indebted to the great San-kuo chi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms) completed by the historian Ch'en Shou just before his death in 297 CE. The novel first appeared in print in 1522.
Welcome to Empire Falls, a blue-collar town full of abandoned mills whose citizens surround themselves with the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors and who find humor and hope in the most unlikely places, in this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo.
Miles Roby has been slinging burgers at the Empire Grill for 20 years, a job that cost him his college education and much of his self-respect. What keeps him there? It could be his bright, sensitive daughter Tick, who needs all his help surviving the local high school. Or maybe itâs Janine, Milesâ soon-to-be ex-wife, whoâs taken up with a noxiously vain health-club proprietor. Or perhaps itâs the imperious Francine Whiting, who owns everything in townâand seems to believe that âeverythingâ includes Miles himself.
His life was like a recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that, when uncovered, they improve sex a thousand-fold, a runaway friend, a right-wing politico, an ovine-obsessed professor and a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit, implicate them in a hunt for a sheep, that may or may not be running the world, and the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japan's finest novelist.
A New York Times bestselling authorâand âa mythmaker for the millennium, a wiseacre wisemanâ (New York Times Book Review)âdelivers a surreal and elaborate quest that takes readers from Tokyo to the remote mountains of northern Japan, where the unnamed protagonist has a surprising confrontation with his demons. An advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend and casually appropriates the image for an advertisement. What he doesnât realize is that included in the scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences.
Mighty Kushiel, of rod and weal
Late of the brazen portals
With blood-tipp'd dart a wound unhealed
Pricks the eyen of chosen mortals
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. The inhabiting race rose from the seed of angels and men, and they live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.
Phèdre nĂł Delaunay was sold into indentured servitude as a child. Her bond was purchased by a nobleman, the first to recognize that she is one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. He trained Phèdre in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamberâand, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze.
When she stumbled upon a plot that threatened the very foundations of her homeland, she gave up almost everything she held dear to save it. She survived, and lived to have others tell her story, and if they embellished the tale with fabric of mythical splendor, they weren't far off the mark.
The hands of the gods weigh heavily upon Phèdre's brow, and they are not finished with her. While the young queen who sits upon the throne is well loved by the people, there are those who believe another should wear the crown... and those who escaped the wrath of the mighty are not yet done with their schemes for power and revenge.
The once-utopian Chasm City - a doomed human settlement on an otherwise inhospitable planet - has been overrun by a virus known as the Melding Plague, capable of infecting any body, organic or computerized. Now, with the entire city corrupted - from the people to the very buildings they inhabit - only the most wretched sort of existence remains.
For security operative Tanner Mirabel, it is the landscape of nightmares through which he searches for a low-life postmortal killer. But the stakes are raised when his search brings him face to face with a centuries-old atrocity that history would rather forget.
Weiner's witty, original, fast-moving debut features a lovable heroine, a solid cast, snappy dialogue and a poignant take on life's priorities. For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She's even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.
But the day she opens up a national women's magazine and sees the words "Loving a Larger Woman" above her ex-boyfriend's byline, Cannie is plunged into misery...and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become.
Prozac Nation is Elizabeth Wurtzel's New York Times best-selling memoir, with a new afterword. The book provides a powerful portrait of one girl's journey through the purgatory of depression and back. The author writes with her finger on the faint pulse of an overdiagnosed generation whose ruling icons are Kurt Cobain, Xanax, and pierced tongues. This witty and sharp account of the psychopharmacology of an era is a must-read for fans of Girl, Interrupted and Sylvia Plathâs The Bell Jar.
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse tells the intriguing story of Father Damien Modeste, a priest who has lovingly served the Ojibwe people on the remote reservation of Little No Horse for over half a century. As he nears the end of his life, Father Damien is tormented by the fear of having his true identity discovered: he is, in fact, a woman living as a man.
His peaceful existence is disrupted when a troubled colleague arrives to investigate the life of Sister Leopolda, a perplexing and possibly false saint. Father Damien alone knows the complex truth of Sister Leopolda's piety. He faces a heart-wrenching decision: should he reveal everything he knows and risk losing it all, or should he create a protective history, even though he suspects that Leopolda's miraculous acts may be driven by evil intentions?
This novel delves into themes of miracles, faith, and the struggles between good and evil, as well as the power of secrecy to both corrode and redeem.
"I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throneâif I can stay alive long enough to claim it." After eluding relentless assassination attempts by Prince Cel, her cousin and rival for the Faerie crown, Meredith Gentry, Los Angeles private eye, has a whole new set of problems. To become queen, she must bear a child before Cel can father one of his own. But havoc lies on the horizon: people are dying in mysterious, frightening ways, and suddenly the very existence of the place known as Faerie is at grave risk. So now, while she enjoys the greatest pleasures of her life attempting to conceive a baby with the warriors of her royal guard, she must fend off an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality. And thatâs just her day job...
Welcome to New York Cityâs Upper East Side, where my friends and I live, go to school, play, and sleepâsometimes with each other.
S is back from boarding school, and if we arenât careful, sheâs going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldnât fit into, steal our boyfriendsâ hearts, and basically ruin our lives in a major way. Iâll be watching closely...
You know you love me,
gossip girl
It's 18 years after the nuclear holocaust and the end of civilization, as we know it. Survivors are being relocated to a new society known as the Alliance. It seems like a dream come true for many of the new citizens.
Crime, as well as harmful emotions, such as anger and prejudice, have been eliminated, because the Alliance has computerized control over its citizens from a computer chip that has been implanted in everyone.
Eric Lloyd discovers the Alliance's corrupt power structure and vows to destroy it. But can one person change the world?
The Egyptian, a novel by Mika Waltari, emerged as a sensational hit after its translation into English from Swedish, securing a spot atop the bestseller charts in 1949 and the subsequent years. This historic novel, deeply cherished by readers, unfolds through the eyes of its protagonist, Sinuhe, the royal physician. Narrating his story in exile following Akhenaten's downfall and demise, Sinuhe's journey is not confined to Egypt alone but extends to then Egyptian-dominated territories such as Syria, Mitanni, Babylon, Minoan Crete, and among the Hittites.
The narrative, inspired by an ancient Egyptian text known as The Story of Sinuhe, delves into events that took place over 3,300 years ago. Waltari's dedication to historical accuracy in his vivid depiction of ancient Egyptian life garnered acclaim not only from readers but also from Egyptologists. This commitment to authenticity stemmed from extensive research into the subject, a testament to Waltari's long-standing fascination with Akhenatenâa figure he had previously explored in a play staged in Helsinki in 1938.
The Egyptian stands as the only Finnish novel to be adapted into a Hollywood film, a DeLuxe Color epic by 20th Century Fox in 1954, which was later nominated for an academy award. It remains a historic novel all-time favorite, reflecting the timeless appeal of its story and the masterful storytelling of Mika Waltari.
Witch Child is the spellbinding diary of a teenage girl who escapes persecution as a witch, only to face new intolerance in a Puritan settlement. Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life.
Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary's startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared?
In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles onto him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern, twentieth-century woman proves a deft protĂŠgĂŠe and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective.
They are soon called to Wales to help Scotland Yard find the kidnapped daughter of an American senator, a case of international significance with clues that dip deep into Holmes's past. Full of brilliant deduction, disguises, and danger, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the first book of the Mary RussellâSherlock Holmes mysteries, is remarkably beguiling.
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by British writer Douglas Adams. The title refers to the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their headsâso they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.
They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.
How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert âuniversalâ Armageddon and save life as we know itâand donât know it!
âAdams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.ââArizona Daily Star
Briar Rose is a powerful retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty tale, woven with elements of history and mystery.
Rebecca has always been captivated by her grandmother Gemma's enchanting stories of Briar Rose. However, upon making a promise to her dying grandmother, Rebecca embarks on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth behind Gemma's astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose.
This journey leads Rebecca through a tapestry of unspeakable brutality and horror, but also guides her towards redemption and hope. The story beautifully intertwines the magical fairy tale with the harsh realities of history, creating a narrative that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.
Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.
Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair... and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.
Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.
A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on the 24th of October, 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. While this extended essay in fact employs a fictional narrator and narrative to explore women both as writers and characters in fiction, the manuscript for the delivery of the series of lectures, titled Women and Fiction, and hence the essay, are considered nonfiction. The essay is seen as a feminist text, and is noted in its argument for both a literal and figural space for women writers within a literary tradition dominated by patriarchy.
At Swim, Two Boys is a tender, tragic love story set during the year preceding the Easter Uprising of 1916âIrelandâs brave but fractured revolt against British rule. This masterwork by Jamie O'Neill is both powerful and artful, capturing the essence of people caught in the tide of history.
Jim Mack is a naĂŻve young scholar, the son of a foolish, aspiring shopkeeper. Doyler Doyle is the rough-diamond sonârevolutionary and blasphemousâof Mr. Mackâs old army pal. Out at the Forty Foot, a great jut of rock where gentlemen bathe in the nude, the two boys make a pact: Doyler will teach Jim to swim, and in a year, on Easter of 1916, they will swim to the distant beacon of Muglins Rock and claim that island for themselves.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mack, who has grand plans for a corner shop empire, remains unaware of the depth of the boysâ burgeoning friendship and the changing landscape of a nation.
The year is 1357. The Inquisition rages throughout medieval France, searching ruthlessly for heretics. In an epic tale of passion, mystery, and unspeakable danger, one woman faces the flames...and triumphs.
Mother Marie Francoise, born Sybille, is a midwife with a precocious gift for magicâa gift that makes her a prime target for persecution at the hands of the Church. She flees her village and takes refuge in a Franciscan sisterhood. Before long, Sybille's unusual powers bring her under the scrutiny of the Inquisition. Michel, a pious and compassionate monk sent to hear her confession, finds himself drawn more intimately into Sybille's life and destiny than either of them could have imagined.
Like a magician herself, Jeanne Kalogridis weaves a tale of star-crossed love, of faith and heresy, of mysticism and witchcraft, against a fascinating historical backdropâthe Black Death, the Hundred Years' War, and the catastrophic defeat of France at the hands of the English. The result is a page-turning novel about one of the most intriguing periods in history.
Since Sai's disappearance, Hikaru has given up go! Meanwhile, undefeated by his failure to pass the pro test, Isumi plays his heart out in China. His foreign training teaches him unique ways to handle the stress of mental challenges and competition. Upon his return, he asks Hikaru for a rematch! But how good will Hikaru's game be after such a long break--and without Sai...?
-- VIZ Media
Considered by critics to be Barth's most distinguished masterpiece, The Sot-Weed Factor has acquired the status of a modern classic. Set in the late 1600s, it recounts the wildly chaotic odyssey of hapless, ungainly Ebenezer Cooke, sent to the New World to look after his father's tobacco business and to record the struggles of the Maryland colony in an epic poem.
On his mission, Cooke experiences capture by pirates and Indians; the loss of his father's estate to roguish impostors; love for a farmer prostitute; stealthy efforts to rob him of his virginity, which he is (almost) determined to protect; and an extraordinary gallery of treacherous characters who continually switch identities. A hilarious, bawdy tribute to all the most insidious human vices, The Sot-Weed Factor has a lasting relevance for readers of all times.
Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical play Long Day's Journey into Night is regarded as his finest work. First published by Yale University Press in 1956, it has since sold more than one million copies. This edition includes a new foreword by Harold Bloom.
The action covers a fateful, heart-rending day from around 8:30 am to midnight, in August 1912 at the seaside Connecticut home of the Tyrones - the semi-autobiographical representations of O'Neill himself, his older brother, and their parents at their home, Monte Cristo Cottage.
One theme of the play is addiction and the resulting dysfunction of the family. All three males are alcoholics and Mary is addicted to morphine. They all constantly conceal, blame, resent, regret, accuse and deny in an escalating cycle of conflict with occasional desperate and half-sincere attempts at affection, encouragement and consolation.
The Last Book in the Universe is a fast-paced action novel set in a future where the world has been almost destroyed. It's the story of an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz, who begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the planet.
In a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems, Spaz is the rare human being who can see life as it really is. When he meets an old man called Ryter, he begins to learn about Earth and its past. With Ryter as his companion, Spaz sets off on an unlikely quest to save his dying sisterâand in the process, perhaps the world.