In Death in the Fifth Position, dashing P.R. man Peter Sargent is hired by a ballet company on the eve of a major upcoming performance. Handling the press seems to be no problem, but when a rising star in the company is killed during the performance—dropped from thirty feet above the stage, crashing to her death in a perfect fifth position—Sargent has a real case on his hands. As he ingratiates himself with the players behind the scenes (especially one lovely young ballerina), he finds that this seemingly graceful ballet company is performing their most dramatic acts behind the curtain. There are sharp rivalries, sordid affairs, and shady characters. Sargent, though, has no trouble staying on point and proving that the ballerina killer is no match for his keen eye and raffish charm.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 677
"BIG WORDS, Rhobal!" Cardif retorted. Rhodan's son rose to his feet and shoved the Anti aside. Stepping over to the ball of energy he seized the sphere and raised it above his head. "Go ahead-all of you! Feast your eyes on these cell activators which can give the gift of eternal life! 20 of them, waiting here for you... but you will never have them unless I give the mental order, of my own free will, for the sphere to open. They lie behind a barrier to our time, gentlemen. Do you understand that? They are enclosed by a time field and that field will remain closed unless I feel like having it open up. Well, Rhobal, do you still dare antagonize me with your threats?"Negotiations might have begun but at that moment a loud announcement came over the speaker: "Rhobal, a ship from the Solar Fleet is approaching!"More than two dozen Antis stiffened in sudden alarm and consternation. And the man who had usurped Perry Rhodan's position in the Sol System cursed inwardly. You'll read the rest in-- THE MAN WITH TWO FACES! Views: 677
One of the most unusual literary innovations ever produced, A Life Full of Holes is the result of a singular collaboration between two remarkable individuals: Driss ben Hamed Charhadi, an illiterate North African servant and street vendor, and legendary American novelist and essayist Paul Bowles. The powerful story of a shepherd and petty trafficker struggling to maintain hope as he wrestles with the grim realities of daily life, it is the first novel ever written in the Arabic dialect Moghrebi, faithfully recorded and translated into English by Bowles. Straightforward yet rich in complex emotions, it is a fascinating inside look at an unfamiliar culture—harsh and startling, yet interwoven with a poignant, poetic beauty. Views: 677
David Eliot finds his career as a successful and much-acclaimed actor a definite strain, and his brittle conversation and seeming arrogance earn him the dislike of his new secretary Sebastian Weber. Views: 677
An action-packed whodunit set in San Juan by the crime fiction master and author of Point Blank. "A book by this guy is a cause for happiness" (Stephen King).Part-time actor-thief Alan Grofield has had his share of odd gigs, including a number of dangerous heists with a certain ruthless criminal named Parker. But nothing has been as dangerous, or as mystifying, as when he somehow finds himself playing bodyguard to a rich, demanding woman who's in the midst of divorcing a notorious mobster.Holed up in her isolated jungle villa, Grofield can't help wondering how he got there. Then someone gets murdered at the house, and Grofield's job gets a lot more complicated. The second Alan Grofield novel by Donald E. Westlake writing as Richard Stark The Dame is a rare Westlake take on a whodunit, features a cast of colorful characters and a suspenseful—and memorable—climax. This edition includes a new foreword by Sarah Weinman. Views: 677
LADY recreates a small New England town of the 1930s and '40s. Seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy, Woody, we meet Lady, a charming widow, owner of an imposing home on the Green. As does Woody, we come to care for and love his "special friend."
But there is more to Lady than meets the eye, and we share Woody's fear as he closes in on Lady's terrible secret. Views: 676
In his first full-length play, Günter Grass takes Bertolt Brecht, the foremost modern German dramatist, as his key figure. On 17 June, 1953, the workers in East Germany rise in rebellion against oppressive measures, but their revolt lacks a voice and a leader. In the East German theatre of which he is the director, the famed Communist poet and playwright, Bertolt Brecht (named 'the boss' in the play), is shown rehearsing his adaption of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. The revolution spills over into the stage happenings as a workers' delegation requests that 'the Boss' lend the authority of his voice and fame to their demands for justice and freedom. The intellectual is shown in a tragic dilemma: reasoning keeps him from active commitment until it is too late. He becomes guilty of betraying the workers and his own self. Views: 676
ETERNAL WAKEFULNESS
Release a Jinn from a bottle - according to legend - and he becomes your slave. But Zongri was an unusual Jinn - evil, malicious, and thoroughly angry at having been kelp imprisoned for thousands of years. Instead of thanking young Jan Palmer for freeing him, he cursed Jan - with the curse of "eternal wakefulness".
Jan had enough trouble in his own world. Meek and bookish, he stood accused of murder, and no one would believe him innocent. But his trouble more than doubled as the curse sent him into another world every time he fell asleep. In this other existence, he had a separate identity - that of Tiger, swashbuckling adventurer and warrior against the ruling demons. The odds were against him everywhere - and he could die in either world at any moment! Views: 676
The story follows the adventures of Geoffrey and Alys de Villacours, who in 1212 set out on a great crusade of children, bent on making their way to the Holy Land to free Jerusalem. The marching clolumn of children got as far as Marseilles on their own, but were then tricked onto the ships of unscupulous traders who sold them into slavery. Geoffrey and Alys were separated on that voyage, but both became the slaves of the Governor of Egypt. The Children's Crusade really happened, and this is a wonderful introduction to the history of the period. Views: 676
While slinging hash in a diner, a would-be Cinderella meets her Prince Charming
Carrie Selden is not at all like the woman you’ve read about in the papers. Though she was raised in an orphanage, she isn’t an orphan. She didn’t finish high school until she was nineteen, but that was because she was working as a waitress, not because she was slow. And though she’s very cunning, well, she’s no femme fatale. But her beauty . . . oh yes, her beauty is everything you’ve heard. At twenty-one, she takes her savings and moves to New York City, landing a job at a diner called Karb’s, at the bottom rung of the restaurant chain’s tall corporate ladder. Though she makes minimum wage, Carrie is savvy, and it isn’t long before she starts to climb. When her coworkers unionize, they choose her as president, and from there, the sky is the limit. But just as the union gets underway, she meets a mysterious intellectual named Grant—who will either help her rise to the top, or drag her straight down to hell. Views: 676
Harryboy is lowlife, scum. Trouble starts for him when the Deaners move into his boarding house. Quicker than he can place a bet on a dog, Harryboy finds himself the admired hero and evil genius of the family, particularly for the child Gregory. But Harryboy is also the victim of a secret guilt of his own, something unknown even to his doting sister. The complications resulting from this involve him and the Deaners in even deeper trouble and culminate in a thrilling chase when Harryboy's luck threatens to desert him. Views: 675
Written at the height of his powers immediately after Brave New World, Aldous Huxley's highly acclaimed Eyeless in Gaza is his most personal novel. Huxley's bold, nontraditional narrative tells the loosely autobiographical story of Anthony Beavis, a cynical libertine Oxford graduate who comes of age in the vacuum left by World War I. Unfulfilled by his life, loves, and adventures, Anthony is persuaded by a charismatic friend to become a Marxist and take up arms with Mexican revolutionaries. But when their disastrous embrace of violence nearly kills them, Anthony is left shattered—and is forced to find an alternative to the moral disillusionment of the modern world. Views: 675
All of the published poetry of James Baldwin, including six significant poems previously only available in a limited edition
During his lifetime (1924–1987), James Baldwin authored seven novels, as well as several plays and essay collections, which were published to wide-spread praise. These books, among them Notes of a Native Son, The Fire Next Time, Giovanni’s Room, and Go Tell It on the Mountain, brought him well-deserved acclaim as a public intellectual and admiration as a writer. However, Baldwin’s earliest writing was in poetic form, and Baldwin considered himself a poet throughout his lifetime. Nonetheless, his single book of poetry, Jimmy’s Blues, never achieved the popularity of his novels and nonfiction, and is the one and only book to fall out of print.
This new collection presents James Baldwin the poet, including all nineteen poems from Jimmy’s Blues, as well as all the poems from a limited-edition volume called Gypsy, of which only 325 copies were ever printed and which was in production at the time of his death. Known for his relentless honesty and startlingly prophetic insights on issues of race, gender, class, and poverty, Baldwin is just as enlightening and bold in his poetry as in his famous novels and essays. The poems range from the extended dramatic narratives of “Staggerlee wonders” and “Gypsy” to the lyrical beauty of “Some days,” which has been set to music and interpreted by such acclaimed artists as Audra McDonald. Nikky Finney’s introductory essay reveals the importance, relevance, and rich rewards of these little-known works. Baldwin’s many devotees will find much to celebrate in these pages. Views: 675
