A BAKER'S DOZEN of fiction by a modern master that spans the twentieth century from the last days of the Czars, to the Bolshevik Revolution, Nazi Germany, and contemporary middle-class America. Looking back nostalgically to the past and ahead to the future age of scientific miracles, Vladimir Nabokov makes each of the characters in these stories—young lovers, a forgotten poet, a Russian movie producer, a tragic butterfly collector—come vividly alive. • •From the writer who shocked and delighted the world with his novels Lolita, Pale Fire, and Ada, or Ardor, and so many others, comes a magnificent collection of stories. Written between the 1920s and 1950s, these sixty-five tales--eleven of which have been translated into English for the first time--display all the shades of Nabokov's imagination. They range from sprightly fables to bittersweet tales of loss, from claustrophobic exercises in horror to a connoisseur's samplings of the table of human folly. Read as a whole, Nabokov's Dozen offers and intoxicating draft of the master's genius, his devious wit, and his ability to turn language into an instrument of ecstasy.From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 25
Conflicted crew of US gunboat cruising China's straits in the 1920's risks involvement in Chinese civil war. First published in THE SATURDAY EVENING POST, this was the author's only novel: he died at 51. Some brilliant science fiction stories, often reprinted, preceded the novel. Memorably filmed by Robert Wise with Steve McQueen and Candice Bergen in 1966. Views: 25
'You must understand that we are not dealing with petty thieves or one of your backyard murderers, Cribb. We are fighting a secret society pledged to wrench Ireland from Her Majesty's dominion by every means at its disposal.' The year is 1884. London is being terrorised by a series of bomb blasts - even within Great Scotland Yard! Reluctantly, Sergeant Cribb attends a course in the science of infernal machines in a bid to gain expert knowledge of explosives and beat the criminals at their own game. With Constable Thackeray the prime suspect, Cribb feels bound for professional and personal reasons to track down the truth at any cost. And very soon he is abducted at gunpoint by an Irish-American hammer-thrower and finds himself an unwilling but vital member of the Dynamite Party... Views: 25
Anthony Monday doesnít have many friends, and his home life is a wreck. But, he does have Miss Eells, the librarian at the Hoosac Public Library, and he has an adventure waiting for him right around the corner. When Miss Eells gives Anthony a job at the library, he thinks heíll just be dusting shelves and filing books. Instead, he discovers a hidden clue leading to the treasure of eccentric millionaire Alpheus Winterborn. Miss Eells thinks the clues are a practical jokes left by the odd, old Winterborn before he died. Then why do things start getting so scary so quickly? The closer they get to solving the mystery, the closer Winterbornís evil nephew Hugo Philpotts lurks in the shadows, waiting to snatch the treasure out of their hands. This first book in John Bellairsí Anthony Monday Mystery series will have young readers on the edge of their seats, desperate to race ahead the storyís final surprise. ìWell told, slyly humorous, and fascinating.î óPublishers Weekly Views: 25
"You can almost hear the skipping rope slapping the sidewalk," wrote Margaret Laurence of Dennis Lee's timeless poetry collection Alligator Pie. One of the first illustrated books published about Canadian children and featuring Canadian place names, Alligator Pie established Dennis Lee's reputation as "Canada's Father Goose" and has sold more than half a million copies since its publication in 1974. This classic edition, featuring Frank Newfeld's instantly recognizable original illustrations and book design, includes childhood favourites such as "Willoughby Wallaby Woo," "Wiggle to the Laundromat" and "Skyscraper." Views: 25
A Spirited Retelling of King Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade "Margaret Campbell Barnes has been one of the most reliable of England's historical novelists." -Chicago Tribune In this compelling novel of love, loyalty, and lost chances, Margaret Campbell Barnes gives readers a new perspective on Richard the Lionheart's triumphs and tragedies. Drawing on folklore, Barnes explores what might have happened if King Richard's foster brother were none other than Robin Hood, a legendary figure more vibrant than most in authentic history. Thick as thieves as Richard builds a kingdom and marshals a crusade, the two clash when Robin Hood so provokes the king's white hot temper that Richard banishes him. The Passionate Brood is a tale of a man driven to win back the Holy Land, beset by the guilt of casting out his childhood friend, and shouldering the burden of being the lionhearted leader of the Plantagenets. Praise for Margaret Campbell Barnes "Barnes vividly depicts Anne's hopes and fears in an age where royal marriages were brokered like a cattle fair, and beheading could befall even a Queen." -Publishers Weekly on Brief Gaudy Hour "Rich in detail and flows beautifully, letting readers escape into Anne's court and country life. It is a must read for those who love exploring the dynamic relationships of Henry VIII and his wives." -Historical Novels Review on My Lady of Cleves Views: 25
“It was a time of pause, a time between planting and harvest when the air was heavy, humming with its own slow warm music.” So begins an extraordinary fantasy of the rural Midwest by a recent winner of the John W. Campbell, Jr., Award for best young science fiction writer.One summer day in the 1920s, Haverstock’s Traveling Curiosus and Wondershow rides into a small Midwestern town. Haverstock’s show is a presentation of mysterious wonders: feats of magic, strange creatures, and frightening powers. Three teenage girls attend the opening performance that evening which, for each, promises love and threatens death. The three girls are drawn to the show and its performers—a lusty centaur, Angel the magical albino boy, the rowdy stage hands—but frightened by the enigmatic owner, Haverstock. The girls at first try to dismiss these marvels as trickery, but it becomes all too real, too vivid to be other than nightmare reality.Each feels the force of the show and its power to alter everyday lives: Francine is drawn embarrassingly to the centaur, Rose makes an assignation with one of the hands and gets in trouble, and Evelyn is fascinated by the pathetic, mysterious Angel, Boy Who Can Fly, and together they plan escape.No stranger or more disturbing vision of the dark side of carnival life has been handled with such grace or conviction since Bradbury's vintage period. With a poet's mastery of language Reamy brings his circus of characters to a startling, fantastic conclusion. Views: 25
Mesklin is a vast, inhospitable, disc-shaped planet, so cold that its oceans are liquid methane and its snows are frozen ammonia. It is a world spinning dizzyingly, a world where gravity can be a crushing 700 times greater than Earth’s, a world too hostile for human explorers. But the planet holds secrets of inestimable value, and an unmanned probe that has crashed close to one of its poles must be recovered. Only the Mesklinites, the small creatures so bizarrely adapted to their harsh environment, can help. And so Barlennan, the resourceful and courageous captain of the Mesklinite ship Bree , sets out on an heroic and appalling journey into the terrible unknown. For him and his people, the prize to be gained is as great as that for mankind… Hal Clement’s Mission of Gravity is universally regarded as one of the most important and best loved novels in the genre. The remarkable and sympathetic depiction of an alien species and the plausible and scientifically based realization of the strange world they inhabit make it a major landmark in the history of hard SF. Views: 25
A real estate salesman is making a fortune leasing houses to families — except the houses remain empty. Views: 25
Peter Handke tells the story of a woman determined to break with her husband and her past and to form a new life for herself. Marianne, a mother and hausfrau in her thirtieth year, begins to examine her life keeping house in the suburbs of a large industrial city in West Germany. Excerpted from a description found at enotes.com Views: 25
ReviewGothic sleazefest, menstrual fantasy, dime-store pulp fiction—an important early-century surrealist novel only now translated from its native Czech into English. -- New York PressProduct DescriptionWritten in 1935 at the height of Czech Surrealism, this parable of menstruation is a bizarre erotic fantasy of a young girl's maturation into womanhood. Drawing on de Sade's Justine, and Nosferatu and the language of pulp serials, this a lyrical, menacing dream of sexual awakening involves a vampire with a taste for chicken blood, changelings, lecherous priests, with an androgynous merging of brother and sister. An exploration of the grotesque, a meditation on youth and age, sexuality and death. Views: 25
Challenging questions confort Nancy Drew when she attempts to solve the mystery of the strange tapping sounds in the house of a retired actress. Who is the tapper? How does he gain access to Miss Carter's house, despite securely locked doors and windows? Why do the tapping sounds come in Morse code? Is there a sinister motive behind the prowler's actions"? Views: 25
