Elizabeth Hunter, an ex-socialite in her eighties, has a mystical experience during a summer storm in Sydney which transforms all her relationships: her existence becomes charged with a meaning which communicates itself to those around her. From this simple scenario Patrick White unfurls a monumental exploration of the tides of love and hate, comedy and tragedy, impotence and and longing that fester within family relationships. In the Sydney suburb of Centennial Park, three nurses, a housekeeper and a solicitor attend to Elizabeth as her son and daughter convene at her deathbed. But, in death as in life, Elizabeth remains a destructive force on those who surround her. THE EYE OF THE STORM is a savage exploration of family relationships - and the sharp undercurrents of love and hate, comedy and tragedy, which define them. Views: 25
The French writer Theophile Gautier (1811-1872) was a leading writer of the Romantic movement and forms a bridge between the supernatural fiction of Goethe and E.T.A. Hoffmann and the pivotal pulp magazine Weird Tales. Gautier was fascinated by antique times and classical cultures; strange and fantastic events; exotic and compelling horrors; and love that transcends class, time, and even death. As the lush, passionate stories and novellas in One of Cleopatra's Nights demonstrate, Gautier originated or crystallized two powerful archetypes that entertain and haunt us still--the romantic vampire and the femme fatale. His collection should be read by fans of fantasy, horror, historical, and Romantic fiction.The book (translated by the 19th-century fantasist Lafcadio Hearn) opens with "One of Cleopatra's Nights," in which a common hunter recklessly declares his love for the queen; instead of having him executed, she proposes to take him for her lover, if he will agree to one horrific condition. The second of the six tales is Gautier's most famous, "Clarimonde" (which also appears, in a different translation, in Italo Calvino's anthology of 19th-century fantasy classics, Fantastic Tales, under the title "The Beautiful Vampire"). If "Clarimonde" did not invent the romantic vampire, it established the formula, with its gorgeous, irresistible woman whose love will not surrender even to death, and who must imbibe her mortal lover's blood to remain at his side. In "Arria Marcella," a tourist's ardent fascination with a woman who perished in the eruption of Vesuvius brings the woman, and Pompeii, back to life--but not life as we know it. In the witty, slyly self-parodying story "The Mummy's Foot," a writer purchases the embalmed extremity to serve as a paperweight, only to find its original owner, a Pharaonic princess, has returned to reclaim her foot and lead him to the Egyptian afterlife. "Omphale" too is amusing and knowingly self-parodic, with its tale of a youthful French writer haunted by a legendary beauty of ancient Greece, or perhaps the late wife of a dead marquis. The collection concludes with the erotically charged novella "King Candaules," in which an ancient Greek ruler is unsatisfied with his beautiful wife's Oriental modesty, which allows only her husband to see her face; he arranges for one of his captains to see her naked, with ironic and tragic results. --Cynthia WardOne of Cleopatra's common people, a hunter, declares his love for Cleopatra and is in mortal danger from doing so. However, Cleopatra, instead of executing him, decides to take him as her lover under one condition.... Views: 25
Is anyone out there? Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors. But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann’s solitude. Someone else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What does he want? Can he be trusted? Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth. Views: 25
Between the mountains and the sea, between the sea and Fairyland, lay the Free State of Dorimare and its picturesque capital, Lud-in-the-Mist. No Luddite ever had any truck with fairies or Fairyland. Bad business, those fairies. The people of Dorimare had run them out generations ago—and the Duke of Dorimare along with them.Until the spring of his fiftieth year Master Nathaniel Chanticleer, Mayor of Lud-in-the-Mist and High Seneschal of Dorimare, had lived a sleepy life with his only son, Ranulph. But as he grew, Ranulph was more and more fond of talking nonsense about golden cups, and snow-white ladies milking azure cows, and the sound of tinkling bridles at midnight. And when Ranulph was twelve, he got caught up with the fairies, and Nathaniel's life would never be the same. Views: 25
Tarl Cabot must prove his final loyalty to the harsh and caste-bound planet known as Counter Earth. "Surrender Gor," reads a message sent from the Others, a mysterious people from the worlds of steel. Either the proud rulers of Gor must submit or be destroyed. Now Tarl is leaving the decadent city of Port Kar to wander in the wilds of Gor, taking up the sword to defend his rulers and enemies, the Priest-Kings, for he knows that the fate of his home planet, Earth, is inextricably tied to the fate of Gor. Rediscover this brilliantly imagined world where men are masters and women live to serve their every desire. Slave Girl of Gor is the 11th book in the Gorean Saga, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. Views: 25
The Maseni were humanoid, but no creature with bulbous forehead, slit mouth and tentacles where fingers should be would ever be mistaken for a man. The Maseni had been on Earth for ten years — years in which the human race reeled under the shock not only of meeting an alien intelligence, but of knowing for the first time that Earth did not belong to men alone. For the Maseni held the secret of contacting the worlds of the supernatural, and now all of the creatures of legend and mythology had been released from their ancient bondage. Not all of them were happy about the new freedom however — even a vampire is apt to resent the interference when he's stopped in mid-bite by the precise wording of a decision handed down by the Supreme Court of the United Nations. Dean Koontz takes a wild and wacky look at the wonderful future of Earth when men and demons walk hand in hand. Views: 25
Kuurus was one of the dread caste of assassins on the hidden world of Counter-Earth. He was hired for twenty pieces of gold to avenge the death of a warrior. Now he was on his way to the great city of Ar, where he was forbidden by ancient sentance of death ever to appear again. He knew nothing of his intended victim, save that the man had taken part in the savage tarn races at the Arena of the Ar. Ans all he knew of the man he was to avenge was a name. The name was that of Tarl Cabot, the great warrior and servent to the all powerfull Priest-Kings. And that was strange. Because the true name of Kuurus was Tarl Cabot! Views: 25
Review“Munro, the hugely gifted chronicler, is fast becoming one of the world’s great totemic writers. . . . Each short story is a mansion of many rooms.” –The New York Times Book Review“How honest and how lovely. . . . A spellbinding tour through a world of love, menace and surprise. . . . [Munro] is a writer of enormous gifts and perception.” –Los Angeles Times“Wonderful. . . . A sheer pleasure.” –Seattle Post-Intelligencer“A rich exploration of womanhood. . . . A more supple, honest, sensitive and sympathetic imagination would be hard to find among writers of fiction today.” –Ms.“Masterful . . . proves beyond question Alice Munro’s trenchant ability to capture the essence of personality in the vagaries of human impulses. . . . It is hard to imagine a perception more acute.” –Houston PostFrom the Publisher6 1.5-hour cassettes Views: 25
This is a story of guilt and expiation by one of the modern American masters of the novel. The time is right now and the place is Manhattan, with an occasional trip to the country where the rich and those on the way up repair for weekends and holidays.Tony Lowder is the able and good-looking grandson of an Irish immigrant who prospered as a contractor and left behind a family that has been running downhill. Except Tony, who has a promising future in politics. He has married the only child of an old, correct New York family, he and Lee have two normally difficult children, and she tolerates her husband's continuing affair with wealthy Joan Conway, who was Tony's mistress before his marriage. There is always pressure for more money, and it has become acute with a drop in the market. The novel is a brilliant exploration of what happens to the inner experience as well as the surface relationships of these sophisticated and intelligent people when the agony of temptation, not... Views: 25
Felix Brooke, the orphaned son of an English soldier and an aristocratic Spanish mother, has been raised in the strict, loveless household of his grandfather in Villaverde, Spain. When Felix gains possession of a letter that contains a clue to the whereabouts of his father's family, he gladly runs away form home to pursue the trail. His journey from Spain to far-off England begins the adventure of a lifetime. Views: 25
Harold Robbins' very first novel is also one of his most powerful. Never Love a Stranger tells the gritty and passionate tale of Francis "Frankie" Kane, from his meager beginnings as an orphan in New York's Hell's Kitchen. From that confused and belittling start, Frank works his way up, choosing the wrong side of the law to make a name for himself. At a young age, he becomes one of the city's most dangerous men, indulging in his passion for power, sex, and the best things in life-whether or not they can be purchased. First published in 1948, the novel began Robbins' prolific career after someone made him a $100 bet that he couldn't write a bestseller. Twenty-six pot-boiling novels later, he proved the power of his words. Never Love a Stranger takes an unflinching look at a New York that's long gone by-exposing life during and after the Great Depression, when the syndicate ruled the city without mercy.About the AuthorWith more than 750 million copies of his books sold, Harold Robbins is the best-selling American fiction author of all time. Born in New York in 1916, Robbins created twenty-four of the most popular novels in literary history, stories that have been translated into movies and miniseries, and into thirty-two languages worldwide. Views: 24
Totally delightful account of the wild results of outlandish experiments of a scientist lured into joining the staff of an incredible institution where the most intensive research is done to harness the power of black magic, wizardry, the secrets of super-science and paranormal talents. Views: 24
Sir Charles Dilke was born in 1843 and died in 1911. His career is one of the mysteries and tragedies of nineteenth-century history. In the summer of 1885 he was the youngest man in the outgoing cabinet and Gladstone's most likely successor as leader of the Liberal Party. But his great expectations were shattered when in July 1885 Donald Crawford, a Liberal candidate, began divorce proceedings against his twenty-two-year-old wife, citing Dilke as co-respondent. There were two hearings, during the second of which Mrs Crawford made the most sensational allegations and in the end Dilke lost. He maintained his innocence to his dying day and despite his public disgrace there were many who believed him. First published in 1958, Dilke is a story with a climax as exciting as it is mysterious and which bears continuing relevance to the private lives of public figures. Views: 24
THE VOICE OF GOD The first man to reach the spaceship was Obie Cox. Until then Obie had been known only for the possession of one of the most beautiful male bodies in creation. After the spaceship, Obie Cox became known throughout the world. Obie was touched by the hand of God, and that hand lay heavy on him. But he knew his duty was to carry the message placed in his hands to the world… the strong message, the truthful message… the message of hate! Views: 24
