Read this classic romance by New York Times bestselling author Penny Jordan, now available for the first time in e-book! Return of the runaway Ten years ago teenage Maggie fled her home, driven away by her step-cousin Marcus Landersby's cruel rejection after her foolish advances backfired. Now Maggie returns, reluctantly drawn back by an urgent letter from Marcus's half-sisters who desperately need her help. She's unsure proud tycoon Marcus will tolerate her presence. But even if he does, can Maggie live side by side with a man who inspires such an inconvenient longing? Originally published in 1989 Views: 51
David MacAllister was the CIA's "golden boy," itstil his arrest. Dragged through the mind-bending torture chambers of the infamous Lubyanka, he is convicted of espionage and then set free. Now, both sides want him dead, and time is running out to prove his innocence. Views: 51
From Library JournalPopular author, screen- and teleplay writer, and all-around bete noir , Ellison collects his 25-years' output of writing on film, from a 1951 high school piece to 1989 columns for Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Ellison was never a reviewer, even when he was hired to be one, for the 1960s' Los Angeles Cinema magazine, so one doesn't get the critical analysis of a Kael, Canby, or Kauffmann. What one does get is Ellison, the world's youngest curmudgeon, entertainingly sounding off, sometimes on idiosyncratic tangents, on his likes and dislikes. A long introductory essay amusingly tells us how he got to be the way he is. This is an enjoyable, irascible collection, (surprisingly) fully indexed, and a welcome companion to Ellison's 1970 collected TV musings, The Glass Teat .- David Bartholomew, NYPLCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. ReviewCollected herein are roughly twenty-five years worth of film essays from Ellison, renowned author of a dazzling variety of stories, scripts, and articles (as well as the "noted futurist" featured in recent Chevrolet commercials). The majority of the pieces are drawn from the last few years' issues of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, but earlier compositions from such diverse publications as Cinema, The Los Angeles Free Press, The Staff, and Starlog are included as well. Ellison is a man of strong opinions, and part of his magnetism lies in his refusal to dilute his declarations to mollify readers. Those unfamiliar with Ellison's style may be taken aback by the unfiltered fallout of his rants and raves. The following unmitigated burst regards a convention at which the author spoke: "...In the neighborhood of ten thousand people attended this combined Star Trek/space science/rV addict media melange: a hyperventilated whacko-freako-devo two-day blast that served as cheap thrill fix for a tidal wave of incipient jelly-brains who would rather sit in front of the tube having their mind turned to puree-of-bat-guano than ... deal with the Real World in any lovely way." Ignore for the moment that the preceding seems to have little to do with cinema per se (Ellison's digressions are many and lengthy, but they logically and invariably wind their way back to the core subject matter); disregard the fact that the author seems to be attacking some of his own fans; focus instead on Ellison's raw assertions, and you'll get an idea of what this book holds in store. Not one to limit his vendetta to passive audiences, Ellison takes no prisoners when dealing with the films' creators: Throughout this collection, he points out the endless ego wars and unceasing one-upmanship that transpire behind Hollywood studio doors. Many fascinating anecdotes, some anonymous, some replete with casually-dropped celebrity names, can be found here. This volume can be taken as a collection of views to be read linearly or as a reference work to be pulled from the shelf for occasional perusals. Either way, it's an entertaining and infonnative piece of work that amply displays Ellison's talents. If the English language is an instrument, Ellison is a virtuoso player. -- From Independent Publisher Views: 50
Penny Jordan is an award-winning New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of more than 200 books with sales of over 100 million copies. We have celebrated her wonderful writing with a special collection of her novels, many of which are available for the first time in eBook right now.When her father died Geraldine Frances's lifestyle changed forever. As a plain and overweight teenager, her dreams were shattered when the man with whom she was infatuated bitterly betrayed her, leaving her with one all consuming passion . . . revenge. She resorted to the drastic measures of plastic surgery and rigorous exercise to create a stunning new face and slender body. She had become 'Silver' - a hauntingly beautiful and mysterious woman few men would be able to resist. Dramatically transformed, she was almost ready to confront the man who had rejected her years before. Just one final hurdle had to be overcome and here, the ruthless, uncompromising Jake Fitton could provide all the... Views: 49
Amanda Gilbertson was hiding from her father’s choice for her fiancé when she encountered black-masked Captain Rakehell at midnight in the garden. No fop like Lord Lesley Earnshaw could have swept her into an embrace like the captain’s. Thief or not, he had stolen her heart, and Amanda was determined to learn his identity. Regency Romance by Lynn Michaels writing as Jane Lynson; originally published by Fawcett Crest Views: 49
Changing the Past plays on the horror of having your wishes come true. It is a black comedy of the finest kind. Views: 49
"Once there was a family with a Highland name who lived beside the sea." So begins "As Birds Bring Forth the Sun," a 1985 entry from Island. The story continues, "And the man had a dog of which he was very fond." And there you have the basic elements of an Alistair MacLeod story: dog, family, and sea. The author--whose 2000 novel No Great Mischief won him a measure of long-overdue acclaim--shuffles these elements into a surprisingly infinite variety of configurations, always with the same precise, confident, quiet language. His big theme is the abandonment of the rural. Though his characters live in the fishing communities of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, the seaside isn't a place where they dwell contentedly. In half the stories, young men and boys feel a pull toward academe and the center of the country. In the other half, academically successful middle-aged men return to the wild eastern coast of Canada to try to reclaim the life they left behind. Both dilemmas are impossible to resolve--no one can be both a city mouse and a country mouse--and MacLeod wisely doesn't offer easy solutions. What makes the writing sing, though, is the specificity of his descriptions of rural life. He tells you exactly how things work: "The sheep move in and out of their lean-to shelter, restlessly stamping their feet or huddling together in tightly packed groups. A conspiracy of wool against the cold." The people here are ultimately defined by the physical world, and MacLeod has a farmer's visceral feel for geography. As he writes in "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood": "Even farther out, somewhere beyond Cape Spear lies Dublin and the Irish coast; far away but still the nearest land, and closer now than is Toronto or Detroit, to say nothing of North America's more western cities; seeming almost hazily visible now in imagination's mist." This is regional fiction in the best sense: it belongs to one perfectly evoked place. --Claire Dederer Views: 49
Barcelona’s new soccer star is receiving death threats and Pepe Carvalho, gourmet gumshoe and former political prisoner under Franco, is hired to find out who’s behind it.Pepe Carvalho is set to retire. Content to live out the rest of his days enjoying the best food and wine Catalonia has to offer, his plans are put on hold when an executive from Barcelona's world-famous soccer team pays him a visit. “The center forward will be killed at dusk,” reads the note the executive gives to Carvalho.With that, the detective, former communist, and one-time employee of the CIA, must find out where this note is from. Is the threat real? Is it the work of one person? Or is it one of the real estate moguls tearing Barcelona apart in their battle over the most important properties of Catalonia?Here Montalbán does for the game of soccer what he has done for food. In an exquisite portrait of Spain’s most beloved sport, soccer and politics mix in a gripping mystery about the reckless excesses—and limits—of power.From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 48
Castle Perilous is still tottering from last year's battle with the Hosts of Hell, and regaining stability proves a hard balancing act. Before Jeremy can design a program to calm the tremors of the universe, an alternative wicked reality appears that threatens to topple everything!Castle P. must face its evil twin, replete with its own dastardly doppleganger army-with the shadow self ensues as Good and Evil battle it out in the 144,000th dimension! Views: 48
Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today.From the Trade Paperback edition.Amazon.com ReviewLike most other human artifacts, the common pencil, made and sold today by the millions, has a long and complex history. Henry Petroski, who combines a talent for fine writing with a deep knowledge of engineering and technological history, examines the story of the pencil, considering it not only as a thing in itself, but also as an exemplar of all things that are designed and manufactured.Petroski ranges widely in time, discussing the writing technologies of antiquity. But his story really begins in the early modern period, when, in 1565, a Swiss naturalist first described the properties of the mineral that became known as graphite. Petroski traces the evolution of the pencil through the Industrial Revolution, when machine manufacture replaced earlier handwork. Along the way, he looks at some of pencil making's great innovators--including Henry David Thoreau, the famed writer, who worked in his father's pencil factory, inventing techniques for grinding graphite and experimenting with blends of lead, clay, and other ingredients to yield pencils of varying hardness and darkness. Petroski closes with a look at how pencils are made today--a still-imperfect technology that may yet evolve with new advances in materials and design. --Gregory McNameeFrom Publishers WeeklyIn this age of the computer, Petroski's delightful, elegant history of the lowly pencil is a mind-sharpener, a revelation. The pencil's slow evolution from metallic-lead stylus paralleled the growth of engineering prior to the Industrial Revolution. In America, the saga of pencil-making encompassed gentlemanly cabinetmaker Ebenezer Wood and philosopher/amateur engineer Henry David Thoreau; the latter, while working in his father's pencil business, hit upon the idea of combining graphite and clay. In modern times, pencil-making was transformed from cottage industry to mechanized science, with a boost from international trade rivalries, the Faber manufacturing family of Germany and engineers' quests for perfection. Toulouse-Lautrec said, "I am a pencil." John Steinbeck was seemingly obsessed with his pencils' points, shapes and sizes. Petroski ( To Engineer Is Human ) illuminates the intersection of engineering, history, economics and culture. Illustrated. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 48
EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The alien Kzinti had almost conquered the humans, but after the initial surprise, the humans fought back with a ferocity the Kzinti had never faced. But that was centuries ago, and the humiliation of lost battles has not faded. The Kzinti are back . . . and spoiling for a fight! Includes stories by Larry Niven, Dean Ing, Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Views: 48
Kingdoms wobble, crowns topple and knives flash on the magical Discworld as the statutory three witches meddle in royal politics. But Granny Weatherwax (of Equal Rites ) and her fellow coven members find it's all a lot more difficult than playwrights would have you believe...
Everything you'd expect is here - hunchbacked kings, lost crowns and disguised heirs. And they are joined by things you haven't heard of yet, like a stage-struck thunderstorm and the first recorded instance of the in-flight refuelling of a broomstick.
Through it all the wyrd sisters ("This cauldron's got all 'yuk' in it!") battle against frightful odds to put the rightful king on the throne.
At least, that's what they think...
"Wyrd Sisters" is the sixth of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, which are now well-established as the funniest fantasy series ever - and among the funniest novels of any kind currently being published. Views: 47
