"It is the height of Spain's celebrated golden century - but beyond the walls of the Royal Palace there is little on the streets of Madrid that glitters. The Invincible Armada has been defeated. The shadow of the Inquisition looms large. And the Thirty Years' War rages on in Flanders. When a courageous soldier of this war, Captain Diego Alatriste, is forced to retire after being wounded in battle, he returns home to live the comparatively tame - though hardly quiet - life of a swordsman-for-hire. In this dangerous city where a thrust of steel settles all matters, there is no stronger blade than Alatriste's." The captain is approached with an offer of work that involves giving a scare to some strangers soon to arrive in Madrid. But on the night of the attack, it becomes clear that these aren't ordinary travelers - and that someone is out for their blood. What happens next is the first in a series of riveting twists, with implications that will reverberate throughout the courts of Europe
"No era el hombre más honesto ni el más piadoso, pero era un hombre valiente"... Con estas palabras empieza El capitán Alatriste, la historia de un soldado veterano de los tercios de Flandes que malvive como espadachín a sueldo en el Madrid del siglo XVII. Sus aventuras peligrosas y apasionantes nos sumergen sin aliento en las intrigas de la Corte de una España corrupta y en decadencia, las emboscadas en callejones oscuros entre el brillo de dos aceros, las tabernas donde Francisco de Quevedo compone sonetos entre pendencias y botellas de vino, o los corrales de comedias donde las representaciones de Lope de Vega terminan a cuchilladas. Todo ello de la mano de personajes entrañables o fascinantes: el joven Íñigo Balboa, el implacable inquisidor fray Emilio Bocanegra, el peligroso asesino Gualterio Malatesta, o el diabólico secretario del rey, Luis de Alquézar. Acción, historia y aventura se dan cita en estas páginas inolvidables. Views: 414
From bestselling author Judith McNaught. Stepsisters Cory and Diana Foster run Beautiful Living magazine. Diana handles the business side of things and Cory organizes the gorgeous photo layouts that the magazine is known for. When Diana arranges a photo shoot for the "perfect wedding", Cory is reunited with an old flame and a chance for romance to spark again. Views: 413
When the Merlin of Blest dies, everyone thinks it's a natural death. But Roddy and Grundo, two children traveling with the Royal Court, soon discover the truth. The Merlin's replacement and other courtiers are scheming to steal the magic of Blest for their own purposes.Roddy enlists the help of Nick, a boy from another world, and the three turn to their own impressive powers. The dangers are great, and if Roddy, Grundo, and Nick cannot stop the conspirators, the results will be more dreadful than they could possibly imagine. Views: 413
Edgar and Shamus Award-nominee Don Winslow combines breathless suspense, zany wit, and whiplash action in his latest novel featuring grad student/private eye Neal Carey. Now Neal's assigned to escort monkeyish octogenarian Natty Silver home from Las Vegas to Palm Springs. Natty, once a burlesque top banana, has a nonstop barrage of corny jokes, an eye for an aging cocktail waitress, and a chronic disappearing act.
When Neal catches up with him, he can see why Natty doesn't want to go home. Sole witness to a crime, he's now the quarry of hard-faced suits, a fascist con artist, and a career-track assassin. And bodyguard Neal-scorching through the trackless desert at 80 mph, brooding on his inner child by freezing starlight, and looking down the barrel of one gun too many-is soon dodging vultures and on the brink of a surprise watery grave. Views: 413
When Lady Sarah Melford inherited her grandmother's enormous wealth, she became the object of many suitors. Her brother, the Marquess of Cranleigh, had a stunning wife, Rosalind, who had a court of her own, but even her cicisbeo, the Chevalier d'Evron, and her brother, charming, impecunious Richard, claimed to seek Sarah's hand. It was the irresistible rake Lord Alistair Farrington, however, who most disturbed her… Regency Romance by Evelyn Richardson; originally published by Signet Views: 411
> *Millie McDeevit screamed a scream
So loud it made her eyebrows steam.
She screamed so loud
Her jawbone broke,
Her tongue caught fire,
Her nostrils smoked...*
Poor Screamin' Millie is just one of the unforgettable characters in this wondrous new book of poems and drawings by the creator of *Where the Sidewalk Ends* and *A Light in the Attic.* Here you will also meet Allison Beals and her twenty-five eels; Danny O'Dare, the dancin' bear; the Human Balloon; and Headphone Harold.
So come, wander through the Nose Garden, ride the Little Hoarse, eat in the Strange Restaurant, and let the magic of Shel Silverstein open your eyes and tickle your mind. Views: 411
This set includes Sahara, Treasure and Dragon. Views: 409
Somewhere in Germany is the sequel to the acclaimed Nowhere in Africa, which was turned into the Oscar-winning film of the same name. This novel traces the return of the Redlich family to Germany after their nine-year exile in Kenya during World War II. In Africa, Walter had longed for his homeland and dreamed of rebuilding his life as a lawyer, yet ultimately he and his family—wife Jettel, daughter Regina, and baby Max—realize that Germany seems as exotic and unwelcoming to them in 1947 as Kenya had seemed in 1938. Hunger and desperation are omnipresent in bombed-out Frankfurt, and this Jewish family—especially Regina, who misses Africa the most—has a hard time adjusting to their new circumstances. Yet slowly the family adapts to their new home amidst the ruins.In Frankfurt, Regina matures into a woman and, though her parents want her to marry an upstanding Jewish man, her love life progresses in its own idiosyncratic fashion... Views: 408
What's the good in keeping secrets?Secret Friends is a heartbreaking story about friendship and bullying from the multi-award-winning Elizabeth Laird. Rafaella doesn't find it easy to make friends. She looks and feels different from the others at school. And Lucy is the first to tease, the first to call her 'Earwig', until they get to know one another and Lucy sees that Rafaella is full of hopes and ideas, just like she is. Lucy loves keeping her own secret friend, until tragedy strikes and secrets can't be kept any longer.Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Children's Book Award and reissued with gorgeous illustrations, more than twenty years after first publication, Elizabeth Laird's moving and unflinching novella brings home the crucial importance of cultivating empathy in young people.'[A] humane and honest story. It conveys so much, so simply and so well' Scotsman'[A] fine weepy with a moral,... Views: 403
An All-New Xanth Adventure
First Paperback Edition!
A fickle flux in the fabric of space has allowed a horrendous hurricane to blast into Xanth, stirring up mischief and madness wherever she goes. Trapped in a preposterous form by a cosmic wager, the Demon X(A/N)th must join forces with a vexatious vixen named Chlorine to save Xanth from this terrifying and tempestuous threat.
Their companions on this haphazard quest are a hapless human family - Jim and Karen Baldwin and their two teenaged sons, David and Sean - gusted into Xanth from the mundane world beyond. Together they encounters a host of turbulent misadventures as they struggle to keep Xanth from being blown off the map forever.
A brisk and breezy adventure in the grand Xanth tradition, Yon Ill Wind is sure to bring gales of laughter and excitement to Piers Anthony's legion of loyal readers. Views: 397
The Magic Wedding Dress"You don't know me, but could you unbutton my dress?"Millionaire playboy Ben Northcross had heard some great pickup lines in his time, but this one took the cake, coming as it did from a woman in a wedding gown! A strangely shimmering wedding gown."I need your body for one night..."Ben had been intrigued by the surprising Sara Gunnerson. Now he was hooked!"A hundred bucks, plus tips."And then she tossed him fifty cents, for a word of advice on how to marry the millionaire she'd set her sights on. Ben couldn't help but wonder: What would the outrageous Sara Gunnerson do next if he agreed to be that millionaire? Views: 389
It is New Year's Eve, the last day of Virginia's bloodiest year since the Civil War. Dr. Kay Scarpetta plunges into the murky depths of a ship graveyard to recover the very human remains of Ted Eddings, an investigative reporter. What kind of story was Eddings chasing below the icy surface of the Elizabeth River? And why did Scarpetta receive a phone call from someone reporting the death before the police were notified? She soon discovers that Eddings' murder is merely the first layer of something much deeper --- a labyrinthine conspiracy that will put all of her criminal and forensic knowledge to the test like never before. For Scarpetts, the real challenge won't be cataloging the growing number of dead bodies, but preventing herself and those she loves from becoming the next victims. Views: 388
See the difference, read Maya Angelou in Large Print
About Large Print
All Random House Large Print editions are published in a 16-point typeface
This wise book is the wonderful continuation of the bestselling Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now.
Even the Stars Look Lonesome is Maya Angelou talking of the things she cares about most. In her unique, spellbinding way, she re-creates intimate personal experiences and gives us her wisdom on a wide variety of subjects. She tells us how a house can both hurt its occupants and heal them. She talks about Africa. She gives us a profile of Oprah. She enlightens us about age and sexuality. She confesses to the problems fame brings and shares with us the indelible lessons she has learned about rage and violence. And she sings the praises of sensuality.
Even the Stars Look Lonesome imparts the lessons of a lifetime. Views: 387
A stunning collection of fourteen short stories, full of provocative ideas and haunting images. Originally published in 1996 and back in print in a a beautifully packaged edition in response to popular demand. Views: 382
