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The Starry Wisdom

Contemporary visions of cosmic transformation, mutation and madness - many inspired directly by the life and writings of H.P. Lovecraft, others reflecting his strangely presentient themes in their own bizarre sub-texts. Here the primal beings of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos stalk a post-modern landscape of social collapse, ethnic cleansing, genetic engineering and nuclear devastation - nightmare prophecies from his pulp pages which have now come chillingly true. The undercurrents of sexual and ecological displacement which powered Lovecraft's work have ï¬nally been laid bare, providing this maligned genius with a long-overdue retrospective and revealing him to be a true prophet of the 20th century. This special ebook edition includes the very best fiction from both volumes of The Starry Wisdom, with a total of 29 stories. Authors include ALANˆMOORE, GRANTˆMORRISON , D.M. MITCHELL, ROBERT M. PRICE , DONˆWEBB, DAVIDˆCONWAY, and many others.
Views: 103

Lord of the Vampires

After the death of his half brother, Stefan, at the hands of Vlad Tsepesh--also known as Dracula--and after the destruction of his vampire father, Arkady, also at the hands of Vlad, Abraham van Helsing has traveled the world slaying many vampires. With every vampire he destroys, Bram becomes stronger and Vlad weaker, and soon Bram hopes he will be able to finally kill the fearsome vampire who has kept the Tsepesh family enslaved through a centuries-old blood ritual.But a desperate Vlad and his vampire great-niece, Zsuzanna, summon help from the most powerful, brutal, and beautiful vampire of all--Countess Elizabeth of Bathory. Bram learns of their plot to destroy him, and makes his own move to strike out at Vlad before Vlad can put him to death. He teams up with a courageous band of humans as he hunts Vlad--including Mina Harker and John Seward--and they finally succeed in killing the head of the Tsepesh clan, just as Bram Stoker foretold in Dracula. But the terror does not end with the death of Vlad, for there is another force that drives Vlad, Zsuzanna, Elizabeth and all the vampires, an ancient entity more evil than anything Bram has ever encountered: the Lord of the Vampires. And for Bram to defeat this dark lord, he must once again risk losing his very soul, to save not only his family, but humanity as well.In her final book in The Diaries of the Family Dracul trilogy, Jeanne Kalogridis brilliantly melds her own fascinating story of the Tsepesh family with that of Bram Stoker's classic, Dracula. Told in diary form like the first two books and Stoker's own chilling tale, LORD OF THE VAMPIRES reveals the dark, startling truths behind the original Dracula.From Publishers WeeklyThis final volume in the trilogy of The Diaries of the Family Dracul merges the histories of Vlad the Impaler and Count Dracula in a prequel to, and retelling of, the Stoker classic, seeking to fill some of the gaps left by the original. This novel begins with Vlad's journal entries about wartorn Bucharest in 1476, but it swiftly moves to the more familiar territory of Transylvania and London in 1893. There, it follows the starving Count, his vampiric niece, Zsuzsanna, her servant, Dunya, and their undead cousin, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, as they lure mortals, such as Jonathan Harker, into the castle to feed on them. Meanwhile, the noted vampire slayer Abraham Van Helsing awaits Dracula's arrival in London. Using powerful paraphernalia (garlic, crosses, holy water, etc.), he attempts to save Luch and Mina from the undead's evil embrace while trying to foil the family curse and decipher the angelic Arminius's motives. Kalogridis has a firm command of atmosphere, language and character. After the opening chapter, the Count is seen mainly as a shadowy figure integral to, though not illuminated by, the novel's plot, but the spunky Zsuzsanna and ravaged Van Helsing manage to carry the book handily between them. With its descriptions of iron maidens and flaming pokers it would be hard to call this a kinder, gentler, vampire novel, but Kalogridis reconciles the forces of light and darkness in a manner likely to please fans of justice and the genre. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalThink of Kalogridis's series as an embellishment of Stoker's Dracula. While the first two parts (Covenant with the Vampire, LJ 10/1/94, and Children of the Vampire, Delacorte, 1995) were prequels, this volume runs concurrently with the famous novel. Here, Dracula prepares to leave his castle, but he has enemies within. Two other immortals also walk these dark halls, his cousin Zsuzsanna and Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a woman more vile in nature than the count. Together, these women plot his destruction. Meanwhile, using occult powers he has obtained, Van Helsing continues his hunt for Dracula and his spawn. Other characters, such as Mina and Jonathan Harker, Dr. Seward, and Lucy Westenra, also make appearances but not necessarily in the same way as in Stoker's classic. Kalogridis presents a fine mixture of sinister atmosphere, horror, and eroticism. For most public libraries.?Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, Md.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Views: 103

Beowulf's Children

"Once upon a long, long time ago, our parents and grandparents left a place called Earth. They traveled across the stars in a ship called Geographic to find paradise." Camelot is an island paradise for some perhaps, but not for us. There dwell monsters. These huge hulking inhabitants, called Grendels, bring only death and destruction to humankind. That we survived those first battles at all is a miracle. That we came to prosper is, for those who endured those awful times, beyond comprehension. Amazingly enough, Camelot, for most, will come to be the paradise we dreamed of. But a new generation is growing up, ignorant of the Great Grendel Wars. Setting out for the mainland, these rebellious men and women are bent on exploration, ready to fight any Grendels that get in their way, indifferent to their parents' past. On the mainland called Avalon, however, there are monsters that dwarf the ones their parents fought, and as the young people will learn, monsters also dwell in the human heart. For Avalon does not give up her secrets easily, and some of those mysteries are wicked as sin, blacker than the grave.
Views: 102

Champagne and Moonlight

From New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross comes a classic tale about finding love for the holidays!Actress Shiloh Beauregard has no luck when it comes to finding a reliable man. When her sister invites her to a New Year's Eve party in Aspen, she jumps at the chance to meet someone new. But when Shiloh is stranded in a snowstorm, she is forced to seek shelter in the small town of Paradise. It's the last place she thinks to find love, but the irresistible doctor Matt McCandless sweeps her off her feet. For one night she allows herself to indulge in the holiday magic. It's a new year, yet her fresh start might have more than one surprise in store...Originally published in 1996.
Views: 102

Billy and Girl

Billy England and his sister Girl are clever, stylish and damaged. Billy is a teenage "catastrophe theorist" which is handy since their mother has gone missing, and when they last saw their father his Elvis hair was in flames. Girl has a mission. She knocks on a door of a selected house and pretends any Prozac woman who answers is her mother. It is through one of these tranquilised women that Girl discovers 'Freezer World', a superstore on the edge of the motorway. This gives her an idea. Why don't they sell the pain of their childhoods to the American chat shows?
Views: 102

Junie B. Jones and That Meanie Jim's Birthday

Barbara Park’s New York Times bestselling chapter book series, Junie B. Jones, is a classroom favorite and has been keeping kids laughing—and reading—for more than twenty years. Over 60 million copies in print and now with a bright new look for a new generation! Meet the World’s Funniest Kindergartner—Junie B. Jones! That meanie Jim has invited everyone in Room Nine to his birthday party on Saturday—except Junie B.! Should she have her own birthday party six months early and not invite Jim? Or should she move to It’s a Small World After All in Disneyland?   USA Today : “Junie B. is the darling of the young-reader set.”   Publishers Weekly : “Park convinces beginning readers that Junie B.—and reading—are lots of fun.”   Kirkus Reviews : “Junie’s swarms of young fans will continue to delight in her unique take on the world. . . . A hilarious, first-rate read-aloud.”   Time : “Junie B. Jones is a feisty six-year-old with an endearing penchant for honesty.”
Views: 100

No Score

### Review “Block is one of the best!” —_The Washington Post_ ### Product Description Hoping to win over the beautiful Francine, Chip Harrison is astonished when an attempt is made on his life, an event that places him at the forefront of a fast-paced investigation.
Views: 99

Return to the Same City

Hector Belascoaran Shayne is a gun-carrying argonaut of Mexico City, a man with a death wish waiting to come true. When a woman tells him a sob story about her sister's death at the hands of a handsome rumba dancer, Belascoaran agrees to take care of him. The P.I.'s hunt leads him to the shores of Acapulco Bay where he discovers that his charismatic murderer leads a dangerous life involving CIA operatives and stolen archaeological treasures. But the deeper Belascoaran digs, the closer he comes to fulfilling his own dark desire, as his chase leads him to Tijuana for a confrontation with a killer.**Amazon.com Review"How do we coexist without rotting in sadness?" asks private detective Hector Belascoaran Shayne of his beleaguered and beloved Mexico. Not your typical PI, Shayne is prone to bouts of existential crisis. But that doesn't stop him from trying to solve the murder of a Cuban rhumba dancer's wife. Nor does it protect him from a fusillade of bullets fired by a Mariachi band, or from an entanglement with the C.I.A. while in Mexico investigating the woman's death. Paco Ignacio Taibo killed off Shayne in No Happy Ending,but he has resurrected the one-eyed sleuth for Return to the Same City. How? Who knows? A deep thinker and a darkly humorous character, Shayne is the perfect companion for a literary visit to the spiritual side of Mexico. From Publishers WeeklyTaibo's novels about Mexico City detective Hector Belascoaran Shayne (No Happy Ending) are an addicting import. At first, their hard-boiled surrealistic flights?as if Garcia Marquez had been taking writing lessons from Dashiell Hammett?can strike a reader as excessive and glib, but soon they become part of a beguiling worldview in which everything, including crime and love, are elements in a cosmic joke. So you find here that Hector, left a bullet-riddled corpse in the rain in No Happy Ending, has been miraculously resurrected for another case. It involves a shadowy figure with several names, who seems to have caused the suicide of someone's sister and is being pursued by an alcoholic American reporter with sources in the CIA. Is the many-aliased Luke Estrella also involved in a guns-for-drugs Contra operation? Hector doesn't really care, but sets off in dogged pursuit anyway, to Acapulco, then Tijuana, finally bringing matters to a head in a hilarious climax involving several hired mariachi bands, armed to the teeth, in an empty warehouse. Don't forget the two ducks that live under Hector's bed, and how down he gets when he runs out of Coke. As noted, these tales are an easily acquired taste. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Views: 98

Birds' Christmas Carol

This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.
Views: 97

Thrill

Jackie Collins' most outrageous, erotically charged New York Times bestseller is a sexy, shaterring roller-coaster thrill ride! From chic New York and the exclusive Hamptons to the hungry heart of L.A., this high-suspense tale pulses with deadly obsessions and relentless desires in the seemingly perfect world of a gorgeous film actress. She could have any man — but the one she can't resist is a mysterious lover with a shadowed past. As their jolting affair skyrockets with electric passion, shocking secrets break through their hidden traps — in a brilliantly twisting story that sparks with the explosive Jackie Collins touch.
Views: 96