Abducted by the alien Catteni, Kristin Bjornsen was one of many humans brought to the planet Botany as part of an experiment to see if it could support life. Enslaved and forced to colonize a world not their own, the settlers have accepted Botany as their home—a home worth fighting for…Kristin’s people have learned that the aliens responsible for their imprisonment are merely mercenaries, subjugated by the parasitic Eosi Race, and that Botany is being farmed remotely by some unknown species—a species that may be sympathetic to the colonists’ struggle for freedom.The “Farmers” refuse to join the humans in their rebellion against the Catteni, but they agree to use their technological skills to shield Botany and hide it from its enemies—buying Kristin and the settlers time to build up their forces and liberate their world…From School Library JournalYA?In what may be her best series since the early "Pern" novels, McCaffrey has created yet another winner. While conquering and colonizing the universe, the alien Catteni take the misfits and troublemakers they encounter and dump them on empty planets. If they survive, then the Catteni move in. Freedom's Landing (Putnam, 1995) introduced a human/alien group struggling just to stay alive. In this second book, these Botany Bay-like survivors have overcome hardships to establish a society of sorts. Zainal, a renegade Catteni, and his fellow dumpees have begun to strike back at their oppressors. They are also trying to uncover the identity of the original residents of the planet and enlist their support. McCaffrey has developed another exotic world peopled with interesting, well-developed characters. This book stands alone but works better with the first novel.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalContinuing the storyline from Freedom's Landing (LJ 4/15/95), this second book in the series finds the human and aliens on the penal planet Botany planning a rebellion against their slavemasters. After the Catteni subdue and transport to penal colony planets people from Earth and other civilizations for their Eosi masters, one Catteni, Zainal, chooses to remain on Botany. His plan? To join his fellow slaves in convincing the absentee owners of the planet to turn against the Eosi and free the colonists. McCaffrey is at her best with interspecies interactions and uniting for a goal against a common enemy. Highly recommended for sf collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 16
David Feintuch’s fantasy debut: the rousing tale of a young man’s quest to reclaim his throne and master his own soulRodrigo, Prince of Caledon, is petulant, selfish, and uncaring. When his mother, Queen Elena, dies, he fully expects to inherit the title of king. Instead, his uncle usurps the throne, and Rodrigo is forced out of the kingdom, along with his brother and best friend.In order for Rodrigo to take back his birthright, he must win not only the allegiance of the Council of State, but also the Still, a mystical power that can be channeled by the rightful king of Caledon. To wield that power, Rodrigo must be pure, must be honest, and must be crowned king. Rodrigo’s success or failure will determine the fate of not only his homeland, but of his very soul.Amazon.com ReviewWhen Queen Elana dies, underaged Rodrigo's status as the rightful king is instantly threatened by the ambitions of his uncle. Despite his personal shortcomings and manifest lack of readiness to rule, he has loyal friends and allies and they help him first to flee his uncle and, gradually, to fight and win the most important battle of the war for Caledon: the struggle to command himself. Only then can he begin to claim his kingdom. This isn't a sanitized Fantasyland, nor is it a comfortable story. David Feintuch doesn't flinch from the violence and roughness of his medieval setting, and his depiction of Rodrigo's striving for self-confidence and the respect of others is hard-hitting and hard to put down. There's room for a sequel, but no real need: the coming-of-age story is the heart of this book, and it beats vividly. From BooklistAfter the sudden death of his mother, young Prince Rodrigo of Caledon has to fight for his right to rule rather than be subjected to a regency he probably would not survive. Unfortunately, he also appears unfit to rule. He is callow, selfish, and burdened by the requirement to remain a virgin (with women, anyway) in order to wield royal power. Thanks to a fascinating array of friends (including his companion and lover, Rustin) and enemies (including his uncle and half the nobility of Caledon, plus foreign invaders), Rodrigo slowly and painfully matures. The process may be slow and painful for some readers, too, for Feintuch is definitely prolix in large parts of this book. On the other hand, the maturing of an adolescent ruler in a fanciful medieval society has seldom been handled in such painstaking detail. Not quite up to the level of his Nicholas Seafort series, Feintuch's latest is an intelligent and ultimately admirable book, nevertheless, and it hints strongly at a sequel. Roland Green Views: 16
A Terran Times Tale
Dreaming of the
perfect man takes a strange turn when she is forced to bring him to life.
Cera enjoys acting
as a dispatcher for the Guardians. When five strangers come to her, brandishing
an imperial writ that demands her transfer to Haloth, she is taken aback. When
they transport her there without any kind of vehicle, she suspects that she is
in a less-than-usual situation, and when she is handed over to wake an energy
being, she knows it.
Renn has come to physical form over a
hundred times, called by a hundred different women. When Cera calls him, there
is something new. She knows what she finds attractive, but gives him enough
leeway to add a few bonuses of his own to his appearance.
Between her mind and his body, they are
going to make a helluva team.
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EMBER is volume 1 of The Siren Series. Maidens of the Mer grow scarce, so an elite warrior force is put into place to scout for the rare females who still retain the blood of the Mer. EMBER is dark, paranormal erotica which may contain disturbing scenes, marginal consent and graphic violence. It is intended for a mature adult audience. 27K words Views: 16
The Continuing Story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have been happily married for almost a year, but how long can the honeymoon last? The couple’s idyllic life together at Pemberley is jeopardized by secrets they begin keeping from each other, the troubles of their closest friends, and the threat of a villain in their midst. Views: 16
The secret of Lainie's forbidden magical gifts has been exposed, and Silas wants to take her far away from the Wildings to a place where she can be safe. To earn money for the journey, Silas signs them up to work on the big annual cattle drive to the Gap.Lainie dreams of making the Wildings into a place where she and Silas and other mages can live in peace. The cattle drive is the perfect opportunity for her and Silas to show the Plain settlers of the Wildings that not all mages are wicked, heartless monsters.While Silas has reason to believe that the danger to Lainie is worse than he thought, Lainie can't agree that leaving the Wildings is the answer. As they travel with the herd, Lainie and Silas must avoid being captured or killed by mage hunters and discovered by the mage-hating Plains, while protecting the herd from renegade mages looking for money and trouble. And they have to find a way to resolve the disagreement between them - do they seek refuge in a faraway land or... Views: 16
With her agency going great guns, Sharon McCone is known as one of the best detectives in the business ... until her untarnished reputation is threatened by an impostor. A mysterious woman is handing out McCone's business cards, advising clients, and picking up men for intimate encounters. The woman's physical resemblance to McCone is uncanny. Her knowledge of McCone's life is chilling. More than professionally damaging, the situation is deeply disturbing even to the experienced McCone. Who is this strange woman and what does she want? To make matters worse, McCone's office manager, Ted Smalley, has been acting so oddly that his live-in lover asks McCone to investigate. With her own lover, Hy Ripinsky, away on business and an impersonator invading her life, McCone reluctantly agrees. Spying on Ted soon has her pondering the extent of a person's right to privacy. Then the issue is brought home when McCone's double breaks into her house, interferes with her family, and leads McCone on a terrifying game of cat and mouse through the bizarre nightside of San Francisco. Just as McCone begins to uncover Ted's desperate problem the impostor escalates her dirty tricks. With her professional detachment fast giving way to blinding rage, McCone must go one on one against an enemy with a sinister motive, an insidious plan ... and the kind of violent craziness that even a seasoned investigator may not foresee - or stop in time. Views: 16
Every two months, Miriam F. Martin presents sizzling hot stories of romance and lust. Prepare to be tantalized and aroused with these erotic tales of adults who love sex. Warning: For consenting adults who like to laugh. Views: 16
Arthurian legend gets another kick in the pants with this rollicking rewrite of bestseller David's first novel, originally published in 1987. Extensively updated and lovingly revised, this hilarious romp in today's New York features a cast of zany characters, zippy dialogue and enough action and plot twists to satisfy most satirical fantasy fans. After 10 long centuries spent trapped in a magical cave, King Arthur is finally rescued by a pint-sized, wisecracking Merlin, who has aged backwards enough to slip through the bars of his own prison. The "once and future king" arrives, in armor, no less, on the streets of the Big Apple. Soon, with the help of Master Merlin, the charmingly anachronistic and good-hearted "Arthur Penn" is running for mayor of New York. Meanwhile, much to Arthur's dismay, the reincarnated but unemployed Guinevere, aka Gwen DeVere Queen, is already living with Lance, an unpublished and also unemployed "misunderstood" writer. Morgan, aka Morgana le Fey, Arthur's half-sister sorceress, bored and gone to seed in a dumpy New Jersey apartment, becomes angry enough to get back into fighting form when she discovers her spell has been broken. With the help of Moe Dreskin (aka her bastard son, Modred, PR whiz and erstwhile murderer of his royal father), Morgan schemes to put Arthur and Merlin back where they belong. But she has no idea just how determined Arthur's eclectic election team is to fight back and reinvent Camelot in the "kingdom" of Manhattan. Views: 16
Daniel Bringham has promised never again to journey back to the prehistoric world - to the time of the dinosaurs - but his friends Ole Pederson and Mildred Roost, experts on dinosaurs, plan to go instead. None of them know that their trip will take them to the era of the dinosaur's extinction.Daniel has traveled to prehistoric times and seen the dinosaurs up close, but he's promised his old friend Ole Pederson not to try it again because it's just too dangerous. What would they tell his parents if Daniel never came back?But Ole's friend Mildred Roost, a prominent palaeontologist, wants to go back with Ole. For them the trip will be the thrill of a lifetime, seeing up close the colossal creatures they've spent a lifetime studying. Deep down Daniel knows that they accept the risks: they could even die on their journey, deep in the past.Who could have guessed they'd end up in the time of the dinosaurs' final extinction? That they'd see sights more amazing and terrible than they... Views: 16
"Stop feeding me bullshit. Tell me the truth."—Lady Gaga, 2009"I hate the truth. I hate the truth so much I prefer a giant dose of bullshit any day over the truth."—Lady Gaga, 2010In little over a year, Stefani Germanotta, a struggling performer in New York's Lower East Side burlesque scene, has become the global demographic-smashing pop icon known as Lady Gaga. She is a once-in-a-decade artist, a gifted singer, composer, designer, and performance artist who mixes high and low culture, the avant-garde with the accessible, authenticity with artifice.Who is Lady Gaga? She is a twenty-four-year-old woman whose stage mantra—"I'm a free bitch!"—is the polar opposite of who she is offstage: isolated, insecure, and unable to be alone. She is an outré artist who wanted to be a sensitive singer-songwriter, whose musical heroes include Britney Spears, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen. She is a woman who says no man can ever compete with her career... Views: 16
A girl named Sierra Davidson is tired of being bullied at school and neglected at home. As a result, she hides in the closet one day with a copy of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" and wishes for the famous monster to come and destroy her tormentors. Yet when the Cthulhu indeed shows up, he unleashes his wrath upon the school that kills several students and strikes terror into the heart of the community. Views: 16
Meet Kate Mackenzie. She:works for the T.O.D. (short for TyrannicalOffice Despot, also known as Amy Jenkins,Director of the Human Resources Divisionat the New York Journal)is sleeping on the couch because herboyfriend of ten years refuses to commitcan't find an affordable studio apartmentanywhere in New York Citythinks things can't get any worse.They can. Because:the T.O.D. is making her fire the most popularemployee in the paper's senior staff dining roomthat employee is now suing Kate for wrongfultermination, andnow Kate has to give a deposition in front ofMitch Hertzog, the scion of one of Manhattan's wealthiest law families,who embraces everything Kate most despises ... but also happens to have a nice smile and a killer bod.The last thing anybody -- least of all Kate Mackenzie -- expects to findin a legal arbitration is love. But that's the kind of thing that canhappen when... Views: 16
