When the sun goes down, New York's true elite all head to one place: Bathory Academy, where the young ladies of the finest vampire families are trained in shapeshifting and luring their prey.Bathory's reigning queen, Lilith Todd, is the daughter of a powerful vampire businessman, and she knows exactly what she wants from life. She wants to look beautiful for eternity and party till the sun comes up with her gorgeous boyfriend, Jules. And she doesn't want any New Blood upstarts standing in her way.Enter Cally Monture, an unexpected threat from a trash zip code. When their first meeting leads to tragic results, Lilith is hungry for revenge. Views: 53
The Barnes & Noble ReviewA fast-paced ride through the politics and hidden agendas of a sweltering Miami, Suspicion of Deceit is the latest novel in author Barbara Parker's bestselling Suspicion series, featuring upscale attorney Gail Connor. The ironic title works well for all plot threads unraveled in this engaging tale, from personal, terrifying deceptions to those with vast ramifications for a wide array of characters. When Gail Connor is asked to become the attorney for the Miami Opera, it's for more than the simple reason that she's a damn fine lawyer. The upper echelon has its own objective in inviting her to a fund-raising function-they want to question her boyfriend, Anthony Quintana, on just how the city's Cuban political factions will respond to an opera star's questionable visit to Cuba some two years earlier. If the opera continues to employ opera star Thomas Nolan, there is a chance that the Cuban exile populace might become violent at one of the performances, if they view him as a traitor to his people. Fueling the fire is Anthony's brother-in-law, a commentator for Radio Free Cuba, who not only stokes the rage of his listeners but also finds time to cause troubles between Gail and Anthony. A violent murder-and the wounding of Gail herself-forces Gail to take matters into her own hands. She employs Felix Castillo, a mysterious investigator and longtime friend of Anthony's, to further question contacts in Cuba in order to discover the real nature of Thomas Nolan's visit there. Yet there is another level of investigation occurring here. Gail is eager to uncovermore of Anthony's past, about which he's been extremely tight-lipped for years. As more of their mutual friends reveal startling truths about Anthony-including the fact that he once spent time in Nicaragua with the Sandinistas-Gail must battle her own suspicions to decide whether she will stand by the man she's come to love or betray him. Parker is masterful at weaving clandestine situations and the politics of both the past and the present with the pertinent actions of the moment. History-personal and bureaucratic-plays a large part in this novel, and scenes involving Anthony's large family and all their many beliefs, passions, and fiery emotions play out with an incredible vitality that greatly contributes to the flow and grip of the story. Gail and Anthony are a fervent couple, in love but also finding excitement in the friction of ideology that occasionally comes between them. The author refuses to allow for any black-and-white, easy answers at any time. All parties involved are constantly discovering more about themselves and exactly what the cost might be for each conviction and stance taken. "Suspicion of Deceit" is deceivingly simplistic, but it works on several levels at once, as the main mystery plot element often takes a backseat to equally intriguing story lines of a more personal nature. The gray areas of conflicting opinions lend a credence to the novel that isn't usually found in the more idealistic, hero-versus-villain crime thrillers on the market. It's the author's worldview, and her understanding of human nature, that make this novel one that readers can trust to arrive at a gripping, satisfying, and wholly genuine conclusion.-Tom Piccirilli Views: 53
August Faison and his gorgeous young daughter Genevieve are rogues of the first water—seasoned swindlers who rove across time in search of new victims to fleece. Now the most precious pigeon of the all has fallen into their laps, in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus.Dr. Owen Vannice is far too unworldly and far too rich for his own good. A fabulously wealthy paleontologist who has just spent the last year, not to mention billions of the family fortune, doing research in the Cretaceous period, he now finds himself stranded in the Holy City with a rapidly growing baby dinosaur in tow.Simon is a disillusioned disciple whose master has been kidnapped uptime by colonists from the future. Now he works for the exploitative crosstime corporation which has turned his timeline into a tourist trap, complete with luxury hotels and junkets to countless versions of the Crucifixion.When a desperate act of sabotage brings them all together, their lives are drastically transformed, for Genevieve is falling in love with "Dr. Nice" against her better judgment, and is even willing to double-cross her father to protect him. But even that isn't enough, for Dr. Nice is losing his innocence, while Simon and his revolutionary zealots seek to drive out the invaders from the future.Skillfully interweaving screwball comedy with the paradoxes of time travel and satirical social commentary, Corrupting Dr. Nice is, in the tradition of its Hollywood forbears, a love story, one that is at the same time serious and funny, sweet-natured and cynical—sophisticated speculative fiction by an award-winning modern master."Lucid, humane, and mercilessly funny, Corrupting Dr. Nice is a peach. If there could be great date books like there are great date movies, this would be one. Dr. Kessel's self-deceiving lovers strive against a painstakingly realized social backdrop—in this case, one that also happens to be the ultimate metaphor for post-modernism. Brilliant." —Jonathan Lethem"Brilliantly intelligent, light-handed, and warm-hearted—a dazzler." —Ursula K. Le Guin"Time travel yarns have been a science fiction staple since the early days of the genre, but have worn a bit thin in recent years. Now John Kessel breathes new life into the sub-genre with his latest novel. Corrupting Dr. Nice follows a pair of hapless lovers from ancient Jerusalem to the twenty-first century in a deft homage to the 1941 Preston Sturges romantic comedy, The Lady Eve. Like Sturges, Kessel uses his deluded characters' antics as a vehicle for wicked observations on media saturation, consumer culture, and postmodern looniness . . . Corrupting Dr. Nice is suffused with gentle good humor. Kessel treats his characters with warmth and compassion even while he's putting them through the wringer." —The San Francisco Chronicle Views: 53
“What is it, Brian?” Trixie
asked.
“Bats. Thousands of them.
Gosh!”
The startled bats roared
into flight, circling the cave clockwise and beating against the Bob-Whites,
almost knocking them down. The girls waved their arms wildly and ran out of the
cave. Slim, pushing the girls aside, ran ahead of them.
The whirring wings of the
frenzied bats sounded like the roar of an express train. . . .
ISBN 0-307-21586-5
Views: 53
Myron's parents insisted that he study economics, and Myron dutifully applied himself. But Myron had an aunt--his great aunt Hester Lojoie, a woman of great wealth inherited from a dead husband, and even greater flamboyance of nature. And when Dame Hester came into possession of a space yacht, Myron suddenly saw his long-supressed dreams of adventure bloom into new life.Amazon.com ReviewJack Vance, an undisputed king of science fiction, outdoes himself in this space exploration novel. Myron Tany has been given command of a space yacht by his crazy aunt Hester, giving him the perfect chance to live out his childhood fantasies of intergalactic adventure, alien encounters and exotic romance. Set in Vance's Gaean Reach universe, Ports of Call is a veritable catalog of adventures, replete with richly-detailed encounters and characters worthy of the series that will no doubt follow this book. This is a light, often comedic space adventure that suffers only a bit from a meandering plot. Vance fans will revel in a terrific read. From Publishers WeeklyClassic space opera is alive and kicking in this latest interstellar spree from Vance (Night Lamp), who turns 82 this year. In the far future, young Myron Tany seems destined to be a misty-eyed dreamer, pining away for interstellar intrigue, until his rich and eccentric great-aunt, Dame Hester, gains ownership of the space yacht Glodwyn and pushes Myron into the captain's chair. The stresses of family relationships prove too difficult, however, and Hester soon kicks Myron out on his own, forcing him to sign on as a majordomo for the cargo ship Glicca. As one of a hearty and fearless crew, Myron begins the education that makes him a sailor of the spaceways, learning how to placate difficult passengers, romance women of exotic worlds and make it back aboard ship with his purse intact. While his future is unclear at the novel's end, Myron has grown into a confident and capable fellow, if not exactly a swashbuckler. Readers who demand a complicated, hard-science milieu might find Vance's narrative occasionally too chauvinistic, or too simple, or just too plain silly, but this jaunty, politically incorrect tale provides first-rate escapist entertainment. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 53
Djian's five novels have won acclaim in Europe, and the present one was a bestseller later adapted into an offbeat film. It's not likely, however, that this tedious and melodramatic on-the-road novel of the most formless kind will have much impact here. The story revolves around the love affair between a drifter with an unpublished novel to his credit and a beautiful girl with itchy feet who, for no discernible reason (Djian doesn't seem to believe in reasons), goes from such eccentricities as pouring paint over a car and torching a house to self-destructive madness. Her passion-driven lover follows her from place to place (none identified), flattered by her faith in his literary talents and ready to try his hand at practically anything to keep the affair afloatplumbing, housepainting, pizza-making, selling pianos and, finally, armed robbery. The lovers fail to inspire credibility, or even interest, the events smack more of fantasy than reality and every so often the generally sloppy prose sinks to the level of "A smile spread over her face like an atomic bomb." Here is one disciple Kerouac would have disclaimed. Views: 52
It will be a Christmas to remember...Prodigal cowgirl Lila Andrews returned to her hometown on a whim, but she's been unable to step foot on the family ranch because of tragic childhood memories that haunt her. That hasn't stopped ranch foreman Ben Taylor from dogging her heels around town, ordering her to come home.Ben has been managing the Circle A ranch since Lila's father passed away. He made a promise to his mentor that he'd see Lila back where she belonged. But the stubborn cowgirl isn't cooperating. And having a woman in his life again after losing his wife is... hard.When Lila and Ben are forced to work together to rescue a neglected horse, they begin to discover their first impressions were wrong. Friendship blooms... sparks fly... but Ben needs a Christmas miracle to convince Lila to stay in Redbud Trails. Views: 52
