Ingrid's a theta, a member of an enslaved race forced to use magic to project hedonistic fantasies for supernatural audiences. Her only chance at freedom hinges on her ability to enlist the help of Mack, her very sexy and powerful production manager. Mack believes Ingrid is reckless, but when their magic connects for the 1st time, he begins to understand the freedom she speaks of may be possible. Views: 11
George Willowfield learned a long time ago that in life everything had to be paid for. You paid in money, blood, or sweat or time, but you paid.For George, the easiest way was money. So he stole a train and asked the US government for $250,000 to get it back.That's when Frank Angel stepped in—to deliver the ransom and trail the guy who collected it—until he got the money or the guy. The government doesn't like to be held up and Frank was there to see the debt paid—one way or another! Views: 11
ContentsPrologue: One Perfect Morning, With Jackals1. Kirinyaga2. For I Have Touched the Sky3. Bwana4. The Manamouki5. Song of a Dry River6. The Lotus and the Spear7. A Little Knowledge8. When the Old Gods DieEpilogue: The Land of NodAuthor's AfterwordAmazon.com ReviewKirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia collects Mike Resnick's famous Kirinyaga stories and ties them together in a thematic arc that has novel-like continuity. The story focuses on Koriba, a mundumugu (sort of like a witch doctor and a wise man rolled into one) of the Kikuyu tribe. Koriba feels that his tribe has been corrupted by "European" technology, so he helps to establish a small, utopian planetoid named Kirinyaga where the Kikuyu can return to their roots, farming the land and worshipping the god Ngai without technological or cultural interference. As utopias go, Kirinyaga experiences its fair share of problems--both from within and without--each of which is detailed in the individual chapters and stories. The writing is not stylish but the stories are all excellent, and Resnick does a good job of integrating the traditional Kikuyu way of life into tales that any culture can appreciate. Readers looking for a novel may come away a bit disappointed because this book is really a collection of stories, but as far as collections go, few are better than Kirinyaga. From School Library JournalYA-Set in the 22nd century, this stunning sci-fi allegory describes the struggles and ultimate failure of a utopian colony on a terraformed planetoid. In the African nation of Kenya, polluted cities crawl up the side of Mount Kirinyaga. The magnificent animal herds of the past are but distant memories and native crops have been supplanted by European imports. Koriba, a well-educated man, is determined to reinstate the ancient customs and strict laws of his Kikuyu ancestors and invites others to join him in a new society named for their sacred mountain. As the mundumugu-witch doctor-Koriba faces numerous challenges to the utopian society's survival. He must deny a brilliant young woman an education because it is not the ancient way of his people. He watches helplessly as his charges insist on bringing in a white hunter with a gun to kill marauding hyenas when the colony's primitive weapons prove insufficient. With the technology comes subservience to white men's ways. But, in an ultimate irony, Koriba maintains his pure society with a computer link to the rest of humanity, even adjusting weather patterns by communicating his needs to an outside "Maintenance" group. It is the thirst for knowledge that this computer represents that becomes the ultimate threat to the colony. Young adults will love this provocative tale that examines the need for an orderly society, the rights of the individual, and the siren's lure of knowledge. Views: 11
Bestselling author and master storyteller Tricia Stringer tackles troubled relationships, second chances and love old and new in this uplifting story of unlikely dining companions thrown together on a glamorous cruise. Readers of Liz Byrski, Monica McInerney and Rachael Johns will love this book. 'A delightful, wise and heart–warming novel about second chances that celebrates friendships old and new. I devoured every page.' Rachael JohnsA cruise, no matter how magical, can't change your life. Can it...? Clever, charming dressmaker Ketty Clift is embarking on her final cruise from Sydney before she must make serious changes in her life. Supported by the ship's all-powerful maître d' Carlos, she has a mission: transform the lives of those who join her at her dining table every evening. Not only can Ketty turn Cinderellas into princesses with her legendary style-eye, but she has a gift for bringing people together. But this trip is... Views: 11
"A captivating tale to savor about a woman whose buried past threatens her picture perfect family life. Felicia is a wonderfully flawed, compelling main character, one who has stayed with me long after I finished the book. A winning novel from a writer to watch." -Benilde Little, bestselling authorFelicia Lyons, a stressed out stay-at-home mom, struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantra, and breathes her way through most situations, but on some days, like when the children won't stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away. Then one evening the telephone rings, and in a split second the harried mother's innocent fantasy becomes a hellish reality. The call pulls her back into a life she'd rather forget. Felicia hasn't been completely honest about her upbringing, and her... Views: 11
A female Trainspotting about a young woman who is a romantic but is also determined to overcome the depression of inner-city living in 90s Britain and carve out a life for herself – even if it does means she must become a selfish person to do so. When her nice, repectable mother tells her: "In my day it wasn't the thing to walk out on one's husband and live with a strange man. One considered the children." Leah replies "It's not your day. It's my day." People in love are selfish. Leah, 28, mother of three, married for 10 years to burned-out Al who got her pregnant in college, is in love with Bailey, the anarchic, feckless hulk who teaches basketball at the Community Project in Bristol where she works. Their courtship, conducted over pints at The Woolpack with other drifters looking for love on the dole, at 'seshes' (sessions getting drunk and watching football videos) and in clubs on ecstasy, forces Leah to do the unthinkable and walk out on her children to be available for... Views: 11
The New York Times bestslling account of a courageous eighteen-year-old from Nashville who gave up every comfort and convenience to become the adoptive mother to thirteen girls in Uganda.What would cause an eighteen-year-old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother's heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because they think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person and didn't even speak the language? A passion to follow Jesus. Katie Davis left over Christmas break of her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved by the people of Uganda and the needs she saw that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young... Views: 11
To most people, Detective Inspector Milton Bowman appears to have an ideal life. But some secrets aren't buried deep enough.After a tragic car accident, and a shocking murder, DI Milton's colleagues have to start digging into every aspect of his life. Suspicion and disbelief creep into their lives as a web of deceit unfolds - the Bowman family, friends and even colleagues come under suspicion. No one is to be trusted.Nothing is as it appears. Authoritative and experienced, Lisa Cutts is the author of four police procedural novels, based on her nineteen years of policing work.Praise for Lisa Cutts:'Brutal, harrowing and compelling, Mercy Killing deftly challenges everything you thought you knew about police investigations. Lisa Cutts has a unique voice: empathetic, observant, incisive. This is a book to devour and recommend; everyone should read it' - ELIZABETH HAYNES, author of Into the Darkest Corner'I... Views: 11
Once is the journey from boyhood to the threshold of manhood of poet Andrew McNeillie. From an aeroplane crossing north Wales the middle-aged writer looks down on the countryside of his childhood and recalls an almost fabulous world now lost to him. Ordinary daily life and education in Llandudno shortly after the war are set against an extraordinary life lived close to nature in some of the wilder parts of Snowdonia. Continually crossing the border between town and country, a fly-fisherman by the age of ten, McNeillie relives his life in nature during a period of increasing urbanisation. Once is a beautifully written eulogy for a retreating countryside now valued more for its leisure potential than as a repository of nature and source of human fullfilment. The narrative is underlain by a way of thinking informed by the natural world and by nature poetry, and is an evocative and memorable book about the nature of experience of memory and writing. Views: 11
A missing Martian. A sinister plot. A Napoleonic spy. . . Boundless adventures await in Book 2 of The Secrets of the Dragon Tomb middle grade sci-fi series!If Edward thought life was going to be easy in Lunae City, he was very, very wrong. The moment he intercepts a thief escaping from Lady Harleston's town house, he is caught in a terrible scheme that threatens all of Mars. Soon he's fighting off vicious sea serpents, battling a small army of heavily armored thugs, and trying to unpick an impossible mystery. Edward doesn't know whom he can trust. Will he make the right choice? Or will his family—and his entire planet—fall victim to the treacherous Emperor of Mars?A Christy Ottaviano Book Views: 11
