It's the summer of 1604 and the Spanish are in London. Many years after the ill-fated Armada, they are negotiating a peace treaty with the English. Nick Revill's acting company is given a ceremonial role at the celebrations. But not everybody welcomes this outbreak of peace. In the shifting world of the court there are factions. In the Tower of London sits that implacable enemy of the Spanish, Sir Walter Raleigh, and he has friends on the outside who may try to sabotage the negotiations. Nick, meanwhile, is trying to get on with his playing. Invited by Shakespeare's rival, Ben Jonson, to take part in a masque at Somerset House where the Spanish are lodged, Nick is caught up in a conspiracy. During a rehearsal the courtier Sir Philip Blake dies an apparently accidental death when he tumbles from a 'Deus ex machina' chair which is lowering him to the stage. But this is only the first of a series of suspicious deaths, and Nick must look for the murderer among those around him. And... Views: 41
* Philip K. Dick Award finalist* Locus Recommended ReadingHere are 33 weird, wonderful stories concerning men, women, teleportation, wind-up cats, and brown paper bags. By turns whimsical and unsettling—frequently managing to be both—these short fictions describe family relationships, bad breakups, and travel to outer space. Vukcevich's loopy, fun-house mirror take on everyday life belongs to the same absurdist school of work as that of George Saunders, David Sedaris, Ken Kalfus, and Victor Pelevin, although there is no one quite like him. Try one of these stories, it won't take you long, but it will turn your head inside out."What other writer could make you start laughing halfway down the first page of a story about a man putting on a sweater? Thurber maybe, a long time ago. Buy this book."—Damon Knight"These stories cannot be compared to anyone else's. There is no one in the same class as Ray Vukcevich. The... Views: 41
From the Hugo-winning, bestselling author of The Guns of thye South, a tale of love, parasitism, and loss.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied. Views: 41
Shunned from birth, Thane is eventually cast out by his race because of his unique endowment of all five Tane. Saved by Jack, a HuMan, thought by Thanes people to be simple myths, Thane is hurled into a foreign world that he must make his own if he hopes to survive. When his only friends, Dor and Tam, try to find and help him, they are caught and tortured by a massive gathering of trolls that could bring about the annihilation of all races. Now, in a desperate search to find and save his friends, Thane must come to grips with his powers and himself before all is lost to the gathering storm of evil. An epic tale of good versus evil, Hand of Fire is a written tapestry of emotion that will draw in readers of all genres and not let them go until the last word is devoured. Views: 41
An exquisitely designed silver coffee-pot in the shape of a locomotive is on its way to Cardiff in the care of the young, talented silversmith, Hugh Kellow. It has been commissioned by wealthy ironmaster Clifford Tomkins for his acquisitive wife, who wants it to be the envy of all her friends -- and enemies.
But the coffee-pot is stolen. When a gruesome murder is committed at the Railway Hotel, Winifred Tomkins is distraught. Caring little for the dead silversmith, all she can think about is her missing treasure. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming of the Detective Department are summoned to Wales from London by telegraph and they are soon confronted by some additional crimes. The situation is complicated by the arrival of a famous theatre company and by revelations of illicit liaisons among members of the local high society. There is no shortage of suspects and Colbeck has to sift through layers of deceit to find the killer -- before it is too late. Views: 41
Virgin princess Liana had planned to live a life of spiritual purity and devotion, but when an ancient prophecy throws her into the bed of a barbarian king, his demanding touch takes her to the heights of pleasure...and pain. A short erotic fantasy romance of 8000 words. Views: 41
There’s no escape when cute Greg and Remi the buff golf instructor corner Joey beyond the tree line. Views: 41
