Amazon.com ReviewThis brilliantly ironic satire is set in a future world where television and computers are connected directly into people's brains when they are babies. The result is a chillingly recognizable consumer society where empty-headed kids are driven by fashion and shopping and the avid pursuit of silly entertainment--even on trips to Mars and the moon--and by constant customized murmurs in their brains of encouragement to buy, buy, buy. Anderson gives us this world through the voice of a boy who, like everyone around him, is almost completely inarticulate, whose vocabulary, in a dead-on parody of the worst teenspeak, depends heavily on three words: "like," "thing," and the second most common English obscenity. He's even made this vapid kid a bit sympathetic, as a product of his society who dimly knows something is missing in his head. The details are bitterly funny--the idiotic but wildly popular sitcom called "Oh? Wow! Thing!", the girls who have to retire to the ladies room a couple of times an evening because hairstyles have changed, the hideous lesions on everyone that are not only accepted, but turned into a fashion statement. And the ultimate awfulness is that when we finally meet the boy's parents, they are just as inarticulate and empty-headed as he is, and their solution to their son's problem is to buy him an expensive car.Although there is a danger that at first teens may see the idea of brain-computers as cool, ultimately they will recognize this as a fascinating novel that says something important about their world. (Ages 14 and older) --Patty CampbellFrom Publishers WeeklyIn this chilling novel, Anderson (Burger Wuss; Thirsty) imagines a society dominated by the feed a next-generation Internet/television hybrid that is directly hardwired into the brain. Teen narrator Titus never questions his world, in which parents select their babies' attributes in the conceptionarium, corporations dominate the information stream, and kids learn to employ the feed more efficiently in School. But everything changes when he and his pals travel to the moon for spring break. There Titus meets home-schooled Violet, who thinks for herself, searches out news and asserts that "Everything we've grown up with the stories on the feed, the games, all of that it's all streamlining our personalities so we're easier to sell to." Without exposition, Anderson deftly combines elements of today's teen scene, including parties and shopping malls, with imaginative and disturbing fantasy twists. "Chats" flow privately from mind to mind; Titus flies an "upcar"; people go "mal" (short for "malfunctioning") in contraband sites that intoxicate by scrambling the feed; and, after Titus and his friends develop lesions, banner ads and sit-coms dub the lesions the newest hot trend, causing one friend to commission a fake one and another to outdo her by getting cuts all over her body. Excerpts from the feed at the close of each chapter demonstrate the blinding barrage of entertainment and temptations for conspicuous consumption. Titus proves a believably flawed hero, and ultimately the novel's greatest strength lies in his denial of and uncomfortable awakening to the truth. This satire offers a thought-provoking and scathing indictment that may prod readers to examine the more sinister possibilities of corporate- and media-dominated culture. Ages 14-up.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Views: 23
Alice Raikes takes a train from London to Scotland to visit her family, but when she gets there she witnesses something so shocking that she insists on returning to London immediately. A few hours later, Alice is lying in a coma after an accident that may or may not have been a suicide attempt. Alice's family gathers at her bedside and as they wait, argue, and remember, long-buried tensions emerge. The more they talk, the more they seem to conceal. Alice, meanwhile, slides between varying levels of consciousness, recalling her past and a love affair that recently ended. A riveting story that skips through time and interweaves multiple points of view, After You'd Gone is a novel of stunning psychological depth and marks the debut of a major literary talent.From Publishers WeeklyLike a pointillist painting, this fine debut is, from one perspective, formless--short vignettes, told from multiple points of view and in multiple voices, that are somewhat puzzling on their own and apparently have no connection to each other. Ultimately, however, these elements merge into a coherent and moving portrait of a young woman's journey toward a life-threatening crisis. In London, one cold day in late fall, Alice Raikes impulsively boards a train home to Scotland. Shortly after joining her two sisters in the Edinburgh train station, she sees something "odd and unexpected and sickening" in the station's restroom that causes her immediately to flee back to London. Later that evening, while walking to the grocery store, Alice broods over what she has seen, then abruptly steps into oncoming traffic. As she lies comatose in her hospital bed, a swirl of voices and images gradually reveals her past--her parents, especially her mother, Ann; her beloved grandmother, Elspeth; her two sisters, so unlike her, both physically and temperamentally; and John Friedman, whom she loved and lost--and hints at her precarious future. The unnamed spectacle of the opening washroom scene resurfaces in Alice's semiconscious haze, and its eventual elucidation comes as less of a shock than a confirmation of all we have learned about her tumultuous existence. Sharply observed details of everyday life and language, original and telling figures of speech and deftly handled plot twists reach a moving climax, while subtly raising the question of whether the objects of Alice's affection--and the sources of her agony--were worth enduring. Foreign rights sold in seven countries. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalIt is hard to believe that such an assured work comes from a first novelist. Starting in London with a young woman stepping off a curb in front of an oncoming car, O'Farrell gradually lays bare the harrowing realization that prompted the suicide attempt. On one level, this is a love story; on another it is an intergenerational tale of three women (grandmother Elspeth, mother Ann, and Alice, the victim). But to describe it as such sounds platitudinous, which it is definitely not. With smooth prose, O'Farrell moves seamlessly among the victim's family and friends and back and forth in time in seemingly random fashion, slowly revealing her characters' pasts and stunningly bringing the story back to the present. Despite its premise, this is not a depressing book. Published originally in the UK to good reviews, it should appeal to fans of Mary Gordon and Margaret Atwood, though it will draw a more popular audience than the latter.DFrancine Fialkoff, "Library Journal" Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 22
In The German Empire, one of Europe's great historians and men of letters chronicles one of history's most fateful transformations--Germany's rise from new nation to prime mover in the chain of events that sent it hurtling into two world wars.
In 1871, Otto von Bismarck fused with "blood and iron" a motley collection of principalities, Free Cities, and bishoprics into one Reich. In England, Benjamin Disraeli observed that the world was witnessing "a greater political event than the French revolution of last century. . . . [T]here is not a diplomatic tradition which has not been swept away. . . . The balance of power has been entirely destroyed." Disraeli's powers of prophecy, in this as in much else, were formidable.
The Age of Bismarck saw Germany become the dynamo of Europe--its preeminent economic and military power, its scientific and educational nerve center, and a place of tremendous artistic ferment. But there would be no simple spell to return to their bottles the genies unleashed by these vast forces, and Michael Stürmer traces the convergence of people and events that sent Europe's fragile balance of power over the brink and into conflict. No war was fought for less purpose or with greater slaughter than the First World War which, in Michael Stürmer's assured hands, arrives as the next-to-last act of an epic drama all the more tragic for the blazing brilliance of its opening scenes. Though the drama's final horrible act, the Second World War, takes place offstage from The German Empire, it is impossible to understand its origins without the history Michael Stürmer tells here with such elegance and insight.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 22
'Could one write a book based on one's diaries over thirty years? I certainly have enough material,' wrote Barbara Pym. This book, selected from the diaries, notebooks and letters of this much loved novelist to form a continuous narrative, is indeed a unique autobiography, providing a privileged insight into a writer's mind. Philip Larkin wrote that Barbara Pym had 'a unique eye and ear for the small poignancies of everyday life'. Her autobiography amply demonstrates this, as it traces her life from exuberant times at Oxford in the thirties, through the war when, scarred by an unhappy love affair, she joined the WRNS, to the published novelist of the fifties. It also deals with the long period when her novels were out of fashion and no one would publish them, her rediscovering in 1977, and the triumphant success of her last few years. It is now possible to describe a place, situation or person as 'very Barbara Pym'. A Very Private Eye, at once funny and moving, shows the variety... Views: 22
Robert Crain's perfect life is being torn apart... While recuperating at home from a car accident, men in ski masks break into his house and render him unconscious. When he awakens the next morning he is confronted by a nightmarish truth -- that his wife and son are gone.
But it doesn't take long before he learns he's not dealing with ordinary kidnappers. They aren't interested in ransom money. No, what they want is unthinkable -- to see Robert fight other strangers to the death... And if he refuses, he will never see his family again.
Accompanied by his loyal German shepherd, Robert descends into the darkest journey of his life, awaiting the kidnapper's next dreaded appointment -- and coming out of it alive. Joined later by his best friend Will, he will stop at nothing to rescue his wife and son who are being held by a haunted psychopath.
Robert has always had questions about his family's past. About a mysterious oblong box he discovered in his grandmother's attic and his grandfather's deep fear of what lurked within a mountain glacier. Beginning with a ghost that stalked him in the forest while his was a boy to a violent trip he and Will survived in Mexico, Robert has always believed that some force from the distant past would one day come for him.
Heart-pounding and unpredictable, RED MOUNTAIN is a journey between the past and present, and what happens when the two collide. Views: 22
Lord Ramage returns to fight in the most famous of Britain's sea battles. Summoned by Admiral Nelson himself, Ramage is sent to join the British fleet off Cadiz where the largest battle in naval history is about to take place. Finding himself in the front line of battle, Lord Ramage must fight to save his own life as well as for his country. The result is a thrilling, hair-raising adventure from one of our best-loved naval writers Views: 22
SUMMARY: When Ace Turner discovered that his biological daddy was the rich and powerful late cattle king Ford Carson, he vowed to make nice with his long-lost kin so the Carsons would serve him his rightful inheritance on a silver platter. However, his plans to strike it rich were diverted when sparks ignited with beautiful hospital fund-raiser Crystal Bennett. The feisty single mom was leery of roguish playboys, but Ace wasn't walkin' away--especially with a vengeful enemy from Crystal's past on the warpath at Mission Creek Memorial Hospital. Could love bring this sweet talkin' bachelor riches beyond his wildest dreams? Views: 22
Katie thinks she’s going crazy when a baby immortal and death’s personal assistant appear at her doorstep. She’s drawn into a world filled with immortals like Rhyn, an outcast half-breed who claims her as his mate in a show of defiance to his brothers. Rhyn rescues her from Hell and discovers his little human has a gift that’ll help his brothers protect the immortal and mortal worlds. Views: 22
LOVE THY--NEW--NEIGHBOR?Timid piano teacher Thea Glenheim was dutifully content in sleepy, conservative Lake Lowell. Still, sometimes she secretly craved a little excitement....What Thea got turned her world topsy-turvy! Her brand-new neighbor, handsome, charismatic Peter Della had a plan to help troubled city teens, which scandalized straitlaced Lake Lowell. Yet Peter's love of children warmed Thea's heart. And his confidence in her inspired a tender new courage. But could Thea find the faith to face down her community--and stand by this beloved new man in town? Views: 22
NYPD homicide detective April Woo ("Tracking Time, Stealing Time") investigates the murders of two brides, both shot by a sniper's bullet. Trying to find how the two brides were connected, April and homicide specialist Mike Sanchez sift through the evidence for clues to the killer's identity. But they have to work fast because the wedding of April's close friend is fast approaching. Views: 22
Iran is on the verge of obtaining the technology to launch a nuclear weapon and Tommy Carmellini, with Jake Grafton, must undertake a mission to stop them, using commandoes and undercover operatives as the clock ticks down. Views: 22
While testing a top-secret missile defense system in the middle of the Pacific, the U.S.S. "Jefferson" accidentally targets the Russians. Their retaliation is swift and they have no interest in diplomacy. Now the Carrier Battle Group Fourteen must defend itself without provoking a full-blown war. Views: 22
What writer Benjamin Constable needs is a real-life adventure wilder than his rampant imagination. And who better to shake up his comfortable Englishman-in-Paris routine than the enigmatic Tomomi "Butterfly" Ishikawa, who has just sent a cryptic suicide note?She's planted a slew of clues--in the pages of her journal, on the hard drive of her computer, tucked away in public places, under flowerpots, and behind statues. Heartbroken, confused, and accompanied by an imaginary cat, Ben embarks upon a scavenger hunt leading to charming and unexpected spaces, from the hidden alleys of Paris to the cobblestone streets of New York City.But Butterfly's posthumous messages are surprisingly well informed for the words of a dead person, and they're full of confessions of a past darkened by insanity, betrayal, and murder. The treasures Ben is unearthing are installments of a gruesome memoir. Now he must draw a clear line between the real and surreal if he is to save himself, Butterfly,... Views: 22
Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.This volume includes:The Evil that Befell Sampson by Pip Ballantine- Eliza D Braun is a young field agent in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (South Pacific Branch) when she is asked by New Zealand's preeminent suffragist to investigate some strange goings within the organisation. She cannot possibly imagination that this little case will alter her entire life and thrust her into a world barely prepared for her.Dust on the Davenport by O M Grey - Agent Simon R. Boswell, still considered the green agent of the Ministry, takes on his own a supposed haunting in Islington. Hauntings tend to be nothing too serious for agents specializing in the unexplained; but for Simon, this case supplies surprises of all kinds, around every corner...The Astonishing Amulet of... Views: 22
