It's March on Martha's Vineyard. Too early for bluefish, but not too early for trouble. The winds are brisk and there's still a chill coming in off the ocean. The mood is gloomy, and for good reason. Former Olympic fencing champion turned millionaire real estate developer Donald Fox has targeted the island for his newest moneymaking scheme. With land values huge and many longtime residents in possession of fuzzy deeds of sometimes dubious legal value, Fox and his team plan to force people to sell cheap. Give up now or we'll fight you in court...or worse. Views: 25
The second installment of the thrilling maritime adventure; two mighty empires battle each other for control of the high seas.Atticus is the young captain of the Aquila, the flagship of the attack fleet of the Roman navy. But his commander is a young upstart whose position has been purchased rather than earned. Bound to obey his inexperienced commander's rash orders, Atticus sails straight into a carefully-laid trap. In the battle that follows, it is only by defying his commander that he can pull his men back from the brink of defeat.But Atticus will pay a high price for his defiance, and, as he is summoned to Rome, he realises he has created a powerful enemy. And, despite his friendship with Septimus, a Roman centurion, Atticus is dangerously unversed in the politics of the Roman senate.So, Atticus finds himself facing battles both at sea against an ever-more ferocious enemy and on his own ship by those close to home who want their... Views: 25
What on earth is that princess up to now?
Most princesses would prefer to spend their spring breaks in Gstaad, or some other equally unpronounceable European hot spot.
Not this one, though. Hammer in hand, Princess Mia embarks on an epic adventure for one so admittedly unhandy: along with her cohorts from school, she's off to build houses for the less fortunate. It doesn't take Mia long to realize that helping others—while an unimpeachably noble pastime—is very hard work. Will her giving spirit prevail? Will the house collapse due to royally clumsy construction? And most importantly, will Michael stop working long enough to kiss her? Views: 25
Rip-roaring new adventure in Robyn Bennis's military airship fantasy series that Patricia Briggs hails as "full of sass and terrific characters.""All's fair in love and war," according to airship captain Josette Dupre, until her hometown of Durum becomes occupied by the enemy and her mother a prisoner of war. Then it becomes, "Nothing's fair except bombing those Vins to high hell."Before she can rescue her town, however, Josette must maneuver her way through the nest of overstuffed vipers that make up Garnia's military and royal leaders in order to drum up support. The foppish and mostly tolerated Mistral crew member Lord Bernat steps in to advise her, along with his very attractive older brother.Between noble scheming, under-trained recruits, and supply shortages, Josette and the crew of the Mistral figure out a way to return to Durum—only to discover that when the homefront turns into the frontlines, things are more... Views: 25
Tamzea, a Mazatimz healer, found a home as part of the crew on the starship The Pittsburgh. But when a part of her past crashes into her present, she's forced to face the uncertainty of her future.Dragged back to a place Tamzea had hoped to leave in her worst nightmares, she discovers Eron, a man she thought dead. Determined to save each other, Tamzea and Eron must find a way to work together, despite their torrid past.With partial truths, and political games, will Tamzea be able to fix Eron, or is he too broken for even her to heal? Views: 25
Who are you? In this remarkable book, author and spiritual guide Michael Singer explores this fundamental question, seeking the very root of consciousness in order to help readers learn how to dwell in the present moment. Written in an engaging and uncomplicated voice, this book will open readers up to the radical and powerful experience of simply being themselves. Views: 25
In an alternate world, in a nameless totalitarian city, the autocratic Mayor rules the school system with an iron fist, with the help of his Educators. Fighting against the Mayor and his repressive Educators is a group of former students called the Truancy, whose goal is to take down the system by any means possible—at any cost. Against this backdrop, fifteen-year-old Tack is just trying to survive. His days are filled with sadistic teachers, unrelenting schoolwork, and indifferent parents. Things start to look up when he meets Umasi, a mysterious boy who runs a lemonade stand in an uninhabited district. Then someone close to Tack gets killed in the crossfire between the Educators and the Truants, and Tack swears vengeance. To achieve his purpose, he abandons his old life and joins the Truancy. There, he confronts Zyid, an enigmatic leader with his own plans for Tack. But Tack soon finds himself torn between his desire for... Views: 25
Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled with sex, violence, and amazing adventure. Now in Over the Edge of the World, acclaimed author Laurence Bergreen, interweaving a variety of candid, first-person accounts, some previously unavailable in English, brings to life this groundbreaking and majestic tale of discovery that changed many long-held views about the world and the way explorers would henceforth navigate its oceans. In 1519 Magellan and his fleet set sail from Seville, Spain, to find a water route to the Spice Islands in Indonesia, where the most sought-after commodities -- cloves, pepper, and nutmeg -- flourished. Most important, they were looking for a passageway, a strait, through the great landmass of the Americas that would lead them to these fabled islands. Laurence Bergreen takes readers on board with Magellan and his crew as they explore, navigate, mutiny, suffer, and die across the seas. He also recounts the many unusual sexual practices the crew experienced, from orgies in Brazil to bizarre customs in the South Pacific. With a fleet of five ships and more than two hundred men, they had set out in search of the Spice Islands. Three years later they returned with an abundance of spices from their intended destination, but with just one ship carrying eighteen emaciated men. They suffered starvation, disease, and torture, and many died, including Magellan, who was violently killed in a fierce battle. A man of great tenacity, cunning, and courage, Magellan was full of contradictions. He was both heroic and foolish, insightful yet blind, a visionary whose instincts outran his ideals. Ambitious to a fault and not above using torture and murder to maintain control of his ships and sailors, he survived innumerable natural hazards in addition to several violent mutinies aboard his own fleet -- and it took no less than the massed forces of fifteen hundred men to kill him. This is the first time in nearly half a century that anyone has attempted to narrate the complete story of Magellan's unprecedented circumnavigation of the globe -- to tell this truly gripping and profoundly important story of heroism, discovery, and disaster. A voyage into history, a tour of the world emerging from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance, an anthropological account of tribes, languages, and customs unknown to Europeans, and a chronicle of a desperate grab for commercial and political power, Over the Edge of the World is a captivating tale that rivals the most exciting thriller fiction. Views: 25
Love is political, obsessive and utterly strange in the first novel from the author of the Chaos Walking trilogy and new novel 'More Than This'. Love is political, obsessive and utterly strange in the first novel from the award-winning author of the Chaos Walking trilogy, 'A Monster Calls' and and new novel 'More Than This'. Welcome to the seaside metropolis of Hennington, where a mysterious herd of rhinoceros has wandered city streets for so long it's become a civic feature, where the current mayor first met her husband on a nude beach, and where Jon Noth has returned after four decades to reclaim a lost love. Unfortunately for him, that lost love is Cora Larsson, long-time mayor of Hennington, happily (and flexibly) married -- and still not interested ... Views: 25
