In this, his third collection, Tracy Daugherty focuses on social and cultural forces shaping people's intimate behavior. Set in Texas and Oklahoma, the stories and novella suggest that even politics is a kind of family squabble whose elusive solutions often come from unexpected quarters. In "Power Lines," a young man's sexual awakening in Midland, Texas, coincides with lessons about heroism and loyalty one hot summer that is suddenly seared with violence. In "The Standoff," a retired politician and his asthmatic grandson rediscover their bond on a trip to a small Oklahoma town where the old man has been asked to settle an "Indian dispute." In "Cotton Flat Road," a brother and sister lift the lid on their differences as he discovers her secret life across the tracks in the Texas oil town they grew up in. Views: 34
Novel published by Richard Kadrey on The Infinite Matrix ; this was an early version of Butcher Bird.
A very entertaining science fiction story. With the help of a blind swordswoman, tattooed Spyder begins a gleefully dark journey from the alleys of San Francisco to the depths of Hell, from the Bardo Lounge to the Bardo Realm… Views: 34
A pioneer of modern reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, Dr. Wilfred B. Icove, is found dead in his office-murdered in a chillingly efficient manner: one swift stab to the heart. Struck by the immaculate condition of the crime scene, Dallas suspects a professional killing. Security disks show a stunningly beautiful woman calmly entering and leaving the building-the good doctor's final appointment. Known as "Dr. Perfect," the saintly Icove devoted his life to his family and his work. His record is clean. Too clean for Dallas. She knows he was hiding something and suspects that his son-and successor-knows what it is. Then, like father, like son, the young Dr. Icove is killed . . . with the same deadly precision. But who is the mystery woman-and what was her relationship with the good doctors? While her husband, Roarke, works behind the scenes, Dallas follows her darkest instincts into the Icoves' pasts. What she discovers are men driven to create perfection-playing fast and loose with the laws of nature, the limits of science, and the morals of humanity. Views: 34
"DO YOU OWE ME, GAGE DALTON?"His answer, like his vow during their unceremonious nuptials afterward, had been, "I do." Before each other, they'd promised to love and honor, but unspoken was their own pledge. For Jenna Butler had saved this stranger's life, which bound him to return the favor.And only marriage to a Lenape would grant her custody of her sister's baby.So Jenna moved into Gage's ranch house...but not Gage's bed. A virgin, she'd entered their union without expectations, but breathlessly expectant. Though her hard-bitten husband honored her, he seemed to need the tender loving only a wife could offer. What could be the harm? After all, they had to keep up appearances.... Views: 34
Phoenix Force is sent on a sneak and peek mission to a typical Russian town. It's an easy job that sounds like a cakewalk - only this town was built in a month in the middle of a wilderness.
And it swallowed a CIA man.
Suddenly Katz and his men find themselves inside Cheyenne, Wyoming, USSR, a super secret training base for Russian spies.
Just as they launch an attack-and-withdraw strategy, Katz stumbles upon an even more urgent threat: a daring KGB project calling for a racial "brain drain" of American computer talent! Views: 34
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.From the sprawling veranda outside his bedroom Theo Toyas had a clear and unimpeded view of the drive leading up to his grandfather's fabulous villa. It was six-thirty in the afternoon, and the ferocious heat of the day was beginning to give way to something a little more acceptable. Even so, it was still too hot for anything other than a pair of light chinos and a short-sleeved shirt.In one hand he nursed a whisky on the rocks, which he had been periodically sipping for the past half-hour, content to just sit back on the cushioned wicker lounging chair and watch the scenery. And the scenery was indeed magnificent. To the right, just a short walk from his bedroom, was a stunning infinity pool overlooking Santorini's famous flooded volcano. Meticulously manicured gardens swept around the pool and curved towards the drive, which had been impressively designed to give the illusion of dropping off the side of the caldera.He had forgotten how tranquil and soporific the place was, but then again he rarely visited the villa. In fact, appreciating scenery was something Theo didn't do much of. He simply didn't have the time. He lived his life between London, Athens and New York, controlling the vast shipping empire which his great-grandfather had founded and which was now his legacy. Taking time out was almost unthinkable.But then an eightieth birthday was not something that came around often and his grandfather's eightieth, to be celebrated in the villa on the very island where he had met his wife, was the equivalent of a royal summons. Most of the family members who lived on mainland Greece would be there for just the party, flying in on private planes which had been chartered for the purpose. Others, from as far afield as Canada, would be staying for the full week at the villa, or else hiving off to stay with other family members in other parts of Greece, some of whom they had not seen for a very long time.Theo planned to stay for three days only, long enough to pay his respects and toast his grandfather's health before resuming his ferociously work fuelled life in London.A taxi had stopped on the drive and he watched through narrowed eyes as first Michael, his brother, emerged from the car and then his companion.So this was it. He was finally going to see this mysterious woman who had suddenly appeared on the scene. It had come as a source of relief to everyone, not least his mother and his grandfather. Theo might be single, yes, but he ostensibly enjoyed the company of women. He was also a pragmatist and fully comprehended the advantages of marrying the right girl with the right connections. He would, he had once dryly told them both, be married by forty. In the meantime, they were not to interfere with his private life.Michael had always been another kettle of fish. Five years younger, he had always been a fragile child, prone to bouts of ill health. Whereas Theo had been sent to boarding school in England from the age of thirteen, something that had gone some way to giving him the hard-edged independence that had become the cornerstone of his formidable personality, Michael had been kept at home. Lina Toyas had not been able to face sending her delicate, sensitive son away from her. She had always worried about him and she still did. The fact that he had never brought home any nice girls to meet her had been just one more thing to worry about. He was shy, she knew, and shy men could often become lonely bachelors and that, for her, would have been a fate worse than death.The sudden appearance of a girlfriend had brought tears of joy to Lina's eyes.Theo, in receipt of this emotional telephone call, had been less thrilled.Things didn't add up and he knew, as a shrewd businessman, that if something didn't add up then it was most probably wrong.How was it that the name Abigail Clinton had never once crossed his brother's lips? Surely if they had been an item he would have mentioned her somewhere along the line, in one of the many calls he made to his mother in Greece from his home in Brighton? In fact, the girl's name had only been uttered a fortnight ago, when he had amazingly announced that he was engaged to an English girl and would be bringing her to his grandfather's birthday celebrations in Santorini.Theo had tactfully refrained from voicing any of his suspicions to his mother. He intended to use his brief stay at the villa constructively. He would watch, question and determine whether the girl was, as he suspected, after his brother's money. Because Michael lived in Brighton and ran a couple of restaurants and a nightclub did not mean that he was unaffected by the fabulous Toyas wealth. In fact, he owned a great deal of highly valuable shares in the company and the trust fund into which he occasionally dipped was well beyond most people's wildest dreams. He lived a modest enough lifestyle, and at first glance might just come across as being an up-and-coming successful young businessman. That, as Theo knew only too well, was only the tip of the iceberg, just his brother modestly disassociating himself from the vast fortune that was attached to his name. Anyone interested in tapping into the mother lode would only have to do some rudimentary detective work and he was pretty sure that was exactly what had happened.He was equally sure that he would do anything in his power to prevent his brother being exploited. Although he worried less about Michael than his mother did, he was still very protective of him. Michael trusted people, a huge drawback in life as far as Theo was concerned. To trust was to be vulnerable. Only fools were vulnerable.He sat forward, black eyes hard as he focused on the girl emerging from the taxi. She was slight in stature, with long, very blonde hair, almost white-blonde in fact, which fell down her back in one perfectly satin-smooth, straight curtain. She kept playing with it, lifting it with one hand into a makeshift ponytail and then letting it drop, and all the while she stared around her, lips parted, taking in the opulence of the surroundings.Clocking the price tag around Michael's neck, Theo thought cynically to himself.Still, he conceded grudgingly, the boy had taste. He couldn't see the details of the girl's face but she was neatly built with slim legs and very slender arms. A boyish figure, barely filling the short, strappy dress. Unlike him, Michael had never shown the least interest in the voluptuous, sexy girls that Greece boasted.He watched as suitcases were taken out of the taxi, his mind ticking along its ruthlessly logical path. When they disappeared from view he pushed himself off the lounger and sauntered into his bedroom, draining the remainder of the whisky in one gulp and dumping the empty glass on the sideboard in the room.His room was typical of most of the many rooms in the enormous villa. It was luxuriously but simply furnished. The stained wooden floor was dominated by a large, brightly patterned rug and the walls were painted a pale terracotta, an effective backdrop for the cream curtains that hung from floor to ceiling. Against one wall was an impressive Syrian chest embellished with mother-of-pearl and above that hung a darkly compelling painting of the island's famous volcano by twilight. The majority of the furniture was of dark wood, which gave the room a decadent, opulent feel.Theo barely noticed any of it. He was busy thinking, working out the best way to approach the girl without rousing his brother's suspicions or incurring his mother's displeasure. The latter, he thought to himself, would be slightly more of a challenge.And who, he thought with a small smile, ever said that Theo Toyas didn't appreciate a challenge?He was still contemplating the technicalities of revealing this gold-digger in their midst when, an hour later, he made his way to one of the sitting areas where he knew drinks would already be underway for the guests who had arrived. Not that many of them had so far. Most would be descending the following day, but on this first night there would essentially be just close family members. His grandfather, of course, and his mother, as well as uncles and aunts and their various offspring. And Michael and the woman.Drinks were being served in the sitting area which overlooked the back gardens. He had spent a couple of pleasantly invigorating hours here earlier on with his mother, arguing the practicality of lighting up the outside area with lanterns and had, as he had expected, lost the debate. As he entered the sitting area, though, he had to admit that the effect was stunning.The gardens seemed alive with giant fireflies and several of the guests were outside having their drinks, seduced by the romance of the scenery.'I admit it looks rather splendid,' Theo said, grabbing a drink en route and strolling up to where his mother was quietly contemplating the stage she had masterfully set.Lina turned to her eldest son and smiled. 'George likes it too. He fussed and fretted about all the effort involved, but look at him out there, puffing and preening like a peacock and accepting all the compliments. It is just a shame that your father is no longer around. He would have enjoyed the moment.'Theo slung his arm around his mother's shoulder and nodded. 'We haven't had one of these family gatherings since…since that wedding five years ago. Elena and Stefano.''They will be here tomorrow. Along with their two children.' Lina turned to him and gave him a long, critical look. She was, he freely admitted, the only human being on the face of the earth who could look at him like that and get away with it. 'It could have been you,' she pointed out, without bothering to beat about the bush. 'You are not a young boy any longer. This dynasty needs its heirs, Theo.''And they will be produced,' Theo murmured placatingly, 'all in good time.''Alexis Papaeliou will be coming,' Lina ventured. 'She would be a good match, Theo. Her grandfather grew up with George. They still keep in touch now, even though it is not as easy as it once was.''Papaeliou…yes the name rings a bell. Alexis, pretty name, and I have t... Views: 34
In Chocolate Dreams, Cocoa the Chocolate Fairy is blamed for the missing chocolate eggs--but really it's the sour troll Mogu who stole them! Can Cocoa save the chocolate eggs and restore the balance of Sugar Valley? Views: 34
The Darkest Day is the first novel in the five part Inspector Barbarotti series from renowned Swedish crime author Håkan Nesser.It's December in the quiet Swedish town of Kymlinge, and the Hermansson family are gathering to celebrate father Karl-Erik and eldest daughter Ebba's joint landmark birthdays. But beneath the guise of happy festivities, tensions are running high, and it's not long before the night takes a dark and unexpected turn . . . Before the weekend is over, two members of the Hermansson family are missing, and it's up to Inspector Barbarotti – a detective who spends as much of his time debating the existence of God as he does solving cases – to determine exactly what has happened. And he soon discovers he'll have to unravel a whole tangle of sinister family secrets in the process . . . Views: 34
Professor Gustav Mayer is riddled with guilt after making a monumental discovery: a new technology a century ahead of its time. But his secret is not safe, the world is not safe – a new menace rises in 1930's Germany. Mayer's world spirals out of control; hunted by ruthless killers from the newly formed SS, a game of brinkmanship begins. Who is the grey man? Assassin or protector? A global trail of espionage leads from Berlin to New York, Cairo, and London – but is it all a grand deception? What are German spies doing in South Africa? What does this have to do with big American corporations? Meanwhile, Mayer is forced to work on fledgling rocket technology for the new regime in Berlin, but his captors suspect he conceals an even greater secret. British intelligence makes a bold attempt to rescue Mayer, but the plan goes wrong and Mayer is critically injured. Mayer is interrogated by the ruthless Commandant Kessler, and in a moment of delirium mutters a vital part of his secret;... Views: 34
Based on the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Pilgrimage after the NSCAR legend's death, Sharyn McCrumb has crafted a tale of transformation and everyday miracles. Suffused with incisive Southern wit and unforgettable characters, "St. Dale" looks into the heart of America-its secular saints and cereal-box heroes, wild dreams and unrealized ambitions, heartbreaking losses and second chances-and celebrates its unbreakable spirit. Views: 34
Product DescriptionA collection of the best stories by one of fantasy and science fiction's most evocative writers, including Sea Kings of Mars, which combines high adventure with a strongly romantic vision of an ancient, sea-girt Martian civilisation. About the AuthorLeigh Brackett (1915-1978) was an accomplished and prolific writer of fantasy and SF, as well as a Hollywood screen writer (she received a posthumous Oscar for the script for The Empire Strikes Back). She was married to the SF writer Edmond Hamilton. Views: 34
