It was many years ago. Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three generations, and was prouder of it than of any other of its possessions. It was so proud of it, and so anxious to insure its perpetuation, that it began to teach the principles of honest dealing to its babies in the cradle, and made the like teachings the staple of their culture thenceforward through all the years devoted to their education. Also, throughout the formative years temptations were kept out of the way of the young people, so that their honesty could have every chance to harden and solidify, and become a part of their very bone. The neighbouring towns were jealous of this honourable supremacy, and affected to sneer at Hadleyburg\'s pride in it and call it vanity; but all the same they were obliged to acknowledge that Hadleyburg was in reality an incorruptible town; and if pressed they would also acknowledge that the mere fact that a young man hailed from Hadleyburg was all the recommendation he needed when he went forth from his natal town to seek for responsible employment. Views: 417
This edition does not include illustrations. From the author of â??Seven Wonders of the Industrial Worldâ??, the ebook edition of the TV tie-in charting the shocking but true story behind the space race â?? and the ruthless, brilliant scientists who fuelled it. With the end of the Cold War it is now possible to reveal its generation of secrets and cover-ups, bringing an historical opportunity: the unmasking of the true heroes and villains behind the race to be the first to conquer space. This is one of the greatest stories in history, beginning in the throes of the Second World War and spanning through to the moon landings. With the US and Russia pitched against one another during the Cold War, it was the race to create the most powerful rocket and dominate the world, culminating in 1969's 'giant leap for mankind'. The most pioneering and high-risk experiments ever undertaken cost untold millions â?? and hundreds of lives, as mistakes were made, some too horrific to be made... Views: 414
Gene Wolfe may be the single best writer in fantasy and SF today. His quotes and reviews certainly support that contention, and so does his impressive short fiction oeuvre. Innocents Aboard gathers fantasy and horror stories from the last decade that have never before been in a Wolfe collection. Highlights from the twenty-two stories include "The Tree is my Hat," adventure and horror in the South Seas, "The Night Chough," a Long Sun story, "The Walking Sticks," a darkly humorous tale of a supernatural inheritance, and "Houston, 1943," lurid adventures in a dream that has no end. This is fantastic fiction at its best.
**From Publishers Weekly
Veteran Wolfe (The Knight) doesn't just write stories. He tells wondrously imaginative tales that weave reality with dream and fit so comfortably, or with intentional discomfort, within the psyche that they surely must have dwelt there all along with the other great fables and folk tales, lore and legends that are part of our collective cultural unconscious. The 22 short works of horror and fantasy (and "magic realism" if one disdains genre labels) collected here are further proof that Wolfe ranks with the finest writers of this or any other day. Age has neither dulled nor withered the septuagenarian author: fully half these stories are from the last five years. "The Tree Is My Hat" is a haunting ghost story set on a Pacific Island replete with shark-gods and lost temples. The chilling "The Friendship Light" combines the Lovecraftian with the psychopathological. An ill child finds endless adventure and inescapable nightmare in "Houston, 1943." In "The Lost Pilgrim," a time-traveler intent on sailing with the Pilgrims finds himself on a voyage into Greek myth. Wolfe's magic is so potent that even when his highly unreliable narrators warn us we will never believe them, that they are mad or illogical, we still find it all, no matter how outlandish or surreal the premise, perfectly plausible. Wolfe is a literary treasure, as shown in these short stories as lucid as diamonds of the first water.
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From Booklist
This gathering of 22 previously uncollected fantasy and horror stories shows Wolfe as much a master of his craft as ever. Particularly noteworthy is the autobiographical "Houston, 1943," about growing up during World War II; Wolfe says there is nothing completely invented in it. On the other hand, "The Walking Sticks" is a ghost story, "The Night Chough" is set in the universe of Wolfe's Long Sun novels, and "How the Bishop Sailed to Inniskeen" superficially appears to take place in a conventional fantasy setting; invention aplenty in them. Then there are "The Sailor Who Sailed after the Sun," "Slow Children at Play," and "The Monday Man"; in none of them is it easy to tell whether Wolfe is being whimsical or not. It is easy, however, to appreciate Wolfe's versatility in choice of subjects, the depth of the knowledge he brings to bear on developing them, and the magisterial excellence of his prose. Short fiction doesn't often get better than this in the English language, let alone just in fantasy. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 412
“Finding someone to finish a series after five novels from five different authors is no easy task. He’s got to be willing to find all the open roads the others have left for him. He’s got to do his homework, and quickly. And given the quality of his predecessors’ work, he’s got to be good . . . Enter Paul Kemp. Whew! Writers like this don’t come along every day.” –R.A. Salvatore The New York Times best-selling author of The Two Swords THE SPIDER QUEEN LIVES AGAIN But something is different, something her priestesses can hear in the winds, feel in their spirits, and for a select few see with their own eyes. The Demonweb Pits, removed from the Abyss to take its place among the lower planes, is more dangerous, more horrifying than anyone has ever imagined. Teeming with feral spiders bent on ripping each other to pieces– killing, eating, and killing again–the blasted landscape of Lolth’s personal hell is still forming. Quenthel Baenre, with the tattered remnants of her expedition continuing to plot against her, crosses that spider-infested killing ground in hopes of answering the call of her reborn goddess. If she can make it to Lolth’s side, can she even imagine what plans the Queen of the Demonweb Pits has had for her all along? The final novel in an epic six-part series from the fertile imaginations of R.A. Salvatore, and a select group of the newest, most exciting authors in the genre. Join them as they bring an end to a devastating war, and give birth to the greatest horror the Realms has ever known. Danifae Yauntyrr, former battle-captive of House Melarn, has come too far to stop now. She has regained her freedom after years of servitude, but has yet to exact her revenge. Though she has gained much, grown in both power and ambition, and enjoys the protection of the powerful draegloth Jeggred Baenre, Danifae still needs to kill Halisstra Melarn. But how can she when she’s followed Quenthel and Pharaun into the heart of Lolth’s reformed domain, a hellish world of demonic spiders bent on eating each other, and anything else stupid enough to get in their way–including the chosen vessel of Lolth herself. While Danifae wonders how she’ll ever take vengeance on a woman she left behind on the surface of Faerûn, the very target of her burning hatred is close on her heals. Halisstra has come to the Demonweb Pits with a very different agenda. In her hands she holds the fabled Crescent Blade, a sword she believes will grant her the power to kill Lolth herself–but only if they find her before she fully completes her own mysterious RESURRECTION The War of the Spider Queen comes to an end. Views: 412
Urban Fantasy Dark Paranormal Vampire Romance Tatiana Sinclair has lived a perfect noblewoman's life, until the night her brother forces her to cover up a horrible crime. Haunted by the only witness to their deeds, the intensely sensual Count Spoleti, Tatiana is led into a world she never dreamed existed. Count Marcello Spoleti is intrigued by the female who dares to try to control the vampire. But, he also knows there is more to Tatiana than just a pretty face–much, much more. Forcing her father to give her to him, lest he tell of his children's crimes, Marcello plans on keeping the strong-minded Tatiana under his complete command. Tribes of the Vampire Book 3 Views: 411
TWO LONG-AGO LOVERS. ONE UNFORGETTABLE PASSION. Prosecutor Faith Barclay has made a successful career putting bad guys behind bars. But the work is starting to get to her. Haunted by the one misstep that set a stalker free, Faith escapes to her family's cabin in Thunder Creek, far from the big city and the recent menacing calls that have her spooked. When she arrives, she encounters another kind of danger: Zach McCallum, the sexy, wild-hearted cowboy who walked out on her ten years before. A SECOND CHANCE IN THE TOWN WHERE IT ALL BEGAN...Zach will never forget those hot, lazy nights in Faith's arms he prayed would never end. Now the beautiful attorney is back in the Wyoming town where they first tasted passion, and this time Zach is determined not to let her get away. But someone else is watching over Faith, leaving threatening messages--someone who has tracked Faith all the way to Thunder Creek. And as passion and danger ignite, it's up to Zach to protect... Views: 410
This book is one of the classic book of all time. Views: 409
Richard Siken’s Crush, selected as the 2004 winner of the Yale Younger Poets prize, is a powerful collection of poems driven by obsession and love. Siken writes with ferocity, and his reader hurtles unstoppably with him. His poetry is confessional, gay, savage, and charged with violent eroticism. In the world of American poetry, Siken's voice is striking. In her introduction to the book, competition judge Louise Glück hails the “cumulative, driving, apocalyptic power, [and] purgatorial recklessness” of Siken’s poems. She notes, “Books of this kind dream big. . . . They restore to poetry that sense of crucial moment and crucial utterance which may indeed be the great genius of the form.” Views: 409
Dear Reader, Sometimes, if you're very lucky, you can go home again. An earlier version of this book was titled The Diamond Tiger and came out in 1993 under the name Ann Maxwell. When my present publisher offered me the opportunity of going back to the novel under the name Elizabeth Lowell, I admit that I hesitated. In the years since first publication, the diamond trade has changed so greatly that it would be impossible to update the facts in the book without destroying the very story that had compelled me to write in the first place. But like the diamond trade, my style of telling a story has also changed over the years. I decided to revisit the novel because I loved it and hoped my new readers would as well. Death Is Forever is my favorite kind of story, combining elements of danger, greed, trust, secrets, passions, and death. Enjoy! Views: 407
He'd waited for this day—this woman—for forever it seemed. Harry Ballantine had been a prisoner of Fernhaven forest and now he found the key to his salvation in Jenna Dante. But would she surrender to him before she left the hidden hamlet?With an angry ex on her tail and rain pouring, the last thing Jenna Dante needed was car trouble and a cranky child. Her only option was to seek refuge in the desolate hotel on the hill in Fernhaven. But the restored walls seemed to hold more than memories. For Jenna they vibrated with life and an all-male seduction she could only see and feel in her mind. But when danger came to call, she would need flesh-and-blood protection—and maybe something more lethal...like transcending love. Views: 405
