[Book Eight of The Dray Prescot series] Dray Prescot, the Earthman who had been brought across interstellar space as the tool of the mysterious Star Lords, confronted his most baffling task while he was a hunted and harried wanderer of the continent of Havilfar. That task was to discover the means by which the aircraft of that continent's most advanced civilization operated. Prescot is no scientist, but fulfill his task he must or he would never return to the princess and homeland he had won. So, for Dray Prescot there was but one course -- with a whole continent against him, with time itself conspiring to balk him, the secrets of an unknown science must be made his... Views: 21
The Emperor’s Children is a richly drawn, brilliantly observed novel of fate and fortune—about the intersections in the lives of three friends, now on the cusp of their thirties, making their way--and not-- in New York City. In this tour de force, the celebrated author Claire Messud brings to life a city, a generation, and the way we live in this moment.BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Claire Messud's The Woman Upstairs. From Publishers WeeklyMarina Thwaite, Danielle Minkoff and Julian Clarke were buddies at Brown, certain that they would soon do something important in the world. But as all near 30, Danielle is struggling as a TV documentary maker, and Julius is barely surviving financially as a freelance critic. Marina, the startlingly beautiful daughter of celebrated social activist, journalist and hob-nobber Murray Thwaite, is living with her parents on the Upper West Side, unable to finish her book"titled The Emperor's Children Have No Clothes (on how changing fashions in children's clothes mirror changes in society). Two arrivals upset the group stasis: Ludovic, a fiercely ambitious Aussie who woos Marina to gain entrée into society (meanwhile planning to destroy Murray's reputation), and Murray's nephew, Frederick "Bootie" Tubb, an immature, idealistic college dropout and autodidact who is determined to live the life of a New York intellectual. The group orbits around the post"September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement"and around Murray, who is, in a sense, the emperor. Messud, in her fourth novel, remains wickedly observant of pretensions"intellectual, sexual, class and gender. Her writing is so fluid, and her plot so cleverly constructed, that events seem inevitable, yet the narrative is ultimately surprising and masterful as a contemporary comedy of manners. 100,00 announced first printing; author tour.(Sept. 4) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From The New YorkerIn this witty examination of New York's chattering classes, which opens in the spring of 2001, the despot of the title is Murray Thwaite, a famous journalist who made his name in the Vietnam era. The next generation, however, is having trouble gaining traction. Murray's daughter, Marina, unable to complete a long-overdue book on the cultural significance of children's clothing, has moved back into her parents' Upper West Side apartment and is doing a lot of yoga. Her two best friends—Danielle, a television producer, and Julius, a gay freelance critic—are similarly ambitious and entitled, without being particularly driven. All three find sex the easiest way to transform themselves. Only Murray's brainy and profoundly disenfranchised nephew from upstate aggressively pursues his belief in the true and the good, but he proves to be a sort of literary terrorist, threatening to blow the family apart. The humorous intimacies of Messud's portraits do not, finally, soften the judgments behind them: If this is what's become of the liberal imagination, is it worth fighting for?Copyright © 2006 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker Views: 21
HE AGREED TO PROTECT HER FROM A VENGEFUL MOBSTER. HE JUST DIDN’T REALIZE HE’D HAVE TO JOIN THE MOB TO DO IT.
Ray Corson came to Hollywood to be a screenwriter, not hired muscle. But when money’s tight and a beautiful woman asks for your help, how can you say no?
But going up against a man like Lance Halliday takes more than just physical strength and the guts to use it. It takes friends in high places – or low ones. Soon, Ray finds himself on the payroll of Lenny Scarpa, L.A.’s chief drug supplier. Only Scarpa’s hiding secrets even darker than Halliday’s – and, as Ray discovers, Rebecca’s hiding the darkest secret of all…
From Publishers Weekly Best known for his poetry and literary fiction ( The Artist's Wife , etc.), Phillips contributes to a new crime imprint a hard-boiled whodunit sure to thrill fans of such Golden Age masters as James M. Cain. Ex-boxer/failed screenwriter Ray Corson is as tough talking—and as vulnerable to a pretty face—as any 1940s gumshoe. And terrified blonde bombshell Rebecca LaFontaine looks like a classic damsel in distress when she hires Corson to protect her from murderous rejected suitor Lance Halliday, a Hollywood porn producer. The author deftly balances his lovestruck hero's terse yet tender introspection with hard-hitting physical action, as Corson's investigation of Tinsel Town's tarnished underside uncovers drug dealing, gangland vengeance and evidence that the heroine's history may hold even deadlier secrets. Especially graceful is the way Phillips lightens the plot's noir darkness with delightfully breezy dialogue. The convincingly understated, witty repartee between guy and gal—and their gangster pals—prevents the book from descending, for even a paragraph, into period pulp parody. They do write 'em like they used to. Views: 21
Perry and Baby Girl are best friends, though you wouldn't know it if you met them. Their friendship is woven from the threads of never-ending dares and power struggles, their loyalty fierce but incredibly fraught. They spend their nights sneaking out of their trailers, stealing cars for joyrides, and doing all they can to appear hard to the outside world.With all their energy focused on deceiving themselves and the people around them, they don't know that real danger lurks: Jamey, an alleged high school student from a nearby town, has been pining after Perry from behind the computer screen in his mother's trailer for some time now, following Perry and Baby Girl's every move—on Facebook, via instant messaging and text,and, unbeknownst to the girls, in person. When Perry and Baby Girl finally agree to meet Jamey face-to-face, they quickly realize he's far from the shy high school boy they thought he was, and they'll do whatever is necessary to protect themselves. Lindsay... Views: 21
Kate and Richard Warner have a quiet life, a routine life, until the one afternoon that changes them forever. Within a few short hours they are thrust into the black hole of every parent's worst nightmare. Suddenly they are at the center of attention of their community, the media, and the police. Richard has been singled out as the primary suspect in a heinous crime that took more than an innocent life. With Richard as a suspect, Kate's life unravels into unbearable chaos, grief, and a whole new world of deception. After a second murder and Richard's disappearance, Kate sets out to find the killer in their midst and clear her husband's name. She begins to piece together an eerie puzzle, finding clues in the heart of her own community. In Death Angel anguish, suspicion and death combine in the horrifying aftermath of a vicious crime that pits a mother's love against a ruthless killer. In a stunning conclusion, Kate risks her own life to track down and kill the Death Angel. Views: 21
Edith grows up in her big sister Vivienne's shadow. While the beautiful Viv is forced by the girls' overbearing mother to compete in child beauty pageants, plain-looking Edith follows in her father's footsteps: collecting oddities, studying coins, and reading from old books. When Viv rebels against her mother's expectations, Edith finds herself torn between a desire to help her sister and pursuing her own love for a boy who might love her sister more than he loves her. When Edith accepts a job at the National Gallery of Canada, she meets an elderly cryptozoologist named Theo who is searching for a bird many believe to be extinct. Navigating her way through Vivienne's dark landscape while trying to win Liam's heart, Edith develops an unlikely friendship with Theo when she realizes they might have more in common than she imagined; they are both trying to retrieve something that may be impossible to bring back to life. The Gallery of Lost Species is about... Views: 21
Hours before being murdered Maddy gives her last prophecy--her sister’s death and salvation. The MacElwain sisters had always been different. In search of a "normal" life, Lottie did her best to ignore her crazy sister, until Maddy predicts Lottie’s death. Suddenly Maddy is dead and Lottie has a very short shelf life and, according to Maddy, she’s going to need to find a moose if she wants to survive. Unfortunately, moose aren’t too plentiful in downtown Toronto. Not willing to trust her life to an animal, Lottie runs to the shores of Newfoundland, where danger, love and acceptance wait for her to fulfill the last prophecy of Mad Maddy MacElwain. Views: 21
Hot movie star Zoe Tarleton gets piles of money but no respect because she always plays a beautiful bombshell. When she gets the chance to play a geeky chemist working on a formula to combine weight loss, sexual potency, and anti-aging in one powerful pill, she is determined that this role will open up her career. Zoe may be too hot to understand her character, but she has a plan: her ultimate nerd lawyer Flynn Granger can teach her the ropes. Flynn agrees to help Zoe out, but he's strictly business about it--his girlfriend is a Harvard professor and he plans to propose the next weekend. But when he sees Zoe in an outfit she considers nerdy, he realizes he's taken on an impossible task--she's just too cool to change. As they rehearse scenes in a secluded California cabin, they'll have to embrace their alter egos and fight the growing attraction between them. And they'll have to dodge an increasingly unstable stalker who wants to end their relationship...and Zoe's life. Gone WIth the Nerd is Vicki Lewis Thompson at her fun, sexy best.From Publishers WeeklyEver wonder what might transpire if a nerdy entertainment attorney and one of Hollywood's hottest stars holed up incognito in a remote cabin in California's Bigfoot country? As this zippy, character-driven romance shows, just about anything can happen, particularly if the equation includes actress Zoe Tarleton and her lawyer, Flynn Granger. Eager to move away from her fluffy sex kitten roles, Zoe talks Flynn into coaching her on the finer points of becoming a nerd before she auditions for the role of a brainy chemist. Her request soon turns complicated when Flynn discovers the script they'll be working on is R-rated for its steamy sex scenes. Worse, someone (or something) has learned who they are and plans to do one or both of them in. Could the culprit be the star-struck teenager next door, Zoe's jealous high school chum, Flynn's girlfriend or Bigfoot? While it doesn't take much to figure out who's on the ugly end of the poisoned blueberry pie, gas leak and nest of killer bees, fans of Thompson's earlier Nerd romances (The Nerd Who Loved Me; Nerd in Shining Armor) will find this sexually charged, funny romp every bit as entertaining as those that came before. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistGlamorous movie star Zoe Tarleton wants to be taken seriously as an actress, so she sets her sights on snagging the role of flat-chested science nerd Vera. She asks her nerdy lawyer, Flynn Granger, to secretly spend the weekend with her in a remote cabin near the old mining town of Long Shaft (innuendo intended) to teach her the intricacies of nerd-dom. Flynn has a lawyer girlfriend but finds spending time with his most famous client intoxicating. He also happens to be crazy about Big Foot, who seems to live in the area. The intense sexual attraction between Zoe and Flynn is interrupted by an attempted poisoning, an almost lethal swarm of bees, and a falling tree. Although there are humorous bits, the main focus here is simply sex, while an extremely happily-ever-after ending almost makes up for the obvious plot. Although the fourth of Thompson's Nerd books is not her best, fans of the funny series will be glad to see it. Diana Tixier HeraldCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 21
