Strange things are happening: old friends disappearing, angels (or devils) clambering on the fire escapes of New York City. But for Pearl, Moz, and Zahler, all that matters is the band. As the city reels under a mysterious epidemic, the three combine their talents with a vampire lead singer and a drummer whose fractured mind can glimpse the coming darkness. Will their music stave off the end? Or summon it? Set against the gritty apocalypse that began in Peeps, The Last Days is about five teenagers who find themselves creating the soundtrack for the end of the world. Views: 446
From the intro: "Centuries come and go; but the plot of the drama is unchanged, and the same characters play the same parts. Only the actors cast for them are new. It is much worn,—this denarius,—and the lines are softened and blurred,—as of right they should be, when you think that more than two thousand years have passed since it felt the die. It is lying before me now on my table, and my eyes rest dreamily on its helmeted head of Pallas Nicephora. There, behind her, is the mint-mark and that word of ancient power and glory, "Roma." Below are letters so worn and indistinct that I must bend close to read them: "—M. SERGI," and then others that I cannot trace. Perhaps I have dozed a bit, for I must have turned the coin, unthinking, and now I see the reverse: a horseman, in full panoply, galloping, with naked sword brandished in his left hand, from which depends a severed head tight-clutched by long, flowing hair. The clouds hang low over the city, as I peer from my tower window,—driving, ever driving, from the east, and changing, ever changing, their fantastic shapes. Now they are the waving hands and gowns of a closely packed multitude surging with human passions; now they are the headlong rout of a flying army upon which press hordes of riders, dark, fierce, and barbarous—horses with tumultuous manes, and hands with brandished darts. Surely it is a sleepy, workless day! It will be vain to drive my pen across the pages. I do not see the cloud forms now—not with my eyes, for they have closed themselves perforce; but my brain is awake, and I know that the eyes of Pallas Nicephora see them, and grow brighter as if gazing on well-remembered scenes. Why not? How many thousand clinkings of coin against coin in purse and pouch, how many hundred impacts of hands that long since are dust, have served to dim your once clear relief! Surely, Pallas, you have looked upon all this and much more. Shall I see aught with your eyes, lady of my Sergian denarius? Shall I see, if, with you before me, I look fixedly at the legions of clouds that cross my window an hour—two—three—even until the night closes in? Grant but a grain of this, O Goddess, and lo! I vow to thee a troop of pipe-players upon the Ides of June." Views: 445
The Light of Evening is a newly reissued edition of the novel by award-winning author Edna O'Brien... Views: 445
A Murder Mystery. When a mysterious stranger who calls himself \'K\' enters her life, nurse-in-training Sidney can sense that he\'s running away from something. But before she can learn more about his tragic past, the pair find themselves falling hopelessly in love. Can their romance transcend his troubles? Views: 444
STORY I UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE WILLOW TREE "Well, it\'s all settled!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears, the rabbit gentleman, one day, as he hopped up the steps of his hollow stump bungalow where Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, his muskrat lady housekeeper, was fanning herself with a cabbage leaf tied to her tail. "It\'s all settled." "What is?" asked Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy. "You don\'t mean to tell me anything has happened to you?" and she looked quite anxious. "No, I\'m all right," laughed Uncle Wiggily, "and I hope you are the same. What I meant was that it\'s all settled where we are going to spend our vacation this Summer." "Oh, tell me where!" exclaimed the muskrat lady clapping her paws, anxious like. "In a hollow stump bungalow, just like this, but in the woods instead of in the country," answered Uncle Wiggily. "Oh, that will be fine!" cried Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy. "I love the woods. When are we to go?" "Very soon now," answered the bunny gentleman uncle. "You may begin to pack up as quickly as you please." And Nurse Jane and Uncle Wiggily moved to the woods very next day and his adventures began. I guess most of you know about the rabbit gentleman and his muskrat lady housekeeper who nursed him when he was ill with the rheumatism. Uncle Wiggily had lots and lots of adventures, about which I have told you in the books before this one. He had traveled about seeking his fortune, he had even gone sailing in his airship, and once he met Mother Goose and all her friends from Old King Cole down to Little Jack Horner. Uncle Wiggily had many friends among the animal boys and girls. There was Sammie and Susie Littletail, the rabbits, who have a book all to themselves; just as have Jackie and Peetie Bow Wow, the puppy dog boys, and Jollie and Jillie Longtail, the mice children. "And I s\'pose we\'ll meet all your friends in the woods, won\'t we, Uncle Wiggily?" asked Nurse Jane, as they moved from the old hollow stump bungalow to the new one. "Oh, yes, I s\'pose so, of course," he laughed in answer, as he pulled his tall silk hat more tightly down on his head, fastened on his glasses and took his red, white and blue striped barber pole rheumatism crutch that Nurse Jane had gnawed for him out of a cornstalk. So, once upon a time, not very many years ago, as all good stories should begin, Uncle Wiggily and Nurse Jane found themselves in the woods. It was lovely among the trees, and as soon as the rabbit gentleman had helped Miss Fuzzy Wuzzy put the hollow stump bungalow to rights he started out for a walk. "I want to see what sort of adventures I shall have in the woods," said Mr. Longears as he hopped along. Now in these woods lived, among many other creatures good and bad, two skillery-scalery alligators who were not exactly friends of the bunny uncle. But don\'t let that worry you, for though the alligators, and other unpleasant animals, may, once in a while, make trouble for Uncle Wiggily, I\'ll never really let them hurt him. I\'ll fix that part all right! So, one day, the skillery-scalery alligator with the humps on his tail, and his brother, another skillery-scalery chap, whose tail was double jointed, were taking a walk through the woods together just as Uncle Wiggily was doing.... Views: 443
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A chilling story of modern terrorism from the grandmaster of international intrigue. T he Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War, The Odessa File-the books of Frederick Forsyth have helped define the international thriller as we know it today. Combining meticulous research with crisp narratives and plots as current as the headlines, Forsyth shows us the world as it is in a way that few have ever been able to equal.
**And the world as it is today is a very scary place.
When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they instantly galvanize- but to do what? They know nothing about it: the what, where, or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it's impossible to plant someone. Impossible, unless . . .
The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantánamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a twenty-five-year veteran of war zones around the world-a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before-pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs-pass off Martin as the trusted Khan.
It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world into which he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there.
Filled with remarkable detail and compulsive drama, The Afghan is further proof that Forsyth is truly master of suspense. Views: 442
Girlhood and Womanhood - The Story of some Fortunes and Misfortunes is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Sarah Tytler is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Sarah Tytler then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 441
Weed-eaters, monkey-spawn, honourless herbivores, individually weak, humans have proved most difficult to conquer and enslave. Now, the young heir to the Kzinti patriarchy is forced into a desperate wilderness exile as his empire cracks and the contentious Great Prides attempt to rip one another apart while facing war with humanity. Views: 441
The Rescue: A Romance of the Shallows by Joseph Conrad Views: 439
All former spy Alisha MacAleer wanted was to lead a normal life, complete with settling down near her family. Then a hail of gunfire followed CIA agent Brandon Parker's arrival on her doorstep. He'd done the impossible: created an AI, a sentient being with artificial intelligence. The U.S. government and two powerful secret societies--hell, even Europe's top underworld figure--all wanted it. And Brandon's arrival made Alisha the last obstacle between them and the AI. The one person who could help had betrayed her years ago. Yet with the exasperating and elusive Frank Reichart on her side, Alisha might have a chance. If Alisha could use him without giving him her trust, she might just make it through this final mission alive.... Views: 439
Everyone's got something to brag about:
Kaia's getting it on with bachelor #1, though scruffball Reed's gotten to be quite an interesting distraction.
Kane and Harper got exactly what they planned:
Namely, Beth and Adam. (Though to keep gettin' it, their secrets -- and pasts -- best stay forgotten.)
Miranda got her heart broken, but now she's all decked with a new look and strategy.
Sometimes, though, you only think you've got everything.... Views: 437
If you’ve ever used the phrase “rags to riches,” you owe that to Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899), who popularized the idea through his fictional writings that also served as a theme for the way America viewed itself as a country. Alger’s works about poor boys rising to better living conditions through hard work, determination, courage, honesty, and morals was popular with both adults and younger readers. Alger’s writings happened to correspond with America’s Gilded Age, a time of increasing prosperity in a nation rebuilding from the Civil War. His lifelong theme of rags to riches continued to gain popularity but has gradually lessened since the 1920s. Still, readers today often come across Ragged Dick and stories like it in school. Views: 437
It is a lost art, passed down by the ancients in great secrecy: Dim-mak. It is death, by the lightest touch of a finger. Sano Ichiro, tenuous in the new regime as the shogun’s second-in-command, does not have the luxury of skepticism?another senior official is dead, a fingerprint lightly glazed into his skin.Sano’s wife Reiko has an investigation of her own: a beautiful, proud, and hopelessly poor woman has confessed to murdering her family. Yet the pieces do not fit, and as Reiko looks deeper into the woman’s life as a hinin?a moral outcast, shunned by the world?inexplicable connections appear between her investigation and Sano’s.As Reiko’s questions spiral her further into the squalor of life as a hinin, Sano and Hirata?his most loyal samurai?pursure their prey, uncovering an intricate tapestry of betrayal woven into the highest levels of the new regime. But they are no match for the one who has mastered dim-mak, a warrior who will strike all those who cross him or his path--even Reiko. “Elegantly told and interspersed with delicious bits of history” (Kirkus Reviews), Laura Joh Rowland's The Assassin's Touch is a mystery you won't want to miss.From Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Rowland's assured 10th historical set in 17th-century Japan (after 2004's The Perfumed Sleeve), Sano Ichiro, now the shogun's chamberlain and second-in-command, returns to his previous role of criminal investigator after the country's top spy, Ejima Senzaemon, drops dead on his mount during a horse race. Sano quickly finds that Senzaemon was just the latest senior official to die without warning. With the assistance of Hirata, his longtime assistant, the chamberlain uses his highly irregular sources to get on the trail of a martial-arts master using the legendary dim-mak, or touch of death. As always, the potential political ramifications of the crimes, which threaten the regime's precarious hold on power, add urgency to the inquiries, and failure risks not only Sano's status but his family's lives as well. While the significance of the subplot featuring Sano's wife, Reiko, may strike some as coincidental, the compelling story line, evocative detail and suspense should engage newcomers and satisfy longtime fans alike. At a point when many series show signs of wear, Rowland's characters remain fresh. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistLately, this popular series, set during Japan's feudal period, has shown signs of lethargy. But now it feels reenergized. Sano Ichiro, the former ronin (a samurai without a master), has been promoted from investigator to chamberlain, the shogun's second-in-command and overseer of Japan's military government. The story, which involves the mysterious death of the chief of the shogun's intelligence service, is much more political than previous Sano adventures. Sano himself, perhaps because of his new responsibilities (or is it because his wife may be implicated in the man's death?), seems different, too: less impetuous, more deferential to authority. Even Rowland's writing, which was never a problem, even when the stories began to decline, feels a little livelier. A welcome breath of fresh air and a reminder that staleness is a fixable problem, at least in series fiction. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 437
