On October 4 1957, at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union secretly launched Sputnik, the Earth’s first ever artificial moon. No bigger than a basketball, this tiny satellite was powered by a car battery. Yet for all its simplicity, Sputnik transformed science fiction into reality, passing over the stunned American continent once every 101 minutes and propelling the USSR from backward totalitarian regime to cutting-edge superpower and pioneer of the Space Age. The United States, desperate to catch up, trailed the Soviets into the space race the following year, with a controversial space programme masterminded by former Nazi rocket scientists. Red Moon Rising tells for the first time the full story of this real-life historical thriller and its colourful cast of characters. There is Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket designer and literally toothless survivor of Stalin’s purges, whose identity remained secret until his death in 1966; Mihail Tikhonravov, a chain-smoking, hard-drinking space visionary who would eventually become a Soviet spymaster; Wernher von Braun, Nazi bomb maker turned American space prophet; and President Eisenhower, relaxing on the golf course whilst the USSR lays claim to the skies, a reaction to be echoed eerily in 2001 by the presidential behaviour following 9/11. Containing many parallels with today’s political landscape, this is the fascinating story of one of the greatest scientific and psychological coups of the twentieth century, and a pulse-racing account of a time when two nations and ideologies were pitted against each other in a quest that laid the foundations of the modern technological world. Views: 11
Set in a mythical pagan age of the British Isles, this action-packed tale follows young Cet as he struggles to seize the magic of the druids for himself. At the age of seven, Cet watched as a druid forced his mighty father to surrender in shame. When he is of age and the young people of his village are sent out for training, Cet chooses a life of physical hardship in the forest, desperate to master the power of the druids. Six other children make the same choice, but only one will be selected as the druid's apprentice.From School Library JournalGrade 5–8—A richly woven story set in pagan Ireland. After his father loses his chieftain robes and title, Ket leaves his family to study as a fosterling under the direction of the druid. Five years later, he and the other five fosterlings are no closer to becoming his anruths, or assistants. But with the cry of a raven at the new moon, the druid decides that it is time for new beginnings and that one fosterling will be sent away each new moon until only two remain. Of those two, only one will be chosen to become an anruth. Though the characters are often stereotypical in their actions, Ciddor's attention to detail and knowledge of the setting drive the story forward. As it moves through the seasons, so, too, does the author's imagery, creating a world so tangible that readers can feel the chill of the wind and the frost underfoot during the long winter. Young people interested in a historical look at Celtic Ireland will love Night of the Fifth Moon.—Lisa Marie Williams, East Gwillimbury Public Library, Holland Landing, Ontario Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ReviewA quality read for both boys and girls, and successfully combines magic, myths and legends with an air of adventure. School Librarian Views: 11
A Daffodils* Mystery (*Divorced And Finally Free Of Deceitful, Insensitive, Licentious Scum) **Movie/Tv Rights Optioned** In the tradition of The First Wives Club & Anne George’s Southern Sisters Mysteries, Mary Clay gives us a hilarious novel about middle-aged, Southern sorority sisters who reunite when the last of the trio divorces her two-timing husband. Views: 11
I could touch her... She would accept my touch... Sebastian had suffered centuries without contact with others, much less touch, yet now a hauntingly lovely female stood just inches from him, open and unafraid. He raised his shaking hands to her waist, dragging her to him. He barely stifled a shudder when her lush breasts pressed against him. "Tell me your name." "My name... ?" she murmured absently. "My name is Kaderin." Her voice was sensual, a voice from dreams. It seemed to rub him from the inside. "Kaderin," he repeated, but it didn't fit her. As he stared down into her dark eyes, he realized the name was too cold, too formal, for the creature in his arms. "Katja," he rasped, surprised to find that his thumb was brushing slowly over her bottom lip. The urge to kiss her was overwhelming. "Katja, I... "—he began in a rough, breaking voice—"must... I must kiss you." At his words, the dark hazel of her eyes turned completely silver. "I used to love being kissed," she whispered in a dazed tone. Her delicate arms laced up his chest, and she clutched his shoulders desperately. "Vampire, please"—she stared up at his lips and licked her own—"make it worth it..." Views: 11
It's 1945, and the world is in the grip of war.Hideki lives with his family on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. When WWII crashes onto his shores, Hideki is drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed a grenade and a set of instructions: Don't come back until you've killed an American soldier.Ray, a young American Marine, has just landed on Okinawa. This is Ray's first-ever battle, and he doesn't know what to expect — or if he'll make it out alive. He just knows that the enemy is everywhere.Hideki and Ray each fight their way across the island, surviving heart-pounding ambushes and dangerous traps. But then the two of them collide in the middle of the battle...And choices they make in that single instant will change everything.Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee, returns with this high-octane story of how fear and war tear us apart, but how hope and redemption tie us... Views: 11
SUMMARY:
Hes a shape-shifting wolf, shes a psychic and his other half. In order to catch a killer he has to rely on his Seeing Eye Mate. Caelan Graham is on the hunt for a shape-shifter bent on killing female mates. As Prime, its Caelans duty to protect his entire pack, so its a good thing he doesnt have a mate of his own to look after right now. Too bad the most alluring female has just walked past his nose. As a clairvoyant, Tieran Jones has given up on men and their lack of understanding her giftuntil Caelan. The man ignites her passion, sets off a vision of a gruesome wolf attack, then shows up in her bed. In wolf form. To top it all off, he keeps insisting shes his mate. When the attacks continue, Tierans visions evolve and point in one direction. Caelans twin brother. With a lack of physical evidence, Caelan must depend on Tierans sight for clues. An act making her a prime target. Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, and violence. Views: 11
Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz. Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope. Views: 11
The Dreamland team used stealth, raw nerve, and technology to defuse a nightmare on the other side of the world. But now the darkness is racing toward America at blinding speed. With more than two dozen nuclear devices unaccounted for, the global masters of terror have set a catastrophe in motion — a surprise attack more deadly than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 combined. If the nation is to survive, Lt. Colonel Tecumseh "Dog" Bastian and his crew will have to reach deep into their cutting-edge arsenal. And they'll have to do it short-handed — because two of Dreamland's best and bravest have been lost at sea… Views: 11
The story of an ant named Anthony who learns a valuable lesson. Views: 11
