2005 Winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Libertarian Science FictionThe Isher/Weapon Shops novels are one of the very few examples of Golden Age science fiction that explicitly discusses the right to keep and bear arms, specifically guns. Indeed, the motto of the Weapon Shops, repeated several times, isTHE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THERIGHT TO BE FREEVan Vogt's guns have virtually magical properties, and can only be used in self-defense. The political philosophy of the Weapon Shops is minimalist. They will not interfere with the corrupt imperial monarchy of the Isher government, on the grounds that men always have a government of the type they deserve: no government, however bad, exists without at least the tacit consent of the governed. The mission of the Weapon Shops therefore is merely to offer single individuals the right to protect themselves with a firearm, or, in cases of fraud, access to a "Robin Hood" alternative court system that judges and awards compensation from large, imperial merchant combines to cheated individuals. Because the population has access to this alternative system of justice, the Isher government cannot take the final step toward totalitarianism.In F. Paul Wilson's popular Repairman Jack series of novels, the titular hero's weapon shop of choice is "Isher Sporting Goods". The secret basement of Isher Sporting Goods, where the weapons are stored, features a neon sign over the stairs that reads, [i]"The right to own weapons is the right to be free".[/i]--WikipediaIncluded in this omnibus volume are:A. E. van Vogt - Empire of Isher 01 - The Weapon Shops of IsherThe novel is a fix-up created from three previously published short stories about the Weapon Shops and Isher civilization:"The Seesaw" (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July 1941)"The Weapon Shop" (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 1942)"The Weapon Shops of Isher" (Wonder Stories, February 1949)and A. E. van Vogt - Empire of Isher 02 - The Weapon Makers Views: 17
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In the ninth installment of the "New York Times"-bestselling Sisterhood series, the women are now back in the United States, ensconced in a home in the North Carolina mountains. The landing of a helicopter brings the Sisterhood its most daunting--and rewarding--mission yet. Original. Views: 17
Cupid: The ultimate god of love? Or the ultimate cad?Cupid's philandering and partying has finally caught up with him, giving the Olympian Council the opening they've been waiting for to make the irresponsible god prove he's still competent in his job. For his punishment, the Council gives Cupid one straightforward assignment—to get a mortal to marry him. In one month.There are only three rules to this deceptively simple task. Rule #1: The Council chooses the woman. Rule #2: He cannot use any of his natural abilities as a god to seduce her. And the hardest one of them all, Rule #3: He cannot lie to her.When Brea Saunders is forced to work with a cocky-but-gorgeous art dealer, she can't get away from the silver-tongued charmer fast enough. No matter how hard he tries, she's determined never to give her heart to any man, ever again.It will take all Cupid's cunning and natural seduction to get the quick-tempered, man-hating, celibate beauty to fall for his charms... Views: 17
As children...During their families' summer vacations, Carolyn Kendal and Stephan Foster were inseparable--running in the hot sand, chasing shadows and building a friendship that would last a lifetime.As teenagers...Their friendship turned serious. Carolyn and Stephan found themselves exploring the intensity of first love--even if it was only for the summer.And as adults...Carolyn's daughter lies in a hospital bed fighting for her life. Suddenly Stephan is there beside her, offering support, strength--and enough love to last a lifetime of summers. Because when they're together, shadows don't stand a chance...do they? Views: 17
This special edition of The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter contains parts I-VI, the complete collection. Views: 17
Lori Foster enchanted legions of romance readers with her seductive novellas featuring the Winston brothers. Now, these tantalizing tales are available for the first time in one volume. Views: 17
Living alone with his silent father and the shadow cast by his long-dead mother, Dustin waits, wanting only to slip under the radar and survive what's left of high school and through his work at the photo lab. Then one Sunday, a single photo gets stuck in the processor and it changes everything: the bike in the picture is decent—a Ducati Monster 620, cherry red—and the woman, Terri Pavish, beside it is striking too. What begins then as an innocent curiosity in her photography, her freedom, her speed, becomes something else and the past swings full-circle to haunt him. Views: 17
One million American children become part of blended family every year. What happens to stepsiblings when the oldest child suddenly becomes the middle child, and the youngest even younger? Out of Order delivers four electric points of view from stepsiblings, ages nine to fifteen, in a super-unsettled, scrambled-up family. An unforgettable Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, plus 120 hazardous bug snacks, equals humor, insight, and serious indigestion. Betty Hicks gives us her most entertaining and complex novel yet. Views: 17
Blythe Young--a wannabe Texas princess, a heroine as plucky, driven, and desperate as Vanity Fair's Becky Sharp--is plummeting precipitously from up- to downstairs, banging her head on every step of the Austin social ladder as she falls. Not unlike the country as a whole, Blythe has surrendered to a multitude of dubious moral choices and is now facing the disastrous consequences: bankruptcy, public humiliation, a teensy fondness for the pharmaceuticals, and no Pap smear for ten years. But worst of all, she is forced to move back into the fleabag co-op boardinghouse where she lived when she was a student at the University of Texas.Though Blythe cares much more about the ravaged state of her nails, and how to get the ingredients for Code Warrior--Blythe's proprietary blend of Stoli, Ativan, and Red Bull that keeps everything in focus--her soul is hanging in the balance. Only when she is in danger of losing the one friend who's been her true moral center is she... Views: 17
On Halloween day, Hank comes to school dressed in what he thinks is the perfect costume-a table in an Italian restaurant. Nick McKelty, the resident school bully (dressed in a total blood and guts costume), thinks Hank's costume is wimpy and that Hank wouldn't know how to be scary and gross if his life depended on it! So Hank decides to create the scariest haunted house ever and invite McKelty over to show him what scary really is. The only problem is that Hank's dog, Cheerio, is scared of Hank's haunted house. So scared, in fact, that when Hank tries to find him, he's nowhere in sight! Have Hank's Halloween hijinks gone too far? Views: 17
Midnight in Osha: an injured woman is left at the gates of a commune. Eighteen-year-old Sydel, an apprentice hungry to prove her worth, is certain that healing the blue-haired stranger will finally win the respect of her community. But tensions spike when two men appear in search of their sister: Phaira, the woman in the clinic. And when Sydel's experimental medical treatments prove successful, instead of offering accolades, her elders make the sudden decision to banish her. Guilt-ridden, Phaira and her brothers, Renzo and Cohen, offer shelter to the bewildered girl, and take Sydel with them into the violent, industrial North. Then the reason behind the expulsion comes to light: Sydel is an Eko, a being that can read minds and accelerate healing. And when word of her talents goes public, Sydel becomes a valuable prize to possess, with the siblings as her only means of defense.Set in the world of Osha, where free communication cubes come from vending machines, and hair color is... Views: 17
