Fantasy/Science Fiction. 85531 words long. Views: 8
Amazon.com ReviewThe main protagonist of River of Darkness is a Scotland Yard detective so damaged by his experiences during the First World War that his superiors worry about his ability to do his job. This may sound like Madden is sent to a town in Surrey where a local family has been massacred in what looks like a robbery gone wrong. He finds enough echoes of his recent battlefield experiences to conclude that the killer was just one man--most likely a former soldier using a bayonet. As for motive, it could well be perverse sexual passion, that "river of darkness" to which a psychologist introduces him. We meet the killer early on, watch him as he maintains a rigid control over every aspect of his life, then stare in horror as he periodically explodes into mad violence. Unlike Madden, this man has not been severely damaged or changed by the war; he has simply used it to channel and redirect his dark river. Airth's point--that survival comes in many shapes and sizes--gives a solid foundation to an impressive leap of imagination. --Dick AdlerFrom Library JournalSo you thought British detectives had to focus on "the colonel in the drawing room with a candlestick" solutions? Newcomer Airth blasts that stereotype with this tale of serial murder set in post-World War I Britain, featuring the debut of Inspector John Madden, a veteran whose experiences in the trenches give him an edge in tracking and capturing the killer. Meanwhile, Dr. Helen Blackwell entices Madden to employ psychiatric theories shunned at the time by Scotland Yard to explain and predict the killer's behavior. Airth develops a situation that presages today's much-touted psychological profiling and serves to build an almost excruciatingly suspenseful plot. In addition, his deft handling of the emotional aftereffects of war gives the work an added sense of purpose. Fans of Thomas Harris will enjoy this book and can take heart in knowing that another Madden tale is already in the works.ANancy McNicol, Hagaman Memorial Lib., East Haven, CT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 8
Professor Norman Saylor considered magic nothing more than superstition. Then he learned that his own wife was a practicing sorceress. But he still refuses to accept the truth…that in the secret occult warfare that governs our lives, magic is a matter of life and death. And that unbeknownst to men, every woman knows it.Filmed twice, as Weird Woman (1944) and Burn Witch Burn (1961), this tale of secret witchcraft on a modern college campus is as readable today as the day it was written.About the AuthorFRITZ LEIBER, who died in 1992, was one of the most important SF and fantasy writers of the century. Views: 8
The only plan for Christopher Somerville's walk across Crete was to begin in the East at Easter and finish at Whitsun in the extreme West, at the Monastery of the Golden Step. During the three hundred-mile walk he tackled four mountain ranges and the numerous gorges of the West. Speaking only basic Greek and following a poorly marked path, he relied on his instincts to guide him through shepherding country where villages are few and each night's accommodation uncertain. The result is a book that beautifully evokes a Crete few ever encounter, rugged, perilous, hospitable and charming. Views: 8
From Rhys Bowen, the author of In Farleigh Field, comes the next Molly Murphy mystery: The Ghost of Christmas Past.Semi-retired private detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is suffering from depression after a miscarriage following her adventure in San Francisco during the earthquake of 1906. She and her husband, Daniel, are invited for Christmas at a mansion on the Hudson, and they gratefully accept, expecting a peaceful and relaxing holiday season. Not long after they arrive, however, they start to feel the tension in the house's atmosphere. Then they learn that the host couple's young daughter wandered out into the snow ten years ago and was never seen again. Molly can identify with the mother's pain at never knowing what happened to her child and wants to help, but there is so little to go on. No ransom note. No body ever found. But Molly slowly begins to suspect that the occupants of the house know more than they are letting on. Then, on Christmas... Views: 8
Two young boys, an old tramp, a beautiful teenage dancer, and the girl's baby--ragtag survivors of a sudden war--form a fragile family, hiding out in the ruins of an amusement park. As they scavenge for good, diapers, and baby formula, they must stay out of sight of vicious gangs and lawless soldiers. At first they rely on Billy, the only adult in the group. But as civil life deteriorates, Billy starts to fall apart. Skip, who is barely into his teens, must take over and lead them on a search for sanctuary. This complex and haunting exploration of life on the edge and what it takes to triumph over adversity is a story about the indomitable nature of hope.From School Library JournalStarred Review. Grade 6–8—Millard's latest offering is a touching story of paradoxes—destruction and beauty, war and love, homelessness and family. Skip is a runaway foster child living on the streets when an explosion overturns the Dumpster in which he is sleeping. War has broken out, and he finds himself in a city of broken buildings and terrified survivors. He and his friend Billy, a resourceful and kindhearted homeless man, attempt to escape the chaos and avoid enemy soldiers by hiding in an abandoned amusement park. Joined by an orphan boy and a teenage mother, they huddle in the House of Horrors while the world collapses around them. Through it all, Skip comforts himself by drawing chalk pictures and thinking about his favorite works of art. He narrates with an artist's attention to detail and rich use of visual metaphor, depicting horrific scenes of bombing and devastation in poetic and surprising language. He finds beauty in everything, particularly in his companions, who become his longed-for surrogate family. Skip's optimism against the apocalyptic background lends the story a haunting quality that is not to be easily forgotten.—Emma Burkhart, Springside School, Philadelphia, PA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistWhen a war comes without warning, Skip, an abused 12-year-old runaway, finds an unlikely family in a homeless elderly man, an abandoned child, and a young dancer who, though only 15, is already the mother of a baby girl. They find a home in an abandoned amusement park until the soldiers come and their very existence is threatened. Though untrained, Skip is a gifted artist and a careful observer who sees the world like a painting, always searching for “line, color and movement, light and shade.” As a result, his words—as he describes them—are “like falling stars tumbling through the universe—bright, burning things that can’t be stopped.” Accordingly, this affecting dystopian novel by Australian writer Millard is often beautifully written but just as often seems to strive too hard for effect, while Skip’s voice is too clearly that of the author. Similarly, the plot is sometimes predictable and, despite the ever-present element of danger, somewhat slowly paced. Nevertheless, Skip is a captivating presence and his story is deeply affecting. Fans of David Almond will embrace this heartfelt effort. Grades 7-10. --Michael Cart Views: 8
A new collection from "one of the indispensable poets of the era" (Jorie Graham).In The Blue Tower, language is remade with tenderness and abandon: "Rommel was kissing heaven's dainty hands and yet / from his airplane above the Sahara my uncle / Rafko Perhauc still blew him to bits." There is an effervescence to Šalamun's poetry that has made him an inspiration to successive generations of American poets, "a poetic bridge between old European roots and the American adventure" (Associated Press). Trivial and monumental, beautiful and grotesque, healing, ferocious, mad: The Blue Tower is an essential volume. Views: 8
Miss Mallow has decided to put on a musical show to celebrate the opening of the new school hall. Poppy and her class are all very excited especially when they get to vote on which show to perform. But things start to go wrong during the auditions when every single child wants the two starring roles! Before long Miss Mallow is at the end of her tether and cancels the show . . . Views: 8
Halloween is supposed to be fun, right? It's Flynn family tradition to host Keyhole Lake's annual Halloween party. This year, Noelle is in charge and she’s about to lose it. Between forgetting to pick up the candy and trying to work around a histrionic, living-impaired aunt, things are spiraling out of control fast. The situation goes from bad to worse when she buys a cool crystal pendant in a thrift shop, because it isn’t long before she finds out that what she really bought is TROUBLE! A restless spirit starts appearing in unlikely places and leaving cryptic messages around the house just hours before the party’s set to begin. A surprising twist helps Noelle pull off what might just be the spookiest Halloween party in history! Views: 8
José can't keep up. As the only English speaker in a family of undocumented immigrants, he handles everything from taking family members to the doctor to bargaining with the landlord. Plus he works two jobs. With all this responsibility, he's missing a lot of school. When he does make it, he falls asleep in class. José knows he has to turn things around if he wants to graduate from Rondo Alternative High School. Can he raise his grades enough to have a shot at college and a better life? Or will he be forced to drop out of school for good? Views: 8
When a billionaire’s daughter meets a member of a motorcycle club, sparks will fly. Cara Westwood is about to become a highly paid executive of the family business at just twenty three, but she wants to live a little and explore her freedom before she’s tied down to a career for the rest of her life. Exploring a small town where no-one knows her identity, she meets biker, Colt Gaston. Colt might be just the thing for a fun fling before she gets back to the real word. Except when it’s time to leave this bad boy, she doesn’t want to go. Cara needs to make a decision whether sexy Colt is worth giving up everything for, or he’s more trouble than he’s worth. Views: 8
