SUMMARY: The seventh installment in the beloved chronicles of Isabel Dalhousie finds our inquisitive heroine facing new intellectual challenges, but buoyed by her recent engagement to the nearly perfect Jamie. After having dinner with Jamie, Isabel is approached by a pair of old friends, asking her to help them in a rather tricky situation. A successor is being sought for the headmaster position at their alma mater. The board has four final candidates. They received an anonymous letter, however, alleging that one of them has a very serious skeleton in their closet. Could Isabel discreetly look into it? The answer is of course, yes. Although for Isabel the whole investigation is even more revealing: she finds herself attracted to one of the candidates, which complicates her life immeasurably because she is engaged to Jamie, the father of her young son. Dealing with issues of charity, forgiveness and humility, Isabel's most recent investigation is a revealing look at the need we all have to keep a little bit of ourselves hidden. Views: 51
Science Fiction. 1342 words long. First published in I, Alien, ed. Mike Resnick, April 2005 Year's Best Science Fiction Pick Views: 51
Product Description“We started reading Black Swan and couldn’t put down our Kindle until the last word.”[Brain Pickings]2009 Sidewise Award NomineeBruce Sterling brings us a tale of espionage, cyber-threats, alternate realities and intrigue in “Black Swan”, a dark and cyberpunk novelette.Luca is a technology blogger looking for anything newsworthy. ‘Massimo Montaldo’ is the nickname of hacker living on the fringe of society. What can happen when these two very different people meet each other?Massimo has discovered something, something that could shift the balance of power among the superpowers of the world. A Black Swan. What is a Black Swan? “A black swan, when it arrives, cannot even be recognized as a black swan. When the black swan assaults us, with the wingbeats of some rapist Jupiter, then we must rewrite history.”As a journalist, Luca must investigate, learn the truth – or should he? What if this is all beyond him, beyond his ability to fully grasp? Memristors? Euro-Liras? Spies and the possibility of an Alternate Italy?What if the risk is too high, the danger too great?Warring between what is safe and what is right, Luca had to decide if reporting the truth is worth the risk...ABOUT THE AUTHORMichael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre."Black Swan" is a novelette. 9250 words. Views: 51
When the Soviet Union collapses, thousands of nuclear warheads go unaccounted for, and it'll take someone of Jake Grafton's talents to make sure they don't end up in the wrong hands Promoted to deputy director of a new U.S. intelligence agency, the stakes of Jake Grafton's commission are higher than ever before. With the USSR on the brink of dissolution, a vast nuclear arsenal is suddenly ripe for the taking by mercenaries, rogue nations, and insane Russian nationalists. Grafton must stop them, and he may have to do it alone: Not everyone supposedly on his side wants him to succeed. The Red Horseman is a startling vision of the apocalyptic danger that emerged at the end of the Cold War, a threat that still exists wherever nuclear weapons remain poorly secured. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Stephen Coonts, including rare photos from the author's personal collection… Views: 51
The Tides of Truth series follows one lawyer's passionate pursuit of truth—in matters of life and the law.Competition is tough at the Savannah law firm where Tami Taylor serves as a law clerk. But Tami's work sets her apart—and the firm's partners see something special in her. So they assign her to a libel case against an abrasive, outspoken preacher who is either a prophet or a lunatic.On the surface it appears to be an open and shut case; the preacher seems fully outside the bounds of law. And Tami's strict religious upbringing could be the firm's ace-in-the-hole. But as the investigation continues, Tami is troubled by the preacher's uncanny prophetic abilities. And their client seems to be hiding something.Tami returns to her hometown, struggling with several critical choices—as two very different men from the firm vie for her heart. Just when the challenges seem insurmountable, hope for Tami arrives from a surprising place. And... Views: 51
Psychic Jeff Resnick has no expectations when investigating the disappearance of a four-year-old, until he confronts the mind responsible--a shattering experience for all involved. --A compelling mystery that will grip you tightly and not let go--even after you've finished reading. ~ Leann Sweeney, nationally best-selling author of the Yellow Rose and Cats In Trouble mysteries Views: 51
A collection of five erotic stories with varied themes. The Blue Roman by Cathryn Cooper At the Blue Roman speakeasy jazz bar, anything goes. Owner Blue is trying to keep in with the law by seeing to it that this cop gets only the best service, whether that’s under the table or up on the stage. It’s amazing just how much a reputation can get you ... Netsuke by N. Vasco While looking around a mysterious oriental curios shop, Jim is led by the sultry shop-woman to a section dedicated to erotic figurines and somehow ends up being given one as a gift. While the detailed figure is attractive in the cold light of day, it’s only when he falls asleep that its true beauty reveals itself Any Day of the Week by Jeremy Edwards Bernard has been seeing Nadine for three years now, and while he loves her like crazy, during that time it’s been like dating two separate women. At weekends, the sex is mindblowing, but during the week, Nadine refuses to be distracted from... Views: 51
Every night for three years the vengeful King Shahriyar sleeps with a different virgin, executing her the next morning. To end this brutal pattern and to save her own life, the vizier's daughter, Shahrazad, begins to tell the king stories of adventure, love, riches and wonder - tales of mystical lands peopled with princes and hunchbacks, the Angel of Death and magical spirits, tales of the voyages of Sindbad, of Ali Baba outwitting a band of forty thieves and of jinnis trapped in rings and in lamps. The sequence of stories will last 1,001 nights.Review"A magnificent, unexpurgated edition of the greatest collection of folk tales in the world . . . The Arabian Nights is not a book to be read in a week. It is an ocean of stories to be dipped into over a lifetime. And this new Penguin edition is the one to have."-The Sunday Times (London)"The translation . . . ought to become the standard one for the present century."-The Times Literary Supplement"These magnificent volumes are the most ambitious and thorough translation into English of The Arabian Nights since the age of Queen Victoria and the British Empire."-The Guardian"This new translation of the world''s greatest collection of folk stories restores their colour and verve."-The Sunday Times (London)About the AuthorMalcolm Lyons, sometime Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge and a life Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, is a specialist in the field of classical Arabic literature.His published works include the biography Saladin, the Politics of the Holy War, The Arabian Epic, Identification and Identity in Classical Arabic Poetry and many articles on Arabic literature. Ursula Lyons, formerly an Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Cambridge University and, since 1976, an Emeritus Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, specialises in modern Arabic literature. Robert Irwin is the author of For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists and Their Enemies, The Middle East in the Middle Ages, The Arabian Nights: A Companion and numerous other specialised studies of Middle Eastern politics, art and mysticism. His novels include The Limits of Vision, The Arabian Nightmare, The Mysteries of Algiers and Satan Wants Me. Views: 51
