Presented as a work of fiction, but based upon known historical events – in ancient Egypt in the 1300’s bc, and in the 20th Century – this novel re-examines the lives, characters, environments and beliefs of a relatively insignificant boy king and the discoverer of his tomb, Howard Carter. The two tales are told in parallel and, beginning three thousand years apart, gradually converge, coming together as Carter sets out on his obsessive odyssey. The ancients’ urgent quest for life after death is threatened by the archaeologist’s relentless search for the tomb. The two worlds ultimately collide, releasing forces that bring new meaning to the ‘curse’ that had become a media sensation during the early stages of the discovery. Although the dialogues in the book are essentially fictional and some of the situations and characters are imagined, the accounting of events is as accurate as possible, the majority based upon facts gleaned from over fifty works, most written by recognized scholars, several of whom were Carter’s contemporaries. New interpretations explain many of the questions that still surround the life and times of Tutankhamun, and the discovery itself. The explicit descriptions and vividly animated characters draw the reader into a tactile environment that is sure to excite the imagination. Views: 49
In Ticklers, Renton Tenting relives the excitement of his unplanned mission by joining a band of professional adventurers who make their living by providing security services throughout the universe, but he discovers that all is not well within this elite force and there is something very wrong at its top. Joined by his friends, he launches on a quest to identify the problem and encounters a whole slew of strange and humorous situations. The adventure grows to a more demanding level as a new and potentially devastating threat is unveiled... Views: 49
From BooklistBrod (Heartstone, 2005) opens her latest novel with fortyish Robyn Guthrie contemplating robbing her local liquor store. It seems she can’t afford to keep her mother comfortably situated in an assisted-living facility, and guilt, annoyance, and love are wreaking havoc with her psyche. Then along comes a jockey turned larcenous accountant; a psychic (who seems to know more about Robyn’s family history than Robyn does); and a racehorse and its goat companion (the titular Sassy), each of whom plays a role in convincing vulnerable Robyn that crime can pay. In the course of the ensuing chaos, Robyn becomes a reluctant kidnapper (Would you want to kidnap a goat?), but before the deed is completed, murder and family secrets intrude. Fortunately, Brod lets readers make their own judgments about Robyn’s choices as the action moves smartly along. While there are plenty of comedic hijinks, Brod might have done even more with the situational humor inherent in the goofy setup. In the end, though, what stands out most is the surprisingly affecting portrait of a woman caught in the midst of a parent’s sad but sure mental decline. --Stephanie Zvirin Product DescriptionWith her nearly broke and practically homeless mother about to land on her doorstep, Robyn Guthrie learns that desperation can play havoc with a daughter’s scruples. Views: 49
INTRODUCTION BY CHUCK PALAHNIUK: In this darkly comic novel, Clown Girl lives in Baloneytown, a neighborhood so run down and penniless that drugs, balloon animals, and even rubber chickens contribute to the local currency. Against a backdrop of petty crime, Clown Girl struggles to find her place in the world of high art; she has dreams of greatness and calls on the masters, Charlie Chaplin, Kafka, and da Vinci for inspiration. But all is not art in her life: in an effort to support herself and her under-employed performance-artist boyfriend, she is drawn into the world of paying jobs, and finds herself unwittingly turned into a "corporate clown," trapped in a cycle of meaningless, high paid gigs which veer dangerously close, then closer to prostitution. Using the lens of clown life to illuminate a struggle between artistic integrity and an economic reality, Monica Drake has created a novel that embraces the high comedy of early film stars—most notably Chaplin and W.C.... Views: 49
Over one thousand years have passed since humans breathed terrestrial air.
Burned from Earth and the colonies by a ruthless enemy, mankind is believed extinct. Yet two pockets of humanity still cling to life. One is a colonist expedition, plodding through space with the thinnest hope of finding a new world to settle. The other is the remnant of a black budget genetic research facility—a Cadre of stoic and fanatical soldiers preying upon the blue-skinned enemy which decimated them.
After a bloody introduction, the Cadre and the Colonists discover they are as alien to one another as the hated Blueskins. Only the remarkable insights of the colonist Counselor bridge the cultural rifts, permitting the groups to lay aside their greater shares of fear and suspicion. But true integration proves elusive.
Wearied by centuries of travel, the Colonists dream of returning home. The Cadre, its entire history lost to the pragmatism of now, is eager to reclaim its legacy and deliver a shocking blow to the enemy. Therein, the two groups find the commonality to join in common purpose: resettling Earth. First, they must know—are the Blueskins still there?
Cadre soldiers Argo, Beckert, and Thompson are rigorously trained and dispatched on a one way reconnaissance mission to Earth. Their standing orders are to discover enemy strength, to determine possibility of assault, and to sow destruction until killed. Their arrival is the beginning of a planetary storm—the falling leaf which seeds the hurricane. Views: 49
SUMMARY: James Lee Burke's eagerly awaited new novel finds Detective Dave Robicheaux back in New Iberia, Louisiana, and embroiled in the most harrowing and dangerous case of his career. Seven young women in neighboring Jefferson Davis Parish have been brutally murdered. While the crimes have all the telltale signs of a serial killer, the death of Bernadette Latiolais, a high school honor student, doesn't fit: she is not the kind of hapless and marginalized victim psychopaths usually prey upon. Robicheaux and his best friend, Clete Purcel, confront Herman Stanga, a notorious pimp and crack dealer whom both men despise. When Stanga turns up dead shortly after a fierce beating by Purcel, in front of numerous witnesses, the case takes a nasty turn, and Clete's career and life are hanging by threads over the abyss. Adding to Robicheaux's troubles is the matter of his daughter, Alafair, on leave from Stanford Law to put the finishing touches on her novel. Her literary pursuit has led her into the arms of Kermit Abelard, celebrated novelist and scion of a once prominent Louisiana family whose fortunes are slowly sinking into the corruption of Louisiana's subculture. Abelard's association with bestselling ex-convict author Robert Weingart, a man who uses and discards people like Kleenex, causes Robicheaux to fear that Alafair might be destroyed by the man she loves. As his daughter seems to drift away from him, he wonders if he has become a victim of his own paranoia. But as usual, Robicheaux's instincts are proven correct and he finds himself dealing with a level of evil that is greater than any enemy he has confronted in the past. Set against the backdrop of an Edenic paradise threatened by pernicious forces, James Lee Burke's The Glass Rainbow is already being hailed as perhaps the best novel in the Robicheaux series. Views: 49
