"Sam Savage [creates] some of the most original, unforgettable characters in contemporary fiction. . . . Readers are left with a voice so strong that Savage is able to derive significance from these events by sheer literary force."--Kevin Larimer, "Poets & Writers"
"Savage's skill is in creating complex first-person characters using nothing but their own voice."--Carolyn Kellogg, "Los Angeles Times"
"[Savage] creates one of the most intriguing stories--and one of the most vivid characters--that this reader has encountered this year."--"The Writer"
Sam Savage's most intimate, tender novel yet follows Harold Nivenson, a decrepit, aging man who was once a painter and arts patron. The death of Peter Meinenger, his friend turned romantic and intellectual rival, prompts him to ruminate on his own career as a minor artist and collector and make sense of a lifetime of gnawing doubt.
Over time, his bitterness toward his family, his gentrifying neighborhood, and the decline of intelligent artistic discourse gives way to a kind of peace within himself, as he emerges from the shadow of the past and finds a reason to live, every day, in "the now."
Sam Savage is the best-selling author of "Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife," "The Cry of the Sloth," and "Glass." A native of South Carolina, Savage holds a PhD in philosophy from Yale University. He resides in Madison, Wisconsin. Views: 350
Cardinal Richelieu and the Mikado stepped out on a narrow balcony overlooking the entrance to Seven Oaks, lighted their cigarettes and stood idly watching the throng as it poured up the wide marble steps. Here was an over-corpulent Dowager Empress of China, there an Indian warrior in full paint and toggery, and mincing along behind him two giggling Geisha girls. Next, in splendid robes of rank, came the Czar of Russia. The Mikado smiled. Views: 350
First Frost
I am Gwen Frost, and I have a Gypsy gift. It's called psychometry – that's a fancy way of saying that I see images in my head and get flashes of other people's memories off almost everything I touch, even guys.
My gift makes me kind of nosy. Okay, okay, maybe a lot nosy--to the point of obsession sometimes. I want to know everything about everyone around me. But even I don't want to know the secrets my friend Paige is hiding or the terrible loss that will send me to a new school – Mythos Academy, where the teachers aren't preparing us for the SATs, but to battle Reapers of Chaos. Now I have no friends and no idea how my gift fits in with all these warrior whiz kids. The only thing I do know is that my life is never, ever going to be the same. . .
Touch of Frost
My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy -- a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.
But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why – especially since I should have been the one who died...
Kiss of Frost
Logan Quinn was trying to kill me.
My Spartan classmate relentlessly pursued me, swinging his sword at me over and over again, the shining silver blade inching closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes practially glowed with the thrill of battle. . .
I'm Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Academy, and I have no idea how I'm going to survive the rest of the semester. One day, I'm getting schooled in swordplay by the guy who broke my heart--the drop-dead gorgeous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invisible archer in the Library of Antiquities decides to use me for target practice. And now, I find out that someone at the academy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I'm afraid if I don't learn how to live by the sword--with Logan's help--I just might die by the sword. . .
Dark Frost
I've seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I'm supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I'm just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me--again.
Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects--and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I'm also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me? It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can't use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me--and I'm in for the fight of my life. Views: 350
Custard Castle has a King, a Queen, a wizard, a dragon under the stairs - and a terrifying Thing in the dungeon! Four gently humorous stories for younger children.Four stories about Custard Castle, which has three hundred dusty rooms and only seven people.The Thing in the Dungeon: something is howling and yowling in the depths of the castle, and it's up to Jack the servant-boy to find it...The Dragon under the Stairs: Custard Castle is freezing! So why won't the dragon light the fires?The Messy Princess: Bella the maid is fed up with tidying Princess Fifi's things, so she turns the tables on her.The Marvellous Moat: the King decides that Custard Castle needs a moat. But when Wizard Watchit casts a spell on it, he ends up with a very unusual moat indeed...Full of humour and gentle excitement, The King of Custard Castle is perfect for younger children or for reading aloud. Views: 350
Our future is bleak. Warring gods have destroyed the earth. Humanity lives fearful they could die at any moment. Ben Casper lives with his family in an old shopping mall, and he's about to find out there is a way to live without fear when he becomes embroiled in a quest to kill the gods...In a post apocalyptic world ravaged by the gods Ben Casper lives in a crumbling shopping mall called The Glass Palace with his family. He's just come back from a rites of passage into the brutal outside world that officially makes him an adult. Now he must get married and be trained to take over from his father as Mayor. Except he sees things differently now; he falls in love and makes a friend in a member of the Felum, a vicious human/cat hybrid tribe. He doesn't want responsibility. Only he might have it thrust upon him when he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to kill the gods; a plot that could lead everyone he loves into mortal danger...This is the first volume of The God Slayers Trilogy. Views: 349
Robert William Chambers (1865 - 1933) was an American artist, and author of fiction. He is best known for his book of short stories entitled "The King in Yellow" (1895). It is the first book in the eponymous series that deals with the War of Independence, and explores how it affected the great landed families of northern New York. This masterful novel is highly recommended for fans of Chambers’ seminal work, and will be of special interest to those with an interest in the American revolutionary war. Includes vintage illustration! Views: 349
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy. Views: 349
Dorothy Whitehill is a published author. Published credits of Dorothy Whitehill include The twins series and The twins and Tommy junior. Views: 349
Adam Cain is an Alien with an Attitude!Here is the exciting Third Volume in the Best-Selling Science Fiction Series: The Human Chronicles Saga.In The War of Pawns, Adam Cain, a Human lost in a galaxy of alien empires and exotic locales, fights desperately to return to Earth, only to find that his homecoming is anything but joyous. In the aftermath of a devastating attack upon the Earth, Adam learns that the Humans have been played for fools by the evil Klin race. Now he has two enemies to fight -- the Juireans, and now the Klin.Yet as before, the aliens do not realize what trouble they're in. Now they're up against an entire Planet of Supermen! Pity their weak and fragile bodies. Adam Cain -- as well as the entire Human Race -- is out for revenge!The Human Chronicles Saga is reminiscent of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, full of exotic aliens, fantastic space battles and a goal as large as the Human spirit. Fans of Space Opera have raved about the series, which includes The Fringe Worlds, Alien Assassin, The War of Pawns and The Tactics of Revenge.Fast-paced and humorous, The War of Pawns will have you laughing and fist-pumping all the way through. This is a story of scope and adventure. Don't miss this latest volume in The Human Chronicles Saga.PLEASE NOTE: Book Four: The Tactics of Revenge -- is NOW AVAILABLE!(Contains some adult language.) Views: 349
A main selection in History Book-of-the-Month Club and alternate selection in Military Book-of-the-Month Club.
In the spring of 1862, many Americans still believed that the Civil War, "would be over by Christmas." The previous summer in Virginia, Bull Run, with nearly 5,000 casualties, had been shocking, but suddenly came word from a far away place in the wildernesses of Southwest Tennessee of an appalling battle costing 23,000 casualties, most of them during a single day. It was more than had resulted from the entire American Revolution. As author Winston Groom reveals in this dramatic, heart-rending account, the Battle of Shiloh would singlehandedly change the psyche of the military, politicians, and American people--North and South--about what they had unleashed by creating a Civil War.
In this gripping telling of the first "great and terrible" battle of the Civil War, Groom describes the dramatic events of April 6 and 7, 1862, when a bold surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant's encamped troops and the bloody battle that ensued would alter the timbre of the war.
The Southerners struck at dawn on April 6th, and Groom vividly recounts the battle that raged for two days over the densely wooded and poorly mapped terrain. Driven back on the first day, Grant regrouped and mounted a fierce attack the second, and aided by the timely arrival of reinforcements managed to salvage an encouraging victory for the Federals.
Groom's deft prose reveals how the bitter fighting would test the mettle of the motley soldiers assembled on both sides, and offer a rehabilitation of sorts for Union General William Sherman, who would go on from the victory at Shiloh to become one of the great generals of the war. But perhaps the most alarming outcome, Groom poignantly reveals, was the realization that for all its horror, the Battle of Shiloh had solved nothing, gained nothing, proved nothing, and the thousands of maimed and slain were merely wretched symbols of things to come.
With a novelist's eye for telling and a historian's passion for detail, context, and meaning, Groom brings the key characters and moments of battle to life. Shiloh is an epic tale, deftly told by a masterful storyteller. Views: 349
"It's peculiar, and sometimes frightening, what the mind can devise when left to its own devices." ~Edward J. Yaeger, Jr.Gifting is a contemporary fairy tale about two best friends who learn the value of giving and receiving in very strange ways. "Strange" might be an understatement given the dark and sensationalistic style of Yaeger's storytelling, which is as refreshing as it is creepy and unsLong, long ago in a land at the edge of a desert that howls against the walls of the village, a poor young boy named Samir is sent to work for a strange old man who stays up all night listening to the stars. In his curiosity to find out why, Samir stumbles upon a secret and is swept up in an epic journey across the ancient world. It is up to him and his brother Hamdan - with a lot of help from Munira, the camel - to deliver a very special treasure to a king and perhaps rescue their land from disaster. Can they overcome thieves and a sandstorm to reach their destination in time?This imaginative reconstruction of the tale of the Magi will appeal to children aged five and over, and draws on real astronomical research into the real Christmas Star. The story is set in the ancient Middle East, in which region the author lived for many years - although at a much later date, of course! Views: 349
It all begins with an ad in the newspaper. When Jean Sasson, a young Southern woman, answers a call to work in the royal hospital in Saudi Arabia, what should have been a two-year stay turns into a life-changing adventure spanning over a decade. Jean is plunged into the hidden lives of the veiled women in Riyadh, where women are locked in luxurious homes and fundamentalist mutawas terrorize the streets. Jean meets women from all walks of life--a feisty bedouin, an educated mother, and a conservative wife of a high-ranking Saudi--all who open a window into Saudi culture and help to reshape Jean's worldviews. What follows is a heartfelt, inspiring memoir about Jean's new-found conviction to fight for women's rights in a country of limited personal freedom.
PRAISE FOR JEAN SASSON'S BOOKS:
“Fascinating...an intimate account of a family life that became steadily more dangerous and bizarre...in forced pursuit of Osama’s jihadist dreams.” --Washington Post
"The startling truth behind veiled lives...frank and vivid" Sunday Express
"Anyone with the slightest interest in human rights will find this book heart-wrenching." --Betty Mahmoody, bestselling author of NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER
"A fascinating narrative...devasting" Robert Harris, Sunday Times
"Absolutely riveting and profoundly sad..." --People
"A chilling story...a vivid account of an air-conditioned nightmare..." --Entertainment Weekly
"Must-reading for anyone interested in human rights." --USA Today
"Shocking...candid...sad, sobering, and compassionate..." --San Francisco Chronicle
Jean's first book THE RAPE OF KUWAIT, based on her eye witness reporting on the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops, was an immediate bestseller. Shortly thereafter she became a full-time writer. Her next three books, PRINCESS, PRINCESS SULTANA'S DAUGHTERS, and PRINCESS SULTANA'S CIRCLE, became international sensations as they were the first books to bring to the western world the shocking stories about life for women in Saudi Arabia. Jean is also the author of MAYADA, DAUGHTER OF IRAQ, about the prison experiences of an Iraqi journalist praised by Saddam Hussein; LOVE IN A TORN LAND: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance which tells the story of a beautiful Kurdish woman; GROWING UP BIN LADEN: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us into Their Secret World; and FOR THE LOVE OF A SON: One Afghan Woman's Quest for Her Stolen Child. Her work has been featured in People, Vanity Fair,The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The New York Post, The Sunday London Times, The Guardian, CNN, FOX, NBC, and many other news organizations.
Still traveling the world, Jean has made her homebase in Atlanta, Georgia where she is a passionate animal rights and women's rights supporter. You can learn more by visiting her website at http://www.jeansasson.com Views: 349
Telling Tales is John Wheatcroft’s latest collection of ten stories that explore the human condition as well as (in the first and last work) the nature of fiction itself. The stories exemply the same qualities that led Jay Neugeboren in a New York Times Book Review to say of an earlier collection, “Mr. Wheatcroft ... gives us tales that are stark and memorable.”Kara has one burning desire. To free her mother from slavery. But after Kara's father spurns her from his estate, brutally thrusting her into a world rife with creeping evil and dark magic, she must find a new home for safety. And she does.At a traveling carnival, where the only work she can get is as a pickpocket, luring crowds into shows and then stealing from them. But under the bright lights and gaudy masks hide dangers far worse than Kara ever thought possible. How will she free her mother and keep herself alive?Spurned is the first book in 'The Hither and Nigh Carnival' series. It is written by R. Moses, author of 'The Last Savior Trilogy.' Views: 349
