A short science fiction story about a young girl in an internment camp."Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding on to."- Toralii ProverbHundreds of years before the Toralii attacked Earth, destroying the cities of Beijing, Tehran and Sydney, before they developed the voidwarp technology and destroyed their homeworld, they warred amongst themselves.The hills of the occupied Kaater Mountains were home to thousands of prisoners.Including Tami.A 1,947 word story set in the Lacuna universe suitable to read as a stand-alone story. Parts of the Lacuna universe:* Magnet* ImperfectThe Lacuna series:* Lacuna: Demons of the Void* Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi* Lacuna: The Spectre of Oblivion (Coming December, 2012!) Views: 864
After eight commanding works of fiction, the Pulitzer Prize winner now turns to memoir in a hilarious, moving, and always surprising account of his life, his parents, and the upstate New York town they all struggled variously to escape.
Anyone familiar with Richard Russo's acclaimed novels will recognize Gloversville once famous for producing that eponymous product and anything else made of leather. This is where the author grew up, the only son of an aspirant mother and a charming, feckless father who were born into this close-knit community. But by the time of his childhood in the 1950s, prosperity was inexorably being replaced by poverty and illness (often tannery-related), with everyone barely scraping by under a very low horizon.
A world elsewhere was the dream his mother instilled in Rick, and strived for herself, and their subsequent adventures and tribulations in achieving that goal—beautifully recounted here—were to prove lifelong, as would Gloversville's fearsome grasp on them both. Fraught with the timeless dynamic of going home again, encompassing hopes and fears and the relentless tides of familial and individual complications, this story is arresting, comic, heartbreaking, and truly beautiful, an immediate classic. Views: 864
The land of Hybron has fallen into an abyss of political and religious strife that have kept it embroiled in conflict. It has floundered in a dark age for centuries, the former grand kingdom falling into a collection of city-states. An ancient prophecy has reappeared, a prophecA queen in peril. An outsider priest. A young girl who dreams of adventure.The land of Hybron, once the cultural center of the Red Planet, has fallen into an abyss of political and religious strife that have kept it embroiled in conflict. It has floundered in a dark age for centuries, the former grand kingdom falling into a collection of city-states. An ancient prophecy has reappeared, a prophecy that promises to deliver them from the corruption and increasing violence that permeates the land. However, there are those who have their own plans and “savior prophecies” only get in the way of the more pragmatic concerns of acquiring power.The ancient capital, Assenna, has been in ruins for many ages and the line of kings that ruled from it are nearly forgotten. The very words, Red Kings, have become a curse and it is forbidden to even speak of them but it is precisely the blood of this kingly line, it was foretold, that would rule Hybron again and raise it up to its former glory. The Ainash priesthood, a powerful and ruthless faction in Jhis have fallen in power after a barbarian warrior has overrun the city-states, making himself king of the land. Under his rule Hybron has once again been reunited under one power. Is he, a wild tribesman of the desert, the future Red King of prophecy? As the kingdom remains embroiled in corruption and violence it does not seem so and his queen, a devout woman of the Aishanna-La has borne him no heirs. She has her own schemes that put her at odds with everyone at court: the priesthood, who seek to regain power and the king, who plans to carve out a great name for himself in the world. The queen becomes embroiled in a controversy that will have long-reaching effects on the fate of the kingdom and her own.Ilim, one of the Ainash, is thrown out of the Golden Temple. Afterward, he has a prophetic dream with a commission to tell a dire message that most people do not want to hear, least of all the Ainash priesthood. His new spiritual path leads him back into the desert among the tribal peoples. He believes it will lead him to the answer that will save the kingdom from ruin – but, disappointingly, it leads him, not to a great warrior and a holy army but to a little girl at the fortress city of Gamina. Visions are never straight forward, paths are perilous and the grand purpose of prophecy seems impossible, yet many are now seeking it; some strive mightily to make it come about while others are working just as powerfully against it and there are those who seek to insert themselves in it. All are caught in the river of Destiny and Purpose. Some will rise and others will drown. Who will triumph? Views: 863
The latest in the New York Times bestselling Cork O’Connor mystery series—the action never stops when the private detective ends up in the crosshairs of a political assassin.**
The dying don’t easily become the dead. *
The next novel in William Kent Krueger’s New York Times bestselling series finds Cork O’Connor sitting in the shadow of a towering monolith known as Trickster’s Point, deep in the Minnesota wilderness. With him is Jubal Little, who is favored to become the first Native American elected governor of Minnesota, and who is slowly dying with an arrow through his heart. Although the men have been bowhunting, a long-standing tradition among these two friends, this is no hunting accident. The arrow turns out to be one of Cork’s, and he becomes the primary suspect in the murder. He understands full well that he’s been set up. As he works to clear his name and track the real killer, he remembers his long, complex relationship with the tough kid who would grow up to become a professional football player, a populist politician, and the lover of the first woman to whom Cork ever gave his heart. Jubal was known by many for his passion, his loyalty, and his ambition. Only Cork knows that he was capable of murder.
Full of nail-biting suspense, plus a fascinating look into Cork’s teenage years in Aurora, a town blessed with natural beauty yet plagued by small-town feuds and heated racial tension, Trickster’s Point is a thrilling exploration of the motives, both good and ill, that lead men and women into the difficult, sometimes deadly, political arena. Views: 863
Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ASIN B008AZTUU8
Claire is a twenty-something, single mom that grudgingly helps her best friend sell sex toys while she attempts to make enough money to start her own business to give her foul-mouthed, but extremely loveable (when he's asleep) toddler a better life.
When Carter, the one-night-stand from her past that changed her life forever, shows up in her hometown bar without any recollection of her besides her unique chocolate scent, Claire will make it a point that he remembers her this time.
With Carter's undisguised shock at suddenly finding out he has a four-year-old son and Claire's panic that her stretch marks and slim to none bedroom experience will send the man of her dreams heading for the hills, the pair will do whatever they can to get their happily ever after.
Warning: contains explicit sex, profanity and enough sarcasm to choke a horse. Views: 863
Ben was fine until his uncle died. His death was a mystery, until Bed received his uncle's gift, and Ben discovered his uncle had a secret to erase.Ben has no idea what he was in for after his uncle died. The death itself was a mystery, until Ben receives the special gift his uncle left behind for him. That gift changes everything.In a world where devices exist that can erase or modify one's memory, Ben is forced to learn a the family secrets the hard way, and under the strangest of circumstances. Views: 863
December 21, 2012 - Will that fateful day destroy our world, or did the Mayans have something else in mind? Maya Delaney knows.Maya Delaney is just an average sixteen-year- old. She learns that she is meant to fulfill an ancient Mayan Prophesy and bring forth a New Age on earth. Will Toltec, an evil society bent on keeping her from her destiny succeed? Or will that destiny destroy her?December 21, 2012 - Will that fateful day destroy our world, or did the Mayans have something else in mind? Maya Delaney knows. Unfortunately.Maya Delaney is just an average sixteen-year- old. She’s busy dealing with exams, her soon to be ex-boyfriend and fitting in. But Maya’s got bigger problems. She’s hiding a major secret from her dad and having strange visions she can’t control. In her struggle to figure out who she is, she learns that she is meant to fulfill an ancient Mayan Prophesy and bring forth a New Age on earth. Will the spirit magic Maya wields be enough to defeat Toltec, an evil society bent on keeping her from her destiny? Or will that destiny destroy her? Views: 862
A short SciFi story about a battle in outer space.Lestari is a fighter pilot trying frantically to protect the people he loves. But not everything is as it seems and soon forces beyond his control will force him to make a choice.Jimmy Peters has a heart of gold, but an IQ of only 51. He lives by himself in a one-room flat, works, eats at a diner down the street, attends church when he remembers, and lives to go to the zoo on Saturday. Satisfied with his lot in life, because he knows nothing any different, he only asks God for one thing—a chance to live outside the city where he can see animals all the time, but he is afraid God doesn’t have time for him. Then one day a longhaired, unshaven man in rumpled clothes meets him on a bus and changes his life forever. Views: 862
The squabbling goblins who live in the great towers of Clovenstone spend their time fighting and looting. Only clever young Skarper understands that dark magic created by a vanquished sorcerer is rising again. Views: 862
The long-awaited and stunning new novel from the unrivalled Iain Banks
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A man builds a tree house by a river, in anticipation of the coming flood. A sugar-beet crashes through a young woman's windscreen. A boy sets fire to a barn. A pair of itinerant labourers sit by a lake, talking about shovels and sex, while fighter-planes fly low overhead and prepare for war.
These aren't the sort of things you imagine happening to someone like you. But sometimes they do.
Set in the flat and threatened fenland landscape, where the sky is dominant and the sea lurks just beyond the horizon, these delicate, dangerous, and sometimes deeply funny stories tell of things buried and unearthed, of familiar places made strange, and of lives where much is hidden, much is at risk, and tender moments are hard-won.
Watch Jon McGregor reading from This Isn't the Sort of Thing That Happens to Someone Like You
Jon McGregor discusses This Isn't the Sort of Thing That Happens to Someone Like You Views: 862
When the young Alice returns to the village of his grandparents certainly can not imagine that something has changed them or better ... someone's back. A shadow seems to emerge from the depths of the lake and from the memories of the villagers.Sergeant Preston Cunningham is reassigned from a civilian status position while serving with the Army in Frankfurt, Germany into the heat of battle in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam he finds himself carrying out the duties of a company scrounge - someone who has been given the company commander’s blessings to do whatever necessary to make the war machine tick. The commander orders him to “acquire” whatever items are needed - both for personal pleasure and for the good of the unit.Preston Cunningham is captured and tortured by the enemy, spends 30 days recuperating in a U.S. Army POW Hospital in Long Binh - falls in love with his nurse and eventually returns to the U.S. He is assigned to The Pentagon as a staff driver for his new commanding officer: Major General Michael Hollingsworth who urges Preston to attend West Point. Having taken the General’s advice, Preston graduates from the military academy and General Hollingsworth personally assigns the new young lieutenant into an elite group of “operatives” working in The White House.Hollingsworth is instrumental in the promotion of Cunningham to the youngest Four Star General in The Army. During his tenure, Preston finds and arranges a clandestine covert operation which successfully assassinates Osama Bin Laden and as a result is elected the first Vietnam Veteran President of The United States… Views: 861
This boxed set of the first three Guardians books is the perfect companion to the Rise of the Guardians movie!
Of course you know the Guardians. You’ve known them since before you can remember and you’ll know them till your memories are like twilight: Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the others. But where did they come from? How did they become beloved and worthy of holidays? And what nefarious evildoer prompts them to band together and protect the children of the world?
Answers are revealed and imaginations unfurl in this this treasure trove of a boxed set. Both a standalone collectible and the ideal complement to the mesmerizing Dreamworks Animation movie Rise of the Guardians, this set includes the first three titles in the Guardians chapter book series: Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core!, and Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies. Views: 861
A story of ancient Etruria. Young Egerius is brought up by women after his father's early death; but there are secrets in his father's family, and as he grows older, he learns that he has a family he has never met, and is the heir to more than his father's slim estate...This is a chapter from 'Etruscan Blood', an epic novel of ancient Italy that will be published later this year.The Feng Shui woman is not prepared for Grandpop and his harem. He has taken over one of the upstairs bedrooms. He is loud, smells of sulfur and brimstone and a general nuisance. All of this began the day he was buried. As the Feng Shui woman approaches the top of the stairs, she hears the trumpet of an elephant, the roar of a lion and the crazy laugh of a hyena. All coming from the last bedroom. Views: 861
Patrick Noel is a prisoner at Cook Penitentiary, facing a life sentence for the murder of his wife and son, a crime he didn't commit. But Patrick is also keeping evil under lock and key in a prison of his own...his body. As Patrick tries to fight the monster within, he will discover that his curse may turn out to be the world's saving grace.Patrick Noel is a prisoner at Cook Penitentiary, facing a life sentence for the murder of his wife and son, a crime he didn't commit. But Patrick is also keeping evil under lock and key in a prison of his own...his body. As Patrick tries to fight the monster within, he will discover that his curse may turn out to be the world's saving grace.Rot in a cell next to Patrick as he faces Death Without Parole in this new horrifying short story from Christopher Lee Cousino, the author of the superhero novel Homeless, the Zombie Hero series, and numerous short stories. Views: 861
