One of Julio Cortázar's great early novels. "Anyone who doesn't read Cortázar is doomed."—Pablo NerudaWritten in 1950 (just before the fall of Perón's government), Final Exam is Julio Cortázar's bitter and melancholy allegorical farewell to an Argentina from which he would soon be permanently self-exiled.In a surreal Buenos Aires, a strange fog has enveloped the city to everyone's bewilderment. Juan and Clara, two students at a college called "The House," meet up with their friends, and, instead of preparing for their final exam, wander the city, encountering strange happenings and pondering life in cafés. All the while, they are trailed by the mysterious Abel.With its daring typography, shifts in rhythm, as well as wildly veering directions of thought and speech, Final Exam breaks new ground in the territory of stream-of-consciousness writing. Darkly funny—and riddled with unresolved... Views: 684
Belsnickel and his reindeer Eikthyrnir never expected to be waylaid while checking off the Naughty and Nice List. When they stumble upon an group of forest folk immersed in their midwinter's festival, the duo realize they're quite a long way from home, but that doesn't stop the pair from crashing the party and continuing their responsibilities.Belsnickel is The Seeker and has just one job to do all year long – check off the Wish-Granter's Naughty and Nice List. He never expects his reindeer to get them lost. Stuck wandering unfamiliar woods, he begins to panic about finishing the job on time. Elder Alba is the wisest of the forest folk. She tries to lead them with a kind hand, but some of the children have gotten unruly in recent years and she's at a loss as to how to turn them around. Everyone is engrossed in the midwinter's Keeper of the Cauldron Festival when The Seeker's unexpected arrival changes the lives of some naughty little children. Views: 684
"Action-packed, heart-pounding, page-flipping action. I'm thoroughly in love with this riveting, thrilling read. –YA ReadsDon't miss the electrifying second book in the must-read trilogy of the year!With death only a heartbeat away, Gene and the remaining humans must find a way to survive long enough to escape the hungry predators chasing them through the night. But they're not the only things following Gene. He's haunted by Ashley June who he left behind, and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.Their escape takes them to a refuge of humans living high in the mountains. Gene and his friends think they're finally safe, but not everything here is as it seems. And before long, Gene must ask himself if the new world they've entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As their enemies close in on them and push Gene and Sissy closer, one thing becomes painfully clear: all they have is each other…if they can stay alive.Chilling, inventive, and electrifying, The Prey is the second book in Andrew Fukuda's The Hunt series. Views: 684
As a submissive wolf-shifter, Kelsey Yates has always bowed to the dictates of her powerful alpha wolf parents. That changed when she met Rue, a powerful alpha in her own right, despite the fact that she is human. When Kelsey's parents learn of the forbidden relationship, they set out to put a stop to it. For once in her life, will Kelsey push beyond the boundaries of her omega status and fight for her happiness and her human mate?"Nature of the Pack" is a short story that goes with the paranormal romance novel True Nature. Views: 684
Being a Dachshund is challenging enough, but combine that with a large ego and short legs and your options are suddenly limited. Rudy is Papi’s big brother and likes that arrangement. When Rudy unwittingly finds he is in a predicament that he can’t get out of, he must rely on his little brother Papi to help him out and finds that he does some growing during the process.Being a Dachshund is challenging enough, but combine that with a large ego and short legs and your options are suddenly limited. Rudy is Papi’s big brother and likes that arrangement. When Rudy unwittingly finds he is in a predicament that he can’t get out of, he must rely on his little brother Papi to help him out and unwittingly finds that he does some growing during the process. Views: 684
When the opportunity to come out of retirement and go on one last space mission presents itself, Vincent Lambert jumps at the chance to go down in history as the first belt miner. Unfortunately, dealing with corporate greed one hundred million kilometers away from Earth was not in the mission outline.Delivered on 22 August 2024, Forbes v Baker [2024] WASC 643 represented a turning point in the law as to what it means to be human.The Deceased, David Baker, was born in unusual circumstances and into a difficult life. Cloned by his father, his genetic code mixed with non-human material, the Deceased died leaving a wife, a lover, and a substantial estate.The Wills Act (WA) provides that a person can make a will. It is alleged by the Defendant, the Deceased's wife, that the Deceased was, by virtue of his mixed DNA, not a "person" for the purposes of the Wills Act.This case represents an important milestone in the developing law relating to reproduction, cloning and humanity. Views: 684
Pink Dinosaur Dreams is a mixed anthology of poetry and short stories from all sorts of inspirations written by a 17 year old girl. It's real, it's random, it's got everything from tigers to Nutella to pink fluffy dinosaurs. And it's small, but sometimes it's the smallest things that stick with us the longest.Pink Dinosaur Dreams is--for technicality's sake-- a mixed anthology of poetry and short stories from all sorts of inspirations written by a 17 year old girl. In real time, it's unadultered (literally) raw emotion that deals with love, loss, and identity...you know, all that really great teenage angst stuff. But it's not an adult looking back on fragments from these years, it's a right there perspective untainted by time. It's real, it's random, it's got everything from tigers to Nutella to pink fluffy dinosaurs. And it's small, but sometimes it's the smallest things that stick with us the longest. Views: 684
A morgue is a scary place to most people. Most of us associate it with death and macabre things. But the only thing worse than a morgue is waking up in a morgue with no way out.A morgue is a scary place to most people. Most of us associate it with death and macabre things. But the only thing worse than a morgue is waking up in a morgue with no way out.An entertaining short story from the author of "When there is blood on the moon" and "The man who refused to grow old."Just like his previous works, Eduard Joseph will throw you a curve ball twist that you did not expect. Views: 684
In the third Showtym Adventure, Vicki takes on a dangerously bad-tempered Arabian. Will she be able to uncover his potential? When Vicki hears about a difficult Arabian that no one wants, she will stop at nothing to save him. Years of misunderstanding have left the pony wayward and mistrustful, but Vicki senses a gentle soul beneath Casper's rough exterior. Vicki must learn the importance of patience and compromise to have any chance of winning over the high-strung gelding. Will Casper ever trust humans again? And will Vicki be able to uncover the potential she sees in the spirited Arabian? This story of self-discovery and second chances is inspired by the Wilson Sisters' early years, where Vicki, Kelly and Amanda Wilson first help a misunderstood pony to trust again. Views: 684
Hayley Foster is a woman with a secret. Her flatmate is her guardian angel. But with the terrifying events of two years ago firmly put behind them, Hayley finally dares hope for a quieter life for her and Alex to enjoy.
But it is not long before the old angel’s past comes back to haunt him in the form of an ex-lover. As Alex tries to protect Hayley though, it quickly becomes apparent that far greater powers are at play, far bigger than either of them could ever have possibly imagined.
Join Hayley and Alex in the first part of their epic journey as they try to save Glasgow, as well as each other, from doom.
Crashing Down to Earth will be available from Amazon and Smashwords this August. Views: 684
a man in search of a long held dream of prospecting for gold finds much more than he bargained for in the process.Naughton Pharmaceuticals is a busy, sometimes chaotic place as scores of test subjects undergo clinical trials. Two more managers are knocked off and Kelly becomes a suspect. This threatens his dream of becoming a police officer right when he's about to take the preliminary exams. Meanwhile, his boss makes him an offer almost too good to refuse, perhaps hoping Kelly will overlook shady dealings. It's tempting, but does Kelly really want to abandon his law enforcement ambitions? Ultimately, he discovers the surprising murderer, and more importantly, a much greater danger. Views: 684
The D-twin Adventures start with Booger King Fights Back, an action-packed short story. Dixon's mum told him to stop picking his nose. He should've listened. Now Dixon and his twin sister Daria must battle Booger King and his army. The twins will be picked and flicked, but will they be eaten?What should have been the greatest moment of Dr. Spencer's life would be a death sentence if he told what he and some other scientists were working on in a secret underground governmental facility called XJ7. Rumor has it that Dr. Spencer and a team of scientists were working on reverse engineering on a UFO that crash landed on a farm about twenty-five miles from the XJ7 facility. It wasn't the Government that these scientists had to fear it was the aliens that were recovered from the crash site about keeping it secret.As the days passed by and progress was made on their reverse engineering experiment, Dr. Spencer wanted to tell his friends and family, but couldn't shake off what the Alien told him at the crash site. The Alien said "If any words of this rolls off your tongue you will vanish without a trace."That was enough to shut any man up, but as time passes most every human has to tell someone their secret because it makes them feel like something that important needs to be told to the world. Dr. Spencer had a big ego, and after weeks of keeping his mouth shut he decided to tell his wife what he and his colleagues were working on when he got home.As Dr. Spencer was sitting at the dinner table with his wife eating dinner he said "Honey, I've got something that I want to share with you that can't leave this room.""Go ahead I won't tell a soul," replied his wife."Well honey, my colleagues and I have been working on reverse engineering of a UFO, and three live aliens were covered from the crash site."Then all of a sudden the kitchen light flashed on and off, and three aliens appeared out of nowhere, Views: 684
