From the authors of the New York Times bestselling parody The Hunger Pains, this fresh take on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is a hilarious send-up of Middle-earth, publishing just in time for the major motion picture release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.The sequel to the parody of the sequel to the prequel to The Lord of the Rings When Aaron Sorkinshield and his band of Little People embark on a totally feasible quest to reclaim the hoard of Academy Awards stolen from them by the lonely Puff the Magic Dragon, senile wizard Dumbledalf suggests an unlikely and completely unqualified accomplice: Billy Bagboy, an unassuming wobbit dwelling in terrorist-riddled Wobbottabad. Along the way, the company faces Internet trolls, moblins, one really big spider that must be at least an inch and a half wide, and worse. But as they journey from the wonders of Livinwell to the terrors of Jerkwood and beyond, Billy will... Views: 634
The extraordinary new novel in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series from the grand master of adventure. In October 1943, a U.S. destroyer sailed out of Philadelphia and supposedly vanished, the result of a Navy experiment with electromagnetic radiation. The story was considered a hoax—but now Juan Cabrillo and his Oregon colleagues aren't so sure. There is talk of a new weapon soon to be auctioned, something very dangerous to America's interests, and the rumors link it to the great inventor Nikola Tesla, who was working with the Navy when he died in 1943. Was he responsible for the experiment? Are his notes in the hands of enemies? As Cabrillo races to find the truth, he discovers there is even more at stake than he could have imagined—but by the time he realizes it, he may already be too late. Views: 634
A Young Adult Paranormal Romance with Science Fiction elements. Kara has only three days to get to her lost love, Blaine. Will she make it in time, or be forced to survive the aftermath of the solar flare alone?Kara Laquin wanted nothing more than to forget. Forget the past, live in the present, and ignore the future. When a massive solar flare destroys all electronics and throws the country into chaos, Kara is nearly a whole state away from her lost love, Blaine. He can wait only three days before moving on. With access to fuel limited, she must do anything necessary to get to him before he is forced to move on, but society is crumbling around her. Looters and murderers prowl the cities during the day, and something even worse roams at night. Views: 634
Kobzari, or "those who play the kobza", were once itinerant, usually blind, Ukrainian minstrels whose purpose was to preserve the Ukraine's rich oral folklore. Thanks to the vile machinations of Stalin, they have become all but a foot note of a shadow in history.This short story addresses the flight and hopes of a family facing great changes. Live safely and die free. Views: 633
Oncologist Dr. Jakob Farkas offers dying Abigail Andrews a cure to die for.Sassy Abigail Andrews is a phlebotomist who has terminal leukemia. The good news is that her Dr. Jakob Farkas might be able to heal her, since he claims to be a vampire. But there's one small hitch, tired of his lonely existence, Farkas has not fed in over 100 years and needs to be brought back to health before he can help Abigail, with whom he has fallen in love.Abigail doesn't believe the crazy doctor's story, but she doesn't have much else going on at the moment besides dying. So she leaves her boring life behind in order to join Jakob Farkas on his travels around the world in search of a mystical cure.As they await the arrival of the Spring Equinox in the legendary caves in Lascaux France, Abigail wonders if she can overcome the greatest obstacle to her cure: her mortality. Views: 633
The latest masterpiece*—perceptive, funny, insightful, affecting*—from the Nobel Prize–winning author
Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa’s newest novel, The Discreet Hero, follows two fascinating characters whose lives are destined to intersect: neat, endearing Felícito Yanaqué, a small businessman in Piura, Peru, who finds himself the victim of blackmail; and Ismael Carrera, a successful owner of an insurance company in Lima, who cooks up a plan to avenge himself against the two lazy sons who want him dead.
Felícito and Ismael are, each in his own way, quiet, discreet rebels: honorable men trying to seize control of their destinies in a social and political climate where all can seem set in stone, predetermined. They are hardly vigilantes, but each is determined to live according to his own personal ideals and desires—which means forcibly rising above the pettiness of their surroundings. The Discreet Hero is also a chance to revisit some of our favorite players from previous Vargas Llosa novels: Sergeant Lituma, Don Rigoberto, Doña Lucrecia, and Fonchito are all here in a prosperous Peru. Vargas Llosa sketches Piura and Lima vividly—and the cities become not merely physical spaces but realms of the imagination populated by his vivid characters.
A novel whose humor and pathos shine through in Edith Grossman’s masterly translation, The Discreet Hero is another remarkable achievement from the finest Latin American novelist at work today. Views: 633
The greatest threats are the ones unseen…. For what seems like the first time, Elena and her friends are happy. Elena and Stefan have built a home for themselves in Dalcrest, and all of Elena’s friends are as in love as she and Stefan are. Even Damon is enjoying visiting his favorite old haunts in Europe, and is more surprised than anyone that he’s traveling with Katherine. But lately, Elena’s Guardian senses are on edge, and she can’t ignore the feeling that danger is coming. When a new threat arrives in Dalcrest, Elena’s worst fears become a reality. Soon, she and Stefan are battling a vicious Old One who is always just out of their reach. And when Damon and Katherine are confronted with a strange and mysterious enemy, Elena worries the attacks are linked. As dark forces close in, Elena, Stefan, and Damon struggle to survive the only way they know how—together. But their lives are hanging in the balance, and every moment they share could be their last… Views: 633
Short story about a woman and her two companions who live at a hotel for transients.Introducing Advanced Smash Repairs.Spillage is the first tale in a quirky six-part series about a smash repair business that knows too much. Craig runs a small workshop, and with the help of his staff – lead mechanic Pavel, apprentice Clint and the enigmatic test driver Boris – he fixes cars in unconventional ways, and in the process ends up solving a few mysteries along the way. A damaged and mysterious BMW and an over-enthusiastic ex-customer challenge Craig’s patience and skill in a tough week at Advanced Smash Repairs "Spillage was a great short read with excellent, believable characters." "A brave change of pace that just . . . worked. And worked well." "The smell of oil, grease and fun from the cars and the garage workshop got me hooked. A great read." Views: 633
For Buffy and her boyfriend Sean, stealing , lying, and drugs solve every problem that tours the path of their impoverished lifestyle. After tragedy strikes, Buffy and Sean's love and loyalty gets tested in a way they never imagined. Will their love conquer and pull them through the fire? Or will Buffy's selfish ways cause the two lovers to collapseHow strong is your love when things get rocky? For Buffy and her boyfriend Sean, stealing , lying, and drugs solve every problem that tours the path of their impoverished lifestyle. Living in the Frankford section of Philadelphia is rough, but with a mother on her cancerous deathbed, unpaid bills piling high, and a passion for pain, the two lovers manage to find love in an extremely hopeless place. After tragedy strikes, Buffy and Sean's love and loyalty gets tested in a way they never imagined. Will their love conquer and pull them through the fire? Or will Buffy's selfish ways cause the two lovers to collapse on fate's doorstep? 1-Click This 3 Part Mini Series Today! Views: 633
The end of the world is nigh and only one man can stop the coming apocalypse. Shane MacGowan has the ultimate weapon; the greatest song ever written and to save the world, his mammy and Teresa he just has to remember how it feckin goes.This is a collection of over 250 poems that altogether seeks to reflect man as both the poet and the actor who handles the helm of his own affairs, on a timed cruise, down his very own banked personal river. Using his abilities to compose and steer his poetic story, faring only as suitably as his capabilities and fate enables him.The essence of poetry is in its use of eloquent apt words to convey the poet’s exact thoughts, as they are felt or experienced by him. Like it is the actor’s ability to apply specific skills to portray a scripted character reveals a story, it is likewise the poet's grant to create the content and set the beauty of the words.If the soul is scripted, if the mind can think, if the heart does feel and the body is specific; then every individual distinctively roams on a course throughout their lives that can be manipulated to fit their own different experience, but not actually change it. For the poet mans the helm, and the cruise is his composed poem. Views: 633
A camping trip with his father turns Robbie Albion’s perceptions of himself and his world upside down as he is forced to engage in an unwitting life-and-death battle to break a family curse that has seen generations of his forefathers their early graves.Following the death of a rival, aboriginal boy, Yuka, is faced with a choice - stay and die, but be laid to a peaceful rest under the tribe's Great Tree, or suffer life-long banishment from his ancestral home. In an attempt to force a choice, the Kadaitcha Man puts a curse on the boy: Should he leave, Yuka will die while still a young man and unless he is buried on the mountain beneath the Great Tree, as is the tribal custom, then he and future generations will be destined to live between this world and the next, never to rest with their ancestors. Yuka’s choice sees him return with his own son many years later in an attempt to break the curse.Over a century later, Robbie Albion journeys to the now cloud-shrouded mountain with his sick father. As Robbie struggles with what he learns about himself, his father becomes increasingly delirious and irrational. Robbie, himself seriously injured, battles against and with various forces of nature to save his father. All the while Robbie is guided by animals that seem to know what he does not, that he has been chosen for this quest. Views: 633
Again we join Tommy, Robert S. Thompson and Nona The Waitress, in The Midwest, the Westerly Midwest, of America — as they follow The Swarm on their little bicycles zooming around town, and the activities of Moon Walking, the head librarian, as she fights the city fathers, who have demanded that everyone put up a fence in town, to keep everyone safe, from all sorts of terrible dangers.Following his brother's dealings with the demon Harlem, Elliot takes some time for himself to catch up with an old friend. Storm clouds gather as we enter the Deck's second act.For fans of character driven supernatural drama.(...Back cover write up...)The city of Neppon drifts through the shallows, where the walls circling the mortal realm are thin. Here the daemons gather out of the surrounding night, drawn by its promise of candle flame warmth.As the election for the city's mayoral office approaches, one man stands head and shoulders above the other candidates. His reputation? A bastion for everything that is good and honest, in a world beset from all sides by horrors. But Jaret Roscan carries a secret. A secret that could bring ruin to his political career, and chaos to his beloved city.One person carries the key to his salvation. The question is, will they come forward in his hour of need?Harlem's Deck; a story in instalments. Keep your hand close to your chest... Views: 633
A young boy enters a graveyard at dawn with his dog. Both love the countryside and the wild-life they observe. Death is a part of the process of Life,but a surprise awaits them in the burial-ground.A thirteen year old boy and his dog enter the graveyard of the local church. It is a burial-ground that they are familiar with,a part of their regular walk at dawn. A fierce storm the night before has wrought changes on the landscape. The young naturalist fears little, and is not intimidated by the circle of life which always brings death to all of us. He has already had a close brush with the inevitable,saved by his dog,and has seen the torment of bereavement. The graveyard is more of a haven and refuge to some and he loves its sheltering atmosphere,but nonetheless he faces a strange discovery that serves as a reminder of his own mortality. Views: 633
A century before A GAME OF THRONES, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros…
A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS compiles the first three official prequel novellas to George R.R. Martin’s ongoing masterwork, A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE.
Before Tyrion Lannister and Podrick Payne there was Dunk and Egg.
A young, naïve but courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall towers above his rivals – in stature if not experience. Tagging along with him is his diminutive squire, a boy called Egg – whose true identity must be hidden from all he and Dunk encounter: for in reality he is Aegon Targaryen, and one day he will be king. Improbable heroes though they be, great destinies lie ahead for Dunk and Egg; as do powerful foes, royal intrigue, and outrageous exploits.
A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS brings together for the first time the first three official prequel novellas to George R.R. Martin’s ongoing masterwork, A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory.
Featuring more than 160 illustrations by Gary Gianni, one of the finest fantasy artists of our time, this beautiful volume will transport readers to the world of the Seven Kingdoms in an age of bygone chivalry. Views: 633
