1992
The Soviets have fled Afghanistan. Dr. Derek Stillwater, a CIA expert on biological and chemical weapons, is sent into the country to find and identify what the Russians may have left behind - chemical weapons. Teamed with an Army general and an Israeli Mossad agent, the three find themselves caught in a country with no government, torn apart by war, being fought over by ruthless warlords and mujahideen. Caught between battling warlords and face-to-face with a religious zealot known as the Sheik, it is everything Derek can do to find the evidence of chemical weapons and escape Afghanistan alive. "Terry writes like Lee Child on steroids." - Ray Walsh, The Lansing Journal "Mark Terry is at the top of his form, a slam-bang storyteller." - Douglas Preston, author of TWO GRAVES and IMPACT "Stillwater is an exciting character to follow, methodical and inventive, yet daring and courageous." - Mystery Book News
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THE TALES OF HENGHIS HAPTHORN Henghis Hapthorn is the foremost penetrator of mysteries and uncoverer of secrets in a decadent, far-future Old Earth, one age before Jack Vance's Dying Earth. A superb rationalist, he has long disdained the notion that the universe has an alternative organizing principle: magic. But now a new age is dawning, overturning the very foundations of Hapthorn's existence, and he must struggle to survive in a world where all the rules are changing. In MAJESTRUM, Hapthorn is on the trail of an unknown killer who collects body parts from his victims. The search leads him off-planet, into the Ten Thousand Worlds of The Spray, then turns in an unexpected direction as the freelance discriminator learns that an ancient and evil power is plotting to reassert its dominion over Old Earth.From Publishers WeeklyThis start to a promising new far-future series (after 2005's The Gist Hunter) introduces Henghis Hapthorn, a sleuth who combines the confident brilliance of Sherlock Holmes with the amusing voice of P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster, in a fantastical mystery reminiscent of Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy novels. Hapthorn is a discriminator—what freelance detectives are called in his baroque world—who's drawn into political intrigue after receiving an apparently simple commission to vet a young man with designs on an aristocrat's daughter. An odd duo aids Hapthorn on his quest: his integrator, an artificial intelligence that has somehow become a furry frugivorous animal that perches on his shoulder, and Hapthorn's alternate personality, which split off during an earlier "transdimensional" voyage and operates according to intuition rather than analysis. Hughes's successful blend of magic, the supernatural and high-tech with Sherlockian deductions (and cryptic observations straight out of Doyle's canon) suggests a long life for Hapthorn. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistUntil now, Hughes' erudite master detective, Hengis Hapthorn, has appeared only in a handful of tales recently collected in The Gist Hunter and Other Stories (2005). Renowned on Old Earth and throughout the Ten Thousand Worlds as the galaxy's foremost discriminator (i.e., private eye), Hapthorn is the far future's answer to Sherlock Holmes. After a thorny case involving demons and magical forces, Hapthorn finds himself saddled with an extra voice, personifying his intuition, inside his head. This alter ego becomes both boon and annoyance during a pair of cases that interconnect when a routine investigation into the true motives of a wealthy debutante's suitor gives way to a manhunt for an evildoer plotting to overthrow the ruling archon of Old Earth. Somehow intertwined with both pursuits is an indecipherable magical book with which the alter ego is obsessed to the point of threatening to relegate Hapthorn to a backseat in his own mind. Hughes artfully blends wit, colorful characterizations, and intriguing plot twists in a compelling yarn that detective-novel readers may like, too. Carl HaysCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 32
Queen's Ford, built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and home to the noble Forde family for centuries, is crumbling into ruin.Devastated by the reduced circumstances in which he finds himself due to the outlandish spending of his late father, the current Lord Fordcombe simply cannot afford to repair it.With only a few loyal servants to serve the family, even the once beautiful gardens and stables are shabby and unkempt. In fact the Forde family, blue-blooded and aristocratic, who have entertained more than one English Monarch during their illustrious past, are now so poor that they struggle to find money for food.Driven beyond endurance and crushed by the monotony of poverty, Jeremy, the handsome twenty-one year old son of Lord Fordcombe decides that something desperate must be done. Artfully persuading his eldest sister, Mariota, to sacrifice her principles and go along with his daring plan, she joins him in holding up a coach masquerading as highwaymen.But as the... Views: 32
Adam Mansbach, the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Go the F**k to Sleep and Rage Is Back, turns to a new tale of suspense, horror, and supernatural actionWrongfully imprisoned in a Mexican jail, outlaw-with-a-conscience Jess Galvan accepts a devil's bargain: transport a sinister package across the border in twenty-four hours for the jail's mythical--and terrifying--bogeyman El Cucuy. If Jess can make it across alive and give the iron box to cult leader Aaron Seth, he will be free and able to regain custody of his estranged daughter.But as Jess navigates a blighted desert full of deadly surprises, girls go missing on both sides of the border and bodies begin to surface. It's a deadly epidemic of crime that plunges small-town sheriff Bob Nichols into a monster of an investigation he's not equipped to handle, especially when sixteen-year-old Sherry disappears.An ancient evil has awoken in the empty wastelands along... Views: 32
A richly imagined and stunningly inventive literary masterpiece of love, art, and betrayal, exploring the genesis of evil, the unforeseen consequences of love, and the ultimate unreliability of storytelling itselfParis in the 1920s. It is a city of intoxicating ambition, passion, art, and discontent, where louche jazz venues like the Chameleon Club draw expats, artists, libertines, and parvenus looking to indulge their true selves. It is at the Chameleon where the striking Lou Villars, an extraordinary athlete and scandalous cross-dressing lesbian, finds refuge among the club's loyal denizens, including the rising photographer Gabor Tsenyi, the socialite and art patron Baroness Lily de Rossignol, and the caustic American writer Lionel Maine.As the years pass, their fortunes--and the world itself--evolve. Lou falls in love and finds success as a race car driver. Gabor builds his reputation with vivid and imaginative photographs, including a haunting... Views: 32
They have nothing in common. So why can’t they stay away from each other?
Construction foreman Tomas Molina has no desire to settle down. He enjoys the single life too much, with all the choices of women available to him. But when ad executive Talia Jackson becomes single again, they start an affair that has him questioning his beliefs about relationships. And the next thing he knows, he’s the one demanding exclusivity.
Talia Jackson has always done what’s right. Gone to the right schools, worn the right clothes, and married the right man. Seeking a boost when her marriage ends in divorce, she finds comfort in the arms of Tomas Molina, a man who makes her feel alive in a way she never has before. Then an unexpected result of their affair forces her to make a tough decision—stay in the world she’s known all her life, or make a future with the man she’s grown to love. Views: 32
From the fall of the Ottoman Empire through the Arab Spring, this completely revised and updated edition of Mehran Kamrava's classic treatise on the making of the contemporary Middle East remains essential reading for students and general readers who want to gain a better understanding of this diverse region. Views: 32
Though reticent in public, George Bush openly shared his private thoughts in correspondence throughout his life. This collection of letters, diary entries, and memos is the closest we’ll ever get to an autobiography. Organized chronologically, the volume begins with eighteen-year-old George’s letters to his parents during World War II, when, at the time he was commissioned, he was the youngest pilot in the Navy. Readers will gain insights into Bush’s career highlights—the oil business, his two terms in Congress, his ambassadorship to the U.N., his service as an envoy to China, his tenure with the Central Intelligence Agency, and of course, the vice presidency, the presidency, and the post-presidency. They will also observe a devoted husband, father, and American. Ranging from a love letter to Barbara and a letter to his mother about missing his daughter, Robin, after her death from leukemia to a letter to his children two weeks before Nixon’s resignation to one written to them just before the beginning of Desert Storm, the writings are remarkable for their candor, humor, and poignancy. This new edition includes new letters and photographs that cover the last fifteen years, highlighting the Bush family’s enduring influence on history and including letters that cover topics such as George W. Bush’s presidency, 9/11, Bush senior’s work with President Clinton to help the victims of natural disasters, and the meaning of friendship and family. All the Best, George Bush provides a memorable, surprisingly intimate, and insightful portrayal of the forty-first president of the United States.Review“The travelogue of an observant man with much mettle and an open heart…. His writings cover affairs of state and affairs of spaniels on equal footing. He is modest and gracious. But these short takes on a long life reveal an underlying, consistent sense of duty to office, family and mortality." (Jennifer Harper The Washington Post )“Who knew that beneath George Bush’s buttoned-up propriety pulsed the warm heart of a prolific and occasionally poetic writer with wacky sense humor?" (People ) Book DescriptionGuest Review of “All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings”By Barbara BushGeorge has always been known for his prodigious letter-writing – whether they are funny, sad, whimsical, serious – they all tell a story. Through his letters, you will see what I have seen for the past 68 years – George H.W. Bush is the most decent, dearest man; the most loving father; a friend to all.Even though George went on to become a congressman, ambassador, Director of the CIA, Vice President and President, he never thought his work was finished. In recent years George partnered with President Clinton – the Odd Couple – to raise funds to aid in the relief efforts following the catastrophic tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike in the Gulf Coast states. You can read all about the Odd Couple and more in this new edition of All the Best.I have just reread the book for about the 5th time. The new letters are just wonderful, but I loved rereading the old ones as well. I remember when the book first came out 15 years ago, a number of book reviews said these letters were an amazing way to tell one’s life story – much more honest and revealing than an autobiography. (Which is good since we could not talk George into writing one.) I could not agree more. These letters really are a window into George Bush’s soul.There are letters from World War II, when he wrote his mother just about every thought he had, including the day after he was shot down; there is a letter about our dear Robin, who died of leukemia at age 3; there are letters about Watergate, living in China, and meeting Mikhail Gorbachev for the first time. There are letters about what it means to win – and lose – the Presidency. And what it means to see a son become President. There are letters about 9-11 and Katrina and the death of John Paul II.His letters to his children and grandchildren about aging are especially dear and poignant and honest.And, yes, there are some funny and even silly letters – about broken toilets and the Aflac duck. There’s even one admonishing his college-aged granddaughters not to become “girls gone wild” on Spring Break.I was reminded again of how lucky I am to have married this amazing man, and what a great adventure life with George Bush has been.So I hope you enjoy reading this compilation of letters as much as I did… and may it show you all the best in life! Views: 32
A collection of short stories from the early years of Man Booker Prize-winning author John Banville’s career, Long Lankin explores the passionate emotions—fear, jealousy, desire—that course beneath the surface of everyday life. From a couple at risk of being torn apart by the allure of wealth to an old man’s descent into nature, the tales in this collection showcase the talents that launched Banville onto the literary scene. Offering a unique insight into the mind of “one of the great living masters of English-language prose” (Los Angeles Times), these nine haunting sketches stand alone as canny observations on the turbulence of the human condition. Views: 32
Their love is ageless, and music is their door through time.
Singer-songwriter Annasophia Flynn must prepare to say goodbye to Wilhelm Dahl, her beloved teacher and mentor who is terminally ill. But when she plays on the piano a romantic concerto that is much loved by them both, she travels back in time to meet and fall in love with a much younger Wilhelm, who is at the height of his power and fame as a world-renowned concert pianist.
But Wilhelm's ex wife, who wants him back, is determined to discover the means by which to send Annasophia back to her own timeline, removing her from Wilhelm's life forever. Views: 32
