J. G. Ballard is a British writer who has been called a “poet of death.” But Ballard, especially in the early part of his career, also wrote excellent extrapolative science fiction on social themes, and this haunting story is one of his finest. Here Ballard speaks of the enslavement of the unconscious, of an economic system that forces people to consume against their will through the use of technology. Ballard makes an important assumption-the belief (at least implicitly) that people would not want to consume at high rates if they were not “forced” to do so. In a profound sense, “The Subliminal Man” is a basic critique of the underlying dichotomy that pervades the concept of advertising-that of needs versus wants. We all have basic needs like food, sex, clothing, and shelter. Almost everything else (including the book you are now reading) is wants, often artificially created by the culture in which we live. Think how much more difficult resistance would become if the technology of subliminal advertising were forced upon us. This threat goes beyond the financial difficulties that families would be in. We would also be threatened with dehumanization, for it is the ability to think and chose that separates us from the rest of the animal world. Ballard’s story also assumes that industry will continue to manufacture products that will easily and quickly wear out, or if this is not the case, then it will find ways to make us dissatisfied with the products we now have. There is little evidence that things will change for the better. Views: 19
Having experienced more grief and tragedy than one person should have to bear in one lifetime, Detective Brooke Leighton has decided to leave her hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona. Along with her ex-boyfriend, Nick Evans, they make the trip to the Canadian Rockies where his Pack is located. Nick has promised her answers, and she knows that only he and the Pack can help her through this transition.The change in scenery isn’t an instant fix, however.Brooke still struggles with accepting what she’s become: a werewolf. Even more, she struggles with the knowledge that it cost her the life of the man she loved. Brooke lives with constant nightmares of that night, and the only thing that helps ease her suffering is the one who caused her the most seven years ago: Nick. She shares a connection with him that she can’t quite explain; at first, it’s nothing more than familiarity before these feelings of betrayal slowly revert back to love and trust.As if trying to control her urges isn’t enough, when they arrive at the manor, Brooke is met with more challenges than she originally thought. A jealous female, an aggressive full-blood, and lies make adjusting to this life almost impossible. When the vampire coven they thought was defeated declares war on the Pack, can they come together as a team to save themselves, or will the secrets Brooke uncovers drive a wedge between her and her newfound family before they even stand a chance? Views: 19
Summer 2009, the Irish boom times are over, and eleven-year-old Jason Lowry is preoccupied with thoughts of the Da he has never known. In the meantime, his vodka-swilling, swings-from-the-hip Ma, is busy entertaining her latest boyfriend and indulging her fondness for joyriding in the nearest available car.Fed up with his Ma's antics and fending off the debt collectors who are baying for their blood, Jason escapes to the Swamp: a mysteriously rising pool of fetid water on the outskirts of the town. There, he meets the girl, a being as lost as himself, and with even less regard for reality. Together, they conjure exotic adventures - from ancient Egypt to the search for Ithaca, home of Odysseus - as Jason seeks to locate his elusive Da. But as their exploits tailspin from innocent pretense into a netherworld of danger and very real harm, Jason finds that the girl is a dangerous partner in crime - and soon he is in unsafe territory.Treading a blurry line between... Views: 19
Lawrence and Jo have enjoyed a strong marriage, the envy of their friends. Even after thirty years they have lots to say to each other, many interests in common and, until recently, a good sex life. But Lawrence seems wary and restless. Something's wrong. Just how wrong, Jo is about to discover... Can they use their years of history - all the things they've shared - to overcome a devastating betrayal? Views: 19
A strange body that refuses to obey you; a weird game you can't quit until your contract expires; a world teeming with powerful and very real enemies. The game in which your reputation and faction relationship are the only things that matter.
These are the conditions of the agreement Ruslan signs without reading. The only thing he remembers is that he's been contracted to command a space fleet in a brand new game he knows nothing about. Objective: to survive for six months. After having made some inevitable newb mistakes, Ruslan has to rethink his strategy, dropping traditional gaming conventions. But what will it cost him? What new trials and tribulations await him that even the game designers have failed to anticipate?
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When Ali Lincoln loses the father she never knew, she meets a man she can’t resist.Ali Lincoln, a party planner from New York goes from hero to zero in one day. Down and out, she’s requested to attend the reading of a will in Wilmington. With nothing else to do, curiosity leads Ali to Wilmington.Gabe Montgomery just lost his stepfather, the only father he ever knew. The only bright side is that he will finally be able to buy the land he’s had his eye on for some time with the inheritance coming his way. When sexy and witty Ali shows up at the reading Gabe is confused.The lawyer leaves both Ali and Gabe flabbergasted with the terms set out in the Testament.Will Ali and Gabe fight for their inheritance or will they succumb to the strong attraction between them? Views: 19
[Book Sixteen of The Dray Prescot series] Somewhere in the unmapped regions of Kregen, beneath the two suns of Antares, alpha star of the Constellation Scorpio, lies the hidden city of the Savanti. The Savanti were the ones responsible for tearing Dray Prescot away from his native Earth for their struggle against the Star Lords. And Dray had long sought the locale of his original landing because it would help solve the mystery of his transition. Now the time had come when the search must be completed without delay, for the father of his beloved Delia was a victim of assassins, and only the Savanti could undo the evil that could shatter all that Dray held dear in his second planetary homeland. Savage Scorpio is the thrilling novel of a mission that would involve powerful forces far beyond all Prescot's personal desires. Views: 19
Della, Bride of Texas is 28th in the unprecedented 50-book, American Mail-Order Brides series.If there's one thing life has taught Della Owens, it's that well-laid plans fall through. When faced with a dire situation where choices are limited, she puts her fate in the hands of a matchmaker and braces for the surprises her future holds.A simple girl from the east coast, Della journeys to the wild frontier town of Fort Worth, Texas, where hot headed cowboys and outlaws in hiding live side-by-side with the civilized, church-going community.But those dangers are the least of Della’s concerns once she meets Milton Tidwell, the impersonal banker she’s been matched with and Hank Hensley, the owner of the store where she works, who has a penchant for stirring up trouble wherever he goes.Will she stick to her original plan and commit to settling down on the frontier? Or will she find herself fleeing in an attempt to avoid the heartache within her…and the truth about what she’s done?This book is also connected to the "Wanted: Wives In The West" series. Views: 19
In 1774, Josiah Wedgwood, master craftsman possessed with a burning scientific vision, embarks upon the thousand piece Frog Service for Catherine the Great. Josiah's nephew Tom journeys to America to buy clay from the Cherokee for this exquisite china. Tom is caught up in the American rebellion, and falls for a Cherokee woman who will come to play a crucial role in Josiah's late, great creation: the Portland Vase. As the family fortune is made, and Josiah's entrepreneurial brilliance creates an empire that will endure for generations, it is his daughter Sukey, future mother of Charles Darwin, who bears clear-eyed witness. A novel of epic scope, rich in warmth, intellect and humanity, The Potter's Hand explores the lives and loves of one of Britain's greatest families, whose travails are both ordinary - births, deaths, marriages, opium addiction, depression - and utterly extraordinary. Views: 19
This is the omnibus version containing the 3 volumes of the trilogy. Present Day Wall Street. Where intelligence agencies and the financial industry are strange bedfellows, and the two worlds are often intertwined in disturbing ways. In this chillingly plausible, controversial scenario of a military/industrial/financial complex run amok, Zero Sum pits Dr. Steven Archer Cross against powerful financier Nicholas Griffen in a conflict that raises troubling questions about our markets and our government. Racing against the clock in a chase that spans continents, one man's battle to expose the Machiavellian machinations of a ruthless Wall Street marauder forces him into a financial jungle populated by every variety of unscrupulous sociopath - rogue intelligence agencies, Russian mafia oligarchs, drug cartels and terrorist networks. As a white-collar game of chess transitions into a lethal real world cage-fight, Steven finds himself in a deadly showdown, where hunters can quickly become the hunted and blood is the ultimate currency. Zero Sum is the first novel featuring Dr. Steven Archer Cross ++++ Q & A for Zero Sum Question: Where did the idea for Zero Sum come from? RB: I thought the inside scoop of how a Wall Street pump and dump works would be a great framework for a thriller. The innate conspiracy begs to be told, and I also wanted to give some background on how the market actually functions. Q: Zero Sum offers readers a look behind the curtain on Wall Street's dark side. Do you think there's much of an audience for that? RB: With the current financial crisis & the emerging awareness that things are badly broken in the regulatory & law enforcement scheme, I think the novel's timely. Its depiction of Wall Street predators with their pet politicians, regulators & media cronies is spot on. I've found readers are fascinated once they understand it all. Q: Zero Sum paints a picture of Wall Street that's at odds with the sanitized image in the media. Have you gotten any flack because of it? RB: There's definitely a segment of the financial industry that would prefer nobody reads the book. The parasites that run the schemes described in it are alive & well & doing it every day, relying on the public's ignorance to prosper. There are some annoyed players who want this read about as much as they want a 60 Minutes crew at their office. It's a controversial story, & I'm not making any friends telling it. Q: Your characters seem real, especially the Wall Street villain, intelligence operatives & mob goons. Are these based in fact? RB: A good fiction author blends truth & fiction to the point where you aren't sure where the story starts & the facts leave off. Let's just say that the characters & scenarios that seem real, are likely that vivid & believable for a reason. Q: What authors do you read & which have most influenced you? RB: I grew up on Ludlum. Forsyth. Harris, Grisham. Fans of those authors will find my writing's similar - Bourne, Day of the Jackal, The Firm. + Zero Sum features Dr. Steven Archer Cross, from The Voynich Cypher** Views: 19
