This is how it began. . . It is the year 2524. Harvest is a peaceful, prosperous farming colony on the very edge of human-controlled space. But we have trespassed on holy ground--strayed into the path of an aggressive alien empire known as the Covenant. What begins as a chance encounter between an alien privateer and a human freighter catapults mankind into a struggle for its very existence. But humanity is also locked in a bitter civil war known as the Insurrection. So the survival of Harvest's citizens falls to a squad of battle-weary UNSC Marines and their inexperienced colonial militia trainees. In this unlikely group of heroes, one stands above the rest. . . a young Marine staff sergeant named Avery Johnson. Views: 527
Red flags flutter at the mastheads of the Channel Fleet ships gathered at the Spithead anchorage.
It is 1797, across the calm waters of the Solent the great naval base of Portsmouth lies impotent. Worse, unrest is spreading – to Plymouth, backdrop to Francis Drake’s Armada heroics two centuries earlier, and to the Nore, the great anchorage at the gateway to London. To the downtrodden sailors whose pay has not been increased for a hundred years and who endure a poor diet, harsh punishments and lack of shore leave, it is time to strike for better pay and conditions. But, according to the rigid Articles of War, akin to holy writ on board His Majesty’s ships, it is mutiny. And at a time when Britain is at war with Revolutionary France and threatened with invasion, the nation is plunged into grave peril.
Young Lieutenant Oliver Anson, a distant relative of the legendary circumnavigator Admiral George Anson, is keenly awaiting transfer to duties aboard a frigate in the Mediterranean. Any ideas of idleness while he waits are swept aside when he is ordered to travel to Portsmouth on a mysterious mission. What are the contents of the papers he is to deliver personally to the flag officer there? Who among his fellow travellers on the express Royal Mail coach would try to steal them? How does he survive a more dangerous attack after being despatched to the Nore on a further secret assignment?
David McDine’s Strike the Red Flag skilfully uses actual events in the Royal Navy’s history as the backdrop to some great swashbuckling fiction which remains true to social history while examining the idea of duty and the loneliness of command. His knowledge and evocation of the period is impressive, and his pitch-perfect phrasing recreates a fascinating world now lost to us.
David McDine, OBE , is a former Admiralty information officer, Royal Navy Reserve officer and Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, and the author of Unconquered: The Story of Kent and its Lieutenancy. He also wrote The Normandy Privateer , another naval adventure featuring Lieutenant Oliver Anson, of which Strike the Red Flag is a prequel. Views: 527
The Two Destinies is a sensation novel written by Wilkie Collins that is set in the mid to late 19th century. The action centers around two inseparable children, the son of a nobleman and the daughter of the nobleman's bailiff. The nobleman strongly disapproves of the potential marriage but can he stop it? Wilkie Collins was a prominent English writer in the 19th century. Collins was a close friend of Charles Dickens and his books were often featured in Dickens' journals All the Year Round and Household Words. Collins' books still enjoy wide popularity, especially mystery and detective novels such as The Woman in White, The Moonstone, and Armadale. Views: 527
A collection of 47 poems, written in times of smiles and tears, sadness and joy, wins and losses, coming straight from dreams and imaginations.One day, Draxar and Gracie Cura decided to try for one last child. What they hatched is a male they named Khayaddi Khospir. They decided to raise this child different from the others by raising him themselves, instead of a foreign crown. They really did this because they had to hide him from that crown and his siblings and they did successfully for many years until he came of age and decided that he wanted to face them himself. Views: 527
'Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend.She plays many roles round here. And neverScared to tell the whole of her truth, whetherOr not anyone wants to hear it. WifeOf Willesden: pissed enough to tell her lifeStory to whoever has ears and eyes . . .'Zadie Smith's first time writing for the stage, The Wife of Willesden is a riotous twenty-first century translation of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic The Wife of Bath's Prologue, brought to glorious life on the Kilburn High Road.Commissioned to celebrate Brent's year as Borough of Culture 2020, The Wife of Willesden will premiere at the Kiln Theatre, London in September 2020. Views: 527
Read this beloved classic romance by USA Today bestselling author Carole Mortimer.Divorce vs. DesireThree years ago Adam Carmichael walked out on Maggi when she needed him most. Now he's back, to pick up where they left off in their marriage—or so he thinks! Maggi's first reaction is to finalize their divorce. But Adam refuses point-blank, Maggi is furious—not with Adam, but with herself, because, to her dismay, part of her is relieved!Torn between divorce and desire, Maggi knows she should follow her head, not her heart. But this time, Adam isn't going to let her go without a fight...Originally published in 1997. Views: 526
IMAGINE . . .living in a constant state of yesteryear, when the worst days of your past were the “good ol’ days.”MEET . . .Milton, a man burdened with guilt and shame; Annette, his wife and Sheila, her fiery and irresistible sister who staked a claim on Milton that never subsided.A tumultuous story of love, deceit, and the dark side of humanity...When We Were Young!IMAGINE . . .living in a constant state of yesteryear, when the worst days of your past were the “good ol’ days.”MEET . . .Milton—a man so burdened with guilt and shame that he is unable to find peace; and worse yet, he cannot remember any real happiness.Annette—the woman whose love for Milton remained pure for an entire lifetime...even as he carried on an illicit and at times torrid affair with her closest friend before, during, and after her marriage to him.Sheila—the fiery, irresistible lover who staked a claim on Milton’s lust that never subsided. Her roller-coaster, lifelong friendship with Annette would torment her, even in death.A tumultuous story of love, deceit, and the dark side of humanity...When We Were Young! Views: 526
A novel written by a veteran of the war in Iraq, The Yellow Birds is the harrowing story of two young soldiers trying to stay alive.
****"The war tried to kill us in the spring." So begins this powerful account of friendship and loss. In Al Tafar, Iraq, twenty-one-year old Private Bartle and eighteen-year-old Private Murphy cling to life as their platoon launches a bloody battle for the city. Bound together since basic training when Bartle makes a promise to bring Murphy safely home, the two have been dropped into a war neither is prepared for.
In the endless days that follow, the two young soldiers do everything to protect each other from the forces that press in on every side: the insurgents, physical fatigue, and the mental stress that comes from constant danger. As reality begins to blur into a hazy nightmare, Murphy becomes increasingly unmoored from the world around him and Bartle takes actions he could never have imagined.
With profound emotional insight, especially into the effects of a hidden war on mothers and families at home, The Yellow Birds is a groundbreaking novel that is destined to become a classic. Views: 526
An unexpected tale of opportunity in the rental market. Inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Roald Dahl.Snake Eyes and Boxcars: The rolls of dice in any Atlantic City or Las Vegas casino meaning the numbers two and twelve. In this unique collection of fourteen short story/novellas, the first story “The Second Civil War” and the last story “The Music Portal” are written in the first person where the narrator tells the tale using the pronouns I, me, my, and mine, which is in stark contrast to the other twelve sci-fi/paranormal tales sandwiched in between, the dozen other stories being written in the more common third person expository style of presentation. Views: 526
British ad exec Dylan Locke isn't looking for love. He isn't looking for fate. He's definitely not looking for Audrey Lind. She's pretty, far too young, and overly romantic—in short, exhausting. But when the girl, young enough to be his daughter, literally lands in his lap and asks for his expertise, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested. In her body, in her innocence, in her philosophy. In the kind of kismet that starts with kisses. But Audrey isn't looking for love either—she's looking for lessons, and she's certain Dylan knows everything she needs to learn. If he agrees to play the teacher can he keep his heart? Of course he can. Then again, he might be lying. Views: 526
Attics can be full of surprises. Who could have murdered Darren Powell? He was a very pleasant man fond of puttering around in his garden and playing chess. He didn't seem at all the type of person who'd find himself murdered in his own attic. Myrtle and her senior sidekick Miles step in to investigate. The more they learn about Darren, the more interesting he becomes. And now someone else might be in danger. Can they learn the killer's identity before he strikes again? Views: 526
