A powerful new novel about an ordinary family facing extraordinary times at the start of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
China, 1957. Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly as Sheng is dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp for “reeducation.”
A year later, still missing his father desperately, Tao climbs to the top of the hundred-year-old kapok tree in front of their home, wanting to see the mountain peaks in the distance. But Tao slips and tumbles thirty feet to the courtyard below, badly breaking his leg.
As Kai Ying struggles to hold her small family together in the face of this shattering reminder of her husband’s absence, other members of the household must face their own guilty secrets and strive to find peace in a world where the old sense of order is falling. Once again, Tsukiyama brings us a powerfully moving story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with grace and courage. Views: 714
Alvilda, an Elvish sorcerous, travels with a Necromancer's soul imprisoned within her own. The Necromancer know it's only escape is through her death. So he hatches a plan to free himself as she makes her way through a dense forest.Ash Magazine is a magazine dedicated to exposing people to unknown writers and artists.Ash Magazine Issue 2 has art and stories byAndrew DimitrovNikole KlinkhammerTony GillTammie PainterEartha ForestWill SchmitzDevon AmatoBrett CihonPatrick LogonElizabeth J. SparenbergJazzMinh MooreErin KassidyKayla HimmelbergerNicholas UtkeAllison WildeAdam RobertsAnna PalmerAsh Magazine is published byLord HaywireAsh Magazine Issue 2 was edited by Jenn Waterman Views: 714
“A Blood Moon rises! For too long we have hidden from reality, fearing the loss of our past should we attempt to find our future. No more! Our day of infamy has arrived. A spark has ignited our universe and set it ablaze. From those ashes has grown a force that will crush the League of Brothers and drive it from our Realm! The decision has been made! Today we go to War! Phoenix rises!”“A Blood Moon rises! For too long we have hidden from reality, fearing the loss of our past should we attempt to find our future. No more! Our day of infamy has arrived. A spark has ignited our universe and set it ablaze. From those ashes has grown a force that will crush the League of Brothers and drive it from our Realm! The decision has been made! Today we go to War! Phoenix rises!” Tears flowed down the new king’s face as she thought of her sister, Darla, hoping beyond hope the woman might still live. This time her opponent had gone too far. There was no longer any place for negotiation. Their day of infamy had arrived. Mihai Astron, king over the Children’s Empire, had raised her fist, declaring absolute and total war with no hope of treaty or armistice. From the flames and ashes of this coming holocaust would rise only one power to rule over Heaven, Earth, and Hell - one power to rule the universe, either to its ending hour or coming glory. The Third Fleet was shattered, Admiral Euroaquilo’s heroic rescue attempt of the Shikkeron sounding his demise and the fleet’s ruin as a fighting force. But they had won, beaten the enemy back, saved the Shikkeron and its precious living cargo from capture, or had they? What of the imperial frigate, Shikkeron? Gone it was, ship and crew, swallowed up in the cosmic dust of space. Mihai shrugged. It mattered little now. She had raised her fist to the god of war, declaring the time of the world’s ending. Already her battle fleets hovered above MueoPoros, those invasion forces protected by Navy and Marine sky ships swarming the planet’s surface, engaging a ruthless enemy with no intention of surrender. In her mind’s eye, she could already see the great slaughter and the ruin of body and machine, smell the blood and gore of battle, the burning cordite and charred flesh. Had she not witnessed it so many times before, but always as the soldier faithfully obeying another’s commands? This time Mihai had raised the banner of war, declared the unholy hour of death and destruction. Now others led the charge into the slaughter, into the meat-grinder of damnation... Views: 714
Flashy, that lustful libertine, takes a round-the-world adventure that would shock Don Juan and make swingers of today green with envy. In an English mansion, he's not just doodling in the drawing room with a blue blood's red-hot-blooded mistress; in Africa, he's forced to serve a sultry queen who kills low-endurance lovers.
The irresistable antihero heads to China, where he gets between a pair of Chinese beauties who'll do anything to improve East-West relations; en route, he takes cover on warship under fire with an explosive Malay maiden.
"A romp that will have lucky readers chortling with delight." (Publishers Weekly) Views: 713
Leorah Langdon has no patience for Regency society’s shallow hypocrisy and unnecessary rules, especially for women. She’s determined to defy convention by marrying for grand passion instead of settling for a loveless union like her parents—or wedding a stuffy, pompous gentleman like Edward, the Viscount Withinghall. But when a chance meeting in the countryside leads to Leorah and Withinghall being discovered in his overturned carriage—alone and after dark—the ensuing gossip may force them together.
Withinghall has his reasons for clinging to propriety; his father perished in a duel with his mistress’s husband, and Edward must avoid scandal himself if he wants to become prime minister. He certainly has no time for a reckless hoyden like Miss Langdon. But soon the two discover that Withinghall’s coach “accident” was no such thing: the vehicle was sabotaged.
Can the culprit be brought to justice? Strong-willed Leorah and duty-driven Withinghall will have to work together if they have any hope of saving her reputation, his political career—and his life. Views: 713
It is the year 2066. The American Government has changed dramatically. In a world where anyone can become president, there exists a system that judges the qualities of America's next leader. Its name is UNCLE SAM. Through this highly advanced supercomputer, qualified people are chosen without scrutiny and human fault. What was not foreseen, however, was SAM not choosing the next president of the United States. If something is not done, war will break out, and America will be no more. At a gathering of America's most powerful men, Harry Larkin is secretly sworn in as President. Although he is a political science professor, he manages to pull himself together in order to govern an America on the brink of a political meltdown. Views: 713
A masterfully told tale of passion, jealousy, heroism and betrayal set in the gruesome trenches of World War I.
It is September 1919: twenty-one-year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a package of letters to the sister of Will Bancroft, the man he fought alongside during the Great War.
But the letters are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He can no longer keep a secret and has finally found the courage to unburden himself of it. As Tristan recounts the horrific details of what to him became a senseless war, he also speaks of his friendship with Will--from their first meeting on the training grounds at Aldershot to their farewell in the trenches of northern France. The intensity of their bond brought Tristan happiness and self-discovery as well as confusion and unbearable pain.
The Absolutist is a masterful tale of passion, jealousy, heroism, and betrayal set in one of the most gruesome trenches of France during World War I. This novel will keep readers on the edge of their seats until its most extraordinary and unexpected conclusion, and will stay with them long after they've turned the last page. Views: 713
A perpetual wallflower destined for spinsterhood, Lady Elaine Warren is resigned to her position in society. So when Evan Carlton, the powerful, popular Earl of Westfeld, singles her out upon his return to England, she knows what it means. Her former tormenter is up to his old tricks, and she’s his intended victim. This time, though, the earl is going to discover that wallflowers can fight back.
Evan has come to regret his cruel, callow past. At first, he only wants to make up for past wrongs. But when Elaine throws his initial apology in his face, he finds himself wanting more. And this time, what torments him might be love… Views: 713
It is 1536 and the expert swordsman Jean Rombaud has been brought over from France by Henry VIII to behead his wife, Anne Boleyn. But on the eve of her execution Rombaud swears a vow to the ill-fated queen - to bury her six-fingered hand, symbol of her rumoured witchery, at a sacred crossroads. Yet in a Europe ravaged by religious war, the hand of this infamous Protestant icon is so powerful a relic that many will kill for it... From a battle between slave galleys to a Black Mass in a dungeon, through the hallucinations of St Anthony's Fire to the fortress of an apocalyptic Messiah, Jean seeks to honour his vow. Views: 712
Christianity has kept many secrets through the ages and none more powerful than the soulless exorcists: the GARGOYLES. Secretly carved from a cache of consecrated livingstone in the twelfth century, the gargoyle, Celestino, is brought to life by his Maker, a young woman called Iseo. Will he obey the required oath or betray everyone to follow his own desires?Christianity has kept many secrets through the ages and none more powerful than the soulless exorcists: the GARGOYLES. Secretly carved from a cache of consecrated livingstone in the twelfth century, the gargoyle, Celestino, is brought to life by his Maker, a young woman called Iseo. Once Celestino’s first breath is taken, his birth into the new world is complete and his training must begin. He is sequestered for his own safety in the hidden halls of the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in España. There he learns about the world of man and their Heaven, existing for forty days as a man of flesh & blood, before resting for seven days as a stone chimera. Because he has been birthed by mortal hands, Celestino is a soulless creature with a powerful free will. He must choose to obey the Codex of Gargoyles, or become the very thing he was meant to destroy.Will he obey the required oath or betray everyone to follow his own desires? This book is for those who love:• gargoyles• historical fiction• the world of demons and angels• true love Views: 712
Set between the events of 'The Siege' and 'The Imperial Banner', this compelling short story follows Roman agent Cassius Corbulo as he investigates a mysterious series of fires.We have conclusive proof in this issue that the May issue was more than just a fluke because we have yet another month's worth of fantastic science fiction and fantasy stories to deliver. This issue has some great surprises, too. While some seem to fit into traditional genres, such as alien invasion, fairy grove visitation, and haunting ghosts, there are also a few that defy description. For instance, what genre covers a botanist who finds more than he bargains for while searching for Ghost Orchids? There's a story that seems to be a general dystopia until you realize it's dealing with the most dystopic medium of all: reality television. And of course, how do you classify a story where the language changes as the story progresses?Now perhaps you can see why we're so proud of these stories.Of course, being the narcissistic sociopaths (say that ten times while drunk) that we are, we couldn't just let the fiction writers have all the fun, so you'll also see a few writing tips from me and the Editor-in Chief, Mike Cluff, near the end of this issue. They involve vehicular manslaughter and malicious fairy hit squads, so at least they should be interesting.Fiction Vortex publishes science fiction and fantasy short stories from writers around the world. All stories in this issue appeared on the FictionVortex.com site during the month of June 2013. Views: 711
A brilliant and breathtaking debut that captivated readers and garnered critical acclaim in the United Kingdom, The Tenderness of Wolves was long-listed for the Orange Prize in fiction and won the Costa Award (formerly Whitbread) Book of the Year.
The year is 1867. Winter has just tightened its grip on Dove River, a tiny isolated settlement in the Northern Territory, when a man is brutally murdered. Laurent Jammett had been a voyageur for the Hudson Bay Company before an accident lamed him four years earlier. The same accident afforded him the little parcel of land in Dove River, land that the locals called unlucky due to the untimely death of the previous owner.
A local woman, Mrs. Ross, stumbles upon the crime scene and sees the tracks leading from the dead man's cabin north toward the forest and the tundra beyond. It is Mrs. Ross's knock on the door of the largest house in Caulfield that launches the investigation. Within hours she will regret that knock with a mother's love -- for soon she makes another discovery: her seventeen-year-old son Francis has disappeared and is now considered a prime suspect.
In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the crime and to the township -- Andrew Knox, Dove River's elder statesman; Thomas Sturrock, a wily American itinerant trader; Donald Moody, the clumsy young Company representative; William Parker, a half-breed Native American and trapper who was briefly detained for Jammett's murder before becoming Mrs. Ross's guide. But the question remains: do these men want to solve the crime or exploit it?
One by one, the searchers set out from Dove River following the tracks across a desolate landscape -- home to only wild animals, madmen, and fugitives -- variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for seventeen years, and a forgotten Native American culture before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good.
In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly weaves adventure, suspense, revelation, and humor into an exhilarating thriller; a panoramic historical romance; a gripping murder mystery; and, ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, an epic for the ages. Views: 711
It’s the present day. Toby O’Dare—aka Lucky the Fox—is a contract killer of underground fame on assignment to kill once again. He’s a soulless soul, a dead man walking. His nightmarish world of lone and lethal missions is disrupted when a mysterious stranger, a seraph, offers him a chance to save rather than destroy lives. O’Dare, who long ago dreamt of being a priest, seizes his chance. Now he is carried back through the ages to thirteenth-century England, to dark realms where accusations of ritual murder have been made against Jews, where children suddenly die or disappear. In this primitive setting, O’Dare begins his perilous quest for salvation, a journey of danger and flight, loyalty and betrayal, selflessness and love.
From the Paperback edition. Views: 710
Winner of the Newbery Medal, this remarkably moving novel has impressed the hearts and minds of millions of readers.
Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family’s struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also Cassie’s story—Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect. Views: 710
