Imagine having the power to see briefly into the future, or being able to kill someone through a magic candle. Imagine someone playing war like a childhood game and winning, or going to Mars and yet seeing Earth and people from one's memory.These characters are from a few of Ray Bradbury's previously uncollected early tales that are gathered in this compilation. In these stories, we get a clear glimpse of the beginnings of this SF master. Mars, even then, is already hostile and unwelcoming to colonizing Earthmen, and yet, at the same time, it is also portrayed as just another planet, with creatures ready to strike back and defend their home.Bradbury's work, whether science fiction set in space or in Mars, or horror stories and suspense, are always a treat to read. They show psychological depth and sophistication, holding up a mirror to us from which we can see our foibles and strengths, and all the characteristics that make us human. Views: 28
In 1953, the brilliant but terrifying titan of cinema John Huston summons the young writer Ray Bradbury to Ireland. The apprehensive scribe's quest is to capture on paper the fiercest of all literary beasts -- Moby Dick -- in the form of a workable screenplay so the great director can begin filming.But from the moment he sets foot on Irish soil, the author embarks on an unexpected odyssey. Meet congenial IRA terrorists, tippling men of the cloth impish playwrights, and the boyos at Heeber Finn's pub. In a land where myth is reality, poetry is plentiful, and life's misfortunes are always cause for celebration, Green Shadows, White Whale is the grandest tour of Ireland you'll ever experience -- with the irrepressible Ray Bradbury as your enthusiastic guide. Views: 28
Sunday Times bestselling author Adele Parks asks can dreams live up to reality in her addictive novel set in glorious sun-drenched Italy, where a marriage crumbles, cultures clash and love affairs begin...When Elizabeth and her Italian husband Roberto decide to leave London for romantic Italy and his family business, Elizabeth hopes the change in lifestyle might help boost her chances of conceiving their longed for child. But the idyll shatters as her wily mother-in-law seems bent on destroying her marriage, and Roberto's beautiful, significant ex is a constant unwanted presence. Unwanted by Elizabeth, at least. Is Elizabeth's ferocious hunger for a baby enough to hold a marriage together or is it ripping it apart? And what about the gorgeous American stranger who's suddenly walked into her life? *Includes bonus material Views: 28
In this evocative and moving book, composer and broadcaster Andrew Ford shares the vivid musical experiences – good, bad and occasionally hilarious – that have shaped his life.Ford's musical journey has traversed genres and continents, and his loves are broad and deep. The Memory of Music takes us from his childhood obsession with the Beatles to his passion for Beethoven, Brahms, Vaughan Williams, Stockhausen and Birtwistle, and to his work as a composer, choral conductor, concert promoter, critic, university teacher and radio presenter.The Memory of Music is more than a wonderful memoir – it also explores the nature and purpose of music: what it is, why it means so much to us and how it shapes our worlds. The result is a captivating work that will appeal to music lovers everywhere.'Andrew Ford's wide-ranging musical autobiography is a pleasure to read. Accessible, informative and packed with anecdotes, it's an excellent guide to... Views: 28
A mesmerising, luminously beautiful new poetry collection from Anne Michaels, internationally acclaimed poet and bestselling author of Fugitive PiecesIn this passionate, profound collection, Anne Michaels explores one of her essential concerns: 'what love makes us capable of, and incapable of'. Here is the paradox at the heart of loss, the ways in which passion must accept, must insist, that 'death ... give/not only take from us'. A sea in darkness, a woman's hair shining in light, rain falling... how quiet must a voice be in order to be heard? In this way, desire is evoked with intensity and precision. By the end, we are left with a renewed awareness of the mystery at the core of existence; we enter a space that is 'not inside, not outside: / dusk's doorway,' where love remains alive. Views: 28
For nearly fifty years, Edgar Rice Burroughs's last Tarzan manuscript lay untouched and unfinished, locked away in a vault. It was the stuff of legend until, finally, the magnificent tale was completed with the help of award-winning author Joe R. Lansdale.
Once again the roar of Tarzan resounds through Africa as the Lord of the Jungle battles the savage creatures of the wild and helps a beautiful woman search for ancient Ur, lost city of gold. But Tarzan discovers they aren't alone in their quest. For evil follows in his path, and terror awaits him and his fierce lion Jad-bal-ja in Ur, where incredible treasures lie and horrors even more awesome hunger to destroy the mighty hero. Views: 28
A beloved American writer whose books are championed by critics and readers alike, Sherman Alexie has been hailed by Time as "one of the better new novelists, Indian or otherwise." Now his acclaimed new collection, The Toughest Indian in the World, which received universal praise in hardcover, is available in paperback. In these stories, we meet the kind of American Indians we rarely see in literature -- the kind who pay their bills, hold down jobs, fall in and out of love. A Spokane Indian journalist transplanted from the reservation to the city picks up a hitchhiker, a Lummi boxer looking to take on the toughest Indian in the world. A Spokane son waits for his diabetic father to come home from the hospital, tossing out the Hershey Kisses the father has hidden all over the house. An estranged interracial couple, separated in the midst of a traffic accident, rediscover their love for each other. A white drifter holds up an International House of Pancakes, demanding a dollar per customer and someone to love, and emerges with $42 and an overweight Indian he dubs Salmon Boy. Sherman Alexie's voice is one of remarkable passion, and these stories are love stories -- between parents and children, white people and Indians, movie stars and ordinary people. Witty, tender, and fierce, The Toughest Indian in the World is a virtuoso performance by one of the country's finest writers. Views: 28
A Crossroads Café Short Story 47 pages longShe's destined to love Gus MacBride—if she survives her first year in the Crossroads Cove.A thread of hope is all she needs.Damaged, confused, alone. Cathy Deen Mitternich recognizes her old self in the fragile survivor huddled in the sheep barn's storage room at Rainbow Goddess Farm.Former art teacher Lucy Parmenter may be beyond even the tough-love magic of the farm, a live-in counseling center for abused women. Afraid to set a foot outside, drugged on medication, and filled with despair, Lucy needs the big biscuit magic of the Crossroad Café's Delta Whittlespoon. Together, Cathy and Delta search for a lifeline that represents Lucy's best hope of holding on.Their search ends in Lucy's new home at the barn. When Lucy discovers the magic there, neither she nor Cathy will ever be the same. Views: 28
