Wendy Mass tells the story of Beauty and the Beast, as never heard before!When you're stuck with the name Beauty, people expect a lot from you - like beauty and grace and courage and a sense of style. But what if you have none of these things? What if all you like to do is read books and search for odd objects that other people drop? Oh, and you have a perfect older sister who really should have had your name instead of you.And when you're a prince, you're supposed to be athletic and commanding and brave and tall. But what if you are none of those things? What if all you like to do is play the bagpipes (badly), study the stars, and try to figure out how to make worms live forever? Oh, and you also have a perfect older brother who is a lot more princely than you'll ever be.But when Beauty's life turns completely upside down and she is forced to head out into the world, she has to figure out just who she wants to be. And when Prince Riley suddenly grows fur, and nails as... Views: 14
SUMMARY:Those who dare swear by the Runestaff must then benefit or suffer from the consequences of the fixed pattern of destiny that they set in motion. Several such oaths have been sworn in the history of the Runestaff's existence... - The High History of the Runestaff. Dorian Hawkmoon, late the Duke of Koln, fell under the power of the Runestaff, a mysterious artifact more ancient than Time itself. His destiny, shaped by a vengeful oath sworn by the maddened Baron Meliadus of the Dark Empire, pitted Hawkmoon in battle against his own allies and forced him, by the Black Jewel embedded in his skull, to betray his very heritage. From Publishers WeeklyThis classic sword and sorcery novel from 1967 finds a shattered future Europe recovering from the Tragic Millennium spent under the control of the overtly evil Dark Empire of Granbretan. The reclusive Count Brass, lord of the former French region Kamarg, enrages the empire when he spurns an offer of alliance. Imperial envoy Baron Meliadus sends defeated rebel Dorian Hawkmoon to kidnap Brass's daughter, Yisselda, but Hawkmoon's inherent morality, his own infatuation with Yisselda, and Brass's kindness lead Hawkmoon to ally with Brass though he knows it spells his own doom. This novel is quite short by modern standards, giving the story a compressed and distilled effect. There is little space for nuanced politics or any depth of characterization, but the action is extremely fast-paced, and Moorcock fits more plot into 224 pages than other authors manage in a dozen volumes. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"The greatest writer of post-Tolkien British fantasy." --Michael Chabon, _New York Times bestselling author of The Yiddish Policemen's Union _"If you are at all interested in fantastic fiction, you must read Michael Moorcock. He changed the field single-handedly: he's a giant. He has kept me entertained, shocked, and fascinated for as long as I have been reading."--Tad Williams, New York Times bestselling author of the Otherland series Views: 14
Modigliani. Unarguably one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Modigliani's women. Those elongated, haunting figures, as eternally provocative as the Mona Lisa. Adn Modigliani's missing masterpiece. A priceless lost treasure - or a chillingly dangerous game? Up and coming artist Peter Usher has still to exhibit anywhere, still to make even the most modest mark on the London art scene. But as rumour turns to reality, Usher finds himself caught up in a race to uncover the shadowy figures behind a breathtaking scam. Will art genius ever be rewarded? Will the brush prove more deadly than the gun? Views: 14
Bea has started to hear and see things that no one else can – creatures, voices, visions. Then strangers visit Bea and tell her she is different: she has the rare powers of a witch. They warn her she is being hunted. Her parents think she is hallucinating and needs help. All Bea wants to do is get on with her life, and to get closer to Lars, the mysterious young man she has met at the skate park. But her life is in danger, and she must break free. The question is – who can she trust?Carnegie Medal-winner Melvin Burgess returns with a powerful, thrilling fantasy for young adults about magic, myth and following your instincts. Views: 14
EDITORIAL REVIEW:
**“Dogs are blameless, devoid of calculation, neither blessed nor cursed with human motives. They can’t really be held responsible for what they do. But we can.”–from *The Dogs of Bedlam Farm***When Jon Katz adopted a border collie named Orson, his whole world changed. Gone were the two yellow Labs he wrote about in *A Dog Year,* as was the mountaintop cabin they loved. Katz moved into an old farmhouse on forty-two acres of pasture and woods with a menagerie: a ram named Nesbitt, fifteen ewes, a lonely donkey named Carol, a baby donkey named Fanny, and three border collies. Training Orson was a demanding project. But a perceptive dog trainer and friend told Katz: “If you want to have a better dog, you will just have to be a better goddamned human.” It was a lesson Katz took to heart. He now sees his dogs as a reflection of his willingness to improve, as well as a critical reminder of his shortcomings. Katz shows us that dogs are often what we make them: They may have their own traits and personalities, but in the end, they are mirrors of our own lives–living, breathing testaments to our strengths and frustrations, our families and our pasts.*The Dogs of Bedlam Farm* recounts a harrowing winter Katz spent on a remote, windswept hillside in upstate New York with a few life-saving friends, ugly ghosts from the past, and more livestock than any novice should attempt to manage. Heartwarming, and full of drama, insight, and hard-won wisdom, it is the story of his several dogs forced Katz to confront his sense of humanity, and how he learned the places a dog could lead him and the ways a doge could change him.*From the Hardcover edition.* Views: 14
A stunning novel of loss, memory, despair and deliverance by one of Canada’s best young fiction writers, set on a Mormon ranch in nineteenth-century Utah.Dorrie, a shock-pale child with a mass of untameable black hair, cannot recall anything of her life before she recovered from an illness at seven. A solitary child, she spends her spare time learning the art of taxidermy, completely fascinated by the act of bringing new and eternal life to the bodies of the dead. At fourteen, her parents marry her off to Erastus Hammer, a polygamous horse breeder and renowned hunter, who does not want to bed her. The role he has in mind for his fourth and youngest wife is creator of trophies of his most impressive kills, an urgent desire in him as he is slowly going blind. Happy to be given this work, Dorrie secludes herself in her workshop, away from Mother Hammer’s watchful eyes and the rivalry between the elder wives.But as the novel opens, Hammer has brought Dorrie his latest kills, a family of wolves, and for the first time in her short life she struggles with her craft, dreaming each night of crows and strange scenes of violence. The new hand, Bendy Drown, is the only one to see her dilemma and to offer her help, a dangerous game in a Mormon household. Outside, a lone wolf prowls the grounds looking for his lost pack, and his nighttime searching will unearth the tensions and secrets of this complicated and conflicted family.Inspired by the real events of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857, Alissa York blends fact with fiction in a haunting story of a family separated by secrets and united by faith.From the Hardcover edition.Review“A small masterpiece. . . . Exhilarating and genuinely fresh.” —National Post“York’s writing is graphic and impressionistic, sharp-edged and sensual. Though both style and landscape at times bring to mind Annie Dillard and Cormac McCarthy, York’s voice is very much her own.” —Quill & Quire“York’s mesmerizing tale is rich in historical detail and driven by a cast of deftly drawn and perfectly memorable characters ... A wonderful book.”—Lori Lansens"Alissa York's Effigy is a historical fiction almost frighteningly real. Her creation of Erastus Hammer’s four wives and complex household in frontier Utah is so precise and convincing, and allows the reader so entirely and readily inside, that the only uncertainty is how to get back to the present again. This is a rewarding read. Don’t miss it."—Fred StensonFrom the Trade Paperback edition.About the AuthorAlissa York’s highly acclaimed first novel, Mercy, was published in 2003. She won the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher for her short story collection, Any Given Power. Her stories have also won the Journey Prize and the Bronwen Wallace Award, and in 2001 she won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. She has lived all over Canada, and now makes her home in Toronto. Views: 14
The timeless classic novel of exile, courage and survival. Richard Adams is the author of many bestselling novels, including Watership Down (1974), Shardik (1976), The Plague Dogs (1978), The Girl in a Swing (1980), Maia (1985), and Traveller (1988), as well as several works of nonfiction, including his autobiographical The Day Gone By (1991). He and his wife live in the south of England. Views: 14
In Hollywood during the Roaring Twenties, Celeste DuFrane has it all. Her father's work with color movie film opens doors that lead to the stardom she's always aspired to. But after losing her mother, she discovers that half the estate has been left to a woman accused of killing Celeste's baby sister before Celeste was even born.Dana Lundgren arrives on the steps of the DuFrane mansion having spent most of her life imprisoned for a crime that never happened. After accusing her of murder so many years ago, why did Marguerite DuFrane leave her a sizeable inheritance?As Celeste and Dana learn each other's stories, they come up with more questions than answers. Then a surprising discovery begins to fill in the missing pieces: Marguerite DuFrane's written confession, penned shortly before her death. Uncovering the treachery and deceit that changed the course of countless lives—most of all, their own—the two women find more than they ever dreamed of. Views: 14
From one of the world's foremost popular historians, a detailed and
intricate portrait of the last days of one of the most influential and
important figures in English history.The imprisonment and
execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, was
unprecedented in the annals of English history. It was sensational in
its day, and has exerted endless fascination over the minds of
historians, novelists, dramatists, poets, artists, and filmmakers ever
since.Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading up to Anne's
arrest and imprisonment in May 1536. Was it Henry VIII who, estranged
from Anne, instructed Master Secretary Thomas Cromwell to fabricate
evidence to get rid of her so that he could marry Jane Seymour? Or did
Cromwell, for reasons of his own, construct a case against Anne and her
faction, and then present compelling evidence before the King?Following
the coronation of her daughter Elizabeth I as queen, Anne was venerated
as a martyr and heroine. Over the centuries, she has inspired many
artistic and cultural works and has remained ever-present in England's,
and the world's, popular memory. Alison Weir draws on her unsurpassed
expertise in the Tudor Period to chronicle the downfall and dramatic
final days of this influential and fascinating woman. Views: 14
