M. R. James is widely regarded as the father of the modern ghost story, and his tales have influenced horror writers from H. P. Lovecraft to Stephen King. First published in the early 1900s, they have never been out of print, and are recognized as classics of the genre. This collection contains some of his most chilling tales, including A View from a Hill, Rats, A School Story, The Ash Tree, and The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance. Read by BAFTA and Emmy-award winning actor Derek Jacobi, and with haunting and evocative music, these tales cannot fail to send a shiver down your spine. Views: 768
Iolanthe Tennyson has had a very bad year—due in part to the very bad men in her life. So, she’s accepted her cousin’s invitation to spend the summer in Austria indulging in her photography hobby. There, rumors of a haunted forest draw Iolanthe into the dark woods—and into the eighteenth century… Nikola Czerny is a cursed man, forced by his half-brothers to live forever as a Dark One. But his miserable existence takes an intriguing turn when a strange, babbling woman is thrown in his path. Iolanthe claims to know Nikola’s daughter—three hundred years in the future. She also knows what fate—in the form of his murderous half-brothers—has in store for him. If only she knew the consequences of changing the past to save one good, impossibly sexy vampire… Views: 768
A very short story about what might happen when Ireland can no longer afford to pay her debts to the European Central Bank.This story also features in Ireland Trilogy by Gary J Byrnes.This is a very short story about what might happen when Ireland can no longer afford to pay her debts to the European Central Bank.This story also features in Ireland Trilogy by Gary J Byrnes.Debt will set you free. Views: 768
Aurora Huntley, free-spirited sister to the earl of Pembourne, lives under the dark shadow of the black diamond. The victim of threats from privateers who believe her brother possesses the precious stone, Aurora is a virtual prisoner in her own home. She now faces a fate worse than death: an arranged marriage to an uninspiring suitor. Craving adventure and freedom, Aurora has no choice but to do something shocking, something scandalous....For two hundred pounds, a handsome stranger agrees to help Aurora stage her own ruin. But her kiss stuns him, and her name shocks him. She is a Huntley, and he is Julian Bencroft, the new duke of Morland. For generations their families have been bitter enemies because of the black diamond. Now, joining forces to claim the treasure, Julian and Aurora discover a love that is far more precious than any jewel. But first, they must conquer the evil that surrounds them -- or surrender their newfound joy to the diamond's age-old legacy of betrayal. Views: 767
A shot of Skulduggery action for free. It isn't easy to take over the world. First you need the scheme. Then you need the muscle. Then you need to come up with a system for ruling six billion people and keeping them fron revolting. It takes a certain kind of man to take over the world. Scaramouch Van Dreg, however, is not that man. But he has one thing going for him. He has his arch enemy, Skulduggery Pleasant, chained in his dungeon, and the only person who is coming to save him is the skeleton detective's 13 year old sidekick. What could possibly go wrong? Views: 767
In a single night everyone has vanished. Only Sophie remains; she goes to sleep one night and wakes to find that a sea of dreams has washed over the world. Technology has ground to a halt. Towns have disappeared. New animals, unicorns, gryphons, and giant beasts for which Sophie has no name, have appeared. Sophie will struggle to find others and save the world.In a single night, everyone has vanished. Only Sophie remains, a typical seventeen year old girl from Oregon. While hiking with her father, she goes to sleep one night and wakes up to find that a sea of dreams has washed over the world, irrevocably changing everything. Electricity no longer works. Technology has ground to a halt. Towns have disappeared. New animals, unicorns, gryphons, and giant beasts for which Sophie has no name, have appeared. In her determined quest to understand and to endure, Sophie finds other survivors. Zach, young, handsome and full of his own secrets is one. There is Gideon, a fifteen year old leader of a group of other survivors in the California Redwoods. There is also the Burned Man, an individual who wants Sophie dead for both thwarting him and escaping his sinister intentions. All have special psychic abilities in common, which leads Sophie to believe that is the reason they survived. Sophie’s premonitions, Zach’s eerie dreams of Sophie before the change, and Gideon’s supernatural powers of perception all link them together in a very dissimilar world. Sophie’s recently developed empathy to one of the new creatures, something that resembles both a firefly and a pixie, will guide her in her burgeoning role as both protector and protagonist in a startling newborn period. Magic is real. Technology is gone. The new and the old must learn to coexist or be vanquished forever. Sophie struggles to understand her responsibilities and to stay alive and one step ahead of the Burned Man. Views: 767
The Dean of Emerson College enlists Nancy to investigate the thefts of a valuable substance being used in a top-secret experiment. But when Nancy discovers that the experiment involves biological mutations, she knows she must find the culprit before the lives of everyone on campus are endangered. Views: 767
Returning home twenty years after a tragic accident that caused the Pennsylvania Dutch townspeople of Reflection to condemn her, Rachel Huber cares for her ailing grandmother despite open hostility and finds allies in two childhood friends.
The author of Brass Ring and Fire and Rain delivers an edge-of-your-seat story filled with secrets, surprises, and psychological suspense. "One of the premier writers of contemporary fiction." -- "Romantic Times"
Diane Chamberlain's background as a psychotherapist and clinical social worker is evident in her psychologically complex characters.Will appeal to fans of the novels of Anne Rivers Siddons, Barbara Delinsky, and Rosamunde Pilcher. Views: 766
A new e-book compilation of Alfred Bester's brilliant short fiction, Views: 766
Halloween only comes around once a year, and the Justices do it right. They turn their house into a museum of torture, sectioning off each room with a velvet rope. The exhibits are so terrifying that the local amusement park asks them for their secret. It's quite simple, actually. And four lucky--or unlucky--fans get to find out what it is first hand."For so many years, passionate fans of The Count of Monte Cristo have suffered a loss upon finishing Alexandre Dumas' last words. It is a grieving of sorts that has long been unmitigable... until now. The mysterious Holy Ghost Writer has penned "The Sultan of Monte Cristo" as a direct continuance of the story readers have long struggled against leaving behind. The adventure-laden journeys of Edmond Dantes continues in (Dumas') newly-honed role as investigative reporter who publishes his (original) book as part of (this) story. New life is breathed into those characters we all knew and loved (or loved to hate) in the original Count of Monte Cristo tale (what can now, finally, be referred to as Book 1). Haydee, the infamous Villeforts, and even Countess G are lifted from the stalemate of our beloved story and given new life, and readers will also be introduced to a host of colorful new characters (like the memorable Raymee) whose lives, loves, and circumstance flow comprehensively and effortlessly through the entire narrative. Amazingly, the prose so closely matches the mood, tone, pacing, and richness of environment of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo that this feels like the natural continuance of those lives. The sequel manages to introduce such a microscopic view into the full-flesh world our colorful characters engage in that readers can't help being sucked in. We cannot help but run breathlessly alongside them throughout the journey, to imagine the consequences between their words, to ponder on their insights and their woe-filled courses of action. We stand next to Mercedes as she lives and breathes; we get that rare glimpse into the future of the characters that Alexandre Dumas himself surely intended. Through well-defined and multilayered plotlines, the story's laser-point pacing, and rich character building, this work lends the quagmire of adventures, missteps, and danger-filled mysteries a guarantee of unforeseen, adventurous turns and cathartic "a-ha" insights. The Holy Ghost Writer seems a literary time-traveller: the swiftness with which he carries us straight into the 1800s is mind-boggling and a rare feat even in the best historical fiction writing. Excellent novel, and highly recommended!" Peanut's review. Views: 766
A mesmerising novel set in the Louisiana heartland from award-winning author James Lee Burke. Views: 766
In the latest installment of this infinitely enjoyable and best-selling series, Precious Ramotswe is doing what she does best--helping people with their problems and enjoying the simple pleasures of life.
Mma Ramotswe is busy investigating her latest case: a woman who is looking for her family. The problem is, the woman doesn't know her real name of whether any members of her family are now living. Meanwhile, Phuti Radiphuti has bought Mma Makutsi a glorious new bed. Unfortunately, it will inadvertently cause her several sleepless nights. And life is no less complicated at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni--Mma Ramotswe's estimable husband--has fallen under the sway of a doctor who has promised a miracle cure for his daughter's medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to believe. But Precious Ramotswe deals with these difficulties with her usual grace and good humor, and in the end discovers that the biggest miracles in life are often the small ones. Views: 766
Includes two free additional short stories.Santa's Claws – When troublemaker Ryan concocts a plan to get into Santa's magic sack, things don't work out quite as he expected. Recipe for death – Sam learns an important lesson about ticking off the lunch lady.Monitor Mayhem – There's something strange about the new baby monitor, but will Stephanie figure it out before it's too late?Includes two free additional short stories.Santa's Claws – When troublemaker Ryan concocts a plan to get into Santa's magic sack, things don't work out quite as he expected. Recipe for death – Sam learns an important lesson about ticking off the lunch lady.Monitor Mayhem – There's something strange about the new baby monitor, but will Stephanie figure it out before it's too late?Intended for younger readers; however, some scenes may be too intense for readers under 8. Views: 766
The acclaimed author of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles launches a powerful new trilogy about a prince's desperate quest for a sorcerous library to save his people.
Fire. Wind. Pestilence. Earthquake. Drought. Lightning. These are the six Decimates, wielded by sorcerers for both good and evil.
But a seventh Decimate exists--the most devastating one of all...
For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides brandishing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power. And now the Bellegerins stand defenseless.
Prince Bifalt, eldest son of the Bellegerin King, would like to see the world wiped free of sorcerers. But it is he who is charged with finding the repository of all of their knowledge, to find the book of the seventh Decimate--and reverse the fate of his land.
All hope rests with Bifalt. But the legendary library, which may or may not exist, lies beyond an unforgiving desert and treacherous mountains--and beyond the borders of his own experience. Wracked by hunger and fatigue, sacrificing loyal men along the way, Bifalt will discover that there is a game being played by those far more powerful than he could ever imagine. And that he is nothing but a pawn... Views: 766
Lacey's seventeen-year-old daughter, recently returned to London with his estranged wife, has disappeared, as have many street girls in Covent Garden. Desperately hunting for her, Lacey uncovers secrets about his wife's past--and his own life--that he must face before he can stop a killer. Views: 765
