Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston return to their Ender's Game prequel series with this first volume of an all-new trilogy about the Second Formic War in The Swarm. The first invasion of Earth was beaten back by a coalition of corporate and international military forces, and the Chinese army. China has been devastated by the Formic's initial efforts to eradicate Earth life forms and prepare the ground for their own settlement. The Scouring of China struck fear into the other nations of the planet; that fear blossomed into drastic action when scientists determined that the single ship that wreaked such damage was merely a scout ship.There is a mothership out beyond the Solar System's Kuiper Belt, and it's heading into the system, unstoppable by any weapons that Earth can muster.Earth has been reorganized for defense. There is now a Hegemon, a planetary official responsible for keeping all the formerly warring nations in line. There's a... Views: 59
The most ingenious criminal in the world came up with his most spectacular exploit. He hires for his team — a top weapons expert, who could steal and use the newest, most secret military equipment. — the best cat burgular, who could scale any heights. — a man whose extraordinary strength and ingenuity could conquer any obstacle. Faced with this audacious crime of the century, the world's politicians could only trust to UNACO and its team. Views: 59
"This world to me is but a ceaseless storm Whirring me from my friends." --Pericles Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of this classic tragicomedy of good and evil in many guises. THIS VOLUME ALSO INCLUDES MORE THAN A HUNDRED PAGES OF EXCLUSIVE FEATURES: an original Introduction to Periclesincisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about the workcommentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designersphotographs of key RSC productionsan overview of Shakespeare's theatrical career and chronology of his plays Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first... Views: 59
Ackroyd's retelling of Chaucer's classic isn't exactly like the Ethan Hawke'd film version of Hamlet, but it's not altogether different, either. Noting in his introduction that the source material is as close to a contemporary novel as Wells Cathedral is to an apartment block, Ackroyd translates the original verse into clean and enjoyable prose that clears up the roadblocks readers could face in tackling the classic. The Knight's Tale, the first of 24 stories, sets the pace by removing distracting tics but keeping those that are characteristic, if occasionally cringe-inducing, like the narrator's insistence on lines like, Well. Enough of this rambling. The rest of the stories continue in kind, with shorter stories benefiting most from Ackroyd's treatment, though the longer entries tend to… ramble. The tales are a serious undertaking in any translation, and here, through no fault of Ackroyd's work, what is mostly apparent is the absence of the original text, making finishing this an accomplishment that seems diminished, even if the stories themselves prove more readable. *** A fresh, modern prose retelling captures the vigorous and bawdy spirit of Chaucer's classic Renowned critic, historian, and biographer Peter Ackroyd takes on what is arguably the greatest poem in the English language and presents the work in a prose vernacular that makes it accessible to modern readers while preserving the spirit of the original. A mirror for medieval society, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales concerns a motley group of pilgrims who meet in a London inn on their way to Canterbury and agree to take part in a storytelling competition. Ranging from comedy to tragedy, pious sermon to ribald farce, heroic adventure to passionate romance, the tales serve not only as a summation of the sensibility of the Middle Ages but as a representation of the drama of the human condition. Ackroyd's contemporary prose emphasizes the humanity of these characters-as well as explicitly rendering the naughty good humor of the writer whose comedy influenced Fielding and Dickens-yet still masterfully evokes the euphonies and harmonies of Chaucer's verse. This retelling is sure to delight modern readers and bring a new appreciation to those already familiar with the classic tales. Views: 59
Thomas C. Squire, creator of the hit documentary series Frankenstein Among the Arts, one-time secret agent and founder of the Society for Popular aesthetics, is attending an international media symposium in Sicily. It is here that he becomes involved with lovely, but calculating Selina Ajdina. Alongside the drama of the conference is the story of Squire’s private life—the tale of his infidelity, the horrifying circumstances surrounding his father’s death and the threatened future of his ancestral home in England. Selected by Anthony Burgess as one of the 99 best novels since 1939. Views: 59
For Step Fletcher, his pregnant wife DeAnne, and their three children, the move to tiny Steuben, North Carolina, offers new hope and a new beginning. But from the first, eight-year-old Stevie's life there is an unending parade of misery and disaster.Cruelly ostracized at his school, Stevie retreats further and further into himself -- and into a strange computer game and a group of imaginary friends.But there is something eerie about his loyal, invisible new playmates: each shares the name of a child who has recently vanished from the sleepy Southern town. And terror grows for Step and DeAnne as the truth slowly unfolds. For their son has found something savagely evil ... and it's coming for Stevie next. Views: 59
For fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, a gripping short story from the New York Times bestselling author of Woman with a Secret. Don't say I didn't warn you... When a kindly stranger does Chloe a good deed, she decides she must repay him. But in tracing him, she meets a sympathetic woman named Nadine, who warns Chloe to stay away from the man at all costs. "Give him nothing, tell him nothing, don't trust him," she says. "Avoid him like the plague." Chloe knows the sensible thing to do: walk away. But her curiosity gets the best of her. What is the truth about the good Samaritan? How dangerous could he be? And can Chloe find the answers without putting herself and her daughter in harm's way? A twisting, razor-sharp suspense story that will keep you guessing to the very end, The Warning features an appearance from Simon Waterhouse, next seen in the full-length thriller Woman with a Secret - already hailed as "mesmerizing" (Lisa Gardner) and "unputdownable" (Liane Moriarty). Views: 59
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkin's comes a new heartbreakingly tender middle grade novel-in-verse about the bonds between two brothers and the love they share.Twelve-year-old Trace Reynolds has always looked up to his brother, mostly because Will, who's five years older, never looked down on him. It was Will who taught Trace to ride a bike, would watch sports on TV with him, and cheer him on at the ski slopes. But when Will was knocked out cold during a football game, resulting in a brain injury—everything changed. Now, sixteen months later, their family is still living under the weight of "the incident," that left Will with a facial tic, depression, and an anger he cannot always control, culminating in their parents' divorce. Afraid of further fracturing his family, Trace begins to cover for Will as he escalates to stealing money and ditching school. But when the brother he loves so much becomes more and more withdrawn, Trace realizes some... Views: 59
James Alliston, a famous New York writer, is struggling with his arrival in Los Angeles. After being left by his wife, and with a small child, he will try to rebuild a new life in the city where he grew up, under the advice of his best friend and literary agent, Andy Jackson. Despite being more than willing to put his head in order once and for all, he immediately finds himself in unseemly scenarios that make him lose some of his credibility and seriousness as a writer. His arrival in Los Angeles will be impetuous and although he does not want to be immediately recognized by the literary and film scene, his fame, and that of his agent, precede them, but not in a positive way. In the meantime, his agent will have to deal with his small flaws of lust, all under the watchful eyes of his wife. Old acquaintances will present themselves and he will have to deal with them, while, struggling with a real contract for his new novel, he will have to settle in the warm metropolis full of... Views: 59
A major literary event: the first volume in the definitive, complete collection of the letters of Sylvia Plath—most never before seen.One of the most beloved poets of the modern age, Sylvia Plath continues to inspire and fascinate the literary world. While her renown as one of the twentieth century's most influential poets is beyond dispute, Plath was also one of its most captivating correspondents. The Letters of Sylvia Plath is the breathtaking compendium of this prolific writer's correspondence with more than 120 people, including family, friends, contemporaries, and colleagues. The Letters of Sylvia Plath includes her correspondence from her years at Smith, her summer editorial internship in New York City, her time at Cambridge, her experiences touring Europe, and the early days of her marriage to Ted Hughes in 1956.Most of the letters are previously unseen, including sixteen letters written by Plath to Hughes when they were apart after their... Views: 59
