Notes From The Underground is an 1864 novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Notes is considered by many to be one of the first existentialist novels. It presents itself as an excerpt from the rambling memoirs of a bitter, isolated, unnamed narrator (generally referred to by critics as the Underground Man) who is a retired civil servant living in St. Petersburg. The first part of the story is told in monologue form, or the underground man\'s diary, and attacks emerging Western philosophy, especially Nikolay Chernyshevsky\'s What Is to Be Done?. The second part of the book is called "Apropos of the Wet Snow", and describes certain events that, it seems, are destroying and sometimes renewing the underground man, who acts as a first person, unreliable narrator and anti-hero. Views: 289
We are not alone. It is inconceivable to think that no other life exists in the vastness of interstellar space. In 1977 NASA sent Voyager with a sampling of art, science and thought out into the cosmos. But what would an alien have made of these snapshots of Earth? How would our thought and music be interpreted and how might these gifts have influenced the evolution of an alien civilisation?Now, more than a century later Voyager 2 is lost, fifty billion kilometers deep in interstellar space and a deadly menace is threatening the future of humanity. An asteroid the size of an ocean liner is on collision course with Planet Earth. A ship has been despatched to intercept and redirect. But unbeknown to Oceania Base, KOTUKU II has been crippled by an event that has killed its captain and disabled the ship. Drifting in deep space out of touch with Earth, the crew has given up hope of rescue when they discover the ship is being sucked into the gravity of a strange grey planet. Apathy is set aside. They must restart their derelict ship or be drawn to a fiery death.The desert planet bears a strong resemblance to Earth. The inhabitants speak French and English. Their scholars are familiar with the sciences and philosophies of Planet Earth, notably the game of cricket and everyone knows the lyrics of ‘Johnny-B-Goode.’ The new arrivals are welcomed in some quarters. Steve, the first mate pursues a way to bring his dead captain back to life while Mohammed the ship’s cook becomes guru to the receptive ears of the Khadees Cricket Club. Meanwhile desert fires are burning. Hordes of fanatic acolytes are mobilising to annihilate the aliens. It becomes a race against time to repair the ship and escape before the jihad arrives. But even if the crew does manage to get their ailing craft airborne, can they complete their mission to save Planet Earth from the asteroid’s deadly attack? Views: 287
When relationships go bad, what exactly can happen? Open your world to twenty of the most twisted characters you'll ever encounter. Each short story is made up of fifty words. Did these eye splintering tales actually happen or were they just a figment of a warped mind's imagination?When twelve-year-old Rebecca’s parents quickly split up, she moves hundreds of miles away to a big city housing project. She has had to leave her Beatles album and record player behind. Everyone who lives in The Project gets called “just Project”. Her mother becomes seriously ill. A younger Project friend disappears. Her brother leaves. Her father won’t come to take her home. How can she become a teenager when every day is worse than the last one?In spite of the family chaos, Rebecca holds onto the dream of turning thirteen years old. She hangs around with an older Project girl and learns to think and speak like a teenager. They plan a teenage haircut and cool clothes for Rebecca. Rebecca sneaks away to the lookout where she thinks about how her life has changed. She thinks about the Project and poverty, which makes her madder.As she becomes a teenager, her rebellion intensifies. She fights with her mother. Yet there is more to being a teenager than pulling away. Rebecca searches for the deeper meaning to growing up. Views: 284
Jamie Kendrick is known for his bad decisions—jacking a squad car and turning it over in a ditch, for example. But he's going to show everyone. With some help from his brother—and a court-ordered ankle monitor—Jamie's going to get sober, join the army, and shake his white trash reputation. That is, until someone frames him for the grisly murders of his brother's family.Jamie Kendrick is known for his colossally bad decisions—jacking a squad car and turning it over in a ditch, for example. But he’s going to show everyone. With some help from his brother—and a court-ordered ankle monitor—Jamie is going to get sober, join the army, and shake his white trash reputation. He’s actually doing a decent job until someone frames him for the grisly murders of his brother's family. No one believes that Jamie is innocent. No one but a mysterious blonde with a gun. She gives Jamie a choice: spend the rest of his life in prison or help her take down the man who killed his brother and set him up. Views: 283
Raynard has spent a year looking for his family, lost in unknown circumstances. As he looks for help at the home of a successful merchant, he ends up getting more than what he bargained for. Now, evil is after him, hungry for his soul, his family is in peril and the destiny of the Universe rests on his own.The world of Alion, better known as the immortal world, the fabled center of the Universe immortalized in song, myth, legend, and home to the Gates of Creation. Powerful tunnels through time and space, the Gates of Creation connect all worlds in the vast Universe to Alion. The power of the Gates is the ultimate price and the powers of Darkness and Light struggle endlessly, for mastery of the Gates means mastery of Alion, and perhaps the power to challenge the Creator. Five thousand years ago, in the world of Alion, a man named Raynard is searching for his mother and brother, who disappeared mysteriously a year before. The journey has brought him to the door of a merchant who may be the one responsible for his family's disappearance. However, what started as a noble quest would become a test of Raynard’s heart and soul, forever altering the fate of Alion and humankind’s future.Coming soon, the sequel to Shattered Destiny and the first novel in the Traveler's Gate saga: Forgotten Tears! Views: 278
"With subtle humor and a charming regional voice, James Rhodes cleverly crafts a story of vengeance, mystery and witchcraft. Deftly weaving the ordinary and supernatural Rhodes leads readers along a path strewn with dreary workaday details offset by exciting glimpses of an otherworld that threatens to destroy the safety of the mundane."Kirsten Imani Kasai, Del Rey Books.Gary Turlough is falling deeper into his post-graduate slump as each day goes by. He is in a dead-end job with no prospects and, following a slight indiscretion with a local goth, his girlfriend is one more mistake away from heading back to New Zealand. Life in the small village of Hettford would be tough enough without the spirits of two 18th Century witches plotting to kill his only two friends.Milton and Dan are the real ale drinking hill-walkers of witch hunting: Nobody may believe them, nobody may reward them and they might not ever accomplish very much but nonetheless they remain devoted to their cause. With a slick sitcom format this novel is a must have for fans of paranormal comedy. Views: 269
Book one in an Exciting, Young Adult, Fantasy that enthralls readers with its unique blend of technology and magic that draws readers in of all ages.Book One in an exciting new trilogy that combines the worlds of both magic and technology to create an epic adventure that will spellbind readers of all ages!Tom Alerio, a young boy, soon realizes that his unique ability to wield magic will change his life forever. Sent away by his mother at a young age to protect him from the sisterhood who destroy all boys with the ability, Tom quickly finds those he can and can't trust. Between the many adventures he has, Tom encounters both. These experiences, with the addition of a trusted mentor and a new found relationship with a young enchantress, teach Tom that magic must be shared by men and women alike. Along the way Tom realizes that an ancient order called, Order of The Rose must return if he's to save those he has come to rely on and who now rely upon him. New technology and old magic rip the land apart while Tom fights to save all he has come to love and care for. Praise for Order of The Rose: Forsaken Petal: "There is action, drama, and you can't help but wonder and care about the characters closest to Tom." - Dee (Fantasy Writer) " What fascinated me the most was the history of magic and those who use it." - Christine Rains (Author of 13th floor series) If you enjoyed books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Dragonlance You'll love this epic adventure Views: 268
The twisty new psychological thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author A race against time to save her child... In seven days, Maggie's son, Max, turns three. But she's not planning a party or buying presents or updating his baby book. She's dreading it. Because in her world, third birthdays are the days on which the unthinkable happens... she loses her child. For the last twelve years Maggie has been imprisoned in a basement. Abducted aged fifteen, she gave birth to two sons before Max, and on their third birthdays her captor came and took them from her. She cannot let it happen again. But she has no idea how to stop it. And the clock is ticking... 'Great hook, fast-paced, fully engrossing. Don't miss out – read it now!' Sam Carrington, author of The Missing Wife Views: 262
Eight short stories and an account of three unrelated deaths in a boarding house with a quirk Topics. Homelessness. Cycle touring in France. A politically motivated murder. Tracing the birth Father in a group of swingers. Mismanagement of lottery winnings. Obsessive behaviour sometimes in bed.. Sci Fi the museum in Caen, Normandy reminded of the Nazis theories of eugenicsRohort Went to France. Rohort's a fallen star. A successful crime writer. He attempts to solve a simple crime, he fails. It's obvious he knows nothing about criminals. Travel will become his theme, crime is abandoned. He goes to France in search of inspiration. A snowstorm in Featherston is the last readable whodunnit by the novelist Rohort.He pillories the police Two fans go to Featherston to unearth the truth. He's been swapped in love for a policeman. He's attempted to solve some simple crimes, he can't. He's been outwitted by a homeless man living in a drain. His confidence is shaken, his writing skills desert him. The night in the Cemetery is a tale of homelessness, there's too much liquor at a funeral, there's a wager, do ghosts exists? A night spent in the cemetery will confirm. Some homeless men are sheltering in the cemetery, the ghost spotteres meet them. Lottery Town. There's disenchantment with the behaviour of lottery winners. The evaporation of the winnings. There's widespread disillusionment. Lottery Town will be built, there the winners will live, their money will be managed . The search for the Father. There's a group of Swingers. A daughter is born, she's an infant star, there's money in abundance. But who is the Father? There's envy. "What did he do to deserve it? He had to get someone else to do it with his wife. "Was one sour comment. Teront. Is a tale of obsessive behaviour, the location bed. There's a description of an erotic act in a public toilet. The narrator recognises the hand writing.it's Teront's. Teront's a lady killer, many is the number. Then there's tragedy, a road accident, a much loved uncle suffers loss. It's traumatic and has reach, Teront's affected, the count becomes one lady. Hombo was inspired by a visit to the memorial in Caen Normandy. It reminded of the Nazis theories of eugenics. In the new world order the possibility of unsatisfactory children is eliminated until Hombo messes it up. MS found sculling in the rubbish is an account of three unrelated deaths in a boarding house. No homicide, two were natural causes, one probably suicide,. There was a quirk in all three. Justice. Extravagant promises in an election have won power. Clayton, the central character sees a future dimmed by debt. He shoots the leader. At his trial flaws in the democratic process are exposed.. Views: 262
As in her former books, Alice Miller again focusses on facts. She is as determined as ever to cut through the veil that, for thousands of years now, has been so meticulously woven to shroud the truth. And when she lifts that veil and brushes it aside, the results are astonishing, as is amply demonstrated by her analyses of the works of Nietzsche, Picasso, Kollwitz, Keaton and others. With the key shunned by so many for so long - childhood - she opens rusty looks and offers her readers a wealth of unexpected perspectives.What did Picasso express in "Guernica"? Why did Buster Keaton never smile? Why did Nietzsche heap so much opprobrium on women and religion, and lose his mind for eleven years? Why did Hitler and Stalin become tyrannical mass murderers? Alice Miller investigates these and other questions thoroughly in this book. She draws from her discoveries the conclusion that human beings are not "innately" destructive, that they are made that way by ignorance, abuse, and... Views: 256
Thirty-four years have gone by since an ingenious biochemist, named Louis Picard, invented the ultimate anti-aging drug in 1981, that is known as Telomerax. An apocalyptic novel based on political and scientific facts, “The Last Enemy” blends reality and fiction with a reflection on human nature and her possible future. This volume collects the first three parts, available also as separate ebooks“The last enemy to be destroyed shall be death”, wrote St. Paul in his letters. But what if someone has already managed to defeat it? Thirty-four years have gone by since an ingenious biochemist, named Louis Picard, invented the ultimate anti-aging drug in 1981, that is known as Telomerax. Louis was obliged to form a selected group of technology entrepreneurs, finance mavens, and secret service professionals to help strategically spread knowledge of the drug. The discovery of Telomerax carried obvious dangers with it, eventually leading to the collapse of society and the near-extinction of mankind, in the ruthless war that broke out. Survivors set out to design a new society, specially designed for the half-gods that individuals were becoming. An action-packed and thrilling apocalyptic novel, “The Last Enemy”, brings to light many issues that we face today, from the clash between the power of the state and the right of citizens, to respecting our limits and controlling the human drive to push ourselves beyond those very limits. Views: 256
In this third novel in the Darby Holland Crime Novel series, Darby's past rises up to do more than haunt him. You can run, but in the information age you can only hide for so long. Midnight Rider Productions is a dark web nightmare machine, headed by the one man who years ago drove Darby to hide in the seamy environs of Old Town and make his life there. But Darby left his own mark back in the day and the shadowy head of production has a grudge to settle. Rider has found him at long last and plans to make an example of him. Every dark secret of Darby's is exposed, every triumph reversed, every dream made real is set on fire, and as the Feds circle, smelling blood in the water, Darby has to run the most brutal rearguard action in the history of crime-meets-crime and gamble that he has finally grown powerful enough, crazy enough, and hard enough to beat the Devil himself. Meanwhile is best friend and should-be lover Delia, is about to be married to someone with his own dark secrets.... Views: 246
