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Robert Gu is a recovering Alzheimer's patient. The world that he remembers was much as we know it today. Now, as he regains his faculties through a cure developed during the years of his near-fatal decline, he discovers that the world has changed and so has his place in it. He was a world-renowned poet. Now he is seventy-five years old, though by a medical miracle he looks much younger, and he’s starting over, for the first time unsure of his poetic gifts. Living with his son’s family, he has no choice but to learn how to cope with a new information age in which the virtual and the real are a seamless continuum, layers of reality built on digital views seen by a single person or millions, depending on your choice. But the consensus reality of the digital world is available only if, like his thirteen-year-old granddaughter Miri, you know how to wear your wireless access—through nodes designed into smart clothes—and to see the digital context—through smart contact lenses.
With knowledge comes risk. When Robert begins to re-train at Fairmont High, learning with other older people what is second nature to Miri and other teens at school, he unwittingly becomes part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to use technology as a tool for world domination.
In a world where every computer chip has Homeland Security built-in, this conspiracy is something that baffles even the most sophisticated security analysts, including Robert’s son and daughter-in law, two top people in the U.S. military. And even Miri, in her attempts to protect her grandfather, may be entangled in the plot.
As Robert becomes more deeply involved in conspiracy, he is shocked to learn of a radical change planned for the UCSD Geisel Library; all the books there, and worldwide, would cease to physically exist. He and his fellow re-trainees feel compelled to join protests against the change. With forces around the world converging on San Diego, both the conspiracy and the protest climax in a spectacular moment as unique and satisfying as it is unexpected. Views: 387
Rector “Wreck ’em” Sherman was orphaned as a toddler in the Blight of 1863, but that was years ago. Wreck has grown up, and on his eighteenth birthday, he’ll be cast out out of the orphanage.
And Wreck’s problems aren’t merely about finding a home. He’s been quietly breaking the cardinal rule of any good drug dealer and dipping into his own supply of the sap he sells. He’s also pretty sure he’s being haunted by the ghost of a kid he used to know—Zeke Wilkes, who almost certainly died six months ago. Zeke would have every reason to pester Wreck, since Wreck got him inside the walled city of Seattle in the first place, and that was probably what killed him. Maybe it’s only a guilty conscience, but Wreck can’t take it anymore, so he sneaks over the wall.
The walled-off wasteland of Seattle is every bit as bad as he’d heard, chock-full of the hungry undead and utterly choked by the poisonous, inescapable yellow gas. And then there's the monster. Rector's pretty certain that whatever attacked him was not at all human—and not a rotter, either. Arms far too long. Posture all strange. Eyes all wild and faintly glowing gold and known to the locals as simply “The Inexplicables.”
In the process of tracking down these creatures, Rector comes across another incursion through the wall -- just as bizarre but entirely attributable to human greed. It seems some outsiders have decided there’s gold to be found in the city and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get a piece of the pie unless Rector and his posse have anything to do with it. Views: 387
On the unforgiving Arctic Ice . . .
United once again, Toklo, Lusa, Kallik, and Ujurak continue across the ice. Conditions are harsh and especially treacherous for the black bear and grizzly bears who are not used to the brutal cold, never-ending snow, and limited food. But the bears are certain now that they're on the right course, and with the stars still guiding them, they push forward.
When they reach land at last, the group is overjoyed, but something is not right. The bears who live here are ill. What's wrong with them? What can the foursome do to help? Is aiding these strangers the ultimate goal of their quest? Ujurak just might hold the key to their mission in his paws, yet it's Lusa the new bears are especially interested in.
Three young cubs, each from different backgrounds, and their mysterious shape-shifting companion have grown up together in their long and dangerous journey to save the wild. Now, when their task appears more difficult than ever, the bears must make a critical decision . . . and for one bear the path ends here. Views: 387
Scanned, converted, re-formatted, proofed, custom title page, custom book cover and eBook creation by Jerry. Views: 387
What do you do when an alien with exceptional physical abilities crash lands on Earth and leaves a path of death and destruction in its wake? You use biological modification to create an enhanced human able to match the alien in strength and speed. But is the result still human? Find the answer to this question in Randall Garrett\'s novel Anything You Can Do... Views: 387
Master storyteller Philip Pullman returns to the world of Lyra and Will, Mrs Coulter and Lee Scoresby, Pantalaimon and Iorek Byrnison, in this must-have companion to the His Dark Materials trilogy. A book of stunning, moving, exhilarating, breathtaking scenes set during the events of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass: from Serafina Pekkala sitting quietly on her cloud pine broom, listening to Dust, ahead of the epic battle with the Angels, to the capture of Lord Asriel by the armoured bears. Snapshot scenes that illuminate and expand upon Pullman's iconic world: they will fill the reader with wonder. … This His Dark Materials trilogy is a major, critically acclaimed HBO/BBC TV series starring Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy, Dafne Keen, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The perfect gift for every fan, of any age. His Dark Materials is one of the most popular and successful children's series of all time.... Views: 387
I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.
Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.
It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.
After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me? Views: 387
Tobin Wells enjoys a quiet, simple life in the magical realm of Elden Forest. That all changes with the explosive delivery of a mysterious package. Thrown into an unexpected adventure with the clever, Darcie Dannett, the two track an obscure signal throughout the kingdom. In this first novel in the Elden Forest series, Tobin and Darcie encounter self-relocating houses, Carrier Cubes, and peculiarIn the magical realm of Elden Forest, Tobin enjoys a simple life, employed by the local historian. That all changes with the explosive delivery of a mysterious package. Thrown into an unexpected adventure with the clever, Darcie Dannett, the two track an obscure signal throughout the kingdom. In this first novel in the Elden Forest series, Tobin and Darcie encounter self-relocating houses, Carrier Cubes, and peculiar knots of magic, as they search for a missing magician. Views: 387
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to a world devastated by change in her award-winning Psy-Changeling Trinity series, where two people defined by their aloneness hold the fate of the Psy in their hands. . . . Termed merciless by some, and a robotic sociopath by others, Payal Rao is the perfect Psy: cardinal telekinetic, CEO of a major conglomerate, beautiful—and emotionless.For Canto Mercant, family and loyalty are everything. A cardinal telepath deemed “imperfect” by his race due to a spinal injury, Canto cares for the opinions of very few—and ruthlessly protects those he claims as his own. Head of intel for the influential Mercant family, he prefers to remain a shadow in the Net, unknown and unseen. But Canto is also an anchor, part of a secretive designation whose task it is to stabilize the PsyNet. Now that critical psychic network is dying, threatening to collapse and kill the entire Psy race with... Views: 387
Prequel to Book One of The Gifted Series A story about a young lady with the goal of living a normal life, despite having an uncontrollable gift, being hunted by the government, and falling in love with the man that almost took her life.Prequel to Book One of The Gifted Series Lily East is different from other people and has been since her birth. The government has been trying to recruit her, wanting to use her uncontrollable gift to their advantage. After years of evading, Lily finally gives into her "civic duty" and helps the government solve cases gone cold. Her life outside of being a special agent is far from normal. And as if that isn't enough, she finds herself falling in love with the man who almost killed her. This is life, as she sees it. Coming soon, in Book One of The Gifted Series, you will learn the whole story, and how Lily's powers came to be. I hope you'll enjoy this novella until then. Views: 387
Tim Diamond—the world’s worst private detective—takes on his most dangerous case yet, and it’s going to be up to his brother to keep him out of trouble. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.
Available online here. Views: 386
In late Victorian England, anthropologist Sir Colin Scott Cross sets out to find the historical location of the Garden of Eden.An early short story by Charles Sheehan-Miles, author of the indie bestseller Republic: A Novel of America's Future.Zelf, a Welfing, a humanoid wolf, is lost in a hostile alternate universe: the world of 1935 London. Will she ever get home to First Den? But the unthinkable happens: she impresses on Zev the werewolf, standing in his wolf form gazing at her on the docks. This is book one in the Steam Submarine series. If you like Tolkien, CS Lewis, Fringe, Susanna Clarke's supernatural alternate histories, Naomi Novik, you will love this paranormal alternate history adventure. Download now and be captivated!Proloup: Reflexion of a WolfThere was no sound but for the steady murmuring of the drizzling rain pelting the submarine’s hull. In the shiny brass dashboard she caught a glimpse of her own reflexion. Bright golden eyes stared back at her, and in the shadow of her grey cape she glimpsed the grey and white fur on her muzzle and ears, and the wet black nose of a wolf.She bared her teeth at her own visual echo and growled a deeply satisfying growl.In this realm, she was the monster.If she was caught they would surely kill her, or even worse, in this strange world of vivisection and animal experimentation, she would end up in a laboratory somewhere, being prodded by sticks and pricked with needles and cut apart by knives, so that human scientists could see what it was that made her different from everything else.In her home, in her cubhood the monsters in the fairytales and stories were all humans: evil hunters with their guns and bombs and bad knights slashing and killing with swords and pikestaffs; crazed, savage, barbaric men.In the Red Riding Hood story in her world, the heroine was a wolf cub, and her grandmother was killed by a woodsman who lay in wait in Red Riding Hood’s bed for her to return, lying there inside her grandmother’s skin that had been flayed from the poor unfortunate old wolf matriarch. It was not a comforting story, and it did not end nicely, not in the version she knew. She did not like to think of the end of it - that one was not a story for cubs. But she had to admit that, despite its gruesomeness, there was a grain of truth in it.Hmph.In the Fallen Realms, she thought to herself, something is broken in the very fabric of the world - fruit and vegetables are no longer nutritious enough to sustain life - Zelf had almost died of malnutrition before she finally relented and ate meat, and only because she would not have been able to fulfil her mission if she had died.Hunting was not a pleasure for her; it was a sad necessity. She always killed her prey quickly and cleanly, and only took what she needed. Views: 386
Ancient beasts imbued with magic and prone to madness. Masters of a world where they are kings among men. Legendary creatures few have ever seen, and lived to tell the tale. Eldritch constructs bent to the service of godlike wizards. From four worlds of magic and mystery, one monster rises above all others to threaten death, offer hope, spread fear, or hoard treasure. No matter what the world, only a dragon can set it, and the imaginations of millions, afire. Four of the most exciting worlds in the history of fantasy come together for the first time in one volume, drawn together at last by the mighty dragons of myth and legend. Views: 386
Poor Fangs, the tarantula, is terribly lonely and bored with her life in the pet-shop. So when Nathan takes her home, she's more than excited about her new life. But before Nathan can introduce his new pet to his family, he's going to need her help to convince them that spiders aren't just creepy and crawly . . . They're beautiful and brave too!
This funny story from the Children's Laureate, Malorie Blackman, is perfect for building confidence in young readers - whether reading aloud or reading alone. Views: 386