One of the most celebrated writers of our time gives us his first cycle of short fiction: five brilliantly etched, interconnected stories in which music is a vivid and essential character.
A once-popular singer, desperate to make a comeback, turning from the one certainty in his life . . . A man whose unerring taste in music is the only thing his closest friends value in him . . . A struggling singer-songwriter unwittingly involved in the failing marriage of a couple he’s only just met . . . A gifted, underappreciated jazz musician who lets himself believe that plastic surgery will help his career . . . A young cellist whose tutor promises to “unwrap” his talent . . .
Passion or necessity—or the often uneasy combination of the two—determines the place of music in each of these lives. And, in one way or another, music delivers each of them to a moment of reckoning: sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, sometimes just eluding their grasp.
An exploration of love, need, and the ineluctable force of the past, Nocturnes reveals these individuals to us with extraordinary precision and subtlety, and with the arresting psychological and emotional detail that has marked all of Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed works of fiction. Views: 719
An Amazon Top 100 SellerA Shadow Passed Over the Son is the first installment of the adult-friendly epic adventure serial series The Go-Kids, quality science fiction from award-winning writer Ryan Schneider.An Amazon Top 100 SellerA Shadow Passed Over the Son is the first installment of the adult-friendly epic adventure serial series The Go-Kids, quality science fiction from award-winning writer Ryan Schneider.Thirteen-year-old Parker Perkins lives in Manhattan with his mom and dad. Today is Parker's 10th birthday. But Parker's birthday takes a sudden turn and his life will never be the same.Though it is a story about kids, it is far more than just a kids' story. It is a story involving young protagonists dealing with universal themes of growing up, friendship, making the right moral choices, and loss of innocence. Ride along during the ongoing adventures of Parker, Sunny, Bubba, Igby, and Colby, characters readers will come to know and love. Views: 719
How does the stonemason make such perfect statues?Will the girl of young Thomas' dreams find the gift he left for her?What does the strange creature on the deserted planet want from Captain Anderson?These and other questions are explored in The Stonemason and Other Tales. Four stories of the disturbing and the macabre that will take you into the darkest nights and coldest tombs you can fathom.Two homes in the mountainsSnowed in for winter’s keep;A river in between them,A rope tight o’er the deep.A mother and her daughter,A father and his son,A cottage and a cabin,A story yet unspunBut time did freeze a tin canDangling from that ropeA messenger from days gone by,Echoing long lost hope.Until a cold November daySaw decades fall away;Young hands inscribed a folded scrap,A missive sent to say…_________________So begins the plucky correspondence of Timothy and Genevieve, two children about to uncover a story long-buried... one filled with love, with loss, and with hope. An enchanting Christmas story laced with joy, God's healing hand in the broken places of life weaves through each letter passed over the river in that tin-can strung from the rusted pulley. Enter into a simpler time in this petite tale, written to be just long enough to tuck into a stolen moment as you rest your feet and quiet your heart in the bustle of a busy season. Views: 719
Book 3 of The Athena Universe. Someone's been messing with genetics on Earth in Saphora's absence.The last thing on prince Xander's mind was becoming king. He'd much rather explore the world, make new discoveries. Unfortunately, he gets his wish in ways he hadn't imagined. Upon Saphora's return, he finds himself infatuated with the idea of visiting Earth. And so he does. But what he finds is unexpected. Seems like someone's found use for Saphora even in her absence. And it looks like people are lining up to get a taste of it. But what does that mean for Earth? With him being called back for the war on Athena, what will Xander do to save his newly beloved planet? Views: 719
A blink in reality leaves CW3 Mike Duggins and his SpecOps in a different, unrecognizable world. They are stalked by massive, cunning, draconic predators. The only things keeping the predators at bay are Mike’s team, untested Mech Armor, and the DARPA techs.When Chief Warrant Officer Mike Duggins and his SpecOps team are assigned to a DARPA black site, their reality is changed in the blink of an eye, leaving them in an unrecognizable world, stalked by massive, draconic predators. With only his team, untested Mech Armor, and DARPA techs keeping the cunning predators at bay, they will have to employ every tactic they know in order to survive or risk becoming prey for the hostile carnivores. Can 5 experienced warriors and the DARPA tech team outsmart and outwit an enemy like no other they've seen before and find their way back home? Views: 719
Seven doomed explorers, trapped, hunted, and turned against one another. When Austin brought his daughter to the unexplored planet Paphos, it was supposed to be a chance to reconnect with her. But when he and his crew of scientists discover an alien facility, all of that changes.This book is part 1.Seven doomed explorers, trapped, hunted, and turned against one another. When Austin brought his daughter to the unexplored planet Paphos, it was supposed to be a chance to reconnect with her. But when he and his crew of scientists discover an alien facility, all of that changes. Eager to become rich, the crew ventures in, surrounded by the remnants of an alien massacre. By the time they realize that something is there with them, it is already too late. Now Austin isn't worried about reconnecting with his daughter, he's worried about keeping her alive.This book is part 1. Views: 718
19+ Being the boy who accidentally shot his sister was hard. Never being able to find the girl who actually pulled the trigger was worse. Convinced, through years of relentless therapy, that she was a figment of his trauma and imagination, Eli Adams gave up on her existence. Until one day a name, bearing remarkable resemblance to the people missing in his life, showed up out of nowhere. Suddenly he was thrust into a journey that forced him to offer up his soul as payment for the truth. What he discovered along the way, was that the girl who took his sister's life and his hand, all those years ago, had become the thing he needed to be whole. Saving her was one thing. Healing her was another. Convincing her to love him will be the toughest part of it all. Views: 718
by Neal Shusterman, Michelle Knowlden How did Lev Calder move from an unwillingly escaped Tithe to a clapper? In this new ebook original short story, author Neal Shusterman opens a window on Lev's adventures between the time he left CyFi and when he showed up at the Graveyard. Lev's experiences on a Hi-Rez, an extraordinarily wealthy Native American Reservation introduce him to a teen with remarkable musical talent. . . and whose gifts are destined to end up in the hands of another. And it is this teen's heart-breaking story that inspired Lev to choose the clapper's path. Pulling elements from Neal Shusterman's critically acclaimed Unwind and giving hints about what is to come in the long-awaited sequel, UnWholly, this short story is a must for fans of the series. Views: 718
Fifty years ago, William Michael Ryan joined the staff of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or, as it is affectionately known to its friends, the "Doghouse." Today he is Special Agent No. 1. This frequently touching, often hilarious, and always entertaining book describes Ryan's adventures with animals during this span of half a century -- adventures that have brought him into contact with more than half a million beasts, birds, and reptiles.
Among the animals he has met are such improbable characters as the Professor, a simian genius who disrupted New York harbor for weeks; Rosebud, who became the subject of the most hysterical elephant hunt in the history of Yonkers; Mukluk, the Eskimo husky with a fondness for beer; Dushka and Sachka, two giant Russian wolves who terrorized the guests of one of New York's most fashionable hotels.
In a city like New York many animals have not yet come to terms without civilization. A cat sometimes mistakes a chimney for a brick-lined mouse hole and gets trapped in it. A horse may find himself unintentionally in somebody's living room. Chimpanzees wake up in roominghouse beds. A bull suddenly materializes in a powder room, a fourteen-foot snake, uninvited, decides to take a bath in a lady's tub, and lions with no other pressing engagements may stroll nonchalantly through Manhattan's streets. These are only a few of the situations with which Bill Ryan has had to cope.
This book is not only the warmhearted, amusing account of Bill Ryan's incredible true adventures with animals -- it is also the absorbing story of a unique organization, the oldest and largest humane society in the Western Hemisphere. In telling of Ryan's career with the ASPCA, Lloyd Alexander has written an engaging book that will be thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who loves animals. At the same time, Fifty Years in the Doghouse offers important insights into the relationships between people and their pets. Underlying it is a sense of respect for all living things. As Lloyd Alexander says: "Laws assure animals of protection -- formally, officially, set down in black and white. But in the long run the best protection is the human heart." Views: 718
Fleeing the battle between the Jokers, Aces, and Nats, Blaise heads for the planet Takis in the body of Dr. Tachyon, leaving Tach trapped in the pregnant body of a teenage runaway. Views: 717
An esoteric broadcast, castaways, and the mysterious death of Richard Kelly ~ would that Mortehoe could always face such trifling concerns. As the seasons revolve and their new inhabitants grow comfortable with their surroundings, a new threat is looming, a threat that will change the old-world's future with fire and bloodshed.A Tale of Community and Corruption.2140 CEFor a Century the world has been ignorant of the life that dwells beyond Stone Hill Garrison.A community has thrived in the intervening years since The Great Pathogen, ever conscious they may one day be found by the slowly deteriorating old-world.Unknown to them, the Ministry of Defence suspects that not only is there life beyond the border, but a community able to manipulate and disperse the virus that wiped out a quarter of the world’s population a century before.The villagers carry out their lives while a countdown hangs over them, swiftly ticking to conclude in a violent and harrowing confrontation on the shores of Mortehoe. Views: 717
In “Home Lost”, Volume I of the the eight volume fantasy “Clarion of Destiny”, Leena receives the Garlan branch. From first contact her life is changed. After a solitary journey she returns home to find her village in ruins. Confused and alone, Leena sets out to search for her family and to discover the reason the Garlan branch selected her."Clarion of Destiny" is the eight volume fantasy tale of Leena, a young hedge witch in training selected by destiny to combat the greatest challenge her world has known. In an epic journey that leads through foreign lands and mysterious realms where demons, monsters and magic rule, this inexperienced young girl is forced to overcome a protected childhood to face challenges that would crush far more experienced adventurers. With each step, each passing day, she draws closer to a malevolent force so formidable it has defeated the mightiest armies and the strongest magic in her world. How can one lone girl hope to overcome an evil that has never known defeat?In Volume 1, Home Lost, Leena, a sixteen-year-old, half-trained hedge witch, is mysteriously selected to receive the Garlan branch, a magical item that has twice saved her world in the distant past. After a solitary journey through a frozen winter forest to seek this honor, she returns to her village. Nervous with excitement and anticipation, she rushes home to find the secure and treasured town of her youth deserted and in ruins. Confused and alone, Leena has little choice but to set out on a search for her missing friends and family. Can Leena discover why the Garlan branch selected her, in time to save the people she loves? Views: 717
The Police are stumped by a baffling dismemberment case. They turn to Akkadia, the Abracadabrical hero of "The Cowering Inferno" for help."I laughed so hard I fell to pieces." -- Patsy Cline, The Seance City NewsIn an alternate steamfunk Haiti, at the height of General Toussaint's revolution, two lovers separated by class and a young woman whose love is forbidden, are thrust into war, sorcery and a quest for liberation on their own terms. . .On the island of Saint-Domingue, in the dead of night, thousands of slaves crept silently along the path through the trees and wiry brush to Bois Caïman. In the clearing the Houngan Dutty Boukman, a huge, self-educated slave with a fierce countenance, and Mambo Cecile Fatiman, a mulatto slave woman, waited to led them in ceremony. They petitioned the Loa for protection, for deliverance from slavery’s lash—calling upon the darkest spirits. . . Views: 716
If you're going to shoot Joe Kurtz, you'd better shoot to kill.
Ex-PI Joe Kurtz's survival is on the line when an ambush leaves him badly wounded and his parole officer, Peg O'Toole, clinging to life. Their respective professions have ensured that neither suffers from a shortage of enemies, so narrowing down the suspects isn't easy. But Kurtz knows who's at the head of his list: Angelina Farino Ferrara, the lethal beauty who leads the Farino crime family, and her mob rival, Toma Gonzaga.
The odd thing is, each would rather hire Joe Kurtz than fire at him. Someone's causing trouble beneath the gray skies of western New York, and it's drawn the notice of the mobs and the cops. Kurtz is caught in the middle along with the rest of them, and no one knows who's tightening the vise. Views: 716
This has been a project that has been under wraps for about a year. I worked alongside fellow thriller writer Greg Cox to concoct this dossier of all things Sigma. It’s a comprehensive and detailed journal that is full of details, factoids, summaries, and NEW information about the Sigma universe. I always wanted to build such a reference for myself—but then thought, why not share it? So here it is for FREE.
It’s available in a variety of formats—for both e-readers (ePub and Mobi) and for print (PDF) including the high-resolution cover.
Don't have an eReader? You do not need one. You can use the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader, Free Amazon Kindle Software/App, Barnes & Noble Nook Software/App or search Google for Free eBook reading software. Choose one of the following:
Amazon Kindle Software | Barnes & Noble Nook Software | Search Google
To learn more about these formats, their compatibility, and the devices and reading software required, read the following Wiki pages: ePub | Mobi | PDF
Visit http://www.jamesrollins.com/books/vie... to obtain your free copy of the guide. Views: 716
