Four teenagers are on the verge of exploding. The anxieties they face at every turn have nearly pushed them to the point of surrender: senseless high-stakes testing, the lingering damage of past trauma, the buried grief and guilt of tragic loss. They are desperate to cope, but no one is listening. So they will lie. They will split in two. They will turn inside out. They will even build an invisible helicopter to fly themselves far away...but nothing releases the pressure. Because, as they discover, the only way to truly escape their world is to fly right into it. The genius of acclaimed author A.S. King reaches new heights in this groundbreaking work of surrealist fiction; it will mesmerize readers with its deeply affecting exploration of how we crawl through traumatic experience-and find the way out. Views: 68
Ann Beattie published her first short story in The New Yorker in 1972. Twenty-eight years later, she received the 2000 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. She is, as the Washington Post Book World said, "one of our era's most vital masters of the short form."The eleven stories in her new work are peopled by characters coming to terms with the legacies of long-held family myths or confronting altered circumstances -- new frailty or sudden, unlikely success. Beattie's ear for language, her complex and subtle wit, and her profound compassion are unparalleled.From the elegiac story "The Famous Poet, Amid Bougainvillea," in which two men trade ruminations on illness, art, and servitude, to "The Big-Breasted Pilgrim," wherein a famous chef gets a series of bewildering phone calls from George Stephanopoulos, Perfect Recall comprises Beattie's strongest work in years. It is a riveting commentary on the way we live now by a spectacular prose... Views: 68
The nuclear submarine Dolphin has impossible orders: Sail beneath the ice floes of the Arctic Ocean to locate and rescue the men of research station Zebra, gutted by fire and drifting with the ice-pack somewhere within the Arctic Circle. But the orders can't prepare the crew for what they'll find if their mission is successful—that the fire at Ice Station Zebra was sabotage and one of the survivors is a killer...Tense, terrifying . . . moves at a breathless pace."—Daily ExpressA thoroughly professional cliff-hanger."—Sunday Telegraph Views: 68
The twenty-first novel in Michael Jecks?s medieval Knights Templar series, shortlisted for the Teakston?s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, 2007 Autumn, 1324: when a man is found dead in the middle of a Dartmouth road, many assume his demise to be the result of a drunken accident. Meanwhile, a ship is found ravaged by pirates out at sea, the crew killed or captured. Could this be the beginning of a new onslaught, or something even more sinister? Sir Baldwin de Furnshill has been told of spies and messengers being sent to the great traitor Roger Mortimer in France. If this is true, then civil war in England is surely imminent. Together with his friend, Simon Puttock, Baldwin is tasked by the most powerful men in the Kingdom with uncovering the truth. Fail, and they will be executed. Succeed, and others may be ready to silence them for ever. Views: 68
From one of the great masters of the contemporary short story, here is an astonishing collection that showcases Charles Baxter's unique ability to unveil the remarkable in the seemingly inconsequential moments of an eerie yet familiar life. Penetrating and prophetic, the ten inter-related stories in There's Something I Want You to Do are held together by a surreally intricate web of cause and effect--one that slowly ensnares both fictional bystanders and enraptured readers. Benny, an architect and hopeless romantic, is robbed on his daily walk along the Mississippi River, and the blow of a baseball bat to the back of his knee feels like a strike from God. A drug dealer named Black Bird reads Othello while waiting for customers in a bar. Elijah, a pediatrician and the father of two, is visited nightly by visions of Alfred Hitchcock. Meanwhile, a dog won't stop barking, a passenger on a transatlantic flight reads aloud from the book of Psalms during... Views: 67
Lord Hugh de Courtenay's plan to host a tournament in the spring of 1322 is an opportunity the money-lenders of Oakhampton can't afford to miss. When the defeated knights find themselves unable to pay the traditional ransoms to their captors, they will have only one avenue open to them – and will accrue interest by the hour. But for Benjamin Dudenay – to whom most of the knights in Devon are indebted – the tournament will yield no such riches. A month before the festivities, he is found dead in an alleyway – beaten to death in an attack which tells a tale of bitter hatred. For Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, the priority is to complete the preparations for the tournament in time for Lord Hugh's arrival. Not an easy task when Hal Sachevyll and Wymond Carpenter, commissioned to provide the all-important stands, seem more interested in saving on materials than building a safe structure. But when Wymond is found dead, his injuries bearing all the hallmarks of those inflicted by Benjamin's murderer, Sir Baldwin and Simon are faced with an additional problem: whoever killed the money-lender is not simply a debtor desperate to gain financial freedom, but a killer with a far greater and more sinister plan… Views: 67
Jeanne is a young woman from rural France. She's a knight who wears men's clothing. The English call her Joan of Arc. Jeanne has led France to victory in epic battles. She hears ghostly voices and has unspeakable desires. The English want to burn her. Her king has abandoned her. Her heart has been broken. Her heart cannot be burnt. This is her story, and the story of her beloved.Ali Alizadeh's novel The Last Days of Jeanne d'Arc is a provocative new portrait of the life of one of history's most fascinating figures. Countless books have been written about the young Frenchwoman who claimed to hear the voices of saints, led the armies of France in the war against England in the Middle Ages, and was captured and burnt for heresy by her enemies. Based on a rigorous study of the historical material, The Last Days of Jeanne d'Arc provides the first serious dramatisation of Jeanne's sexuality. Alizadeh uses an innovative storytelling technique that weaves together multiple narrative... Views: 67
In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event. At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened. FB2Library.Elements.CiteItem Me and the pirates are tight… FB2Library.Elements.CiteItem Views: 67
Soldier boys emerged from the darkness. Guns gleamed dully. Bullet bandoliers and scars draped their bare chests. Ugly brands scored their faces. She knew why these soldier boys had come. She knew what they sought, and she knew, too, that if they found it, her best friend would surely die. * * * In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man—a bioengineered war beast named Tool—who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to a place where freedom might finally be possible. This thrilling companion to Paolo Bacigalupi's highly acclaimed Ship Breaker is a haunting and powerful story of loyalty, survival, and heart-pounding adventure. Views: 67
