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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Anyone who loves the humorous but hair-raising horror in R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series will devour British author Darren Shan's first novel with equal zeal. Some books are born with a surrounding buzz; this one even has Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's stamp of approval: "Fast-paced and compelling, full of satisfying macabre touches," she writes. Warner Brothers will be making it into a movie, and the rest of the series is already in the works. Given all that, you'd expect a tour de force! Really, though, <em>Cirque Du Freak</em> is a thrill ride that will keep even the most reluctant readers turning pages, but will never take its place in the literary canon.</p><p>Darren Shan, author and narrator, sets the book up as a true story, warning readers: "Real life's nasty. It's cruel.... Evil often wins." Indeed, evil begins to win when Darren and his buddies find a flier for "Cirque Du Freak," a traveling freak show promising performances by the snake-boy, the wolf-man, and Larten Crepsley and his giant spider, Madame Octa. Darren and his friend Steve wouldn't miss it for the world.</p><p>So, Saturday night they sneak out to the old theater, tall and dark, with broken windows. "Every act you see tonight is real," croaks Mr. Tall. "Each performer is unique. And none are harmless." That's for sure. (A werewolf bites off the hand of someone in the audience, for instance.) Things grow very serious for the two boys when Steve not only recognizes Mr. Crepsley as a famous vampire, but professes his true desire to join him! To make matters worse, the spider-obsessed Darren goes back to the old theater to steal Madame Octa so he can teach her tricks in his room. (He does, with mixed results.) The plot further coagulates as Darren is faced with some terrible decisions about what to do to save his bloodthirsty friend Steve.</p><p>Readers may be too enthralled to notice some clumsy editing (the aforementioned bitten-off hand is later referred to as an arm, Darren stops dead in his tracks when he's already stopped, etc.). They may also not notice that the boys constantly use adult-sounding expressions like "his breath stank to the high heavens," though the book is clearly set in the 21st century. If this book gets under your kids' skin (and it probably will), they're in luck--we haven't heard the last of the Saga of Darren Shan. (Ages 10 and older, not for the faint of heart) <em>--Karin Snelson</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>With strong sales overseas and a movie deal in the works, book one in The Saga of Darren Shan series is poised to capture a wide audience of series horror readers. After a rather slow buildup, a boy with the same name as the author sneaks out with best friend Steve to an illicit freak show, and his life becomes entangled with a vampire spider-wrangler, Mr. Crepsley. "This is a true story," writes Shan. "In real life, bad things happen. People die. Fights are lost. Evil often wins." The scenario is compelling, and the author mines the exploitative history of early 20th-century sideshows to create an artfully macabre "Cirque du Freak." But Darren's actions are often undermotivated: "I can't explain why Madam Octa [the spider] meant so much to me, or why I was placing my life in such danger to have her. Looking back, I'm no longer sure what drove me on." Also his intermittent attraction to and repulsion by the vampire is never fully explored. His behavior may be explained in the sequel, The Vampire's Assistant (due in Sept.), but the open ending leaves so many loose ends that readers may leave more frustrated than intrigued, especially since the characters' wooden dialogue drains them of personality ("I'm upset," says Steve. "It hurt, what Mr. Crepsley said, and you ignoring me at school... If you break up our friendship, I don't know what I'll do"). Readers interested in boys becoming vampires would be better served by M.T. Anderson's Thirsty and those fascinated with freaks by Iain Lawrence's Ghost Boy. Ages 10-up. <br />Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>What if you were an unwilling vampire? You needed to drink human blood to stay alive, but you weren't some horror-flick villain; you were <em>you</em>, born human--a nice person, even. Thus is the dilemma of the young narrator-protagonist, Darren Shan, in this tremendously suspenseful, oft-sickening sequel to __. In the first book, Darren becomes a vampire's assistant to save the life of his friend Steve. In order to do so, he has to fake his death, get buried alive, and head out--half-human, homeless, and friendless--into the world. <em>The Vampire's Assistant</em> chronicles his new lonely life as a half-vampire, pumped with the cursed blood of his vampire guardian, Mr. Crepsley. Darren has much to learn about his freshly supernatural state. He doesn't grow fangs, for instance, like he thought he might. And he can't change shape or fly. Garlic just gives vampires bad breath... And they eat bagels. Some of the hardest lessons of all come when he joins the traveling freak show Cirque Du Freak, the show that got him and Steve in trouble in the first place. Readers won't be disappointed by this fast-paced, gory, but strangely amiable sequel. In fact, the plot is much better paced than the first and the dialogue far more natural. Deadly pythons, a snake boy, Cormac Limbs (bite off his finger and it grows back!), and an entire cast of dreadfully creepy characters offer excitement beyond expectation. Along the way, we come to really like Darren, who will do absolutely anything for a friend. British author Darren Shan promises more adventures in 2002. (Ages 10 and older) <em>--Karin Snelson</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In The Vampire's Assistant, the second installment of the series begun with Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan, the hero returns to the old-fashioned freak show where, thanks to Mr. Crespley, he became a "half-vampire." Darren once again struggles against the urge to feed upon the human blood his health requires. </p><p>Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Vampires Mia and Kurt become involved in a deadly mission to harness the power of immortality. Mia Disantini is a vampire whose greatest desire is to walk in the sun again. She is enslaved by her charismatic master, Ethan, and plunged into an ancient, unenlightened Immortyl culture. As Mia struggles for the freedom to live as she chooses, she is trained as Ethan's Bird of Prey. Soon she becomes the pawn of their powerful, enigmatic elder, Brovik, in his deadly games of deception and intrigue against his rival, Gaius, concerning their forbidden science experiments. When Mia is cast out by Ethan she joins forces with Kurt, and together the lovers steal fire from the gods and deliver it to Genpath Laboratories. The company CEO Lee Brooks deceives and imprisons the pair. While held captive, Mia calls upon the aid of Dr. Joe Ansari. The couple is hunted for their crime and time is running out. Will Mia and Kurt escape with their lives and succeed in their mission before their Immortyl enemies harness the power of immortality for evil purposes? </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>“Like Orson Scott Card's <em>Ender's Game</em>, this sequel to <em>The Forge of God</em> explores the issues of morality and justice, using children as its vehicle. Bear's treatment differs, however, in that his characters have already lost their innocence and face their destiny with open eyes. As a stylist, Bear writes with a heady brilliance that communicates a sense of immediacy and credibility.” </p><p>--_Library Journal_ on <em>Anvil of Stars</em></p><p>__ </p><p>“One of the outstanding sf novels of the current year is also the best book so far from an author whose versatility is continually growing.  Literate hard-science or alien invasion novels are no longer rare, but a book such as this, which effectively blends these concepts and is also compellingly written, is a joy to behold.”     </p><p>_--ALA Booklist <em>on</em> The Forge of God_</p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>The Forge of God</em> described the destruction of Earth itself by self-replicating robots, Von Neumann machines designed to use the planet's mass to create more robotic creatures and spread throughout the Galaxy. Only a few humans have survived, aided by a mysterious alien race known only as “The Benefactors”, who arrived at Earth too late.</p><p>Now the small group of human survivors is determined to track down the criminal race who launched the planet killers. Humanity is given a starship by The Benefactors, and driven only by revenge they set out to find the unknown beings who are responsible for the destruction of Earth, and many other worlds.</p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>An unusual 'invasion' by intelligent smaller beings who are changing the structure and definition of 'humanity' are at the heart of Bear's classic story which has been newly reprinted in paper for new audiences. Blood Music is one of his finest works and its appearance in this new edition assures that new audiences will relish his talents. -- <em>Midwest Book Review</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>In the tradition of the greatest cyberpunk novels, Blood Music explores the imminent destruction of mankind and the fear of mass destruction by technological advancements. Blood Music follows present-day events in which the fears concerning the nuclear annihilation of the world subsided after the Cold War and the fear of chemical warfare spilled over into the empty void of nuclear fear. An amazing breakthrough in genetic engineering made by Vergil Ulam is considered too dangerous for further research, but rather than destroy his work, he injects himself with his creation and walks out of his lab, unaware of just quite how his actions will change the world. Author Greg Bear's treatment of the traditional tale of scientific hubris is both suspenseful and a compelling portrait of a new intelligence emerging amongst us, irrevocably changing our world. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Something very strange has turned up in Tom Lasker's wheat field: a ten-thousand-year-old sailboat made of an unknown substance. And then there's the Roundhouse, apparently a doorway to another world, sitting squarely on Sioux reservation land. How did they get there, and what do they signify for the people embroiled in their discovery? This is sci-fi on a grand scale by the author of </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Early in the next century, outside a North Dakota town, farmer Tom Lasker digs up a boat on his land. Not only is the vessel crafted from an unknown element, but Lasker's farm is on land that has been dry for 10,000 years. A search for further artifacts unearths a building of the same material and age that turns out to be an interdimensional transportation device. The building sits on land owned by the Sioux, who want to use it to regain their old way of life on another world; meanwhile, the U.S. government, fearful of change, wants to destroy the building. Right up to the climax, McDevitt (Engines of God) tells his complex and suspenseful story with meticulous attention to detail, deft characterizations and graceful prose. That climax, though, is another matter, featuring out-of-the-blue heroic intervention in a conflict between the feds and the Indians by, among others, astronaut Walter Schirra, cosmologist Stephen Hawking and SF writers Ursula K. LeGuin, Carl Sagan and Gregory Benford. "If the government wants to kill anyone else, it'll have to start with us," announces Stephen Jay Gould. That absurdity aside, this is the big-vision, large-scale novel McDevitt's readers have been waiting for. <br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>Eternity Road</em> is set 1,000 years from now, when the world as we know it has been dead for eight centuries, destroyed by a plague that killed most of humanity. Technological artifacts remain, but the knowledge of what they are and how to use them has been lost by a society that has degenerated into a series of city-states. Legend has it that the Roadmakers left a store of knowledge in a place called Haven, but when an expedition from Memphis sets out to find it, only one person returns. The lone, dishonored survivor eventually kills himself, but his son is determined to try again ... </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>After a cataclysmic viral plague wiped out humanity sometime in the 21st century, the next civilization arose in isolated pockets. In the Mississippi Valley, Illyrians built their town on what had been the Roadmakers' Memphis. Some believed in the mythical Haven on the eastern ocean where books and other technological wonders had been saved. When all but one member of an expedition dies trying to find Haven, the leader's son joins a second party on the long overland trek east. Unfortunately, the book raises more questions than it answers about the knowledge that was lost, leaving the reader unsatisfied. From the author of Ancient Shores (HarperCollins, 1996); a possible candidate to sf collections.<br />Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. Church once again does a brilliant job of portraying the dysfunctional, paranoid society of modern North Korea in his third novel to feature Inspector O of the ministry of public security (after 2007's <em>Hidden Moon</em>). When a foreigner O has been assigned to watch turns out to be working for Israeli intelligence, O and his supervisor, Pak, come under the scrutiny of a rival security service. To complicate matters, Pak asks the inspector to investigate the murder of a North Korean diplomat's wife in Pakistan, but O is restricted to merely collecting facts about the dead woman. O's efforts to actually solve the crime lead to dangerous encounters with his country's special weapons program. While the espionage elements compel, the book's main strength, as with its predecessors, derives from the small details that enable the reader to imagine life in North Korea—and from O's struggles to maintain his principles and integrity. <em>(Dec.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> It is brutal winter in North Korea, the first winter after the death of Beloved Leader. His son and successor is grieving, and the country’s survival is threatened by famine and infrastructure collapse. Even in Pyongyang, government employees are hungry and cold. Word of mouth from the countryside and their own experiences cause Inspector O and Chief Inspector Pak to fear that the nation has “fallen apart.” But even as the country lurches toward collapse, foreigners interested in guided missiles stream into North Korea. O is sent to Geneva, ostensibly to ensure that the head of a diplomatic delegation doesn’t defect. There, Swiss, Israeli, and North Korean agents alternately charm and menace him, and O doesn’t even know what his superiors really want of him. The sketch of the most secretive country in the world is as spare and elegant as a Japanese painting. The machinations and motivations of the unseen politicians who pull O’s strings can’t be fathomed. Pak, O’s politically astute superior, often speaks in what sound like Zen koans. O is left to rely on himself and the wisdom of his animist-woodworker grandfather for guidance. Bamboo and Blood, the third in this outstanding series, invites readers to take a step through the looking glass. Thoughtful crime fans will love what they find. --Thomas Gaughan </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The lack of a strong central plot undercuts the third forensic thriller by bestseller Bass, the team of Dr. Bill Bass, founder of Tennessee's world-renowned Body Farm, and journalist Jon Jefferson (after 2007's <em>Flesh and Bone</em>). Two cases occupy Dr. Bass's fictional alter ego, Dr. Bill Brockton—the death of Mary Latham, a 47-year-old Knoxville native, whose charred remains were found in a burned-out car, and a disreputable Georgia crematorium that simply dumped bodies on its grounds. These probes soon take a backseat to a cat-and-mouse game with the doctor's arch nemesis, Garland Hamilton, who tried to frame him for murder in <em>Flesh and Bone</em>. When Hamilton escapes from incarceration before going to trial, Brockton must keep looking over his shoulder. While a smattering of Bass's trademark authentic forensic detail lifts this main narrative thread, a more focused look at a single case might have made the novel a better read. <em>(Feb.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>"[A] fine thriller...this third installment is the best of a steadily improving series, but it’s doubtful we’ve seen the finest moments yet." -- <em>Booklist</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Vorhaus's amusing thriller about the misadventures of a con man in Los Angeles hums along for a while through gags and gaffes and witty dialogue, but never gels as a whole. Radar Hoverlander, a longtime grifter whose tool box of cons is deep and wide, is looking for the California Roll, the holy grail of cons that will set him for life. He thinks he's found it in the form of the Merlin Game, a complicated pyramid scheme. Then Radar runs into Allie Quinn, a sexy, slick fellow grifter who lures him into a con of her own. Vorhaus, author of <em>The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even if You're Not</em> and the Killer Poker series (_Killer Poker Online_, etc.), has put more effort into generating laughs than developing the plot. Like a lot of comic novels, this one suffers from extended expository passages in which the narrator falls in love with his own voice at the expense of the action. <em>(Mar.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Master of the snuke and its bafflegab and the scourge of every mook, con artist Radar Hoverlander wonders if he’s met his match in Allie Quinn. She’s dazzling and highly intelligent and seems to be setting him up for a con. She also leads a brittle, beautiful Australian cop and a bent FBI agent to him, and everyone but Radar has multiple agendas. Radar simply wants to avoid prison or being killed and to work toward the grand snuke, the California Roll, the last payday he’ll ever need. The California Roll is grand entertainment. Radar, Allie, the law-enforcement odd couple, and hapless grifter Vic Mirplo are all cleverly developed. Double and triple crosses abound in the careening plot, and Vorhaus, who writes primarily about poker, really seems to understand the bedrock mendacity of the grift. It’s in the blood, like peanut allergy, he writes. The writing is tight and wonderfully glib, and Vorhaus slyly, shrewdly hints that he’s snuking the reader. No caper-novel fan should miss this one. --Thomas Gaughan </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. Shan's dystopic thriller, the first in a trilogy already published in the U.K., is an excellent, twisting foray into a world of deceit, murder, and mystery. Capac Raimi arrives in an unnamed city, a place ruled by a man known as the Cardinal, and quickly realizes that he has no memory of his life elsewhere. When the Cardinal kills Capac's uncle and offers Capac a job based on a dream and Capac's Incan name, the young man's life takes a turn for the fantastical. While training to serve the Cardinal, Capac embarks on a strange, gripping search for clues to both the disappearances of his friends and his own past. The dialogue is realistic, the characters and settings are vivid, and the plotting is tight, complemented perfectly by a bleak, desolate tone. Any fan of postapocalyptic fiction will find it absolutely riveting. <em>(June)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Popular YA author Darren Shan's first adult novel is a combination of horror and near-future thriller set in “The City,” which is the center of Capac Raimi's world. Moving into the city to work with his small-time gangster uncle, Capac soon finds himself at the service of the Cardinal, the leader of all the criminal gangs and the ruler of the city. Capac enjoys his new life except for a few small details, including the enigmatic blind and mute monks who have a way of appearing at significant moments in Capac's life, and the fact that he can't really remember any of his life before he came to the City. Then he meets and immediately falls in love with a young woman who is determined to dig out the Cardinal's secrets. Fast-paced and exciting, Procession of the Dead is a gritty, creepy, and completely successful story with an ending that leaves openings for future series entries. Suggest to readers who enjoyed Miéville's The City and the City (2009) for its slightly fantastical setting combined with a thrilling story. --Jessica Moyer </p>


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<h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Grade 7 Up–When sneaky teenaged Grubbs Grady finds himself mysteriously dumped on his aunt's doorstep, he can't help but steal back home to figure out what's going on. Unfortunately, when he arrives, his parents and sister have been horrifically killed in true Shan form: their bodies ripped to shreds by an evil demon named Lord Loss and his vile henchmen. Grubbs somehow manages to escape the fiends and goes to live with his Uncle Dervish, a peculiar dandy who lives in a creepy country mansion whose secrets may hold the key to the murders. Chock-full of family curses, werewolf lore, and stomach-turning gore, <em>Lord Loss</em> is exactly the kind of horror that Cirque Du Freak (Little, Brown) fans will love. Characterizations may take a backseat to fast pacing, but this first installment in a new series is still guaranteed to gross out anyone aged 12 to 20._–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library_ <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Gr. 9-12. Older fans of Shan's gory, gripping Cirque du Freak series will welcome this first book in the Demonata series, which features a similar horrific spin, dark humor, and graphic detail. Grubitsch Grady ("Grubbs" for short) walks into his parents' bedroom to find his mother, father, and older sister torn to pieces by Lord Loss, a powerful demon that feeds on human pain and suffering. Grubbs is attacked by Lord Loss' familiars, marvelously creepy hybrid creatures, and to his great astonishment, he manages to escape. Not surprisingly, he ends up in a mental institution, completely derailed by the horror he has seen and experienced. Eventually, he is taken in by his uncle Dervish, discovers a cousin he never knew, and, alas, learns that lycanthropy runs in the family. The plot rolls along at high speed, but Shan is still quite adept when it comes to capturing Grubbs' roller-coaster emotions--loss and grief and, later, trust. A sneak peek at the second book in the series, <em>Demon Thief,</em> shows Shan continuing in the same vein but with different characters. <em>Debbie Carton</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Lights. Camera. Slawter! Grubbs Grady and his half-brother Bill-E are thrilled to join their uncle Dervish as onset consultants for the newest movie by cult horror producer David A Haym. Shot in a deserted town renamed Slawter, the demon-themed movie is to be Haym's masterpiece. But as strange incidents disrupt the set, Grubbs begins to wonder whether more than filming is afoot. </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Darren Shan says: I always wanted to be a writer - I've loved telling stories since I was a child. One day, on a whim, I decided to try a book for children. The result was Cirque Du Freak. Much to my surprise, it took off, and I became a de facto children's author! Since then I've used my ill-gotten gains to buy lots of comic-strip art and travel the world. When I'm not working or traveling, I like watching movies. I've even been known to read the odd book or two. Darren is currently at work on his fourth book in The Demonata series. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>_"Locked inside Dervish's study. Breath coming quickly, raggedly. Trembling wildly. I still feel sick and dizzy, but maybe that's fear. I force myself to breathe normally, evenly. When I'm in control, I study my reflection, looking for telltale signs. Am I turning into a werewolf? I don't know..."<br />_<br />Grubbs Grady has so far escaped the family curse, but when he begins to experience alarming symptoms at the onset of the full moon, he is scared that the jaws of fate are opening and about to swallow him whole.   </p><p>He has cheated death, defeated demons, moved on with his life. But Grubbs is torn between the world of magic and his wolfen genes. Can he fight the beast inside or will he fall victim to his tainted blood? </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>"I was born in London in 1972 and moved to Ireland when I was 6 years old, where I've lived ever since. I always wanted to be a writer - I've loved telling stories since I was a child. I started out writing books for adults, and managed to get a couple published. One day, on a whim, I decided to try a book for children. The result was <em>Cirque Du Freak</em>. Much to my surprise, it took off, and I became a de facto children's author! Since then I've used my ill-gotten gains to buy lots of comic-strip art and travel the world. When I'm not working or traveling, I like watching movies. I've even been known to read the odd book or two."  </p><p>Darren is currently working on his sixth novel in the bone-chilling <em>Demonata</em> series, coming in May 2008. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>One boy's life ripped to shreds before his eyes...  </p><p>One wrathful demon master hell-bent on revenge...  </p><p>An army of grisly Demonata on the rampage...  </p><p>It's the end of the world as we know it.  </p><p>The sixth novel in the chilling Demonata series by Darren Shan, author of the <em>New York Times </em>bestselling Cirque Du Freak series, will terrify readers long after the last page. </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>"I was born in London in 1972 and moved to Ireland when I was 6 years old, where I've lived ever since. I always wanted to be a writer - I've loved telling stories since I was a child. I started out writing books for adults, and managed to get a couple published. One day, on a whim, I decided to try a book for children. The result was <em>Cirque Du Freak</em>. Much to my surprise, it took off, and I became a de facto children's author! Since then I've used my ill-gotten gains to buy lots of comic-strip art and travel the world. When I'm not working or traveling, I like watching movies. I've even been known to read the odd book or two."  </p><p>Darren is working on his seventh novel in the bone-chilling <em>Demonata</em> series, coming in November 2008. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>[Barber’s] a suburban girl who’s frightened that she’s going to get cut out of everything good that happens in the city. That, to me, is a big story in popular culture. It’s the story of pretty much every rock ‘n’ roll band. (Nick Hornby, author of the screenplay adaptation of <em>An Education</em> ) </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>The inspiration for the award-winning motion picture: "Candid, unsentimental and extremely funny. I read it in one glorious go, laughing and crying throughout."—Zoë Heller</strong> When Lynn Barber was sixteen, a stranger in a maroon sports car pulled up beside her as she was on her way home from school and offered her a ride. It was the beginning of a long journey from innocence to precocious experience—an affair with an older man that would change her life. Barber’s seducer left her with a taste for luxury hotels and posh restaurants and trips abroad, expensive habits that she managed to support in later life as a successful London journalist whose barbed interviews at once terrorized and fascinated her smart-set subjects.   </p><p>A poignant, shockingly candid account of the stages in a literary life—from promiscuity at Oxford to a stint at <em>Penthouse</em> to a complex marriage that endured—_An Education_ is a classic of English memoir. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Set immediately after Frank Herbert's <em>Dune Messiah</em> (1969), this satisfying tale from Herbert's son and Anderson (_Paul of Dune_) follows Jessica, the mother of galactic emperor Paul Atreides, as she returns to the desert planet Dune for her son's funeral. Paul's suicide after his mistress's childbed death leaves his sister, the insane and brutal Alia, as regent for his twin children. Alia releases Princess Irulan, Paul's wife and biographer, from house arrest on the condition that she present Paul as a god, even as Bronso of Ix circulates contrasting writings focusing on Paul's humanity. Alia, Jessica, Bronso and Irulan can describe aspects of Paul, but no single narrative can capture him. Fans of the original Dune series will love seeing familiar characters, and the narrative voice smoothly evokes the elder Herbert's style. <em>(Aug.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>Praise for <em>The Winds of Dune</em>:  </p><p>"Fill[s] in the gaps between the late Frank Herbert's classic <em>Dune</em> and its sequels <em>_</em>Dune Messiah_ and <em>Children of Dune. . . .  </em>This sequel to <em>_</em>Paul of Dune_ is an important addition to the Dune chronology and will be in demand by Herbert fans.”<br />--_Library Journal_ (starred review)  </p><p>"Delivers solid action and will certainly satisfy."<br />_--Booklist<br />_<br />“This satisfying tale from Herbert’s son and Anderson follows Jessica, the mother of galactic emperor Paul Atreides. . . .  Fans of the original Dune series will love seeing familiar characters, and the narrative voice smoothly evokes the elder Herbert’s style.”<br />--Publishers Weekly  </p><p>"Unquestionably, Herbert &amp; Anderson can spin a great yarn; while technically producing a vivid, mystifying universe, filled with characters that are both endearing, and loathsome. I recommend this one highly, but be warned, if this is the first Dune book you are reading, get ready to hit the bookstore, because I promise you, it will not be the last!"<br />_--BookSpotCentral  </p><p><em>"</em><em>_The Winds of Dune</em> is filled with the same psychological complexities that were a hallmark of Frank Herbert’s books. It twists and turns on matters of trust, loyalty and the meaning of honor. Familiar characters are brought back to life with poignant clarity and the suspense and tension never let up. Even knowing what comes next in <em>_</em>Children of Dune, _I was hooked by this tale and enjoyed it immensely. It is a worthy addition to the <em>_</em>Dune_ saga."<br />_--IN Denver Times  </p><p><em>Praise for the bestselling novel, </em>Paul of Dune:  </p><p>_“This vital link between the first two books of the Dune saga begins immediately after the close of <em>Dune. . . .  </em>This is good reading. . . .  Standing well enough on its own for Dune novices, it goes without saying that it’s must reading for established fans.”<br />--_Booklist  </p><p>_“Drawing on Frank Herbert’s massive body of notes, the coauthors of the new Dune series continue their expansion and illumination of the unexplored pieces of one of the genre’s most significant and powerful stories. A priority purchase for libraries of all sizes. Highly recommended.”<br /><em>--Library Journal</em> (starred review)</p><p>Praise for <em>Dune</em>, the timeless classic that began the epic story:  </p><p>“One of the monuments of modern science fiction.”<br />--_The Chicago Tribune__  </p><p>_“I know nothing comparable to it except <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>.”<br />--Sir Arthur C. Clarke_  </p><p>_“A portrayal of an alien society more complete and deeply detailed than any other author in the field has managed . . . a story absorbing equally for its action and philosophical vistas. . . . An astonishing science fiction phenomenon.”<br />--_The Washington Post__  </p><p>_“Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious.”<br />--Robert A. Heinlein_  </p><p>_“Herbert’s creation of this universe, with its intricate development and analysis of ecology, religion, politics, and philosophy, remains one of the supreme and seminal achievements in science fiction.”<br />--_Louisville__ Times_</p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>"The implications of the boys' power to manipulate the past unfold cleverly…, feeding into the Machiavellian political intrigue for a pulse-pounding climax….Card's many fans will be thrilled by this return to his literary roots.” --_Kirkus_  </p><ul> <li>     "Fast paced and thoroughly engrossing, the 650-plus pages fly by, challenging readers to care about and grasp sophisticated, confusing, and captivating ideas." --_Booklist_, starred review   </li></ul><p>"Card entwines two stories in this fascinatingly complex series opener....The result is an amalgamation of adventure, politics, and time travel that invokes issues of class and the right to control one's own life. Yet despite its complexity, the book is never less than page-turning. While Card delves deeply into his story's knotted twists and turns, readers should have no trouble following the philosophical and scientific mysteries, which the characters are parsing right along with them. An epic in the best sense." --_PW_, starred review </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>A powerful secret. A dangerous path. </p><p>Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg's strange talent for seeing the paths of people's pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from <em>him</em>--secrets about Rigg's own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain. </p><p>Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two factions, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>“The River Kings’ Road is the intriguingly twisted tale of treachery and magic behind a brutal massacre and the impacts this unspeakable act has on the two survivors, on those who perpetrated it, on those who investigated it, and on those who tried to turn it to even more evil ends. It’s also a tale that examines unsparingly the issue of to what degree the ends justify the means . . . or not.”</p><p>—L. E. Modesitt, Jr., New York Times bestselling author of <em>The Saga of Recluce</em> series  </p><p>“The River Kings’ Road drew me in with the characters, all of whom felt real and reacted realistically for the setting. . . . The heroes are heroic because of the choices they make on their journey, choices that would test the very best . . . and worst . . . in all of us. . . . It’s a story where the simplest choice could have drastic consequences, and where the lowliest of peasants can change the fate of a kingdom.”</p><p>—Joshua Palmatier, author of <em>The Vacant Throne</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>A thrilling new voice in fantasy makes an unforgettable debut with this "intriguingly twisted tale of treachery and magic" (_New York Times _bestselling author L. E. Modesitt, Jr.). Liane Merciel’s <em>The River Kings’ Road </em>takes us to a world of bitter enmity between kingdoms, divided loyalties between comrades, and an insidious magic that destroys everything it touches. . . . </strong></p><p><em>The wounded maidservant thrust the knotted blankets at him; instinctively, Brys stepped forward and caught the bundle before it fell. Then he glimpsed what lay inside and nearly dropped it himself. </em></p><p><em>There was a baby in the blankets. A baby with a tear-swollen face red and round as a midsummer plum. A baby he knew, even without seeing the lacquered medallion tucked into the swaddling—a medallion far too heavy, on a chain far too cold for an infant who had not yet seen a year. </em></p><p>A fragile period of peace between the eternally warring kingdoms of Oakharn and Langmyr is shattered when a surprise massacre fueled by bloodmagic ravages the Langmyrne border village of Willowfield, killing its inhabitants—including a visiting Oakharne lord and his family—and leaving behind a scene so grisly that even the carrion eaters avoid its desecrated earth. But the dead lord’s infant heir has survived the carnage—a discovery that entwines the destinies of <strong>Brys Tarnell</strong>, a mercenary who rescues the helpless and ailing babe, and who enlists a Langmyr peasant, a young mother herself, to nourish and nurture the child of her enemies as they travel a dark, perilous road . . . <strong>Odosse</strong>, the peasant woman whose only weapons are wit, courage, and her fierce maternal love—and who risks everything she holds dear to protect her new charge . . . <strong>Sir Kelland</strong>, a divinely blessed Knight of the Sun, called upon to unmask the architects behind the slaughter and avert war between ancestral enemies . . . <strong>Bitharn</strong>, Kelland’s companion on his journey, who conceals her lifelong love for the Knight behind her flawless archery skills—and whose feelings may ultimately be Kelland’s undoing . . . and <strong>Leferic</strong>, an Oakharne Lord’s bitter youngest son, whose dark ambitions fuel the most horrific acts of violence. As one infant’s life hangs in the balance, so too does the fate of thousands, while deep in the forest, a Maimed Witch practices an evil bloodmagic that could doom them all. . . . </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Simon Winchester, struck by a sudden need to discover exactly what was left of the British Empire, set out across the globe to visit the far-flung islands that are all that remain of what once made Britain great. He traveled 100,000 miles back and forth, from Antarctica to the Caribbean, from the Mediterranean to the Far East, to capture a last glint of imperial glory. </p><p>His adventures in these distant and forgotten ends of the earth make compelling, often funny reading and tell a story most of us had thought was over: a tale of the last outposts in Britain's imperial career and those who keep the flag flying. </p><p>With a new introduction, this updated edition tells us what has happened to these extraordinary places while the author's been away. </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Simon Winchester was a geologist at Oxford and worked in Africa and on offshore oil rigs before becoming a full-time globe-trotting foreign correspondent and writer. He currently lives on a small farm in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, an apartment in New York's West Village and in the Western Isles of Scotland. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Simon Winchester, a British newspaper reporter for 30 years and the author of 13 books (including __), has turned his attention to the Balkans, an area he visited years ago on a road trip from Vienna to Istanbul--a journey he retraced in the spring of 1999. <em>The Fracture Zone</em> describes both of those trips, concentrating on the history and character of the region more than the recent war and its aftermath. Winchester has spent most of his career as a foreign correspondent, but his more recent occupations as historian and a writer for <em>Condé Nast Traveler</em> are in evidence here. Winchester's angle on the Balkans is unique and well written: those who have been bewildered at best and bored at worst by the Balkan conflict may find that <em>The Fracture Zone</em> captures their interest better than hundreds of news accounts of war atrocities. "Why is there, and seemingly always has been, this dire inevitability about the Balkans being so fractious and unsettled a corner of the world?" Winchester wonders aloud. That eternal question continues to plague world statesmen and, though not fully answered here, affords the opportunity for an interesting exploration. </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>As NATO planes began to atttack Belgrade last March, British journalist Winchester (The Professor and the Madman) visited the Kosovar refugee camps in Macedonia, where he was shocked by the "Bruegel-scene of mass misery" that confronted him: international aid workers had not yet organized proper food and sanitation for the thousands of people crammed into a muddy field surrounded by Macedonian police. The sight provoked Winchester to visit as much of the Balkans as he could, in hope of grasping the complexities that had led to the debacle. Starting out from Vienna, he continued into Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia, where he found that nationalist citizens still refer to the Muslim Kosovars as "Turks." Although he sets his travels against the history of the BalkansAfrom the battles of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires through the Croatian massacre of Jews, Serbs, Gypsies and homosexuals during WWII to the recent war in KosovoAhis conclusions are too pat to make his analysis significant. Taking a fatalistic attitude, he views the region's problems as little more than the fruit of "classic Balkan hatreds, ancient and modern." Still, Winchester's extensive interviews make his book notable. Almost every page contains the reflections of ordinary citizens, who reveal to Winchester their hatreds, their troubles and their hopes, lending richness and authenticity to his account. His unsentimental descriptions of the area's destroyed mosques, burned houses and virulent graffiti serve as a poignant reminder that the effects of war last long after the planes are gone. <br />Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>Book Description</strong><br />In this uproarious and clever debut, it’s time to give the Devil his due.  </p><p>Johannes Cabal, a brilliant scientist and notorious snob, is single-mindedly obsessed in heart and soul with raising the dead. Well, perhaps not soul... He hastily sold his years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. But now, tormented by a dark secret, he travels to the fiery pits of Hell to retrieve it. Satan, who is incredibly bored these days, proposes a little wager: Johannes has one year to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever.</p><p>To make the bet even more interesting, Satan throws in that diabolical engine of deceit, seduction, and corruption known as a “traveling circus” to aid in the evil bidding. What better place exists to rob poor sad saps of their souls than the traveling carnivals historically run by hucksters and legendary con men?</p><p>With little time to lose, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire (an unfortunate side effect of Johannes’s early experiments with necromancy), to be the carnival’s barker. On the road through the pastoral English countryside, this team of reprobates wields their black magic with masterful ease, resulting in mayhem at every turn.</p><p>Johannes may have the moral conscience of anthrax, but are his tricks sinful enough to beat the Devil at his own game? You’ll never guess, and that’s a promise!</p><p>Brilliantly written and wickedly funny, <em>Johannes Cabal the Necromancer</em> combines the chills and thrills of old-fashioned gothic tales like <em>The Legend of Sleepy Hollow</em>, the mischievous humor of <em>Wicked</em>, and the sophisticated charms of <em>Jonathan Strange &amp; Mr. Norrell</em> and spins the Faustian legend into a fresh, irreverent, and irresistible new adventure.</p><hr /><p><strong>A Q&amp;A with Jonathan L. Howard</strong>  </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> You’ve been working on <em>Johannes Cabal</em> in its various iterations for many years now, how did it feel spending so much time with such nefarious characters? </p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> It’s something of a cliché to say that villains are more interesting than heroes, nor is it even very true, so I shan’t be trotting that particular phrase out. I would suggest that it is the inner life of the character that makes them interesting, and that is true of the virtuous as much as the vile. Cabal does some rather horrible things, it is true, but he never does them purely to give himself the opportunity to curl his waxed moustache—he’s clean-shaven, for one thing—and declaim his wickedness. He always has a reason, and it’s usually a good one. I find fictional villains who are evil because they are evil unengaging. Cabal, on the other hand, has motivations and drives that most can sympathise with, even if the actions he commits based on those drives can be loathsome. For him, the ends always justify the means, and damn the consequences. </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> The carnival in your book is used as a device for collecting souls; was there a real life inspiration for the carnival? Do you find there to be something generally sinister about carnivals?</p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> There’s no real life inspiration for the carnival, really, but plenty in fiction. The obvious inspiration was Bradbury’s <em>Something Wicked</em>’s Cooger &amp; Dark’s Carnival wasn’t the first threatening carnival in fiction, and it certainly wasn’t the last, but it is probably the best. It was the persnickety question of where such a carnival might come from and how anybody would end up as a proprietor that inspired my novel. </p><p>As for how sinister they are, that is to an extent a fictional conceit on my part too. You have to bear in mind that carnivals like that are unknown in the United Kingdom, and I haven’t heard of the traditional British travelling fair being transported by train either. The Cabal stories take place in a slightly blurry world where things come together because they aesthetically appeal to me, and not because they’re historically accurate; a magical realism of sorts. I wanted an American-style carnival travelling by train, and that’s what I got. That said, there are plenty of permanent fairgrounds around the country, and they tended to have a slightly creepy air about them. The real Ghost Trains in Blackpool and Porthcawl, for example, inspired the exterior of the Ghost Train in the novel. </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> In addition to writing you work as a video game designer, how does that work compare to the experience of writing fiction? Are there any surprising similarities? </p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> There are definite similarities, but I wouldn’t say that they are surprising. The games I’ve worked on tend to have definite narratives, so it’s exactly the same process of inspiration, development, pacing, and polishing. The main difference is that a novel can have significant sequences in which physically little happens, which is considered heretical in games. In fairness, there’s good reason for that—the player wants to be involved, and there isn’t a great deal of opportunity for that in a scene consisting of two people talking over a cup of tea. That’s not to say it hasn’t been attempted, and pretty successfully. I remember a game a few years ago based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. It hit all its target, being very atmospheric, true to its source, even thought provoking, and all without </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Have you always been a fan or horror and supernatural lore? When did this sort of thing first capture your imagination? </p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> Yes, I’ve always enjoyed the grotesque and the macabre, right from an early age. I recall that I somehow saw Dana Andrews being chased around the woods by a fireball in <em>Out of the Unknown</em> episodes before being sent to bed, and any number of slightly disturbing imports like <em>The Tinderbox</em> and </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> What sort of research did you do for the book? Was there anything you came across in the process that really surprised you?</p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> I actually did very little research for it; it was mostly lurking in my mind already. I can remember little necessary for day to day living, but if you ask me the birth name of Dr. Crippen’s wife, I can tell you off the top of my head. I needed a bit of nomenclature for something or other in the running of a carnival, which a librarian friend found for me, but that was the only real piece of research for it. Even things like the Grand Conjuration to summon a demon—which is an authentic ritual, you may be horrified to hear—was in a book I already had. I have a large collection of books on assorted esoterica to the extent that my wife, a bibliophile herself, rolls her eyes and says, “Not more bloody books?” whenever I come home with a bookshop bag and a sheepish expression. </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> There is a lot of paperwork in your version of Hell. Did you hold an especially bureaucratic job somewhere before working as a game designer?</p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> No, I’m very happy to say. I remember as a child considering the inevitability of growing up and wondering what the worst thing about it would be. It all looked pretty good from that perspective: money, going to bed when you liked, being able to go into any certificate film, and so on. Finally, I spotted a bad point, and that bad point was having to fill in forms. And I was right. There’s just something about completing a form that fills me with dread in its consideration, and depression during its commission. Which reminds me; I have two to fill in this week. Oh, joy. </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Johannes is a bit of an anti-hero and his motivations are somewhat mysterious. Do you think that he’s misunderstood by those around him? </p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> He’s definitely misunderstood, although if he were understood, it still wouldn’t make him popular. The fact that he’s labeled a necromancer gives him a public relations problem, as the vast majority of them are power hungry lunatics. Cabal’s ultimate aim is to defeat death, and to have the ability to bring people back just as they were when they were alive, physically, mentally, and spiritually. No lurking demonic possessions, no uncouth brain gobbling. His researches in that direction, however, have not been conducted in the most advantageous light. </p><p><strong>Question:</strong> What’s next for you? </p><p><strong>Jonathan L. Howard:</strong> I handed in the submission draft of the second Cabal novel <em>Johannes Cabal the Detective</em> just the other week, so that will be going through the editorial process shortly. I also have to decide what the next Cabal novel after that will be; I have a couple of ideas so it’s a case of weighing pros and cons before making a decision. I have a couple of non-Cabal novels, one of which is completed but needs a second draft, and the other is about 80% done. I’d like to get them polished, and then see if we can get them into print. </p><p>(Photo © Emma L.B.K. Smith) </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>When Johannes Cabal, a haughty sorcerer, finds that the absence of a soul is an impediment to his occult studies, he strikes a bargain with Satan in British author Howard's darkly funny debut: in one year's time he'll deliver the bartered souls of 100 unfortunates so that he might repossess his own. Cabal and his vampire brother, Horst, mount a traveling carnival to scour the countryside for men and women desperate enough to consign their souls to an infernal eternity for whatever will relieve their misery of the moment. Cabal proves marginally competent but maximally amusing in his dealings with a competing necromancer, an asylum of escaped lunatics and a staff of slowly decomposing carnies conjured from the dead. Howard capably synthesizes two classic themes of macabre fiction—the pact with the devil and the dark carnival—but the book's episodic structure and unconvincing ending betray it as a freshman effort. Still, Howard's ear for witty banter and his skill at rendering black comedy bode well for the future. <em>(July)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p><em>Starred Review.</em> In addition to their individual quality, the 16 stories in this rollicking collection amply demonstrate Hugo-winner Swanwick's impressive versatility. Characters vary from feuding prospectors on a heat-scoured Venus in Tin Marsh to clients of The Bordello in Faerie. On one end of the mood spectrum are the three elegantly wry adventures of Darger and Surplus, roguish postapocalypse con artists; on the other is the gentle Triceratops Summer, told in a matter-of-fact, laconic style that at first seems to show wonderful things becoming commonplace and then reveals that the familiar can still be wonderful. Swanwick (_The Iron Dragon's Daughter_) pulls apart overused situations to see what makes them tick and then constructs fresh, surprising plots from the pieces. The locked-room mystery may seem hopelessly stale, but not when it's A Small Room in Koboldtown, where voodoo beings and sleazy politics abound. Readers tired of conventional fantasy and SF will find this collection of intriguing characters and lovingly told stories deeply refreshing. <em>(Sept.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Rounding up all Swanwick's stories to date about unusually nondescript human Darger and genetically modified dog Surplus, a previously unpublished novella, and three Hugo-winning pieces, this generous volume opens with "Hello, Said the Stick," in which a soldier en route to battle picks up a talking stick that turns out to be unwontedly dangerous. The new publication, "The Skysailor's Tale," is an adventure on board a British airship claiming new lands for Queen Titania that is framed as a father telling his son about some of his strange doings when a lad. The Darger and Surplus capers, occuring after the age of computers in a suspiciously nineteenth-century-ish though far-future Europe, are satisfying tales of plotting and heists involving a great team, indeed. The closer, "Urdumheim," is the brilliantly imagined story of King Nimrod and the time when the world was new, people didn't die, and there was only one language. Swanwick's stories are possessed of sufficient depth and generic variety to satisfy quite a range of genre tastes. Schroeder, Regina </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Brenner, a Berlin-based journalist, focuses on 10 former child survivors, women in their late 70s, who went through the Theresienstadt concentration camp during the Holocaust. She notes that 12,000 children entered the camp from 1942 to 1944, but only a few hundred survived to war's end, and a handful of women of Room 28 in the camp's Girls' Home, now scattered around the world, reunited for the first time in 1991. The insights of the survivors and stories of the camp's victims are unforgettable and full of poignant humanity, conveyed through letters, photos, diaries and remembrances. Forced into exile and almost certain death under the Nazi regime, the children confronted hunger, cold, terror and the soul's endurance as many of the girls of Room 28 were slowly eliminated; the small band of survivors is committed to keeping their memory alive. Well-detailed and inspiring, Brenner's book, especially her heartfelt epilogue, pays glowing tribute to these heroic survivors. B&amp;w photos. <em>(Sept.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>"This beautiful evocation of heartwarming friendship in the darkest of times is unforgettable."<br />—Elie Wiesel  </p><p>"The insights of the survivors and stories of the camp's victims are unforgettable and full of poignant humanity, conveyed through letters, photos, diaries, and remembrances. . . . Well detailed and inspiring, Brenner's book, especially her heartfelt epilogue, pays glowing tribute to these heroic survivors." <br />—_Publishers Weekly_   </p><p>“Brenner chronicles the remarkable artistic experiments undertaken by the girls, especially their enthusiastic production of the children’s opera Brundibár. An inspiring story of courage rendered through impressive personal and historical detail.”<br />—_Kirkus Reviews_  </p><p>"The story of this children's home in Theresienstadt takes us to the limit of the bearable, to the place where compassion, fear, and the temptation to simply turn away all lie in wait. To resist that temptation--isn't that what the historical record must achieve?<br />—_DIE ZEIT  </p><p>_"This handful of girls wanted their memories of their dead friends and their time in Theresienstadt not to be forgotten. They wanted to make the story of their survival, and the love and friendship that their caretakers showerd them, unforgettable. Together with the author, they have succeeded. In Hannelore Brenner, these women have found someone who listened to them, who read their albums of poetry, their diaries, and their chronicles, and who has written a wonderful book."<br />—_PRAGER ZEITUNG  </p><p>"_Brenner has gathered together these stories with great sensitivity. She makes the past spring to life and gracefully places the personal memories of these girls into a historical context, while at the same time offering solid research and background information regarding life in Theresienstadt and the political situation of the time."<br />—_SÄCHSISCHE ZEITUNG_</p>


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In this first installment of his epic Haitian trilogy, Madison Smartt Bell brings to life a decisive moment in the history of race, class, and colonialism. The slave uprising in Haiti was a momentous contribution to the tide of revolution that swept over the Western world at the end of the 1700s. A brutal rebellion that strove to overturn a vicious system of slavery, the uprising successfully transformed Haiti from a European colony to the world's first Black republic. From the center of this horrific maelstrom, the heroic figure of Toussaint Louverture-a loyal, literate slave and both a devout Catholic and Vodouisant-emerges as the man who will take the merciless fires of violence and vengeance and forge a revolutionary war fueled by liberty and equality. Bell assembles a kaleidoscopic portrait of this seminal movement through a tableau of characters that encompass black, white, male, female, rich, poor, free and enslaved. Pulsing with brilliant detail, All Soul's Rising provides a visceral sense of the pain, terror, confusion, and triumph of revolution.


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'No individual British victory after Trafalgar was more decisive in challenging the course of a major war than was the Battle of Britain ...In his carefully argued, clearly explained and impressively documented book ...Richard Overy is at pains to dispose of the myths and expose the real history of what he does not doubt was a great British victory ...the best historical analysis in readable form which has yet appeared on this prime subject' Noble Frankland, The Times Literary Supplement


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In his illuminating book, <em>The Moral Animal</em>, Wright introduced evolutionary psychology and examined the ways that the morality of individuals might be hard-wired by nature rather than influenced by culture. With this book, he expands upon that work, turning now to explore how religion came to define larger and larger groups of people as part of the circle of moral consideration. Using a naïve and antiquated approach to the sociology and anthropology of religion, Wright expends far too great an effort covering well-trod territory concerning the development of religions from primitive hunter-gatherer stages to monotheism. He finds in this evolution of religion, however, that the great monotheistic (he calls them Abrahamic, a term not favored by many religion scholars) religions—Christianity, Islam, Judaism—all contain a code for the salvation of the world. Using game theory, he encourages individuals in these three faiths to embrace a non–zero-sum relationship to other religions, seeing their fortunes as positively correlated and interdependent and then acting with tolerance toward other religions. Regrettably, Wright's lively writing unveils little that is genuinely new or insightful about religion. <em>(June)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Straddling popular science, ancient history, and theology, this ambitious work sets out to resolve not only the clash of civilizations between the Judeo-Christian West and the Muslim world but also the clash between science and religion. Tracking the continual transformation of faith from the Stone Age to the Information Age, Wright, a self-described materialist, best known for his work on evolutionary psychology, free trade, and game theory, postulates that religious world views are becoming more open, compassionate, and synthesized. Occasionally, his prescriptions can seem obvious—for instance, that members of the different Abrahamic faiths should think of their religions as “having been involved, all along, in the same undertaking.” But his core argument, that religion is getting “better” with each passing aeon, is enthralling. <br />Copyright ©2008_ Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker_</p>


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Animal FarmBurmese DaysA Clergyman's DaughterComing Up for AirKeep the Aspidistra FlyingNineteen Eighty-FourDescribed by Anthony Burgess as 'the best-loved of all twentieth-century British writers', George Orwell still has as much power to move, amuse and provoke today.His best-known novels, Animal Farm, describing a revolution that goes horribly wrong, and Nineteen Eighty-Four, portraying a world where human freedom has been crushed, are two of the most famous, well-quoted and influential political satires ever written. The other novels in this volume also tell stories of people at odds with repressive institutions: the corrupt imperialism of Burmese Days, disaffection with materialistic society in Keep the Aspidistra Flying, the perils of modern suburban living in Coming Up for Air and surviving on the streets in A Clergyman's Daughter.All the novels brought together here display Orwell's humour, his understanding of human nature and his great compassion.


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. In this critical but affectionate portrait of Iranian politics and culture, Majd, the Western-educated grandson of an ayatollah, delves into the very core of Iranian society, closely examining social mores and Farsi phrases to identify the Persian sensibility, which, Majd determines, cherishes privacy, praise and poetry. Nothing is too small or too sweeping for Majd to consider, and although he announces his allegiance to the former president Khatami, he remains scrupulously even-handed in assessing his successor Ahmadinejad, shedding light on the Iranian president's obsession with the Holocaust and penchant for windbreakers and why the two are (surprisingly) intertwined. The author's brisk, conversational prose is appealing; his book reads as if he is chatting with a smart friend, while strolling around Tehran, engaged in <em>ta'arouf</em> (an exaggerated form of self-deprecation key to understanding Persian society). Although Majd seems to gloss too quickly over realities that don't engage his interest—women's voices are only intermittently included—this failing scarcely mars this remarkable ride through what is often uncharted territory. <em>(Oct.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>Praise for _The Ayatollah Begs to Differ<br />_<br />“In this delightful book, Hooman Majd, a gifted storyteller, takes us on a tour of his own private Persia, which is also the Iran of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The results are illuminating, humorous, sobering, and ultimately reassuring.” <br />—Jon Lee Anderson, author of <em>The Fall of Baghdad</em>  </p><p>“Hooman Majd is a stylish and engaging guide through the by-ways of Iranian life. Leading us from seminary to opium den to the presidential compound, his wry sense of humor makes this book a pleasure to read.” —Gary Sick, Ph.D., senior research scholar at Columbia University and member of the National Security Council staff under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan  </p><p>“A witty, timely perspective on the nation posing the greatest challenge to our next President.”<br />—Bill White, mayor of Houston and U.S. secretary of energy under President Clinton </p>


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In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed – except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant.

The resultant children of Midwich do not belong to their parents: all are blonde, all are golden eyed. They grow up too fast and their minds exhibit frightening abilities that give them control over others and brings them into conflict with the villagers just as a chilling realisation dawns on the world outside . . .

The Midwich Cuckoos is the classic tale of aliens in our midst, exploring how we respond when confronted by those who are innately superior to us in every conceivable way.


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<h3>Review</h3><p>“One of the greatest short novels in American literature, and a key text in my own understanding of what that literature can do.”<br />–<strong>MICHAEL CHABON</strong>  </p><p>“Lovecraft’s fiction is one of the cornerstones of modern horror.”<br />–<strong>CLIVE BARKER</strong></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Introduction by China Miéville  </p><p>Long acknowledged as a master of nightmarish visions, H. P. Lovecraft established the genuineness and dignity of his own pioneering fiction in 1931 with his quintessential work of supernatural horror, At the Mountains of Madness. The deliberately told and increasingly chilling recollection of an Antarctic expedition’s uncanny discoveries–and their encounter with untold menace in the ruins of a lost civilization–is a milestone of macabre literature.   </p><p>This exclusive new edition, presents Lovecraft’s masterpiece in fully restored form, and includes his acclaimed scholarly essay “Supernatural Horror in Literature.” This is essential reading for every devotee of classic terror. </p>


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THE EPIC PREQUEL TO DUNE"DUNE: HOUSE ATREIDES is a terrific prequel, but it is also a first-rate adventure on its own. Frank Herbert would surely be delighted and proud of this continuation of his vision."—Dean KoontzFrank Herbert's Dune chronicles became an enduring classic and the most popular science fiction series of all time. Working from recently discovered files left by his father, Brian Herbert and best-selling novelist Kevin J. Anderson bring us Dune: House Atreides, the prequel, which captures all the complexity and grand themes of the original work while weaving a new tapestry of great passion and momentous destiny into a saga that expands the tale written by Frank Herbert more than thirty years ago. Complex, brilliant, and prophetic, Frank Herbert's award-winning Dune chronicles captured the imaginations of millions of readers worldwide—and transformed their perception of what the future could be. By his death in 1986, Frank Herbert had completed six novels in the Dune series. But much of his vision—vast, sprawling, and multilayered—remained unwritten. Now, working from recently discovered files left by his father, Brian Herbert and bestselling novelist Kevin J. Anderson collaborate on a new novel, the first volume in the prequel to Dune—where we step onto planet Arrakis...decades before Dune's hero, Paul Atreides, walks its sands. —Beginning nearly four decades before Dune, House Atreides introduces pivotal characters, alliances, base treacheries, and bright hopes that form the foundation of Dune. On the planet Arrakis, an aging tyrant sits on the Golden Lion Throne and rules all of the known universe, while his son grows dangerously impatient for the crown. A quasi-religious order of black-robed women move their secret breeding program one momentous step closer to creating a god-child they call the Kwisatz Haderach. And a minor family among the nobility, House Atreides, chooses a course of honor that will bring it to destruction at the hands of its mortal enemy, House Harkonnen—or take it to new heights of power.Here is the rich and complex world that Frank Herbert created in his classic series, in the time leading up to the momentous events of Dune. As Emperor Elrood's son Shaddam plots a subtle regicide, young Leto Atreides leaves his lush, water-rich planet for a year's education on the mechanized world of Ix; a planetologist named Pardot Kynes is dispatched by the Emperor to the desert planet Arrakis, or Dune, to discover the secrets of the addictive spice known as melange; and the eight-year-old slave Duncan Idaho is hunted by his cruel masters in a terrifying game from which he vows escape and vengeance. But none can envision the fate in store for them: one that will make them renegades—and shapers of history. Covering the decade when Shaddam wins his throne, the teenager Leo Atreides becomes unexpectedly the rule of House Atreides, and Pardot Kynes uncovers one of the planet Dune's greatest secrets, House Atreides stands next to Dune in its power and scope. While this new novel solves some of Dune's most baffling mysteries, it presents new puzzles springing from the sands where one day Paul Muad'Dib Atreides will walk. But now, in the years before Paul's birth, an unforgettable new epic begins. Fans of the Dune chronicles will relish the opportunity to return to the rich and exotic universe created by Frank Herbert, while new readers will be introduced to an incomparable imagination—a future where the fate of the entire cosmos is at stake. The Story Behind Dune: House Atreidesby Brian HerbertWhen my father first sat down with me to go over one of my manuscripts, he told me that he couldn't teach me how to write; instead, he would teach me what he called "the care and feeding of editors": how to make manuscripts look presentable so that they wouldn't be tossed into a slush pile, unread. He then proceeded to teach me how to write. I remember many instances when we would brainstorm ideas and dissect my own novel manuscripts. He taught me how to develop worlds, to create characters, to invent action...and to describe all of it. We collaborated on the novel Man of Two Worlds, Frank Herbert's last published work, and even talked about working together on a new Dune novel, but we'd set no date, had established no specific details or direction.That novel was not to be. When my father died in 1986, he left several projects unfinished. For years there were rumors that I would write another novel set in my father's Dune universe, a sequel to the sixth book in the series, Chapterhouse: Dune. Prominent writers approached me with offers of collaboration, but in tossing ideas around with them I couldn't visualize the project coming to fruition. They were excellent writers, but in combination with them I didn't feel the necessary synergy for such a monumental task. Along with Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and a handful of other works, Dune stood as one of the greatest creative achievements of all time, and arguably the greatest example of science fiction world-building in the history of literature. For the sake of my father's legacy, I could not select the wrong person.It wasn't until I began conversation with Kevin J. Anderson, a critically acclaimed and internationally best-selling author, that I found someone whose enthusiasm and passion for the Dune universe match my own. Much of Kevin's writing had been influenced heavily by the work of Frank Herbert. I read everything I could get my hands on that Kevin had written, and did more checking on him. It soon became clear that he was a brilliant writer and that his reputation was sterling. We hit it off immediately, both on a personal and professional level; new story ideas fairly exploded from our minds and together, we found the energy to tackle such a massive project.Frank Herbert had left behind literally thousands of pages of notes, ideas, and sketches. Of all the possible Dune stories we could tell, Kevin and I chose to concentrate on an immediate prequel, to go back to the heart of Dune's readership, the core characters and situations that had made this the best-selling science fiction novel of all time: The love story of Duke Leto and Lady Jessica; their first battle with Baron Harkonnen; the quest of the planetologist Kynes, sent to the desert world of Dune to investigate the precious spice and the sandworms and the Fremen...and the power-hungry Crown Prince Shaddam, who would do anything to secure the Imperial throne.The Dune universe is a vast canvas, with ample opportunity for many stories, but we have chosen to start here, featuring the characters with whom all Dune fans are familiar. Dune: House Atreides is a personal story that means a great deal to us; we hope booksellers and readers alike will feel the same way. Signed,Brian Herbert


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The sequel to Dune: House Atreides and Dune: House Harkonnen chronicles the origins of the rivalry between Duke Leto and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the actions that transformed Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck into heroes, the birth of Paul Atreides, and the creation of the tyrannical Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino. Reprint.


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Duke Leto Atreides is now the skilful and much-loved ruler of Caladan, served by loyal Duncan Idaho. To his court come Gurney Halleck, despised slave of the Harkonnens - and Jessica, the exquisite, perfectly trained concubine chosen by the Reverend Mothers of the Bene Gesserit to be the mother of Leto's daughter. Meanwhile, on Dune - planet Arrakis - House Harkonnen ruthlessly harvests the precious, mind-enhancing drug called spice. And Baron Vladimir is slowly being consumed by a loathesome disease. Rabban Harkonnen - House Atreides' most implacable enemy - prepares to take over his uncle's empire.


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Following up his cosmic <em>Evolution</em>. The book is nothing less than a novelization of human evolution, a mega-Michener treatment of 65 million years starring a host of smart, furry primates representing <em>Homo sapiens</em>'s ancestry. Each stage of our ancestry is represented by a character of progressively increasing intelligence, empathy, and brain size, who must survive predation and other perils long enough to keep the natural-selection ball rolling. While Baxter carefully follows some widely accepted theories of evolution--punctuated equilibrium, for instance--he also strays from the known in postulating air whales and sentient, tool-wielding dinosaurs. And why not? There's nothing in the fossil record to contradict his musings about those things, or about the first instances of mammalian altruism and deception, which he also lets us observe. From little Purga, a shrewlike mammal scurrying under the feet of ankylosaurs, all the way through Ultimate, the last human descendant, Baxter adds drama and a strong story arc to our past and future. But he spends too much time on details of the various prehumans' lives, which can become repetitive: fight, mate, die, ad infinitum. And readers eager for a science-fictional adventure will only find satisfaction in the posthuman chapters at the end. Despite these flaws, <em>Evolution</em> grips the attention with an epoch-spanning tale of the random changes that rule our genetic heritage. Recommended. <em>--Therese Littleton</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Taking a page from SF saga writers like Kim Stanley Robinson and Brian Stableford, British author Baxter (the Manifold trilogy) portrays humanity's origins, growth and ultimate disappearance in a loose-knit series of brutal vignettes spanning millions of years of evolution. Beginning with the gritty slice-of-life tale of a small, ratlike proto-primate called Purga (short for species Purgatorius), the story travels from the end of the Cretaceous through the millennia as primates slowly evolve into creatures more and more recognizably human, learning to make and use tools, developing language and the ability to feel empathy-the trait that Baxter selects as definitive of true humanity. Resonating with that theme, the vignettes are linked by a thin near-future frame about scientists meeting in the midst of ecological and political chaos to find a way to save humanity from itself through the "globalization of empathy." More concerned with technical detail than character or plot, the book rises above its fragmented narrative and frequently repetitive violence to reach a grim and stoic grandeur, which (despite a tendency toward preachiness) clearly has humanity's best interests at heart. Here is a rigorously constructed hard SF novel where the question is not whether humanity will reach the stars but how it will survive its own worst tendencies.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>It’s been said that for any event, there are an infinite number of possible out­comes. Our choices determine which outcome will follow, and therefore all possibilities that could happen do happen across alternate realities. In these divergent realms, known history is bent, like white light through a shattered prism—broken into a boundless spectrum of what-might-have-beens. But in those myriad universes, what might have been . . . is what actually occurred. </p><p><strong>THE EMBRACE OF COLD ARCHITECTS.</strong> “Mister Worf—fire.” With thosewords, William T. Riker defeated the Borg—and destroyed Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Now, a heartsore Captain Riker must carry on the legacy of thecommanding officer and friend whose death he ordered. But crises face himat every turn, from Cardassian aggression to the return of Data’s creator,Noonien Soong. But it is Data’s creation of a daughter, Lal, that may prove to beeveryone’s undoing. . . . </p><p><strong>THE TEARS OF ERIDANUS.</strong> Commander Hikaru Sulu of the <em>Kumari</em>—finest ship of the Interstellar Guard, the military arm of the Interstellar Union that includes Andor, Earth, and Tellar—is sent to rescue an observation team on a primitive desert planet. The world has many names—40 Eridani A-II, Minshara, T’Khasi, Vulcan—and its savage natives have taken the team hostage, including Sulu’s daughter, Demora. Even as Captain Sulu negotiates with the fierce T’Pau, Demora meets the elderly S’oval, and with him the only hope for the planet’s future. . . . </p><p><strong>HONOR IN THE NIGHT.</strong> Former Federation president Nilz Baris has died. After losing Sherman’s Planet to the Klingons thanks to poisoned quadrotriticale, the agriculture undersecretary parlayed that defeat into years of political battles with the Klingon Empire, and eventually the Federation’s highest office. Now, the Federation News Service wants the story of his life, a quest that digs up many secrets—including the mystery of why his final words were “Arne Darvin.” </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p><strong>DAVID R. GEORGE III</strong> wrote the Crucible trilogy for Star Trek's 40th anniversary as well as <em>Olympus Descending</em> for Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume Three. He previously visited DS9 in the novels <em>The 34th Rule</em>, set during the timeframe of the series, and in <em>Twilight</em>, set after the finale. His other Star Trek contributions include a first season Voyager episode, "Prime Factors," and one of the_ Lost Era _books, <em>Serpents Among the Ruins,</em> which hit the <em>New York Times</em> bestseller list in Fall, 2003. Currently he is writing a novella for <em>Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Shattered Light</em>, coming in December, 2010, from Gallery Books.</p><p>In his almost nonexistent spare time, David enjoys trying his hand at new experiences, from skydiving to auditioning--with his lovely wife, Karen--for "The New Newlywed Game", from hiking a glacier in Alaska to belly dancing in Tunisia, from ocean kayaking in Mexico to having dinner at an actual captain's table somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Recently, he performed his first wedding ceremony--which he and Karen also wrote--marrying their friends Jen and Ryan Van Riper. David believes that the world is a wide, wondrous place, with exciting adventures waiting around just about every corner.</p><p>He remains free on his own recognizance.  </p><p><strong>STEVE MOLLMANN</strong> is studying for a Ph.D. in English at an unknown university at an unknown location in the United States. He is not being coy; at the time this was written, he simply had no idea where he would be by the time you read this. He obtained his M.A. in English at the University of Connecticut, and hopes to pursue a career as a scholar, specializing in British literature, especially its intersection with science and technology. Also in that gap of time, he will have gotten married to his then-fiancÉe, Hayley. He has met Michael Schuster on more than one occasion.  </p><p><strong>MICHAEL SCHUSTER</strong> lives in a picturesque Austrian mountain valley, with half a continent and one entire ocean between him and Steve Mollmann. A bank employee by day, he likes to come up with new (or at least relatively unused) ideas that can be turned into stories with loving care and the occasional nudge. With Steve, he is the co-author of two short stories in the anthology <em>Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Sky's the Limit</em>. Their first novel, <em>The Tears of Eridanus</em>, will be released as part of the collection <em>Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Shattered Light </em>this December. Currently, the two are hard at work building their own universe-sized sandbox to play in. More information about them (including annotations for <em>The Future Begins</em>) can be found at http://www.exploringtheuniverse.net/. </p>


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<h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Grade 8–10—Alice has never been part of the in-crowd at school. She hangs with the artsies, as well as her best friend, a boy named Jewel whom she has known since grade school. Then one day something weird happens—a popular football player named Simon starts noticing her. Jewel starts noticing her too. In the course of one week, both boys kiss her and she likes both kisses equally. Initially, she dates Simon, and, as a result, her friendship with Jewel is shattered, and she must make a decision about what's really important to her. The story is upbeat, but the pacing is slow, and the plot is a bit obvious. However, the mood of reflection is sustained throughout, the characters are fully fleshed out, and high school life is accurately portrayed.—_Jennifer-Lynn Draper, Children's Literature Consultant, Aurora, ON, Canada_ <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>“Gallagher’s debut—like Alice—shines.”—</em>VOYA  </p><p>Alice and Jewel have been best friends since grade school. Together, they don’t need anyone else, and together they blend into the background of high school. Invisible. To Alice, Jewel is the opposite of invisible. Jewel is her best friend who goes to indie concerts and art shows with her. Jewel scoffs at school dances with her. Alice is so comfortable around Jewel that she can talk to him about almost anything.  </p><p>But she can’t tell him that she likes the cool, popular Simon. Simon asks her to the school dance the same day that Jewel kisses her for the first time. Still, she can’t say no to Simon. He seems like the easy choice, the one she’s attracted to, the one she’s ready for. But will it mean losing Jewel?  </p><p>In a bright debut novel set against the lively backdrop of Seattle, Alice must learn the difference between love and a crush and what it means to be yourself when you’re not sure who that is yet. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Jackson matches effortless Southern storytelling with a keen eye for character and heart-stopping circumstances. Laurel, a high-end quilt maker, sees the ghost of a little girl in her bedroom one night. When it leads her to the backyard and a dead girl in the swimming pool, the life Laurel had hoped to build in her gated Florida neighborhood with her video-game designer husband, David, and their tween daughter, Shelby, starts to fall apart. Though the police clear the drowning as accidental, it soon appears that Shelby and her friend Bet may have been involved. Bet, who lives in DeLop, Laurel's impoverished hometown, was staying over the night of the drowning and plays an increasingly important role as the truth behind the drowning comes to light. Meanwhile, Laurel's sister, Thalia, whose unconventional ways are anathema to Laurel's staid existence, comes to stay with the family and helps sort things out. Subplots abound: Laurel thinks David is having an affair, and Thalia reveals some ugly family secrets involving the death of their uncle. What makes this novel shine are its revelations about the dark side of Southern society and Thalia and Laurel's finely honed relationship, which shows just how much thicker blood is than water. <em>(Mar.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>"...a great tale [that] builds to an exciting and violent ending, one that surprises and yet seems to fit."<br />-_USA Today_  </p><p>"... buoyant and moving ....beautifully balanced between magical and realist fiction... closer in tone and voice to Alice Sebold's 'The Lovely Bones' or Richard Ford's Frank Bascombe trilogy."<br />-_Atlanta Journal Constitution_  </p><p>"A ghost story, family psychodrama, and murder mystery all in one. Jackson's latest is a wild, smartly calibrated achievement. A-."<br />-_Entertainment Weekly_  </p><p>"Jackson matches effortless Southern storytelling with a keen eye for character and heart-stopping circumstances."<br />-_Publisher's Weekly_  </p><p>"Joshilyn Jackson has done it again... her skillful unraveling of family secrets and betrayal left me breathless. You must read this book!"<br />-Sara Gruen, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>This enduringly popular tale of love and revenge in the post-Napoleonic era follows Edmond Dantes as he prepares to captain his own ship and marry his beloved Mercedes. But on his wedding day, he is betrayed by spiteful enemies and arrested on trumped-up charges. Condemned to lifelong imprisonment, he befriends Faria, a priest and fellow inmate with an escape plan. When Faria dies, Edmond escapes alone. Free at last, and incredibly wealthy, Edmond enters society posing as the Count of Monte Cristo to reclaim his lost love and enact a terrible vengeance on his accusers. </p><h3>Language Notes</h3><p>Text: English (translation)<br />Original Language: French </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Robert Fagles's translation is a jaw-droppingly beautiful rendering of Homer's <em>Odyssey</em>, the most accessible and enthralling epic of classical Greece. Fagles captures the rapid and direct language of the original Greek, while telling the story of Odysseus in lyrics that ring with a clear, energetic voice. The story itself has never seemed more dynamic, the action more compelling, nor the descriptions so brilliant in detail. It is often said that every age demands its own translation of the classics. Fagles's work is a triumph because he has not merely provided a contemporary version of Homer's classic poem, but has located the right language for the timeless character of this great tale. Fagles brings the <em>Odyssey</em> so near, one wonders if the Hollywood adaption can be far behind. This is a terrific book. </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Robert Fagles's 1990 translation of The Iliad was highly praised; here, he moves to The Odyssey. As in the previous work, he adroitly mixes contemporary language with the driving rhythms of the original. The first line reads: "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns/ driven time and again off course once he had plundered/ the hallowed heights of Troy." Hellenic scholar Bernard Knox contributes extensive introductory commentary, providing both historical and literary perspective. Notes, a pronouncing glossary, genealogies, a bibliography and maps of Homer's world are included.<br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>“One of the most interesting and critically underrated novelists we have … <strong>The Folklore of Discworld</strong> — co-authored with the eminent folklorist Jacqueline Simpson — emphasizes his irreverence and drollery.”<br />— <em>The Times</em>  </p><p>“Pratchett is, like Mark Twain or Jonathan Swift, not just a great writer but also an original thinker … funny, exciting, lighthearted and, like all the best comedy, very serious.”<br />— <em>Guardian</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Terry Pratchett joins up with a leading folklorist to reveal the legends, myths and customs of Discworld, together with helpful hints from Planet Earth.  </p><p>Most of us grew up having always known when to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly some of these things are beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, and fairy tales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got here. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings, which on Earth are creatures of the imagination — like vampires, trolls, witches and, possibly, gods — are real, alive and, in some cases kicking, on the Disc.  </p><p>In <strong>The Folklore of Discworld</strong>, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>The Company builds planets. </p><p>Kin Arad is a high-ranking official of the Company. After twenty-one decades of living, and with the help of memory surgery, she is at the top of her profession. Discovering two of her employees have placed a fossilized plesiosaur in the wrong stratum, not to mention the fact it is holding a placard which reads 'End Nuclear Testing Now', doesn't dismay the woman who built a mountain range in the shape of her initials during her own high-spirited youth. </p><p>But then come a discovery of something which did intrigue Kin Arad. A flat earth was something new... </p><h3>From the Publisher</h3><p>First published in 1981, <em>Strata</em> is an early exploration of the idea that was to become the best-selling <em>Discworld</em> series. </p>


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Dom Salabos had a lot of advantages.As heir to a huge fortune he had an excellent robot servant (with Man-Friday subcircuitry), a planet (the First Syrian Bank) as a godfather, a security chief who even ran checks on himself, and on Dom's home world even death was not always fatal.Why then, in an age when prediction was a science, was his future in doubt?


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<h3>Review</h3><p>“When the least they could do to you was everything, then the most they could do to you suddenly held no terror.” –From, <strong>Small Gods</strong>  </p><p>“A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.”<br />–From, <strong>The Fifth Elephant</strong></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>For more than two decades, Terry Pratchett has been regaling readers with tales of Discworld--a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants, which are standing on the back of a giant turtle, flying through space. It is a world populated by ineffectual wizards and sharp-as-tacks witches, by tired policemen and devious dictators, by reformed thieves and vampires who have sworn to drink no blood. It is a world that is vastly different from our own . . . except when it isn't. </p><p>Now, in <em>The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld</em>, various nuggets of Pratchett's witty commentary and sagacious observations have been compiled by Pratchett expert Stephen Briggs, a man who, they say, knows even more about Discworld than Terry Pratchett. </p><p>Within these pages, you'll find musings on: </p><ul> <li><p><em>Interior decorating:</em> "It's a fact known throughout the universes that no matter how carefully the colors are chosen, institutional decor ends up as either vomit green, unmentionable brown, nicotine yellow, or surgical appliance pink. By some little-understood process of sympathetic resonance, corridors painted in those colors always smell slightly of boiled cabbage--even if no cabbage is ever cooked in the vicinity." (_Equal Rites_)</p> </li> <li><p><em>Travel:</em> "Any seasoned traveler soon learns to avoid anything wished on them as a 'regional speciality,' because all the term means is that the dish is so unpleasant the people living everywhere else will bite off their own legs rather than eat it. But hosts still press it upon distant guests anyway: 'Go on, have the dog's head stuffed with macerated cabbage and pork noses--it's a regional speciality.'" (_The Last Continent_)</p> </li> <li><p><em>Young men:</em> "And then there was the young male walk. At least women swung only their hips. Young men swung everything, from the shoulders down. You have to try to occupy a lot of space. It makes you look bigger, like a tomcat fluffing his tail. The boys tried to walk big in self-defense against all those other big boys out there. I'm bad, I'm fierce, I'm cool, I'd like a pint of shandy and me mam wants me home by nine." (_Monstrous Regiment_)</p> </li> <li><p><em>Class:</em> "'Old money' meant that it had been made so long ago that the black deeds that had originally filled the coffers were now historically irrelevant. Funny, that; a brigand for a father was something you kept quiet about, but a slave-taking pirate for a great-great-great-grandfather was something to boast of over the port. Time turned the evil bastards into rogues, and rogue was a word with a twinkle in its eye and nothing to be ashamed of." (_Making Money_)</p> </li> <li><ol> <li><ol> <li>     and more! Culled from all the Discworld novels, <em>The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld</em> confirms Pratchett's place in the pantheon of great satirists and proves why the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> has praised his Discworld as "entertaining and gloriously funny . . . an accomplishment nothing short of magical."  </li></ol> </li></ol> </li></ul>


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<p><i>IPv6 Essentials</i>, Second Edition provides a succinct, in-depth tour of all the new features and functions in IPv6. It guides you through everything you need to know to get started, including how to configure IPv6 on hosts and routers and which applications currently support IPv6. Aimed at system and network administrators, engineers, network designers, and IT managers, this book will help you understand, plan for, design, and integrate IPv6 into your current IPv4 infrastructure.</p>


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<p>While other books merely show how to run existing exploits, <i>Hacking: The Art of Exploitation</i> broke ground as the first book to explain how hacking and software exploits work and how readers could develop and implement their own. In the extensively updated and expanded second edition, author Jon Erickson again uses practical examples to illustrate the most common computer security issues in three related fields: programming, networking and cryptography. Includes a live CD, which provides a Linux programming environment and all of its benefits without the hassle of installing a new operating system.</p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>In <em>The Fighting Agents</em>, W.E.B. Griffin retells the story (previously told in <em>Behind the Lines</em>) of Wendell Fertig, a U.S. Army officer who promoted himself to general and led a ragtag guerrilla force against the Japanese after the fall of the Philippines in 1943. This time, however, Griffin focuses his attention on the OSS, which, among other things, was tasked with resupplying Fertig and reinforcing his efforts to undermine the Japanese war machine. In this fourth volume of a bestselling series featuring the American intelligence service during World War II, James Whittaker, a rakish, romantic army air corps captain who happens to be a close family friend of OSS chief Wild Bill Donovan, is assigned to sneak into the Philippines by submarine and bring gold, arms, and war materiel to the renegade general. </p><p>Simultaneously, another OSS team tries to carry out a critical mission: getting a German atomic scientist out of Budapest and into allied hands before Hitler's armies can perfect and unleash the weapon that could win the war for the Axis powers. And in Cairo, a quiet, unassuming pilot named Darmstadter is drafted by the OSS for another highly unlikely mission. Griffin spices up his realistically drawn scenes of military operations, weapons, and training with a somewhat improbable love story focusing on Whittaker and a female OSS operative, but one suspects it's merely a ruse to draw in distaff readers. Still, the action ranges from Washington to California, Egypt to London, and all points in between, and Griffin's knowledge of military hearts, minds, and missions has won him a devoted following through five separate series of novels of men (and some women) in battle. <em>--Jane Adams</em></p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Stephen Lang narrates this fourth installment of Griffin's "Men at War" series, which began with The Last Heroes. In this episode, the action concerns the extraction of an important German atomic scientist out of Hungary and the establishment of direct contact with the American guerrilla leader in the Philippines, (self-proclaimed) Brigadier-General Wendell Fertig. Griffin's ability to weave fictional and historical characters never ceases to amaze, and this novel is populated with the usual assortment of colorful and exciting Griffin stalwarts. Lang continues his credible narrative performance of "Soldier Spies" in this work; he is comfortable and confident reading the narrative and brings out the hardened characters of the cast. For all action/adventure collections.DMichael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll., Lynchburg <br />Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Having wrapped up World War II with 1999's __, bestselling military author W.E.B. Griffin now deploys his Marines in Korea with <em>Under Fire</em>, the ninth volume in his </p><p>Readers who crave nonstop battle action and excitement may find it hard to stick with <em>Under Fire</em>, as Griffin takes the time to detail the background leading up to one of America's least-remembered modern wars. Griffin writes for the true armed forces aficionado, filling his prose with realistic descriptions of procedure, gear, and materials, an alphabet's worth of acronyms, and an ex- soldier's ear for military dialogue. Look for more sharp, authentic writing in this series' next installment. <em>--Benjamin Reese</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>After eight books in the popular WWII Corps series, Griffin's latest kicks off on the Korean peninsula, where forces from the Communist North have just stormed over the 38th Parallel. Within a few weeks, the old team is back together, most under the steady command of Brig. Gen. Fleming Pickering, whom President Truman recalls from the helm of Trans Global Airways to assume the CIA's top Asian post. As the U.S. Army flounders to contain the North, Pickering struggles to restore Washington's faith in Comdr. Douglas MacArthur and his daring proposal to invade at Inchon. Meanwhile, as Capt. Ken McCoy and Master Gunner Ernie Zimmerman skulk behind enemy lines, seizing a crucial island in preparation for the invasion, a new calamity breaks out: Pickering's son, daredevil pilot Malcolm ("Pick"), gets shot down over a North Korean rice paddy. This new entry in the series moves more slowly than previous ones, as Griffin who served in the army in Korea sets up the historical elements of the conflict and positions all his characters. But once he gets going, he writes with even assurance and a keen eye for military camaraderie and nuance, offering galvanizing drama and a respectful yet irreverent treatment of military procedure and attitudes, not to mention plenty of Scotch. As the book ends with U.S. forces digging in for battle and Pick still missing the dean of the American war adventure has left himself room for plenty of action ahead. National television and ad campaign. </p><p>Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Megaseller Griffin (Honor Bound; Brotherhood of War; Men at War) musters another solid entry in his series chronicling the history of the U.S. Marines, now engaged in the Korean War. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, nicknamed El Supremo by his subordinates, is taken by surprise when the North Korean Army surges south across the 38th parallel. After early losses, he rallies his troops and stems the tide, but not for long. Intertwining stories of literally an army of characters reveal how MacArthur and his sycophantic staff overlook the entire Red Chinese Army, which is massed behind the Yalu River and about to enter the war. Brig. Gen. Fleming Pickering attempts to mediate the ongoing battles between feisty, give-'em-hell Harry Truman and the haughty MacArthur, while worrying about his pilot son, Malcolm "Pick" Pickering, who has been shot down behind enemy lines. The introduction of the Sikorsky H-19A helicopter into the war by Maj. Kenneth "Killer" McCoy and sidekick Master Gunner Ernie Zimmerman details the invention of tactics that will become commonplace in Vietnam. Readers looking for guts and glory military action will be disappointed, as barely a shot is fired in anger, but fans of Griffin's work understand that the pleasures are in the construction of a complex, big-picture history of war down to its smallest details: "There were two men in the rear seat, both of them wearing fur-collared zippered leather jackets officially known as Jacket, Flyers, Intermediate Type G-1." Veterans of the series will enjoy finding old comrades caught up in fresh adventures, while new-guy readers can easily enter here and pick up the ongoing story.<br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Griffin is the author of five series, including Honor Bound, Brotherhood of War, The Corps, Badge of Honor, and Men at War--33 books for those readers who are still counting. In this latest book in The Corps, Griffin sets the action in Korea in 1950 during the war. The plot involves a disagreement between General Douglas MacArthur and Major Kenneth McCoy on just where the Chinese are waiting to engage U.S. troops. Another protagonist, General Fleming Pickering, is kept busy mediating the growing quarrel between MacArthur and President Truman. Pickering's son, a marine pilot, is missing after being shot down behind enemy lines. There are lots of other characters, all keen on destroying the bad guys. Like his other novels, this one is filled with military jargon and tough talk. The setting is worldwide: locales include South Korea, a neuropsychiatric ward in a San Diego naval hospital, Tokyo, Wake Island, the Sea of Japan, and the White House. There also are lots of top-secret memos and military abbreviations but not much suspense. In Griffin's novels, the good guys always win. However, the author has a knack for smoothly combining fact with fiction, giving his work a realistic veneer. <em>George Cohen</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Bestselling author W.E.B. Griffin, whose novels about various branches of the military have won him battalions of fans, returns to the Brotherhood of War series with this crackling yarn. A detachment of Special Forces hotshots teams up with presidential counselor Sandy Felter to put a stop to Che Guevara's attempts to "liberate" the Congo from President Joseph Mobutu's anticommunist government. </p><p>Under Felter's direction, the Green Berets dispatch a special detachment to the Congo. Their mission is to convince Mobutu of the wisdom of the American plan to discredit and humiliate Che and his Cuban troops, rather than martyr him, and thus bring an end to his plan to export Castro-style communism to Africa and South America. Repelling the Simba insurgents with help from forces led by South African mercenary Mike Hoare, Mobutu accepts the plan, along with the Green Beret's covert assistance, war materiel, and a fighting force manned by many of the characters who peopled <em>The Aviators</em>, Griffin's last Brotherhood adventure. Yes, fans, the good guys are back--especially flying ace Jack Portet, (a pilot drafted into the army right out of Leopoldville, where he was helping his father run a regional airline), George Washington "Father" Lunsford, and Master Sergeant "Doubting" Thomas. And a lot of them are black, a talented crew of African American airmen and specialists pressed into the Special Forces not just because they're brave and able but because they can pass as Congolese soldiers and thereby keep the American presence under wraps. </p><p>As a matter of historical fact Guevara failed badly in the Congo, and after retreating to Cuba, tried the same gambit in Bolivia, where he eventually died under fire and gained the martyrdom the U.S. tried so hard to prevent. But <em>Special Ops</em> offers a close-up look at a little-known piece of military history in a gloriously testosterone-pumped epic, seasoned with a touch of sex and romance. That may seem incongruous, given Griffin's clipped, terse writing style, which is punctuated with plenty of military dispatches and a few gratuitous growls at the internecine rivalry among American intelligence agencies. It's even more incongruous when the general's daughter gets the flying ace, and her father's highly placed friends not only get Portet an officer's stripes but fly her to the Congo to stand by her man. But none of that will stop Griffin's delighted readers from snapping up his latest chronicle of men at war. <em>--Jane Adams</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Newly initiated readers of Griffin (The Fighting Agents) will find the latest in the Brotherhood of War series strongly reminiscent of modern American military classics From Here to Eternity and The Winds of War. Longtime Griffin faithful, eager since 1988's The Aviators for the next BOW installment, will deem this '60s action drama well worth the wait. Fresh from disobeying orders on a rescue mission to the Congo in November 1964 (and receiving two medals for his heroic efforts), former airline pilotDnow Green Beret Sgt.DJack Portet is promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Top Secret Special Operations under Col. Sanford T. Felter, adviser to the president. CIA sources report that Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara is going to the Congo to establish a major Communist foothold in Africa, before moving on to South America. LBJ, with counsel from Felter, decides that it would be better politics to humiliate Guevara in the Congo than to elevate him to martyr status by killing him. To that end, Portet, Felton and Maj. George Washington "Father" Lunsford persuade Joseph Mobutu, president of the Republic of the Congo, to allow a crack unit of African-American Green Berets, all fluent in Swahili, to carry out the assignment. The Special Ops manage to chase Che out of Africa only to see him try to gain power in Bolivia. His writing enriched by new, fully developed characters, Griffin also reprises BOW favorites Craig Lowell, Robert Bellmon, Geoff Craig and William "Doubting" Thomas as he renders an intricately layered, epic novel of the fascinating machinations of international politics and the life and passions of the men who make it happen. Given Griffin's track record with military adventureDhe launched the Lieutenants of the Brotherhood in 1982Dthe audience for this rouser is ready and waiting. (Jan.) <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From Kirkus Reviews</h3><p>Second volume in the Men at War saga, begun with The Last Heroes (1997), a paperback originally published (in 1985) under the pseudonym Alex Baldwin. Griffin has written several popular WWII series, featuring the Marine Corps, the Navy, and now the shadow warriors of the OSS, led by <code></code>Wild Bill'' Donovan. The first in this new saga turned on a cache of uranium ore in the Belgian Congo. This time, along with other jobs, the OSS must drop agents into the Belgian Congo and smuggle out ore to use in making atomic bombs. Secrecy is all, since the Germans also may well be devising their own atomic weapons. Shrewd, sharp, rousing entertainment. -- <em>Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>The <em>New York Times</em> bestselling series continues with the second <em>Men at War</em> novel by W.E.B. Griffin.  </p><p>Washington D.C., 1942. With the help of Charles A. Lindbergh, ace OSS pilot Richard Canidy sets up an air maneuver that will drop agents into the Belgian Congo to smuggle out uranium ore essential to the arms race. But this time, Canidy is not in the saddle; he's the backup pilot. And though he's not used to waiting for something to go wrong, he knows that it will...   </p><p>"Shrewd, sharp, rousing entertainment!"--_Kirkus Reviews_  </p><p>"A storyteller in the grand tradition."--Tom Clancy </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p><em>Starred Review.</em> Is Griffin our Homer or Tacitus? Those military experts wrote about real soldiers—and what the world needs now is a real-life Charley Castillo, Griffin's smart and efficient Department of Homeland Security agent, who works directly for the president on cases calling for more than routine skills. Introduced in <em>By Order of the President</em> (2004), Castillo is an excellent alternative to the usual crew who make it to the headlines. Told in Griffin's trademark clean and compelling prose, studded with convincing insider details, Castillo's second outing starts with an American diplomat's murder in Argentina, the kidnapping of his wife, and threats to murder her children unless she reveals the whereabouts of her brother, a U.N. diplomat involved in the food-for-Iraqi-oil scandal. Castillo and his team of tough and shrewd experts are just the kind of believable people we want in these situations. And if it takes a novelist like Griffin, who has honed his skills and weapons in five previous series, to bring them to life, at least their real counterparts will have some fictional role models to live up to. <em>(Jan.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Griffin's second novel in his Presidential Agent series is the best-selling author's thirty-sixth book. Delta Force Major Charley Castillo is the protagonist-hero; he works with the Department of Homeland Security. He is asked by the president to go to Buenos Aires, where the wife of the deputy chief has been kidnapped and her husband has been murdered, shot twice in the head as she was forced to watch. Terrorists threaten to kill her children if she doesn't tell them how to find her brother, who, it seems, may have knowledge about the UN-Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. The twists and turns here include the handling of a large amount of money--$16 million, to be exact--that a variety of people would like to get hold of, and the storyline is peppered with forged passports, special agents, and never-ending cell-phone calls. The convoluted plot will appeal to thriller readers, especially Griffin's many fans, and although some of the dialogue is hackneyed, fans of the genre and author won't care. The important thing is the fast pacing and the relevance of the story to today's events and headlines. <em>George Cohen</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The tension between India's centuries-old spiritual traditions and contemporary religious militancy drives this memorable, melancholy family saga by two-time Canadian Giller Prize–winner Vassanji (who won for <em>The Book of Secrets</em> and <em>The In-Between World of Vikram Lall</em>). Karsan Dargawalla is destined from boyhood to succeed his father and his father's father as avatar of Pirbaag, a 13th-century Sufi shrine. As the novel unfolds in fits and starts, Karsan rejects his spiritual inheritance and decamps for Harvard in 1970, against his chagrined father's wishes. The three decades of stubborn self-exile that follow represent a sorrowful generational rift between father and son that ends when Karsan returns home after his ascetic father's death, announced at the book's opening. Though Sufism is a Muslim tradition, Karsan's father considered himself neither and both Muslim and Hindu, and we, says Karsan at one point, are respected for that. Yet Karsan finds the shrine destroyed by a mob of Hindu hard-liners, while his younger brother, Mansoor, militantly calls himself a Muslim and may be involved in Islamist terrorist activities. Frequent shifts in time and perspective (including flashes of the shrine's early history) heighten Vassanji's evocative depiction of India's ongoing postcolonial tumult, mournfully personalized by the fate of the fractured family at the novel's heart. <em>(Aug.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>This resplendent novel traces the path of Karsan Dargawalla, who is brought up, as generations of his forefathers have been, to be the "gaadi-varas, the successor and avatar" of a seven-hundred-year-old Sufi shrine in Gujarat, a mausoleum of Muslim origin but for centuries open to all religions. Karsan, rebelling against "the iron bonds of history," leaves for Boston and Canada, though he ultimately returns to India to "research, recall, and write about" his abandoned heritage. Vassanji eloquently details the sufferings of Karsan’s family as the price of his individual freedom, but suggests that this abandonment was necessary, and that tradition, in the face of India’s "ancient animosities," must be engaged with critically and in the context of the wider world. <br />Copyright © 2007 </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>Uneasy Peace. Worlds In Flux. Tests Of Faith.</strong></p><p>The Final Episode Was Only The Beginning.</p><p>The Dominion War is over...or is it? Three months after the Allied victory against the invaders from the Gamma Quadrant, a surprise attack awakens the fear of renewed hostilities. At the same time, a senseless murder sets a space station commander on a path that will test the limits of her faith...while a strange discovery within the plasma storms of the Badlands propels an old soldier toward a rendezvous with destiny. Elsewhere, amidst the ruins of an ancient civilization, a young man is about to embark on a dangerous quest to fill the hole in his life -- one left by the loss of his father. </p><p>So begins the unprecedented, authorized continuation of <em>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine®,</em> springing from the seven-year television odyssey of Captain Benjamin Sisko and his crew aboard a Federation starbase at the edge of the final frontier. Following the serial format and evolving character arcs that were the hallmarks of the TV series, the new <em>Deep Space Nine</em> novels pick up where the show left off, daring to imagine what happened after the final episode.</p><p>Now the first five tales of that critically acclaimed storyline are collected in one massive volume. Originally published as the two-part <em>Avatar, Abyss, Demons of Air and Darkness,</em> and the novella "Horn and Ivory," <em>Twist of Faith</em> revisits the aftermath of the Dominion War, the pivotal planet Bajor, its mysterious connection to the timeless Prophets of the wormhole, as well as the familiar faces, new friends, and uncertain allies whose fates intertwine at the crossroads of the galaxy. With an introduction by New York Times bestselling author David R. George III <em>(Mission: Gamma -- Twilight; The Lost Era: Serpents Among the Ruins;</em> the <em>Crucible</em> trilogy), <em>Twist of Faith</em> takes the <em>Deep Space Nine</em> saga to a new level...exploring what was left behind, and what awaits beyond. </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p><strong>S. D. Perry</strong> is a novelist living in Portland, Oregon.  She is currently lives with her husband, Myk, her two children Cyrus and Myk Jr, and their two dogs. She mostly writes tie-in novels based on works in the fantasy/science-fiction/horror genre, including <em>Resident Evil, Star Trek, Aliens</em> and <em>Predator</em>. She has also written a handful of short stories and movie novelizations. Her favorite <em>Star Trek</em> series is the original series, with her favorite characters being "The Big Three" - Kirk, Spock and McCoy.</p><p><strong>Keith R.A. DeCandido</strong> was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians. He has written over two dozen novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, and comic books, most of them in various media universes, among them <em>Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Marvel Comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Resident Evil, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Farscape, Xena,</em> and <em>Doctor Who</em>. His original novel <em>Dragon Precinct</em> was published in 2004, and he's also edited several anthologies, among them the award-nominated <em>Imaginings</em> and two <em>Star Trek</em> anthologies. Keith is also a musician, having played percussion for the bands the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, the Boogie Knights, and the Randy Bandits, as well as several solo acts. In what he laughingly calls his spare time, Keith follows the New York Yankees and practices <em>kenshikai</em> karate. He still lives in New York City with his girlfriend and two insane cats. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong> Thomas E. Rick's news-breaking follow up to the #1 <em>New York Times</em>&lt; bestseller <em>Fiasco</em> </strong>  </p><p>Now updated to fully document the inside story of the Iraq war since late 2005, <em>The Gamble</em> is the definitive account of the insurgency within the U.S. military that led to a radical shift in America's strategy. Based on unprecedented real-time access to the military's entire chain of command, Ricks examines the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that "the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered probably have not yet happened."   </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p><strong>Thomas E. Ricks</strong> is <em>The Washington Post</em>'s special military correspondent and a member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams for national reporting. He is the author if <em>Fiasco, Making the Corps,</em> and <em>A Soldier's Story</em>. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The sands of time have not diminished the impact Dune has had on the evolution of SF, and this new prequel by Frank Herbert's son and bestseller Anderson, following 2001's Dune: House Corrino (the concluding volume of their "House" trilogy), offers the kind of intricate plotting and philosophical musings that would make the elder Herbert proud. Reaching back into the beginnings of Arrakis, the authors show us Selim, a boy cast out by his tribe who discovers how to ride the fearsome giant sandworms. Selim tastes and learns the visionary power of the magical spice, melange, and how the future of Arrakis hinges on who controls it. At the same time, on planets far removed from the desolate dunes of Arrakis, others are involved in a Great Revolt. Free League World humans, led by Tercero Xavier Harkonnen and Serena Butler of Salusa Secundus, battle Omnius, a computer "evermind" intent on extending its dominion. The ominous Omnius seeks to conquer all planets not yet incorporated into his Synchronized Worlds system with the help of servile robotic extensions and colleagues, including Erasmus, a Thinking Machine "Hannibal Lecter" whose whimsical Mr. Spock-ish meditations enliven the proceedings immeasurably. Throughout, key revelations regarding the Zensunni Wanderers and their fight for freedom and other historical Dune elements lend an air of discovery to this fast-paced tale.<br />Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Ten thousand years before the fall of the Imperial House Corrino, two grand interplanetary organizations ruled the known universe: the Synchronized Worlds, presided over by thinking machines led by the evermind called Omnius, and the League of Nobles, beleaguered survivors of the machines' revolt against the Old Empire. In this era, a few individuals determined to overturn the rule of the machines sought every opportunity to gain insights into ways to defeat the human race's most intractable enemy. Herbert and Anderson (Dune: House Atreides; Dune: House Harkonnen; Dune: House Corrino) continue their prehistory of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series with a new trilogy opener set in the distant past of Herbert's galactic saga. The authors reveal the origins of the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit, as well as the root of the ancient feud between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen. This compelling saga of men and women struggling for their freedom is required reading for Dune fans and an essential purchase for libraries. <br />Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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The breathtaking vision and incomparable storytelling of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, a prequel to Frank Herbert's classic Dune, propelled it to the ranks of speculative fiction's classics in its own right. Now, with all the color, scope, and fascination of the prior novel, comes Dune: The Machine Crusade.. More than two decades have passed since the events chronicled in The Butlerian Jihad. The crusade against thinking robots has ground on for years, but the forces led by Serena Butler and Irbis Ginjo have made only slight gains; the human worlds grow weary of war, of the bloody, inconclusive swing from victory to defeat. The fearsome cymeks, led by Agamemnon, hatch new plots to regain their lost power from Omnius--as their numbers dwindle and time begins to run out. The fighters of Ginaz, led by Jool Noret, forge themselves into an elite warrior class, a weapon against the machine-dominated worlds. Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva are on the verge of the most important discovery in human history-a way to "fold" space and travel instantaneously to any place in the galaxy. And on the faraway, nearly worthless planet of Arrakis, Selim Wormrider and his band of outlaws take the first steps to making themselves the feared fighters who will change the course of history: the Fremen.Here is the unrivaled imaginative power that has put Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson on bestseller lists everywhere and earned them the high regard of readers around the globe. The fantastic saga of Dune continues in Dune: The Machine Crusade.


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Fifty-six hard years after the events of The Machine Crusade, after the death of Serena Butler, the bloodiest decades of the Jihad take place. The human worlds begin to hope that the end of the centuries-long conflict with the thinking machines is finally in sight. Unfortunately, Omnius has one last, deadly card to play. In a last-ditch effort to destroy humankind, virulent plagues are let loose throughout the galaxy, decimating the populations of whole planets. The war that has lasted many lifetimes will be decided in the apocalyptic Battle of Corrin. In the greatest battle of science fiction history, human and machine face off one last time, and on the desert planet of Arrakis, the legendary Fremen of Dune become the feared fighting force to be discovered by Paul Maud'Dib in Frank Herbert's classic, Dune.


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In Grunts, renowned historian John C. McManus demonstrates that, from the invasion beaches of the Second World War to the deserts of the Middle East, the foot soldier has been the most indispensible-and most overlooked-factor in wartime victory.  Advances in weaponry have threatened to render the infantryman obsolete for centuries. Even today, precision-guided munitions, nuclear bombs, aerial drones, computers, and satellites have made victory in modern warfare seem like a simple matter of superior hardware, negating the need for ground soldiers. In truth, even as technology advanced at a dizzying pace throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, ground soldiers, especially infantry "grunts," did almost all of the fighting and dying in America's wars.  Examining ten critical battles, McManus covers six decades of warfare-from the 1944 fight on the island of Guam to today's counterinsurgency combat in Iraq-in which the skills and courage of American troops proved the crucial difference between victory and defeat. Penetrating the flowery rhetoric of headlines and standard battle narratives, McManus exposes the shocking brutal realities of modern ground combat.  Based on years of archival research and personal interviews with veterans, this powerful history reveals the ugly face of war in a way that few books have. Grunts demonstrates the vital, and too often forgotten, importance of the human element in protecting the American nation, and advances a passionate plea for fundamental change in our understanding of war.


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>'One of the most charismatic and flamboyant cyclists in recent history' - "Daily Telegraph". Laurent Fignon is one of the giants of modern cycling. Twice-winner of the Tour de France in the early eighties, Fignon became the star for a new generation. In 1989 he took part in one of the most fiercely-contested Tours of all time. Over the course of 3,285 kilometres he lost out to his American arch-rival, Greg LeMond, by an agonising eight seconds on the final Parisian time trial. Fignon does not mince his words. In this forthright and unflinching account the former champion spares neither friends nor opponents, nor even his own image. In doing so he gives cycling fans a tantalising glimpse of what really went on behind the scenes of this epic sport - the friendships, the rivalries, the betrayals, the scheming, the parties, the girls, and, of course, the performance-enhancing drugs. Laurent Fignon lived cycling at its peak. He enjoyed a truly exceptional career, winning over eighty titles from 1982 to 1993. The highs were matched by lows of serious injury, periods of self-doubt, and accusations of cheating. Fignon's story bestrides a golden age in cycling: a time before the scandals and the shadow of doping, a time when cyclists were afraid of nothing. </p>


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<h3>From</h3><p>Steering his narrative through an unsentimentalized and deglorified depiction of the American Revolution, Paulsen’s latest work of historical fiction provides a stark glimpse of just how awful the war really was for those who suffered through it. Though his parents are city folk trying to hack out a life on the frontier in Pennsylvania, 13-year-old Samuel is entirely at home in the woodland wilderness that surrounds their little settlement. Soon after word arrives of the uprising in Concord and Lexington, Samuel returns home from a jaunt in the forest to find his home burned down, the neighbors slaughtered, and his parents missing. Samuel tracks his captured parents through the countryside to British-held New York, encountering scalping bands of Iroquois, pillaging squads of mercenary Hessians, and a few hardy, helpful rebels along the way. Paulsen alternates chapters of Samuel’s story with historical notes that illuminate the sobering realities of the Revolution and add some context not found in most history books. Paulsen’s rewarding and fast-paced novel offers an honest assessment of heroism writ both small and large. Grades 6-9. --Ian Chipman </p><h3>Review</h3><p>Starred review, <em>Kirkus Reviews</em>, January 1, 2010: "A superb reflection on the nature of war."  </p><p><em>From the Hardcover edition.</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Fast pacing and skillful narrative misdirection make this supernatural thriller one of Saul's (The Homing) best?and one of his few not to focus on children in peril. Richard Kraven, the novel's heavy, is as nasty as they come: he eviscerates his victims before they die, in the misguided hope of learning the mystery of life. He also seems to be extending his murder spree after his execution in the electric chair. At least that's what reporter Anne Jeffers tries to prove to the incredulous Seattle police as the killings strike ever closer to her home and family, apparently in retaliation for her help in putting Kraven behind bars. Saul ratchets up the suspense by intercutting chapters told from the points of view of Anne, detective Mark Blakemoor and a serial murderer who thinks of himself as "The Experimenter." He complicates matters by introducing another murderer and by raising suspicions about Anne's husband, Glen, who suffered a heart attack at the moment Kraven died and now experiences blackouts that coincide with the killings. Saul depends on remarkably unobservant cops and a contrived occult explanation to tie all the subplots together, but he sustains the mystery of the killer's identity and motives throughout. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection; major ad/promo; simultaneous Random House AudioBook; simultaneous release of The Homing in mass market paper. <br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>YA?Sufficient detail is provided to enable participation in this horror puzzle. The last person convicted-murderer Richard Kraven asks to see before dying is Ann Jeffers, the newspaper woman who had kept his name and crimes in the public consciousness for five years. "Today won't end it...I'm sorry I won't be here to see you suffer when you finally realize you were wrong about me," he says. Brutal murders, perhaps copycat, perhaps at the hands of an accomplice, resume. At first, Ann accepts the changes in her husband following his heart attack. Gradually, they both begin to question what is happening. Soon readers will be more concerned with how things transpire than with who is responsible. Teens seeking a deliberately told tale that promises to raise them to the edge of their seats should find satisfaction in this story.?Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA<br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake just seventy years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead—marked by the same tattoo—the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos. 

Before the unrest forces him to torture and execute the very woman who aided in the birth of his children, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his clever daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the university-educated son of the town’s physician, Jakob discovers that a devil is indeed loose in Schongau. But it may be too late to prevent bloodshed. 

A brilliantly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller, The Hangman’s Daughter is the first novel from German television screenwriter Oliver Pötzsch, a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Sparks's 1996 debut novel, The Notebook, was a fast and easy read that sold millions upon millions of copies. Other bestselling love stories followed (Message in a Bottle; A Walk to Remember; The Guardian), but Sparks's fans have from the very beginning eagerly anticipated a sequel to the romantic tale of Allie and Noah Calhoun. The wait is now over. Attorney Wilson Lewis has been married to Noah and Allie's daughter, Jane, for 30 years. Wilson and Jane have raised three children and lived a satisfying and prosperous life in the bucolic town of New Bern, N.C. After forgetting his anniversary, Wilson realizes that the passion and romance have gone out of his marriage and fears his wife no longer loves him. Being a methodical man, he decides to embark on a yearlong program to renew his romantic ties to his wife, seeking out the advice of Noah, who now spends his days in a retirement home feeding a swan he is sure is the reincarnation of his beloved Allie. In the midst of Wilson's machinations, his daughter Anna announces she is getting married. The upcoming wedding provides Wilson with the opportunity to bring his elaborate plan to fruition. Sparks tells his sweet story competently, without sinking too deeply into the mire of sentiment; a gasp-inducing twist comes at the very end. Satisfied female readers will close the covers with a sigh and a wish that a little of the earnest, too-good-to-be-true Wilson might rub off on their own bedmates.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Sparks returns to characters from <em>The Notebook</em> (1996) and writes about Allie and Noah Calhoun's oldest daughter, Jane, and her husband, Wilson. As their thirtieth anniversary approaches, Wilson realizes that he loves Jane now more than ever and worries that his neglect (he completely forgot their twenty-ninth anniversary) may have finally driven her away. Wilson plans on showing Jane how much he loves her, but then their oldest daughter, Anna, announces that she and her boyfriend are getting married and asks if they can plan a small utilitarian wedding on her parents' anniversary. Jane agrees to share the date and convinces Anna to have a formal wedding; something that Jane missed. Jane is surprised by Wilson's willingness to work and ability to come up with truly miraculous arrangements. This sort of involvement is out of character for Wilson, a workaholic estate attorney in New Bern, North Carolina, but he really is determined to change, and Sparks is at his romantic best in this tender love story about a flawed hero trying to right his wrongs. <em>Patty Engelmann</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>Product Description</strong>  </p><p>Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.</p><p><strong>Go Behind the Scenes of the Motion Picture <em>The Last Song</em> (Touchstone Pictures, 2010)</strong><br />Starring Myley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth<br />(Click on each image below to see a larger view)   </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>#1 bestselling author Nicholas Sparks's new novel is at once a compelling family drama and a heartrending tale of young love.</em></p><p>Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.</p><p>The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>U.S. Marine Logan Thibault carries a picture of a woman he'snever met because it brings him good luck. But when he sets out to find the woman, he is met with unexpected circumstances surrounding his new love and his shrouded past. Though not Sparkss most original tale, the story flows well and narrator John Bedford Lloyd delivers a solid performance. Lloyds deep bass tone is perfectly suited for Thibault, a manly man if ever there was one. Lloyds supporting characters are rich and interesting in their own right, some speaking in comical Southern drawls, others with a raw reality. The final result is quite touching without much over-the-top sentimentality on Lloyds part. <em>A Grand Central hardcover. (Sept.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>In his 14th book, bestselling author Nicholas Sparks tells the unforgettable story of a man whose brushes with death lead him to the love of his life.   </p><p>Is there really such thing as a lucky charm? The hero of Nicholas Sparks's new novel believes he's found one in the form of a photograph of a smiling woman he's never met, but who he comes to believe holds the key to his destiny. The chain of events that leads to him possessing the photograph and finding the woman pictured in it is the stuff of love stories only a master such as Sparks can write. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Lorimer Black may suffer from a serious sleep disorder and an obsession with the labyrinths of the British class system, but <em>Armadillo</em>'s peculiar protagonist <em>is</em> the star insurance adjuster of London's Fortress Sure PLC, unaffectionately known as the Fort. At the very start of William Boyd's <em>noir</em>-ish seventh novel, however, things take a decided swerve for the worse. On a bleak January morning one of his cases has apparently chosen to kill himself rather than talk: "Mr. Dupree was simultaneously the first dead person he had encountered in his life, his first suicide and his first hanged man and Lorimer found this congruence of firsts deceptively troubling."</p><p>Soon our hero, who himself has a lot to hide, finds himself threatened by a dodgy type whose loss he has adjusted way down and embroiled with the beautiful married actress Flavia Malinverno. "People who've lost something, they call on you to adjust it, make the loss less hard to bear? As if their lives are broken in some way and they call on you to fix it," Flavia dippily wonders. Lorimer also has his car torched and instantly goes from an object of affection to one of deep suspicion at the Fort. Then there is another case, the small matter of the rock star who may or may not be faking the Devil he says is sitting on his left shoulder. </p><p>Needless to say, Lorimer is "becoming fed up with this role of fall guy for other people's woes." Boyd adds a deep layer of psychological heft and a lighter level of humor to this thinking-person's thriller by exploring Lorimer's manifold personal and social fears. This is a man who desperately collects ancient helmets even though he knows they offer only "the illusion of protection." Another of <em>Armadillo</em>'s many pleasures: its dose of delicious argot. Should Lorimer "oil" the apparent perpetrator of the Fedora Palace arson before he's oiled himself? Or perhaps he just needs to "put the frighteners" on him. Boyd definitely puts the frighteners on his readers more than once in this cinematically seedy and dazzling literary display. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The ever inventive Boyd?whose highly praised first novel, A Good Man in Africa, was followed by others set in Africa and America, sets this latest work in contemporary London, which he observes with the close attention of someone seeing it for the first time. In fact, his protagonist, Lorimer Black, is not exactly a native: his ancestry derives from an obscure Central European Gypsy clan who made it to London after the war. Lorimer is the only truly Anglicized one among them, from his name to his careful sense of what to wear and say on every occasion. He is a loss adjuster at a big insurance company, whose day begins unsettlingly with the suicide of an insured client he was about to visit. Then a new hotel building, mysteriously overinsured, burns down, and his boss, the overbearing and cheerfully philosophical Mr. Hogg, seems to want Lorimer to investigate. A dreadful new colleague comes into his life and tries to make Lorimer his best friend; Lorimer falls hard for a mysterious actress glimpsed in one of his company's TV commercials; his car is vandalized, and he is attacked in the street; his elderly father dies suddenly; and Hogg turns nasty and fires him. Throughout all this, poor Lorimer, stricken with a severe sleep disorder, tries to get some rest at a sleep clinic where he seeks what he calls "lucid dreams," which?unlike his waking life?he can control. Boyd's comic writing is zesty and brilliantly on-target about contemporary Londoners, high and low, and Lorimer's adventures have enough of an alarming edge to keep a reader constantly, and delightedly, off balance. The only flaw in an otherwise sparkling performance is an odd and unlikely journal Lorimer keeps, which is designed to fill the gaps in his previous life, but which never sounds like anything other than the author's voice. Editor, Vicky Wilson; agent: Georges Borchardt. <br />Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>My eyes tend to glaze over when I encounter YAPBAQPs (Yet Another Popular Book About Quantum Physics). But this volume captured my attention, and imagination. Told in the same way as <strong>Alice in Wonderland</strong> (with many of the original passages re-tooled to their new purpose) and a hint of <strong>Flatland</strong>, Gilmore guides us through the principles of Quantum mechanics in a truly lively and fun way. I suspect it may even be a good read for teens or extremely bright children. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>It (..) includes characters like the uncertain accountant and the state agent who shows Alice how items can be two places at once. -- <em>The Vancouver Sun</em></p>


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This book is the first English language translation of the famous Tibetan death text, The Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State. Also known as the Bardo Thodol which means "liberation by hearing on the after death plane" (Bardo: after death plane, Thodol or Thotrol: liberation by hearing), it was originally written in the Tibetan language and is meant to be a guide for those who have died as they transition from their former life to a new destination.


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>The only Apple-certified book on Mac OS X v10.6, this revised best-seller will take you deep inside the latest big-cat operating system—covering everything from installation to automation, customizing the operating system, supporting applications, setting up peripherals, and more. Whether you[HTML_REMOVED]re a support technician or simply an ardent Mac user, you[HTML_REMOVED]ll quickly learn and master the new features in Mac OS X 10.6, including native support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Following the learning objectives of the Apple Certified Support Professional exam, this self-paced book is a perfect guide for Apple’s training and a first-rate primer for computer support personnel who need to troubleshoot and optimize Mac OS X as part of their jobs. Chapter review sections and quizzes summarize and reinforce acquired knowledge.  </p><p>The Apple Training Series serves as both a self-paced learning tool and the official curriculum for the Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server certification programs.  </p><h3>From the Back Cover</h3><p>The only Apple-certified book on Mac OS X v10.6, this revised best-seller will take you deep inside the latest big-cat operating system—covering everything from installation to automation, customizing the operating system, supporting applications, setting up peripherals, and more. Whether you[HTML_REMOVED]re a support technician or simply an ardent Mac user, you[HTML_REMOVED]ll quickly learn and master the new features in Mac OS X 10.6, including native support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Following the learning objectives of the Apple Certified Support Professional exam, this self-paced book is a perfect guide for Apple’s training and a first-rate primer for computer support personnel who need to troubleshoot and optimize Mac OS X as part of their jobs. Chapter review sections and quizzes summarize and reinforce acquired knowledge.  </p><p>The Apple Training Series serves as both a self-paced learning tool and the official curriculum for the Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server certification programs.  </p>


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<h3>Review</h3>
<p>Secrecy and a deft touch are the hallmarks of every successful burglar. Or so thinks Bernie Rhodenbarr before he gets a shocking proposal from his dentist. Sitting back in the chair, vulnerable thanks to a dental instrument in his mouth, he discovers that Dr. Sheldrake needs a burglar. "Like you, Bernie", the good dentist says. So much for leading a secret life of crime. Bernie, smart guy that he is, turns the dentist down flat. So why is Bernie picking the locks on the posh apartment of Crystal Sheldrake, the dentist's ex-wife? Because he's a burglar. Plus, Crystal has a cache of jewels worth any burglar's time. Trouble is, Crystal comes home early - and she's not alone. Bernie quickly hides in a closet, which Crystal promptly and inconveniently locks. As time goes by, Crystal rids herself of her companion and Bernie manages to pick his way out of the closet -- only to discover Crystal dead on the floor and the jewels gone. Bernie must sleuth his way out of a real mess. The Burglar in the Closet is a terrific read! -- <em>Midwest Book Review</em>
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<h3>Product Description</h3>
<p>It's hard to ignore someone with his hands in your mouth. Bernie Rhodenbarr's all ears when Dr. Sheldrake, his dentist, starts complaining about his detestable, soon-to-be-ex wife, and happens to mention the valuable diamonds she keeps lying around the apartment. Since Bernie's been known to supplement his income as a bookstore owner with the not-so-occasional bout of high-rise burglary, a couple of nights later he's in the Sheldrake apartment with larceny on his mind -- and has to duck into a closet when the lady of the house makes an unexpected entrance. Unfortunately he's still there when an unseen assailant does Mrs. Sheldrake in . . . and then vanishes with the jewels. 
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<p>Bernie's got to come out of the closet some time. But when he does, he'll be facing a rap for a murder he didn't commit -- and for a burglary he certainly attempted -- unless he can hunt down the killer who left him hanging. 
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SUMMARY:
Bookseller and New-Yorker-to-the-bone, Bernie Rhodenbarr rarely ventures out of Manhattan, but he's excited about the romantic getaway he has planned for himself and current lady love Lettice at the Cuttleford House, a remote upstate b&b. Unfortunately, Lettice has a prior engagement—she's getting married . . . and not to Bernie—so he decides to take best buddy Carolyn instead. A restful respite from the big city's bustle would be too good to waste. Besides, there's a very valuable first edition shelved in the Cuttleford's library that Bernie's just itching to get his hands on. Did we neglect to mention that Bernie's a burglar?   But first he's got to get around a very dead body on the library floor. The plot's thickened by an isolating snowstorm, downed phone lines, the surprise arrival of Lettice and her reprehensible new hubby, and a steadily increasing corpse count. And it's Bernie who'll have to figure out whodunit . . . or die.


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Lawrence Block is such a gifted writer that even a native New Yorker will be fooled into thinking that the Paddington Hotel, described in the opening pages of <em>Burglar in the Rye</em>, is a real institution. Block's descriptions of this enclave of artists, writers, and rock musicians is thoroughly convincing--although in actuality, the Paddington is a combination of the real-life Chelsea Hotel and Block's outrageous imagination.</p><p>This is Bernie Rhodenbarr's ninth heist. Bernie is a gentleman burglar who runs a used bookstore in between criminal acts, steals mostly from the rich, and only hurts people when it becomes <em>absolutely</em> necessary.</p><p>The Paddington is where Bernie goes to liberate the letters of a reclusive writer named Gulliver Fairborn from a literary agent. Fairborn's resemblance to J.D. Salinger and, of course, the fact that the woman who hired Bernie to steal the letters had an affair with Fairborn when she was a teenager, no doubt lend the book its title. But by the time Bernie gets to the Paddington, the agent has been shot, the letters already liberated--and a cop in the lobby recognizes our favorite burglar from a previous encounter. </p><p>Now all Bernie has to do is find out who else wanted those letters badly enough to kill for them. In typical Rhodenbarr tradition, the plot is less interesting than the trappings: the books Bernie reads, the fascinating objects he picks up along the way. The reader also learns about some mind-expanding facts, such as the existence of a tiny South American fish that swims up a man's urine stream and lodges in his private parts! Or did Block make that up, too?</p><p>Other Bernie picks include: <strong>, and </strong>. <em>--Dick Adler</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Block's addictive series about bookseller/burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr (The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian, etc.) continues as our hero invades the hotel suite of an aged literary agent in search of a cache of letters, by a respected and reclusive writer, that are wanted by people both legitimate and not. As he usually does, Bernie finds a corpse on the other side of the locked door he so neatly opens, and he is immediately suspected of murder by his nemesis, sticky-fingered Ray Kirschmann of the NYPD. More murder ensues before Bernie, with the help of his lesbian buddy Carolyn, can get a handle on the proceedings. But when he does, and has gathered all the principals into a room for the inevitable explanatory/accusatory windup ("I suppose you're wondering why I summoned you all here," he gets to say, to his and the reader's delight, time and again), he hits on a solution that fingers a most unlikely suspect, satisfies all the claimants to the letters and leaves him (and Ray) richer. Block's effortless mastery of his material, his relaxed ease, are as pleasurable as always, and he has some splendid fun with an author not unlike J.D. Salinger. This is the prolific Block's only new novel of the year, and it's a steal at any price. (July) <br />Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar with a heart of gold, returns for this 10th installment in a reliable <em>Burglar on the Prowl</em>, Bernie is recruited by an old friend to burgle the home of a crooked plastic surgeon, removing some off-the-books cash from a wall safe. A simple enough job, but Bernie complicates matters by going "on the prowl" one restless evening―-randomly cruising for an easy job. While he's pawing through a woman's empty apartment, she returns home; Bernie hides hastily, only to overhear an act of violence that draws him into a hunt for the perpetrator and a deepening role in the victim's life.</p><p>Lawrence Block's prose is merely serviceable, but his plotting and storytelling are first-rate. He constructs a complex puzzle, yet weaves in each new development so seamlessly that you almost don't see it happen. Like its Bernie predecessors, <em>The Burglar on the Prowl</em> is droll and charming, and at times you can feel Block trying a bit too hard with the charm. However, a few truly horrific bad guys and some ugly violence keep the sweetness from cloying. And it's impossible not to like Bernie, a gentleman criminal with few peers in contemporary fiction. <em>--Nicholas H. Allison</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>You'd think that Block, with more than 50 books to his credit, would run out of ideas, but as this 10th in his Burglar series shows (after 1999's <em>The Burglar in the Rye</em>), he's as fresh, witty and inventive as ever. The author builds his plot on stupefying coincidences, but not to worry—everything eventually meshes. A friend asks Bernie Rhodenbarr, confirmed New Yorker, used-book dealer and gentleman burglar, to rob a mob-connected plastic surgeon who stole the friend's mistress. He agrees, and cases the doctor's house in Riverdale, the Bronx. But Bernie is restive and, uncharacteristically (because he plans carefully), he breaks into a Manhattan apartment on a whim and almost gets caught, hiding under the bed while a woman is date-raped. Next day a customer is shot near his bookstore, a mysterious émigré couple is murdered, a former Latvian war criminal is reported in New York and Bernie's apartment is ransacked. These crimes seem unrelated in such a large city, but Bernie finds a common thread. In the end, Bernie assembles 22 people (including lawmen) in the surgeon's living room and, Charlie Chan style, explains each participant's role and, where appropriate, crime. Lesser hands would not bring off this breathtaking performance, but in Block's it's seamless and hilarious. Quirky characters like Bernie's pals Carolyn Kaiser, the dog groomer, and cop Ray Kirschmann; an insider's love of New York; and a slew of wonderful puns add to the fun.<br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3>
<p>Those who long for another new exploit of the immortal Bernie Rhodenbarr, Greenwich Village bookseller by profession and burglar by avocation, should be warned that their wait must be extended. For this is a reissue, after 17 years, of what was originally the third in the series. It's therefore likely to be a new pleasure to Rhodenbarr fans won over by his recent rebirth (The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart) and to fans of Block's Matt Scudder novels. In it, Bernie has just opened Barnegat Books, has just got to know his deeply endearing friend, the lesbian dog groomer Carolyn, and is pressed into service to steal a rare book, allegedly a lost anti-Semitic work of Rudyard Kipling. As usual, he finds himself saddled with a dead body and a maze of twisted motives. And also as usual, Block's stylish narrative flow, humor and pitch-perfect feeling for New York life make getting to the end much more fun than the ultimate solution of the mystery. Until then, it's unalloyed pleasure?and, yes, we're ready for another new one. <br />
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. 
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<h3>From Library Journal</h3>
<p>Block seems to relish the chance to write about the other side of the law when he's not detailing the straight-and-narrow exploits of investigator Matthew Scudder (e.g., A Long Line of Dead Men, Morrow, 1994). Here, the literature-loving burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr (e.g., The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, Dutton, 1995) is framed for murder after pilfering a Kipling manuscript.<br />
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. 
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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>If the only side of Lawrence Block you know is the dark and gloomy Matt Scudder books, such as the <em>noir</em> classic __, then you might be surprised to hear that he's also one of the most delightfully droll writers in the mystery business.</p><p>"I hurried uptown and changed into chinos and a short-sleeved shirt that would have been an Alligator except that the embroidered device on the breast was not that reptile but a bird in flight. I guess it was supposed to be a swallow, either winging its way back to Capistrano or not quite making a summer, because the brand name was Swallowtail. It had never quite caught on and I can understand why." That's Bernie Rhodenbarr, used book dealer and gentleman burglar, making a literary fashion statement in this latest return to print of one of Block's best books about him.</p><p>As with the other entries in this admirable series--__, <strong>, </strong>, <strong>, </strong>, <strong>, </strong>--Block manages to be very amusing, moderately suspenseful, and impressively erudite all at the same time. The plot is a complicated tangle of double-cross and deceit surrounding the theft of a valuable painting and two murders. Mondrian isn't the only artist being framed here: Bernie has to use all of his skills--as burglar, lover, and art expert--to prove his (relative) innocence. <em>--Dick Adler</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>It's not that used bookstore owner and part-time burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr believes the less legal of his two professions is particularly ethical. (It is, however, a rush, and he is very good at it.) He just thinks it's unfair to face a prison term for his legitimate activities. After appraising the worth of a rich man's library -- conveniently leaving his fingerprints everywhere in the process -- Bernie finds he's the cops' prime suspect when his client is murdered.</p><p>Someone has framed Bernie Rhodenbarr better than they do it at the Whitney. And if he wants to get out of this corner he's been masterfully painted into, he'll have to get to the bottom of a rather artful -- if multiply murderous -- scam.</p>


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<h3>From Library Journal</h3>
<p>In this classic Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery, long out of print, sneaky thief Bernie turns up a 1913 V-nickel that gets his Spinoza-reading fence, Abel, murdered.<br />
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. 
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<h3>Product Description</h3>
<p>Bookselling burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr doesn't generally get philosophical about his criminal career. He's good at it, it's addictively exciting—and it pays a whole lot better than pushing old tomes. He steals therefore he is, period. 
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<p>He might well ponder, however, the deeper meaning of events at the luxurious Chelsea brownstone of Herb and Wanda Colcannon, which is apparently burgled <em>three times</em> on the night Bernie breaks in: once before his visit and once after. Fortunately he still manages to lift some fair jewelry and an extremely valuable coin. Unfortunately burglar or burglars number three leave Herb unconscious and Wanda dead . . . and the cops think Rhodenbarr dunnit. 
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<p>There's no time to get all existential about it—especially after the coin vanishes and the fence fencing it meets with a most severe end. But Bernie <em>is</em> going to have to do some deep thinking to find a way out of this homicidal conundrum. 
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SUMMARY:
Bookseller Bernie Rhodenbarr's in love—with an exotic Eastern European beauty who shares his obsession with Humphrey Bogart movies. He's in heaven, munching popcorn with his new amour every night at a Bogart Film Festival—until their Casablanca-esque idyll is cut short by his other secret passion: burglary.   When he's hired to pilfer a portfolio of valuable documents from a Park Avenue apartment, Bernie can hardly refuse. But the occupant's early return forces Bernie to flee empty-handed—and he soon finds himself implicated in a murder. Before you can say "who stole the strawberries?" he's hunting for a killer, up to his neck in the outrageous intrigues of a tiny Balkan nation . . . and menaced by more sinister fat men and unsavory toadies than the great Bogie himself butted heads with in pursuit of that darn bird!


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SUMMARY:
Bernie Rhodenbarr is actually trying to earn an honest living. It's been an entire year since he's entered anyone's abode illegally to help himself to their valuables. But now an unscrupulous landlord's threat to increase Bernie's rent by 1,000% is driving the bookseller and reformed burglar back to a life of crime -- though, in all fairness, it's a very short trip. And when the cops wrongly accuse him of stealing a priceless collection of baseball cards, Bernie's stuck with a worthless alibi since he was busy burgling a different apartment at the time . . . one that happened to contain a dead body locked inside a bathroom.   So Bernie has a dilemma. He can trade a burglary charge for a murder rap. Or he can shuffle all the cards himself and try to find the joker in the deck -- someone, perhaps, who believes that homicide is the real Great American Pastime.


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Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.) He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer. Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police -- a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>This is an pedestrian study from the noted and popular religion scholar, in which Armstrong takes a historical approach to myth, tracing its evolution through a series of periods, from the Paleolithic to the postmyth Great Western Transformation. Each period developed myths reflecting its major concerns: images of hunting and the huntress dominated the myths of the Paleolithic, while the myths of Persephone and Demeter, Isis and Osiris developed in the agricultural Neolithic period. By the Axial Age (200 B.C. through A.D. 1500), myths became internalized, so that they no longer needed to be acted out. Reason, says Armstrong, largely supplanted myth in the Post-Axial Period, which she sees as a source of cultural and spiritual impoverishment; she even appears, simplistically, to attribute genocide to the loss of "the sense of sacredness" myth offers. Armstrong goes on to relate that in the 20th century, a number of writers, such as Eliot, Joyce, Mann and Rushdie, recovered the power of myth for contemporary culture. Although the book offers no new perspectives or information on the history of myth, it does provide a functional survey of mythology's history. But a more engaging choice would be Kenneth Davis's <em>Don't Know Much About Mythology </em>(Reviews, Sept. 5). <em>(Nov.)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>In this essay, superpopular religion historian Armstrong (_Islam: A Short History_, 2000) fastens the attributes of myth to the major chronological categories of human history. At each transition from the Paleolithic to scientific eras, she argues that a mythical conception of natural forces has drifted ever further from interpretation in pragmatic and logical terms, such that myth in modern times is a beleaguered species of fiction. To Armstrong this state reflects a profound misunderstanding of what myth is and does. Defining it as an art form that, on the assumption of the existence of an invisible realm of reality, protects one against the despair arising from the limitations of the tactile world (death in particular), Armstrong relates how mythology has historically been reformulated. She traces a theogony, illustrating it with examples from Chinese, Middle Eastern, Egyptian, and Greek cultures, as sky worship phased into anthropomorphic gods and then into ethical systems such as those of Confucius or Jesus. Written with great explanatory clarity, Armstrong's review of mythology is an efficient, fascinating experience. <em>Gilbert Taylor</em><br><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>In this first of five volumes of autobiography, poet Maya Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and finally hard-won independence. Sent at a young age to live with her grandmother in Arkansas, Angelou learned a great deal from this exceptional woman and the tightly knit black community there. These very lessons carried her throughout the hardships she endured later in life, including a tragic occurrence while visiting her mother in St. Louis and her formative years spent in California--where an unwanted pregnancy changed her life forever. Marvelously told, with Angelou's "gift for language and observation," this "remarkable autobiography by an equally remarkable black woman from Arkansas captures, indelibly, a world of which most Americans are shamefully ignorant." </p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Grade 10 Up. Two slender volumes that present critical information about popular classic titles. Bloom's introduction is followed by a short biographical sketch of each author and then a detailed thematic and structural analysis that summarizes the novel in question, chapter by chapter. Excerpts from critical essays constitute the major portion of each book. Some of the essays on The Sun center around character analysis, especially of the main female character, Brett Ashley. Other entries include comparisons to other works of literature including F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and discussions of the symbolism, morality, and the work's historical context. Hemingway's own interpretation of the book and a letter from Fitzgerald to Hemingway about its flaws are excerpted. In the second book, the writings explore Angelou's use of language, her narrative technique, unique qualities of Caged Bird, comparisons with other works, and opposition to it. Motherhood, racial pride and self-hatred, rape, and honesty are among the issues explored. While similar material may be found in many other places, these series titles will be useful resources.?Lois McCulley, Wichita Falls High School, TX<br />Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Connelly, a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times , transcends the standard L.A. police procedural with this original and eminently authentic first novel. Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch--former hero cop bumped from the L.A. homicide desk to the lowly Beverly Hills squad--gets the call on a drug death at Mulholland Dam. Harry recognizes the corpse as that of a fellow soldier in Vietnam; both were "tunnel rats" who searched for Viet Cong in the network of burrows beneath Vietnamese villages. Investigation connects his old pal to an unsolved bank job--the vault was tunneled into from the storm drains below--and Harry takes his information to the FBI. The Bureau alerts the LAPD, which reactivates internal affairs surveillance (the previous IAD episode is explained throughout the narrative), only to have the FBI backtrack and request Harry as liaison on the case. Paired with beautiful FBI agent Eleanor Wish, Harry makes sense of the Vietnam connection to the bank job--a discovery that puts them both in danger from deadly ex-Marines and a powerful insider from either the LAPD or the FBI itself. Police higher-ups are somewhat cliched, but Connelly avoids L.A. stereotypes and delivers this front-page story with military precision. <br />Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>YA-- Harry Bosch likes order, contends that there are no coincidences, and keeps meticulous records in his <code>murder book.'' When the body of a former</code>tunnel rat'' from Vietnam is found in a drainpipe, Harry is the detective on duty and is called to the scene. His identification of the body begins an investigation that leads to more murder, bank robbery, heroin, diamonds, and betrayal. Connelly's descriptions of autopsies, murder scenes, and police procedure are vivid and realistic. The use of acronyms and police jargon puts readers in the middle of the action. A real page turner with gutty realism and an unusual twist.<br /><em>- Debbie Hyman, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA</em><br />Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In this fiendishly plotted combination of courtroom drama and police procedural, Connelly's LAPD detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch, introduced in the Edgar-winning The Black Echo , is up against the law as well as his superiors. The widow of Norman Church, a serial killer identified as the Dollmaker, whom Bosch shot to death four years earlier, is suing Bosch on the grounds that he violated her husband's civil rights. Strong but not conclusive evidence linked Church to the serial murders and the case was closed, although Bosch was demoted for not following proper procedures. Here, just before the trial targeting Bosch as a reckless cowboy who shot the wrong man gets underway, the body of perhaps another Dollmaker victim is unearthed from the concrete floor of a burnt-out pool hall. Is the real Dollmaker still alive, or is a copycat killer on the loose? Connelly deftly parcels out clues and possibilities while juggling subtle and detailed courtroom scenes with no-nonsense police investigations that turn up new evidence about the original case. A Pulitzer Prize-winning crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times , he adroitly laces the plot with twists and turns based on details drawn from Bosch's previous adventures. The results of this care show on every page, all to the reader's benefit. <br />Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Harry Bosch, hero of the Edgar Award-winning The Black Echo ( LJ 1/92), is in hot water: the family of a serial killer whom Bosch shot during an arrest accuses him of killing the wrong man.<br />Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>LAPD Homicide detective Bosch is back from an involuntary administrative leave just in time for the bodies to start turning up. When he finds hints of an mob hit but can't interest the organized crime unit in the murder, Bosch has to take the investigation into his own hands in a this hard-boiled tale full of sharp turns. Fans of Michael Connelly's excellent, </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>From the opening bars, when the body of Tony Aliso is pulled from the trunk of his Rolls Royce Silver Cloud on Mulholland Drive, to the final grace note on a Hawaiian beach, Connelly has crafted a jazzy, funky, roller coaster of a book. The return of maverick L.A. homicide detective Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch (from 1995's The Last Coyote) is cause for rejoicing. The Aliso murder quickly embroils Bosch and his new team (Kizmin Rider, a young black female officer on the rise in the department; veteran Jerry Edgar; and their boss, Lieutenant Grace Billets) in a Byzantine tangle of Las Vegas mob money, Hollywood filmmaking and police politics. The plot rushes headlong into deadends and deadfalls, repeatedly reorients and tears off in a new direction. Never known for tact, the single-minded Bosch is soon hotfooting through an acronymic snakepit: the LAPD's OCID (Organized Crime Investigation Division); the IAD (Internal Affairs Division); the LVPD's OCU (Las Vegas Police Department's Organized Crime Unit); the FBI. Not only does each organization claim a piece of the action, but each also wants a piece of Bosch. Connelly has it all working together here: skillful dialogue, solid plotting, nuances of race and status and a pace that will leave readers gasping to keep up. Connelly's early promise (The Black Echo earned him the 1993 Edgar for best first novel) has been borne out nicely by succeeding novels. Trunk Music is his best yet. $400,000 ad/promo; author tour. <br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Award-winning former crime reporter Connelly (The Black Echo; City of Bones) hits all the right notes with this latest in his Edgar-winning mystery series featuring L.A. detective Harry Bosch. Even though this marks the ninth outing for Harry, the principled, incorruptible investigator shows little sign of slowing in his unrelenting pursuit of justice for all. Disillusioned by his constant battle with police hypocrisy and bureaucracy, Harry quits the department after 28 years on the job. Like so many ex-cops before him, he finds retirement boring: "I was staying up late, staring at the walls and drinking too much red wine." He decides to take advantage of his newly minted private-eye license and get back to work. The case he chooses-one that he had been briefly involved in four years before-is the puzzling unsolved murder of 24-year-old Angella Benton. Angella's death is linked to the theft of $2 million from a film company foolishly employing real cash as a prop on an action-movie set. Harry patiently follows the bloody trail from Angella's violated body through the Hollywood heist to the disappearance of an FBI computer expert and the shooting of two LAPD cops. His investigation eventually leads him to the elite terrorist hunters of the new Department of Homeland Security. Few will follow every twist and turn of the labyrinthine plot, but no matter. The fun comes in watching Harry slowly and brilliantly separate the seemingly impossibly knotted strands and then knit them back into whole cloth. This exciting procedural is as good as any in the series, and Connelly's concluding coda has a kicker about Harry's private life that will draw gasps of astonishment from longtime readers.<br>Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Adult/High School-After more than 25 years with the L.A. Police Department, recently retired Harry Bosch decides to finish the murder investigation of Angella Benton, a case he had been quickly pulled off more than four years earlier. Gaining additional background information from a former colleague, now a quadriplegic as a result of having been shot during the investigation, Harry begins contacting any and all of the people who could have facts pertaining to the crime. He believes that the murder is tied to a film scene and $2 million in cash, and that the entire caper was ingeniously set up well in advance. With dogged determination, he risks his life more than once to prove his theory correct. Connelly expertly weaves the many complex story parts together, resulting in an action-packed ending. As in real life, all aspects of the case must be researched thoroughly, and the bulk of the novel involves the time-consuming, labor-intensive effort that goes into finding answers. Several subplots-including ones involving jazz, Harry's ex-wife, and another murder-help to round out characters, inject other interests, and relieve the intensity of solving the murder. Young adults who read true crime and forensics, or who are interested in police procedures, will surely pick this one up.<br><em>Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA</em><br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>

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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Jack McEvoy is a Denver crime reporter with the stickiest assignment of his career. His twin brother, homicide detective Sean McEvoy, was found dead in his car from a self-inflicted bullet wound to the head--an Edgar Allen Poe quote smeared on the windshield. Jack is going to write the story. The problem is that Jack doesn't believe that his brother killed himself, and the more information he uncovers, the more it looks like Sean's death was the work of a serial killer. Jack's research turns up similar cases in cities across the country, and within days, he's sucked into an intense FBI investigation of an Internet pedophile who may also be a cop killer nicknamed the Poet. It's only a matter of time before the Poet kills again, and as Jack and the FBI team struggle to stay ahead of him, the killer moves in, dangerously close.</p><p>In a break from his Harry Bosch novels--including <strong> and </strong>--Edgar-winning novelist Michael Connelly creates a new hero who is a lot greener but no less believable. <em>The Poet</em> will keep readers holding their breath until the very end: the characters are multilayered, the plot compelling, and the denouement a true surprise. Connelly fans will not be disappointed. <em>--Mara Friedman</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In a departure from his crime novels featuring LAPD's Harry Bosch, Connelly (The Last Coyote) sets Denver journalist Jack McEvoy on an intricate case where age-old evils come to flower within Internet technology. Jack's twin brother, Sean, a Denver homicide detective obsessed with the mutilation murder of a young woman, is discovered in his car, dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot, with a cryptic note written on the windshield. Jack's investigation uncovers a series of cop suicides across the country, all of which have in common both the cops' deep concerns over recent cases and their last messages, which have been taken, he quickly determines, from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. As his information reopens cases in Chicago, Baltimore, Dallas, New Mexico and Florida, Jack joins up with a team from the FBI's Behavioral Science Section, which includes sharp, attractive agent Rachel Walling. Connections between the dead cops, the cases they were working on and the FBI profile of a pedophile whom readers know as William Gladden occur at breakneck speed, as Jack and the team race to stay ahead of the media. Edgar-winning Connelly keeps a surprise up his sleeve until the very end of this authoritatively orchestrated thriller, when Jack finds himself in California, caught at the center of an intricate web woven from advanced computer technology and more elemental drives. <br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Best-selling author Michael Connelly, whose character-driven literary mysteries have earned him a wide following, breaks from the gate in the over-crowded field of legal thrillers and leaves every other contender from Grisham to Turow in the dust with this tightly plotted, brilliantly paced, impossible-to-put-down novel. </p><p>Criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller's father was a legendary lawyer whose clients included gangster Mickey Cohen (in a nice twist, Cohen's gun, given to Dad then bequeathed to his son, plays a key role in the plot). But Dad also passed on an important piece of advice that's especially relevant when Mickey takes the case of a wealthy Los Angeles realtor accused of attempted murder: "The scariest client a lawyer will ever have is an innocent client. Because if you [screw] up and he goes to prison, it'll scar you for life." </p><p>Louis Roulet, Mickey's "franchise client" (so-called becaue he's able and willing to pay whatever his defense costs) seems to be the one his father warned him against, as well as being a few rungs higher on the socio-economic ladder than the drug dealers, homeboys, and motorcycle thugs who comprise Mickey's regular case load. But as the holes in Roulet's story tear Mickey's theory of the case to shreds, his thoughts turn more to Jesus Menendez, a former client convicted of a similar crime who's now languishing in San Quentin. Connelly tellingly delineates the code of legal ethics Mickey lives by: "It didn't matter...whether the defendant 'did it' or not. What mattered was the evidence against him--the proof--and if and how it could be neutralized. My job was to bury the proof, to color the proof a shade of gray. Gray was the color of reasonable doubt." But by the time his client goes to trial, Mickey's feeling a few very reasonable doubts of his own. </p><p>While Mickey's courtroom pyrotechnics dazzle, his behind-the-scenes machinations and manipulations are even more incendiary in this taut, gripping novel, which showcases all of Connelly's literary gifts. There's not an excess sentence or padded paragraph in it--what there is, happily, is a character who, like Harry Bosch, deserves a franchise series of his own. <em>--Jane Adams</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p><em>Starred Review.</em> Veteran bestseller Connelly enters the crowded legal thriller field with flash and panache. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller regularly represents lowlifes, but he's no slickster trolling for loopholes in the ethics laws. He's haunted by how he mishandled the case of (probably innocent) Jesus Menendez, and, though twice divorced, he's on good terms with his ex-wives; one of them manages his office, and the other, an ambitious assistant DA, occasionally tumbles back into bed with him. When Mickey signs on to defend young real estate agent Louis Roulet against charges of assault, he can't help seeing dollar signs: Roulet's imperious mother will spend any amount to prove her beloved son's innocence. But probing the details of the case, Mickey and private investigator Raul Levin dig up a far darker picture of Roulet's personality and his past. Levin's murder and a new connection to the Menendez case make Mickey wonder if he's in over his head, and his defense of Roulet becomes a question of morality as well as a test of his own survival. After Connelly spends the book's first half involving the reader in Mickey's complex world, he thrusts his hero in the middle of two high-stakes duels, against the state and his own client, for heart-stopping twists and topflight storytelling. <em>(Oct.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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From #1 bestseller Michael Connelly's first career as a prizewinning crime reporter--the gripping, true stories that inspired and informed his novels. Before he became a novelist, Michael Connelly was a crime reporter, covering the detectives who worked the homicide beat in Florida and Los Angeles. In vivid, hard-hitting articles, Connelly leads the reader past the yellow police tape as he follows the investigators, the victims, their families and friends--and, of course, the killers--to tell the real stories of murder and its aftermath. Connelly's firsthand observations would lend inspiration to his novels, from The Black Echo, which was drawn from a real-life bank heist, to Trunk Music, based on an unsolved case of a man found in the trunk of his Rolls Royce. And the vital details of his best-known characters, both heroes and villains, would be drawn from the cops and killers he reported on: from loner detective Harry Bosch to the manipulative serial killer the Poet. Stranger than fiction and every bit as gripping, these pieces show once again that Michael Connelly is not only a master of his craft, but also one of the great American writers in any form.


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Cassie Black is an ex-con who needs to make one more score in order to fulfill the dream that sustained her in prison. Cassie Black has never looked back. She walked away from her life as a criminal after one disastrous night that left the man closest to her dead and her life in a shambles. Now she's thriving at a job selling Porsches to Hollywood hotshots. Through everything - even her darkest moments - she has been able to keep going by holding on to one perfect thing, her greatest secret, dearer to her than life itself. When that secret is threatened, Cassie tosses her new life away like a bad hand of cards and goes back in a sprint to her old line of work. Her trade was robbing casino gamblers, and she was the very best. Now it's the only way she can make enough money fast to maybe make everything right. Quickly she lines up a mark, a man who has been winning steadily for a week at high-stakes baccarat. The job goes smoothly until she opens his briefcase ... And discovers a world of trouble she never dreamed of. Her superstitious friend who lined up the job says it's the bad-luck void moon having its malignant way. Cassie knows it's worse. She's crossed paths again with her life's nemesis, the man who destroyed everything six years before. He's Jack Karch, a private investigator by day who does bloody work for casino owners by night. Walking back into his sights is the worst thing that's ever happened to Cassie. Getting out alive will take all her skill and luck and faith in that one good thing ...</p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In his fourth outing, LAPD Homicide Detective Harry Bosch (The Concrete Blonde, et al.) confronts deep family, police and political secrets as he probes an unsolved murder of decades earlier. Smart, tough, laconic and, under all that, compassionate, Harry lives by a code according to which "Everybody counts or nobody counts... whether [the victim is] a prostitute or the mayor's wife." He begins this case in a departmental shrink's office, after having been suspended for attacking his commanding officer; his girlfriend has left him, and he's living in a house that's been condemned after an earthquake. In the enforced freedom from his job, he reopens the 30-year-old unsolved murder of an L.A. call girl?his mother. Skirting illegality along the way to the resolution, he unearths a lot of buried secrets and pain?not least to his own 11-year-old self. Nobody here is pure (a couple of people are truly nasty), but all the characters are believable, as are even the quirkier plot turns. Edgar-winner Connelly smoothly mixes Harry's detecting forays with his therapy sessions to dramatize how, sometimes, the biggest mystery is the self. BOMC alternate. <br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>After being put on involuntary stress leave for attacking his boss, LAPD detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch tackles the 30-plus-year-old murder case of a Hollywood prostitute?his mother. Bummed out by the failure of his latest romance as well, Harry faces a deeper, psychological crisis: his life's "mission" may end if he solves the case. Harry continues, nonetheless, soon discovering that the police and politically powerful others purposely glossed over his mother's murder. With prose that cuts to the quick, a masterfully interwoven plot, and gripping suspense, Connelly renders a fitting sequel to The Black Echo (LJ 1/92).<br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>Book Description</strong><br />Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career. </p><p>He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent. </p><p>Jack is soon running with his biggest story since The Poet made his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's. </p><hr /><p><strong>Michael Connelly and Janet Evanovich: Author One-to-One</strong><br />In this Amazon exclusive, we brought together blockbuster authors Michael Connelly and Janet Evanovich and asked them to interview each other. Find out what two of the top authors of their genres have to say about their characters, writing process, and more. Janet Evanovich is the bestselling author of the <em>How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author</em>. Read on to see Janet Evanovich's questions for Michael Connelly, or </p><p><strong>Evanovich</strong>: So dude,... Okay, you're back in Florida. Do you ever get to the beach? And when and if you get to the beach...is Harry Bosch with you? And what kind of beachwear are you guys sporting? Flip-flops? Crocs? Speedo? Board shorts?</p><p><strong>Connelly</strong>: I go to the beach often on weekends. Board shorts are required and I wear flip-flops with the built in bottle opener. Comes in handy. In Florida we rarely have waves, unless there is a hurricane in the Gulf. So I have taken up paddle-boarding, which essentially involves a big surfboard that you stand on and paddle. Still a balancing act, but easier than surfing, and you don't need waves.</p><p><strong>Evanovich</strong>: What will a bookstore look like in 2020? Will we all be downloading?</p><p><strong>Connelly</strong>: Good question. Since it is only eleven years from now, I think there will still be a solid population of "old school" readers who need the book in their hands. The question is, will they get it at a bookstore or will we have a Kindle 9.0 device that manufactures a book for you at home, complete with photo of author in a bomber jacket.</p><p><strong>Evanovich</strong>: If everybody is downloading in 2020 what the heck will we be signing on book tour? Body parts? Kindle cases?</p><p><strong>Connelly</strong>: I signed two Kindles yesterday. One person asked me to leave room for signatures from you and Dennis Lehane. So next time you're in Seattle she'll be in your line.</p><p><strong>Evanovich</strong>: Do you eat when you write? Beer nuts? M&amp;Ms? Just coffee? What keeps you from falling out of the chair in a narcoleptic stupor?</p><p><strong>Connelly</strong>: Have you ever seen what eating Cheetos can do to a keyboard? I have to say I am addicted to Coke. I always have a glass of it nearby. I eat a lot of candy, too. Keeps me going. Smarties are a great writing tool. I often need to raid my daughter's stash and then there is trouble on the home front.</p><p><strong>Evanovich</strong>: Are you a messy guy or a neat guy? Do you keep clutter on your desk? In your head? Are there soda cans and crumpled fast food wrappers rolling around on the floor of your car?</p><p><strong>Connelly</strong>: I keep a clean car but a desk that gets progressively messier as I write a book. When I am finished with the book, I clean up the desk—and eat all the stray Smarties found under the paperwork. The clean desk then promotes the start of the next book.</p><p><strong>Evanovich</strong>: The new book, </p><p><strong>Connelly</strong>: They let me do what I want. I like writing about Harry Bosch and he's pretty popular, but usually when I write a standalone it widens the audience a bit.</p><p><strong>Evanovich</strong>: Want to meet me in a bar in Ft. Myers? Is that halfway?</p><p><strong>Connelly</strong>: Name the place. </p><hr /><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. Bestseller Connelly comments on the plight of print journalism in a nail-biting thriller featuring reporter Jack McEvoy, last seen in 2004's <em>The Narrows</em>. When Jack is laid off from the <em>L.A. Times</em> with 14 days' notice to tie up loose ends, he decides to go out with a bang. What starts as a story about the wrongful arrest of a young gangbanger for the brutal rape and murder of an exotic dancer turns out to be just the tip of an iceberg that takes McEvoy from the Nevada desert to a futuristic data-hosting facility in Arizona. FBI agent Rachel Walling, with whom he worked on a serial killer case in 1996's <em>The Poet</em>, soon joins the hunt, but as the pair uncover more about the killer and his unsettling predilections, they realize that they too are being hunted. With every switch between McEvoy's voice and the villain's, Connelly ratchets up the tension. This magnificent effort is a reminder of why Connelly is one of today's top crime authors. <em>8-city author tour. (May)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Bestseller Connelly's compelling 12th Harry Bosch novel (after 2005's <em>The Closers</em>) offers some new wrinkles on a familiar theme—the aging detective haunted by the one who got away. In Bosch's case, the elusive quarry is the man who abducted a 22-year-old equestrian, Marie Gesto, in 1993. Having returned to active duty as a member of the LAPD Open-Unsolved Unit, Bosch repeatedly pulls the file to see if he can discover something new and give some small solace to the victim's parents. When a chance police stop of a suspicious vehicle nets serial killer Raynard Waits, who's carrying body parts in his van, Bosch assesses the murderer's claim that he was responsible for killing Gesto, too. The weary and cynical detective soon suspects that Waits is trying to barter information for a reduced sentence of life imprisonment. Political motivations connected with the upcoming DA election also cloud the investigation. Smooth prose and plausible characters—even the secondary figures—elevate this several notches above the standard cop vs. serial-killer thriller. <em>Author tour. (Oct.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Harry Bosch has been around since the Edgar Award?winning <em>The Black Echo </em>(1992), and critics agree that neither he nor the police-procedural series has lost of any of their original luster. Instead, they're both getting better with age. As in previous installments, both character and plot drive <em>Echo Park</em>: Harry's passion for the case and his guilt at having not found the killer before more murders occurred create a flawed, convincing hero. Michael Connelly's sharp eye for Los Angeles, from Sunset Boulevard to Beachwood Canyon and Echo Park, also kept critics turning the pages. Overall, _Echo Park <em>"is a richly imagined and finely crafted piece that grabs the reader on Page One and locks him but a half-step behind Bosch on every page that follows" (</em>Denver Post_). </p><p><em>Copyright © 2004 Phillips &amp; Nelson Media, Inc.</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>LAPD detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch, protagonist of the highly praised mystery The Black Echo , returns in a procedural thriller set in and around the drug-trafficking underworlds of inner-city Los Angeles and the wastelands of Mexico. When Bosch arrives at a sleazy hotel room where a fellow officer has committed suicide, he senses that something is awry. Noncommittal superior officers, a diffident widow and tales linking the dead man to a newly created street drug called "black ice" (heroin, crack and PCP rolled into one) send Bosch down a winding trail of forensic impossibilities, brutally violent drug traffickers and an ultimately shocking case of mistaken identity. Award-winning Connelly's second fictional effort is strong and sure. His pacing could be better--too often he conveys the same information twice--but his plot and characters more than make up for a slow start. This novel establishes him as a writer with a superior talent for storytelling. <br />Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Kirkus Reviews</h3><p>Second tense, tightly wound tangle of a case for Hieronymous Bosch (The Black Echo, 1991). This time out, the LAPD homicide cop, who's been exiled to Hollywood Division for his bumptious behavior, sniffs out the bloody trail of the designer drug <code></code>black ice.'' Connelly (who covers crime for the Los Angeles Times) again flexes his knowledge of cop ways--and of cop-novel clich‚s. Cast from the hoary mold of the maverick cop, Bosch pushes his way onto the story's core case--the apparent suicide of a narc--despite warnings by top brass to lay off. Meanwhile, Bosch's boss, a prototypical pencil-pushing bureaucrat hoping to close out a majority of Hollywood's murder cases by New Year's Day, a week hence, assigns the detective a pile of open cases belonging to a useless drunk, Lou Porter. One of the cases, the slaying of an unidentified Hispanic, seems to tie in to the death of the narc, which Bosch begins to read as murder stemming from the narc's dirty involvement in black ice. When Porter is murdered shortly after Bosch speaks to him, and then the detective's love affair with an ambitious pathologist crashes, Bosch decides to head for Mexico, where clues to all three murders point. There, the well-oiled, ten- gear narrative really picks up speed as Bosch duels with corrupt cops; attends the bullfights; breaks into a fly-breeding lab that's the distribution center for Mexico's black-ice kingpin; and takes part in a raid on the kingpin's ranch that concludes with Bosch waving his jacket like a matador's cape at a killer bull on the rampage. But the kingpin escapes, leading to a not wholly unexpected twist--and to a touching assignation with the dead narc's widow. Expertly told, and involving enough--but lacking the sheer artistry and heart-clutching thrills of, say, David Lindsay's comparable Stuart Haydon series (Body of Evidence, etc.). -- <em>Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.</em></p>


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<div><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Since his first appearance in 1992's Edgar-winning __, Detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch has joined </p><p>In <em>City of Bones</em>, Connelly's eighth Bosch title, Bosch and his well-dressed partner, Jerry Edgar, are working to identify a child's skeleton, buried for 20 years in the forest off Hollywood's Wonderland Drive, and to bring the killer to belated justice. For Bosch this is more than just another homicide, as the mystery child, beaten and abandoned, comes to represent much of what he sees as evil in his city. Add in a tragic love affair with a fellow cop, complications from overzealous media, and the growing feeling that he's fighting a losing battle about which no one cares, and the usually stoic Bosch is pushed to his limits. This isn't the strongest plot Connelly has concocted for Bosch, but it leads to an ending the whole series has been building toward. The conclusion may not shock longtime fans, but it will leave them wondering where the series will go from here. <em>--Benjamin Reese</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Harry Bosch is at the top of his form which is great news for Connelly fans who might have been wondering how much life the dour, haunted LAPD veteran had left in him. His latest adventure is as dark and angst-ridden as any of Bosch's past outings, but it also crackles with energy especially in the details of police procedure and internal politics that animate virtually every page. What other crime writer could make such dramatic use of the fact that the front door of a house trailer swings out rather than in, creating problems for a two-man team of detectives? Who else would create to such credible narrative effect an egotistic celebrity coroner who jeopardizes an investigation because she lets a TV camera crew from Court TV follow her around, or an overage female rookie cop so in love with danger that she commits an unthinkable act? When the bones of an abused 12-year-old boy who disappeared in 1980 turn up in the woods above Hollywood (near a street named Wonderland, where former governor Jerry Brown used to live), the case stirs up Bosch's memories of his own troubled childhood. Also, as his captain so aptly points out, Harry is the LAPD's prime "shit magnet," an investigator who attracts muck and trouble wherever he goes. So it's no great surprise when the investigation takes a couple of nasty turns, right up through the last chapter. Connelly is such a careful, quiet writer that he can slow down the story to sketch in some relatively minor characters a retired doctor, a couple who lived through their foster children without missing a beat. (One-day laydown Apr. 16)Forecast: Connelly doesn't need much help in hitting the charts, but Little, Brown is going all out anyway, with a massive television, radio and print ad campaign, transit ads in New York and a 10-city author tour. Expect blockbuster sales and blockbuster satisfaction. <br>Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. </p>

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SUMMARY:
Gabriel Allon hasn't been back to Vienna since his wife and child died there in a terrorist bombing. But when his mentor in the Israeli intelligence agency dispatches him to the Austrian capitol to investigate a murderous explosion at the Wartime Claims and Inquiry Office, his presence alerts the attention of police officials who have reasons to stand in the way of his investigation. When a concentration camp survivor is killed who could link the father of Austria's next chancellor to Nazi atrocities and an ongoing coverup by the Catholic Church, Allon discovers another connection to the conspiracy, this one closer to his own past than he could ever have imagined. This is the third of Silva's thrillers featuring Allon, the art restorer who's also a spy (The Confessor and The English Assassin are the first two). In an endnote, the author calls them a "completed cycle dealing with the unfinished business of the Holocaust." Allon is such a compelling hero that one hopes Silva, a skilled craftsman and a terrific story-teller, will bring him back in another series. --Jane Adams


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**The extraordinary new Gabriel Allon novel from the “gold standard” (*The Dallas Morning News*) of thriller writers**.



 Over the course of ten previous novels, Daniel Silva has established himself as one of the world’s finest writers of international intrigue and espionage— “a worthy successor to such legends as Frederick Forsyth and John le Carré” (*Chicago Sun-Times*)—and Gabriel Allon as “one of the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series” (*The Philadelphia Inquirer*).



 Now the death of a journalist leads Allon to Russia, where he finds that, in terms of spycraft, even he has something to learn. He’s playing by Moscow rules now.



 This is not the grim, gray Moscow of Soviet times but a new Moscow, awash in oil wealth and choked with bulletproof Bentleys. A Moscow where power resides once more behind the walls of the Kremlin and where critics of the ruling class are ruthlessly silenced. A Moscow where a new generation of Stalinists is plotting to reclaim an empire lost and to challenge the global dominance of its old enemy, the United States.



 One such man is Ivan Kharkov, a former KGB colonel who built a global investment empire on the rubble of the Soviet Union. Hidden within that empire, however, is a more lucrative and deadly business: Kharkov is an arms dealer—and he is about to deliver Russia’s most sophisticated weapons to al- Qaeda. Unless Allon can learn the time and place of the delivery, the world will see the deadliest terror attacks since 9/11—and the clock is ticking fast.



 Filled with rich prose and breathtaking turns of plot, *Moscow Rules* is at once superior entertainment and a searing cautionary tale about the new threats rising to the East—and Silva’s finest novel yet.


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Few recent thriller writers have excited the kind of critical praise that Daniel Silva has, with his novels featuring art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon. Now Allon is back in Venice, when a terrible explosion in Rome leads to a disturbing personal revelation: the existence of a dossier in the hands of terrorists that strips away his secrets, lays bare his history. Hastily recalled home to Israel, drawn once more into the heart of a service he had once forsaken, Gabriel Allon finds himself stalking an elusive master terrorist across a landscape drenched in generations of blood, along a trail that keeps turning in upon itself, until, finally, he can no longer be certain who is stalking whom. And when at last the inevitable showdown comes, it's not Gabriel alone who is threatened with destruction-for it is not his history alone that has been laid bare. A knife-edged thriller of astonishing intricacy and feeling, filled with exhilarating prose, this is Daniel Silva's finest novel yet.


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SUMMARY:
Gabriel Allon, Daniel Silva's protagonist in an interesting series about a Mossad spy who doubles as an art restorer, returns in a fascinating tale of Vatican complicity in the Holocaust. Author Silva, a political journalist turned espionage writer, has done his homework on some recently unearthed documents and written a fast-paced novel that will reawaken the discussion regarding whether the Catholic Church turned a blind eye to Nazi atrocities against Jews in occupied countries during World War II, and if so, why. Allon remains an enigmatic figure whose desire for revenge against the Leopard, the assassin who killed his wife and child, compels him to put down his paints and brushes and take arms against Israel's past and present enemies. The Confessor is a solidly plotted, well-crafted story that will appeal to fans of Allen Furst, John le Carré, and other standouts in the international espionage genre. --Jane Adams


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

*The Unlikely Spy*, Daniel Silva's extraordinary debut novel, was  applauded by critics as it rocketed onto national bestseller lists.  Now Silva has outdone himself, with a taut, lightning-paced thriller  rooted assuredly in fact: Switzerland's shameful WWII record of  profiteering and collaboration with Nazi Germany.    

When art restorer and occasional Israeli agent Gabriel Allon is  sent to Zurich, Switzerland, to restore the painting of a reclusive  millionaire banker, he arrives to find his would-be employer murdered  at the foot of his Raphael. A secret collection of priceless,  illicitly gained Impressionist masterpieces is missing. Gabriel's  handlers step out of the shadows to admit the truth-the collector had  been silenced-and Gabriel is put back in the high-stakes spy game,  battling wits with the rogue assassin he helped to train.    Tense, taut, expertly crafted, and brimming with unexpected  reversals, *The English Assassin* is Daniel Silva at his  storytelling best.


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Fans of Daniel Silva's well-received earlier novels, especially The Marching Season, will welcome his newest novel of espionage, revenge, and Middle Eastern politics. Gabriel Allon is an art restorer who's persuaded out of retirement by Ari Shamron, the crafty Israeli spymaster bent on a deadly mission: killing a Palestinian agent named Tariq before he can carry out his plan to assassinate an old comrade-in-arms, the treacherous peacemaker Yasir Arafat. Tariq's role in the murder of Gabriel's wife and son draws both Gabriel and Sarah Halevy, the beautiful French model whose affair with Gabriel led to the assassination of his family. Still in love with Gabriel, Sarah allows herself to be set up with a cover and infiltrated into Tariq's inner circle. But before Gabriel can rescue her and fulfill his mission, Tariq turns the tables to get his old adversary as well as Arafat in his own sights. A particularly resonant scene in which Tariq and Arafat confront each other and discuss their former friendship, as well as the change in tactics that has brought Tariq to the ultimate betrayal, reveals Silva's deep comprehension of Palestinian rivalries. He puts a clever little fillip on the ending that adds to the brio of this strongly paced thriller. Silva creates complex, fascinating characters in Gabe, Ari, and Tariq, and more than fulfills the promise of his earlier books. --Jane Adams


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Allon is recovering from his grueling showdown with a Palestinian master terrorist, when terrorism comes to find him once again. An al-Qaeda suspect is killed in London, and photographs are found on his computer-photographs that lead Israeli intelligence to suspect that al-Qaeda is planning one of its most audacious attacks ever. To Allon, there is something terribly familiar about the information, something horrifyingly close--but even he does not realize how close. Urgently, he throws himself into the hunt, but there may simply not be enough of anything: enough time, enough facts, enough luck. An extraordinary enemy walks among them . . . and he's just getting started. Filled with remarkable characters and breathtaking double and triple turns of plot, The Messenger solidifies Silva's reputation as his generations' finest writer of international thrillers.


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<p class="description">SUMMARY: Gabriel Allon returns in the spellbinding new novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author. Two families, one terrible secret, and a painting to die for... It has been six months since Gabriel's showdown with Ivan Kharkov. Now, having severed his ties with the Office, Gabriel has retreated to the Cornish coast with only one thing in mind: healing his wife, Chiara, after her encounter with evil. But an unspeakable act of violence once again draws Gabriel into a world of danger when an art restorer is brutally murdered and the newly discovered Rembrandt on which he is working taken. Gabriel is persuaded to use his unique skills to trace the painting and those responsible for the crimes; but, as he investigates, he discovers there are terrible secrets connected to the painting, and terrible men behind them. Before he is done, he will have undertaken a journey through some of the twentieth century's darkest history-and come face-to-face with some of the same darkness within himself.</p>


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

He has been called his generation's finest writer of international intrigue, one of America's most gifted spy novelists ever, and the successor to Graham Greene and John le CarrŽ. But with his follow-up to the 2006 electrifying number one bestseller *The Messenger*, Daniel Silva has written his most compelling and entertaining novel to date.    

When last we encountered Gabriel Allon, the master art restorer and sometime officer of Israeli intelligence, he had just prevailed in his blood-soaked duel with Saudi terrorist financier Zizi al-Bakari. Now Gabriel is summoned once more by his masters to undertake what appears to be a routine assignment: travel to Amsterdam to purge the archives of a murdered Dutch terrorism analyst who also happened to be an asset of Israeli intelligence. But once in Amsterdam, Gabriel soon discovers a conspiracy of terror festering in the city's Islamic underground, a plot that is about to explode on the other side of the English Channel, in the middle of London.     

The target of this plot is Elizabeth Halton, the daughter of the American ambassador to the Court of St. James's, who is to be brutally kidnapped. Gabriel arrives seconds too late to save her. And by revealing his face to the plot's masterminds, his fate is sealed as well. Drawn once more into the service of American intelligence, Gabriel hurls himself into a desperate search for the missing woman as the clock ticks steadily toward the hour of her execution. It will take him from Amsterdam to Germany to the very end of Denmark. It will thrust him into an unlikely alliance with a man who has lost everything because of his devotion to Islam. It will cause him to question the morality of the tactics of his trade. And it might very well cost him his life.    

Filled with breathtaking double and triple turns of plot, and a final mind-bending sequence that will leave readers breathless, *The Secret Servant* is not only a work of supreme entertainment, but also an exploration of some of the most daunting issues of our times: the war on terrorism, the weapons the West uses to wage it, and the time bomb now ticking in the heart of Western Europe.


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>As in her earlier novels, Shreve (Eden Close) affectingly explores themes of love and loss with piercing clarity, once again capturing the fragile emotions of those in pain. Here, however, she moves from her customary domestic, contemporary milieu to WWII Europe?to the Belgian village of Delahaut, where young Claire Daussois and her husband, Henri, are members of an underground resistance movement. When a British plane goes down outside the town in December 1943, the plucky 10-year-old Jean Benoit finds a survivor, Ted Brice, hides him in his father's barn and then summons the aid of Mme. Daussois. As she has done with other refugees, Claire shelters the 22-year-old captain in her attic. When it becomes necessary for Henri to go into hiding, Claire and Ted embark on a brief affair, a passionate liaison made more poignant by its simultaneous inevitability and futility. With deceptive simplicity and superb control, Shreve evokes the impersonal horrors of wartime and its heartbreaking personal tragedies?often combining those elements to almost overwhelming effect, as when Jean witnesses the execution of several townspeople as reprisal for their resistance activities. <br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>YA?In December 1943, an American fighter plane is downed near a small village in Belgium. The pilot, Lt. Ted Brice, is rescued by a member of the local resistance movement. As he is hidden in the small attic at the home of Claire Daussois, he becomes acutely aware of the danger to himself as well as his hostess and her husband. A bond develops between Claire and Ted during his 20-day stay that changes both of their lives forever. Through this fast-paced novel, YAs will gain insight into the unthinkable horrors of World War II-German retribution, village collaborators, and local resistance workers. Shreve describes the landscape and the local residents in such detail that readers will quickly become involved in the lives of the characters.?Roberta Lisker, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA<br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>ÒReminiscent of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien or Robert Jordan.Ó Ñ_School Library Journal_, starred review  </p><p>ÒFrom the pre-industrial English feel to the sprawling setting and backstory, this book feels every bit as substantial as its heft implies.Ó Ñ_Publishers Weekly_, starred review  </p><p>ÓGives the Dickensian orphan story an original spin. . . . Expertly envisioned and peopled with intriguing characters.Ó Ñ_Booklist_, starred review </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Continuing the absorbing, inventive saga started in <em>Foundling</em>, <em>Lamplighter</em> follows RossamŸnd Bookchild, now one of the EmperorÕs lamplighters, who is sworn to protect travelers from the ferocious bogles that live in the wild. Small and meek, he does not fit in. Then a haughty young female monster hunter is forced upon the lamplighters for training. As RossamŸnd begins to make new friends in the dangerous world of the Half-Continent, he also seems to make more enemies, finding himself pushed toward a destiny that he could never have imagined. . . . </p>

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<h3>From</h3><p>It was to have been the triumphant swan song for a revered Italian film director—the premiere in Rome of his long-awaited movie version of Dante’s Inferno. But before the lights go down, chaos reigns: a man is dead, the film’s star has disappeared, and a priceless relic, Dante’s death mask, has been stolen. The trail leads to San Francisco, where Rome police detective Nic Costa, along with partner Gianni Peroni and their boss, Leo Falcone, are part of a team charged with ensuring the safety of other relics that will be part of an exhibit at Golden Gate Park set to open in tandem with the rescheduled premiere. But, of course, Hewson’s three maverick detectives want to get involved in the murder investigation itself, technically the province of their institutional rivals, the Carabiniere, and soon enough they are end-running around not only their Italian counterparts but also the San Francisco police. Hewson is a master at convoluted, many-tentacled plots that weave their way through history and back to the present, but this time he doubles the stakes: we start with Dante and the iconography of his Inferno and wind up reliving the plot of Hitchcock’s Vertigo. That’s a lot ground to cover in one novel—perhaps too much—but from scene to scene, Hewson never loses the reader’s attention, and for fans of this outstanding series, the latest chapter in the interlocked lives of Costa and friends, while overstuffed, is as delicious as ever. --Bill Ott </p><h3>Review</h3><p>"The return of Nic Costa is a true cause for celebration! A literate, page-turning tale that finds our hero—one of the most appealing in crime fiction—zipping between two of the most iconic cities in the world: Rome and San Francisco. Hewson is a daunting talent—a writer who is a master stylist, who respects his audience's intelligence, and who effortlessly keeps the thrills coming a mile a minute."–Jeffery Deaver, <em>New York Times </em>bestselling author  </p><p>"One of my all-time favorite fictional detectives is David Hewson's Nic Costa, and Dante's Numbers brings Nic for the first time to American shores. From the opening scene of murder and mayhem at a movie premiere to the final, mind-blowing surprise, <strong>Dante's Numbers</strong> is an elegant, clever, and terrifying tale of intrigue and murder involving Dante's first circle of Hell and Hitchcock's classic film Vertigo. An outstanding novel."—Douglas Preston, author of_ The Monster of Florence and Blasphemy_.  </p><p>"David Hewson is one of the finest thriller writers working today. A born stylist. <strong> Dante's Numbers</strong> is politically wise, multi-dimensional, and psychologically intuitive. Action braids suspense on nearly every page, creating a reader's delight from beginning to end. A superb effort by a master storyteller. The rest of the world already knows how good David is. Now, it's time America find out." —Steve Berry  </p><p>"<strong> Dante's Numbers</strong> is action-packed suspense at its smartest and most gripping. Transplanting Nic Costa and his fellow Italian detectives to the dizzying world of Hitchock's 'Vertigo' is a master stroke from a brilliant author. It's impossible not to be swept up in the memorable, compelling world that is David Hewson's specialty."–David Morrell  </p><p>"Easily the best in a really terrific series."—Lee Child  </p><p>“Hewson is a master at convoluted, manytentacled plots that weave their way through history and back to the present.” —_Booklist  </p><p>_“[In] Hewson’s fine seventh crime novel to feature Nic Costa…. A convoluted plot, eccentric characters and numerous sinister connections to Hitchcock’s <em>Vertigo</em> all contribute to the suspense.” —_Publishers Weekly<br />_</p>


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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>"'The most extraordinary novel about football yet to appear.' Tim Martin, Independent on Sunday" </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Overachieving and eccentric football manager Brian Clough was on his way to take over at the country's most successful, and most reviled football club: Leeds United, home to a generation of fiercely competitive but ageing players. The battle he'd face there would make or break the club - or him. David Peace's extraordinarily inventive novel tells the story of a world characterised by fear of failure and hunger for success set in the bleak heart of the 1970s. </p>

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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Sometimes it seems like every standup comedian worth his or her salt just <em>has</em> to do the book thing, and you might feel that yet another warmed-over stage routine is the last thing you need taking up valuable bookshelf space. Jon Stewart's book will come as an extremely pleasant surprise. He eschews the standard standup patter and instead gives us 18 short comic essays in a variety of styles that recall the prose work of Woody Allen, only with a few more references to genitals. Stewart proves himself a remarkably nimble humorist with a sharp eye for parody, whether he's writing "A Very Hanson Christmas" or "Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview." </p><blockquote><p>HITLER: ...Larry, look, I was a bad guy. No question. I hate that Hitler. The yelling, the finger pointing, I don't know ... I was a very angry guy.</p><p>KING: And this ... new Hitler?</p><p>HITLER: I get up at seven, have half a melon, do the jumble in the morning paper and then let the day take me where it will.... Me!! The inventor of the Blitzkrieg... When you stop having to control everything it's very freeing. </p></blockquote><p>Stewart is not afraid to flirt with bad taste, in fact, some of the pieces in this collection do for "flirting with bad taste" what Bill Clinton did for "not having sexual relations." But it's wonderful to see an edgy comedian taking on the traditionally cozy genre of the humorous essay, creating work that combines the wit of Robert Benchley with the energy and attitude of the best modern standup. <em>Naked Pictures of Famous People</em> proves that Jon Stewart is as comfortable, and accomplished, in front of a word processor as he is in front of an audience. <em>--Simon Leake</em></p><h3>Review</h3><p>"Brutally witty... On a par with Woody Allen's Without Feathers and Steve Martin's Cruel Shoes..." -- <em>Entertainment Weekly</em>  </p><p>"Terrific night table reading for lovers of intelligent satire... smart... refreshingly offensive... unapologetically un-PC... a gift for just about anyone." -- <em>Austin Chronicle</em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>Amazon.com Exclusive: Questions for Lauren Kate</strong></p><p><strong>Amazon.com:</strong> Luce and Daniel's story is very romantic. What inspired you to write a love story between a human and an angel? <br /><strong>Lauren Kate:</strong> I’ve been writing love stories for as long as I’ve been writing. To me, the most complicated romances make the most interesting narratives, so I’m always looking for new obstacles to throw in my lovers’ paths. When I was getting my masters degree in fiction, I was studying biblical narratives and came across a line in Genesis (6:1-4), which describes a group of angels who fell in love with mortal women. Putting this reference together with a mention in Isaiah and another in Palsm 82, biblical scholars conclude that these angels were actually cast out of Heaven for their lust. Which means--you could say--that these angels chose love over Heaven. I found this to be an endlessly interesting set up for an incredibly complicated romance. I started thinking about what kind of mortal girl it would take to attract an angel’s attention. And what it would be like for her to find herself in this position. What kind of baggage would an angel have? What would her very over-protective parents think? From there, this whole world unfurled in my head with fallen angels, demons, reincarnation, and the war between good and evil all battling for a piece of the action.</p><p><strong>Amazon.com:</strong> We've been wondering about the "mechanics" of Luce and Daniel's story (for lack of a better word). Does Daniel age? Or does he stay seventeen forever (while Luce grows older)? And with that said, what does he do while Luce is growing up in each of her lives? What was he doing before he met Luce in this life?<br /><strong>Kate:</strong> What’s important about angels is not their bodies but their souls. In their purest forms, they’re actually genderless, but for my story to work--for the angels to come down to earth and interact with mortals--they all assume human bodies and attach themselves to human genders. Daniel is eternal and will live on forever, but the body Luce sees him in (gorgeous as it is) is really just a shell for the soul that she loves. There’s not the feeling of a ticking clock in the background as there might be with, say, a vampire story. Right now I’m writing <em>Passion</em>, the prequel where we’ll see Luce and Daniel in a dozen other lifetimes, so I’m exploring a lot of these mechanics (a great word for it, by the way) between the angel’s bodies and souls.  </p><p>The way Daniel occupies himself in between Luces varies from life to life. His soul is least at rest just after she’s died, before she’s incarnated into another life--when she is “in between.” During her lives, even when he isn’t with her, he is always aware of her age, what she’s going through, how she’s doing. He has a sort of internal Lucinda clock. Sometimes he meets her as a child, sometimes he tries to stay away from her as long as possible, to give her as much of a life outside of him as he can. In the years leading up to the life where they meet at Sword and Cross, Daniel was living on Skid Row in Los Angeles. </p><p><strong>Amazon.com:</strong> <em>Fallen</em> and <em>Torment</em> talk a lot about the history of Heaven and Hell, the different classes of Angels, and the rules of human-angel interaction. Obviously these themes are explored heavily in religious texts, but were there other sources that informed your story? <br /><strong>Kate:</strong>It’s interesting because there is actually very little in the Bible about angels--a few mentions in the Old Testament, a few more in the new. And the mentions that we do have are often vague or contradictory. Most of what we think of when we think of angels today comes from secular or cultural contexts. Seventy-five percent of it might have come from   </p><p>I got so engrossed in all of the research I did for <em>Fallen</em> that I had a hard time knowing when to stop reading and when to start writing. I had to realize that it was okay for me to pick and choose things from various accounts, to look past contradictions, and to come up with my own angel mythology. That’s what Milton did, after all!</p><p><strong>Amazon.com:</strong> What is Cam's deal? We're not convinced that he's totally evil--in <em>Fallen</em>, he seemed to be trying to protect Luce by keeping her away from Daniel, and in <em>Torment</em> he and Daniel reach a mysterious truce, again to protect Luce. Will we be seeing more of him in book 3?<br /><strong>Kate:</strong>Speaking of Milton, isn’t it fascinating that Satan is the most interesting character in <em>Fallen</em> and in <em>Torment</em> with Daniel and Cam’s truce. The idea that good and evil rely on each other is as old as the oldest dualistic religion, Zoroastrianism (on whose shoulders both Judaism and Christianity stood).   </p><p>So yes, there is more to Cam than pure evil! (Especially since his character--the charming side of his character anyway--was based loosely on my husband.) We’ll see a lot of him in <em>Passion</em> and will even begin to understand how he got where he is today. </p><p><strong>Amazon.com:</strong> Can you tell us a little bit about book 3? Will we find out more about Luce and Daniel's past lives?<br /><strong>Kate:</strong><em>Passion</em> is going to be the craziest, coolest book I’ve ever written! I’m halfway through the first draft right now and it is so rewarding to finally get to delve into Luce and Daniel’s past lives together. The history these two share is the stuff of epics, and I am learning so many new things about them as I write. For any reader out there feeling tortured by the teasing hints of so many thrilling past lives: <em>Passion</em> is your book! Everything--well, almost everything--will be illuminated. </p><hr /><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Gr 9 Up–This sequel to Fallen (Delacorte, 2009) continues they complex tale as Luce tries to uncover the truth and break the cycle of falling in love, dying young, and being reincarnated. Daniel, her lover through the ages and a fallen angel, institutes a truce with Demons to protect her from the Outcasts, who would do her harm. For her safety, Daniel hides her at a boarding school for the Nephilim, children of human and fallen angels, and cautions her to remain on campus and learn all she can. Unfortunately a little knowledge can be dangerous and Luce's naive attempts to manipulate her powers constantly put her and others in danger. Some of the rescues employ a deus ex machina as is the case when Arriane inexplicably arrives in Vegas and saves the day. At times the story plods along, with a full chapter devoted to a fencing lesson. Daniel regularly returns to check on Luce and there's lots of swooning, passionate kissing, and playing at being in love, though it often ends with bickering. Interest is piqued with the hint of a love triangle, and the suspense is ratcheted up in the heart-pounding final battle scene. In the end, readers won't be much closer to unraveling Luce's mystery and will need to stay tuned for the next installment. It's unlikely this title will garner new fans for the series, but those already hooked on the epic romance won't want to miss it._Patricia N. McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA_<br />© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Carcaterra's controversial memoir of growing up in NYC's Hell's Kitchen and as an inmate at a sadistic detention center was a PW bestseller for eight weeks. <br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From</h3><p>A book with a punch equal to its publicity hype! Journalist Carcaterra tells with gripping force of his days growing up in the tough New York City neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen in the 1960s (the names have been changed to protect the innocent <em>and</em> the guilty). He and his three closest buddies engaged in petty crime until the day their tricks got out of hand and escalated into a major offense, for which they were sent to a juvenile home in upstate New York. They were tormented during their months there, not by other young inmates but by their adult guards, who brutalized them relentlessly in a program of horror and torture that included rape. Once out, once grown up, one of the boys became a lawyer, and through a bizarre twist of events worthy of being turned into a movie (in fact, the movie rights have been sold, with Barry Levinson lined up as director), he, Carcaterra, and the other two friends expose the horrible wrongs they suffered in that detention home. Both difficult to read and difficult to put down, this book will garner lots of attention, and as a result, readership demand will be high. <em>Brad Hooper</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In a meaty tribute to mystery sub-genres, Straub ( Ghost Story ) serves up a coming-of-age tale, a country-manor murder mystery and a twisted knot of governmental corruption and cover-up. Ten-year-old Tom Pasmore, a rich resident of the Caribbean island of Mill Walk, is hit by a car and, in a near-death experience, sees visions of himself in the future. During his long recuperation, Tom reads mystery stories brought to him by Lamont von Heilitz, an eccentric neighbor, once a famous detective. Action resumes when Tom, now aged 17 and possessed of sharpened deductive skills, gives the police an anonymous tip to help them solve the murder of a government official's sister. Tom's tip backfires, motivating him to join Lamont in trying to solve a murder that took place 20 years earlier in the Wisconsin resort town where Mill Walk's privileged citizens spend their summers. That layered, complex case reveals a long history of corruption, leads to more murders, to realization of the meaning of Tom's early visions and his discovery of his true identity. While evocative of place and time (the early '60s) and peopled with memorable characters, the story tries to fit into too many subgenres to succeed completely at any one. $200,000 ad/promo. <br />Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>“A dark, labyrinthian tale of murder and family relationships. . . . Mesmerizing.” —_Chicago Sun-Times_  </p><p>“Sensational. . . . A terrific page-turner, superbly plotted, unforgettable characters.” —_Kansas City Star_  </p><p>“Intriguing, immensely readable. . . . Engages the mind.” —_Washington Post Book World_  </p><p>“The near perfect mystery. . . . Has everything a classic whodunit should. . . . Full of intricate, engrossing, flesh-and-blood suspects and heroes. . . . Unexpected curves and potholes. . . . The title says it all.” —_Milwaukee Sentinel_  </p><p>“Murder, mayhem, mystery. . . . A complex and satisfying tale. . . . Compelling characters. . . . A pulse-pounding climax.” —_Cleveland Plain Dealer_  </p><p>“A tightly woven-tale, crisply rendered, populated with well-drawn characters.” —_San Francisco Chronicle_  </p><p>“Marvelous. . . . Enormously satisfying. . . . Unashamedly designed to fascinate.” —_Sacramento Bee_  </p><p>“The best of Peter Straub’s writing.” —_Houston Chronicle_   </p><p>“The characters are outstanding. . . . They are the story, enshrouded by a nightmare that never lifts. Peter Straub takes bold risks and he succeeds.” —_San Jose Mercury News_  </p><p>“Enomously entertaining and scary. . . . Rich, complex, dark, and tough to put down.” —_New York Daily News_</p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. In this tour de force from bestseller Straub (_In the Night Room_), four high school friends in 1966 Madison, Wis.—Hootie Bly, Dilly Olson, Jason Boatman, and Lee Truax—fall under the spell of charismatic wandering guru Spencer Mallon. During an occult ceremony in which Mallon attempts to break through to a higher reality, something goes horribly awry leaving one participant dead. Decades later, Lee's writer husband interviews the quartet to find out what happened. In Roshomon-like fashion, each relates a slightly different account of the trauma they experienced. Straub masterfully shows how the disappointments, downturns, and failed promise of the four friends' lives may have stemmed from this youthful experience, and suggests, by extension, that the malignant evil they helped unleash into the world has tainted all hope ever since. Brilliant in its orchestration and provocative in its speculations, this novel ranks as one of the finest tales of modern horror. <em>(Feb.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Six book critics venture into a new novel by a best-selling horror writer. The writer is said to have magical abilities to blend horror conventions with literary fiction to keep the pages turning. He is even said to have touched Stephen King! Four of the critics come away convinced that a transcendent supernatural event has occurred, which may have something to do with the nature of evil. But two are horribly scarred by the event--unbearably bored, convinced they have just read a rejected script from Lost. Whose version of events is true? We may never know. All critics agree on is that the only possible way to describe such a plot structure is to reference Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon--so readers may just have to investigate for themselves. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. In <em>Black House</em>, Straub and Stephen King wrote of "slippage," whereby the borders between reality and fantasy blur. This entire brilliant novel is an act of slippage. In this sequel to last year's <em>lost boy lost girl</em>, and further chapter in the ongoing adventures of Straub protagonist Tim Underhill (_Koko_, etc.), the most intellectually adventurous of dark fantasy authors takes the apparent slippage of the prequel—in which Underhill's experience of a slain nephew's survival at the hands of a serial killer was indicated to be compensatory imagining by Underhill—several steps into the impressively weird. Underhill, an author, here encounters not the mere survival of a dead relation but the existence of a character he's creating in his journals. Dark fantasy cognescenti will remember that King employed a somewhat similar device in <em>The Dark Half</em>, but Straub's approach is distinctly his own, directed at mining the ambiguous relationship between nature and art, fact and fiction, the real and the ideal. The character Underhill has brought into being is Willy Bryce Patrick, a children's book author soon to be married to coldhearted financier Mitchell Faber, at least until Willy discovers that Faber had her first family murdered. Willy, whom Tim meets during a bookstore reading of his latest novel, <em>lost boy lost girl</em>, believes she is real (as does the reader for the book's first third), and learns otherwise only through Tim's painful, patient revelations. The two fall in deeply in love, but their passion seems doomed—not only is Willy's existence tenuous, but the pair are being pursued with murderous intent by Faber and his goons, as the former is in fact one form of the serial killer of <em>lost boy lost girl</em>, Joseph Kalendar; moreover, a terrible angel is insisting that only when Underhill makes an ultimate sacrifice, righting a wrong he did to Kalendar in <em>lost boy lost girl</em>, will matters resolve. Moving briskly while ranging from high humor to the blackest dread, this is an original, astonishingly smart and expertly entertaining meditation on imagination and its powers; one of the very finest works of Straub's long career, it's a sure bet for future award nominations. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Though most famous for his collaborations with Stephen King, Straub transcends the conventions of horror fiction. <em>In the Night Room</em> provides more than a good scare; it deals with themes like the nature of reality and the consequences of artistic creation. Despite his cerebral bent, Straub never sacrifices the entertainment value of his story—though one reviewer found its twists hard to follow. The novel, a sequel to his acclaimed <em>lost boy lost girl </em>(<strong></strong> Jan/Feb 2004), offers a combination of gripping plot, well-drawn characters, and philosophical depth. Critics hail <em>In the Night Room</em> as a rewarding read for horror junkies and deep thinkers alike.</p><p><em>Copyright © 2004 Phillips &amp; Nelson Media, Inc.</em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Peter Straub is a fine sorcerer of horror whose bag of tricks includes stories of pure, unadulterated horror (<strong> and </strong>), as well as more subtle tales of psychological suspense (<strong> and </strong>). Now Straub conjures up <em>Magic Terror</em>, a collection of seven deeply disturbing tales that display his entire range.</p><p>"Bunny Is Good Bread" is without a doubt the most haunted tale of all, a harrowing account of a childhood from hell. The scary hero Fee was so traumatized as a 5-year-old by abuse from his father that he disconnects himself from the real world and lives as if in a film. Why? "If you forgot you were in a movie, your own feelings would tear you into bloody rags." Ever since the day Fee watches his mother die a horrible death, he's been tormented: "He was one-half dead himself; half of him belonged to his dead mother." </p><p>Fee is not the only character to be struck by a dark epiphany, a life-changing moment. In the lyrical "Porkpie Hat," a famous jazz musician recounts the ghoulish Halloween encounter that charted the course of his destiny, and in the twisted fairy tale "Ashputtle," a fantasy-inclined "princess" seeks retribution for a traumatic incident many years before.</p><p>In Straub's world, horror appears in different disguises--the dark mask of child abuse and the bloodied cloak of war ("The Ghost Village"). Regardless of how it shows itself, the effects will haunt long after lights out. <em>--Naomi Gesinger</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The war-numbed soldier who asks, "Just suppose...,that you were forced to confront extreme experience directly, without any mediation?" speaks for all of the spiritually traumatized souls who navigate the harrowingly rendered hells of these seven tales of suspense and horror. Straub (Mr. X) effortlessly plumbs the hearts and minds of a range of well-developed charactersAincluding a reflective assassin for hire, a five-year-old victim of domestic violence, an aging black jazz musician and a pompous Wall Street financial adviserAto locate epiphanic moments when their lives careened "out of the ordinary" and into the path of deforming private tragedy. In "Ashputtle," an implied murderess blames her crimes on an emotionally deprived childhood in which she imagines herself a modern Cinderella victimized by her cruel stepsisters. "Bunny Is Good Bread," an unnerving portrait of the psychopath as a young boy, follows young Fee Bandolier as he maladjusts to an unbearably gothic home situation in which his father has beaten his mother into a coma. "Porkpie Hat" is related as an alcoholic saxophonist's confession of a childhood brush with witchcraft, murder and miscegenation that continues to inform his blues-haunted music. In several of the talesAmost notably "The Haunted Village," which links to the novel Koko (1988) and stories from his previous collection, Houses Without Doors (1990)AStraub skillfully evokes the supernatural to suggest the dislocating effect of intense psychological upset. Mixing stark realism with black comedy, and reverberating with echoes of Conrad, Melville and the Brothers Grimm, these excursions to the dark side of life set a high standard for the literature of contemporary magic terror. (July) <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Peter Straub's <em>Mr. X</em> is an enthralling, complex tale of a decent young man troubled since childhood by barely understood flashes of precognition and an awareness of a shadowy "other." </p><p>Ned Dunstan returns home to Edgerton, Illinois, a raffish and atmospheric Mississippi River city, as his mother, Star Dunstan, lies dying. Impelled to trace his tangled paternal lineage after Star's death, Ned finds himself caught up in a web of murder and other heinous crimes, not only in the present but also in a past that his elderly great aunts Nettie, May, and Joy would prefer remained undisturbed. The aunts, whose remarkable gifts include teleportation and telekinesis, frustrate his search for knowledge, partly to protect their own secrets and also to shield Ned from the mysterious and omnipresent force that seems to dodge his every step. He is aided in his efforts to discover the mysteries of his birth by a doppleganger who may or may not be his twin, and also by a lovely young woman, Laurie Hatch. She is the estranged wife of Stewart Hatch, an Edgerton scion whose own history is inexorably linked with Ned's and with the entire Dunstan family.</p><p>The secondary characters, from the elderly aunts to a lawyer named Creech who is the essence of the small-town "fixer," are deftly drawn. <em>--Jane Adams</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Since the publication of Koko in 1988, Straub has specialized in macabre mysteries dense with the details of small-town life and cast with ordinary people who find that the extraordinary crimes they investigate raise doubts about their own moral integrity. In this bravura new outing, he returns to his horror roots, lacing an ingenious whodunit with an intoxicating shot of the supernatural. From childhood, Ned Dunstan has experienced precognitive visions, a recurring dream of being tethered to a shadow and "the sense that something crucially significant, something without which I could never be whole, was missing." Summoned home to Edgerton, Ill., by a premonition of his mother's death on the eve of his 35th birthday, Ned finds himself implicated in a tangle of felonies and murders, all of which point to someone strenuously manipulating events to frame him. Digging into local history, he finds reason to believe that the mysterious father he never knew, or possibly a malignant doppelg?nger, are pulling the strings. Meanwhile, Mr. X, a homicidal misanthrope who reads H.P. Lovecraft's otherworldly horror fiction as gospel, cuts a swath of supernatural destruction across the country, en route to a showdown with his son, the "shadow-self" whom he must annihilate. Discerning readers will recognize this surprise-filled tale of tortuous family relationships as a modern variation on Lovecraft's classic shocker "The Dunwich Horror." But Straub turns his pulp model inside out, transforming its vast cosmic mystery into an ingrown odyssey of self-discovery and a probing study of human nature. His evocative prose, a seamless splice of clipped hard-boiled banter and poetic reflection, contributes to the thick atmosphere of apprehension that makes this one of the most invigorating horror reads of the year. BOMC main selection. (Aug.) FYI: This spring, Subterranean Press published a chapbook, Peter and PTR: Two Discarded Prefaces and an Introduction, that includes framing material that Straub wrote for, and then cut from, Mr. X. <br />Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. Anyone concerned about the future of horror will find plenty of reassurance in this outstanding reprint anthology showcasing short fiction by today's best writers in the genre. Straub (_The Throat_) skillfully varies tempo and style, mixing stories of psychological terror with more traditional ghostly tales. Thomas Tessier puts a fresh spin on the empty old house theme in the memorable In Praise of Folly, in which the lonely protagonist pursues his fascination with bizarre structures to the Adirondacks. Tessier subtly raises chills even as the tale proceeds to its inevitable and dark conclusion. Another winner is Dan Chaon's The Bees, a powerful account of a man haunted by mistakes of the past. Ramsey Campbell's terrifying The Voice of the Beach echoes Algernon Blackwood's classic The Willows, with its account of two friends' fateful encounter with a remote beach that may be an entry point to another dimension. Aimed at a general audience, this volume also includes works by Stephen King, Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link and Joe Hill. <em>(Nov.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>With an introduction by the much honored Straub (_Ghost Story_), this collection can be dubbed New Wave horror, considering that most of its 24 stories were published fairly recently and it includes contributions by celebrity horror writers. The tales mostly eschew buckets of blood, instead employing mood and suggestion in the manner of Edgar Allan Poe. "Little Red's Tango," Straub's lengthy quasigospel of a record-collecting obsessive, complete with beatitudes and a seductive demon, ably represents the editor's definition of New Wave horror. All the stories honor Poe, like the moody, contagious delusions of Stephen King's "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet." The genre can be literary, as exemplified by Tia V. Travis's vengeful "The Kiss," Thomas Tessier's surprising "In Praise of Folly," and, probably the most demonstrably Poe-like, Ramsey Campbell's "The Voice of the Beach," featuring a neurasthenic narrator, suffocating suggestibility, and nearly palpable imagery. Brian Evenson's creepy "Body" and Dan Chaon's touching "The Bees" culminate in the horror of bad deeds catching up. The other stories included are without exception excellent. Recommended for all libraries.—Jonathan Pearce, California State Univ.<br /><em>Stanislaus, Stockton </em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Straub's recent series of books, while excellent, have been dense and rather cerebral as horror books go. This one, while employing many of the same devices about family secrets and mysteries half-buried in the past, has an action storyline with a viscerally satisfying villain and a strong female protagonist. The premise is that the history of a famous fantasy novel not only concerns some eccentric authors, but collides with a wily killer on a rampage. The settings--in seedy motel rooms, New England houses, a bizarre private club and an over-the-hill literary retreat--are especially fun. </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Continuing his shift away from occult horror toward terrors inspired by the ragged social fabric of American life, Straub (The Throat) turns in another violent yet richly nuanced thriller. As in much of his work (Mystery; Koko), the past impinges on the present through secrets kept, then revealed. Here, the secrets are both familial and literary. Four women in upscale Westerholm, Conn., have disappeared from blood-spattered bedrooms. Meanwhile, Westerholm resident Nora Chancel, who's newly menopausal, broods about a stalking wolf while her husband, publisher Davey Chancel, a decade her junior, obsesses about the novel trilogy (begun in 1939) written by Chancel House's most popular writer, Hugo Driver. When yet another woman disappears, Nora learns that Davey once had an affair with her. Then the woman shows up, only to accuse Nora of kidnapping and torturing her, leading to Nora's arrest. But also at the police station is Dick Dart, scion of an old local family, who is being questioned about the killings. Dart steals a cop's gun, grabs Nora as his hostage and, he believes, potential future accomplice?and the woman's real agony begins. Dart, a serial killer who has always loved "cutting things up. Loved it," rapes Nora and takes her on a grisly spree of terror. In time, Nora manages to escape, but in a surprising yet, with hindsight, seemingly inevitable turn of events, she again finds herself in mortal danger. Dart is a memorable villain, funny, bold and charming (and as difficult to kill as Rasputin). Nora proves his equal, however, gutsy and clever, and as the two clash, the secrets that Straub intimates early on reveal themselves. These secrets manifest neither easily nor predictably, however, for, as is said of characters in a Driver novel, Straub's own characters are "colorful and involved, full of danger, heroism and betrayal"?as is this supple, exciting book. Major ad/promo. <br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Gr 5-8–Loosely based on the final years of Beowulf's kingship, this imaginative retelling fleshes out the story of the only man who truly stands beside the great king to the end. Rune is an infant when he washes ashore in a mysterious boat and is spared death by King Beowulf and Amma, a strange old woman who becomes a mother figure to him. The king protects Rune and trains him to fight, but he remains a threat and a misfit in the minds of most villagers. He is content living a simple life until a vicious dragon is awakened and destroys everyone and everything he loves. Avenging his family leads him to answers about his own heritage as well as some nail-biting suspense as he confronts the dragon more than once. While Rune's naked insecurity and self-doubt wear thin at times, his innocence and perseverance make him a sympathetic and unlikely hero. An adventure-filled coming-of-age tale.–Mandy Lawrence, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TXα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Rune has never known his parents, and the villagers who raised him are not completely convinced he isn’t cursed by the gods. But when King Beowulf is in direst need, only Rune stands by his side, finally able to claim his destiny. Barnhouse takes the final section of Beowulf, which focuses on the story of young Wiglaf, and weaves an absorbing tale of a young man finding his courage. Told as a straight narrative, descriptions of settings and plot elements reflect back to the epic itself. Although few characters are fully developed, Rune and the woman who raised him—as well as King Beowulf—emerge as rounded characters. This is a great bridge book to use in a classroom either before or after broaching the Beowulf story. An author’s note clearly indicates which bits of the novel have been fabricated and which are drawn directly from the poem. This novel would also appeal to those who enjoy Norse mythology in general and to readers of Judson Roberts’ Strongbow Saga. Grades 7-10. --Cindy Welch </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Robert Ludlum meets Dashiell Hammett in this gripping, wildly plotted thriller by the author of Gideon and Icarus. In the sleepy town of East End, New York, former homicide cop Justin Westwood is trying to escape the tragedy of his past by consuming scotch and writing traffic tickets for the local police department. The murder of a young reporter (disguised as an accident), however, catapults him out of his stasis and into a complicated investigation. A terrified witness tells of a blond killer, whom readers first met in the book's opening pages murdering another young woman. As Justin investigates, it seems that the police and the FBI are always one step ahead of him, and that folks with any connection to the case start turning up dead. Signs point to a sinister fountain-of-youth project run by a mysterious, all-powerful cabal, which the reporter had accidentally uncovered. If Westwood penetrates the secrets of the Aphrodite program, he's sure to be their next victim. A smalltown cop does battle with a great conspiracy: the plot may sound conventional, even hackneyed, but Andrews sustains white-hot tension throughout, bolstered by enough surprises and body blows to satisfy even a hardened mystery/conspiracy buff. The suspense flags slightly at midpoint, but elsewhere the pace is fast, the dialogue sharp, the characters skillfully drawn and the familiar, heady whodunit action cleverly handled.<br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> From the author of <em>Gideon </em>(1999) and <em>Icarus </em>(2001) comes another thriller that's propelled as much by its characters as its plot. In a small Long Island town, a newspaper reporter is found dead, apparently murdered. Justin Westwood, a member of the local police force who would much rather keep to the background, reluctantly gets involved in the investigation. His problem: find out how the victim's last story, the obituary of a little-known Hollywood actor, could possible have led to her murder. Soon Justin is up against something much bigger--and much weirder--than he could possibly have imagined. The story is solid, but it's the lead character who elevates the novel above your typical thriller. Justin--the small-town cop in a town without murder, who clearly knows his way around a homicide investigation--keeps us flipping the pages as fast as we can. As we watch him solve the mystery, we're working on a puzzle of our own: Who is Justin, and where did he come from? Top of the line. <em>David Pitt</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>THE HISTORIC SAGA BEGINS</strong></p><p>Born in the twilight years of Vulcan's violent and passionate past, those who declared themselves <em>Rihannsu</em> chose to reign free in the unknown reaches of space rather than to serve under the new tyranny of logic. Having severed themselves from their homeworld, they survived the perilous voyage across the stars to wash ashore on a distant planet, there to begin the civilization that would one day flower into the Romulan Star Empire. </p><p>Now, after millennia of wars and conquests, that empire is decaying from within, surrendering its noble heritage to reckless ambition, abandoning honor for kidnapping and murder. The corruption is so great that the Rihannsu's finest military officer -- Commander Ael t'Rllaillieu of the warbird <em>Bloodwing</em> -- believes she can save her people only by joining forces with her greatest enemy: Captain James T. Kirk of the <em>Starship Enterprise</em>™. </p><p>Meanwhile, on the Romulan homeworld, a Federation deep-cover agent has been posing as a household servant named Arrhae i-Khellian -- but her operation takes a strange turn when a captured Starfleet officer is brought to her home . . . </p><p>The lives of Ael, Arrhae, and the crew of the <em>Enterprise</em> come together in these astonishing adventures -- originally published in four volumes: <em>My Enemy, My Ally; The Romulan Way; Swordhunt</em>; and <em>Honor Blade</em> -- that will challenge everything you thought you knew about the Romulans. </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Diane Duane is the author of numerous science fiction and fantasy novels, amongst them the fan-favourite Star Trek titles DARK MIRROR and the 5-volume Rihannsu series of novels exploring the world of the Romulans (the first four volumes of which are now available as the omnibus THE BLOODWING VOYAGES 1416525777) released together with the fifth volume (THE EMPTY CHAIR 1416508910) in January 2007. </p>


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At last, the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire have agreed to meet on neutral ground to attempt to resolve the tangle of intrigue and conspiracy that began with the hijacking of the U.S.S. Intrepid many years ago -- but the meeting may be as dangerous as the war they hope to avoid. As a show of good faith, the crew of the legendary Starship Enterprise™ has been ordered to attend the talks. In their informal charge is Romulan renegade Ael, the wanted fugitive who, with Kirk, served as a catalyst of the current troubles. Kirk must represent the interests of the Federation first and foremost, but the best approach to an agreement remains muddled in the ever-shifting Romulan order.And the visiting Romulan party is as fractious and divided as their troubled world. Among the Romulan nobles in attendance are the hero and popular Senator Arrhae, who secretly helped rescue Dr. Leonard McCoy from a Romulan execution, and the very men and women who put McCoy on trial for treason -- and tried to carry out the sentence. As Kirk and crew attempt to renegotiate a delicate peace, and Romulans attempt to restore their tarnished honor, it becomes increasingly apparent that their only course of action is to prepare for war! At last, the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire have agreed to meet on neutral ground to attempt to resolve the tangle of intrigue and conspiracy that began with the hijacking of the U.S.S. Intrepid many years ago -- but the meeting may be as dangerous as the war they hope to avoid. As a show of good faith, the crew of the legendary Starship Enterprise™ has been ordered to attend the talks. In their informal charge is Romulan renegade Ael, the wanted fugitive who, with Kirk, served as a catalyst of the current troubles. Kirk must represent the interests of the Federation first and foremost, but the best approach to an agreement remains muddled in the ever-shifting Romulan order.And the visiting Romulan party is as fractious and divided as their troubled world. Among the Romulan nobles in attendance are the hero and popular Senator Arrhae, who secretly helped rescue Dr. Leonard McCoy from a Romulan execution, and the very men and women who put McCoy on trial for treason -- and tried to carry out the sentence. As Kirk and crew attempt to renegotiate a delicate peace, and Romulans attempt to restore their tarnished honor, it becomes increasingly apparent that their only course of action is to prepare for war!


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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>This is the best-selling <em>Original Authorized Edition</em> regularly featured by Glenn Beck to Fox TV viewers as a Must Read!</strong></p><p>The nation the Founders built is now in the throes of a political, economic, social, and spiritual crisis that has driven many to an almost frantic search for <em>modern</em> solutions. The truth is that the solutions have been available for a long time -- in the writings of our Founding Fathers -- carefully set forth in this timely book.</p><p>In <em>The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World</em>, Discover the <strong>28 Principles of Freedom</strong> our Founding Fathers said must be understood and perpetuated by every people who desire peace, prosperity, and freedom. Learn how adherence to these beliefs during the past 200 years has brought about more progress than was made in the previous 5000 years. These 28 Principles include <em>The Genius of Natural Law, Virtuous and Moral Leaders, Equal Rights--Not Equal Things,</em> and_ Avoiding the Burden of Debt._ Published by the National Center for Constitutional Studies, a nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to restoring Constitutional principles in the tradition of America's Founding Fathers. </p><p><em>The National Center for Constitutional Studies...is doing a fine public service in educating Americans about the principles of the Constitution.</em> -- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States </p><p><em>This is possibly the most comprehensive treatment of the genius of the American Founding Fathers which has ever been encompassed in a single volume.</em> --Kenneth C. Chatwin, District Judge, Phoenix, Arizona </p>

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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>"A Big, bold book that takes traditional science fiction and turns it upside down!"-- Leigh Brackett -- <em>Review</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Entered by a thousand unsuspected gateways -- built by a race lost in the clouds of time -- the planet its dwellers called the Well World turned beings of every kind into something else. There spacefarer Nathan Brazil found himself companioned by a batman, an amorous female centaur and a mermaid -- all once as human as he.  </p><p>Yet Nathan Brazil's metamorphosis was more terrifying than any of those...and his memory was coming back, bringing with it the secret of the Well World.  </p><p>For at the heart of the bizarre planet lay the goal of every being that had ever lived -- and Nathan Brazil and his comrades were...lucky?...enough to find it! </p>

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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Mavra Chang had been a master criminal, notorious throughout the galaxy, but for years she has been trapped in a no-longer human body on the Well World - the Master Control planet for the universe. A supercomputer can restore her form, if only she can obtain a spaceship to reach it. </p><h3>From the Inside Flap</h3><p>Imprisoned in alien bodies, sentenced to subhuman destinies, Mavra Chang and her cohorts plotted an impossible escape from a world with no exits . . . </p>

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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>The Dreel was a hive-mind, composed of trillions upon trillions of virus-sized units, which infected intelligent beings like a disease and took over the mind of an occupied being, utterly. It had occupied planets throughout the galaxy, making their entire population its mind-slaves, and was on its way to conquering the entire galaxy-until a cop on the frontier planet of Parkatin discovered the truth. Those whose minds were still free fought back, using a weapon so powerful that it wrought havoc with the control of the Well World, the ancient planet-sized supercomputer that a vanished super-race called the Markovians built to recreate the entire universe, and maintain it in its present form. If the Well World's control of time and space could not be restored, the universe could vanish like a blown-out candle flame. Only a Markovian could go to the Well World and repair the damage, but only one Markovian was still known to survive. He had last been seen in human form, going by the name of Nathan Brazil. No one knew where he was now, what name he was using, or even if he still appeared human. Finding him, somewhere in the immensity of the galaxy, seemed an impossible task. So the task fell to someone who had done the impossible over and over: Mavra Chang, one of the few beings ever to escape from the Well World. And on that occasion, she had brought back with her a computer named Obie, who just might be the second most powerful computer in the universe, after the Well World itself. With those two on his trail, Nathan Brazil could run-but could he hide? </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>The rift in the fabric of space was fast approaching the Well World, and time was running out. If the Well World were destroyed, the entire universe would disappear like a blown-out candle. But the squabbling forces on the planet weren't going to let the impending doomsday stop them from having a serious war. Troops all over the planet were gathering for the final battle. Nathan Brazil and Mavra Chang somehow had to reach the Well of Souls in time to save the universe and before any of the hostile natives managed to kill them. At best, a difficult mission. At worst, impossible - especially since there was a price on Brazil's head and many would-be claimants! So Nathan Brazil decided that the simplest way to reach the Well of Souls was to be killed. And his enemies would find that he was far more dangerous dead than he had ever been alive... </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>This exciting, action-packed novel marks Jack Chalker's triumphant return to his celebrated multivolume saga: The Well World. The Sea Is Full of Stars explores an unknown interstellar civilization, stars an all-new cast of characters, and reveals fresh secrets. But of course, The Well remains . . .  </p><p>After three passengers--Ming, Ari, and Angel--embark on an elite starship journey into the Realm, they unwittingly become ensnared in one man's bloodthirsty vendetta that will alter their very beings. That man is Jeremiah Wong Kincaid. He vows to destroy Josich Conqueror Hadun, the evil genius who has wreaked unspeakable havoc throughout the universe. It is an obsession that will take him to lands of demons and strange races--and into a deadly new cyberworld where humans are mere pawns of the godlike computers they have created.   </p><p>But it is only after Kincaid and his unwitting fellow travelers enter Well World and discover the water hexes that he confronts the mad tyrant--and learns their universe is threatened by something far, far worse . . .  </p><h3>From the Inside Flap</h3><p>This exciting, action-packed novel marks Jack Chalker's triumphant return to his celebrated multivolume saga: The Well World. The Sea Is Full of Stars explores an unknown interstellar civilization, stars an all-new cast of characters, and reveals fresh secrets. But of course, The Well remains . . .  </p><p>After three passengers--Ming, Ari, and Angel--embark on an elite starship journey into the Realm, they unwittingly become ensnared in one man's bloodthirsty vendetta that will alter their very beings. That man is Jeremiah Wong Kincaid. He vows to destroy Josich Conqueror Hadun, the evil genius who has wreaked unspeakable havoc throughout the universe. It is an obsession that will take him to lands of demons and strange races--and into a deadly new cyberworld where humans are mere pawns of the godlike computers they have created.   </p><p>But it is only after Kincaid and his unwitting fellow travelers enter Well World and discover the water hexes that he confronts the mad tyrant--and learns their universe is threatened by something far, far worse . . . </p>


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Jack L. Chalker was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 17, 1944. While still in high school, he began writing for the amateur science-fiction press, and in 1960 he launched the Hugo-nominated amateur magazine Mirage. A year later he founded Mirage Press, which grew into a major specialty publisher of nonfiction and reference books on science fiction and fantasy. His first novel, A Jungle of Stars, was published in 1976, and he became a full-time novelist two years later with the major popular success of Midnight at the Well of Souls. Chalker is an active conservationist and enjoys traveling, consumer electronics, and computers. He is also a noted speaker on science fiction and fantasy at numerous colleges and universities. He is a passionate lover of steamboats, in particular ferryboats, and has ridden more than three hundred ferries in the United States and elsewhere. "From the Paperback edition."


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<div><p class="description">Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Part Six of Three</p>
<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>At long last, the motley band from Douglas Adams's renowned five-book Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy have returned, thanks to Artemis Fowl author Colfer. When the Vogons return to finish obliterating Earth in our universe and all alternatives, Arthur Dent and his companions find themselves hitchhiking on the spacefaring Viking longship of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, an immortal with a death wish who is an expert at mass insults. Readers may find this volume paradoxical. On its own it is a funny novel, but Adams set a legendary, nearly impossible standard. Wacky humor reminiscent of the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy rings true, as do most of the characters, but newer elements, such as the brief appearance of Cthulhu, feel out of place. Most notably absent is the supreme inventiveness that hit us with the Infinite Improbability Drive, and the comic-sublime moments like Arthur flying with Fenchurch. You can't go home again, but Adams fans will still appreciate the reunion with old friends. <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>A wide variety of people love Douglas Adams's books, so perhaps it is appropriate that each critic brought his or her own expectations to <em>And Another Thing . ...</em> Several who revered Adams's deadpan prose and verbal inventiveness found that the new book falls short. Others felt that Colfer's imitation often lacks subtlety and relies too heavily on reviving old Adams gags and characters. The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> even went so far as to argue that this novel should have been reinvented in some more original form, such as an e-book. But some took the appearance of <em>And Another Thing ... </em>to critically review the Adams oeuvre and found that Colfer made up for some qualities the original author lacked. In any case, even the harshest critics of the book were happy to see Arthur, Ford, Trillian, and Random saved from their doom. </p>

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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Buffyand <em>Angel</em> fans are likely to enjoy Kadrey's offbeat supernatural romp, which blends demonic evil and quirky humor. The relatively normal life of San Francisco tattoo artist Spyder Lee goes thoroughly crazy when he's rescued from a mugger by Shrike, a mysterious blind woman who reveals that Lee's assailant was actually a demon. The wounds he suffered in the assault give him the ability to see the Dominions, other spheres of existence that regular mortals are unaware of. Soon Spyder finds himself hip-deep in demonic trouble, protecting his friend Lulu by offering his body to the organ-collecting Black and then dragging her off to join Shrike on a madcap journey to Hell, where they encounter monsters, Lucifer and even an alternate-time version of Lee himself. Kadrey (_Kamikaze L'Amour_) juxtaposes gore and brash insouciance in the face of apocalyptic evil, a blend that may not suit everyone's taste. <em>(July)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Spyder Lee is a happy man who lives in San Francisco and owns a tattoo shop. One night an angry demon tries to bite his head off before he's saved by a stranger. The demon infected Spyder with something awful - the truth. He can suddenly see the world as it really is: full of angels and demons and monsters and monster-hunters. A world full of black magic and mysteries. These are the Dominions, parallel worlds full of wonder, beauty and horror. The Black Clerks, infinitely old and infinitely powerful beings whose job it is to keep the Dominions in balance, seem to have new interests and a whole new agenda. Dropped into the middle of a conflict between the Black Clerks and other forces he doesn't fully understand, Spyder finds himself looking for a magic book with the blind swordswoman who saved him. Their journey will take them from deserts to lush palaces, to underground caverns, to the heart of Hell itself. </p>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The shade of Charlie Chan hovers over Williams's entertaining supernatural mystery, the first in a new series starring Det. Insp. Wei Chen of Singapore Three's 13th precinct. In a near future that allows travel between Heaven and Hell and Earth, "snake agent" Chen finds himself in hot pursuit of ghost-girl Pearl Tang and the father who murdered her to protect his business of "supplying the souls of the virtuous to Hell." Chen is not only a crack paranormal crime investigator but also a licensed feng shui practitioner never without his compass. While the plot might have benefited from a few more action scenes and some martial arts, Williams (_The Banquet of the Lords of the Night_) provides a sleuthing feast for those with a taste for the exotic Orient. <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>In late twenty-first-century Singapore, detective inspector Wei Chen is a snake agent, a detective whose beat reaches to the fringes of Heaven and Hell. Married to a demon wife and surrounded by wary colleagues, he is nevertheless bored with investigating routine exorcism scams and bogus feng shui licenses. Then the newly deceased ghost of a wealthy industrialist's daughter fails to make her appointed arrival in Heaven. When it quickly becomes obvious that the industrialist himself is implicated in a netherworldly soul-trafficking scheme and is responsible for his daughter's death, Chen has to work with an unlikely sidekick, Zhu Irzh, one of Hell's own vice detectives and a demon cursed with a conscience. Twice nominated for Philip K. Dick awards, Williams should easily qualify for another with this original and stirring blend of futuristic technology and chilling excursions into postmortem landscapes. This first odd-couple pairing of mortal Chen and immortal Zhu Irzh opens a prospective series. <em>Carl Hays</em><br><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The second Detective Inspector Chen novel (after 2005's <em>Snake Agent</em>) traverses a wildly imaginative landscape based on Chinese mythology, with humans mingling with demons, Celestials and the deceased. When rich girl Deveth Sardai turns up dead, the case goes to demon Zhu Irzh, recently of Hell but posted to Earth to assist the police department of the city of Singapore Three. Meanwhile, Deveth's girlfriend, Robin Yuan, frees Mhara, a demon Robin's research company has been experimenting on for defense reasons. Robin and Zhu Irzh's paths cross as they follow the trail of the killer, leading them to uncover a larger plot involving a goddess in Heaven's bid for power. As the end of the world beckons, Mhara, who is far more than he seems, offers his help, but Heaven, Hell, Earth and everything in between falls into chaos. Williams weaves a rich, complicated tapestry that merges life with afterlife, otherworldly with worldly and human with inhuman. <em>(Aug.) </em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>The sequel to <em>Snake Agent</em> (2005) returns to Singapore Three, a twenty-first-century cityscape renowned for its ready access to the denizens of heaven and hell. While Detective Inspector Wei Chen takes a brief hiatus from his customary paranormal investigations, his underworld sidekick, vice-squad-specialist Zhu Irzh, stumbles on a tricky case involving the apparently demonic murder of a beautiful young woman. When the trail leads to the heiress of the powerful Paugeng Corporation, Zhu Irzh feels inexplicably drawn to this devilishly ruthless but very human woman and inadvertently implicates himself as a murder suspect. Chen's return to sort things out only complicates matters, however, as the pair tracks other suspects, including an enigmatic demon the corporation has been harboring for experimental purposes and a celestial goddess whose unlikely alliance with hell threatens to rain chaos down on the earthbound. Fantasy enthusiasts looking for something uniquely imaginative will find it in Williams' surreal fusion of Chinese mythology, paranormal high jinks, and satisfyingly suspenseful sleuthing. <em>Carl Hays</em><br><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Cleopatras palace shimmered with onyx and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Though her life spanned fewer then forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first and she poisoned the second.Incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men.They happen, however to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, two of the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a son with Caesar and - after his murder, three more with his prot_g_.Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way the supple personality has been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order a generation before the birth of Christ. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiffs is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.</p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>Great House</em> looms a tremendous desk. It may have belonged to Federico García Lorca, the great poet and dramatist who was one of thousands executed by Fascists in 1936, when the Spanish Civil War began. We know that the desk stood in Weisz's father's study in Budapest on a night in 1944, when the first stone shattered their window. After the war, Weisz hunts furniture looted from Jewish homes by the Nazis. He scours the world for the fragments to reassemble that study's every element, but the desk eludes him, and he and his children live at the edges of its absence. Meanwhile, it spends a few decades in an attic in England, where a woman exhumes the memories she can't speak except through violent stories. She gives the desk to the young Chilean-Jewish poet Daniel Varsky, who takes it to New York and passes it on (before he returns to Chile and disappears under Pinochet) to Nadia, who writes seven novels on it before Varsky's daughter calls to claim it. Crossing decades and continents, the stories of <em>Great House</em> narrate feeling more than fact. Krauss's characters inhabit "a state of perpetual regret and longing for a place we only know existed because we remember a keyhole, a tile, the way the threshold was worn under an open door," and a desk whose multitude of drawers becomes a mausoleum of memory. <em>--Mari Malcolm</em>  </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. This stunning work showcases Krauss's consistent talent. The novel consists of four stories divided among eight chapters, all touching on themes of loss and recovery, and anchored to a massive writing desk that resurfaces among numerous households, much to the bewilderment and existential tension of those in its orbit, among them a lonely American novelist clinging to the memory of a poet who has mysteriously vanished in Chile, an old man in Israel facing the imminent death of his wife of 51 years, and an esteemed antiques dealer tracking down the things stolen from his father by the Nazis. Much like in Krauss's The History of Love, the sharply etched characters seem at first arbitrarily linked across time and space, but Krauss pulls together the disparate elements, settings, characters, and fragile connective tissue to form a formidable and haunting mosaic of loss and profound sorrow. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>A recognised master of form and a brilliant recorder of human behaviour, David Foster Wallace has been hailed as 'the most significant writer of his generation' (TLS). Each new book confirms and extends his genius, and this new short story collection is no exception. In the stories that make up Oblivion, David Foster Wallace conjoins the rawest, most naked humanity with the infinite convolutions of self-consciousness - a combination that is dazzlingly, uniquely his.</p>


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The Death of a ClerkOne fine evening the no less fine office manager Ivan Dmitrich Cherviakov1 was sitting in the second row of the stalls, watching The Bells of Corneville2 through opera glasses. He watched and felt himself at the height of bliss. But suddenly . . . This "but suddenly" occurs often in stories. The authors are right: life is so full of the unexpected! But suddenly his face wrinkled, his eyes rolled, his breath stopped . . . he put down the opera glasses, bent forward, and . . . ah-choo!!! As you see, he sneezed. Sneezing is not prohibited to anyone anywhere. Peasants sneeze, police chiefs sneeze, sometimes even privy councillors sneeze. Everybody sneezes. Cherviakov, not embarrassed in the least, wiped his nose with his handkerchief and, being a polite man, looked around to see whether his sneezing had disturbed anyone. And now he did become embarrassed. He saw that the little old man sitting in front of him in the first row of the stalls was carefully wiping his bald head and neck with his glove and muttering something. Cherviakov recognized the little old man as General Brizzhalov,3 who served in the Department of Transportation."I sprayed him!" thought Cherviakov. "He's not my superior, he serves elsewhere, but still it's awkward. I must apologize."Cherviakov coughed, leaned forward, and whispered in the general's ear:"Excuse me, Yr'xcellency, I sprayed you . . . I accidentally . . .""Never mind, never mind . . .""For God's sake, excuse me. I . . . I didn't mean it!""Ah, do sit down, please! Let me listen!"Cherviakov became embarrassed, smiled stupidly, and began looking at the stage. He looked, but felt no more bliss. Anxiety began to torment him. In the intermission he went up to Brizzhalov, walked around him, and, overcoming his timidity, murmured:"I sprayed you, Yr'xcellency . . . Forgive me . . . I . . . it's not that I . . .""Ah, come now . . . I've already forgotten, and you keep at it!" said the general, impatiently twitching his lower lip."Forgotten, but there's malice in his eyes," thought Cherviakov, glancing suspiciously at the general. "He doesn't even want to talk. I must explain to him that I really didn't mean it . . . that it's a law of nature, otherwise he'll think I wanted to spit. If he doesn't think so now, he will later! . . ."On returning home, Cherviakov told his wife about his rudeness. His wife, it seemed to him, treated the incident much too lightly. She merely got frightened, but then, on learning that Brizzhalov served "elsewhere," she calmed down."But all the same you should go and apologize," she said. "He might think you don't know how to behave in public!""That's just it! I apologized, but he was somehow strange . . . Didn't say a single sensible word. And then there was no time to talk."The next day Cherviakov put on a new uniform, had his hair cut, and went to Brizzhalov to explain . . . Going into the general's reception room, he saw many petitioners there, and among them was the general himself, who had already begun to receive petitions. Having questioned several petitioners, the general raised his eyes to Cherviakov."Yesterday, in the Arcadia, if you recall, Yr'xcellency," the office manager began, "I sneezed, sir, and . . . accidentally sprayed you . . . Forg . . .""Such trifles . . . God knows! Can I be of help to you?" the general addressed the next petitioner."He doesn't want to talk!" thought Cherviakov, turning pale. "That means he's angry . . . No, it can't be left like this . . . I'll explain to him . . ."When the general finished his discussion with the last petitioner and headed for the inner rooms, Cherviakov followed him and murmured:"Yr'xcellency! If I venture to trouble Yr'xcellency, it's precisely, I might say, from a feeling of repentance! . . . It wasn't on purpose, you know that yourself, sir!"The general made a tearful face and waved his hand."You must be joking, my dear sir!" he said, disappearing behind the door."What kind of joke is it?" thought Cherviakov. "This is no kind of joke at all! A general, yet he can't understand! If that's the way it is, I won't apologize to the swaggerer any more! Devil take him! I'll write him a letter, but I won't come myself! By God, I won't!"So Cherviakov thought, walking home. He wrote no letter to the general. He thought and thought, and simply could not think up that letter. So the next day he had to go himself and explain."I came yesterday to trouble Yr'xcellency," he began to murmur, when the general raised his questioning eyes to him, "not for a joke, as you were pleased to say. I was apologizing for having sneezed and sprayed you, sir . . . and I never even thought of joking. Would I dare joke with you? If we start joking, soon there won't be any respect for persons . . . left . . .""Get out!!" barked the general, suddenly turning blue and shaking."What, sir?" Cherviakov asked in a whisper, sinking with terror."Get out!!" the general repeated, stamping his feet.Something in Cherviakov's stomach snapped. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, he backed his way to the door, went out, and plodded off . . . Reaching home mechanically, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and . . . died.July 18831. The name Cherviakov comes from the Russian word cherviak ("worm").2. A popular operetta by French composer Robert Planquette (1843-1903).3. The name Brizzhalov suggests a combination of bryzgat ("to spray") and briuzzhat ("to grumble").From the Trade Paperback edition.


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>EmNephiHelamanNaomiJosephinePaulineNovellaParleyGale...</em> When times get tense--and they often do--for Golden Richards, the title patriarch of Brady Udall's <em>The Lonely Polygamist</em>, he turns to a soothing chant of the names, in order, of his 28 children. (It's also practical, when he needs to sort out just which toddler is showing him a scab, and which teen is asking if he can come to her 4-H demo.) While <em>The Corrections</em> to John Irving. <em>--Tom Nissley</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. A family drama with stinging turns of dark comedy, the latest from Udall (_The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint_) is a superb performance and as comic as it is sublimely catastrophic. Golden Richards is a polygamist Mormon with four wives, 28 children, a struggling construction business, and a few secrets. He tells his wives that the brothel he's building in Nevada is actually a senior center, and, more importantly, keeps hidden his burning infatuation with a woman he sees near the job site. Golden, perpetually on edge, has become increasingly isolated from his massive family—given the size of his brood, his solitude is heartbreaking—since the death of one of his children. Meanwhile, his newest and youngest wife, Trish, is wondering if there is more to life than the polygamist lifestyle, and one of his sons, Rusty, after getting the shaft on his birthday, hatches a revenge plot that will have dire consequences. With their world falling apart, will the family find a way to stay together? Udall's polished storytelling and sterling cast of perfectly realized and flawed characters make this a serious contender for Great American Novel status. <em>(May)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>White Teeth</em> in her early twenties, but what kind she'll be (or will be next) seems open to change. Which all, along with her consistent intelligence, grace, and wit, makes her an ideal essayist too, especially for the sort of "occasional essays" collected for the first time in <em>Changing My Mind</em>. She can make the case equally for the cozy "middle way" of E.M. Forster and the most purposefully demanding of David Foster Wallace's stories, both as a reader and, you imagine, as a writer who is considering their methods for her own. The occasions in this book didn't only bring her to write about writers, though: she also investigates, among other subjects, Katherine Hepburn, Liberia, and Barack Obama (through the lens of <em>Pygmalion</em>), and, in the collection's finest piece, recalls her late father and their shared comedy snobbery. One wishes more occasions upon her. <em>--Tom Nissley</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>A sparkling collection of Zadie Smith's nonfiction over the past decade.</strong>  </p><p>Zadie Smith brings to her essays all of the curiosity, intellectual rigor, and sharp humor that have attracted so many readers to her fiction, and the result is a collection that is nothing short of extraordinary.  </p><p>Split into four sections-"Reading," "Being," "Seeing," and "Feeling"-_Changing My Mind_ invites readers to witness the world from Zadie Smith's unique vantage. Smith casts her acute eye over material both personal and cultural, with wonderfully engaging essays-some published here for the first time-on diverse topics including literature, movies, going to the Oscars, British comedy, family, feminism, Obama, Katharine Hepburn, and Anna Magnani.  </p><p>In her investigations Smith also reveals much of herself. Her literary criticism shares the wealth of her experiences as a reader and exposes the tremendous influence diverse writers-E. M. Forster, Zora Neale Hurston, George Eliot, and others-have had on her writing life and her self-understanding. Smith also speaks directly to writers as a craftsman, offering precious practical lessons on process. Here and throughout, readers will learn of the wide-ranging experiences-in novels, travel, philosophy, politics, and beyond-that have nourished Smith's rich life of the mind. Her probing analysis offers tremendous food for thought, encouraging readers to attend to the slippery questions of identity, art, love, and vocation that so often go neglected.  </p><p><em>Changing My Mind</em> announces Zadie Smith as one of our most important contemporary essayists, a writer with the rare ability to turn the world on its side with both fact and fiction. <em>Changing My Mind</em> is a gift to readers, writers, and all who want to look at life more expansively. </p>


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<div><meta charset="utf-8"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; ">The entire Mark Twain anthology with over 300 books and story collections. See the sample for the complete and navigable table of contents.</span></div>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p><em>The New York Times</em> bestselling author takes readers back to the Nightside.   </p><p>A quest for the Unholy Grail-the goblet from which Judas drank at the Last Supper-takes private eye John Taylor deep into the secret, magical heart of London...called the Nightside. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>This gripping, fast-paced, emotionally intense fourth volume in Green's Secret Histories series (after 2009's <em>The Spy Who Haunted Me</em>) is sure to delight fans of paranormal investigator Eddie Drood and his girlfriend, the fabulously strong and strong-willed witch Molly Metcalf. An insignificant villain, Doctor Delirium, plans to acquire a powerful, mysterious item at a secret sale. This simple event explodes into complexity when someone kills the Drood matriarch and turns Eddie's family into a deadly mob, with horrifying consequences. The real enemy is truly worthy of the Drood clan: a race of immortals who plan to breach the gates of heaven itself. Fans of the series will be delighted by the deft combination of urban fantasy adventure, sharp-edged sarcasm, and treachery upon treachery, which make this installment strong enough to stand alone as a great introduction to Green's work. <em>(June)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>It's no walk in the park for a Drood, a member of the family that has protected humanity from the things that go bump in the night for centuries. They aren't much liked by the creatures they kill, by ungrateful humans, or even by one another.   </p><p>Now their Matriarch is dead, and it's up to Eddie Drood, acting head of the family, to figure out whodunit. Unpopular opinion is divided: it was either Eddie's best girl, Molly. Or Eddie himself. And Eddie knows he didn't do it. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Lady Damnation, Old Father Time, a world weary Count Dracula and the hard-drinking storybook character Bruin Bear are only a few of the beings that Green produces for his seventh novel set in the sinister and psychedelic world of Nightside. None, however, are more powerful than "the Griffin," an immortal who built his empire on the carcasses of foes, who has now summoned paranormal PI John Taylor to find his granddaughter. Taylor specializes in locating lost things; his Sight—which allows him to see into other dimensions—should be ideal for the task. But when an entity in the Griffin's mansion blocks his abilities, Taylor must investigate the old-fashioned way: questioning the Griffin's family members one by one. Taylor's q&amp;a sessions are less than thrilling, and the numerous references to the family's fearsome reputation grow tiresome. Fortunately, Green throws in a number of left-field surprises, spicing things up with an attack of fanatical nuns (called the Salvation Army Sisterhood), a bloodthirsty gangster and a DNA-stealing Charnel Chimera. Indeed, the most entertaining aspect lies not in Taylor's investigation but in anticipating what Green's twisted imagination will conjure next. <em>(Jan.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>In the wake of the war that left the Nightside leaderless, Jeremiah Griffin-one of the last of the immortal human families-plans to fill the power vacuum. But his granddaughter has disappeared, and he wants John Taylor to use his special abilities to find her. Except someone-or something-is blocking Taylor's abilities. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Lady Luck has hired John Taylor to investigate the origins of the Nightside--the dark heart of London where it's always 3 A.M. But when he starts to uncover facts about his long-vanished mother, the Nightside--and all of existence-- could be snuffed out. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>"A macabre and thoroughly entertaining world."<br />-Jim Butcher, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>The Dresden Files</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>There's a new sheriff in town, and he's got the Nightside's rich and powerful quaking in their boots. He's The Walking Man, and it's his mission to exorcise sinners-with extreme prejudice. Problem is, the Nightside was built on sin and corruption, and The Walking Man makes no distinction between evildoers and those simply indulging themselves. He'll leave the place a wasteland unless someone stops him, and P.I. John Taylor has been handed the job. No known magic or science can affect The Walking Man, and if John can't discover his weakness, he'll be facing the very Wrath of God... </p>


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<h3>From</h3><p>John Taylor has just solved the mystery of two friends' deaths when he is called to another case. Charles Chabron wants Taylor to contact his daughter, Rossignol (French for <em>nightingale)</em>, a young singer who has fallen under the sway of the ruthless Cavendishes, a husband-and-wife management team. Rossignol used to sing upbeat, happy songs, but now her set is so melancholy that people leave her show and commit suicide. After visiting Rossignol at the Goth club Caliban's Cavern, where she performs nightly, Taylor knows something is wrong. When he goes to the Cavendishes' management company, a pair of somnambulists beat him mercilessly, leaving him near death and with no one to turn to but Pew, an old enemy. With the help of Dead Boy, a deceased mugging victim who now fights criminals, Taylor tries to locate the Cavendishes' former protege, Sylvia Sin, and find a way to rescue Rossignol from the couple's clutches. The latest installment in Green's Nightshade series is a delight--exciting, action packed, truly suspenseful. <em>Kristine Huntley</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>In the Nightside, the hidden heart of London where it's always 3 AM, Detective John Taylor must find an elusive singer known as The Nightingale. Her silken voice has inexplicably lured many a fan to suicide--and Taylor is determined to stop her, before the whole neighborhood falls under her trance. But to catch the swift-winged Nightingale, he'll have to hear the deadly music--and survive. </p>


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<h3>From</h3><p>The follow-up to <em>Nightingale's Lament</em> (2004) finds John Taylor reeling from the discovery that his mother is the legendary Lilith of biblical times and that she is responsible for the creation of the Nightside. Before he can begin his investigation into the Nightside's origins, a man named Eamonn Mitchell, who is being attacked by versions of himself from the past, approaches him for help. Taylor traces the problem to Eamonn's shady company, and after he solves Eamonn's problem, he is inspired to manipulate time himself by seeking out Father Time and asking to be sent to the era when Lilith created the Nightside. Along with his friends Suzie Shooter and Tommy Oblivion, Taylor takes the plunge, but they end up 500 years later than intended, thanks to Lilith's machinations. They persist making their way through time, leading to a showdown with Lilith in the past that could cost Taylor his future. Fans of the Nightside series will enjoy the journey into the past of London's underworld. <em>Kristine Huntley</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>John Taylor just discovered his long-gone mother created the Nightside--the dark heart of London--and intends to destroy it. To save his birthplace, he will have to travel back through a very distant--and probably deadly--past. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Private Eye John Taylor is the only thing standing between his not-quite-human mother and the destruction of the magical realm within London known as the Nightside. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>John Taylor is not a private detective <em>per se</em>, but he has a knack for finding lost things. That's why he's been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines.   </p><p>For John Taylor, there's no place like home... </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The gripping, suspenseful, and wry 10th tale in the Nightside supernatural detective series proves every bit the equal of Jim Butcher's better-known Harry Dresden books. The action picks up not long after 2009's <em>Just Another Judgement Day</em> as Lord Screech, an elf claiming to be a peace emissary who has just negotiated a treaty between powerful elvish rivals, enlists PI John Taylor's help in getting safe passage to a portal to another realm. Despite his misgivings about Screech's honesty, Taylor and Ms. Fate, a transvestite crime fighter who might have heard of taste, but only as something other people had, battle werewolves and Neanderthals to deliver Screech to his destination and tackle several other challenges. Longtime fans and first timers alike will applaud Green's blend of fantasy, mystery, and humor. <em>(Jan.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>John Taylor, the Nightside’s finest PI, returns for a series of particularly difficult jobs. First, he’s hired to escort an elf across town. It doesn’t seem like much, but elves are not well-liked in the Nightside, and that turns a simple cross-town drive into an epic battle. Then Larry Oblivion, the Dead Detective, asks for help finding his younger brother, who hasn’t been seen since the Lilith War. Taylor saw him disappear, but his Sight indicated that he wasn’t dead, so he’s out there somewhere. As if that weren’t enough, Walker, the agent of the Authorities who’s an old friend of John’s father, wants something from John. Walker’s dying, and he wants John to take on a job. Taylor knows better, but accidents do happen. Taylor’s snappy wit and quick thinking make for another entertaining Nightside volume. While the Nightside books do rather follow a formula, it’s one that delivers consistently. The Nightside may be the most bizarre place imaginable, but it’s fun to read about. --Regina Schroeder </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Readers who recognize the pun on Ian Fleming's James Bond title, The Man with the Golden Gun, will find the secret agent in question has more up his sleeve than a fancy car and some high-tech gadgets in this first of a new fantasy series from bestseller Green (Deathstalker). Meet Shaman Bond, aka Eddie Drood, scion of the ancient Drood family, devoted to protecting humanity from the forces of darkness. Protected by the secret weapon received at birth by all members of the Drood family—a magical gold torc (i.e., a neck ring) that turns into a suit of nearly impervious golden armor—Eddie faces arcane dangers with healthy doses of wry self-confidence and sarcasm. Then the family matriarch sends him on a mission that turns out to be a deadly setup. Declared a rogue, Eddie teams up with short-tempered witch Molly Metcalf to find out why he's been betrayed. This spy yarn is packed with enough humor, action and plot twists to satisfy fans who prefer their adventure shaken, not stirred. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Green pulls out all the parodic stops to introduce supernatural field agent Shaman Bond, aka Eddie Drood, black sheep of an ancient, superpowerful family that protects humanity from its nightmares. And a good secret agent he is, partly because he has the best toys, from the golden torc that becomes impenetrable armor to a souped-up classic car. Called home for the first time in years, he comes to suspect there's a traitor within the family and discovers he has been declared a rogue. Fortunately, he has bolt-holes his family never suspected and tricks to stay alive while he investigates. He goes to former enemies, who know him as Bond, for help and discovers possible common ground with a few. For there's a bigger enemy to deal with, amid the truth behind the Droods' power, the family traitor, and the nasty things the Droods' major opponents do. Green sustains a good spy thriller's breakneck action with lots of magic, strange creatures, and even some character growth and romance. His new series star is one fun character. Schroeder, Regina </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The engaging eighth book in Green's popular offbeat Nightside series (after 2006's Hell to Pay) drops another paranormal mystery in the lap of series hero John Taylor, a PI in the shadowy realm of Nightside. Pen Donavon, who claims to have a DVD depicting actual footage of the afterlife, has vanished shortly after signing an exclusive deal with the tabloid Unnatural Inquirer. Various factions seeking to control the Nightside are leaving a considerable body count behind as they hunt for him. Accompanied by sexy half-demon reporter Bettie Divine, Taylor navigates the treacherous terrain with his typical skill before tracking down the real force behind Donavon's disappearance. Green skillfully blends action and humor, and shows no sign of running out of ideas. This installment will undoubtedly rope in new readers who enjoy his blend of dark humor and the supernatural. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>John Taylor has another one of those days, beginning with a showdown at the defunct Nightside carnival between the Voodoo Apostate, the gods he tried to dominate, and Taylor. Next, a call from the editor of the Unnatural Enquirer asking Taylor to find a man who disappeared en route to deliver an afterlife recording he had just sold the rights to. Teamed with a half-succubus demon-girl reporter, Taylor visits the Nightside’s key players and politics as people jockey to replace the recently destroyed authorities. Meanwhile, some heavy-duty characters also seek the recording. More fast, fun, adventurous detection in a setting in which nearly anything’s possible. --Regina Schroeder </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Francis's 25th thriller is suavely handled and full of suspense. The narrator, Kit Fielding, wins handily as a steeple-chase jockey and enjoys the friendship of the princess who owns the horses he races. But trouble threatening his twin Holly and her husband Bobby Allardeck interrupts Kit's routine. As horse trainers, the Allardecks are about to go bankrupt after a scandal sheet prints the false report that they can't pay their debts. Determined to discover the motive for the attack, Kit enlists the help of people in the princess's circle, which includes her niece, Danielle. A romance develops between the jockey and Danielle, interrupted by villains sent to kill him. Thanks to Kit, the Allardecks' business is saved and he outwits the perpetrators of a shameful conspiracy. The love story, as well as the author's colorful descriptions of English jump racing and newspaper tycoons, add zest to the intricate novel. Literary Guild and Reader's Digest Condensed Books selections. <br />Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>Suavely handled and full of suspense. -- <em>_</em>Publishers Weekly_</p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In his smashing sequel to Break In, Francis shows his old racing colors to advantage. Champion jockey Kit Fielding again proves his mettle when Henri Nanterre, the ruthless business partner of his fiancee's uncle, tries to convert their road construction company into an armaments enterprise. Nanterre threatens the life of Princess Casilia, his partner's wife, who also owns many of Kit's mounts. Nanterre is foiled, but then some of the princess's horses are found dead, killed, ironically, by captive-bullet bolt guns designed for "humane" deaths. Next come several near-lethal attacks against humans, including Kit's Danielle, and our Kit must devise a plan to thwart Nanterre for good. Soon Danielle has second thoughts about sharing the dangers of a steeplechaser's life. Maynard Allardeck, racing steward and hereditary enemy of the Fielding family, reappears and makes Kit's life even more difficult. The characterization isn't especially profound, but the plot races along wonderfully well, right up to a jolting twist at the end. BOMC featured alternate; Reader's Digest Condensed Books and Detective Book Club selections. <br />Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Kit Fielding will do whatever it takes to stop the killing of racehorses. Not an easy task considering that the woman he adores is leaving him, an international arms dealer is threatening him, and Kit's nemesis has plans to knock him off the track--and plant him under it. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>[The] master of crime fiction and equine thrills. -- <em>_</em>Newsday_</p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>"One of the greatest living suspense wirters."<br />CBS RADIO''<br />After a fall from a racehorse that permanently crippled a hand, Sid Halley joined a detective agency. But it wasn't until some two-bit hoodlum drilled a slug into his side that he was sent out on a case of his own. That was where he met Zanna Martin, a woman who just might make life worth living again. But it was even-money that he'd be killed before she had the chance....  </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Beloved series character Sid Halley, a champion jockey, makes a welcome return in the latest fast-paced crime novel from bestseller Francis (_Come to Grief_). When a crippling injury forces Halley into retirement, he begins a second career as a PI. Thanks to his doggedness and integrity, he attracts many clients, including a mysterious government figure who asks him to assess the unintended consequences of Britain's legalization of Internet gambling, and others who wish him to unravel the nest of puzzles surrounding the murder of a jockey, Huw Walker, suspected of throwing races. This time, the sinister forces arrayed against him have an unexpected weapon—threats of violence against Halley's new significant other. The writing and action are as crisp as ever, though longtime Francis fans may find the plot a little familiar. <em>BOMC and Mystery Guild main selection.</em><em>(Sept.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>After an absence of six years, Dick Francis comes thundering up the track with a thriller that resoundingly demonstrates that the acclaimed author, if anything, may have gained a few steps. Francis re-summons his most popular protagonist, Sid Halley, a champion jockey turned sleuth, whose racing career was shattered when a horse fell on him and then an adversary mangled his left hand. Last seen in <em>Come To Grief</em> (1995), Halley, who brings racing knowledge, spirit, and resilience to whatever case he tackles, remains one of the most exquisitely developed characters in crime fiction. This adventure starts with Cheltenham Gold Cup day, during which one racegoer drops dead, a horse collapses after a stirring win, and the victorious jockey is discovered shot to death in the parking lot. Juggling several sleuthing assignments, Halley finds himself working not only for the father of the slain jockey but also for a Lord who wants to know if the races his horses run in are being fixed. The plot keeps delivering shocks as Halley's investigation is derailed by threats and violence against his new love. And Francis once again proves himself a master of detail, seamlessly incorporating fascinating facts about DNA technology, myoelectric hands, Internet gambling, and even stitches. Wow. <em>Connie Fletcher</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>One of the most impressive aspects of Dick Francis's long and celebrated career (he's won three <em>10 Lb. Penalty</em> Francis adds several new arrows to his quiver. His protagonist, Ben Juliard, narrates the tale in a vivid first person that begins in his insecure late teens instead of the settled middle age of the usual Francis hero. Also, Ben's relationship with horses is more of a fading dream than an active reality. The book begins with Ben's expulsion from Vivian Durridge's stables; he's removed with a false accusation of glue sniffing. But as Ben soon discovers, it is, in fact, his powerful father's machinations that are behind his ill fortunes. The elder Juliard is "standing for Parliament," and the bachelor candidate needs his son by his side for a year of campaigning if he hopes to win. Ben accedes to his father's wishes. He almost always has, but he soon finds that his "gap year"--his year before entering college--is going to be a nightmare. Orinda Nagle, the widow of the recently deceased Hoopwestern MP, and her companion, Alderney Wyvern, resist George's campaign from the start. Then, Usher Rudd, a muckraking journalist, turns his vitriol to George. When an attempt is made on George's life, he and his son find themselves inside a vigorous tale of suspense that takes several narrative years to sort out.</p><p>Francis's lucid prose is the driving force in this political mystery, and the realistic rendering of the complicated father-son relationship between George and Ben adds a sophistication and weight that marks the author's best fiction. <em>--Patrick O'Kelley</em></p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>More murderous horseplay from the prolific Francis.<br />Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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Investment banker Tim Ekaterin thought arranging the purchase of a champion racehorse was a sure thing-but he never gambled on getting caught up in murder.


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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>'Fresh and exciting... very lively' Sunday Times 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true, nowadays, of his crime writing' Daily Mirror </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>In this masterpiece, Dick Francis, the bestselling master of mystery and suspense, takes you into the shocking world of horse racing—where one man must bring his friends' killers into the light, or else risk death himself . . . </p><p>Steeplechaser Alan York knows well the dangers of the sport. But when his best friend and rival, Bill Davidson, takes a fall in the middle of a race and doesn't get up again, Alan discovers that it was no accident. Someone rigged a trip wire to take down the running horse. The more Alan investigates, the more he suspects that there is more to the plot than just murderous horseplay. But even as he approaches the finish line to this mysterious race, those responsible for his friend's death are already planning for Alan to have a fatal accident of his own . . . </p>

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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>MWA Grand Master Francis's first collaboration with his son Felix, a former physics teacher who researched many of his father's previous bestsellers, introduces an engaging hero, though longtime fans may find certain plot elements, like an unlikely love interest and sinister figures somehow connected with shady racetrack doings, less than fresh. The reputation of Max Moreton, a young wunderkind chef with a restaurant in Newmarket, England, suffers after guests at an affair he caters fall ill with food poisoning. This calamity nearly jeopardizes another job—feeding several dozen attendees at a major horse race. While that meal goes off without a hitch, a terrorist's bomb decimates the crowd at the track. Despite the official theory that an unpopular Middle Eastern ruler at the event was responsible, the chef wonders whether the bombing is related to the earlier food poisoning and turns amateur sleuth. Crisp writing and well-paced action help offset the routine plotting. <em>(Sept.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>After a silence of six years, Francis made a triumphant return last year, bringing back the ever-intriguing series hero Sid Halley in Under Orders. Now, Francis introduces a new hero, chef Max Moreton, who runs a thriving restaurant near the Newmarket racetrack. Moreton has a complex background; he's afraid of horses yet fascinated by the world of horse racing (his father was a steeplechase jockey and racehorse trainer). Francis is, as always, completely convincing when it comes to the track, but his efforts at depicting the challenges and delights of cooking seem labored and secondhand (his son, Felix, is credited with the research for this book). Unfortunately, the cookery details often seem pasted on and unnecessary. The action, however, is first-rate Francis. It centers on Moreton's travails as chef. First, food poisoning hits his guests and staff at a racing gala. The next day, a bomb shatters the grandstand box where Moreton has catered a lunch. And as Moreton struggles to decipher the cause of the food poisoning and whether it was connected to the bombing, he suffers the prospect of financial ruin and emotional trauma from the bombing. Then he discovers that someone is out to kill him. This mix of cooking and racetrack isn't close enough to horse racing to be completely satisfying Francis, but the action and the hero's struggles deliver a solid punch. Fletcher, Connie </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>“Gripping.”<br />—_New York Times_  </p><p>“One of his best.”<br />—_Philadelphia Inquirer_</p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>A smash hit novel now in trade—from “a rare and magical talent… who never writes the same story twice.”(_San Diego Union-Tribune_)</strong>  </p><p>In <em>Decider</em>, inheriting a small share in a successful racetrack means trouble for architect Lee Morris, especially when he finds himself in the middle of a family feud—and the target of a ruthless killer… </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>No jockey likes being labelled a cheat. Least of all by a Stewards' Enquiry. Kelly Hughes career looks doomed. He knows he's been framed, but finding the reason could prove dangerous. Especially with a killer on his tail...Hughes' own enquiry uncovers dynamite that could blow the racing world to smithereens. Only a few powerful - and violent - men know the sordid secret. And they'll go to extraordinary lengths to keep it that way. Murder is just one option..."Highly ingenious" - "Times Literary Supplement". "Another winner" - "Publishers Weekly". </p><h3>From the Inside Flap</h3><p>"One of the greatest living suspense writers."<br />CBS RADIO<br />Jockey Kelly Hughes and trainer Dexter Cranfield had been barred from racing--for throwing a race for personal profit. It was a vicious frame-up and, worse, they had nowhere to turn to clear their names. Still, Hughes refused to take the phony verdict lying down--even though his personal enquiry might have him lying down permanently.... </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>Nobody sets up a mystery better than Dick Francis. -- <em>_</em>San Francisco Chronicle_</p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>From the New York Times bestselling author of Field of 13, 10 Lb. Penalty, To the Hilt, and so many more...a com-pelling and chilling tale of drugged racehorses, double-dealers, and masterful detection that confirms Dick Francis's reputation as "mystery's Gibraltar." (Chicago Sun-Times) </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure, inventive menace. -- <em>_</em>Boston Herald_</p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>With a glass of champagne in one hand and binoculars in the other, the world of racing could seem a very cosy and civilized hobby. Especially when your horse has just sprinted past the winning post. But the pleasure of a day at Sandown is spoiled for Steven Scott when he sacks the trainer of his horses, a man he once thought of as a friend. For although on the surface Jody Leeds is a bright young workaholic, Scott suspects he's a crook. Racing may have its rewards but, as Scott finds out to his own cost, not all of them are innocent...or legal. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Francis has another winner, as skillfully constructed as his previous bestsellers. This time, amateur British jockey Ian Pembroke tells what happens after the murder of his father Malcolm's fifth wife, Moira. A rapacious, sharp-tongued woman, she has caused a break between Malcolm and Ian, who despised her for marrying his father solely to get her hands on his considerable fortune. But two attempts on the old man's life compel him to ask Ian for help. Although the trusted son isn't fond of his eight half-siblings or their motheror even of his ownhe's loath to suspect them of conspiring to kill Malcolm, which seems to be the case. To protect his father, Ian takes him to America and other countries, where the two attend the glamorous, big-purse horse racesscenes at which the author excelsbefore returning warily to England. The story gains momentum, with extended family members furious over Malcolm's spending spree and blaming Ian for wasting their inheritance. A real spellbinder, the mystery ends when the miscreant plays one trick too many. Reader's Digest Condensed Book selection; Literary Guild dual selection and Mystery Guild alternate. <br />Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Amateur jockey Ian Pembroke is the narrator and principal mover in this engaging effort from the veteran British author. Summoned by his fabulously wealthy father, Malcolm, after a three-year estrangement, Ian attempts to discover who murdered Malcolm's money-grubbing fifth wife and who wants Malcolm dead as well. Suspects include the man's three surviving ex-wives, variously vicious or vindictive, and eight children, arrayed in darkening shades of nasty. Hidden gold, house bombs, expensive racehorses, and foreign venues spice up the familial infighting. A best bet. Literary Guild dual main selection; Mystery Guild featured alternate. REK<br />Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>The horses age painted ones this time, but stop worrying. You won't have a moment to miss the hooves and the muck. Charles Todd, master of equine portraiture, stumbles on a pattern: visitors to Australia purchase horse pictures and, in no time at all, their homes are burglarized. In the case of Todd's kinsman, the burglary also involves murder, so it's Down Under for the Franciscan confrontation between a resourceful loner and a ruthless crime-conglomerate. Action, character, and color ride in perfect balance again (last year's High Stakes teetered a bit), and the "Am I my brother's keeper?" motif returns in subtle high gear, just to remind us that Francis stays on top because he remembers to touch bottom. (Kirkus Reviews) --online </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Arriving to spend the weekend with his cousin Donald, artist Charles Todd steps into a terrifying scenario. Donald's wife Regina has been brutally murdered and the house ransacked. Among the missing valuables is a painting by Sir Alfred Munnings. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>For a generous commission, ex-prizewinning jockey Jonah Dereham reluctantly agrees to bid on a young steeplechaser on behalf of a wealthy American woman. But his life is thrust into danger immediately following the auction, when he receives a blow to the head by two thugs demanding ownership of the horse. Unfortunately, that's just the beginning—and now Jonah must figure out the high-stakes game being played...before he becomes its next casualty. </p><h3>From the Publisher</h3><p>Dick Francis, a former jockey, brings his experience of racing and life around the racetrack to his mysteries. (And so far Francis is a three-time winner of the Edgar Award for writing the best mystery of the year.) This horse racing background is appealing to my market area of Southern California. Racing is a popular sport amongst Southlanders.  </p><p>--Nanci Andersen, Ballantine Sales </p>


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<P>"I've been a philosopher for all my adult life and the three most profound books of philosophy that I have ever read are Ecclesiastes, Job, and Song of Songs." These are the opening lines of Kreeft's Three Philosophies of Life. He reflects that there are ultimately only three philosophies of life and each one is represented by one of these books of the Bible-life is vanity; life is suffering; life is love. <P>In these three books Kreeft shows how we have Dante's great epic The Divine Comedy played out, from Hell to Purgatory to Heaven. But it is an epic played out in our hearts and lives, here and now. Just as there is movement in Dante's epic, so there is movement in these books, from Ecclesiates to Job, from Job to Song of Songs. Love is the final answer to Ecclesiastes' quest, the alternative to vanity, and the true meaning of life. Finally, Kreeft sees in these books the epitome of theological virtues of faith, hope and love and "an essential summary of the spiritual history of the world". </P>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The narrator of Francis's 26th mystery is Tony Beach, a young widower who fights his grief by keeping busy at his wine shop and by socializing. Eventually he teams up with private detective Gerard McGregor to find the hijackers of several trucks of spirits; the pair then take on a case involving the adulteration of whiskey and wine at a cafe. In rapid order the cafe's steward is brutally murdered, and Tony and Gerard just miss being killed. Tony's severest test occurs at the "stunning climax of what may be judged the best of Francis's bestsellers so far; it's a corker," PW commented. <br />Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Wine merchant Tony Beach has expertly catered his latest society soiree, but the fun's over when a team of hit men crash the party...literally. The event leaves Tony with a bitter aftertaste of suspicion--and sets off a mystery that's an intoxicating blend of deception, intrigue, and murder. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>In this newly repackaged novel from the master of crime fiction and equine thrills, pilot Matt Shore is hired to fly four racing buffs to the track-and then forced to make an emergency landing just minutes before his plane explodes. Luckily, no one is hurt, but it isn't long before Matt realizes that he's caught up in the rat race of violent criminals who are dead-set on putting anyone who stands in their way on the wrong side of the odds. </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Dick Francis has written more than forty international bestsellers and is widely acclaimed as one of the world's finest thriller writers. His awards include the Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Tufts University of Boston. In 1996 Dick Francis was made a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement and in 2000 he was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Sadly he died in 2010. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>“Nobody sets up a mystery better than Dick Francis.” <br />—_San Francisco Chronicle_</p><h3>Product Description</h3><p><strong>A smash hit novel now in trade—from “a rare and magical talent… who never writes the same story twice.”(_San Diego Union-Tribune_)</strong>  </p><p>A <em>New York Times</em> Notable Book  </p><p><em>Slay Ride</em> finds British investigator David Cleveland betting on foul play when a champion jockey disappears—right before a big race and the birth of his child… </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The British author's 27th novel boasts the combination of subject matter and prose style that have made him an international bestseller: thoroughbred horses and heroes, heart palpitations, speed and comedy. Heading the large, colorful cast, narrator Torquil (Tor) Kelsey is an undercover agent for the British Jockey Club. The members have been balked in their efforts to convict wily Julius Apollo Filmer of murder and other crimes that tarnish the sport of kings. With hopes of gaining evidence against Filmer, Tor joins the rich crowd going from England to Canada for "The Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train." Pretending he's a waiter, Tor keeps an eye on Filmer as the train rockets across the Northwest. There is no limit to the thrills along the way, and no way of predicting the stunning denouement. 200,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild main selection. <br />Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Young Tor Kelsey, competent, race-horse wise, and independently wealthy, works for undercover security at the English Jockey Club. "Loaned" to the Canadian Jockey Club, he spies on charming but slippery British extortionist Julius Apollo Filmera horse flesh aficionadoaboard the first-ever Transcontinental Mystery Race Train. During the week-long trip, put together to promote Canadian racing, Kelsey narrowly avoids detection, single-handedly averts catastrophe, and even falls in love. This most excellent and memorable construction, crisply crafted and sparkling with intensity, evidences a deft, masterful hand. Literary Guild main selection. REK<br />Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>For his 33rd-and quite splendid-novel, Francis (Decider) adds to his usual horse-racing setting a backdrop involving feature filmmaking. As usual, though, it's murder most foul and mayhem most brilliant for this English master. In the Suffolk city of Newmarket, Thomas Lyon is for the first time directing a film featuring an American megastar. Based on a bestselling book, the movie concerns a still unexplained, 26-year-old death by hanging of a young horse trainer's wife. The wife's sister, niece and nephew are vehemently opposed to the film, while the book's author, who's also the screenwriter, is opposed to any changes in his plot. The megastar's double is attacked, a murder occurs, Thomas gets death threats and finds himself in great peril. How Francis has him solve the assorted mysteries and achieve a satisfactory ending for his film is nothing short of dazzling. Francis puts his novel together in the same way a movie is constructed, with out-of-sequence scenes, dissolves and brilliant images. He offers wonderful set pieces and moves his large and colorful cast with the aplomb of a seasoned director. Even better, in Thomas Lyon he has created a representative of a vanishing, even endangered, fictional species: the thoroughly decent chap we care about. A tip-top thriller, this could make the best movie about movies since The Stunt Man. BOMC main selection; author tour. <br>Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>YA?Francis's fans will not be disappointed with his latest offering. Thomas Lyon is making a movie based on an event that occurred almost 20 years earlier?the hanging death of a horse trainer's young wife. Valentine Clark, Thomas's long-time friend and a prominent figure in the racing world, is dying, and while Thomas is reading to him he makes a death-bed confession. His whispered confidences relate too directly to Thomas's film to be ignored, especially as the movie set is plagued with suspicious problems and attempted murders. Despite being stabbed himself, Thomas tries to solve the past and present mysteries, produce his movie, and save his own life. Besides providing a many-faceted mystery and the author's trademark insights into the horse world, this novel offers an in-depth, fascinating behind-the-scenes view of filmmaking.?Katherine Fitch, Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, VA<br>Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In the enjoyable fourth and final collaboration between Francis (1920–2010) and son Felix (after Even Money), the army career of Capt. Thomas Forsyth abruptly ends when an IED in Afghanistan blows off one of his feet, leaving him with a prosthetic replacement (like another Francis lead, Sid Halley). Upon discharge from National Health Service care, Forsyth makes his way home to Lambourn, where he gets a less-than-warm welcome from his mother, Josephine Kauri, a horse trainer. After learning that her stable has had a series of mishaps, Forsyth discovers that Kauri has been sabotaging her own animals in response to a blackmailer's threats to reveal her tax evasion to the authorities. With nothing else to occupy him, he turns detective to identify the extortionist. Though the plot details won't linger as long as those in Dick Francis's best work, like Whip Hand, this is still a suspenseful read. Francis aficionados will hope that Felix chooses to carry on the family tradition on his own. <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Good authors never die; they leave behind at least one book. Francis, who died this year after writing a string of more than 40 racing mysteries, the last 3 in collaboration with his son, Felix, left at least this one book behind. For all lovers of old-fashioned, character-driven, plot-perfect suspense, this is like getting a windfall from a distant, deceased relative. The hero will remind longtime Francis fans of Sid Halley, the driving force of arguably Francis’ finest mysteries. Both have had their careers cut short by a devastating injury (steeplechase jockey Halley lost his hand in a racing accident; new hero, British soldier Captain Tom Forsyth, had his foot blown off by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan). Both have to find their way out of pain and grief to construct a new life. Forsyth, temporarily cut loose from his regiment, returns to the home he fled at age 17, the cold and hostile environment of his mother, one of Britain’s top racehorse trainers. While there, he stumbles into a blackmail plot involving his mother, one that puts her horses at high risk. The Francis team uses both Forsyth’s dilemma, which is how to find “targets and objectives” in a blown-apart life, and his military skills to enable him to get to the bottom of a rotten mess. The plot reads like classic Francis; the research parts presumably come from Felix, and they add a lot of weight to the saddle. The publisher hints that Felix may be carrying on his father’s legacy, but it’s doubtful anyone can. Enjoy this bequest. --Connie Fletcher </p>

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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Huxley looks backward and forward in this brilliant extended essay published a quarter of a century after his controversial, dark visionary novel. Analyzing America at mid-century against the tomorrow of the BRAVE NEW WORLD, Huxley finds some answers and</p>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In New York not long after 9/11, appealing psychologist-turned-criminal profiler Lee Campbell is traumatized by the unsolved disappearance of his sister in the mid-1990s. Though still recovering from a nervous breakdown, Lee is determined to keep working with the NYPD and find the man who leaves his female victims mutilated in churches throughout Manhattan, even if it means enduring painful reminders of his past. Lawrence (a pseudonym for Carole Buggé, author of the Claire Rawlings mysteries) assembles a quirky group of detectives and experts, all strong characters who can support future books in the series: Chuck Morton, the commander of the Bronx Major Case Unit, who married Lee's ex; Eddie Pepitone, a hustler who befriended Lee in the hospital; Dr. Katherine Azarian, a forensic pathologist and Lee's love interest; and brilliant criminal justice professor John Paul Nelson. Fans of Keith Ablow will enjoy this dark, intriguing thriller. <em>(Dec.)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>In the streets of New York City, the Slasher chooses his victim - and makes his move. As he wraps his fingers around the girl's pretty throat, his power increases. As he carves into her skin, his words become flesh. As he arranges her lifeless body in a loving tableau, his fantasies demand new, more violent sacrifices...At first, NYPD detectives suspect a jealous boyfriend. But criminal profiler Lee Campbell senses something darker, even ritualistic, about the murder. More chilling, he's convinced he's witnessing the genesis of a full-blown serial killer. But time is running out. A new victim has been chosen. Campbell must search the most terrifying recesses of the human mind - and his own past - before the screaming starts again...</p><p>"Pulse-racing, compelling, first rate. Lawrence knows how to build and hold suspense with the best of them. Once you get into this one, you can't get out. A wild ride down a dark road."<br>--John Lutz, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>Urge to Kill</em></p><p>"C. E. Lawrence has achieved a rare level of authenticity, not only in character development but also in the realistic use of behavioral science. If you want to read a serial-killer thriller that's solidly based on frightening reality, this is the one."--Louis B Schlesinger, Ph.D., professor of forensic psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice</p><p>"C. E. Lawrence delivers finely honed suspense, with unique twists, and accurately captures the logic and intuition of a profiler under pressure."--Katherine Ramsland, professor of forensic psychology, De Sales University, and author of <em>The Devil's Dozen</em></p><p>"Criminally compelling, <em>Silent Screams</em> by C.E. Lawrence nails you to your seat with a fascinating NYPD profiler who's hurled into the case of his lifetime. From the Bronx to Manhattan, Catholic churches to university classrooms, this journey into violence and the soul is unforgettable." --- Gayle Lynds, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>The Book of Spies</em> and <em>The Last Spymaster</em></p><p>"Silent Screams is a wickedly brilliant, carefully wrought thriller where the roles of hunter and hunted are skillfully blurred. Team up with a virtuoso profiler and a street-wise Bronx detective as they are thrown into an escalating torrent of murder that threatens to sweep them away. It's ride that neither they, or you, will soon forget."--Gregg McCrary, author of <em>The Unknown Darkness: Profiling the Predators Among Us </em></p><p>"By setting the horror of fictional killings against the background of 9/11, C.E. Lawrence constantly reminds the reader that life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. The deviant perpetrator of grisly murders is described as someone who has a sophisticated knowledge of forensic investigations. The same can be said of the author. Silent Screams beckons C.E. Lawrence to become a repeat offender in this genre."--Marina Staji , Ph.D., President of American Board of Forensic Toxicology </p>

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<div><h3>Product Description</h3><p>At first, they look like suicides. Two bodies within a week - one found floating in New York's East River, another electrocuted in the bathtub. But forensics show that the victims were drugged, then killed. As the death toll grows, so does the brutality of the murders - and the killer dubbed the Flesh Collector continues to prey. NYPD profiler Lee Campbell joins the frantic pursuit of a murderous madman who delights in taunting police with gruesome messages. Somewhere in the killer's terrifying handiwork lie the clues to his twisted psyche. But the case is growing disturbingly personal. Getting close enough to stop the monster means getting close enough - to die... </p>

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<p class="description">SUMMARY:<br>Worried about what to do in the event of the dead rising from their graves and trying to destroy humanity? Worry no more! With the help of numerous films and Wikipedia, Dr Dale has compiled this rigorously researched A-Z list of everything you need to know about zombies: how to recognise them, how to fight them and even how to classify them. He can answer all of your burning questions including: § How can a sheep help defend me against the undead? § What will the response of the Women's Institute be to an attack? § What's the most useful style of dance to know in the event of the apocalypse? From the best kind of clothing to wear to the most appropriate soundtrack for a zombie apocalypse, this is the ultimate guide to preparing for and surviving the return of the undead. Full money back guarantee offered should you die in a zombie apocalypse within 30 days of purchase!!!</p>


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<h3>From</h3><p>Richard Wilson, a prominent wine critic, routinely makes or destroys the careers of winemakers in his popular newsletter, The Wine Maven. When he disappears after a tasting in California’s Napa Valley, his sister, Janie, asks her ex-husband, Babe Stern, to investigate. Babe gave up a successful career in the wine industry to run a local bar that does not appear on the tourist circuit. Working with the police after Wilson’s body turns up in a vat at Norton Winery, he uncovers a long list of possible suspects who would like to get revenge for the bad reviews that ruined their businesses. As Stern digs further into Wilson’s life, the trail takes him to Burgundy, France, and to the family of a young intern at the Norton Winery who was one of the few people in the winery when Wilson died. This is a well-crafted debut that will appeal to mystery fans interested in winemaking. --Barbara Bibel </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Prominent wine critic Richard Wilson makes a living elevating and destroying winemakers’ reputations with the stroke of his pen. When he disappears after a tasting at Napa Valley’s Norton Winery, his sister Janie looks to her ex-husband Babe Stern for help. But when Wilson’s body is found floating in a vat at Norton, Stern’s search turns into a hunt for the killer.<br />Working with the Napa Valley police, Stern quickly finds a string of suspects, all with one thing in common: their desire to get revenge for the reviews that shattered their wines and livelihoods. But as the police work to quickly clear the case, those same suspects have a string of alibis and the trail begins to fade.<br />Stern digs further into the circumstances of Wilson’s death and finds himself following his only lead, to Burgundy, France. In cellars and tasting rooms from Beaune to Nuits-Saint-Georges, Stern tracks the troubled son of a family of <em>vignerons</em>, one of the few people in the winery the night Wilson died. But the wine families of the Côte d’Or are secretive and entangled, and the further Stern goes to discover the truth, the more he becomes the ultimate target. In a stunning debut mystery packed with revenge and murder, Stern’s only choice is to find the truth.</p>


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<p>This all-purpose guide for locking down Apache arms readers with all the information they need to securely deploy applications. Administrators and programmers alike will benefit from a concise introduction to the theory of securing Apache, plus a wealth of practical advice and real-life examples. Topics covered include installation, server sharing, logging and monitoring, web applications, PHP and SSL/TLS, and more. </p>


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<p><i>Cisco Routers for the Desperate</i> is a brief, meaty introduction to Cisco routers and switches designed to get you comfortable with the Cisco environment, teach you how to troubleshoot problems, and take you through the basics of switch and router maintenance and integration into an existing network.</p>


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<p>Google and YouTube use Python because it's highly adaptable, easy to maintain, and allows for rapid development. If you want to write high-quality, efficient code that's easily integrated with other languages and tools, this hands-on book will help you be productive with Python 3.0 quickly. Each chapter includes a unique <b>Test Your Knowledge</b> section with practical exercises and quizzes, so you can practice new skills and test your understanding as you go.</p>


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<p>Linux firewalls provide capabilities that rival commercial firewalls, and are built upon the powerful Netfilter infrastructure in the Linux kernel. <i>Linux Firewalls: Attack Detection and Response</i> explores using Netfilter as an intrusion detection system (IDS) by combining it with Snort rulesets and custom open source software created by the author. Providing concrete examples to illustrate concepts, the book discusses Linux firewall log analysis and policies, passive network authentication and authorization, exploit packet traces and Snort ruleset emulation, and more. Perl and C code snippets are included to help readers maximize the deployment of Linux firewalls as effective mechanisms for the detection and prevention of various network-based attacks.</p>


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<p class="description">If you're seeking a job-based certification from the Linux Professional Institute (LPI), this updated guide will help you prepare thoroughly for the technically challenging Level 1 LPI exams, which test basic knowledge of Linux installation, configuration, and command-line skills. In LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, you'll find a summary of the core skills you need, as well as sample exercises, test questions, and hints to help you focus.</p>


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<p>This instructive book takes you step by step through ways to track, merge, and manage both open source and commercial software projects with Mercurial, using Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, and other systems. Mercurial is the easiest system to learn when it comes to distributed revision control, ideal whether you're a lone programmer working on a small project, or part of a huge team dealing with thousands of files. This book offers concrete suggestions to get you started.</p>


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<p>Wireshark (formerly called Ethereal) is the world's most powerful "packet sniffer", allowing its users to uncover valuable information about computer networks (whether theirs or others'). Rather than simply take readers through Wireshark's tools <i>Practical Packet Analysis</i> shows how to use the software to monitor their own networks. The book is aimed at network engineers and system administrators, but it's clear enough for even Wireshark newbies. Includes a bonus CD with trace file examples as well as videos that show packet analysis in action.</p>


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<p>The fifth edition of <i>Running Linux</i> is greatly expanded, reflecting the maturity of the operating system and the teeming wealth of software available for it. Hot consumer topics such as audio and video playback applications, groupware functionality, and spam filtering are covered, along with the basics in configuration and management that always made the book popular.</p>


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<p>The internet is bigger and better than what a mere brower allows. <i>Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers</i> is for developers and business managers looking to unlock the competitive advantages of nontraditional online approaches. Readers will learn how to write stealthy webbots that read email, emulate online forms, auto-authenticate, manage cookies, and handle encryption. Sample projects reinforce these new skills so that readers can create more sophisticated webbots and spiders to track online prices, create anonymous browing environments, bid on auctions in their closing moments, and more.</p>


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<div><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>Featured Recipe: Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese and Fire-Roasted Tomatoes </strong>   </p><p>This dish is exceptionally easy to make and worth every second. That said, there is one thing to note: Be careful when checking the chicken for doneness. The tomatoes will likely drip into the chicken. If you cut into the chicken or poke it with a fork to test for doneness, be sure it’s not the liquid from the tomatoes making the chicken look pink even if it’s not.   </p><p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p><ul><li>     4 (4-ounce) trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts </li> <li>     Sea salt and pepper, to taste </li> <li>     Olive oil spray </li> <li>     1/2 cup canned, drained, diced fire-roasted tomatoes or fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic </li> <li>     2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) goat cheese crumbles </li> <li>     2 tablespoons finely slivered fresh basil leaves, or more to taste (optional)  </li></ul><p>(Serves 4)<br>Hands-on Time: 7 Minutes<br>Hands-off Time: 5 to 9 Minutes</p><p><strong>Directions</strong></p><p>Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.</p><p>Season the chicken with salt and pepper.</p><p>Place a medium ovenproof nonstick skillet over high heat. When it’s hot, lightly mist the skillet with spray and immediately add the chicken side by side to the pan so it does not touch. Cook the chicken just until it is golden brown on the outsides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. </p><p>Remove the pan from the heat and top each piece of chicken evenly with about 2 tablespoons of the tomatoes, followed by about 1/2 ounce of the cheese. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the chicken until it is no longer pink inside and the cheese is melted, 5 to 9 minutes. Top evenly with the basil, if desired. Serve immediately. </p><p>Makes 4 servings. Each (1 topped breast) serving has: 171 calories, 29 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 72 mg cholesterol, trace fiber, 198 mg sodium</p><hr><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>More a guide to smarter shopping than cooking, the latest from Alexander (The Biggest Loser Cookbook) gives dieters largely healthy options in 150 basic low-calorie recipes. Alexander admits her recipes are geared for convenience, unabashedly utilizing processed foods and artificial ingredients; though she does offer substitutions for organic or all-natural diets, readers will want to pay attention to nutritional information (Mafia's Favorite Turkey Sandwich, for instance, has over 1,600 mg of sodium per serving, while Tequila Cheese Fondue is measured in two-tablespoon serving sizes). Novices and those pressed for time will be pleased to find more assembly than actual cooking: Pigs in Comforters consists of only four ingredients-olive oil spray, low-fat beef hot dogs, biscuit dough and mustard-and Spicy Tuna Salad comes together in seconds using tuna, low-fat mayo and chili sauce. Almost all of her recipes derive their health benefits from the inclusion of low- or reduced-fat store-bought ingredients: Ravio-Sagne, a ravioli-based riff on lasagna, relies on canned sauce, ravioli and low-fat cheese; Cheesy Brown Rice consists of cooked brown rice and Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese Squares; Peppermint Brownie "Pizza" consists of fat-free whipped topping spread over a low-fat brownie (made from a box mix). <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>

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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong> Fall into Cooking Featured Recipe: Midwinter Minestrone from <em>Rachael Ray’s Look + Cook</em> </strong></p><p><strong>Serves 4</strong></p><p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p><p>2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) <br />1/4 pound sliced pancetta, cut into 1/4 -inch dice (optional) <br />2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch dice<br />3 celery stalks, chopped into 1/4-inch dice<br />2 bay leaves, fresh or dried<br />3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated<br />1 large or 2 medium red onions, chopped<br />Salt and pepper<br />1 ounce dried porcini or mixed wild mushrooms, chopped<br />1/2 cup soft sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced<br />1 quart chicken or vegetable stock<br />1 small bunch of purple or green kale, washed and dried<br />1 cup semolina or whole-wheat ditalini or other short cut pasta<br />1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas<br />Pecorino Romano cheese, grated or shredded, to pass at the table  </p><p>Place a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the pancetta to the pot (if using) and cook until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, bay leaves, garlic, and onions to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the veggies are tender, 7 to 8 minutes more. </p><p>Add the mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, stock, and 2 cups water to the pot, and bring up to a boil. </p><p>Hold the kale by the stems and curl up your opposite hand around the greens at the base of the stem. With a quick jerking motion strip the greens off and away from the stems and chop the greens. </p><p>Add the kale, pasta, and chickpeas to the soup pot, and cook until the pasta is al dente. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaves. </p><p>Ladle the soup into shallow bowls, top with the Pecorino Romano, and serve. </p><hr /><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Just when you thought Rachael Ray couldn't make preparing dinner any easier, she offers a book of 100 simple main courses, all illustrated with step-by-step photos. Cooks who aren't quite sure what dishes are supposed to look like along the way will gain confidence from the six images that accompany each entry, highlighting ingredients, techniques, and in-progress recipes. As You Like It citrus soy stir-fry calls for shelled edamame and a seeded and thinly sliced bell pepper; photos show just how these should appear when they're ready to go into the skillet. One photo supporting the individual Florentine frying-pan pizza depicts dough pressed into a skillet and being filled before baking--so there's no question about whether the reader is doing it correctly. All recipes include a photo of the finished product, too. Chapters are quintessential Ray: "Cozy Food" (cherry tomato and ravioli soup with store-bought ravioli; shepherd's pie stuffed potatoes), "Make Your Own Takeout" (Real-Deal rellenos), "Fancy Fake-Outs" (Moroccan Lemon-Olive Chicken), " ÿYes, The Kids Will Eat It' " (chicken &amp; broccolini with orange sauce), and, of course, "30-Minute Meals." Ray fans should find more of what they love in this book: easy meals that will please most crowds. (Nov.) (c) <br />(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Unlike electric ice cream makers and pasta machines, the bread machine hasn't really enjoyed wholehearted acceptance in the culinary world. There are hordes of enthusiasts, no question about it, but many who consider themselves serious bakers look upon the machine with a skeptical eye. However, the newer generation of machines turns out excellent bread, and after being bombarded with know-how by this James Beard Award-winning writer, even the most reluctant may be inspired to give it a go. The book opens with an excellent orientation to both the machine and the basics of bread making. Step-by-step instructions are given for a few basic loaves. (Less helpful is a "what went wrong" section, which displays a firm grasp of the obvious.) The 300-plus recipes are so far-ranging it's hard to believe a bread exists that isn't included here. There are white breads and sourdoughs, all manner of whole wheat and grain breads and breads featuring nuts and dried fruits, cheese and savory flavorings. There are crusty ciabattas, a sturdy Irish Potato Brown Bread and a variety of challahs. Hensperger also includes dozens of sweet breads, including croissants, coffee cakes and traditional holiday confections. There are recipes for pizza and flatbreads, as well as selections from a variety of traditions, from Alsatian kugelhopf to Zuni Indian bread. She even offers instructions for using bread machines to make pasta, jams and chutneys. By the end, Hensperger (The Bread Bible, etc.) will have convinced readers that it's time to overcome any qualms and get to work. The bread machine is here to stay. (Aug.) <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Hensperger's smaller quick breads book includes 100 recipes from her earlier Art of Quick Breads, now out of print, as well as 50 new ones. In addition to quick loaves, both sweet and savory, there are waffles, dumplings, biscuits, popovers, and a variety of other easy baked goods, along with some tasty accompaniments, such as the Fruit Salsa for her Hopi Blue Corn Hotcakes. For most collections. <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<div><meta charset="utf-8"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, verdana; font-size: 12px; ">Reapers Gale The Letherii Empire is in turmoil. Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, while the Errant, once a farseeing god, appears suddenly blind to the future. Driven by the corruption and self-interest, the empire edges ever-closer to all-out war with its neighbouring kingdoms. And the great Edur fleet draws ominously ever closer. With Karsa Orlong and Icarium Lifestealer among its warriors, that blood will be spilled is certain. But a band of fugitives look to escape from Lether. One of them, Fear Sengar, seeks the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye, for he hopes that with its help, they might halt the Tiste Edur and so save the emperor, his brother. But another is Scabandari's old enemy: Silchas Ruin, brother of Anomander Rake. He carries scars inflicted by Scabandari, and such bloodshed cannot go unanswered. There is to be a reckoning and it will be on an unimaginable scale... Toll the Hounds It is said that Hood waits at the end of every plot, every scheme, each grandiose ambition. But this time it is different: this time the Lord of Death is there at the beginning? Darujhistan swelters in the summer heat and seethes with portents, rumours and whispers. Strangers have arrived, a murderer is abroad, past-tyrannies are stirring and assassins seem to be targeting the owners of K?rul?s Bar. For the rotund, waistcoat-clad man knows such events will be dwarfed by what is about to happen: for in the distance can be heard the baying of hounds. Far away, in Black Coral, the ruling Tiste Andii appear oblivious to the threat posed by the fast-growing cult of the Redeemer ? an honourable, one-mortal man who seems powerless against the twisted vision of his followers. So Hood waits at the beginning of a conspiracy that will shake the cosmos, but at its end there is another: Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, has come to right an ancient and terrible wrong?</span></div>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Ragged armies and gods old and new collide in the dizzyingly complex penultimate tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen (following 2008's <em>Toll the Hounds</em>). After a traumatic reading of the tiles, Adjunct Tagore of the Malazan decides to quit the Letherii capital. To placate neighboring territories, Brys Beddict and a contingent of Letherii escort Tagore and her army through the Wastelands on their way to the port of Kolanse. The Barghast find their own reasons to head for the Wastelands, as do the T'lan Imass, a group of bloodthirsty Jaghut, and the army of the K'Chain Che'Malle. Gods tweak the players on this continent-sized chess board even as they themselves are manipulated. Erickson begins to reel in the long lines of his huge plot, giving enough hints to leave readers impatient for the 10th volume. <em>(Jan.)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>In the ninth Malazan Book of the Fallen volume, the last remnant of the Malazan Empire, in exile on the continent of Letherii, marches east against unknown but undoubtedly formidable foes. If the soldiers see themselves and their empire as fallen, they even more certainly see themselves bound by oaths and comradeship to keep faith with one another until the last enemy is identified, met, and, if possible, overcome. If not, their oaths are still binding. There is herein a quality reminiscent of the 300 Spartans coming to the fore that, added to the complexity and grandeur of the world-building, is downright enthralling. --Roland Green </p>

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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Leonard examines conspicuous consumption and its human and environmental costs in an expansion of her short documentary of the same name. The analysis is accessible, and Leonard is skilled at breaking down large and abstruse concepts for the listeners. She's less winning as a reader, however: her bubbly voice and predilection for overemphasis are grating—and occasionally, her explanations and prescriptions veer into condescension. These failings aside, here is a wealth of very important information. As a bonus, the MP3 CD includes the original video, but omits the charts and graphics in the book. <em>A Free Press hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 25). (Mar.)</em> <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> Why is there so much garbage, and where does it go? A Time magazine Hero of the Environment, Leonard has traveled the world tracking trash and its wake of destruction. Her investigations convinced her that the impossible dream of perpetual economic growth and the rampant consumer culture it engenders are the root causes of today’s environmental crises. A rigorous thinker in command of a phenomenal amount of information, Leonard believes that we must calculate the full ecological and social cost of our “stuff.” So she takes us through the extraction of natural resources and the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of various products, documenting ecohazards and the exploitation of workers along the way. Drawing on her extensive research, gutsy fieldwork, and efforts to live “green,” Leonard condemns the endless barrage of advertisements, the plague of toxic synthetic chemicals, and such covertly deleterious inventions as the aluminum can. Not one to tout simple approaches to complex predicaments, Leonard instead offers hard facts, diligent analysis, and an ambitious vision in this comprehensive critique, calling for strict environmental laws, an end to overconsumption, zero waste, and a new social paradigm based on quality of life, not quantity of stuff. --Donna Seaman </p>

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<h3>Review</h3><p>“I hardly know what to say about this remarkable book. . . It provides a way to understand the many kinds of sentience, human and animal, that adorn the earth.” –Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of <em>The Hidden Life of Dogs</em>  </p><p>"There are innumerable astounding facets to this remarkable book. . . . Displaying uncanny powers of observation . . . [Temple Grandin] charts the differences between her life and the lives of those who think in words." –_The Philadelphia Inquirer_  </p><p>“A uniquely fascinating view not just of autism but of animal–and human–thinking and feeling, [providing] insights that can only be called wisdom.” <br />–Deborah Tannen, author of <em>You Just Don’t Understand</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is a gifted animal scientist who has designed one third of all the livestock-handling facilities in the United States. She also lectures widely on autism—because Temple Grandin is autistic, a woman who thinks, feels, and experiences the world in ways that are incomprehensible to the rest of us.   </p><p>In this unprecedented book, Grandin delivers a report from the country of autism. Writing from the dual perspectives of a scientist and an autistic person, she tells us how that country is experienced by its inhabitants and how she managed to breach its boundaries to function in the outside world. What emerges in <em>Thinking in Pictures </em>is the document of an extraordinary human being, one who, in gracefully and lucidly bridging the gulf between her condition and our own, sheds light on the riddle of our common identity. </p>


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<div><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. Following the events of 2009's Mortal Coils, 15-year-old twins Fiona and Eliot Post--children of Lucifer and the goddess Atropos--come into their powers at the onset of a vast battle between supernatural entities. Forced to enroll in an ultra-competitive magical school called Paxington, where even gym class can prove lethal, the twins encounter such mysterious, dangerous, and intriguing characters as headmistress Miss Weston and gym teacher Mister Ma, while learning more about familiar characters like slick Uncle Henry and Lucifer himself. Nylund masterfully blends the mundane details of studying with an epic war in Hell, and with similar skill portrays Fiona and Eliot's sibling bond even as their political and romantic interests diverge. Nylund has hit his stride, piling on the plot developments, but never losing sight of the standout characterizations that made the first book memorable. <br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>The Immortals and the Infernals are still at it in the sequel to Mortal Coils (2009), and twins Eliot and Fiona, children of Lucifer and a goddess, are still caught in the middle as both sides vie to claim the half-Immortal, half-Infernal teens as their own. Having passed the life-or-death tests set up by the league of gods, the twins face even more challenges when they are admitted as freshmen to Paxington Institute, a high school for children of the gods, which has an extremely rigorous and competitive curriculum—it is possible they might not survive the first semester. Their skills of diplomacy and strategic thinking are tested, and they are trained how to use and strengthen their powers. However, Eliot and Fiona not only face the deadly perils inherent in their classes but also the machinations of the Infernals, who plan to draw the twins into a war between clans. The Immortals are also manipulating the twins, and the tale abounds with lies, plans, schemes, and double-crosses as well as death and destruction. The twins become even more multifaceted than in the first book, and the swirling intrigue is compelling. To be continued in the planned What Fools These Mortals, which is sure to be anticipated. --Sally Estes </p>

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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New Englan</em>, the quirkiest title for a book since <em>--Brad Thomas Parsons</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p><em>Starred Review.</em> Clarke's fourth book (after the story collection <em>Carrying the Torch</em>) is the delightfully dark story of Sam Pulsifer, the accidental arsonist and murderer narrator who leads readers through a multilayered, flame-filled adventure about literature, lies, love and life. Growing up in Amherst, Mass., with an editor for a father and an English teacher for a mother, Sam was fed endless stories that fueled (literally and figuratively) the rest of his life. Thus, the blurred boundaries between fact and fiction, story and reality become the landscape for amusing and provocative adventures that begin when, at age 18, Sam accidentally torches the Emily Dickinson Homestead, killing two people. After serving 10 years, Sam tries to distance himself from his past through college, employment, marriage and fatherhood, but he eventually winds up back in his parents' home, separated from his wife and jobless. When more literary landmarks go up in flames, Sam is the likely suspect, and his determination to find the actual arsonist uncovers family secrets and more than a bit about human nature. Sam is equal parts fall guy and tour guide in this bighearted and wily jolt to the American literary legacy. <em>(Sept.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Destiny Called - They Answered </p><p>In the dark recesses of Tyria, elder dragons have awoken from millennial slumbers. First came Primordus, which stirred in the Depths forcing the asura to flee to the surface. Half a century later, Jormag awoke and drove the norn from the frozen climes of the Northern Shiverpeaks, corrupting sons and brothers along the way. A generation later, Zhaitan arose in a cataclysmic event that reshaped a continent and flooded the capital of the human nation of Kryta. </p><p>The races of Tyria stand on the edge of destiny. Heroes have battled against dragon minions, only to be corrupted into service of the enemy. Armies have marched on the dragons and been swep aside. The dwarves sacrificed their entire race to defeat a single dragon champion. The age of mortals may soon be over.   </p><p>This is a time for heroes. While the races of Tyria stand apart, six heroic individuals will come together to fight for their people: Eir, the norn huntress with the soul of an artist; Snaff, the asuran ge­nius, and his ambitious assistant Zojja; Rytlock, the ferocious charr warrior in exile; Caithe, a deadly sylvari with deep secrets; and Logan, the valiant human guardian dealing with divided loyalties. Together they become Destiny’s Edge. Together they answer the call. But will it be enough? </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>Penzler Pick, </strong> This is the first entry in what I hope will be a series by journalist Jonathon King, who has written for the <em>Philadelphia Daily News</em> and the <em>South Florida Sun-Sentinel</em>. The story features Max Freeman, who was a cop in Philadelphia until he shot and killed a 12-year-old boy who was helping to rob a convenience store. Max was shot in the neck himself and now he keeps away from most people, living in a cabin in the backwaters of South Florida.</p><p>While canoeing on the river near his home, Max spies a bundle floating near the shore which turns out to be a dead child wrapped in a sheet. Max's first reaction is that the nightmare he thought he left behind has caught up with him. Pulling the bundle into his canoe, Max paddles downstream to the ranger station where he is met by the head ranger together with three detectives--almost as if they were waiting for him.</p><p>Billy Manchester, a lawyer and friend to Max, tells him that the body of the girl he found is the third in a series of abductions that is terrifying South Florida communities. Because of his training as a cop, Max wants to help out with the investigation, but his offer of help is rebuffed by local law enforcement. He discovers that the killer is leaving global positioning system addresses with the bodies, which is why there was a team of detectives at the ranger station--they were on their way up-river to where they knew a body would be when Max brought it in. </p><p>Max himself is now a suspect and, when he returns to his cabin to discover that a GPS unit has been planted, he knows he is going to get involved anyway. If he doesn't find the murderer, the police are going to charge him. His search takes him deep into the Everglades, off the beaten track into communities closed to outsiders and hostile to questions. </p><p>King gives a vivid portrayal of a Florida still not exploited by developers and also treats us to a wonderful cast of characters--Max and Billy especially, but also to some folks who have hardly been touched by the modern world. <em>--Otto Penzler</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>With his first novel, King jumps into James W. Hall territory and lands firmly on his feet. Ex-Philadelphia cop Max Freeman, haunted by his killing of an adolescent robber, has retreated to an isolated cabin in the Florida Everglades. When he discovers the body of a kidnapped youngster, the victim of a serial killer, Freeman becomes a suspect who can clear his name only by finding the murderer. Although this is an often-used plot device, the author's stylish prose and insider's knowledge of the sinuous, dangerous Everglades give the gimmick a fresh twist. Especially fine are the passages showing the different faces of Florida as Freeman travels between his austere cabin and the plush penthouse apartment of his Palm Beach lawyer, Billy Manchester. A scene in which Freeman seeks out a group of furtive Everglades natives in their natural habitat reeks with atmosphere. In fact, King uses descriptions of places and environment to reveal character and attitude, much as Hall, James Lee Burke and Robert B. Parker do, if not as smoothly as those established masters. While fans of Carl Hiaasen's black humor or Lawrence Shames's wacky characters may not find this novel to their taste, most readers should hail Freeman as an appealing addition to the already large roster of independent-minded Florida investigators. Skillful writing, original characters and evocative settings initiate a welcome new series. (Apr. 1)Forecast: With a prominent blurb from Michael Connelly, this crime debut by a feature writer for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel should get off to a strong start. Based on his ruggedly masculine author photo, King would seem a natural for the TV talk show circuit.</p><p>Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>King's first book about former Philadelphia cop Max Freeman turned loose in the Florida Everglades (The Blue Edge of Midnight) boasted several strengths-a protagonist who shimmered with life in spite of a cliched backstory (he was wounded in a shootout at a robbery scene, where one of his shots killed a 12-year-old boy), a riveting supporting cast of local weirdos and a fully credible subplot about an urban man learning to love the hardships of the natural world. A few traces of those strengths survive in King's second book about Freeman, but not enough to give the series the feeling of inevitable success it originally enjoyed. For one thing, Freeman has little opportunity to commune with nature this time around. He spends much of his days and nights driving his pickup truck down the seedier streets of West Palm Beach in search of whoever is knocking off a bunch of very old African-American ladies who sold off their insurance policies early. The Florida hermits and con men of the first book have been supplanted by a rather ordinary crew of street thugs and drug dealers. But if the lackluster setting and cast disappoint King's fans, it's only because the standard set by his first book was so high-there's still plenty here to reward the reader: the rapid-fire, gritty dialogue and the charms of our hard-living, earthy hero. Freeman's lawyer chum, Billy Manchester, a genius who stutters in public, reprises his fascinating role, and a new love interest, a sad-eyed lady cop, adds a pleasing twist. Though not as inspired as its precursor, this still is satisfying fare.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> King, a longtime police and criminal courts reporter in South Florida, proves that the success of his first detective novel, <em>The Blue Edge of Midnight</em> [BKL F 1 02], was no fluke. This one stars the same ex-Philly cop with the shattered psyche dragged into doing some sleuthing; features the same evocative detective digs, a one-room stilt shack hidden in the middle of the Everglades; and is shot through with the same burgeoning suspense and rich, brooding atmosphere. There is one important difference, though. This time detective hero Max Freeman, traumatized from the memory of a shooting that left a 12-year-old dead, takes a few steps toward recovery, moving slowly toward the light and away from what he calls the "dead zone time," when it seems the dark silence will never lift. It begins with a call from Freeman's oldest friend, an ex-cop who needs help investigating the murders of five elderly women in the Fort Lauderdale area. Freeman uncovers an elaborate insurance scam and a serial killer as the plot moves toward a chilling climax. King sets up a powerful parallel between the primordial feel of the Everglades and the mean streets of South Florida, with civilization seeming much more cutthroat. King seems well on his way to creating a knockout series. <em>Connie Fletcher</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Though moody ex-Philadelphia cop Max Freeman has found a measure of peace in life, he faces some of the same challenges in King's third stellar outing as he did in last year's Visible Darkness. Government types are still trying to evict him from his Everglades hideaway, his love life is tenuous and friend/attorney Billy Manchester has once again piqued his interest with a case. Max, now a fully licensed PI in Florida, agrees to look into the disappearance of a father and two sons who signed on for three weeks of work on the Tamiami Trail 80 years earlier and never made it home. Built across the Everglades, the trail is the stuff of legend, filled with murky water and murkier deeds, snakes and gators and untimely death. The case, of course, is more complicated than it seems, with corporate intrigue, intimidation and the sins of fathers raining unmercifully down on their sons. As usual, Max is aided by a lively cast of characters, including the mysterious Nate Brown, whose knowledge of the Glades and its secrets is part of his being. King strikes a deft balance between his extraordinary South Florida setting and an engrossing tale of inhumanity and greed. This fine novel resonates with the atmosphere and immediacy of the Everglades, as well as with Max's struggle to define himself in an often hostile world. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> Welcome to Max Freeman's world. It centers on an abandoned research shack on a river at the edge of the Florida Everglades. It's lit by an oil lamp. The furniture? A couple chairs, a table, and a bunk bed, the top bunk of which is loaded with travel and history books. Freeman, introduced in the Edgar-winning <em>Blue Edge of Midnight</em> (2002) and met again in <em>A Visible Darkness</em> [BKL F 1 03], may be the most thoughtful, well-read, and multilayered private-eye hero since Spenser. He's an ex-cop from Philadelphia with a history that keeps him holed up in the wilds, venturing forth only to do investigations for an old friend, an attorney. The third Freeman novel gets its unlikely impetus from a discovery in an antique hope chest, letters from a worker on the Tamiami Trail, a road project through the Everglades undertaken 80 years ago. The letters detail the brutal conditions under which the men and boys worked. The disappearance of the letter-writer and his two sons points to a triple homicide in 1923. (The stunning first chapter showing the three men being hunted down on the river ranks among the most frightening in crime fiction.) Freeman's investigation quickly moves from history to present threat, as he discovers that any number of people want what happened on the road project to remain buried. Haunting and evocative. <em>Connie Fletcher</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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Max Freeman has been working more or less officially as a private investigator in South Florida when he gets a call from Detective Sherry Richards, who was once his lover. Three female bartenders have gone missing and Sherry thinks that there may be a serial killer out there. A former cop buddy of Max's called O'Shea has become the prime suspect and Sherry asks Max to check him out.Colin O' Shea has a history of violence, rule-breaking and alcoholism. Max wants to believe in his innocence, but when it emerges that O' Shea previously dated two of the missing women, he's not so sure. Torn between the evidence and his gut instinct, Max decides to back O' Shea. Could he be taking the side of a killer? As Max delves into O'Shea's past, he finds himself pulled back into some history of his own. Who exactly is Max trying to save?Meanwhile, the killer's victims are somewhere out there, waiting at the dark edge of the glades...


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Florida, hurricanes and crime make a potent mix, as shown in Edgar-winner King's fifth entry in his Max Freeman PI series (_The Blue Edge of Midnight_, etc.). The vacation trip that Max and his cop girlfriend, Sherry Richards, take to his Everglades cabin and then to a friend's even more remote fishing camp turns into a struggle for survival when hurricane Simone shifts course unpredictably. A trio of unscrupulous thieves scavenging in the hurricane's wake and a pair of deadly security guards out to protect an illegal asset compound the danger. King vividly describes the hurricane's force and the different ways people respond to it. Sherry displays her grit and Max his ingenuity in a series of desperate gambles as the story builds to an explosive climax. This is a worthy addition to a Florida subgenre that includes Carl Hiaasen's <em>Stormy Weather</em> and Tim Dorsey's <em>Hurricane Punch</em>. <em>(Aug.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> The latest entry in the Max Freeman series (King won an Edgar with the debut of cop-turned-recluse Freeman in 2002's Blue Eye of Midnight) is every bit as polished and absorbing as its four predecessors, and it trumps King's own standards for description with a stunning depiction of a hurricane and its aftermath. A longtime Philadelphia crime reporter, King knows cops well, and it shows in the hero he has crafted. Ex-cop Freeman has been holed up in a former research shack deep in the Florida Everglades, accepting some detective work from an old lawyer friend but mostly hiding himself away from his horror at having killed a 12-year-old boy in a robbery attempt. Each novel inches Freeman away from his grief and into life; King is both a master plotter and an able psychologist. In his latest, Freeman and his new love, a South Florida detective, are enjoying a break at Max's retreat when a hurricane rips apart the shack, nearly killing Freeman's girlfriend. This novel is more adventure-suspense tale than mystery, as the couple struggles to survive, first against the hurricane and then against the villains who flood into the Everglades. King juxtaposes Max's first-person narration with third-person accounts of criminals in a breathtaking series of survival moves. Gripping. Fletcher, Connie </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Veteran journalist King, the Edgar-winning author of the Max Freeman novels (_The Blue Edge of Midnight_, etc.), sets this edgy, brooding stand-alone in a milieu he knows well, the world of the professional crime reporter. Nick Mullins, who covers the crime beat for the <em>South Florida Daily News</em>, is still shattered two years later by the deaths of his wife and one of his twin daughters in an auto accident with a drunk driver. Obsessed with revenge, Mullins spends his off hours stalking the driver, who's just been released from prison after serving only 18 months. Mullins's reputation for honesty and integrity endears him to a devoted cadre of readers, including Michael Redman, an ex-cop and former military sniper who begins assassinating criminals Mullins has profiled. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that Redman is indeed working from a list, and that the final name will fulfill a personal debt that he feels he owes Mullins. While the plot unfolds predictably, King's crisp writing and insights into grief and loss give this novel a depth and poignancy unusual for a thriller. <em>(May)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> King, who won the Edgar Award for <em>The Blue Edge of Midnight</em> (2002), is a former daily journalist who brings both the newsroom and the field to vivid life in his Max Freeman series. His latest is a stand-alone tale about another newsman, Nick Mullins, a crime reporter for the <em>South Florida Daily News.</em> Mullins is a crime victim himself, having lost his wife and one of his twin daughters to a drunk driver. The scenes of Mullins trying to mimic a normal life with his surviving nine-year-old are harrowing. Pressures build for Mullins as he learns two things: the DUI offender who tore apart his family has just been released from prison, and another prisoner, en route to a courthouse plea, has been killed by a sniper. As Mullins investigates the sniper shooting, he learns that the killer has a hit list, all of whose victims have been subjects of Mullins' own stories. Tension skyrockets as Mullins fights to save his daughter and to surmount his own need for vengeance. Intriguing views of crime scenes from the media side of the tape, masterful plotting, and a credible, striving hero make this a winner. <em>Connie Fletcher</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Being chosen as a griffin's companion has allowed Arren Cardockson to gain a place of status within the land of Cymria. But Arren can never escape the prejudice that comes with his Northerner slave origins. For chained within the Arena where rogue griffins battle to entertain the crowds, there lies another soul crying out to be freed-a kindred spirit that will allow Arren to fulfill his destiny and release the darkness in his heart. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>When high-level executive Mark Ludlow is discovered beaten to death in front of his house early one morning, forensic scientist Theresa MacLean and her fiancé, homicide detective Paul Cleary, investigate in Black's underwhelming debut, a thriller set in Cleveland. Paul immediately heads downtown to interview Ludlow's co-workers at the Federal Reserve Bank and walks right into a botched robbery attempt and hostage situation. Lucas Parrish and Bobby Moyers want $4 million, but top hostage negotiator Chris Cavanaugh isn't ready to give in to their demands. When Paul is shot in the leg and becomes a hostage, Theresa breaks protocol and convinces Lucas to let Paul go and take her instead. It's up to Theresa on the inside and Chris on the outside to uncover the motive behind the robbery and Ludlow's murder before anyone else gets hurt. Theresa, despite her professional training, devotes little time to scientific deduction. Readers can expect to find richer plots on most TV crime dramas. <em>(Sept.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Review</h3><p>“An exciting story that is hard to put down.” (Dr. Bill Bass, forensic anthropologist at the Body Farm and coauthor of The Devil’s Bones )  </p><p>“Takeover is a riveting hostage drama packed with surprises. Once Lisa Black gets you inside the bank, you—like the bad guys—won’t be able to stop.” (Peter Abrahams, author of Delusion )  </p><p>“The combination of a credible, likable hero and a bizarre, chilling story is rare in crime fiction....Lisa Black makes the tumblers click perfectly.” (Jeremiah Healy, author of Invasion of Privacy )  </p><p>“...a tautly plotted, relentlessly suspenseful debut. Let’s hope she writes another scorcher-and soon.” (Booklist (starred review) )  </p><p>“Grab-you-by-the throat suspense, written by someone who has actually walked the disturbing walk of an investigator.” (Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Body Double )  </p><p>“Takeover is captivating. Part procedural, part psychological suspense, and every inch a thriller, Takeover succeeds from the opening chapter.” (Ridley Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of Killer View )  </p><p>“Entertaining” (Chicago Sun-Times ) </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>250 years ago, Ascalon burned . . . </p><p>Desperate to defend his land from advancing hordes of bestial charr, King Adelbern summoned the all-powerful Foefire to repel the invaders. But magic can be a double-edged sword—the Foefire burned both charr and human alike. While the charr corpses smoldered, the slain Ascalonians arose again, transformed by their king’s rage into ghostly protectors and charged with guarding the realm . . . forever. The once mighty kingdom became a haunted shadow of its former glory.</p><p>Centuries later, the descendants of Ascalon, exiled to the nation of Kryta, are besieged on all sides. To save humankind, Queen Jennah seeks to negotiate a treaty with the hated charr. But one obstacle remains. The charr legions won’t sign the truce until their most prized possession, the Claw of the Khan-Ur,is returned from the ruins of fallen Ascalon.</p><p>Now a mismatched band of adventurers, each plagued by ghosts of their own, sets forth into a haunted, war-torn land to retrieve the Claw. Without the artifact, there is no hope for peace between human and charr—but the undead king who rules Ascalon won’t give it up easily, and not everyone wants peace! </p><h3>Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.</h3>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The past collides explosively with the present in Edgar-winner Riordan's relatively weak sixth Tres Navarre novel (after 2004's <em>Southtown</em>) when Navarre's boyhood friend, reformed criminal Ralph Arguello, appears on his doorstep wearing a blood-soaked_ guayabera_ barely one step ahead of the San Antonio police. The cops believe Arguello's wife, cold case detective Ana DeLeon, is about to name her husband as the prime suspect in the 18-year-old unsolved murder of Franklin White, son of a local organized crime boss—and, more incredibly, that Arguello shot her to slow down the investigation. Arguello convinces Navarre he's being set up, and the two of them struggle to evade a citywide manhunt and discover the real killer's identity. Riordan jump-cuts between the present and the mid-1980s to tell the story of White's murder and to provide background for the main characters, including Ana's mother Lucia, one of the city's first female cops. While the parallel narrative adds much needed depth, it dampens the pace and momentum. But the book's biggest flaw is the sitcom-like familiarity of the characters, including Navarre himself—the self-deprecating, wise-cracking PI who could only exist as a fictional trope. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Tres Navarre might get top billing, but Riordan's latest San Antonio crime story really stars Maia Lee, the PI's cool, compassionate girlfriend. When the wisecracking Navarre's best friend is wrongly accused of shooting his cop wife, Tres goes on the lam with him to track down the real killer. But because Maia's not a police target, she has a much freer hand to crack the case. So she employs her own considerable investigative skills to work through a cold-case murder file involving the shot officer's mother, who happened to be the SAPD's first decorated woman officer. Between brief calls to Maia, Tres and his pal flee from one dangerous situation to another as the dragnet tightens. A satisfying exploration of passion's dark powers, the story moves along at a cracking pace. And although Riordan seems to telegraph the plot payoff almost from the outset, he ends up delivering several nifty twists. What had seemed to be merely an entertaining crime novel reveals itself as a clever mystery, too. <em>Frank Sennett</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>At the start of Edgar-winner Riordan's entertaining seventh crime novel to feature San Antonio, Tex., PI Tres Navarre (after 2005's <em>Mission Road</em>), Tres has just retired and married his longtime girlfriend Maia, who's eight-plus–months pregnant. Tres's wheelchair-bound older brother, Garret, has persuaded the couple to honeymoon together with him and other old friends on the Texas Gulf's Rebel Island, where Tres and Garret spent vacations with their dysfunctional parents. When U.S. Marshal Jesse Longoria, a character from earlier books, is killed, Tres gets a chance to work out some unfinished business. As the bodies begin piling up, a lethal hurricane approaches. Fans will enjoy the update on Tres's life as he prowls through secret passageways hunting down the ghostlike killer while the roof of the island's old hotel begins to shred and the seas begin to rise. (_Sept.)_ <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Fans of the old William Powell–Myrna Loy Thin Man movies will like what Riordan has done with Tres Navarre and his retinue. Garrett, the hand-walking amputee brother, surprises Tres and his eight-and-a-half-month-pregnant bride, Maia, with a honeymoon to a once-luxurious hotel on a subtropical island. The fly in the ointment is the hotel's owner, Garrett's old chum and Tres' nemesis, Alex Huff. Actually, there are two flies in the ointment. The second is a series of mysterious goings-on that Garrett thinks Tres may be able to unravel. They have hardly arrived when a Texas lawman of the take-em-out-to-the-chapparal-and-let-em-try-to-get-away school is murdered, and the desk clerk goes missing. Naturally, a supposedly harmless tropical depression morphs into a Category 4 storm, and the hunt for the murderer is complicated still further. Riordan's strong narrative voice, reminiscent of Randy Wayne White and James Lee Burke, is alive and well in this thriller, as he attempts to enlarge the genre by going back to something the early Dashiell Hammett might have tried. Glassman, Steve </p>


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<div><div><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Aptly subtitled "A Novel of Secrets," this dark, probing tale examines the destructive ripple effects of a child's death on those around her--especially after doubts arise whether it was accident, suicide, or murder. In the harrowing opening pages, 16-year-old Katherine Chadwick ODs on heroin while babysitting little Mallory, daughter of her parents' best friends. Then the tale leaps forward nine years: both couples' marriages are in ruins; Katherine's father, once a schoolteacher, is now a bruising "escort" for a reform school in the Texas outback called Cold Springs; and his next assignment is to capture none other than Mallory, now 15 and in trouble.</p><p>Texas native Riordan, whose </p><blockquote><p>Chadwick ... stepped out into the growing gloom of the evening. Down the block, he could hear the lowrider cruising, its stereo setting off car alarms all across the neighborhood like a bloodhound flushing quail. </p></blockquote><p>But it's the book's complex plot and richly realized people--most notably its troubled teenagers (Riordan is a middle-school teacher)--that give <em>Cold Springs</em> substance and heft. You may need to persist through some tangled exposition in the first 75 pages or so, but the payoff is well worth it. The long climax offers a stunning series of cascading revelations, including a final kicker that changes everything. Riordan is the real deal. <em>--Nicholas H. Allison</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Riordan is a middle-school teacher in San Antonio, which explains why this unorthodox suspense novel-Riordan's first break from his Edgar-, Shamus- and Anthony-winning series about private detective Tres Navarre (The Devil Went Down to Austin, etc.)-centers around two very different kinds of schools. One is Laurel Heights, a private middle school in San Francisco, where a dedicated staff deals with the needs of the privileged children of the affluent. The other is Cold Springs, a survival school in the mountain country of Texas, where a former army Ranger rescues teenagers who have slipped over the edge. Linking the two schools is Chadwick, a huge man who looks like George Washington; he teaches history at Laurel Heights and then becomes an escort at Cold Springs (run by his old Vietnam buddy) when his own teenaged daughter, Katherine, dies of a drug overdose. Chadwick, who blames himself for Katherine's death (he was about to leave his wife for Ann Zedman, the woman who runs Laurel Heights), is a complex and interesting character, and the pressures on him are believable and absorbing-especially when Ann's daughter, Mallory, becomes a Cold Springs candidate. Riordan tilts the playing field by introducing a truly dysfunctional family, the Montroses, and tracing a string of murders related to Katherine's death. Knife-throwing, wild shooting and hairbreadth escapes up the ante, sometimes to the point of overkill, but Riordan is so good at moving his story along-and showing how fragile children's lives can be-that most readers will forgive him his excesses. <br>Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Aptly subtitled "A Novel of Secrets," this dark, probing tale examines the destructive ripple effects of a child's death on those around her--especially after doubts arise whether it was accident, suicide, or murder. In the harrowing opening pages, 16-year-old Katherine Chadwick ODs on heroin while babysitting little Mallory, daughter of her parents' best friends. Then the tale leaps forward nine years: both couples' marriages are in ruins; Katherine's father, once a schoolteacher, is now a bruising "escort" for a reform school in the Texas outback called Cold Springs; and his next assignment is to capture none other than Mallory, now 15 and in trouble.</p><p>Texas native Riordan, whose </p><blockquote><p>Chadwick ... stepped out into the growing gloom of the evening. Down the block, he could hear the lowrider cruising, its stereo setting off car alarms all across the neighborhood like a bloodhound flushing quail. </p></blockquote><p>But it's the book's complex plot and richly realized people--most notably its troubled teenagers (Riordan is a middle-school teacher)--that give <em>Cold Springs</em> substance and heft. You may need to persist through some tangled exposition in the first 75 pages or so, but the payoff is well worth it. The long climax offers a stunning series of cascading revelations, including a final kicker that changes everything. Riordan is the real deal. <em>--Nicholas H. Allison</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Riordan is a middle-school teacher in San Antonio, which explains why this unorthodox suspense novel-Riordan's first break from his Edgar-, Shamus- and Anthony-winning series about private detective Tres Navarre (The Devil Went Down to Austin, etc.)-centers around two very different kinds of schools. One is Laurel Heights, a private middle school in San Francisco, where a dedicated staff deals with the needs of the privileged children of the affluent. The other is Cold Springs, a survival school in the mountain country of Texas, where a former army Ranger rescues teenagers who have slipped over the edge. Linking the two schools is Chadwick, a huge man who looks like George Washington; he teaches history at Laurel Heights and then becomes an escort at Cold Springs (run by his old Vietnam buddy) when his own teenaged daughter, Katherine, dies of a drug overdose. Chadwick, who blames himself for Katherine's death (he was about to leave his wife for Ann Zedman, the woman who runs Laurel Heights), is a complex and interesting character, and the pressures on him are believable and absorbing-especially when Ann's daughter, Mallory, becomes a Cold Springs candidate. Riordan tilts the playing field by introducing a truly dysfunctional family, the Montroses, and tracing a string of murders related to Katherine's death. Knife-throwing, wild shooting and hairbreadth escapes up the ante, sometimes to the point of overkill, but Riordan is so good at moving his story along-and showing how fragile children's lives can be-that most readers will forgive him his excesses. <br>Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

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