The Plattner Story, and Others

      H. G. Wells
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Whether the story of Gottfried Plattner is to be credited or not, is a pretty question in the value of evidence. On the one hand, we have seven witnesses—to be perfectly exact, we have six and a half pairs of eyes, and one undeniable fact; and on the other we have—what is it?—prejudice, common sense, the inertia of opinion. Never were there seven more honest-seeming witnesses; never was there a more undeniable fact than the inversion of Gottfried Plattner’s anatomical structure, and—never was there a more preposterous story than the one they have to tell! The most preposterous part of the story is the worthy Gottfried’s contribution (for I count him as one of the seven). Heaven forbid that I should be led into giving countenance to superstition by a passion for impartiality, and so come to share the fate of Eusapia’s patrons! Frankly, I believe there is something crooked about this business of Gottfried Plattner; but what that crooked factor is, I will admit as frankly, I do not know. I have been surprised at the credit accorded to the story in the[2] most unexpected and authoritative quarters. The fairest way to the reader, however, will be for me to tell it without further comment.

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    Blacky the Crow

      Thornton W. Burgess
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Children will love this wonderful tale of Blacky the Crow, who has very sharp eyes, and who is often getting into trouble because he sees things he shouldn't. One day Blacky notices two fresh eggs in a nest belonging to Hooty the Owl and Mrs. Hooty. The eggs are a prize too delicious to pass up and Blacky devises a plan to snatch them. But does he succeed? Young readers will enjoy finding out in this charming tale by master storyteller Thornton W. Burgess.Reset in large, easy-to-read type, this book is filled with gentle humor and important lessons about nature and wildlife, and is further enhanced by four original Harrison Cady illustrations. Blacky the Crow is sure to captivate youngsters discovering the joy of reading and the pleasures of storytelling at its finest.

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    I Want My Own Brain

      Lorraine Ray
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When you’ve cracked up like Aunt Helen, what you need is a weekend with an irrepressible child like Stephanie Falls. She’ll remind you of what it means to be truly alive. Stephanie makes a monkey of everyone, including her doting grandparents, but her joy for life unburdens the troubled mind of her aunt. A heart-warming, original tribute to the importance of finding the child inside us all.Stephanie Falls, age eight, spends a weekend with her grandparents along with her Aunt Helen, who is recovering from her nervous breakdown after dropping out of economics graduate school. Trapped in a mansion full of creepy artifacts and unappreciated art with her depressed aunt, Stephanie plays with the world. An excursion to march in a Mountain Man parade ends badly for Grandpa Drummond when Stephanie torments an organizer. Her antics inspire Helen to begin life anew with zeal and confidence.

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    Star Raiders and the Lost Expedition 2nd Edition

      M. Shaunessy
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Two freelance adventurers Mike Tippin and Justin Jobbs, take an unusual mission from a beautiful Princess Tygla Tyger to rescue her brother from the evil humanoid, Lord Drax of the Xatu Empire. But the mission goes awry as Tygla's Brother, Xman, escapes the dreaded battle ship Hades and joins up with the adventurers. Now they must join forces to stop Drax from siphoning the ultimate power.Two men on the same side of the law-with two different objectives. While investigating the same case, the situation turns deadly. Jim Harper has been Sheriff of Lewis County for three decades. But when a drug investigation shatters the harmony of his County, he finds his community questioning his abilities. Alan Bradley is a hard driving Special Agent of the Drug Enforcement Agency. A tip leads Bradley to Lewis County where he suspects a drug dealer is hiding. The Phantom file is a mysterious case on the DEA dockets, and solving it would make Bradley a hero. Problems arise, which lead to mistakes and he finds himself unprepared. In order to preserve his credibility, he spin doctors the situation. He resurrects a ghost from Lewis County's past-D.B. Cooper! The public's reaction to the story of this hijacker couldn't be predicted as everyone is caught up in its wake. They clash but there can only be one winner, and it'll be at the expense of the other. Who will find that truth first?

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    All Worlds: Fantasy And Science Fiction Series Starters

      Vangjel Canga
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Read two fantasy and one science fiction ebooks to get into the action with these series.1. AabiLynn's Dragon Rite #02. Beauty of the Beast #1 The Mystic Rose: Part A3. Shades of Gray #1 Noir, City Shrouded By DarknessRead two fantasy and one science fiction ebooks to get into the action with these series.1. AabiLynn's Dragon Rite #02. Beauty of the Beast #1 The Mystic Rose: Part A3. Shades of Gray #1 Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness**AabiLynn's Dragon Rite #0In the first story...Useless... Unwanted... Unloved...When those closest to you see you only as a useless crippled child with no hope of a future, where do you find the strength to prove them wrong?No one believed in Cara-AabiLynn, not even her own father and the woman who raised her. Born with a stunted arm and leg, those who she loved the most saw her as worthless and withheld their love from her. Given to a cruel man to cover her father's gambling debt, Cara's life of uncertainty became one of certain hardship and despair.Based on the Dragon Rite short story series.In the first story, candidates assemble to participate in the Dragon Rite, a ceremony to bond with a dragon hatchling.Cara has a chance to break free of her harsh life and bond with one of the dragon hatchlings, only if fate will allow her.**Beauty of the Beast #1 The Mystic Rose: Part AThe story of Beauty and the Beast with a twist. What if the woman was the one turned into the creature?On the planet Terra when recorded history began, Man coexisted with the Necroms. Necroms were intelligent catlike humanoids. The dawn of this period was known as the First Age of Magic. In the Second Age of Magic, a war broke out between Man and the Necroms and by the middle of the Second Age, Man was nearly wiped from creation. Those who survived fled Wellspring and journeyed across the sea into the unknown, finding new homes and creating fortified domains. In the Third and final Age of Magic, Man established five island kingdoms: Commery, Fletching, Morgog, Swelldom, and Hort.In the First Age of Metal, Man turned from the lost art of magic to the might of weapons as they discovered iron then steel. Large armies were created, and Man fought amongst themselves, forgetting the Necroms into myth. For generations the wars continued until an arranged marriage between the two strongest kingdoms of Commery and Morgog ceased the bloodshed, and so Man established the first Emperor and Empress and the tradition of Amalgamation. When both the Emperor and Empress of the Five Kingdoms died, the two strongest kingdoms' heirs married and crowned a new dynasty, and so began the Age of Amalgamation.During this age, a witch placed a curse on a girl named Pluck. The curse had been meant for a boy, Prince Edward of Fletching, for stealing the Mystic Rose. Pluck transformed into a Necrom with the Kiss, Edward's first kiss as her only redemption. The Kiss wouldn't be an easy task since showing her face meant her death.**Shades of Gray #1 Noir, City Shrouded By DarknesThe Shades of Gray series follows the adventures of Kat and Kim. Start by reading the first book of this serial series and be introduced to this world of danger and mystery and then read the next book for free also.Noir was a mega-city plagued by a sun blocking mass called Dry Clouds that had mysteriously appeared three decades earlier. The Dry Clouds covered half the planet and forced those living under them to exist in endless night. On this world, corporations were in charge and breaking your contract with them could mean the termination of your life.Kimberly Griffin, a Life Closer (legal assassin) existed in a world of death. She Closed people for a living. It was a lonely demeaning existence, though she wouldn't admit it. There was nothing to drive her in the bleak reality until one day she ran into Kat.Kat, also known as the Pandora Project, was hunted by bio-mechas called Un-Men. She was an experiment of the Sphinx Corporation, and they were testing her to see if she could be the ultimate weapon. Kat refused to be a killer and tried to discover the truth behind her existence. Could she be a new form of bio-mecha?

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    Identity Illusions: A RolePages Novella

      J.L.N. Lewitin
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The first entry in the Living Novel series, Identity Illusions is a story that was born in the community of RolePages.com - There thousands of creative people have come together to build a rich, and dynamic world, filled with exotic magical races, and strange charismatic heroes. The characters in this book all live in that place, along with many others, and the stories of their struggles are beingIn an empire of technology and power, a populace of once magical beings has been stripped of their abilities using cruel injections. Forced to relocate to crowded cities, they are pressed into mundane, toil laden lives. The only escape comes from the Weave, a device that allows you to log in and become anyone, do anything, and live out your dreams. But only for a few hours each day. Meanwhile the ruling Crowley family is struggling over the future of the True Evolutionist Empire. More of the wealthy and powerful are getting physical upgrades, reinforced skeletons, cybernetic implants, functional wings and extra limbs. Others are going further, removing their brains from their bodies and pumping them full of chemicals to expand their capacities, then tying them into factories that can control hundreds, or even thousands of robotic drones at a time. Corgan Crowley finds the implications of concentrating so much power in the hands of so few to be troubling. He doesn't like that so many people, even important people, are spending so much time in the Weave either. He believes the empire should get back to the roots of the True Evolutionist doctrine. But he's out of favor with the emperor, and can already feel political hands closing around his neck. What can he do?

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    Holding On To Heaven

      Melyssa Winchester
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Serenity has always known she was different. Being able to speak to the dead will have that effect on a person. All she's ever wanted was to be normal and now as she prepares herself for her sophomore year of college, she's getting her chance. Or so she believes. It's too bad her destiny has other plans.It was supposed to be a routine assignment. I was to be Serenity’s guardian until she is ready to take her rightful place in the fight against Hell. It was quickly turning out to be anything but that. When I wasn't spending every moment protecting her from herself, I was falling head over heels in love with her. It is forbidden but I can’t help it. Serenity may be just another human to the rest of my family in Heaven but to me she is so much more. She is special and I will stop at nothing to make her see it. The problem is I’m not the only one watching her. As badly as Heaven wants her safe and protected until it is time, Hell wants the very same thing. It would seem that young Serenity is part of a much bigger plan, one that even I hadn't been clued in on. Do I risk everything to protect her, including my very existence, or do I do the unthinkable and let Hell have her? - Archangel Gabriel For as long as I remember I've heard them. By the time I turned 12 my mother was positive I was losing my mind and went ahead and hospitalized me. The voices couldn't get to me there. It was the one place I was safe. At least until it wasn’t anymore. My grandma told me I was special and the abilities I have are a gift. The problem is she was dead when she told me. What she believed to be a gift is really nothing more than a curse and I want nothing more than to be rid of it, for good. That is until I met Ryan. Suddenly I don’t feel like such a freak anymore. If someone like him can understand it then maybe it really is the gift my grandma believed it to be. Maybe I’m different but in a good way. Maybe I really can change the world. - Serenity He has finally chosen his bride. The one being in the entire world that he deems his equal. The only problem is she’s human. Serenity was given a gift at birth. The very gift he wants to utilize when the time comes for his own gain. I've been sent to infiltrate her life, because as close a part of it as I can in order to prepare her for her destiny. It should have been easy but it’s become harder than I ever imagined. Not only do I have to deal with one of Heaven’s most powerful angels making his presence known but I also find myself questioning everything I've ever known as I begin to fall for Lucifer’s bride. - Ryan

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    ARGEL - Book One - Planet of Refuge

      B.B. Humphrey
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Three comrades from a reconnaissance space ship go against orders and end up crashing their rover on Planet Argel. Their little jaunt thrusts them into life changing experiences. The three face death by the planet’s royal government and reassessment of their own values. They must make the decision to stay or return to ship. However, it may not be their call.Strange sounds emanating from the swamp startled Jack during the night. Alone in the house, he wondered what was outside. Would he determine what was tormenting him before it was too late?A short story with about 2300 words.

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    Willow

      Amy Richie
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“Being a werewolf is harder than it looks. Everyone thinks it’s just morph at the full moon, kill, morph back. That’s not true. It’s a lot harder than that. Especially if you are seventeen years old.”“Being a werewolf is harder than it looks. Everyone thinks it’s just morph at the full moon, kill, morph back. That’s not true. It’s a lot harder than that. Especially if you are seventeen years old.”Willow has the worst luck. First she has to deal with her narcissistic foster mother, Bella; then of course there’s her horrid little sister Ivy; not to mention the pack of werewolves that belong to Bella. Now, they have to move and start a new school - again.Just when Willow thinks things can’t get any worse, Blake shows up from a council she never knew existed to name her leader of a pack she never knew existed. How was she supposed to teach a bunch of teenagers how to be wolves when she herself hated everything about her life?

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    A Respectable Profit

      Bruce Davis
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Zack Mbele, a reformed smuggler and his crew find respectability a bit boring. That is until the brother of an old acquaintance needs their help tracking down a long buried secret. When they run afoul of the richest man in the solar system who happens to want Zack dead, respectability is anything but boring.A short lyrical prose that tells the story of a man who finds his place in the world, and becomes obsessed with it when he starts to have visitors.

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    Ruck Nor

      Lisa Kime
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Curiosity gets the better of Craig West when he hears a metallic 'bang' from the abandoned foundry. His attention is drawn to a figure at the window and he makes the decision to investigate.INSIDE — 2012’s SEXIEST WOMAN ALIVE: VENICE’s Nadia Bjorlin! Exclusive Interview: Why She Turned Down DAYS; Her New CSI Role; VENICE Sex Scene Secrets; And Mama Fary! Source: ABC Refused To Pay For AMC’s WGA Table! More Chaos Behind The Scenes at GH? Also: Are GH’s Jason and Franco Twins? Spoiler: Is Robin Really Dead? DAYS: Will Kisses a Boy; Ejami Exposed! Plus: Will John and Hope Kiss? Why Did Andrea Evans Not Submit Herself For Emmy Consideration? Exclusive: Pre, Pre-Noms Revealed — Plus, Supporting Actress and Lead Actor Emmy Reel Deets! Lauralee Bell’s Prime-Time Gig! GH’s Jenn Lilley Staying On! Bren Foster Out At DAYS! Exclusive Interview: Cameron Mathison Hosts Oscar Special! DAYS Casts Celeste’s Son! Brittany Underwood’s New Soap Role! GH Stars Mourns Wife’s Death! Plus: Last Week's Reviews, Unbelievable Blind Items, and Next Week's Cheat Sheet!

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    Kill

      Andy Marlow
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In the war-torn city of Jamahiriya, two men take a life. One is a terrorist, the other a soldier; but which is which? In this story of death and duty, roles are blurred and conceptions muddled in a tale that gives truth to the idea that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.Grayman chronicles a daring and disturbing experiment to decisively end the tenacious threat of global terrorism. A group of powerful corporate and political players lever a desperate world to create a multinational force of surgical strike teams, authorized to cross borders and pursue targets with impunity; armed with advanced weapons, technology and armor; and directed by a cutting-edge artificial intelligence. But more than simply employing high-tech military might, this new army is designed to fight a true “information war” by operating completely in the public eye, their missions crafted for maximum marketability, their operatives shaped into Hollywood-style action heroes.The series focuses on the man being groomed to be the wired public’s greatest hero: Given the “stage name” Mike Ram, he’s charismatic, talented and damaged unknown, pushed by circumstance to become a merciless predator. Initially little more than a trauma-driven serial killer, he’s given a new identity and is re-programmed to kill on cue to satisfy the media’s thirst for violent and visible retribution against an equally vicious enemy. Ram quickly rises from being a murderer on the run to being an untouchably popular celebrity and global leader, as his every action plays out on the public stage.In Book One: Acts of War, the enigmatic “Grayman” has been killing known terrorists throughout Europe in spectacularly brutal fashion. Captured by Coalition forces, he is recruited by a joint military and intelligence project to create the ultimate counter-terror force, only to find himself being carefully groomed into something unthinkable: a popular hero.

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    Quota

      Stephen Cote
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Life is short and brutal in the apocalyptic wasteland. Skag Murdet culls herds for slaughter to help sustain the population on razor-thin margins of available sustenance. Everyone has a duty to perform. Everyone has a quota to fill.Parental Warning: This story contains imagery which may be disturbing to young readers.Worst epic fail of her scientific career? Falling for a cyborg she helped create.Kyra Winters never meant for her cyber science discoveries to be used for evil, but that’s exactly what happened. Now returning Peyton 313’s humanity is the last chance she’ll ever have to atone. She can’t get back the lost decade, but she can only change the present by restoring the cyborg who was once Marine Captain Peyton Elliot.Certainly her grand plan for rectifying her mistakes didn’t include madly kissing the confused, passionate Marine when he begged her to. The same scientific mind that constructed the cyborg creator code now warned her not to let Peyton’s tempting offers of heaven cloud her rational decision making. Yet it’s difficult to resist the cyborg she’s restoring when he’s also the most intriguing man she’s ever known.

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    The Will

      Jamie J. Buchanan
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Glen was surprised to hear his father had three wills. But what he read in them taught him more about his father, his life and about himself. This is a tale about being a father, a son and a brother - and the bonds that bind for life.1969. The Rolling Stones perform a free concert in London’s Hyde Park. Flying high on grass and LSD, Peter, Barnard, Bree, and Tristan rock along with nearly a quarter million people as The Stones make history. With them is Pandora, the once-famous fashion model whose downward spiral into addiction made international headlines, now clinging desperately to the belief that only a power greater than herself can restore her to sanity.After the concert, these five friends decide to take a weekend jaunt to the country to visit Hampton Close, a crumbling old country house Peter recently inherited from his Great Uncle, Basil Townsend. A former protégé of Aleister Crowley, Basil Townsend was once one of Britain’s most notorious practitioners of the Black Arts. But inside a locked room at Hampton Close, an ancient evil from a distant land lies festering in the warm, wet darkness, waiting…waiting…waiting…

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    Reluctant Hero: A Superhero Story (Champion #1)

      Julius St.Clair
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Connor Matthews was born with powers that human beings can only dream of, and he could care less. All he wants is to be with his wife, who yearns for a quiet life, and his son, who wants nothing more than to train his dad for the superhero he will one day become. And that day has just arrived.Connor Matthews was born with powers that human beings can only dream of, and he could care less. All he wants is to be with his wife, who yearns for a quiet life, and his son, who wants nothing more than to train his dad for the superhero he will one day become. And that day has arrived. When a villain comes to his doorstep, demanding his allegiance, he must embrace the powers he has been given, and ultimately become the Champion of the world.

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    Your life, your roots, your way

      Esia Deketa
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This is a fictive book about a boy how want’s to be a girl and want’s to be a Wiccan. | Dear diary it's a long time since I have written in you last and I'm sorry for that but I have made so much until now, my life has just been a way down to the underworld for my brain. I actually haven’t had it so bad since my dad died, I'm 18 now.While serving hors d'oeuvres to the beautiful people at a glittery Hollywood party, an aspiring young screenwriter named Vish meets Sparky, a charismatic stranger who claims he can do amazing things for Vish’s career. Vish’s attempts to find out more about Sparky set in motion a string of bizarre events, leading to a cushy writing gig on a hit TV series and a too-good-to-be-true romance with Troy, a sweet-natured starlet with a dangerous alter ego. After Troy dumps him without explanation, a heartbroken Vish tries to discover what went wrong in their relationship. His quest for answers leads him deep into Los Angeles’ seedy, supernatural underbelly, where struggling artists are a disposable commodity and fame often comes at a mortal cost. Vish finds himself at the center of a high-stakes battle between ancient forces for dominance in the entertainment industry. With a foul creature living in the earth beneath his apartment complex, a vicious coterie of murderous surf bums dogging his every move, and a disturbing lack of trustworthy allies, Vish’s best chance for survival lies with the mysterious and powerful Sparky. Vish must track down Sparky before he becomes the latest victim of Hollywood’s deadly allure.

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    Unhinged: The Mirror Image of Nazism

      Kenneth Neal
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Though unsuccessful to a certain degree, Nazi ideology was forced to take a back-seat during the dissolution of WW2. This most definitely being the furthest reach of Judaism with its many streams of ideology and practices.The feasts! The pageants! The coconuts! Fromsday is here and Klondaeg is invited. Join Klondaeg as he visits the land of the frog-people to attend a festival in honor of Fromdon, God of Coconuts. But all is not well in the frog-lands, where a monster has disrupted the proceedings and threatens to pull a family apart. Can Klondaeg save Fromsday? Find out in this very special episode of Klondaeg the Monster Hunter.

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    Automaton

      Cassal Sigonlos
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A machine, a traveler, with so much time, far away from home. He has some pictures and some sheets of paper, his personal belongings, his treasure. Why not take a peek at his treasure, be my guess. I think he is broken in some way, can you see this too? Can you figure out what he does all day long? So quiet, so dark, this is universe. How scare it is. The universe challenges life.‘I like this book, very much.’ CNP93A a coffee-maker.‘I don’t like very much, I’ll go write a much better book.’ XNT5 great bread-maker.‘well, this book is dangerous, it is full of viruses, especially in the paper version, do not turn its pages or your computer will get infected.’‘I have read and would like to know, this book is serious? These things narrated it will happen?’‘Things in books didn't need to happen, they have already happened.’‘But who is the author of this book? He really is in the future? I can say that this is proof that time travel is possible?’‘Never mind, anyway you cannot travel to the future, but the future can travel to you, duh!’‘Can't travel to the future ??? :P ’ ‘The problem is that the future is made of endless possibilities, only when one of these takes place is that it ceases to be a lie.’‘Seriously, this book should be burned, deleted. These changes are horrible, it is okay how things be. No way live without money, damn. End of money is end of the world, ow yeah.’‘After I read this book I have looked at the machines around me with different eyes, I'd talked more with my fridge =) ’

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