Simply written, but powerful and unforgettable, *The Man Who Planted Trees * is a parable for modern times. In the foothills of the French Alps the narrator meets a shepherd who has quietly taken on the task of planting one hundred acorns a day in an effort to reforest his desolate region. Not even two world wars can keep the shepherd from continuing his solitary work. Gradually, this gentle, persistent man's work comes to fruition: the region is transformed; life and hope return; the world is renewed.

Private dick Herald Childe is sent a snuff movie of his partner being brutally murdered. His pursuit of her killers leads him into a waking nightmare of sexual brutality and supernatural bestiality, as he becomes entangled with sex-starved she-ghosts, snake-women and a filthy human sow.In "Image of the Beast" and its sequel "Blown" both published in this volume-Philip Jose Farmer conjures up a universe of unrelenting sexual degradation and horror populated by erogenous vampires, werewolves and other polymorphic creatures from the darkest recesses of the human imagination. Philip Jose Farmer is the best-selling author of the "Riverworld" series, and winner of 3 Hugo awards for innovations in Science Fiction.

Anita Blake has the highest kill count of any vampire executioner in the country. She’s a U.S. Marshal who can raise zombies with the best of them. But ever since she and master vampire Jean-Claude went public with their engagement, all she is to anyone and everyone is Jean-Claude’s fiancée. It’s wreaking havoc with her reputation as a hard ass—to some extent. Luckily, in professional circles, she’s still the go-to expert for zombie issues. And right now, the FBI is having one hell of a zombie issue. Someone is producing zombie porn. Anita has seen her share of freaky undead fetishes, so this shouldn’t bother her. But the women being victimized aren’t just mindless, rotting corpses. Their souls are trapped behind their eyes, signaling voodoo of the blackest kind. It’s the sort of case that can leave a mark on a person. And Anita’s own soul may not survive unscathed . . .

Dear Reader: Devil's Daughter is the story of Adam and Arabella Welles, the son and daughter of Cassie and Anthony Welles. I have updated the book, since, like Devil's Embrace, it came out a while ago and needed some tidying up. It has a charming new cover, blend of the old and the new. Adam has enjoyed women but hasn't yet found the woman created just for him. As for Arabella, she is as independent and strong-willed as her brother and her parents. When both brother and sister go adventuring in Naples to solve a mystery of their father's missing ships and cargoes, they discover that the person behind this thievery is an enemy from their father's past. This enemy manages to drug Arabella and pack her off to a harem in North Africa, Adam in pursuit. But Adam isn't alone, there's a stowaway with him he certainly doesn't expect. Her name is Rayna Lyndhurst, daughter of a man who is dead set against the Welles family. But do children ever pay attention to their parents? Arabella finds the harem a frightening yet fascinating place, a golden prison from which there is little chance of escape. Her master is Kamal, the Bey of Oran, a man who must be her enemy but who is unlike any man she has ever known. As for Kamal, he suddenly finds himself faced with a woman willing to fight him to the death --- a woman who both bewitches and infuriates him. I hope you enjoy the adventures of Adam and Rayna, Arabella and Kamal. These are people I'll never forget. Catherine Coulter (The Author)

Official, original James Bond from a writer described by Len Deighton as a 'master storyteller'. James Bond is on a mission that will become an obsession. It starts the night Flight 229 is torn apart at Washington airport, killing 435 passengers. But the victim who matters to Bond is the Principessa Sukie Tempesta: once his lover, still his friend. The search for Sukie's killers will turn out to be the most complex and demanding assignment of Bond's career. Across continents and through ever-changing labyrinths of evil, he follows the traces of clues into the centre of a fanatical society more deadly than any terrorist army. Its code name is COLD.

Twenty-two-year-old Emma Keane has a secret friend. He’s powerful, mysterious, and devastatingly handsome. In her dreams, anyway. In real life, he’s an enigma. Maybe just a teensie jealous. Definitely overbearing. He’s also a voice only she can hear. So who or what is he? He won’t say. But if she wants to be free, to be normal, Emma will have to trek to the jungles once ruled by the Mayans and find the forgotten ruin holding the answers. However, the ruthless deity she’s about to unknowingly unleash on the modern world, might not be so easily extracted from her life. Bottom line, he’s got enemies, and now, so does she.

John Vincent Dolan is a talented young forger with a proclivity for mathematics and drug addiction. In the face of his impending institutionalization, he continually reinvents himself to escape the legal and mental health authorities and to save himself from a life of incarceration. But running turns out to be costly. Vincent's clients in the L.A. underworld lose patience, the hospital evaluator may not be fooled by his story, and the only person in as much danger as himself is the woman who knows his real name.

Winnie Perry is a teenager at last! And it s a really big deal. A ginormous deal, which, wouldn t you know it, brings ginormous problems along with it. Winnie s bff #1 is growing up too slowly, while her bff #2 is growing up too fast, leaving Winnie stuck in the middle. Winnie s boyfriend, Lars, is fabulous except when he s not. And as for Winnie s family, well, BIG changes are in the air. Bestselling author Lauren Myracle concludes her enormously popular trilogy about a winning young heroine whose humor, daring, and compassion for others is infectious and unforgettable. "

They are called Feral Warriors—an elite band of immortals who can change shape at will. Sworn to rid the world of evil, consumed by sorcery and seduction, their wild natures are primed for release. . . The most enigmatic and tortured of the Feral Warriors, Wulfe is haunted by the quiet beauty of a human woman who no longer remembers him. Once a captive of both the Mage and the Ferals, Natalie stole a piece of his heart before he took her memories and sent her safely back to her fiancé. But now the Mage are threatening her again, and Wulfe will risk anything to protect her. Natalie Cash is stunned when she's saved by a wolf who shifts suddenly into a splendidly built, if badly scarred, man, a man with the kindest eyes. Swept into a world of intrigue and danger beyond her comprehension, she turns to the powerful Wulfe, finding a passion she'd only dreamed of. But when time runs out, they must trust one another and surrender to a wild, untamed love.

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras with her family and far too many assorted quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental.  Look for Jill's latest, LOST AND FOUND SISTERS on shelves and e-readers now, and get all her bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold.  Visit Jill's website for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures. Author's series:​LUCKY HARBOR SERIES​​​ ​ANIMAL MAGNETISM SERIES​​​ ​WILDER SERIES​​​ ​PACIFIC HEAT SERIES​​​ ​CEDAR RIDGE SERIES​​​ ​HEARTBREAKER BAY SERIES​​​ ​SKY HIGH AIR SERIES​​​

Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older. Then he was discovered by the recruiters for the Battle School.

What might be done to human beings by the "Other"--whether the "Other" be vampires, demons or creatures from outer space--is always in competition for absolute horror with what we do to ourselves. Stephen King has, in his time, played with both sources of the nightmarish and in *Dreamcatcher*, the first complete novel since his near-fatal accident, he gives us both. Four childhood friends, united by secrets, are caught in the quarantine zone when something crashes into the remote forests of Maine; and the question becomes who will avoid being eaten alive by alien fungi, torn from the inside by alien ferrets, possessed by alien minds or menaced by a psychotic military commander to whom ruthlessness has become a macho ego trip? The Earth is in peril as well, needless to say, but most of our attention is taken up with a few men caught on the edge, and where the most important thing in the world turns out to be the fact that four small boys saved a fifth from a beating. This has the hall-marks of a good King novel--memorable catchphrases whose meaning we only gradually learn and a sense of how it feels to be human. --*Roz Kaveney*

"I knew well the rules to follow with our training Dogs: Speak when you're spoken to. Keep out of the way. Obey all orders. Get killed on your own time." In 246 H.E., the Provost's Dogs guard Tortall's capital city. Beka Cooper is one of their newest trainees - a Puppy wet behind the ears but eager to learn. But Beka will have to learn faster than she bargained for because she's assigned to the Lower City, Corus's toughest district. It's filled with pickpockets who are fast as lightening, rouges who will knock your teeth out with a smile, and murderers with hidden plans. In the constant battle for the Lower City's streets, Beka will have to use her smarts and her own eerie brand of magic if she hopes to survive. This is the beginning of Beka's story, her legend, and her legacy....

As every reader of Durrell knows, his writing is steeped in the living experience of the Mediterranean, and especially the islands of Greece. This captivating and highly unusual text, originally conceived as a picture book and now reset in paperback format, weaves together evocative descriptions, history and myth with Durrell's personal reminiscences. No traveller to Greece or admirer of the genius of Durrell should miss it.

It was hate at first sight... Affton I hated Cable James McCaffrey. He was entitled, spoiled, a user…and an addict. He was out of control and didn’t bother trying to hide it. He had everything anyone could want but still seemed miserable and lost. Every move he made, every mistake he stumbled his way through, rubbed me the wrong way. However, I couldn’t stop myself from trying to save him from himself when no one else would. In the sweltering heat of the summer, Cable taught me that having it all means nothing if you can’t have the one thing you want more than anything else. Cable I was obsessed with Affton Reed. She was rigid, uptight, and no fun. There was something about her innate goodness that called to me. She acted like she was above all the normal faults and failures that clung to the rest of us like the scent of smoke after a fire. I was infatuated with her, but that didn’t stop me from acting like she didn’t exist. In the scorching heat of summer, Affton taught me that there is always a way back from the brink of despair. She showed me that the trick to having it all was realizing that it was already there, in my hands. All I had to do was hold onto it. The road to recovery is full of twists and turns no matter who is in the driver’s seat.

From the bestselling author of Sister of My Heart comes a spellbinding tale of mothers and daughters, love and cultural identity. Rakhi, a young painter and single mother, is struggling to come to terms with her relationship with ex-husband Sonny, a hip Bay Area DJ, and with her dream-teller mother, who has rarely spoken about her past or her native India. Rakhi has her hands full, juggling a creative dry spell, raising her daughter, and trying to save the Berkeley teahouse she and her best friend Belle own. But greater challenges are to come. When a national tragedy turns her world upside down and Rakhi needs her mother’s strength and wisdom more than ever, she loses her in a freak car accident. But uncovering her mother’s dream journals allows Rakhi to discover her mother’s long-kept secrets and sacrifices–and ultimately to confront her fears, forge a new relationship with her father, and revisit Sonny’s place in her heart.

An exciting debut: a vivid, richly imagined saga of ancient Rome from a masterful new voice in historical fiction Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress's rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life-that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart. As Lepida goes on to wreak havoc in the life of a new husband and his family, Thea remakes herself as a polished singer for Rome's aristocrats. Unwittingly, she attracts another admirer in the charismatic Emperor of Rome. But Domitian's games have a darker side, and Thea finds herself fighting for both soul and sanity. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of the brilliant and paranoid Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor's mistress.

The thrilling conclusion to Crown of Lies from New York Times Bestseller, Pepper Winters TWO YEARS Since my life changed for the second time and not necessarily for the better. Two years since I traded prison bars for streets and hunted a runaway who I'd met in an alley. TWO DAYS Since I forgot how to lie, woke to fists, and chased after the girl who'd been stolen from me. TWO HOURS To save her, rescue her, keep my lies intact. She looks at me full of hate. I look at her full of confession. TWO MINUTES For our relationship to switch from mutual dislike to floundering with unknowns. I've hurt her. Now, she's hurt me. I guess we're even. TWO SECONDS For her to listen, to see, to finally know who I am. The answer comes with hardship. The answer isn't what she wants to hear. TWO BREATHS For me to walk out the door. TWO HEARTBEATS For it all to be over.

Are you still human if your father was a dragon? Even though Captain Trip always knew he was a little odd, he’s still shocked by the revelation that the elder gold dragon, Agarrenon Shivar, sired him. It’s time, however, to accept reality and learn to use his power, even if it alienates him from his magic-fearing friends—and the woman he’s come to care about. With enemy dragons threatening to kill or enslave everyone in his homeland, he has no choice. But even if he becomes a great sorcerer, it won’t be enough to fight off all the dragons threatening Iskandia, so Trip suggests a mission to General Zirkander. He wants to lead a team, with the scholarly Lieutenant Ravenwood’s help, to locate his sire. Agarrenon Shivar, once respected and feared by his own kind, may be the perfect ally for Iskandia—if Trip can talk him into siding with humanity. Just one problem: the ancient dragon hasn’t been seen for thousands of years, and Trip has no idea how his long-dead mother found him.

In the Houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honor and—if they survive—marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely. Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written on the day they are born. Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his house, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest thief in Verona—and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona… …And will rewrite all their fates, forever.