Crime Wave: Reportage and Fiction From the Underside of L.A.

      James Ellroy
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Los Angeles.  In no other city do sex, celebrity, money, and crime exert such an irresistible magnetic field.  And no writer has mapped that field with greater savagery and savvy than James Ellroy.  With this fever-hot collection of reportage and short fiction, he returns to his native habitat and portrays it as a smog-shrouded netherworld where"every third person is a peeper, prowler, pederast, or pimp." From the scandal sheets of the 1950s to this morning's police blotter, Ellroy reopens true crimes and restores human dimensions to their victims.  Sublimely, he resurrects the rag Hush-Hush magazine.  And in a baroquely plotted novella of slaughter and corruption he enlists the forgotten luminaries of a lost Hollywood.  Shocking, mesmerizing, and written in prose as wounding as an ice pick, Crime Wave is Ellroy at his best.

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    Last Dragon Standing

      G. A. Aiken
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He’s not the only flame in town… I know what they see when they look at me. The charming, soft-spoken dragoness bred from the most powerful of royal bloodlines. A disguise stronger than any battle shield that allows me to keep all suitors at tail’s length. A technique that’s worked until him. Until Ragnar the Cunning, handsome barbarian warlord and warrior mage from the desolate Northlands. Unlike those who’ve come before him, he does not simply submit to my astounding charm and devastating smile. Instead he dismisses me as vapid, useless and, to my great annoyance, rather stupid! Yet I’ll allow no male to dismiss me. Soon he’ll learn my worth, my many skills, and the strength of my will. For this one challenges me enough to make me want to ruthlessly taunt him, tease him and, finally, when the trap is set, bring him to his knees.

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    Spellbound

      Cara Lynn Shultz
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What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death? * Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to— Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight. But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives— visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

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    The Years of the City

      Frederik Pohl
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Frederik Pohl, one of the most honored science fiction writers of our time, gives us an extraordinary vision of a New York yet to come - from the wounded, struggling behemoth of tomorrow to the domed, atmospherically controlled megalopolis of the twenty-first century. In Pohl's prophetic novel, a woman awakes in another century, a man's eyes are replaced by radar, criminals are frozen for future justice, and hang gliders soar above Central Park. New York - long the symbol of turmoil, tragedy and brilliance, becomes a dazzling metaphor for mankind's future - and for the promise of civilizaton.

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    House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion

      David Weber
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The ultimate guide and companion to the New York Times best-selling Honor Harrington series. Contains a new short Honorverse novel, plus a compendium of tech, specs, and history to accompany the legendary series. An all-new David Weber Honorverse short novel, I Will Build My House of Steel, chronicling the early days of the Manticoran Star Kingdom when King Roger was a naval lieutenant. Have you ever finished the latest Honor Harrington novel from David Weber and wished you could linger in Weber's Honorverse just a bit longer? Now you can with this treasure trove of tech, specs, and insights on David Weber's mega best-selling Honor Harrington series. Orbital characteristics of key planets, regimental order of the Royal Navy, backstory on the history and drama of the Star Kingdom's birth and early days; you'll find it all here, thoughtfully arranged by the Bureau 9 Weber research group, and overseen by David Weber himself.

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    Finding Father Christmas

      Robin Jones Gunn
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Bestselling author Robin Jones Gunn brings readers a poignant Christmas novella about a woman, desperate for a place to belong, who finds herself in London a few days before Christmas, looking for the father she never knew. In FINDING FATHER CHRISTMAS, Miranda Carson's search for her father takes a turn she never expected when she finds herself in London with only a few feeble clues to who he might be. Unexpectedly welcomed into a family that doesn't recognize her, and whom she's quickly coming to love, she faces a terrible decision. Should she reveal her true identity and destroy their idyllic image of her father? Or should she carry the truth home with her to San Francisco and remain alone in this world? Whatever choice she makes during this London Christmas will forever change the future for both herself and the family she can't bear to leave. Robin Jones Gunn brilliantly combines lyrical writing and unforgettable characters to craft a story of longing and belonging that will stay with readers long after they close the pages of this book.

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    The Endless Knot

      Stephen R. Lawhead
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Fires rage in Albion: strange, hidden fires, dark-flamed, invisible to the eye. Llew Silver Hand is High King of Albion, but now the Brazen Man has defied his sovereignty and Llew must journey to the Foul Land to redeem his greatest treasure. The last battle begins, and the myths, passions, and heroism of an ancient people come to life as Llew faces his greatest test yet. The ancient Celts admitted no separation between this world and the Otherworld: the two were delicately interwoven, each dependent on the other. The Endless Knot crosses the thin places between this work and that, as Lewis Gillies begins his ultimate quest, striking the final resounding chord in the Song of Albion.

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    The Stone Monkey

      Jeffery Deaver
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A New York Times BestsellerFamed criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and his beautiful protege e Amelia Sachs have been recruited by the FBI and the INS to help perform the nearly impossible: track down a cargo ship carrying two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants and the notorious human smuggler and killer known as the Ghost.

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    The Sea and Little Fishes

      Terry Pratchett
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Free online fiction. Novelette. This is the story of the time that Granny Weatherwax didn't win the Witch Trials and was nice about it, too. It was horrifying. "It's not right! She's got no right to go around being cheerful at people!" Originally published in the collection Legends Vol. 3.

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    Enrage

      Rachel Van Dyken
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Part of a world I loathe. Part of a family who hates me more than I hate myself. Living with a girl who reminds me of my darkness. I'm. In. Hell. Also known as the Cosa Nostra. My life was over the minute I stepped off that plane. Son to a murdered mob boss. Heir to a throne of murder and lies. My name is Dante Nicolasi. And there will be blood.

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    Red Queen Novella #1

      Victoria Aveyard
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In this 55-page prequel novella set in the Red Queen world, Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life.

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    The Hollowing

      Robert Holdstock
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The victim of a violent attack, Alex Bradley is a damaged and visionary child. Little does he know that the distorted creations of his mind are alive inside nearby Ryhope Wood. Then the forest claims him, and his father goes in pursuit, along with a scientific expedition looking for the secret of 'mythago-genesis'.

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    Karen's Mistake

      Ann M. Martin
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Karen is having the time of her life at her family's New Year's Eve bash -- until she sees a gentleman kiss her grandmother on the cheek! Everyone else is happy that Nannie has a love interest, but Karen thinks it spells disaster.

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    The Pictish Child

      Jane Yolen
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Welcome to Scotland, where magic runs through the land like the stripes in the colorful Scottish tartans. Everyone and everything here, it seems, has some wizardry--old folks at rest homes, dusty old card games, even cowardly dogs. The only ones without magic are American twins Jennifer and Peter, and they're the ones who need it most.

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    Chronicles of Aria Prime, Episode One

      AJ Reissig
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The year is 2285 and the PCS Trident, one of Earth's heavy cruisers, is on her final voyage. On route, the Trident is viciously attack by Karakan battleships, forcing the ship to crash land on the planet of Aria Prime. Here they find medieval world filled with creatures and races of mythology, not all of whom are friendly. Can they survive?An Interstellar Tale of Survival…The year is 2285 and it has been ten years since the bloody interstellar war with the Karakan Empire. Earth and her allies enjoy the peace, and an interstellar migration to colonize the galaxy is under way.The PCS Trident, one of Earth’s heavy cruisers, is on her final voyage. The mission: transport equipment and colonists to the settlements on Alpha Ceres. On route, the Trident is viciously attack by Karakan battleships, disabling long range communications and faster than light drive. Stranded millions of miles from the nearest friendly outpost and without communications, all hoped seemed lost.Colonel Christopher Nash, commander of the Trident, makes the bold decision to navigate his crippled vessel to Aria Prime, the only habitable planet within range. Not much is known about Aria Prime, but probe data suggest a primitive planet inhabited by a people stuck in the medieval era. Once on the planet surface, the crew and colonists of the Trident begin a struggle for survival. Everything is in short supply, and much of the advanced technology of the 23rd century has been rendered useless. As physical labor replaces mechanization, unrest grows.Nash journeys to the nearest native settlement, where he befriends the diminutive tillers. Unfortunately, these people are under constant attack from a marauding race known as the drogs. Nash quickly puts an end to the drog’s looting, and offers the tillers protection in exchange for free trade and information on the local lands. The tillers agree, but will the offer be the catalyst which spawns a war in this medieval land?Chronicles of Aria Prime is an edge-of-your-seat Sci fi thriller that blends a multitude of science fiction genre. The adventure begins as a tale of interstellar travel, but quickly morphs into a space opera. Once on Aria Prime, the story takes on elements of sci fi fantasy, and post-apocalyptic survival. This fast-paced novella is the first in the Chronicles of Aria Prime serial.

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    Roadside Crosses

      Jeffery Deaver
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The latest Kathryn Dance thriller from the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Sleeping Doll"!The Monterey Peninsula is rocked when a killer begins to leave roadside crosses beside local highways -- not in memoriam, but as announcements of his intention to kill. And to kill in particularly horrific and efficient ways: using the personal details about the victims that they've carelessly posted in blogs and on social networking websites. The case lands on the desk of Kathryn Dance, the California Bureau of Investigations foremost body language expert. She and Deputy Michael O'Neil follow the leads to Travis Brigham, a troubled teenager whose role in a fatal car accident has inspired vicious attacks against him on a popular blog, The Chilton Report. As the investigation progresses, Travis vanishes. Using techniques he learned as a brilliant participant in multiplayer online role-playing games, he easily eludes his pursuers and continues to track his victims. Among the obstacles Kathryn must hurdle are politicians from Sacramento, paranoid parents and the blogger himself, James Chilton, whose belief in the importance of blogging and the new media threatens to derail the case and potentially Dance's career. It is this threat that causes Dance to take desperate and risky measures... In signature Jeffery Deaver style, Roadside Crosses is filled with dozens of plot twists, cliff-hangers and heartrending personal subplots. It is also a searing look at the accountability of blogging and life in the online world. "Roadside Crosses" is the third in Deaver's bestselling High-Tech Thriller Trilogy, along with "The Blue Nowhere" and "The Broken Window." Unabridged Compact Disk Includes a Bonus MP3 Cd of Jeffery Deaver's "The Blue Nowhere"!

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    The Heaven Makers

      Frank Herbert
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Immortal aliens have observed Earth for centuries, making full sensory movies of wars, natural disasters, and horrific human activities . . . all to relieve their boredom. When they finally became jaded by ordinary, run-of-the-mill tragedies, they found ways to create their own disasters, just to amuse themselves. However, interfering with human activities was forbidden, and by the time Investigator Kelexel arrived to investigate, things were really getting out of hand. . . .

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    Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

      Haruki Murakami
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From the bestselling author of Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle comes this superb collection of twenty-four stories that generously expresses Murakami’s mastery of the form. From the surreal to the mundane, these stories exhibit his ability to transform the full range of human experience in ways that are instructive, surprising, and relentlessly entertaining. Here are animated crows, a criminal monkey, and an iceman, as well as the dreams that shape us and the things we might wish for. Whether during a chance reunion in Italy, a romantic exile in Greece, a holiday in Hawaii, or in the grip of everyday life, Murakami’s characters confront grievous loss, or sexuality, or the glow of a firefly, or the impossible distances between those who ought to be closest of all.

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    The Female of the Species

      Lionel Shriver
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Still unattached and childless at fifty-nine, world-renowned anthropologist Gray Kaiser is seemingly invincible—and untouchable. Returning to make a documentary at the site of her first great triumph in Kenya, she is accompanied by her faithful middle-aged assistant, Errol McEchern, who has loved her for years in silence. When sexy young graduate assistant Raphael Sarasola arrives on the scene, Gray is captivated and falls hopelessly in love—before an amazed and injured Errol's eyes. As he follows the progress of their affair with jealous fascination, Errol watches helplessly from the sidelines as a proud and fierce woman is reduced to miserable dependence through subtle, cruel, and calculating manipulation.

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    The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel

      Rick Riordan
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You've read the book. You've seen the movie. Now submerge yourself in the thrilling, stunning, and action-packed graphic novel. Mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking out of the pages of twelve-year-old Percy Jackson's textbooks and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now, he and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. Series creator Rick Riordan joins forces with some of the biggest names in the comic book industry to tell the story of a boy who must unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

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