Distant Relations

      Carlos Fuentes
$value['title']

Distant Relations begins in the elegant Automobile club de France as an elderly Count tells a story to the unnamed narrator. But the book does not remain here in the cafe, nor even in France. Instead, as the Count speaks, the story moves across time and space, from Latin America to Europe, from generation to generation. We hear of Hugo, a noted Mexican archeologist, and of his young son, Victor, who were once the Count's houseguests. He tells of their time in France, of their complicated pasts and their uncertain relationships. This is a story of lost memory and failed promises, one about the past's unbending influence on the present. Distant Relations is an ambitious novel whose tale of confused familial relations explodes into one about the conflict between the Old World and the New.

Read online

  • 1 227

    Dangerous Games

      Keri Arthur
$value['title']

In Melbourne's urban underworld, there's a nightclub for every fantasy and desire. But for Riley Jenson, one such club has become an obsession. Riley, a rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, hasn't come in pursuit of pleasure but of an unknown killer who's been using the steamy nightspot as his hunting grounds. Leave it to Riley to find the only ticket into the heavily guarded club: Jin, a deliciously hot-bodied bartender who might just provide the key to unmasking a killer unlike any other in the Directorate's experience. Taunted by a former colleague turned rogue, distracted by an ex-lover's attentions, Riley follows Jin into a realm of pleasure she could never have imagined. And as danger and passion ignite, a shocking mystery begins to unravel - one where Riley herself becomes the ultimate object of desire. . . .

Read online

  • 1 226

    The Glass Hummingbird

      E. R. Mason
$value['title']

Cassiopia Cassell's IQ had tested at the genius level on more than one occasion. When tragedy strikes, her genius is suddenly driven by love, making her seem almost like a super hero. But in the strange and dangerous dimension called Dreamland, even super powers may not be enough.Stories to Captivate the Imagination: Welcome to the worlds of Saladin AhmedA medieval physician asked to do the impossible. A gun slinging Muslim wizard in the old West. A disgruntled super villain pining for prison reform. A cybernetic soldier who might or might not be receiving messages from God. Prepare yourself to be transported to new and fantastical worlds.The short stories in this collection have been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell awards. They’ve been reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy and other anthologies, recorded for numerous podcasts, and translated into several foreign languages. Now they are collected in one place for the first time. Experience for yourself the original voice of one of fantasy’s rising stars!PRAISE FOR SALADIN AHMED“Ahmed’s characters…are a terrific blend of the realistic and the awesomely magical.” — io9“[Ahmed is] revitalizing the fantasy genre with fresh perspectives and original stories.” — Library Journal“Ahmed’s debut masterfully paints a world both bright and terrible.“ — Publishers Weekly“An arresting, sumptuous and thoroughly satisfying debut.” — Kirkus ReviewsOTHER WORKS BY SALADIN AHMEDThrone of the Crescent Moon (DAW, 2012)

Read online

  • 1 226

    Against the Fall of Night

      Arthur C. Clarke
$value['title']

Living in the 10-billion-year-old city of Diaspar, Alvin is the last child born of humanity. He is intensely curious about the outside world. According to the oldest histories kept by the city fathers, however, there is no outside world—it was destroyed by the Invaders millions of years ago. One day, Alvin finds a rock with an inscription seemingly meant for him: “There is a better way. Give my greetings to the Keeper of the Records. Alaine of Lyndar.” This cryptic message takes Alvin on a quest to discover humanity’s true past—and its future. Originally published in the November 1948 issue of Startling Stories, Against the Fall of Night is a rich and intensely poetic vision of a distant future that’s sure to delight fans of Clarke and science fiction as a genre.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Towering

      Alex Flinn
$value['title']

High in my tower I sit. I watch the birds fly below, the clouds float above, and the tall green forest stretch to places I might never see. Mama, who isn't my mother, has kept me hidden away for many years. My only companions, besides Mama, are my books—great adventures, mysteries, and romances that I long to make my reality. But I know that no one will come to save me—my life is not a fairy tale after all. Well, at least no one has come so far. Recently, my hair has started to grow rapidly and it's now long enough to reach the bottom of the tower from my window. I've also had the strangest dreams of a beautiful green-eyed man. When Mama isn't around, I plan my escape, even if it's just for a little while. There's something—maybe someone—waiting for me out there and it won't find me if I'm trapped here Towering above it all.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Dead Heat

      Patricia Briggs
$value['title']

The Alpha and Omega novels transport readers into the realm of the werewolf, where Charles Cornick and Anna Latham embody opposite sides of the shifter personality. Now, a pleasure trip drops the couple into the middle of some bad supernatural business… For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, as Charles plans to buy Anna a horse for her birthday. Or at least it starts out that way... Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Thea at Sixteen

      Susan Beth Pfeffer
$value['title']

Thea would do anything to make the people she loves happy . . . but how much can she give away and still be herself? The Sebastians have a tradition of falling in love at sixteen, and Thea is ready for it to happen to her, but so far she hasn’t met anyone except the moving-van driver who deposited her and her family in their new home. As the sisters and their untraditional parents, Nicky and Megs, unpack yet again, Thea dreams of whispers, longing glances, and romance. But what she gets is a volunteer job at the local hospital. Thea figures she’ll be fluffing pillows, playing with children, and reading books aloud, and it will help Nicky’s chances of striking a business deal with community leaders. So she doesn’t mind when she’s matched up with Gina, a young leukemia patient. She minds even less when she meets Gina’s big brother, Kip. Kip is devoted to his sister, and he and Thea are quickly drawn together by their fight for Gina’s health and happiness. But their alliance is soon tested by illness, family, and a tragedy in Thea’s life—one that will make demands of her heart that she never expected. 

Read online

  • 1 226

    Dark Moon

      David Gemmell
$value['title']

The peaceful Eldarin were the last of three ancient races.  The mystical Oltor, healers and poets, had fallen before the dread power of the cruel and sadistic Daroth.  Yet in one awesome night the invincible Daroth had vanished from the face of the earth.  Gone were their cities, their armies, their terror.  The Great Northern Desert was their only legacy.  Not a trace remained for a thousand years... The War of the Pearl had raged for seven years and the armies of the four Duchies were exhausted and weary of bloodshed.  But the foremost of the Dukes, Sirano of Romark, possessed the Eldarin Pearl and was determined to unravel its secrets. Then, on one unforgetable day, a dark moon rose above the Great Northern Desert, and a black tidal wave swept across the land.  In moments the desert had vanished beneath lush fields and forests and a great city could be seen glittering in the morning sunlight. From this city re-emerged the blood-hungry Daroth, powerful and immortal, immune to spear and sword.  They had only one desire:  to rid the world of humankind for ever. Now the fate of the human race rests on the talents of three heroes:  Karis, warrior-woman and strategist; Tarantio, the deadliest swordsman of the age; and Duvodas the Healer, who will learn a terrible truth. A new world of myth and magic, love and heroism, from the bestselling author of The Legend of Deathwalker. From the Paperback edition.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Wild Jinx

      Sandra Hill
$value['title']

In the third book of her hot and hilarious series, "New York Times" bestselling author Sandra Hill takes readers along on another wild ride with Jinx, Inc., where trouble is no match for a cagey Cajun matchmaker--and passion conquers all. When reporter Celine Arseneaux entered The Playpen, a Baton Rouge club for men AND women, she never expected John LeDeux to swagger up to her. Sure, the bayou's notorious bad boy was pure sex on the hoof. But even with her expose on the line, Celine will refuse to be his conquest left cryin' in her crayfish -- at least not again. Not for this man who doesn't even remember her! Detective LeDeux had always been too hot to handle, but now he was on fire as the cop posing as a gigolo to bust the Dixie Mafia. Joining Tante Lulu's treasure hunt seems a fine way to avoid the media ruckus--until Celine pursues her story deep into the bayou, stoking John's hazy memories of a sizzling night five years ago.... Original.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Who Cut the Cheese?

      Jo Nesbo
$value['title']

"Large helpings of whimsy, humorous black-and-white illustrations, and the occasional fart joke provide plenty of silliness" (Booklist) in the third Doctor Proctor adventure from New York Times bestselling author Jo Nesbø.Nilly, Lisa, and Doctor Proctor are too busy inventing things to watch TV, and everyone says they're missing out on the hot singing competition. But then Nilly and Lisa notice that their friends and family are acting really weird. And the only people acting weird...are the ones watching TV.What's going on is WAY bigger than a singing competition. It could mean the end of the world.Or a silent but deadly could save everything!Let 'er rip.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Portrait of a Man (Le Condottière)

      Georges Perec
$value['title']

Gaspard Winckler, master forger, is trapped in a basement studio on the outskirts of Paris, with his paymaster's blood on his hands. The motive for this murder? A perversion of artistic ambition. After a lifetime lived in the shadows, he has strayed too close to the sun. Fittingly for such an enigmatic writer, Portrait of a Man is both Perec's first novel and his last. Written in the late 1950s, it was rejected by all publishers, and buried in a drawer. Perec himself told a friend 'it will either become a masterwork or will wait in my grave for a faithful exegete to find it in an old trunk...' An apt coda to one of the brightest literary careers of the twentieth century, it is - in the words of David Bellos, the 'faithful exegete' who brought it to light - 'connected by a hundred threads to every part of the literary universe that Perec went on to create - but it's not like anything else that he wrote.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Numbers

      Rachel Ward
$value['title']

Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!

Read online

  • 1 226

    Come Rain or Come Shine

      Jan Karon
$value['title']

#1 New York Times–bestselling author Jan Karon returns—with the story readers have been waiting for. Over the course of ten Mitford novels, fans have kept a special place in their hearts for Dooley Kavanagh, first seen in At Home in Mitford as a barefoot, freckle-faced boy in filthy overalls. Now, Father Tim Kavanagh’s adopted son has graduated from vet school and opened his own animal clinic. Since money will be tight for a while, maybe he and Lace Harper, his once and future soul mate, should keep their wedding simple. So the plan is to eliminate the cost of catering and do potluck. Ought to be fun. An old friend offers to bring his well-known country band. Gratis. And once mucked out, the barn works as a perfect venue for seating family and friends. Piece of cake, right? In Come Rain or Come Shine, Jan Karon delivers the wedding that millions of Mitford fans have waited for. It’s a June day in the mountains, with more than a few creatures great and small, and you’re invited—because you’re family. By the way, it’s a pretty casual affair, so come as you are and remember to bring a tissue or two. After all, what’s a good wedding without a good cry?

Read online

  • 1 226

    Feel the Burn

      G. A. Aiken
$value['title']

War makes strange bedfellows. I, Gaius Domitus, one-eyed rebel dragon king of the Provinces, know that better than most, since I have to fight off half my ungrateful family on a regular basis to keep law and order here in my lands. But I never expected to have to consort with a barbarian human woman. Kachka is beautiful, if you like them fierce—and of course I do. But she keeps complaining about how spoiled and decadent I am, and how a feared Daughter of the Steppes has no time for foolish dragons. I think she likes my eye patch, though. It is quite dashing. With death always at our tails, we take our passion like we take our allies. As they say, love the barbarian you’re with…

Read online

  • 1 226

    The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy

      Kady Cross
$value['title']

Before he makes his appearance in The Girl with the Iron Touch, Jack Dandy had an adventure of his very own. Learn how his actions set the plot in motion in The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy, a short teaser story from author Kady Cross’s Steampunk Chronicles. Jack Dandy didn’t become prince of the London underworld at barely twenty-one by being softhearted, even if a certain girl in a steel corset has wormed her way into his affections of late. He knows how to manipulate, charm and rob people blind. And if his criminal activities embarrass his aristocratic father, so much the better. So when a friend of Jack’s father hires him for an underhanded job, Jack is happy to oblige—for an outrageous fee, of course. Delivering a mysterious crate seems like an easy task—until Jack realizes just what is inside...

Read online

  • 1 226

    An Irish Country Cookbook

      Patrick Taylor
$value['title']

150 family recipes from soda bread to Irish stew, paired with ten new, charming short stories from the beloved An Irish Country series From New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author Patrick Taylor comes ten new short stories in the popular An Irish Country series paired with more than 150 delicious Irish family recipes. Told from the perspective of beloved housekeeper Kinky Kincaid, one of the cherished starring characters in Taylor’s An Irish Country series, An Irish Country Cookbook explores Ireland’s rich culture through its delicious dishes and stories of its charming people. These authentic tried-and-true family recipes have been passed down from generation to generation, and are the original comfort food for millions. Organized into sections such as: starters, soups, breads, mains, sides, sauces, desserts, cakes, candy and treats, and Ulster Christmas recipes, this cookbook brings the magic of Irish cooking and time-honored Irish traditions to life. The ten short stories starring Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, Dr. Barry Laverty, and the colorful village of Ballybucklebo will delight fans of the series and new readers alike. From starters to sauces, Irish soda bread to Christmas dinner, these memorable dishes will bring a taste of the world of the Irish Country books to every kitchen.

Read online

  • 1 226

    Villainy Victorious

      L. Ron Hubbard
$value['title']

A monumental work -- acclaimed as agenuine masterpiece -- L. Ron Hubbard's 1.2-million-word-ten-volume MISSION EARTH dekalogy brilliantly blends science fiction and action/adventure on a vast interstellar scale with stinging satire -- in the literary tradition of Voltaire, Swift and Orwell -- on the world's foibles and fancies.A true publishing phenomenon -- precedent-setting when each volume, in turn, became a New York Times and then an international bestseller -- MISSION EARTH has already sold more than five million copies and continues to appear on bestseller lists in contries throghout the world. Winner of France's Cosmos 2000 Award and the Nova Science Fiction Award in Italy, and nominated for a Hugo Award, MISSION EARTH is an epic narrative of a secret invasion of Earth as seen-and vividly recounted -- by the aliens who, unrecognized, already live and work among us. It is a novel crowded with sharply memorable characters and with places and events cloaked in splendor, menace and mystery: Palace City, Joy City, the forbidden prison fortress of Spiteos, the violent fall of the Voltar Confederation. The Voltar Confederation has a long-range plan to use Earth as a strategic staging area in its continuing conquest of the galaxy. However, with the discovery that Earth is being destroyed by pollution, drugs and other menaces, Combat Engineer Jettero Heller is sent on a top-secret mission to save the planet from self-destruction. Unknown to Heller, another Voltarian faction (the Coordinated Information Apparatus) has secretly been using Earth as a supply base for drugs. It dispatches its own counter mission to thwart Heller's plans.

Read online

  • 1 226

    The Human Age: The World Shaped by Us

      Diane Ackerman
$value['title']

Award-winning nature writer Diane Ackerman confronts the fact that the human race is now the single dominant force of change on the planet. Humans have "subdued 75 per cent of the land surface, concocted a wizardry of industrial and medical marvels, strung lights all across the darkness." We now collect the DNA of vanishing species in a "frozen ark," equip orangutans with iPads, create wearable technologies and synthetic species that might one day outsmart us. With her distinctive gift for making scientific discovery intelligible to the layperson, Ackerman takes us on an exciting journey to understand this bewildering new reality, introducing us to many of the people and ideas now creating--perhaps saving--the future. The Human Ageis a surprising, optimistic engagement with the dramatic transformations that have shaped, and continue to alter, our world, our relationship with nature and our prospects for the future.

Read online

  • 1 226