It’s 50 years before the settlement of the city of Ember, and the world is in crisis. War looms on the horizon as 11-year-old Nickie and her aunt travel to the small town of Yonwood, North Carolina. There, one of the town’s respected citizens has had a terrible vision of fire and destruction. Her garbled words are taken as prophetic instruction on how to avoid the coming disaster. If only they can be interpreted correctly. . . . As the people of Yonwood scramble to make sense of the woman’s mysterious utterances, Nickie explores the oddities she finds around town—her great-grandfather’s peculiar journals and papers, a reclusive neighbor who studies the heavens, a strange boy who is fascinated with snakes—all while keeping an eye out for ways to help the world. Is this vision her chance? Or is it already too late to avoid a devastating war? In this prequel to the acclaimed The City of Ember and The People of Sparks, Jeanne DuPrau investigates how, in a world that seems out of control, hope and comfort can be found in the strangest of places. From the Hardcover edition.

One of Nevil Shute’s most exciting novels, Pied Piper is the gripping story of one elderly man's daring attempt to rescue a group of children during the Nazi invasion of France. It is the spring of 1940 and John Sidney Howard wants nothing more than to enjoy his fishing holiday in southern France in peace and quiet. However, the Nazi conquest of the Low Countries puts an end to that, and he is asked by friends to take their two children back to England. Crossing France with his young charges seems simple enough at first—until the Germans invade, rendering them fugitives. As Howard struggles to sneak across France, he picks up several more helpless children of various nationalities. They walk for miles in an endless river of refugees, strafed by German planes and hiding in barns at night. By the time Howard and his flock of little ones reach the Channel, his plan of escaping on a fishing boat has become utterly impossible, and in their final confrontation with the invaders, all their lives are at stake. From the Trade Paperback edition.

How well can you really know another person? And how far would you go to find out the truth about them? When Julia learns that her sister has been violently killed, she knows she must get to the bottom of things. Even if it means jeopardising her relationship with her husband and risking the safety of her son. Getting involved with a stranger online. Losing control. Perhaps losing everything. Set in Paris and London, Second Life is about the double lives people lead - and the dark places they can end up in.

Fledgling, Octavia Butler's first new novel in seven years, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted—and still wants—to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.

The first science fiction written by a black woman, Kindred has become a cornerstone of black American literature. This combination of slave memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction is a novel of rich literary complexity. Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland. After saving a drowning white boy there, she finds herself staring into the barrel of a shotgun and is transported back to the present just in time to save her life. During numerous such time-defying episodes with the same young man, she realizes the challenge she’s been given: to protect this young slaveholder until he can father her own great-grandmother.

All the world's a stage--and nowhere is that more true than at an all-girls high school, particularly one where a scandal has just erupted. A teacher has had an affair with his underage student, and though her friends pretend to be dismayed, they are secretly curious and jealous. They obsessively examine the details of the affair under the watchful eye of their stern and enigmatic saxophone teacher, whose focus may not be as strictly on their upcoming recital as she implies. When the local drama school turns the story of the scandal into their year-end show, the real world and the world of the theater are forced to meet. With both performances--the musicians' and the acting students'--approaching, the boundaries between dramas real and staged, private and public, begin to dissolve. THE REHEARSAL is a tender portrait of teenage yearning and adult regret, an exhilarating, darkly funny, provocative novel about the complications of human desire.

The shocking techno-thriller that cements Daniel Suarez’s status as the heir to Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy—a terrifying, breathtaking, and all-too-plausible vision of the world’s near future. Unmanned weaponized drones already exist—they’re widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. In Kill Decision, bestselling author Daniel Suarez takes that fact and the real science behind it one step further, with frightening results. Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned—and thanks to her research, automated—drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention. Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the “kill decision” during battle has remained in the hands of humans—and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences. But as forces even McKinney and Odin don’t understand begin to gather, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save humankind from destruction at the hands of our own technology.

When you lose yourself in a novel by New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford, you surrender to real emotion, heartbreaking crisis, unassailable love, triumphant reawakening, and the breathtaking power of an exceptional story beautifully told. Now two of her classic novels have been combined in one magnificent volume, offering incontrovertible proof why this unparalleled dreamspinner is one of the most beloved and successful authors of our time. With wealth, a beautiful home, a caring, supportive husband, and two wonderful children, Mallory Keswick's life is a constant joy -- until her spirit is brutally tested, forcing her to discover new reserves of courage and strength when violent tragedy leaves her with nothing more to lose and . . . everything to gain. In Venice, a chance encounter between a fearless television war correspondent and a lovely, unhappily married glass designer from New York leads to unanticipated affection, irresistible passion, and . . . a secret affair. Two classic novels in one volume!

Drugged and kidnapped by Vampires, presumed dead by his clan, powerful VampLycan Veso must rely on a creature he dislikes almost as much as the suckheads who nabbed him if he hopes to escape- a human. But when Glenda proves more resourceful than most of her kind, he agrees to see her safely through the Alaskan wilderness. He'll have to fight an overwhelming attraction to the inquisitive beauty every excruciating step of the way. Glen doesn't know which is worse: learning she's the distant relative of a Vampire who fancies himself a king (um...what?!), or the fact that said relative is trying to force her to birth his queen by mating her with a half Vampire, half Lycan. Veso is scary, has claws, but he's also key to her survival. She just wishes that she didn't notice all his muscles or the way her body responds to his. He has promised to keep her alive but she might lose her heart in the bargain.

Librarian note: Older cover of B06XW6YTKV. Following her record-breaking debut trilogy, Ann Leckie, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards, returns with an enthralling new novel of power, theft, privilege and birthright. A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned. Ingray and her charge will return to her home world to find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. Together, they must make a new plan to salvage Ingray's future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good.

When the world ended, there was the Eighty. Eighty people given the chance for survival. Given the chance to board a revamped space shuttle programmed to find them a new place to live. Somewhere to start over after an asteroid had destroyed the entire human race. Now, after a five-hundred-year "nap," the Eighty have landed---but not everyone survived the trip. And some of those who did aren't quite right. Actually, there are a lot of things that aren't quite right---especially about the place the Eighty land. Half the terrain looks as if it's been made of bright, crazy brush-strokes, the other is like a haunting black-and-white photograph. Jobs, 2Face, Mo'Steel, and the others don't know if they're on another planet. If they're dreaming. Or if they are alive at all. But if they are alive, can they survive on this strange, new world...?

Any girl who goes into the Forbidden Forest never comes out again. Except the one who did. Larkin should have been watching her little sister, should have paid more attention to the trees looming over her family’s fields. Now Sela is gone. Knowing full well the danger of the forest and its beast, Larkin goes after her anyway. With her sister clutched in her arms, she manages to escape, but not before discovering the truth lurking beneath the wicked boughs. She may have evaded the beast once, but with the full force of his magic now fixated on her, she isn’t sure how much longer she can resist.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this exciting thriller from Mary Higgins Clark, the #1 New York Times bestselling “Queen of Suspense,” a news reporter tries to find her birth mother just as she is assigned to cover the high-profile trial of a woman accused of murdering her wealthy husband. Television journalist Delaney Wright is on the brink of stardom after she begins covering a sensational murder trial for the six p.m. news. She should be thrilled, yet her growing desire to locate her birth mother consumes her thoughts. When Delaney’s friends Alvirah Meehan and her husband Willy offer to look into the mystery surrounding her birth, they uncover a shocking secret they do not want to reveal. On trial for murder is Betsy Grant, widow of a wealthy doctor who has been an Alzheimer’s victim for eight years. When her once-upon-a-time celebrity lawyer urges her to accept a plea bargain, Betsy refuses: she will go to trial to prove her innocence. Betsy’s stepson, Alan Grant, bides his time nervously as the trial begins. His substantial inheritance hangs in the balance—his only means of making good on payments he owes his ex-wife, his children, and increasingly angry creditors. As the trial unfolds, and the damning evidence against Betsy piles up, Delaney is convinced that Betsy is not guilty and frantically tries to prove her innocence. A true classic from Mary Higgins Clark, As Time Goes By is a thrilling read by a master of the genre.

Fledgling vampire Sarah Dearly knew what she was getting into when she married master vampire Thierry de Bennicoeur. As an agent of the Ring, Thierry is sent all over the world to solve vampire crimes and keep them secret from humans. And now Sarah’s on the job with him—for better or worse.  Right after their wedding in Las Vegas, Sarah and Thierry get their next assignment: Three vampires have gone missing in Salem, Massachusetts, and they need to find out why. Their contact in Salem turns out to be a local lothario with a penchant for witches, but before he can help them, he suddenly goes up in smoke—leaving behind nothing but a stain on the ground and a seemingly impossible mystery.  Did a witchy ex-mistress cast a deadly spell, or is there something even more sinister happening to the vampires of Salem? Getting to the truth may require raising the undead, with a little help from the owners of a vampire-friendly bed and breakfast. But uncovering Salem’s darkest secrets may drag some of Thierry’s own past into the light.

Set in Ireland in the 1970s, Breakfast on Pluto follows the exploits of Patrick “Pussy” Braden, an endearing but deceptively tough young man. Abandoned as a baby in his small Irish hometown and aware from a very early age that he is different, Patrick survives this harsh environment with the aid of his wit, charm and a sweet refusal to let anyone or anything change who he is. This is a surreal and magical tale, a funny, moving and poignant rites of passage novel. It is also a vivid and unsettling comment on the human price paid in the cultural and political climate of Ireland at that time.

Delphi Keep is awash in activity, and for Ian, Theo, and Carl, their safe haven might be nearing its end. The Royal Navy has taken the keep to use as a hospital and the tunnels running under the keep and the castle are ideal to set up a central communications outpost for the approaching war. The earl is happy to help the effort, but now the keep is no longer safe for the orphans and they must be evacuated to his winter residence. Ian, Theo, and Carl know that if they're sent away, they'll no longer be protected. But more important than their safety is deciphering the third prophecy. All clues point to a quest. The orphans don't know where they must go, but they know they must rescue the Secret Keeper. To do that, however, they need to work out who this Secret Keeper is. And what, exactly are the secrets he's keeping? From the Hardcover edition.

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was a great Russian novelist and playwright. His novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of major works of 19th-century fiction. After the standard schooling for a child of a gentleman's family, he studied for one year at the University of Moscow and then moved to the University of St Petersburg, focusing on the classics, Russian literature and philology. Turgenev was impressed with German Central-European society, and believed that Russia could best improve itself by imitating the West. Like many of his educated contemporaries, he was particularly opposed to serfdom. He first made his name with A Sportsman's Sketches, also known as Sketches From a Hunter's Album; or, Notes of a Hunter. He wrote several short novels like The Diary of a Superfluous Man, Faust and The Lull. In them Turgenev expressed the anxieties and hopes of Russians of his generation. Amongst his other works are Liza: A Nest of Nobles, The Jew and Other Stories, On the Eve, A Reckless Character and Other Stories, The Torrents of Spring, and The Rendezvous.

The hijacking of a jumbo jet off the Seychelles galvanises anti-terrorist chief Peter Stride into the action for which he has spent a lifetime training. But even in the hail of bullets which follows, he knows this is the beginning of a nightmare.

The members of the Baby-sitters Club have been in eighth grade for over fifteen years now. It's time for them to graduate into high school -- with all the reflection, expectation, sorrow, and joy that such a big life change brings. This is the stunning, heartfelt conclusion to America's best-loved series.

This is a short story featuring the main character, Gladius Oldmont, from the Gladius Adventure Series.Gladius competes in the annual Bartlett Trial Preliminaries, but before the race begins, Gladius learns the truth behind the mystery of a community death. Could this new discovery unexpectedly change the outcome of the race? The only way to find out is to run The Race. Approx. 6300 words.This is a short story for middle grade readers featuring the main character, Gladius Oldmont, from the fantasy adventure novel Gladius and the Bartlett Trial, by J. A. Paul. In this exciting story, Gladius competes in the Bartlett Trial Preliminaries, an annual race for future Bartlett Trial newbies, but before the race begins, Gladius learns the truth behind the mystery of a community death. Could this new discovery unexpectedly change the outcome of the race? The only way to find out is to run The Race.This is a short story of approximately 6300 words.