Loving Them

      Rebecca Royce
     Loving Them

Saved from a life of suffering, Paloma Delacroix is determined to make the best life possible for herself, and for the four men she loves. Loving them is a challenge she never dreamed she’d be up for and one she refuses to fail. Before they can kickstart the life they all dream of, Thomas, Clay, Keith and Quinn McQueen will take Paloma back to Mars Station. They have the whole of the Sandler armada to defeat. With the help of family, friends, and lost allies, they just might make it work…if they can survive their wedding day. Content warning: Reverse Harem. Intense

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    Brother's Keeper

      C. E. Smith
     Brother's Keeper

Struck off and hooked on prescription pills, disgraced American surgeon Ryan Burkett flies to the war-torn Middle East to identify his murdered twin's body. Staring down at the lifeless form in the mortuary, it is as though Burkett is gazing at his own failings. His brother was first and best - the better athlete, better doctor, better son.With little reason to go home, Burkett agrees to take over his brother's charitable surgical clinic. Within weeks, however, he is taken hostage by Islamic fundamentalists. Forced into withdrawal - from both drugs and his own self-loathing - Burkett becomes convinced that his captors are his brother's murderers, and that revenge may be the only path to redemption.

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    The Tangled Lands

      Paolo Bacigalupi
     The Tangled Lands

From award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell comes a fantasy novel told in four parts about a land crippled by the use of magic, and a tyrant who is trying to rebuild an empire—unless the people find a way to resist. Khaim, The Blue City, is the last remaining city in a crumbled empire that overly relied upon magic until it became toxic. It is run by a tyrant known as The Jolly Mayor and his devious right hand, the last archmage in the world. Together they try to collect all the magic for themselves so they can control the citizens of the city. But when their decadence reaches new heights and begins to destroy the environment, the people stage an uprising to stop them. In four interrelated parts, The Tangled Lands is an evocative and epic story of resistance and heroic sacrifice in the twisted remains surrounding the last great city of Khaim. Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell have created a fantasy for our times about a decadent and rotting empire facing environmental collapse from within—and yet hope emerges from unlikely places with women warriors and alchemical solutions.

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    All We Have Is Now

      Lisa Schroeder
     All We Have Is Now

What do you do with your last day on earth? Just over twenty-four hours are left until an asteroid strikes North America, and for Emerson and everyone else who didn’t leave, the world will end. But Emerson’s world already ended when she ran away from home. Since then, she has lived on the streets, relying on her wits and on her friend Vince to help her find places to sleep and food to eat. The city’s quieter now that most people are gone, and no one seems to know what to do as the end approaches. But then Emerson and Vince meet Carl, who tells them he has been granting people’s wishes—and gives them his wallet full of money. Suddenly, this last day seems full of possibility. Emerson and Vince can grant a lot of wishes in one last day—maybe even their own.

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    Deep Storm

      Lincoln Child
     Deep Storm

Twelve-thousand feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean . . . scientists are excavating the most extraordinary undersea discovery ever made. But is it the greatest archaeological find in history—or the most terrifying? Former naval doctor Peter Crane is urgently summoned to a remote oil platform in the North Atlantic to help diagnose a bizarre medical condition spreading through the rig. But when he arrives, Crane learns that the real trouble lies far below—on “Deep Storm,” a stunningly advanced science research facility built two miles beneath the surface on the ocean floor. The top secret structure has been designed for one purpose: to excavate a recently discovered undersea site that may hold the answers to a mystery steeped in centuries of myth and speculation. Sworn to secrecy, Dr. Crane descends to Deep Storm. A year earlier, he is told, routine drilling uncovered the remains of mankind’s most sophisticated ancient civilization: the legendary Atlantis. But now that the site is being excavated, a series of disturbing illnesses has begun to affect the operation. Scientists and technicians are experiencing a bizarre array of symptoms—from simple fatigue to violent psychotic episodes. As Crane is indoctrinated into the strange world of Deep Storm and commences his investigation, he begins to suspect that the covert facility conceals something more complicated than a medical mystery.The discovery of Atlantis might, in fact, be a cover for something far more sinister . . . and deadly. Like Lincoln Child’s spectacular bestsellers coauthored with Douglas Preston (The Book of the Dead, Relic), Deep Storm melds scientific detail and gripping adventure in a superbly imagined, chillingly real journey into unknown territory. Child is a master of suspense, and Deep Storm is his most ambitious novel to date.

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    Robot Dreams

      Isaac Asimov
     Robot Dreams

Robot Dreams collects 21 of Isaac Asimov's short stories spanning the body of his fiction from the 1940s to the 1980s----exploring not only the future of technology, but the future of humanity's maturity and growth. From the Bestselling Author of I, Robot   “His name is synonymous with all that is best in science fiction.”—The New York Times   In a career spanning nearly fifty years, Isaac Asimov—science writer, historian, and futurist—accurately predicted how technological breakthroughs would be developed and utilized, years before they became reality. His foresight envisioned calculators, computerized cars, and advances in the field of robotics in such popular books as I, Robot; Robots and Empire; and The Robots of Dawn.   Robot Dreams spans the body of his fiction from the 1940s to the mid-1980s, featuring all of the classic Asimovian themes—from the scientific puzzle and the extraterrestrial thriller to the psychological discourse—presented by the author in an introductory essay.   In addition to the title story (a Locus poll winner, and Hugo and Nebula Award finalist), this collection features several of Asimov’s robot tales. A robopsychologist must outwit a machine determined to stay hidden in “Little Robot Lost;” a woman’s talent for “Light Verse” overshadows her true accomplishments with her robot servants; and “The Last Question” presented to computer after computer over a hundred billion years may remain forever unanswered.   “Classic science fiction . . . includes many of Asimov’s best.”—Chronicle   “The collection gathers 20 of Asimov’s greatest (with Asimov, the word ‘great’ is no mere hyperbole), older short stories, plus one new tale written especially for this book, and an important essay which opens the book.”—Starlog

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    The Betwixt Book One

      Odette C. Bell
     The Betwixt Book One

The Betwixt is a sci-fi soap opera with a dash of philosophy. It follows a space diner waitress as she sets out to discover her true origin, an adventure that sees her set against the most legendary of foes, takes her to the edges of the galaxy, and finally into the arms of one very handsome but stern Commander Cole.The Betwixt is a sci-fi soap opera with a dash of philosophy. It follows a space diner waitress as she sets out to discover her true origin, an adventure that sees her set against the most legendary of foes, takes her to the edges of the galaxy, and finally into the arms of one very handsome but stern Commander Cole....Mini is a diner waitress in a space bar. She has a flouncy skirt, a holopin, and a pretty little apron. She also, apparently, has a mysterious alien past; a past that comes knocking on her door in the form of a tiny red creature called Od. According to Od, Mini is all that stands between the galaxy and an invasion by terrible, soul-sucking creatures from the in-between dimensions. As Mini's galactic experience to-date revolves around serving drinks and picking up after customers, she finds that very unlikely.The only problem is that Od is right. So Mini reaches for the closest thing at hand – which just so happens to be a frying pan – and gives saving the galaxy a go. She isn't alone, however; she's caught the eye of a rather handsome Galactic Military Commander, and he isn't going to take his eyes off her until he knows exactly what's going on.

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    The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions

      Robert Rankin
     The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions

Rankin's far-fetched steampunk sequel to The War of the Worlds! It's 1895; nearly a decade since Mars invaded Earth, chronicled by H.G. Wells in The War of the Worlds. Wrecked Martian spaceships, back-engineered by Charles Babbage and Nikola Tesla, have carried the Queen's Own Electric Fusiliers to the red planet, and Mars is now part of the ever-expanding British Empire. Professor Coffin has a problem: the pickled Martian's tentacles are fraying at the ends, and his Most Meritorious Unnatural Attraction (the remains of the original alien autopsy, performed by Sir Frederick Treves at the London Hospital) is no longer drawing the crowds. The less-than-scrupulous sideshow proprietor likes Off-worlders' cash, so he needs a sensational new attraction. Word has reached him of the Japanese Devil Fish Girl; nothing quite like her has ever existed before. But Professor Coffin's quest to possess the ultimate showman's exhibit is about to cause considerable friction among the folk of other planets. Sufficient, in fact, to spark off Worlds War Two.

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    Fremder

      Russell Hoban
     Fremder

On 4 November 2052 Fremder Gorm is found drifting in space a few megaklicks off Badu, a planet in the Fourth Galaxy. He is the only survivor from Clever Daughter, a battered old tanker. Why did Fremder survive?

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    The Stepford Wives

      Ira Levin
     The Stepford Wives

The women of Stepford are not all that they seem... All the beautiful people live in idyllic Stepford, Connecticut, an affluent, suburban Eden populated with successful, satisfied hubbies and beautiful, dutiful wives. For Joanna Eberhart, newly arrived with her husband and two children, it all seems too good to be true -- from the sweet Welcome Wagon lady to all those cheerful, friendly faces in the supermarket checkout lines. But just beneath the town's flawless surface, something is sordid and wrong -- something abominable with roots in the local Men's Association. And it may already be too late for Joanna to save herself from being devoured by Stepford's hideous perfection.

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    Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

      Mary Roach
     Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

“America’s funniest science writer” (Washington Post) takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour. The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: the questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? In Gulp we meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks of—or has the courage to ask. We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. With Roach at our side, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbis and terrorists—who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts. Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.

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    The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

      Steven Pinker
     The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year. * The author of The New York Times bestseller The Stuff of Thought* offers a controversial history of violence. Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, pogroms, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened? This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives- the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.

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    Braided Path 03 - The Ascendancy Veil

      Chris Wooding
     Braided Path 03 - The Ascendancy Veil

The war that is tearing apart the ancient Empire of Saramyr is reaching its apocalyptic conclusion. The Weavers have stepped from the shadows and have taken control, the Emperor not even their puppet anymore. New, terrifying demons, immune to everything but magic have been unleashed on the cities and armies of the resistance movement. As the madness of the weavers takes grip their tactics become even more crazed and bloody and thousands are dying on both sides. Someone must stop the weavers, someone must discover the secrets of what lies at the bottom of the massive pits they have dug across Saramyr. This is the final volume of what has proved to be one of the most original, exotic and exciting epic fantasies of the 21st century. Chris Wooding melds an extraordinary imagination to deft characterisation and flair for gripping plots.

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    Love Sucks and Then You Die

      Michael Grant
     Love Sucks and Then You Die

In this short-story prequel to Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant’s Eve and Adam, fifteen-year-old E.V. (Evening) doesn’t know where she fits in to the universe. After a particularly disastrous school dance experience, she’s begins to wonder if she fits in at all. She did bloody the school heartthrob’s nose and all because he tried to kiss her. Having been accused of being a "frigid bitch," E.V. begins to question her place in the cosmic world of relationships and dating to little avail; her CEO mother is emotionally unavailable, her dad is dead, and her best friend thinks true love exists in the back seat of a used Honda. But then E.V. spots someone, a blip on her otherwise indifferent radar that suggests there just might be someone out there for her . . .

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    The Escape

      K. A. Applegate
     The Escape

Almost nothing could be as bad as finding out your mother is Visser One. The most powerful of all Vissers. The leader of the Yeerk invasion of Earth. But it happened to Marco. And even though he's been handling it pretty well, he knew there'd come a time when he'd have to face her again. Knowing that the Yeerk in her brain had taken his mother away. So when Marco, the other Animorphs, and Ax discover that Visser One is overseeing a secret underwater project, they know they have to check it out. But Marco's not sure if this is a battle he'll be able to fight....

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