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4843607 | /m/0cqkty | Hornblower and the Atropos | C. S. Forester | 1953 | {"/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0hwxm": "Historical novel"} | On a December day in 1805, Hornblower travels with his very pregnant wife and their son to London on a canal boat via the Thames and Severn Canal and the Thames. He is excited about getting his new orders and obtaining his first command as a post-captain. On the canal, the assistant boatman becomes incapacitated through drink, thus allowing Hornblower the opportunity to learn much of canal boat operation when he volunteers to take the man's place at the boat's helm. Upon their arrival in London, Hornblower assumes command of the Atropos. His first assignment is a unique one: to organise Admiral Nelson's funeral. The Battle of Trafalgar had just taken place, in which Nelson was shot by a musket and killed. The whole nation is in mourning and all eyes are on the funeral. The funeral consists of a procession on the Thames between Greenwich Pier and Whitehall Steps, during which the ceremonial barge conveying Nelson's coffin springs a leak and the crew, after frantic bailing, barely managing to unload the coffin before sinking. Once Hornblower finishes with the funeral, he is presented to his King at Court. He is informed that the king's nephew, a German prince driven out of his principality by Napoleon, is to be one of his midshipmen on the Atropos. Hornblower's treatment of the prince is a continuing sub-plot. Hornblower is then sent to collect from Gibraltar three Sinhalese pearl divers and their quarrelsome salvage master to recover treasure from a sunken British ship, the Speedwell, which went down in Marmorice Bay in Turkey carrying a fortune in silver and gold - the pay chests of the British Army in Egypt. Hornblower is given the salvage operation. The Turks are already aware of the presence of the gold, and in the weeks Atropos is present in Marmorice become aware of the supposedly secret recovery operation. They bring a Turkish warship into the bay, and man a previously deserted fort, trapping Atropos. When the Turks demand all the money Hornblower has so far recovered, he puts them off until the following morning. In the middle of the night, he makes a daring escape by an extremely perilous route, avoiding both ship and fort, and outsmarting the Turks. Following Hornblower's delivery of the treasure at Gibraltar, he helps capture a Spanish ship, the Castilla, and makes his way into a Sicilian port for repairs. He does such a fine job that his ship attracts the notice of the King of The Two Sicilies. The British government transfers the vessel to the Sicilian navy in return for the King's allegiance. Hornblower makes his way back to England, only to find both of his children mortally ill with smallpox. *Other books in the series refer to Hornblower capturing the Castilla as a lieutenant, but he is a captain in this book, which actually describes the battle. Confusingly, the obscure short story "The Hand of Destiny" (1940) also describes an entirely different action featuring Lt. Hornblower capturing Castilla. Forester, apparently, would retcon Hornblower's history, overwriting the events of his short stories in subsequent novel-length works. "The fact that he discouraged the re-publication of the short stories is an indicator that he gave the novels' events preference." sv:Hornblower på Atropos |
4843685 | /m/0cql0w | 24: One Shot | null | null | {"/m/0py0z": "Graphic novel"} | 24: One Shot is set eighteen months before the events of Season 1. Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the TV series and is also the main protagonist in this graphic novel which depicts his first day at the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit. He has been assigned from the FBI by Division to become the new Director of Field Operations at the LA CTU. His first assignment is to personally protect Moira O'Neal, a beautiful but dangerous former terrorist previously affiliated with the Irish Republican Army who recently turned herself in after a sudden change of heart. O'Neal's former associates aren't happy about her sudden defection; they are not prepared to allow her to pass on information to the American government and have made their way onto American soil to find and kill Moira. |
4843834 | /m/0cql6r | Three Hands in the Fountain | Lindsey Davis | 1997 | {"/m/0lsxr": "Crime Fiction"} | Falco arrives home in Rome with Helena Justina and Julia Junilla Laeitana, his new baby daughter, and barely have time to settle in before being subjected to a welcome-home party. Falco and Petronius sneak out for a drink in a nearby street next to a fountain, which is not working. When a worker turns up to clean it, it is revealed that a severed hand had blocked the aqueduct. Falco and Petro start to investigate, but their case is stolen by Anacrites. Petro puts up a sign proclaiming that awards are to be given on the discovery of any body parts. Falco talks to his brother-in-law and is told that severed body parts have been discovered in the rivers and aqueducts for several years, usually after festivals. When he's told that Petro put up the sign he runs back to his old apartment (where Petro now lives after being kicked out by his wife) as a slave hands over a new hand to Petro. Petro takes down the sign. Anacrites, who is rather annoyed at being muscled out of his stolen case, sends four men to beat up Falco and Petro. They defeat the bruisers easily and trail them back to Anacrites. Soon afterwards, Julius Frontinus finds and gives over a new hand. It looks the same as the other hands but this one has a wedding ring with two names inscribed (Asinia and Caius). They track down Caius Cicurrus, the widower of Asinia. He is innocent and is greatly grieving for his lost wife. Petro's wife dumped him after he took up with Balbina Milvia from Time to Depart. Milvia's husband Florius sends men to beat up Falco and Petro. Falco, with the help of his trainer Glaucus and Glaucus's trainees, beats off his attackers but Petro has no such help and is heavily injured. Milvia comes to Falco asking him to help her, as she fears that her mother, who has vanished, has been taken by the killer. Falco finds Cornella Flaccida at a new apartment. He goes out to the country but finds no suspects. After continuous reconnaissance he has two problems: First, Claudia Rufina, the heiress from A Dying Light In Corduba and the new fiancee to Helena's brother Aelianus, has vanished, and second, a slave called Thurius has been identified as the murderer. Falco goes out to rescue Claudia and apprehend Thurius. He captures Thurius and finds his lair and his victim. He finds that it's not Claudia, it's Milvia's mother, who vanished again. Unlike Claudia, however, no one liked her enough to send out a search party. Claudia is later found to have eloped with Helena's other brother Justinus, an act that has disastrous consequences. The book ends with Falco telling Petro his wife went out with another man, and later receiving a visit from Anacrites. |
4844614 | /m/0cqmmy | Henry and Ribsy | Beverly Cleary | null | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | Like most of the Henry Huggins books, the incidents in this book follow an ongoing plot line. In this case, Henry wants to go on a salmon-fishing trip with his father. However, Ribsy has been causing all manner of trouble for the family. For example, Ribsy tries to prevent the garbage man from taking away the trash because Ribsy thinks it belongs to Henry. Henry's father says that Henry can only come on the trip if he can keep Ribsy out of trouble for a month. Henry is able to do this, and Ribsy actually helps him catch an enormous Chinook salmon at the end of the day. |
4844864 | /m/0cqn3k | King David's Spaceship | Jerry Pournelle | 1980 | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | The action opens on a planet called 'Prince Samual's World'. Bombed heavily during the Secession Wars, it has spent 400 years in isolation. Much of the technological knowledge of the First Empire was lost; when ships of the Second Empire find the system, the planet's technological level is somewhere around that of 19th century Europe. Colonel Nathan MacKinnie is famous for his masterful defense of the city-state republic of Orleans against King David's expansionist kingdom of Haven. Even after the battle of Blathern Pass, for which the colonel was famous, Haven embarked on a new campaign, with decisive battle that, had Orleans won, would have broken Haven's ambitions. The campaign is but a lure to get Orleans' forces into the field--weapons of the Second Empire, allied with Haven, wipe out most of Orleans' troops and with them, MacKinnie's fiancée. With few troops left, McKinnie is defeated, and is forced to surrender. He is pensioned off by the conquering Haven authorities. Many months later, drinking in a Haven tavern with his top sergeant, Hal Stark, he overhears a drunken Imperial officer boast of having been on Makassar, a primitive planet with a store of old Empire knowledge in a temple. Leaving the tavern, the two are taken by the Haven secret police to see their leader, Citizen Malcolm Dougal. Dougal offers MacKinnie an opportunity to serve Haven, and indeed the entire world, by going to Makassar disguised as a merchant and returning with information to help Haven build a spaceship. Dougal tells MacKinnie that he has disposed of all those who may have heard the officer's remarks. Dougal has found out that under Second Empire law, planets with space travel at the time of assimilation into the Empire have a higher status than those without. Haven has benefited from Imperial help in unifying the planet, but Dougal has uncovered what the Empire has failed to tell Haven: once the entire world is conquered, Prince Samual's World will become a colony, governed by outworlders. But if Dougal and his lord, King David, can launch a spaceship, however primitive, they can petition for self-governing status. MacKinnie has little choice in the matter, as Dougal's actions have made clear. He is no friend of Haven, but he has no desire to see the planet ruled by outsiders. With Stark and a collection of Haven agents, including Mary, a young woman with (most unusually for Haven) a University education, disguised as a merchant company, they board a ship of the Imperial Traders Association for the trip to Makassar. They are restricted to arming themselves with chain mail, shields and swords - no new technology can be introduced to the more primitive planet. Reaching Makassar, MacKinnie and his cohort learn that the Traders have played them for fools, leaving them in a city with few trade wares. Their only purpose was to have paying passengers on an otherwise unprofitable leg of their tour. The Havenites are stranded in a port blockaded by pirates. However, the situation does help the Havenites by giving them a motive to travel to the city where the First Empire artifacts are located. With the help of a Haven Navy commander in his retinue, MacKinnie buys and refits a sailing ship with leeboards. Although a primitive technology in Second Empire terms the leeboards are an advanced one in Makassar terms and allows the ship to travel much faster than any other on the planet. He recruits a skeptical, if veteran local ship captain and a crew desperate enough to man it. The new ship outruns most of the waiting pirate ships, only having to defeat a reduced force--using superior tactics. They arrive at the city of Batav where the Temple is located. The city is under the control of the Temple priests, but is besieged by vast hordes of barbarian horsemen. There are also Second Empire missionaries stranded there. MacKinnie convinces the city leaders to let him recruit citizens into an army. He maneuvers the most intelligent and suspicious of the high priests and his Temple guards into a suicidal trek while he defeats the barbarians, again utilizing superior tactics. Returning in triumph, he uses the resulting power vacuum to install the Second Empire clergymen as religious leaders. The grateful clerics are willing that MacKinnie's people get access to the archives. One of MacKinnie's men is a physicist chosen for his eidetic memory. While the expedition will take home hidden advanced memory storage cubes, he must memorize the information they need as it is unlikely the readers can be built for the cubes in Haven. After the battle, coup and an unsuccessful assassination attempt, MacKinnie and Mary become lovers. The churchmen are unexpectedly supportive. They too resent being used by the Traders. The barbarians are Muslims of Indonesian origin who originally gave the planet its name. The killing of Imperial missionaries would have provided the ideal pretext for Imperial intervention. MacKinnie and company sail back in time to board ship and return to Prince Samual's World. Stark remains (having failed to persuade MacKinnie to as well) and will guide the army the offworlders created, in MacKinnie's name. Back home, they use their newfound knowledge to build from old designs by pioneers such as Robert Goddard, one of which was a rapid firing cannon using high-explosive shells detonating behind the ship to provide propulsion. It is a desperate measure, but it works. In the presence of Imperial witnesses, the ship reaches orbit around the planet, although it cannot re-enter. Haven then requests that the Empire ship rescue the pilot, Mary, and soon thereafter, requests that Prince Samual's World be admitted to the Empire as a self-governing world. The Imperials eventually admit defeat, but they exact a price. The Samualites have embarrassed the Navy and must be seen to be punished. While the Imperial Navy is quite willing to try MacKinnie and Mary for interfering with the orderly development of Makassar, the political representatives broker a solution. Using the pretext of the illegal introduction of new technology - horse collars - on Makassar, which will seriously disrupt society, MacKinnie and his new fiancée, Mary, are exiled to Makassar. They gladly accept--MacKinnie never had wanted to leave--and return to Makassar to carve out their future--and Makassar's. |
4845122 | /m/0cqnlt | Step by Wicked Step | Anne Fine | null | {"/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Five children, Claudia, Colin, Pixie, Ralph and Robbo arrive at an old mansion known as Harwick Hall on a school trip. Upon reaching the hall, they discover a secret room. Claudia notices a diary on the desk belonging to previous owner Richard Harwick. The children read his story; apparently Richard had run away from home after the death of his father and his mother's subsequent remarriage to the strict Reverend Coldstone. While reading the story, the children all react in some way. They then realise that the reason they were grouped together was because they had both written two addresses on their forms. All of their parents are separated. After Richard ran away from home, he returned to an empty house. His mother had died of grief while his sister had also passed away from childbirth fever. This sparks a discussion of Richard's actions between the children. The discussion leads to each of them divulging their own family problems. Claudia reveals that her parents had divorced after several fights. The 'scarlet woman', a pleasant woman named Stella, tries but fails to win Claudia's approval.However, after a dinner party with her father's friends who too ignore Stella, Claudia realises her mistake and attempts to make nice by wearing beautiful pyjamas bought by Stella in front of the guests, shocking them into politeness. Colin reveals that his 'Dad' (who was his mother's partner but not his biological father) was left behind by his mother after they had absconded one day. While his mother was frustrated with Jack (Dad)'s unemployed state, Colin, who loved him very much, attempted to keep in contact with Jack. Failing to do so, he plans to find him in the future. Pixie recounts her parents' separation and her father's second marriage. She dislikes both her stepsisters. In a quarrel with her stepmother Lucy, Pixie unburdened herself of her grievances. Lucy aired her frustrations as well, and they made up. Ralph entertains the children with a comical description of his extended stepfamily, spanning two previous stepmothers and their children, one stepfather and one future stepmother, whom he is infatuated with. Robbo's story is about his stepfather, The Beard, and his sister Callie, who cannot get along. This had caused much trouble for the family especially after the birth of stepbrother Dumpa. Callie finally moved in with her father instead. Before going to bed, the other children secretly place a broken wooden cow made by Richard Harwick into Colin's bag, as a reminder to him to make the best of what he faces. |
4845238 | /m/0cqnsf | The African Queen | C. S. Forester | 1935 | {"/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | The story opens in August/September 1914. Rose Sayer, a 33-year-old Englishwoman, is the companion and housekeeper of her brother Samuel, an Anglican missionary in Central Africa. World War I has recently begun, and the German military commander of the area has conscripted all the natives; the village is deserted, and only Rose and her dying brother remain. Samuel dies during the night and Rose is alone. That day, another man arrives at the village: this is a Cockney named Allnutt, who is the mechanic and skipper of the African Queen, a steam-powered launch, owned by a Belgian mining corporation, that plies the upper reaches of the Ulanga River. Allnutt's two-man crew has deserted him at the rumours of war and conscription. Allnutt buries Samuel Sayer and takes Rose back to the African Queen, where they consider what they should do. The African Queen is well-stocked with tinned food, and carries a cargo of two hundredweight of blasting gelignite. It also holds two large tanks of oxygen and hydrogen. Rose is inflamed with patriotism, and also filled with the desire to avenge the insults the Germans piled on her brother. It occurs to her that the main German defence against a British attack by water is the gunboat Königin Luise, which guards the fictional Lake Wittelsbach into which the Ulanga feeds. She asks Allnutt if he can make the gelignite into a makeshift torpedo. Allnutt replies that that is not possible, but after some thought, he concludes that by loading the gelignite inside the emptied tanks, putting the tanks into the bow of the launch, and rigging a detonator, they could turn the African Queen itself into a sort of large torpedo. Allnutt is inclined to laugh off the idea, but he gives in to Rose's greater strength of will and the two of them set off down the Ulanga, Rose steering and Allnutt maintaining the launch's ancient, bulky, wood-burning steam engine. The descent to the lake poses three main problems: passing the German-held town of Shona; passing the heavy rapids and cataracts; and getting through the river delta. After many days on the river, they come close to Shona, and Allnutt's nerve fails; he refuses to take the launch under fire, anchors in a backwater, and gets drunk on gin. Unable to work the launch single-handed, Rose sets out to make Allnutt's life miserable until he agrees to her plan; while he is asleep she pours all his gin overboard, then proceeds to give him the silent treatment. The weak-willed Allnutt eventually gives in and the African Queen gets under way again. They come in sight of Shona at midday; the German commander assumes the launch is coming in to surrender (because he believes no boat could pass the rapids below the town, so Shona is the only possible destination); he does not realise his mistake until too late, and though he and his men open fire, the launch receives only minor hits. Below the town, the African Queen spends several days shooting the rapids; Allnutt is exhilarated, and he and Rose are reconciled and become lovers. Rose, embarrassed, admits that she does not know Allnutt's first name; he tells her it is Charlie. On the third day the launch strikes on rocks while passing another rapid; she loses way and does not respond well to the tiller, so they are forced to anchor in the lee of a rock outcropping. Allnutt dives and finds that the drive shaft is bent and the propeller has lost one of its blades. Over the next weeks they slowly repair the damage without being able to beach the launch; Allnutt has to dive again and again to remove the shaft and propeller. On shore they gather wood and construct a makeshift bellows to heat the shaft so Allnutt can straighten it. Then Allnutt makes a new propeller blade out of scrap iron and bolts it to the stump of the old blade. After many more dives to fix the shaft and propeller back in place, they continue on their way and eventually pass the rapids, coming out of the Ulanga River into the larger Bora River, which feeds into the lake. Passing the river delta is long and arduous. Tormented by myriads of biting insects, sickened with malaria, and racked by the terrible heat and powerful thunderstorms, they drag the launch through miles of reeds and water-grass with their boat-hooks, occasionally diving to cut fallen logs out of their way. Even the shallow launch (which has a draught of only thirty inches) constantly grounds on the thick mud. Finally, after weeks of exhausting labor, they emerge into the lake. They hide the launch in a stand of reeds and begin constructing the torpedo. Allnutt releases the gas from his two tanks and unscrews the valves, leaving a hole big enough for him to fill the tanks with gelignite, packed in mud. He cuts two holes in the front of the launch, right at the waterline, and fixes the two tanks there; he then constructs detonators from nails and revolver cartridges, so the gelignite will detonate on impact. All that is left is to pilot the launch right into the side of the Königin Luise, and the resulting explosion will destroy both vessels. They have been keeping track of the gunboat's habits, and choose a night when it will be anchored close to them. They argue about which of them should pilot the launch and which stay behind, but in the end they agree that they will both go. They fire up the engine and set out on the attack, but halfway to their target a sudden storm sweeps up out of nowhere and overwhelms them; the African Queen sinks, and Rose and Allnutt have to swim for safety. The two lovers are separated in the storm, but both are captured by the Germans the next day. They are brought before the captain of the Königin Luise to be tried as spies. Both refuse to say how they came to the lake, but the captain sees "African Queen" written on Rose's life-saver and deduces that they must be the mechanic and the missionary's sister from the mysteriously missing launch. He decides it would be uncivilised to execute them, so he flies a flag of truce and delivers them to the British naval commander, who dismissively sends them to separate tents under guard while he takes his newly-arrived reinforcements out to sink the Königin Luise. Having succeeded in this, he sends Rose and Allnutt to the coast to speak to the British Consul, where he advises Allnutt to enlist in the British Army. Rose and Allnutt agree that when they reach the coast they will ask the Consul to marry them. The story ends with the narrator's comment that "Whether or not they lived happily ever after is not easily decided." |
4845294 | /m/0cqnx6 | Night Without End | Alistair MacLean | 1959 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | A BOAC airplane crash-lands on the Greenland ice cap far from its usual route after flying in a seemingly erratic fashion. A scientific research team based near the crash site rescues the surviving passengers and takes them to their station. The team finds one passenger and most of the flight crew are dead with one of the pilots having been shot in the back. The only means of contact with the outside world, a radio set, is destroyed in a seemingly accidental manner. With not enough food for everyone and no hope of rescue, the leader of the scientific research team, Dr Mason, decides that they must set out for the nearest settlement. Meanwhile the pilot who was shot and in a coma is found to have been suffocated. An attempt is also made on Dr Mason's life by getting him to be lost in the arctic night. The scientists' suspicion falls on stewardess but she is soon cleared. Dr Mason orders Joss to stay behind and repair the radio so that a field expedition can be contacted. The dead passenger is determined to be a military courier; soon after that the wreck goes up in flames. Dr Mason leaves with the group along with the other scientist, Jackstraw while remaining in touch with their station by means of a short range radio. Meanwhile, the field expedition returns to the station and contacts Dr Mason. They inform him that a massive military mobilization has happened to locate the crashed plane and that it carried something very important. The governments having refused to divulge anything have tried to contact Dr Mason's station. Finding the station to be non-responding, they have requested the expedition chief, Captain Hillcrest, to check out the station. Dr Mason decides to go on with the journey since any attempt to return will induce the murderers to act. He keeps this new development to himself and Jackstraw. Captain Hillcrest sets out after the group but soon finds that the petrol he picked up the station has been tampered with. Sugar has been added to the petrol causing the sugar to melt and stick to the engine parts leading him to get bogged down. A solution is found to this when one of the passengers, a chemist, suggests that the petrol be mixed with water and the top layer of the resultant mixture be siphoned off. Almost at the same time, the governments also relent and inform Dr Mason through Captain Hillcrest that the military courier carried a top secret missile guidance mechanism and that it is made to look like a tape recorder. Dr Mason realizes that one of the passengers picked up such a device at the crash site. But this precipitates the murderers into action and they take over the group. Finding that killing the entire group is not feasible, the criminals make them ride with them. But soon they abandon all of them save the stewardess, for whom Mason has developed a soft corner, and the father of a passenger who is a boxer. In the process, one of passengers left behind is killed. The group stumbles on in the arctic blizzard guided by the guard dogs with one of them dying during this trek. Soon they come across the abandoned sled that contains rocket sondes. They use it to guide Captain Hillcrest to them and set out in chase across the arctic landscape. They manage to catch up with the criminals near the shore where a trawler waits for the criminals. But the intervention of navy, on information from Captain Hillcrest, frightens off the trawler. The criminals are surrounded here and after a bitter hand to hand combat between the protagonists and the criminals, the mechanism and the hostages are rescued. |
4847916 | /m/0cqsxs | Gregor the Overlander | Suzanne Collins | 9/1/2003 | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | When staying at home with his sick grandmother, and 2-year old sister, nicknamed Boots' (but whose birth name is Margaret), adolescent Gregor struggles with the apparent death of his father. Gregor is left home alone with Boots and his grandmother while his mother, Grace, takes his other sister, Lizzie, off to summer camp. Gregor goes down to his apartment complex's laundry room to do laundry, and takes Boots down with him. Boots starts messing with a grate behind one of the washing machine's. Gregor sees this, and dives after her, but is too late, and Boots falls through the hole, with Gregor falling behind her. They fall miles and miles beneath the earth, very fast, but as they near the bottom of their descent, they miraculously begin to slow down, and land gently on the ground. They land in the Underland, an underground world, hidden miles beneath our world, where humans and giant-talking bats, cockroaches, and even mice coexist in peace, but also a place where a conflict with giant-talking rats exist. The story revolves around a prophecy that centers around young Gregor himself, and how he, the "Warrior", as the Underlanders call him, will fulfill this prophecy. * Gregor: The protagonist of the story. He falls into the Underland with his sister. * Luxa: An Underlander, and the soon to be queen of Regalia. * Ripred: A trustworthy gnawer with deadly fighting skills and sharp intelligence, he fights alongside the humans. * Ares: A flier, first Henry's bond, then Gregor's. He is described as jet black, and strong. * Henry: An Underlander, and Luxa's cousin on the Royal side. * Vikus: Luxa's grandfather and Solovet's husband * Aurora: A flier, Luxa's bond. A golden color. * Boots (Margaret): Named after her grandma, Boots is Gregor's cheerful, two-year-old sister who is afraid of very little. * Nerissa: Luxa's cousin who foresees what either is going to happen or what already did. Ripred describes her flip flopping through time like a fish in the shallows. * Solovet: Luxa's grandmother and Vikus's wife; head of the Regalian army. * Dulcet: a servant in Regalia * Perdita: an Underland soldier. * Gregor's father * Grace: Gregor, Lizzie and Boots' mother * Grandma: Gregor, Lizzie and Boots' grandmother after whom Boots (Margaret) was named. * Mrs. Cormaci: A family friend to Gregor's family * King Gorger: The king of the gnawers (rats) * Queen Wevox: a giant spider. * Gox and Treflex: two spiders * Lizzie: Gregor and Boots' sister, mentioned more than once. * Mareth: One of Regalia's soldiers * Temp & Tick: Cockroaches who call Boots the "Princess". Beware, Underlanders, time hangs by a thread. The hunters are hunted, white water runs red. The gnawers are sent to extinguish the rest. The hope of the hopeless resides in a quest. An Overlander Warrior, a son of the sun, May bring us back light, he may bring us back none. But gather your neighbors and follow his call or rats will most surely devour us all. Two over, two under, of royal descent, Two fliers, two crawlers, two spinners assent. One gnawer beside and one lost up ahead. And eight will be left when we count up the dead. The last who will die must decide where he stands. The fate of the eight is contained in his hands. So bid him take care, bid him look where he leaps, As life may be death, and death life again reaps. * Bartholomew of Sandwich, who led a group of humans down from the Overland into the Underland, saw into the future and carved prophecies – which called Gregor the "Warrior" – into stone walls in a room filled with Prophecies * Luxa's parents, who are described as being killed by rats, which is why Luxa holds a grudge against all rats, good and bad. * Ripred's mate and pups * Henry and Nerissa's parents The creatures in the series resemble their real-life counterparts in almost every way, aside from being very large (most of them being bigger than the humans) and able to speak in the novels. * Humans: Sometimes referred to as the "Killers" by certain Underland species, Underland Humans live, mainly, in the city of Regalia. * Crawlers (Cockroaches): They call Boots the "Princess". * Spinners (Spiders): They provide several types of silk. * Fliers (Bats): These creatures "bond" with their human counterparts in a ceremony. * Gnawers (Rats): They are the antagonists of the story. Most of the Gnawers are violent and aggressive. * Shiners (Fireflies): Eat too much, are lazy and unreliable. * Nibblers (Mice): Are allied to the humans. * Stingers (Scorpions): Are allied by the humans by book 4. * Diggers (Moles): Introduced in book 5. They are the true founders of the Underland. * Twisters (Snakes): Introduced in book 4. * Hissers (Lizards): Introduced in book 3. * Cutters (Ants): Enemies of all warmbloods. Introduced in book 3. * Slimers: (Snails): Are mentioned by Howard in book 4. * Lobsters: They are briefly mentioned by Vikus in book 3; Ripred had tried to invade the Fount with an army of them. |
4849693 | /m/0cqwdf | Earthlight | Arthur C. Clarke | 1951-08 | null | The short story details two astronomers caught outside their base on the Moon as a battle rages between the forces of Earth and the Federation of the outer planets of the solar system over possession of the Moon's supply of uranium. Differs dramatically from the novel in chronology - the story is set in c.2015, while the novel is c.2175. In most other respects the plot of the short-story is retained by the novel. |
4852799 | /m/0cr0g4 | Billy | Whitley Strieber | null | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Barton Royal is an overweight man in his 40s who is obsessed with boys. He lives in Los Angeles but travels out of state to find and abduct a suitable young boy so he can be his "father". When he spots 12-year-old Billy Neary in an Iowa shopping mall, he follows the boy home, abducts him late that night, and drives back to California with Billy strapped into the back of his Aerostar minivan. The narrative includes glimpses of Barton's miserable childhood, especially the physical and sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and his recollections of what he has done to other boys before Billy. Billy tries to escape and also manages to make a few telephone calls, both on the road to and from Barton's home. Barton's behaviour switches between extreme violence and interludes of self-delusion. Billy finds his way into Barton's dungeon, his "black room", and discovers the remains of many other young boys. Billy’s father beats the police to Billy's location, just barely preventing Barton from torturing and killing him. |
4854368 | /m/0cr3n5 | The New Republic | William Hurrell Mallock | 1878 | {"/m/06nbt": "Satire"} | The novel is a satire consisting almost entirely of dialogue and mocking most of the important figures then at Oxford University, with regards to aestheticism and Hellenism. |
4856032 | /m/0cr61k | Death of a Whaler | Nerida Newton | 2006-07 | {"/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | Byron Bay, 1962. On the second last day before the whaling station is closed down for good, Flinch, the young spotter, is involved in a terrible accident. Over a decade later, Flinch has become a recluse, unable to move on from that fatal moment. The Bay, too, seems stalled in its bloody past, the land and the ocean on which it was founded now barren and unyielding. It is only after crossing paths with Karma, a girl living in one of the hinterland's first hippie communes, that Flinch gradually and reluctantly embarks upon a path towards healing, coming to terms with his past, present and future. |
4858671 | /m/0crbfb | The Ship | C. S. Forester | 1943 | {"/m/02p0szs": "Historical fiction", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | A vital convoy is heading to Malta, escorted by five Royal Navy light cruisers, including HMS Artemis. It is afternoon, and Artemis, commanded by Captain Troughton-Harrington-Yorke, has just beaten off a number of air attacks. An Italian surface fleet, with the battleships San Martino and Legnano and several light cruisers, will intercept it soon. The convoy must get through, so the British ships must fight. The crew, from the command level officers on the bridge down to the ordinary seamen in the lower decks, prepares for the coming confrontation, while part of them is also occupied with their own, very colorful lives. Upon receiving reports from the lookouts at the masthead of enemy ships ahead, the cruisers lay a smoke screen, then attack. The ship sustains two hits, the first of which kills the ship's surgeon and several other crewmembers, while the second one does more damage to the ship and requires the flooding of "X" gun turret aft. The other two turrets continue to fire upon the Italian fleet, while destroyers lay a torpedo attack. A single shell, whose history from the mining of the ores to the firing of the gun is described in detail, hits the Italian flagship and strikes the final blow to the morale of the enemy commanders. With the San Martino being hit by a torpedo, the Italian fleet retires as night falls, and the convoy continues for Malta. The captain remains on the bridge, more determined than ever to continue "the long struggle of sea power against tyranny", which so many naval commanders fought before him. |
4860400 | /m/0crdwd | Stronghold | Melanie Rawn | 1991 | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | After the trials and tribulations faced with the High Prince and others, Rohan, Sioned, Pol and Andry along with the rest of their families and friends, must defend their land against a large army of barbarians. No one knows where this army comes from or why they are attacking the Continent - or focusing on the Desert, High Prince Rohan's beloved homeland. Rohan and Pol are forced to flee across the Desert as they are pursued by the invaders. Along the way, they discover the enemy's fear of dragons. For a while the Desert forces are able to outsmart the enemy, but at the Battle of Stronghold the High Warlord arrives with his elite forces. The island and southern princedoms are overrun with invaders. The Dorvali are forced to flee their island, but Ludhill, Prince Chadric's heir, and his wife stay on the island and form a resistance. Prince Kostas of Syr revels in leading his army and manages to secure his princedom. Rohannon defends Kierst after the death of Prince Volog, and manages to fend off the invaders by having the army pad their armor to look like women. Andry protects Goddess Keep by using a ros'alath, a sorcerous wall, which terrorizes and kills those who touch it. |
4863087 | /m/05pd9dq | Secret Window, Secret Garden | Stephen King | 1990-09 | null | Mort Rainey is a successful novelist in Maine. One day, he is confronted by a man from Mississippi named John Shooter, who claims Mort plagiarized a story he wrote. Mort vehemently denies ever plagiarizing anything. Shooter leaves, but not before leaving his manuscript, "Secret Window, Secret Garden". Mort notices that Shooter left without his story; he drops it in the trash can. When Mort's housemaid recovers the manuscript—thinking it belongs to Mort—he finally reads Shooter's story, discovering that it is almost identical to his short story "Sowing Season". The two differ, but very slightly; they share the same plot elements. The only differences are the title, the character's name, the diction, and the ending. Mort becomes disturbed by these findings. Shooter returns a few days later. Having learned that "Sowing Season" was published two years before Shooter claimed to have written "Secret Window, Secret Garden", Mort confronts Shooter with this information. An enraged Shooter accuses Mort of lying and demands proof, giving Mort three days to show him his published story. Overnight, he kills Mort's cat and burns down the house of Mort's ex-wife, which contained the magazine issue in which "Sowing Season" was published. Mort orders a new copy of the magazine; he also asks his caretaker Greg Carstairs to tail Shooter and to talk to a man named Tom, who drove past Mort and Shooter. Shooter, angry that Mort has involved other people in their business, kills both men and plants evidence framing Mort for the murders. Upon receiving the magazine and returning home, Mort finds that "Sowing Season" has been removed. Mort realizes that John Shooter is really his own split personality. Tom had not seen Shooter while driving by—he saw Mort, by himself. Mort realizes he burned down his own home, killed his own cat, and murdered two people. He blacks out; fifteen minutes later he awakens, only to hear who he believes to be Shooter pulling into his driveway, at the time they'd arranged to meet. Desperate for any sign of his own sanity, he rushes outside only to find his ex-wife, Amy. Devastated, he loses control of his body and mind to Shooter. Amy discovers that Mort has gone insane, having written the word "Shooter" all over the house. She goes to Mort's study, where "Shooter" attempts to kill her in an ambush; she manages to escape. "Shooter", chasing Amy outside, is shot by her insurance agent. Mort becomes himself again, addresses Amy, and dies. Later, Amy and Ted—a man she had an affair with before divorcing Mort—discuss her ex-husband's motives; she insists that Mort had become two people, one of them a character so vivid it became real. She then recalls something Tom witnessed; when he drove past Mort alone, he took a look in his rear view mirror...and saw Shooter with Mort, although transparent. Amy then reveals that while digging through Mort's house, she found Shooter's trademark hat; she took it out to the trash, and planted it right-side up on a trash bag. When she returned, she found a note from Shooter inside the overturned hat, revealing that he has travelled back to Mississippi. Amy remarks that Mort had created a character so vivid, he actually came to life. |
4863097 | /m/03nmc_b | The Library Policeman | Stephen King | 1990-09 | null | Sam Peebles is asked to give a speech to the Rotary Club. An office assistant (Naomi) directs him to the public library to check out two books that might help with speech writing. In doing so he runs across Ardelia Lortz, the librarian. He checks out two books with the warning that they must be returned or he should beware of the Library Policeman. Naomi eventually informs us that Ardelia Lortz is not living and is not spoken of any more. Through a series of events we are introduced to Dave "Dirty Dave" Duncan, a former lover of Ardelia's. He finds that Ardelia is not a person but a being which feeds on fear and that Duncan was a sometimes unwilling companion/conspirator in helping her feed from the fear of children. We find that Ardelia had "died" in 1960 after killing two children and a police officer. She is now back and Duncan believes she seeks revenge and a new host. The Library Policeman turns out to be a recreation by Ardelia of a man Peebles had run into as a child at his local library who had raped and threatened him. The Library Policeman however is not just a recreation but also an embodiment of Ardelia who sought access to Sam as her new host. Dave dies defending them from Ardelia. They appear to have beaten the Library Policeman/Ardelia, only to discover at the end that she has already attached to Naomi. Sam removes her from Naomi's neck and destroys her under the wheels of a passing train. |
4863158 | /m/0crjnv | Bumageddon: The Final Pongflict | Andy Griffiths | 9/1/2005 | {"/m/02yq81": "Comic novel", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | When Zack got his certificate, the open-air chapel is squashed by a giant-brown-blob (presumably poo, but never mentioned). Everyone fails to get out except for Zack, his bum and Eleanor. While trying to save the others, they find 4 Great White Bums coming towards them. After an argument of who was the real Great White Bum and who was responsible for blobbing the chapel, the trio of bum-fighters manage to escape the 4 Great White Bums. Unfortunately, a fifth Great White Bum flies in front of them and emits what was called a "death ray"(which is a teleportation ray) to the three bum-fighters. When they regained vision, Zack and Eleanor are surprised to be in a control center, puzzled. Thinking that Great White Bums had control centers, they heard a familiar voice that had belonged to Ned Smelly. Ned explains that this isn't a Great White Bum, but is in fact a bum-fighting machine called "Robobum" who has "Fully riveted reinforced steel cheeks. Turbo assisted jet repulsion unit. Nuclear wart-head equipped. Matter transport assisted entry and exit. Inside and outside voice options. Onboard tea and coffee making facilities. AND is self-wiping!" Eleanor explains that everyone is dead. Ned then signals to them to go to the bumcam screens. 3 of them showed destruction to the Pyramids of Giza, New York City and the Eiffel Tower. Ned then explains that Bumageddon is upon them. After that, Ned tells a story that he was hunting for stinkant juice, the most powerful fuel source in the world, when he headed back and the ground collapsed underneath. He found himself in a stinkant nest. He mapped it for a couple of weeks when he found a reservoir full of stinkant juice. He fueled up and found writing on the wall that said "WARNING! THE GREAT WHITE BUM IS USING THE BROWN HOLE TO SEND PREHISTORIC GREAT WHITE BUMS FORWARD THROUGH TIME. STOP HIM OR THE WORLD IS DOOMED!". Underneath this was 3 skeletons and that one was holding Imperial Leather soap. This was Zack's grandmothers' favorite soap. After a series of talking, Ned says that Robobum was equipped with time travel. Together, they go back to the bumosaurs' period. Unfortunately, Ned's temporal navigator has a loose screw and sends them back 650,000,000 years instead of 65,000,000 years. Then they find one of the earliest primitive forms of life which turns out to be a bum, thus proving that Sir Roger Francis Rectum was correct about bumolution. Eleanor then takes a photo of the bum. The bum flips on its back to show a clump of eggs, which all hatch except for a pure white one. Zack concludes it's the Great White Bum and tries to kill it, but it gets away. Then, Robobum transports them back in to herself and turns on the tracking system, changing course 50 times. Suddenly, Zack hits his head on the temporal navigator, fixes the loose screw and they travel to the Crapaceous period about 65 million years ago. All three bum-fighters lose their mind and are revived by the fart of Zack's bum. A tyrannosore-arse rex chases them. Robobum is put under manual control by Ned when another tyrannosore-arse rex chases them. Robobum is left by herself to fight them while the three are yet AGAIN in trouble when a tricerabutt chases them. Zack uses his certificate as a cape that a matador uses. This is when we find out Zack's middle name (Henry). The three bum-fighters escape into an undergrowth where they find a guide bum. It tells about the Crack of Doom, the breeding place of Great White Bums. The guide bum guides them toward it while Zack's bum believe it may lead them to a trap while Zack is swatting giant mutant zombie blowflies. A poopasaur almost eats Zack and Zack's bum believes the guide didn't warn about poopasaurs. The 5 bums and bum-fighters rest in a campfire and are stolen by stinkants and find the warning that Ned had seen. There they see Zack's gran, the Forker and the Flicker. Zack's bum and Ned are then brought by other stinkants. Robobum then comes along and squashes all the stinkants. Meanwhile, Gran and the Flicker and the Forker stay behind to finish the message. The guide bum is revealed by Eleanor to be her bum, but her bum gets off, abandoning her. Robobum says she would be the guide, except her BPS wasn't working. She then says that there is an abnormal amount of methane to its north-east. Robobum tries to fly away but remains on the ground. It was found in a sticky vine. Zack, Eleanor, Ned and Zack's bum were cutting through the strands when they hear a voice. Zack and his bum crawl along the vine to find out it was the Mutant Maggot Lord. A bumantula spots them and they quickly get back into Robobum. The bumantula almost crushes them when they are found by the Great White Bum. He pulls off the bumantula, punches it for a while and pulls off its legs. Eleanor realises the Mutant Maggot Lord was in Robobum. He tells the story that after the blowflies were spat out the brown hole they vomited him up. He pulled his pieces back together. He is then renamed the Mutant Spew Lord. Suddenly, Stink Kong, the Great White Bum's mortal enemy, fights the Great White Bum while Robobum is carried away by a bumadactyl. Eleanor sees her bum in the bumadactyl's beak and goes to save her. After saving her bum, Eleanor and Zack go back into Robobum only to find out the Mutant Spew Lord killed Ned. Zack wonders if he had change alliance again. Zack realizes his bum is gone but when Robobum is carried away his bum falls out of the roof. The Mutant Spew Lord almost shoot Eleanor but her bum jumps in front and gets shot instead. Eleanor grabs the bum-gun out of his arm (which Zack thought was an arm). Unfortunately, the bullets pass through him as the Mutant Spew Lord is actually 99 percent water. Robobum insists on using "wet and dry suction hose located in hall closet" (a vacuum cleaner). Zack vacuums the Mutant Spew Lord. Zack's Bum is giving Eleanors bum "bum-to-bum resuscitation" and she wakes up. Zack and his bum drag Ned's body and his guidebook into the matter transporter and take him up. The Great White Bum arrives at the Crack of Doom with Robobum, where the arseteroid should be hitting. Eleanor and the bums tell Robobum shes wants a wedding dress, flowers and music. The great White Bum accepts and leaves it up to 3 Great White Bums to get her stuff, in which Zack believes is impossible. Unfortunately an hour later, a wedding dress made out of paper-thin bark, a bouquet of ferns and grasses and "THE GREAT WHITE BUM QUARTET" come back. Zack says that the music is so unpleasant and smells really bad. The wedding starts with the Prince and Maurice conducting the wedding. Zack and Eleanor plan to blow the nuclear wart-head out at the Great White Bum when he's under the asteroid. Unfortunately, the Mutant Spew Lord puddle comes out and tells the Prince and Maurice that Robobum is a robot. Zack, Eleanor and their bums are shook out. The Mutant Spew Lord Puddle calls the Great White Bum a "big, pimply loser with half his left cheek missing who doesn't know who his true friends are" (In the previous book, it was half of the Great White Bum's right cheek missing the skin.). The Mutant Spew Lord Puddle is soaked up in Robobum's dress and thrown into the Crack of Doom. Robobum locks the Great White Bum into an unbreakable hug right under the arseteroid. He tells that the other Great White Bum Zack had disturbed and chased 585 million years into the future was still on Uranus. Zack and Eleanor finally think its all over. Suddenly, Zack's bum steps forward and says that while Eleanor and Zack were saving her bum, he and Robobum discussed the problem, and shot an interplanetary death ray at Uranus, eradicating all forms of life, including Great White Bum's, on Uranus. The arseteroid hits and surely kills everyone at the wedding. Zack and Eleanor find themselves on hay bales. Ned Smelly comes in and tell them to get out. Zack finds a letterbox that says "Ed Kelly" on the front, meaning that he must have changed the Earth, but his bums were now attached to their owners and weren't talking. Zack's home city is now known as "Marbletown", the Kicker is a footy coach, the Smacker became a baker, Silas became a fishing supplies owner and the Kisser owns new and used cars. Zack meets Percy Freeman, his long-dead grandfather and find out that all their parents are alive. Zack's parents are now playing wind sections in an orchestra. Eleanor's parents are also alive. She tells her mother that she had to rescue Zack on many occasions about bums, bum-fighting and bumosaurs but she doesn't believe her. Zack and Eleanor wash their hands and shockingly, find their bums gone. Zack and Eleanor then see them on the windowsill looking at the sunset hand-in-hand. Zack states its only just begun. |
4864211 | /m/0crktq | Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts | null | null | {"/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/02hwgm": "Field guide"} | The book presents various sketches of fearsome critters from North American folklore, with descriptions by Cox preceded by full-page landscape illustrations by du Bois. Like in a traditional field guide, each animal is assigned a Latin classification (by Sudworth), afterward noting their habitat, physical makeup, and behavior. At the end of each account; however, there is usually a brief anecdote detailing an encounter with the creature. Fearsome Creatures may be classified as a work of metafiction. The introduction acknowledges the varmints as, “animals which he [the lumberjack] has originated.” Although, given the books mixed field-guide narrative format it is uncertain whether the introduction is within or aside from the primary context. At times the storyteller (identified as Cox himself in the introduction) employs the more ambiguous woodsmen/loggers “tell of” or out comes the “rumor of,” but other times declares to the reader that there “ranges” or “is” such a creature. |
4866311 | /m/0crp4j | O Crime do Padre Amaro | José Maria Eça de Queiroz | 1875 | null | The novel concerns a young priest, Amaro, who serves as diocesan administrator at Leiria. Amaro lacks a vocation, having been pushed into the priesthood by his aristocratic patrons, the Marquesa de Alegros and, later, the Conde de Ribamar, and, owing to the vow of chastity he was obliged to take, is obsessed with women and deeply sexually frustrated. Upon arriving in Leiria, he falls for Amélia, the beautiful daughter of his landlady, a pious widow and the mistress of his superior, Canon Dias. After Amélia's fiancé, João Eduardo, publishes an exposé of the local clergy's venal habits in the town's newspaper under a pseudonym, Amaro and his colleagues and parishioners expose João Eduardo as the author of the piece, pressure Amélia to break off the engagement, and drive João Eduardo out of town. Amaro begins a sexual relationship with Amélia, meeting first in his coal cellar and then in the bell-ringer's house, using charitable visits to his bedridden, mentally disabled daughter as a cover. His love affair with Amélia ends in tragedy when she becomes pregnant, and is forced to seclude herself in the countryside for the duration of the pregnancy in order to prevent a scandal. João Eduardo returns to Leiria, but refuses to marry Amelia in order to render the child legitimate. Amaro and his maid, Dionisia, who also acts as a midwife, find a wet-nurse who, it is implied, kills babies in her care. Amélia gives birth to a healthy boy, who is handed over to the wet-nurse and killed. Amélia suffers complications after the birth and dies of a burst aneurysm. The actual paternity of Amélia's child, while the subject of gossip, never comes to light, and Amaro moves on to another parish. The novel leaves him in Lisbon, discussing the events of the Paris Commune. |
4868123 | /m/0crrm_ | The Mandalorian Armor | K. W. Jeter | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction"} | The book mainly talks about the web in which Boba Fett is trapped. The book is set shortly after Jabba the Hutt's barge is destroyed and flashes back to when the Bounty Hunters Guild still existed. This book is set during the events of Return of the Jedi. It begins with Dengar searching through the wreckage of Jabba's sail barge for anything or anyone of value. As Dengar is ready to give up, assuming that the Jawas had beat him to the wreckage, he notices two things: first, that the Sarlacc appears to be dead; and second, that there is a survivor. The survivor is Boba Fett, who had blown his way out of the Sarlacc pit. Boba's distinctive armor had suffered damage from his time in the pit and he was nearly dead. While Dengar moved Fett to a cave for shelter, the book flashes back to between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes; back to a period where Boba Fett is a freelance bounty hunter at odds with the Bounty Hunters Guild. Kuat of Kuat, the hereditary CEO of the Empire's chief subcontractor for military items is interested in the events that occurred at Jabba's palace and on his sail barge. Kuat of Kuat reviews holoprojections uploaded from the palace and regardless of the evidence, is not convinced Boba Fett is dead without additional confirmation. In the first of many flashbacks to the period between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, Bossk and Zuckuss have been assigned by the Bounty Hunters Guild a contract for an accountant wanted by the Hutts. Although both are experienced bounty hunters, Bossk acts like the leader. Zuckuss warned Bossk that just because his father leads the Bounty Hunters Guild did not make him leader of the mission. They blasted their way into the accountant's hiding place, where to find the room empty. They had been beat to the bounty by Boba Fett. Bossk and Zuckuss, in pursuit of Boba Fett, warn him that he has no authority to work this bounty; that they had been assigned the bounty by the Bounty Hunters Guild. Boba Fett quips that he answers to a higher authority, himself, and blasts off into hyperspace. Fett enters his hold and talks to his "cargo" sitting in one of the cells. The accountant offers to pay Fett more than the bounty if he would let him go. Fett apologizes that it does not work that way, that he is the highest paid bounty hunter in the galaxy because he delivers. The accountant said that he had heard of other bounty hunters accepting offers. Fett said that the mismanagement and incompetence of the guild causes that and he will have no part of it. Deep in space, the Slave I approaches the lair of the Assembler, Kud'ar Mub'at. The arachnid go between who serves as the criminal world's escrow service. It is to the Assembler that Fett is to deliver his captive and collect his bounty. The Assembler's web-like home is a set of extruded neural fibers along which semi-independent multi-legged nodes run performing various tasks for the Assembler. The Assembler is careful not to give too much autonomy to its neural nodes; as it was once one of those nodes who reached enough independence to rise up and eat its predecessor. Fett describes his distaste for this sort of cannibalism within certain species. The Assembler reveals that it has received a new contract, a private one, for Fett to work. Private contracts are required by clients who wish their ends to be kept secret and mean more money for Fett. He accepts the contract to join the Bounty Hunters Guild and break it up from within. Back in the present, Dengar captures a woman who had followed him and Fett into their hiding place. The woman, Neelah, insisted that she must see Fett but, she doesn't know why. She explained that she was a dancer in Jabba's palace but has no memories before arriving in the palace. She says that when Boba Fett looked at her in the palace, she knew that she had some connection to him and needed to meet him. Dengar notices signs of an aristocratic upbringing in Neelah and symptoms of a memory wipe. He agrees to her request, attributing his soft spot for Neelah to the fact that he'd recently met a woman he cares for. He warns Neelah that she has to be careful around Fett and that he will not leave her alone with him. He warns that Fett is ruthless and cannot be trusted and that he hardly trusts him to keep up his end of their new partnership. Flashing back to "Then", Boba Fett is at a feast welcoming him to the Bounty Hunters Guild. The guild elders finally welcomed Fett into their organization. Bossk does not trust Fett and calls his father a fool for doing so. The father and son exchange death threats which is common among Trandoshans; as is feasting on the remains of your enemies, and killing and eating your siblings shortly after birth. Bossk asked why Fett would join now. Fett explained that times are changing and that that pressures in the galaxy—including Black Sun—have forced him to change his stance on the guild. Bossk is grudgingly calmed down by the rest of the guild and he agrees to treat Fett like a brother. The Emperor meets with Darth Vader and Prince Xizor to discuss the new plan Xizor has put in place. It was Xizor who contacted the Assembler with the private contract for Fett to join the guild. Xizor reveals that his plan will eliminate the dead weight in the guild and leave only the best bounty hunters; then the Empire will be able to contract with those remaining bounty hunters to execute plans that need independence and cunning. He explains that the Empire, by design, has suppressed independence in their troopers and officers but that they need independence to fight the rebellion where free thinking is their strongest asset. Vader is not convinced and thinks Xizor has ulterior motives. |
4868438 | /m/0crs37 | The Book of the Dead | Lincoln Child | 7/1/2007 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/0lsxr": "Crime Fiction", "/m/017rf8": "Techno-thriller", "/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast is the focus of this novel as his evil brother Diogenes puts several plans into effect. One plan involves targeting Aloysius's dearests friends...and casual acquaintances. Concurrently, the New York Museum of Natural History has re-opened an old tomb, closed down decades ago. Rumours abound of the tomb being cursed, but most tombs do have a curse on them as a matter of course, as a protection against grave robbers. Not much is thought of the curse until a lighting technician is found disembowled. Later, a British Egyptologist goes mad and attacks a colleague; security is forced to shoot and kill him. When a replacement Egyptian specialist turns out to be the one woman Pendergast is in love with, his friends begin to suspect something even more horrible is going on than originally suspected. |
4869236 | /m/0crtk1 | Another Hope | null | null | null | Another Hope is an alternative history re-imagining of the events in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). Mixing familiar moments from the film with new story material, Jareo drew inspiration and mixed in elements from the prequel films. The book deals in minute details of the Death Star, the politics of Darth Vader's henchmen, and insight into Vader and Princess Leia Organa's adoptive parents. Biggs Darklighter, a minor character in the film, has been given an expanded role. The text adds a "Mary Sue" version of Ryoo Naberrie, described as "a gutsy underling on the Death Star". |
4869906 | /m/0crvqt | Lovelock | Orson Scott Card | 1994 | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction"} | When the book begins, the Cocciolone family is packing for their new life aboard the Mayflower. The family consists of Carol Jeanne, her husband Red, their daughters Lydia and Emmy, and Red's parents Mamie and Stef. They take a shuttle to the Ark, during which Lovelock is ashamed of his primitive, terrified response to free-fall. Aboard the Mayflower, the Cocciolone family begins to integrate themselves into the society of the Ark. When Lovelock meets a scientist who attempts to communicate with him via sign language, Carol Jeanne explains that she hadn't taught her Witness sign language because she didn't want him "chattering to [her] all the time." This event marks Lovelock's first feelings of furious rebellion. Lovelock begins to long for a mate, and children of his own. After learning about a supply of cryogenically frozen capuchin monkeys, he steals a young female monkey and hides her in the low-gravity poles that support the Ark. Unfortunately, she grows up stunted and sickly. Lovelock, realizing that should his actions be discovered he would be put to death, begins to write his story in a hidden file on the Ark's computer. |
4873110 | /m/0cr_gn | Fripp | Miles Tredinnick | 1/1/2001 | {"/m/0lsxr": "Crime Fiction", "/m/02yq81": "Comic novel", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy"} | Retired Rear Admiral Peter Legg has a delicate problem. He is suffering from satyriasis (the male equivalent of nymphomania) and his constant craving for sexual excitement with the local Madam, Miss Forde, and her working girls, Forde's Escorts, have left him broke and despondent. Furthermore, his long-suffering wife Margot has deserted him. In desperation he attends a newly opened sexual addiction clinic run by the handsome, breakfast TV doctor Ryan Hooper. When this fails to solve his problems he decides to employ a young private detective, Twyford Fripp, to track down his wife and hopefully bring her back. Unfortunately, it's Twyford Fripp's very first case... |
4873632 | /m/0cs089 | Heechee Rendezvous | Frederik Pohl | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Robinette Broadhead returns in this novel, a married millionaire with health problems. However, he does not feel that he deserves transplants to keep him alive, still feeling guilt about his experience on a horrible journey to a black hole, many years ago. He still attempts to research more about the Heechee and their technology. At the same time, a madman named Wan attempts to search for his father within black holes, using stolen equipment and a Heechee ship. His probing is caught by a sentient race of slow-moving creatures who inform a Heechee patrol, sent out of their black hole to observe the state of the galaxy. Fearing that humans may alert a malevolent race of beings known as the Assassins, the Heechee patrol sets out to try to find out more about human achievements in space flight and whether or not the damage done by them can be undone. Wan's probing also releases Gelle-Klara Moynlin, a companion of Robinette on his journey to the black hole, from her two decade long entrapment, which for Moylin was really only several elapsed days. The journeys of these past and future friends of Robinette begin to converge, and in the end, humans finally meet the Heechee. |
4873693 | /m/0cs0cg | Amnesia Moon | Jonathan Lethem | 1995-09 | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | The protagonist is a survivalist named Chaos, who lives in an abandoned megaplex in Wyoming after an apparent nuclear strike. The residents of his town of Hatfork are reliant on a sinister messianic figure named Kellogg for food. Kellogg also has powerful dreams, which he transfers into the minds of others. Chaos's mind is especially receptive, making him reluctant to sleep. Both Lethem and Chaos abandon this premise early on, and Chaos also goes by the name of "Everett Moon", depending on where he is. The novel plays with several other dystopian and post-apocalyptic setups. One area is covered in a thick green fog, save for an exclusive private school. Vacaville, California, has converted to a luck-based social system, taken to totalitarian extremes. Again, this is reminiscent of Dick's Solar Lottery, where society is also based on chance. There are echoes of other works by Dick. For example, when Moon and his travelling companion, Melinda, reach San Francisco, hallucinogenic drugs play a role in altered perceptions that provide access to other characters in this world, as in The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Elsewhere, it is argued that the depicted realities splintered away from each other to provide resistance to a hive-like alien invasion of Earth. Such solipsistic worlds are reminiscent of Dick's early novel Eye in the Sky. The one constant throughout is the idea that reality is shaped by powerful and charismatic "dreamers". The reason for the break in realities, and Chaos/Moon's place in this world, is a unifying mystery. |
4883177 | /m/0csg8z | The Iron Hand of Mars | Lindsey Davis | 1992 | {"/m/0lsxr": "Crime Fiction", "/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense", "/m/0hwxm": "Historical novel"} | In The Iron Hand of Mars, Falco is sent to Germania Liberi in the aftermath of a rebellion. He is dispatched by Vespasian to deliver a new standard, give a report on the Legio XIV Gemina, and to discover what happened to their Legate. He also searches for the rebel leader Julius Civilis and encounters the priestess Veleda |
4883195 | /m/0csg9n | The Silver Pigs | Lindsey Davis | 1989 | {"/m/0lsxr": "Crime Fiction", "/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/02p0szs": "Historical fiction", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | This is the first novel in the series and introduces the main characters as well as establishing relationships that continue and grow throughout the whole series. Falco stumbles upon a conspiracy in the trading of silver ingots, but not before it claims the life of a young girl (Sosia Camillina) whom Falco meets and is smitten with. Hired by the young girl's uncle, a senator, to find out who murdered her, and by the Roman Emperor Vespasian, to uncover the conspiracy, Falco finds himself on the next boat to Britain. Once there he meets a lady way out of his class, Helena Justina, daughter of the Senator who hired him. At first sight it is mutual loathing, he hates her class and she hates his prejudice. Finding himself working down a silver mine, acting as a mine slave, Falco learns the meaning of hate, pain and abuse. After being rescued by Helena and a friendly centurion, Falco heads back to Rome, as the reluctant charge of the even more reluctant Helena. Naturally, after spending so much time together, lots of arguments, misunderstandings and denial, Falco and Helena fall in love (subsequently consummated in a horse stable in a public garden). Eventually, Falco sorts out the case, and only has to bring the culprits to justice. However, there is no justice when one of the culprits is Domitian, the Emperor's very own wayward son. As for the other culprits, only one remains alive, and that person is very close to the girl Falco loves and her senator father. After a final, bloody, retribution is carried out in the climax, Falco is offered the chance to be raised to the upper middle class, the equestrian rank. As an equestrian Falco could marry Helena without bringing her or her family shame, which is something he could never manage on his meagre earnings alone. He refuses, seeing the offer as a bribe to keep the whole conspiracy hushed-up. After realising his mistake and how he must have insulted Helena, he returns to Vespasian and asks for the chance again, and while he is told that his name can be added to the equestrian lists, he must first raise the 400,000 sesterces himself in order to purchase the land to that value which is the qualification for equestrian status. Dejected he returns to his dilapidated tenement in the Aventine Hill and there finds Helena waiting for him. She promises to wait for him for as long as it takes. <!- |
4884979 | /m/0csjs0 | Ali and Nino: A Love Story | Kurban Said | 1937 | {"/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | "Ali and Nino" is the story of an Azerbaijani youth who falls in love with a Georgian princess. Essentially, the book is a quest for truth and reconciliation in a world of contradictory beliefs and practices – Islam and Christianity, East and West, age and youth, male and female. Much of the novel is set in Baku's Old City (Ichari Shahar) on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution beginning around 1917–1918. The novel was first published in 1937, in a foreign country (Austria), in a foreign language (German), by someone using the pen name of Kurban Said (Gurban Said, in Azeri). Ali Khan Shirvanshir, descendant of a noble Muslim family, is educated in a Russian boy's high school. While his father is still completely a part of Asia, Ali is exposed to Western values in school and through his love to Georgian princess Nino, who has been brought up in a Christian tradition and belongs more to the European world. The book describes the love of Ali for Nino, with excursions to mountain villages in Daghestan, Shusha in Azerbaijan, Tbilisi, Georgia and Persia. Upon graduating from high school, Ali determines to marry Nino. At first she hesitates, until Ali promises that he will not make her wear the veil, or be part of a harem. Ali's father, despite his Muslim traditional view of women, supports the marriage; Nino's father tries to postpone the marriage. The book takes a dramatic turn when an Armenian, whom Ali thought was a friend, kidnaps Nino. In retaliation, Ali pursues him on horseback and overtakes his car and kills him. Contrary to tradition, he spares Nino. Ali flees to Daghestan to escape the vengeance of the Armenian family. After many months, Nino finds Ali in a simple hilltown, the two marry on the spot and spend a few months in blissful poverty. As turmoil follows the Russian Revolution, Ali Khan makes some tough ideological decisions. When the Ottoman Army moves closer to liberate his native Baku, Ali Khan watches the developments closely. The Bolsheviks recapture Baku, and Ali and Nino flee to Iran (Persia). In Tehran, Ali is reminded of his Muslim roots, while Nino is fundamentally unhappy in the confinement of the harem. Upon establishment of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ali and Nino return and become cultural ambassadors of their new country. Ali is offered a post as ambassador to France – an idea Nino had arranged – but Ali declines, because he fears he will be as unhappy in Paris. When the Red Army descend on Ganja, Azerbaijan, Ali takes up arms to defend his country. Meantime, Nino flees to Georgia with their child, but Ali Khan dies in battle as the Bolsheviks take the country, which in reality led to the establishment of the Soviet domination of Azerbaijan from 1920–1991 and the end of the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR, from May 1918 to April 1920). |
4885884 | /m/0cslf5 | The Great Cow Race | Jeff Smith | 1996 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/09kqc": "Humour"} | Thorn, Gran'ma Ben and the Bone cousins attend the spring fair, an annual market and festival in the town that culminates in the Great Cow Race, a race which Gran'ma Ben always wins. Fone Bone is driven to jealousy when Tom, the handsome honey seller, flirts with Thorn, so he decides to get some honey for her himself. However, a gigantic bee defends his hive, getting into a fight with Fone Bone. He eventually gets the honey, but sees Thorn sharing some honey with Tom. Phoney and Smiley Bone continue their work at The Barrelhaven, with Phoney concocting a scheme to fix the cow race by sowing seeds of disquiet about Gran'ma Ben's fitness to compete. At the end, Thorn meets Tom at the fair, but finds he is with another girl. Phoney Bone's race-fixing scheme continues as he hypes his "Mystery Cow" (who is in fact Smiley Bone in an unconvincing cow costume) to draw bets from the townsfolk. That night, Thorn has a vivid dream in which she sees herself as a young child in a cave and surrounded by dragons. She tells Fone Bone the dream is a recurring one which has only started again since seeing his map. She is certain now that she was the one who drew it, many years earlier, and that her dream is in fact a childhood memory. The day of the Great Cow Race arrives, and Phoney Bone's scheme is threatened as Lucius Down convinces the townsfolk the Bones are deceiving them. This forces Phoney and Smiley to put on a charade to convince people the Mystery Cow is indeed a real, vicious and wild animal. Meanwhile, Fone Bone's attempt to write a love poem to Thorn is interrupted when the two Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures catch up with him once again. Just as the race is about to begin, Lucius bets the Barrelhaven on Gran'ma Ben, causing Phoney Bone to climb into the cow suit with Smiley just as the race begins, with the intention of winning the race. During the race, however, Phoney causes them to fall off a cliff due to Gran'ma Ben attempting to unmask them, into a patrol of rat creatures. At this moment, The Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures chase Fone Bone into the path of the patrol as well, and the patrol chases them and their paths merge with the race. Everybody flees when they discover this (just as the race is about to end) and Gran'ma Ben wins. After the disastrous Cow Race, Phoney and Smiley are forced to work off their debts working at the Barrelhaven Tavern and repairing Gran'ma Ben's farm house. Lucius and Ben discuss the situation with the Bone cousins, the Rat Creatures and the Great Red Dragon. They suspect that although their arrival in the valley may have set off the attacks, they are not themselves to blame. A vignette centering on Smiley Bone and Lucius Down as they fix the roof of the farm house. Lucius is driven crazy by Smiley's half-witted cluelessness. Smiley reflects that his "village idiot" role hasn't changed much since leaving Boneville. |
4885892 | /m/0cslg6 | Eyes of the Storm | Jeff Smith | 1996 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy", "/m/09kqc": "Humour"} | The two Stupid Rat Creatures, lying low after wrecking the Great Cow Race, are to their surprise congratulated by Kingdok for their mistake. Thorn has a vivid dream where she, dressed in a regal gown, is beckoned by The Hooded One, who then reveals Fone Bone's head under its hood. The Great Red Dragon appears in Fone Bone's Moby Dick inspired nightmare. The following day, as Fone Bone tries again to write Thorn a love poem, the Dragon himself shows up. Fone Bone asks him about the dream, and the Dragon hints that he actually entered the dream on purpose. The worries of the night are soon forgotten, however, as the Bone cousins have to tackle some of the more onerous tasks of farm life. Lucius, Smiley and Phoney Bone set off back for the Barrelhaven, but a fierce storm strikes up en route, and the wagon is ambushed by Rat Creatures. Smiley Bone leads a charge to safety, but sends the wagon and its passengers over a cliff and into a river. At the farm house, Thorn and Fone Bone shelter from the rain in a barn and discuss each other's dreams, and in particular why Gran'ma Ben lied to Thorn about her past and the Dragons. Suddenly, Fone Bone and Thorn find Gran'ma listing in on their conversation. She then runs into the woods. Fone Bone and Thorn follow Gran'ma Ben into the woods, and she makes her feelings known about Fone Bone, telling him he must have woken the Dragon by coming to the valley. The trio are attacked by Rat Creatures, and Fone Bone calls out to the Great Red Dragon for help; once again he appears and scares them away. However, Gran'ma Ben seems angry with the Dragon. "You think he'll be there whenever you need him," she warns, "but he won't. He wasn't always there for me." Fone Bone tries to make a connection with Thorn. Gran'ma Ben apologizes to Bone for accusing him of stirring up trouble in the valley, knowing the troubles started long before he and his cousins arrived. Fone Bone shows her the map, and tells her about the swarm of locusts, a detail she finds particularly disconcerting - she explains that if the Locusts has returned, a war will be unavoidable. She reveals that Thorn's parents were in fact the monarchs of the realm throughout the generation-long war with the Rat Creatures, and Thorn herself has been the crown princess during the period of uneasy peace since then. She was moved from the palace during the "Nights of Lightning", a series of brutal surprise attacks by the Rat Creatures, and taken to Deren Gard and safety with the Dragons. En route the escort party was betrayed by an accompanying nursemaid and the King and Queen of Atheia, Thorn's parents, were murdered. Meanwhile, spies for the Rat Creatures bring Kingdok and The Hooded One news of the identity of the crown princess. It is revealed that a dangerous entity called the Lord of the Locusts has reawoken, and has The Hooded One under its command. Fone Bone attempts to comfort Thorn after Gran'ma Ben's shocking revelations, and that knowledge she had been dreaming of her past with the Dragons, Deren Gard, and even the ambush and murder of her parents for years. When Lucius, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone arrive at the bar, the taverngoers immediately want to attack Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, but Lucius objects, saying that all their fiscal debts had been paid off, and that therefore they have no right to attack the Bones. The taverngoers complain that Phoney Bone made them look like idiots, but Lucius explains that they made themselves look like idiots by so easily being taken in by as manipulative and greedy a shrimp as Phoney Bone and by not heeding Lucius' warnings or the obvious signs that this was a scam. Lucius then lays down a competition, made by a bet he made with Phoney Bone; he divides the bar in two, one half will be run by himself, the other by Phoney and Smiley Bone, the side that makes the most money for the tavern wins. Smiley Bone draws all the customers to his side of the bar by giving beer away, but Phoney Bone furiously puts an end to this mischief; after all, the whole point is to make a profit. The crowd decides they've had enough of the Bones and are about to attack them, when Smiley Bone wishes that Fone Bone's dragon was there to protect them and they demand what he means by this. Tales of a dragon draw the townsfolk to Phoney's side of the Barrelhaven bar, and Phoney sees the opportunity to capitalize on their fears by proclaiming himself a dragon slayer. A hooded stranger wearing a pendant with a royal crest on it visits the Barrelhaven, bringing Lucius news about troop movements along the border in South Pawa; a huge army of Rat Creatures is approaching. Gran'ma Ben, hearing the same news via Ted the bug and fearing for Thorn's safety now that the rat creatures know where they live, presents Thorn with her old sword and shield and insists they must leave. |
4885935 | /m/0csljm | The Dragonslayer | Jeff Smith | 1997 | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy", "/m/09kqc": "Humour", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Following the message that a Rat Creature army is crossing the Eastern border, Fone Bone, Thorn and Gran'ma Ben travel off-road to the Barrelhaven. Gran'ma Ben suffers an attack of her “gitchy feeling” - a dizziness that has long been her omen of impending trouble. Meanwhile, at the Barrelhaven tavern itself, Phoney Bone's tales of dangerous dragons make his end of the bar the most popular. Lucius, who dislikes Phoney's dishonest manipulation, attempts to call off the bet, but Phoney declines. After fending off their ambush, Gran'ma Ben captures one of the two Stupid Rat Creatures and learns from him that the valley is being evacuated. Kingdok arrives and attacks the party, and knocks out Fone Bone with his war club, steps on Thorn and attacks Ben. Taking up Gran'ma Ben's sword, Thorn swings the blade in a blur and slices off Kingdok's right arm. Through a haze of pain, Kingdok sees Ben and Thorn as the queen and crown princess of old, and describes them to himself as "Earth and Sky", before he flees with the two Stupid Rat Creatures. Smiley Bone, hearing Fone Bone's cries of distress, rushes out with the townsfolk to look for him, but they only find the blood-splattered scene of the fight. The two Rat Creatures find the fainted body of Kingdok and blame themselves for his wounding. They decide to desert the pack rather than face the consequences. As Thorn dresses Gran'ma Ben's wounds in the aftermath of the fight, Ben tells her the reason she was sent to Deren Gard as a child; Thorn is the “Veni-Yan Cari”, the Awakened One, a person who is most in touch with “The Dreaming”. Ben goes on to explain how she, Thorn, will be at risk from enemies in her dreams; indeed, she has already been threatened by The Hooded One, who Gran'ma suspects is in contact with the Lord of the Locusts, and may be one of the “Venu”, a sect of mystics who study dreams and are traditionally clad in hooded robes. The Hooded One is interested in Thorn because she has more power than even the Lord of the Locusts, and seeks to control her. Angered by further revelations that her past has been concealed from her, Thorn turns her back on Gran'ma Ben and leaves for the Barrelhaven alone. Fone Bone makes to follow her, and Gran'ma Ben gives him her sword, as well as a pendant bearing the royal crest with instructions to show it to Lucius. The minute Fone Bone leaves, Gran'ma runs off into the woods. When Thorn and Fone Bone arrive at Barrelhaven, they find Phoney Bone has taken control of the town and barricaded the roads. The Hooded One brings news to the Lord of the Locusts that the armies of Pawa in the South have joined their cause, and the kingdom of Atheia has fallen to them. The Lord of the Locusts fears Thorn's power is awakening and their opportunity to seize control of her is slipping away, instructing The Hooded One to succeed soon or else kill her. At Barrelhaven, Phoney Bone has the town in his thrall with his tales of dragons, and has stockpiled many of the townspeople's goods in payment for his “protection”. Late one night, Fone Bone finds a baby rat creature scrounging in the garbage. Staying at the inn that night, Thorn is once again visited by The Hooded One in her dreams, this time revealing its face like young Gran'ma Ben's. She is only saved in the nick of time when Fone Bone wakes her to tell her about the Rat Creature cub that has found its way into the town. Thorn threatens to kill the cub so Fone Bone takes it back to the barn only to wait in agony for Thorn to kill it. Lucius Down, who has been out searching for Gran'ma Ben for two days, returns to find the town barricaded. He protests about Phoney appointing himself leader, and orders the fences to be torn down, but the townsfolk, terrified of dragons, turn against him and refuse to even let him back into his own tavern. Meanwhile, Fone Bone turns to Smiley Bone for help with the baby rat creature. In the barn, Smiley is delighted to meet the Rat Creature cub, and promptly adopts him as a pet. Fone Bone meets with Lucius and explains what happened in the forest. Lucius fears that the Rat Creatures evacuating the valley could be a precursor to another sneak attack like the Nights of Lightning. Smiley is shocked to learn that Thorn is a princess. Meanwhile, the Hooded One addresses his army of Rat Creatures and men from Pawa. He tells them the two laws that the Lord of the Locusts has set down for them and then orders them to prepare for war. The townspeople's patience begins to wear thin as Phoney continues to press them for his “dragon slayer” fees. He lectures the townsfolk on the dangers of hoarding their goods and announces how he plans to use everything he has collected to lure a dragon and kill it (in actuality, a ruse to flee with all his ill-gotten gains). Meanwhile, Thorn, exhausted and unable to sleep for fear of her dreams, decides to return to the farm house, throwing down her sword and leaving the village. In the mountains enclosing the valley, the Rat Creature army and the Pawans have massed under the instructions of The Hooded One. They are, just as Lucius and Gran'ma Ben feared, preparing to strike at the inhabitants of the valley. Fone Bone and Smiley sneak out of the compound to release the Rat Creature cub, but Smiley strays out of sight with the cub,and Fone goes after him. Thorn tries to return home to the farm house, but collapses with exhaustion on the way, where four Veni Yan monks catch up with her and return her sword, which she left at the Barrelhaven. In her dream, she meets the Great Red Dragon, who convinces her not to run away by showing her visions of her friends, her grandmother, and Rat Creatures coming to attack them. The next morning, Phoney Bone puts his “dragonslaying” plan into action, rallying the townsfolk to carry him and his cache of loot into the mountains where, he tells them, he will capture and kill a dragon. Phoney and the townspeople reach the Dragon's Stair, a pass high in the mountains. Phoney gets the townsfolk to set up a dragon trap as he prepares to flee with his ill-gotten gains, but the plan becomes more complicated when the Great Red Dragon deliberately walks into the trap, courtesy of Ted. The townspeople urge Phoney to kill the trussed-up dragon, but just as he is about to reluctantly bring the knife down, Thorn arrives and stops him. She points out the columns of smoke rising from the valley; in their absence, the town has been attacked and burned by Rat Creatures, but the townspeople don't believe her and say the dragons have attacked the town. Suddenly another pack of Rat Creatures encounters the party. Thorn, with the four Veni Yan monks fighting alongside her, drive the Rat Creatures back, and Phoney uses Thorn's sword to free the dragon. The dragon and Veni Yan monks chase the Rat Creatures away, and Thorn at once instructs the townsfolk to arm themselves and head back to the town; war against the Rat Creature army and their allies has begun. |
4885944 | /m/0cslk_ | Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border | Jeff Smith | 9/1/1998 | {"/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy"} | Fone Bone and Smiley trek into the Eastern Mountains to set free the baby Rat Creature, who Smiley names Bartleby, and accidentally encounter the two Stupid Rat Creatures. During an effort to ditch the two, they encounter the giant mountain lion Rock Jaw. Rock Jaw finds the Bones familiar, knowing that the Hooded One is searching for one of them. He explains the Hooded One fears “the one who bears the star” (meaning Phoney Bone) will rise as a new leader and unite the valley against him. However, Rock Jaw remains taciturn about whose side he is on. Roque Ja escorts Smiley and Fone higher into the mountains, against their wills. The possum kids, who have been tracking them since they disappeared from the Barrelhaven compound days earlier, discover them in the company of Roque Ja and grow concerned for their safety. Knowing Roque Ja hates interlopers in his mountains, the possum kids and their raccoon friend Roderick lure the two stupid Rat Creatures to Roque Ja, causing them to fall off a cliff and giving the Bones a chance to escape, however Roderick refuses to leave until he calls out for all of his other orphaned friends. Meanwhile Roque Ja climbs back up the mountain and he is infuriated. The Bones flee the enraged Roque Ja and escape into a tunnel in the mountainside, after a debate with Bartleby, they make it to the other side where they discover a magnificent abandoned temple to the Rat Creatures, and wonder about Roque Ja's tale that the mountains themselves were created long ago when the Dragons fought and pushed up the land. As the Bones try to make their way back towards the valley, they encounter the two stupid Rat Creatures, but before they can give chase, Kingdok appears. He is angry at the two stupid Rat Creatures for deserting him, and attacks them and the Bones, forcing them onto a very narrow ledge. Trapped on a narrow ledge with the ferocious Kingdok ahead of them, the Bones and the Rat Creatures are forced to edge their way to safety along a precarious cliff face after deciding to die rather than sell out their friends. However, on the way they are attacked by a swarm of locusts. Fone Bone stumbles and falls onto a lower ledge. The locusts try to carry him away, but a medallion given to him by Gran'ma Ben falls from his backpack and scares the locusts away. As the locusts flee, Kingdok vanishes into thin air, having been an illusion generated by the locusts' magic. Thanks to the orphans, the Bones realize the locusts could manipulate Thorn or even the whole valley with illusions, as they press on down the mountainside with a suspicious Roque Ja watching. The Rat Creatures, the Bones and their friends make their way down from the mountains, unaware they are being followed and eavesdropped upon by Roque Ja. As they descend, the Rat Creatures reveal that the current unrest has only come about since The Hooded One arrived, bringing with him the locusts and the strange dreams. At that moment, Roque Ja reveals himself to the party and orders them back up the mountain. Before they can go too far, the real Kingdok arrives and starts to fight with Roque Ja. The Bones use the opportunity to escape (minus the two stupid rat creatures because they tried to hand Fone and Smiley at the last moment and they got bitten by the orphans), fleeing from the scuffle and running down the mountain while Roque Ja gets revenge on Kingdok and seriously wounds him. Roderick, the possum kids, and the orphans split up and leave. Bartleby rejoins the pack and the Rat Creatures carry the unconscious Kingdok away. Fone Bone and Smiley Bone then begin their journey back into the valley, although Smiley is sad to see Bartleby leave. |
4885948 | /m/0csllp | Old Man's Cave | Jeff Smith | 7/1/1999 | {"/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy"} | Thorn has left in the night in search of Fone Bone, while Phoney Bone and three of the villagers head for Old Man's Cave, where they are met by Gran'ma Ben and Lucius. Meanwhile, Fone and Smiley have made it down from the mountains. They are ambushed by Rat Creatures, but Thorn finds them and fights the Rat Creatures off. The Rat Creatures are terrified to discover that she and the Bones were the ones who wounded Kingdok. Deep in the mountains, The Hooded One tells the Lord of the Locusts of the Bones' latest deeds. The Lord of the Locusts has doubts that “the one who bears the star”, with whom The Hooded One seems obsessed, is as powerful as The Hooded One believes, but allows the search for the "star-bearer" to continue. Thorn, Fone and Smiley lie low for a few days while planning an attack on The Hooded One. Thorn explains how she believes The Hooded One plans to use her and Phoney to speed the release of the Lord of the Locusts from where it lies trapped in the stone of the mountains. She also explains her mistrust of Gran'ma Ben - Thorn believes the tale of how her parents were betrayed by the nursemaid is a lie; she never had a nursemaid. Meanwhile, The Hooded One approaches Roque Ja and asks him to recapture the Bones. At Old Man's Cave, the survivors of the Rat Creature attack are gathered, along with a large group of Veni Yan warriors. Gran'ma Ben gives Phoney Bone a history lesson, telling him the story of when dragons ruled the world; their Queen, Mim, kept The Dreaming in balance until the Lord of the Locusts entered her mind and drove her mad. The other dragons were forced to turn Mim to stone, trapping the Lord of the Locusts inside her. The Hooded One, she tells him, wants to sacrifice him to free the Lord of the Locusts. Thorn returns to the farmhouse to collect her belongings. She plans to take on The Hooded One alone, after a conversation with Fone and Smiley - during which it is revealed that the three Bone cousins are orphans, and Phoney, as the oldest, raised the other two - she is convinced to trust Gran'ma Ben, and the three set off for Old Man's Cave. Meanwhile, a patrol of villagers and Veni Yan warriors, led by Lucius Down, scout the area for Rat Creatures. Lucius comes across The Hooded One, who reveals under the hood a young woman, the same woman who was killed along with Thorn's parents, alive and not looking a day older. However, it soon becomes clear The Hooded One is trying to distract Lucius to allow a Rat Creature party to attack. Later, at Old Man's Cave, with no word of Lucius Down and his scout party, Gran'ma Ben continues filling in Phoney on the history of the valley and the nature of the Dreaming. Just then, Gran'ma Ben suffers another attack of her “gitchy” feeling, and sure enough trouble is afoot; a cloud of smoke rises from the Eastern mountains, where the Lord of the Locusts lies. Soon after, Lucius' party arrives back at the cave, many of them wounded, and with a pack of Rat Creatures still in pursuit. Lucius Down relates to Gran'ma Ben his meeting with The Hooded One, that she is in fact her now-undead sister Briar Harvester. Gran'ma Ben tells him that despite pleading with the council of dragons at Deren Gard, they refused to get involved in the fight, meaning the valley folk must face her and her Rat Creature armies alone. The villagers argue over whether or not to hand Phoney Bone, “the one who bears the star”, over to The Hooded One to appease her, and in the confusion Phoney slips away, leaving his star-bearing shirt behind. Gran'ma Ben goes after him, catching up with him in the mountains, but Roque Ja, who has been tracking them, catches up and she and Lucius get into a vicious brawl with the colossal mountain lion. Thorn and Fone meet up with them and enter the fray, but she and Phoney get knocked out and taken away in Roque Ja's jaws. Fone Bone, also knocked out in the battle, sees in his dreams the Great Red Dragon, who hands him the royal medallion and orders him to save Thorn. Some time later, at the ancient temple high in the mountains, The Hooded One prepares to sacrifice Phoney to the Lord of the Locusts. Phoney insists that there is a case of mistaken identity and that The Hooded One has the wrong person, but Briar reveals what led her to believe Phoney was a person of great power; a huge inflatable likeness of Phoney, the runaway balloon from his disastrous election campaign back in Boneville, that drifted into the valley. With its fierce expression and the banner reading “Phoncible P. Bone will get you” (the end torn off; intact it read “...will get your vote”, Phoney explains), Briar took it as an omen that he would be the Veni-Yan-Cari, the Awakened One. Gran'ma Ben arrives on the scene and confirms Briar's mistake. The locusts that supported Briar's shriveled body leave her, a punishment by the Lord of the Locusts for her mistake. The locusts swarm on and try to enter Thorn, but Fone Bone drives them away with the royal medallion. Awake again, Thorn leads the others to safety away from the collapsing mountain temple, drawing her cloak around her head like a Veni-Yan warrior. |
4885951 | /m/0cslm0 | Ghost Circles | Jeff Smith | 8/15/2001 | {"/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | At the besieged fortress of Old Man's Cave, the Headmaster of the Veni Yan summons Wendell, the village tinsmith and explains how he believes the current unrest is not due to the Bones. He shows a medallion bearing the Harvestar family crest; a crown with a star above it. Thorn, he explains, may in fact be the "one who bears the star" The Hooded One has been seeking. Just then, the mountain erupts as the Lord of the Locusts stirs beneath it. The armies massed outside the fortress begin their attack. At this moment, the Lord of the Locust resurrects his servant Briar, and sends her off to "seek out our missing powers and return them to us". The Bones, Thorn and Gran'ma Ben flee the collapsing mountain. Fone Bone and Smiley lead them to the tunnel they used to escape from Roque Ja. As they descend through the tunnel, Fone warns everyone that they will probably start hallucinating again, just as they did the last time they passed through there. Sure enough, Fone and Phoney become Ishmael and Captain Ahab from Fone's favorite book, Moby-Dick. They stagger on to the tunnel exit and find the valley on the other side turned into a wasteland, covered in ash and every tree flattened. The Bones, Thorn and Gran'ma Ben make their way across the devastated valley. Thorn leads them as she is the only one who can see and avoid the Ghost Circles, invisible pockets of unreality where nothing can live, and that separate the true, intact valley from the illusory wasteland. She and Fone brush the periphery of one, and are momentarily transported back into the forest as it stood before the devastation of the valley. Thorn explains that she can survive it, and maybe even undo the spell, because she tore off a piece of the Lord of the Locust's soul when it tried to possess her, thus inheriting some of its power. Thorn and Gran'ma Ben remain undecided whether to return to Old Man's Cave or press on to the old capital, Atheia. A troop of Rat Creatures makes that decision for them, blocking the route to Old Man's Cave. A scout party of Rat Creatures discovers their camp and Thorn and Fone get separated from the others. As Ben fights off some of the Rat Creatures, Bartleby, the Rat Creature cub, returns. Meanwhile Thorn and Fone discover Briar is the one leading the Rat Creatures to them. She reveals to Fone Bone that he too has a piece of the Lord of the Locusts' soul inside him (a result of his and Thorn's stumbling into a Ghost Circle). Briar is about to kill Thorn, who is no longer necessary to her plans, when Smiley and Bartleby come charging to the rescue. With the piece of the Locust inside her, Thorn grows weaker by the minute. With Fone and Gran'ma Ben carrying Thorn, the party makes its way gingerly through the Dragon burial grounds of Tanen Gard, ever wary of rousing the Dragons. A bottomless pit crossed only by a steep and narrow rock bridge lies ahead. As they clamber to safety, Thorn begins to revive, the purity of the sacred ground healing her. They soon reach the ridge and find the valley beyond clear of the devastation of the Ghost Circles. The presence of Prayer Stones, idols left by Atheians for the Dragons, shows that the Old Kingdom is still alive. As they make their way towards the city of Atheia, a small, lone Locust is seen resting on one of the prayer stones. At Old Man's Cave the villagers demand of the Veni Yan that they release Lucius, planning to head for the Old Kingdom themselves. The Veni Yan initially try to stop them, but a heartfelt speech from Lucius convinces them to accompany his party. It is at this time the veni-yan take off their hoods, indicating that they too want the old kingdom back, hence they do not need to go into hiding, or underground. |
4885959 | /m/0cslmq | Crown of Horns | Jeff Smith | 4/25/2004 | {"/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/01z4y": "Comedy"} | The chapter starts with Briar, Queen Lunaria and Lunaria's husband the king at Dragon's Stair, and because of the enemies attacking, Thorn is given to her grandmother, Rose Harvestar, who is also known as Gran'ma Ben. Gran'ma delivers her to the Great Red Dragon; almost at the same moment, Thorn's parents are killed. Thorn then mounts the dragon's back and takes the long journey underground into the cavern with a bright light. The Great Red Dragon asks Thorn to look into the light, whereupon she mentions a frozen waterfall. After trying to see past this, she sees her mother's face which asks her to seek the Crown of Horns. Thorn then wakes up, and at this point readers learn that Tarsil's soldiers had beaten Thorn and Fone Bone brutally and thrown them into a dungeon. Thorn loses a tooth in the process. To cheer her up, Fone Bone shows a goofy smile wherein one of his teeth is missing also. Meanwhile, Gran'ma Ben is atop the front wall of Atheia looking at the activity below. She is seen by a Vedu and two Veni-Yan monks. The Vedu tells her to go with the other old woman, whereupon she knocks him off the wall. The Veni-Yan are shown to be loyal to the Harvestars. Briar's army arrives and threatens to kill anyone who opposes them. Tarsil defies them, whereupon Briar declares that she will teach him fear. Defying her to do so, on grounds that he has fought dragons, Tarsil for the first time removes his hood to reveal his scarred, hideous face. In reply, Briar pulls back her hood and shows Tarsil's former, more comely face. She then flies toward Tarsil and cuts him into two halves (possibly a reference to the manner of her own death), and declares the attack. The battle begins; as Rose climbs up a nearby ladder, three arrows are shot at her by Briar, with whom she momentarily locks eyes. In the dungeon, Fone Bone hears the fight and shouts for the guard. Smiley and Phoney are in the next cell while all the guards have all gone out to fight. At the wall, Gran'ma Ben is striving to drive back the invading hordes of Pawa soldiers and Rat Creatures. The Venu warn her of an attack on the weaker left flank, whereupon she orders them to go there as reinforcements. Three claim that though they will obey, it is because of necessity rather than any possible allegiance to her. She is then pinned down by Pawa soldiers. Thorn tries to break the iron bars imprisoning herself and her friends, but fails. Fone Bone and Thorn quarrel on the subject of the Crown of Horns: Fone believes that it will destroy everything because Thorn has a piece of the Locust inside herself, whereas Thorn believes that her mother would not have told her to find it if she (Moonwort) had known that it would destroy everything. Fone mentions the possibility that in using the Crown, Thorn will destroy both the Locust and herself — shedding tears out of fear of Thorn's death, whereupon she promises not to use the Crown of Horns. Taneal, a prophetess-like child featured in the previous collection, brings them a hammer by which to break their shackles while she tries to break the bars of their cell. Her brother then frees Phoney and Smiley. Tarsil's soldiers gather, causing Taneal to hide. When they have gone, Taneal, her brother, Phoney, and Smiley look into the others' cell and find that Thorn is comatose. As Smiley tries to break the bars, Taneal tells the others that Tarsil was killed and Gran'ma Ben overwhelmed by the Pawa soldiers. Hearing this Thorn wakes, pulls the confining chains from the wall to which they are attached, tears open her cell, and asks in anger, "Which way is the gate?". Meanwhile, the dream masters use visions to scare off the Rat Creatures and the Pawas. Thorn, Fone Bone, Phoney and Smiley make it to the front wall, where Thorn reunites with Gran'ma Ben. They watch as the attacking army retreats, and Thorn tells them the reason why is because ghost circles are surrounding the city. This chapter is a short story of 4 or 5 pages taking place in Thorn's dream. The Red Dragon asks Thorn to look into a light and try to see beyond it. The Red Dragon then tells the story of the Queen of Dragons, Mim, wherein she was subject to demonic possession by the Lord of the Locust. This caused a battle that generated the valley that forms the story's setting. Readers see Mim for the first time, though this story had been mentioned before in the fifth book. Gran'ma Ben, Thorn, and the Bones clamber up a tower, where Thorn may see where all the perilous "ghost circles" are that are surrounding the city. Thorn perceives Roque Ja in the hills, and then has sudden visions of the valley exploding, and of the Lord of the Locusts. These visions shock her. While the others tend to Thorn, Phoney and Smiley attempt to open the well where the treasure is hidden, thinking to take the treasure and then sneak through the gaps in the ghost circles and get back home to Boneville. Thorn's visions tell her that the Lord of the Locusts no longer needs her or Briar, because he is possessing his original host, Mim, and is heading toward the city. Phoney and Smiley return to the city's gate with their hay cart (having Smiley's Rat Creature Bartleby and the treasure hidden in the hay), when the farmer who had formerly lost the cart sees it and knocks it over. Bartleby is exposed, whereupon people try to kill him. Bartleby, Phoney, and Smiley narrowly escape. They climb the ladder as Fone and Thorn are coming down, which results in a struggle. Phoney expresses his disappointment, having lost the treasure he so desperately wanted, resulting in Fone getting angry at him for endangering their lives for the treasure. When asked by Thorn, Phoney is able to deduce the location of the Crown of Horns, estimating that it is hidden in the sacred burial grounds of the dragons, explaining why they tried so hard to scare people away from it, just as Tarsil did when he lied about the poisoned water in the well where he'd hid the treasure. Fone then refuses to leave for Boneville with Phoney and Smiley as he'd promised. Then Thorn, in turn, breaks her promise to Fone and leaves the group to search for the Crown of Horns, now with a lead as to its location. With Bartleby's help, Fone pursues her. Fone Bone looks for Thorn on Bartleby's back. They see her running from Rat Creatures by running into ghost circles. To find Thorn while remaining hidden from the Rat Creatures, Fone hides underneath Bartleby, clinging to his stomach fur, suggesting the trick used by Odysseus to conceal his men from Polyphemus. Beyond the Rat Creatures' location, they encounter Thorn as she emerges from a ghost circle. All three climb the mountains to seek the Crown of Horns. At the city, the Pawas are battering the gates; Rose has the door flung open as she and the Veni-Yan charge at the Pawas. Smiley captures the two Rat Creatures who had pursued the Bone cousins throughout the series and has them spared. Fone and Thorn sneak past Roque Ja in order to reach the dragon graveyard, but fail when Roque Ja sees them. He stares at them for a moment, then lets them leave unharmed. Thorn leaves without Fone Bone by facing an army of their enemies and flying over them, forcing Fone Bone to hide under Bartleby again. They continue to the dragons' graveyard, which Bartleby refuses to enter. Smiley has the idea that if he bakes large quantities of food for the two Rat Creatures, they will think that the siege will fail. Phoney and Rose are in a tunnel, leading to Briar's hideout, where they may capture Briar by surprise. Fone climbs down into the huge gorge which makes up the dragons' graveyard. Momentarily trapped in a pit, he realizes that the Rat Creatures are in pursuit of Thorn, and runs to the Chamber of Horns. Thorn goes to look for the Crown of Horns and must leave Fone Bone behind. She reaches the Crown, whereupon the Rat Creatures' chieftain Kingdok appears and tells Thorn to kill him, so as to free him from the Lord of the Locust, under whose control Kingdok thinks himself to be nothing more than a meaningless pawn. Thorn refuses on moral grounds, despite learning that Kingdok was the Rat Creature who ate her parents; therefore Kingdok bites her leg and grips it tight in his teeth. She then impales his skull with her sword, thus killing him but leaving his jaw locked around her leg, stopping her from reaching the Crown of Horns. Briar corners Rose and is attempting to kill her when Lucius arrives and stops her from delivering a death blow to Rose with her scythe. At the same time that this is occurring, Fone Bone arrives to help Thorn and attempts to touch the Crown of Horns himself. At first, nothing happens; moments later, a large number of angry Rat Creatures approach. Fone then takes Thorn's hand, allowing Thorn's piece of the Locust to flow through him to the Crown. He then touches the Crown, triggering an explosion of energy that kills Briar and Lucius along with her. After touching it and having an out of body experience, Bone and Thorn find the Chamber of Horns flooded with water and many noises. Thorn says that they woke up all the dragons and there is no hope of escaping Tanen Gard before the dragons arrive. The Red Dragon flies in, but instead of killing them, carries them out, warning them that his compatriots will not show the same mercy. The dragon jumps out of Tanen Gard, where Fone sees Bartelby and tells him to flee. Ted tells the dragon to go help Gran'ma on Sinner's Rock, who is fighting the enemy. At Sinner's Rock, an out-of-control Mim closes in on the fight. The Red Dragon chases the enemy away, and the other dragons burst out of the ground and envelope Mim, and return to Tanen Gard with her. At Thorn's coronation, Fone Bone realizes that he must return to Boneville or stay in the Valley. As the Bone cousins, Thorn, and Gran'ma Ben leave for Barrelhaven to bury Lucius, Phoney is given his hay wagon that he had lost earlier in the volume (which still has the treasure in it). Phoney continuously claims that he sees snowflakes, being paranoid that they may have to wait until winter's end to return to Boneville. After Lucius' burial, Phoney complains to Fone Bone about the snowflakes, and finally, the snow falls in a huge lump outside Barrelhaven. The chapter is a story originally featured in the Bone Holiday Special. The story shows the Bone cousins, Gran'ma Ben and Thorn celebrating Christmas, which they refer to as the "Winter Solstice". Smiley asks Phoney if (and how) they celebrate the Winter Solstice back in Boneville, with Phoney replying that they celebrate it for "different reasons". He then mentions that he makes a great increase of money during the Winter Solstice. As they dance and play instruments, Fone leaves with a platter in his hands. He walks outside and asks for the "guys" to come forth. The Rat Creatures appear and are prepared to eat Fone Bone, but at that moment Fone Bone presents the platter, which has a quiche he gives to them. He then returns to the house as one of the Rat Creatures asks why Fone Bone did that. The other claims it is a ritual and replies "eat your quiche". After winter, Fone Bone decides to return to Boneville. As the Bones, Gran'ma Ben, Thorn and Bartleby make their way to the Dragon's Stair, they cross a river when they see something move in the bushes. They take out their spears, but then see that it's just Ted and the Dragon. The Great Red Dragon guides them to the Dragon's Stair. Fone Bone says goodbye to Gran'ma, to the Red Dragon, to the insect Ted, and to Thorn. Thorn gives Fone Bone a basket of biscuits and honey, revealing that she had kept it aside until now in hope that he would change his mind and stay. She then tells him "So much has changed since that day we met at the hot springs, and you walked out of the woods with your hat on fire...but not everything changes. Remember me when you're back in Boneville". Saddened by this reminder of their first meeting, Fone shares a hug with her and replies "Oh, I....I'll never forget you Thorn; I don't think I could". Before Fone, Smiley, Phoney, and Bartleby leave on their wagon, Phoney discovers that Smiley has exchanged the treasure for the small cakes of stale bread he prefers. Gran'ma gives Phoney some gold coins, which Smiley had stamped with Phoney's image on the latter's orders, arguing that no one wants them (except Phoney himself). As the Bones and Bartleby enter the desert, Phoney Bone claims to despise the bread cakes, to which Smiley replies that he will grow to like them (since it is the only food they have for the journey). Phoney asks for one; at this, Smiley asks to be given a gold coin as payment. When Phoney refuses, Fone insists, on grounds that they are in the desert. This parallels the joke sequence in Out from Boneville, wherein they had similarly discussed a dollar. |
4885963 | /m/0cslnr | A Ship of the Line | C. S. Forester | 1938 | {"/m/02p0szs": "Historical fiction", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0hwxm": "Historical novel"} | Hornblower has recently returned to England from the Pacific in the frigate HMS Lydia, having gained widespread fame (but no financial stability) as a result of sinking the superior ship Natividad in battle. As a reward for his exploits, he is given command of HMS Sutherland, once the Dutch ship Eendracht, and which is, in Hornblower's estimation, "the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List". He is assigned to serve under Rear Admiral Leighton, Lady Barbara Wellesley's new husband. Throughout, Hornblower is torn between his love for Lady Barbara and his sense of duty and loyalty to his frumpy wife, Maria. His feelings for Maria are complicated by the previous loss of both of his children to smallpox. Hornblower's first orders are to escort a convoy of East Indiamen off the Spanish coast. He successfully fights off simultaneous attack on the convoy by two fast, manoeuvrable privateers. Since he has been forced to sail with an understrength crew, and had to make do with "lubbers, sheepstealers, and bigamists", he breaks Admiralty regulations and presses twenty men from each Indiaman just before they part company. With his ship now fully manned, Hornblower wreaks havoc on the French-occupied Spanish coast. He captures a French brig, the Amelie, by surprise, storms a French fort and takes several more vessels in its harbour as prizes, repeatedly fires upon several thousand Italian soldiers marching along a coastal road, and saves his Admiral's ship from certain ruin by towing it away from a French battery during a severe storm. When Hornblower encounters a squadron of four French ships of the line that have broken through the English blockade of Toulon, he attacks them despite the odds of four to one, and manages to disable or heavily damage all of them. However, with many of his men killed or wounded, including Bush, who loses a leg, and his ship dismasted, he is then forced to strike his colours and surrender. This novel ends as a cliffhanger. de:An Spaniens Küsten sv:Ett linjeskepp |
4886068 | /m/0cslvz | Dealing with Dragons | Patricia Wrede | 1990 | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy"} | Princess Cimorene is frustrated by her life and persuades the castle staff to teach her fencing, magic, cooking, Latin, and other interesting subjects that are considered "improper" for princesses to learn. The King and Queen take Cimorene on a state visit to a neighboring kingdom. Cimorene learns that they plan to arrange her marriage to an annoying prince. Faced with the prospect, Cimorene runs away. She meets a group of dragons, and volunteers to become the "captive" princess of the dragon Kazul. Kazul assigns Cimorene to cook for her and organize her library and treasure hoard. Cimorene likes her position and becomes friends with Kazul, but finds she must constantly deal with knights and princes who want to rescue her. She hopes that a sign on the road to the cave will keep would-be rescuers at bay. While posting the sign, Cimorene encounters a wizard. Cimorene tells Kazul about her meeting with this suspicious character, and Kazul explains that the dragons and the wizards disagree about the wizards' access to the Caves of Fire and Night. The wizards' staffs absorb magic from any magical sources nearby - including dragons. Cimorene and Alianora, princess to the dragon Woraug, find another wizard gathering herbs near the dragon caves. Cimorene brings a sample of the herb back to Kazul. Panicking, the dragon burns it up immediately, but the inhalation of the smoke causes Kazul to fall ill. The plant is dragonsbane, poisonous to dragons. Kazul sends Cimorene to warn another dragon that the wizards are gathering dragonsbane. This news comes too late as the King of the Dragons has already been fatally poisoned. Although Kazul is still ill, she must leave to compete in the trials to choose the next King of the Dragons. Cimorene hurries through the dragon caves on errands for Kazul, where she meets a prince turned into a living statue. Based on information from the Stone Prince and Alianora, Cimorene realizes that the wizards poisoned the King with the help of Woraug. The wizards plan to interfere with the trials to allow Woraug to win the title of King. In exchange, Woraug will give them access to the Caves and magical items held by the dragons. Alianora discovers a way to melt wizards : Soapy water mixed with lemon juice. With this discovery, and the help of her friends, Cimorene foils the wizards' plan. Meanwhile, Kazul wins the trials fairly and becomes the King of the Dragons. |
4886725 | /m/0csmzr | Baital Pachisi | null | null | null | The legendary King Vikram, identified as Vikramāditya (c. 1st century BC), promises a vamachari (a tantric sorcerer) that he will capture a vetala (or Baital), a celestial spirit who hangs from a tree and inhabits and animates dead bodies. King Vikram faces many difficulties in bringing the vetala to the tantric. Each time Vikram tries to capture the vetala, it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If Vikram cannot answer the question correctly, the vampire consents to remain in captivity. If the king answers the question correctly, the vampire would escape and return to his tree. In some variations, the king is required to speak if he knows the answer, else his head will burst. In other versions, the king is unable to hold his tongue if he knows the answer, due to his ego. Regardless of the reason, he knows the answer to every question; therefore the cycle of catching and releasing the vampire continues twenty-four times. On the twenty-fifth attempt, the vetala tells the story of a father and a son in the after-math of a devastating war. They find the queen and the princess alive in the chaos, and decide to take them home. In due time, the son marries the queen and the father marries the princess. Eventually, the son and the queen have a son, and the father and the princess have a daughter. The vetala asks what the relation between the two newborn children is. The question stumps Vikram. Satisfied, the vetala allows himself to be taken to the tantric. The vetala reveals the tantric's plan to sacrifice Vikram, beheading him as he bowed in front of the goddess. The tantric could then gain control over the vetala. The vetala suggests that the king asks the tantric how to perform his obeisance, then take advantage of that moment to behead the sorcerer himself. Vikramāditya does exactly as told by vetala and he is blessed by Lord Indra. The vetala offers the king a boon, whereupon Vikram requests that the tantric's life be restored and that the vetala would come to the king's aid when needed. A variation of this story replaces the vetal with a minor celestial who, in exchange for his own life, reveals the plot by two tradesmen (replacing the sorcerer) to assassinate Vikram and advises Vikram to trick them into positions of vulnerability as described above. Having killed them, Vikram is offered a reward by the goddess, who grants him two spirits loyal to Her as his servants. |
4886857 | /m/0csn4f | The Clock Winder | Anne Tyler | 1972 | {"/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | The protagonist of the story is Elizabeth, a young woman who is taking time away from college to earn a bit of money and discover a sense of direction. By happenstance, she ends up landing in Baltimore near the home of Mrs. Pamela Emerson, a recent widow and the mother of seven grown children. Seeing Mrs. Emerson struggling to store her porch furniture in the garage for the winter, she stops to offer help and ends up becoming Mrs. Emerson's handyman and companion. The story, which spans 14 years, discusses the relationship between first Elizabeth and Mrs. Emerson and then the relationship between Elizabeth and several of Mrs. Emerson's children, particularly Timothy and Matthew. Elizabeth and the Emersons end up changing each other's lives in fundamental ways. |
4887106 | /m/0csnj6 | Andersonville | MacKinlay Kantor | 1955 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0hwxm": "Historical novel"} | The novel interweaves the stories of real and fictional characters. It is told from many points of view, including that of Henry Wirz, the camp commandant, who was later executed. It also features William Collins, a Union soldier and one of the leaders of the "Raiders". The "Raiders" are a gang of thugs, mainly bounty jumpers who steal from their fellow prisoners and lead comfortable lives while other prisoners die of starvation and disease. Other characters include numerous ordinary prisoners of war, the camp physician/doctor, a nearby plantation owner, guards and Confederate civilians in the area near the prison. Andersonville is clearly based on prisoner memoirs, most notably Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Military Prisons by John McElroy. Henry Wirz, who received an injury earlier in the war and never recovered properly, is portrayed not as an inhuman fiend but as a sick man struggling with a job beyond his capacities. Kantor's novel was not the basis for a 1996 John Frankenheimer film Andersonville. Although Kantor did sell the motion picture rights of his novel to one of the major Hollywood studios in the 1950s, it was never produced. Kantor's novel and the movie of the same name are two separate properties. |
4887535 | /m/0csp3x | Safe Area Goražde | Joe Sacco | null | {"/m/012h24": "Comics"} | Joe Sacco visits Gorazde, a mainly Bosniak enclave in eastern Bosnia surrounded by hostile Serb-dominated regions. Sacco visits the locals and gets a first-hand view of the war's brutal effect on the town. The story of Gorazde develops through the narrations of Edin, a graduate student who was studying engineering in Sarajevo before the war, and other residents of Gorazde. Yugoslavia had been a multi-ethnic country and its cultural pluralism was proudly propagandized throughout the world. Edin and many others recall having fun with their Serb and Croat friends during the Josip Broz Tito era. However, after the death of the charismatic former Partisan leader, the newly elected president of Serbia Slobodan Milošević begins to incite extreme Serb nationalism among the Serb population. By bringing back the painful memories before the Tito era in which bloody conflicts raged between Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, he succeeds in inciting chauvinistic sentiment among the Serbs. The republics of Slovenia and Croatia, intimidated by the development of the situation, declare independence from Yugoslavia. The political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is rapidly deteriorating. The Serbian Democratic Party led by Radovan Karadžić represents the ethnic Serbs and is against disintegration; the Party of Democratic Action and the Croatian Democratic Union, respectively representing Bosniaks and Croats, are in favor of breaking apart from the Yugoslav federation. Bosnian Serbs, fearing that once Bosnia gains independence they would be persecuted by the numerically superior Bosniaks and Croats, organize their armed forces and prepare for the upcoming war. The tension among races is now visible; Serbs and Bosniaks now go to separate cafés. Vigilantes raised from both sides patrol the streets and night for fear of Serb/Bosniak attack. Amid this atmosphere, Edin returns home from Sarajevo to protect his family. The first attack on the community is realized in 1992. Bosniaks are caught unaware, and many lose their family members and loved ones while escaping from the indiscriminate attack. The joint offensive of Bosnian Army and Bosniak militias drive the aggressors back, and the villagers retake Gorazde. They find their homes looted and burnt by Serbs. Bosniaks who couldn't escape and were caught by the Serbs were killed in horrendous manners and buried en masse, amongst them Edin's friends. Refugees who flocked from nearby towns of Višegrad and Foča testify their accounts of atrocities committed by Serbs, among them mass executions, rapes, etc. Residents of Gorazde try to maintain life in the town, now sieged by Serb-dominated areas of Republika Srpska. They suffer from destruction of basic infrastructures, shortage of utilities such as electricity, and hunger. Food supplies airlifted by U.S. C-130s flown from Germany help relieve food shortages, but Bosniaks have to risk their lives in the long winter trail to reach the airdropped packages. In 1994, the town is subjected to a second major Serb offensive. This offensive, orchestrated by the Serb general Ratko Mladić, is in scale much larger than the first offensive, and causes massive destruction to the town. Edin and other Bosniak militiamen desperately try to defend Gorazde from the enemy that outnumbers them. Meanwhile, the international society is blind to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gorazde. Despite having designated Gorazde a 'safe area' from Serb aggression, the United Nations and its military arm in former Yugoslavia, UNPROFOR, make no effort to stop the Serb advance for fear that UN could also be implicated in the conflict and compromise its neutrality. Only after pleas for intervention from the Bosnian president Alija Izetbegović, and the terrible situation in Gorazde reaches media and sparks international indignation do the UN and the United States respond with bombings on major Serb military positions. The bombings stop the attack and the people of Gorazde once again manage to defend their village at a heavy cost of 700 dead, most of them civilians. A contingent of British peacekeepers are stationed in Gorazde thereafter to supervise the disarmament process of the militias. There were also a few Serbs whose loyalties stood with the Republic of Bosnia and chose to remain in Gorazde throughout the war. They were despised by the Bosniak refugees, who lost everything they had at the hands of Serbs; they were equally hated by the Serb militias, who took them for traitors and threatened to kill them. In 1995 Gen. Mladić plans another offensive in eastern Bosnia and takes it into action. The offensive succeeds due to the inaction of the UN peacekeeping forces. Serb forces take Dutch peacekeepers hostages, and assault the towns of Srebrenica and Žepa, both designated 'safe areas' by the UN. Bosnian forces firmly believed that the UN troops would protect them from Serb aggression, hence they were totally unprepared. Both Srebrenica and Žepa fall to the Serbs. Over 8,000 Bosniak males were massacred in Srebrenica, while the Bosniak population in Žepa was expelled. The UN's peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia have failed. After suffering much diplomatic humiliation at the hands of Bosnian Serbs, the United States begins bombing strategic Serb positions. Now the Serbs have turned the rest of the world their enemy; a joint Croat-Bosnian offensive drives most Serbs out of northern Bosnia, and the Serbs return to the negotiating table. Sacco came to Gorazde in the immediate aftermath of these events through the 'blue road', a narrow road opened by the UN peacekeepers that links sieged Gorazde to the rest of Bosnia. The Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats finally come to an agreement, and the Dayton Accords is adopted. Among the conditions for peace, Gorazde is not to be receded to the Serbs and both sides are required to demobilize their troops. Edin and other residents of Gorazde rejoice at this news. However, townsfolk point out that there is still much more to go. According to the agreement, Bosniak refugees evicted from their homes can return to their homes, but no refugee would dare enter Serb-dominated areas without any assurance of safety. Sacco re-visits Gorazde a year later. Much has changed within a year. The 'blue road', which only aid workers, peace-keepers and journalists could pass through, is now open to everybody. Life goes on in Gorazde. A Benetton merchandise shop has opened in Sarajevo. Edin and his friend Riki go to Sarajevo to resume their studies. Edin has no time to waste; he has wasted the most important period in his life in battlefields. He now must get used to everything. |
4888676 | /m/0csqr4 | Brother Fish | Bryce Courtenay | 2004 | null | Brother Fish is a story spanning four continents and eighty years though the story primarily takes place in Australia and Korea. The story deals with the friendship of Jacko McKenzie, a native of the (fictional) Queen's Island in the Bass Strait, and James ‘Jimmy’ Pentecost Oldcorn, an orphan American ex-soldier, who have been meeting at the Gallipoli Bar of the ANZAC Hotel, Launceston, Tasmania for 33 years, since their release from a prisoner of war camp in Korea. In the bar, Jacko reminisces back to his youth on Queen's Island, of the poverty, being the son of a fisherman and a washerwoman, and the characters inhabiting his home town. One of the defining points of Jacko's life was his first encounter with Miss Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan, town librarian and indomitable justice of the peace. The librarian would go on to fundamentally influence Jacko's life, starting with additional English lessons during his formative years, as a friend, and ultimately as a business partner. A key feature of the novel is Jacko's recounting of his army days, first as an infantryman who did not see service in World War II (on account of joining up too late), and most importantly, those spent in Korea. It was during this spell that Jacko met Jimmy, an American soldier, and care is taken to delve into the background of the latter. Following their release, the lads return to Queen's Island, where, Jimmy is a big hit with the local girls. During the brief stopover in Launceston, Jacko meets Wendy, the daughter of a local doctor, and ex-finance of one of Jacko's comrades, sadly fallen in Korea and the two eventually marry. As Jacko and Jimmy set about rebuilding their lives, ideally based on starting their own fishing business, they turn to the domineering Miss Lenoir-Jourdan once more. Her own chequered past as a Russian émigré, first to Shanghai, and later on to Australia via Hong Kong, following a dramatic fallout with a Chinese Triad boss is described in detail, and ultimately rounds out the novel. The story concludes with Jimmy and Jacko enjoying their pint in the ANZAC, before going to say their final goodbyes to an old and dear friend, who is dying. |
4890752 | /m/0cstnz | The River | Gary Paulsen | 1991-06 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03mfnf": "Young adult literature", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | Brian Robeson, a 14 year old boy who spent 54 days surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness the previous summer, is hired by the government to repeat his actions again by living in the woods with only a knife and surviving only by his wits, so the military can learn his survival techniques. Though reluctant at first, Brian eventually agrees. This time, instead of being alone, Brian is accompanied by Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist, as the two set off for a remote Canadian location. Though the government insisted the duo take emergency supplies, Brian insists they abandon everything but a knife and an emergency radio, saying that it would be impossible to eat bugs and sleep in the rain if a tent and prepared food is within reach. During their stay, things take a grim turn when their camp is struck by lightning, which knocks Derek into a coma and destroys the radio. Knowing that Derek will die of dehydration long before anyone finds them, Brian builds a raft in a desperate bid to bring Derek down the river to Brannock's Trading Post for emergency aid. Then after Dereck is brought back Brian goes home and his mother is overjoyed. |
4891367 | /m/0csvsq | Faust Part One | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | null | null | The first part of Faust is not divided into acts, but is structured as a sequence of scenes in a variety of settings. After a dedicatory poem and a prelude in the theater, the actual plot begins with a prologue in Heaven, where the Lord challenges Mephistopheles, the Devil, that Mephistopheles cannot lead astray the Lord's favourite striving scholar, Dr. Faust. We then see Faust in his study, attempting and failing to gain knowledge of nature and the universe by magic means. The dejected Faust contemplates suicide, but is held back by the sounds of the beginning Easter celebrations. He joins his assistant Wagner for an Easter walk in the countryside, among the celebrating people, and is followed home by a poodle. Back in the study, the poodle transforms itself into Mephistopheles, who offers Faust a contract: he will do Faust's bidding on earth, and Faust will do the same for him in hell (if, as Faust adds in an important side clause, Mephisto can get him to be satisfied and to want a moment to last forever). Faust signs in blood, and Mephisto first takes him to Auerbach's tavern in Leipzig, where the devil plays tricks on some drunken revellers. Having then been transformed into a young man by a witch, Faust encounters Margaret (Gretchen) and she excites his desires. Through a scheme involving jewelry and Gretchen's neighbour Marthe, Mephisto brings about Faust's and Gretchen's liaison. After a period of separation, Faust seduces Gretchen, who accidentally kills her mother with a sleeping potion Faust had given her. Gretchen is pregnant, and her torment is further increased when Faust and Mephisto kill her enraged brother in a sword fight. Mephisto seeks to distract Faust by taking him to the witches' sabbath of Walpurgis Night, but Faust insists on rescuing Gretchen from the death sentence she has been given after going insane and drowning her newborn child. In the dungeon, Faust in vain tries to persuade Gretchen to follow him to freedom. At the end of the drama, as Faust and Mephisto flee the dungeon, a voice from heaven announces Gretchen's salvation. ;The Prologue in the Theatre In the first prologue, three people (the theatre director, the poet and an actor) discuss the purpose of the theatre. The director approaches the theatre from a financial perspective, and is looking to make an income by pleasing the crowd; the actor seeks his own glory through fame as an actor; and the poet aspires to create a work of art with meaningful content. Many productions use the same actors later in the play to draw connections between characters: the director reappears as God, the poet as Faust and the actor as Mephistopheles. ;The Prologue in Heaven: The Wager The play begins with the prologue in Heaven. In an allusion to the story of Job, Mephistopheles wagers with God for the soul of Faust. God has decided to "soon lead Faust to clarity", who previously only "served [Him] confusedly." However, to test Faust, he allows Mephistopheles to attempt to lead him astray. God declares that "man still must err, while he doth strive". It is shown that the outcome of the bet is certain, for "a good man, in his darkest impulses, remains aware of the right path", and Mephistopheles is permitted to lead Faust astray only so that he may learn from his misdeeds. That in itself is his main objective.(1) ;Night The play proper opens with a monologue by Faust, sitting in his study, contemplating all that he has studied throughout his life. Despite his wide studies, he is dissatisfied with his understanding of the workings of the world, and has determined only that he knows "nothing" after all. Science having failed him, Faust seeks knowledge in Nostradamus, in the "sign of the Macrocosmos", and from an Earth-spirit, still without achieving satisfaction. As Faust reflects on the lessons of the Earth-spirit, he is interrupted by his famulus, Wagner. Wagner symbolizes the vain scientific type who understands only book-learning, and represents the educated bourgeoisie. His approach to learning is a bright, cold quest, in contrast to Faust, who is led by emotional longing to seek divine knowledge. Dejected, Faust spies a phial of poison and contemplates suicide. However he is halted by the sound of church bells announcing Easter, which remind him not of Christian duty but of his happier childhood days. ;Outside the town gate Faust and Wagner take a walk into the town, where people are celebrating Easter. They hail Faust as he passes them because Faust's father, an alchemist himself, cured the plague. Faust is in a black mood. As they walk among the promenading villagers, Faust reveals to Wagner his inner conflict. Faust and Wagner see a poodle, who they do not know is Mephistopheles in disguise, which follows them into the town. ;Study Faust returns to his rooms, and the dog follows him. Faust translates the Gospel of John, which presents difficulties, as Faust cannot determine the sense of the first sentence (specifically, the word Logos – In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God., currently translated as The Word). Eventually he settles upon translating it with the very one meaning Λὀγος does not have, writing "In the beginning was the deed". The words of the Bible agitate the dog, which shows itself as a monster. When Faust attempts to repel it with sorcery, the dog transforms into Mephistopheles, in the disguise of a travelling scholar. After being confronted by Faust as to his identity, Mephistopheles proposes to show Faust the pleasures of life. At first Faust refuses, but the devil draws him into a wager, saying that he will show Faust things he has never seen. Despite the message of hope delivered by the hidden chorus of angels: :"Weh! weh! :Du hast sie zerstört :Die schöne Welt, :Mit mächtiger Faust; :Sie stürzt, sie zerfällt! :Ein Halbgott hat sie zerschlagen! :Wir tragen :Die Trümmern ins Nichts hinüber, :Und klagen :Über die verlorne Schöne. :Mächtiger :Der Erdensöhne, :Prächtiger :Baue sie wieder, :In deinem Busen baue sie auf! :Neuen Lebenslauf :Beginne, :Mit hellem Sinne, :Und neue Lieder :Tönen darauf!" :"Woe! Woe! :Thou hast her destroyed :The beautiful world, :By a mighty fist; :She tottered, she hurled! :A half-god beat her to nothing :We bring :The ruins over the void and, :Dirges sing :Over the belost beautiful :More mightily :Earthen children :More splendidly :Build her again, :In your bosoms build her strong! :New life-stories :Commence :With fair sense, :And new song, :To sound thereon!" ::Faust, Norton Critical Edition, lines 1607-1626 they sign a pact agreeing that only if Mephistopheles can give Faust a moment in which he no longer wishes to strive, but begs for that moment to go on, can he win Faust's soul: : "Werd ich zum Augenblicke sagen: : Verweile doch! du bist so schön! : Dann magst du mich in Fesseln schlagen, : Dann will ich gern zugrunde gehn! : Dann mag die Totenglocke schallen, : Dann bist du deines Dienstes frei, : Die Uhr mag stehn, der Zeiger fallen, : Es sei die Zeit für mich vorbei!" : "If the swift moment I entreat: : Tarry a while! You are so fair! : Then forge the shackles to my feet, : Then I will gladly perish there! : Then let them toll the passing-bell, : Then of your servitude be free, : The clock may stop, its hands fall still, : And time be over then for me!" :: Faust, Norton Critical Edition, lines 1699–1706 ;Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig In this, and the rest of the drama, Mephistopheles leads Faust through the "small" and "great" worlds. Specifically, the "small world" is the topic of Faust I, while the "great world", escaping also the limitations of time, is reserved for Faust II. These scenes confirm what was clear to Faust in his overestimation of his strength: he cannot lose the bet, because he will never be satisfied, and thus will never experience the "great moment" Mephistopheles has promised him. Mephistopheles appears unable to keep the pact, since he prefers not to fulfill Faust's wishes, but rather to separate him from his former existence. He never provides Faust what he wants, instead he attempts to infatuate Faust with superficial indulgences, and thus enmesh him in deep guilt. In the scene in Auerbach's Cellar, Mephistopheles takes Faust to a tavern, where Faust is bored and disgusted by the drunken revellers. Mephistopheles realizes his first attempt to lead Faust to ruin is aborted, for Faust expects something different. ;Witch's Kitchen Mephistopheles takes Faust to see a witch, who—with the aid of a magic potion brewed under the spell Hexen-Einmaleins—turns Faust into a handsome young man. Faust sees an image of Helen of Troy in a magic mirror and falls in love. Helen appears spontaneously, without intervention of Mephistopheles, or other magic. She reappears in Faust, Part II. In contrast to the scene in Auerbach's Cellar, where men behaved as animals, here animals (lemurs) behave as men. ;On the street Faust spies Margarete on the street in her town, and demands Mephistopheles procure her for him. Mephistopheles foresees difficulty, due to Margarete's uncorrupted nature. He leaves jewelry in her cabinet, arousing her curiosity. ;Night Margarete brings the jewelry to her mother, who is wary of its origin, and donates it to the Church, much to Mephistopheles's fury. ;The neighbour's house Mephistopheles leaves another chest of jewelry in Gretchen's house. Gretchen innocently shows the jewelry to her neighbour Marthe. Marthe advises her to secretly wear the jewelry there, in her house. Mephistopheles brings Marthe the news that her long absent husband has died. After telling the story of his death to her, she asks him to bring another witness to his death in order to corroborate it. He obliges, and finds a role for Faust in the farce. In the previous scene, Faust was not prepared to lie to meet Gretchen. Now he is so controlled by his desire for Gretchen that he consents to lie in order to see her. ;Garden At the garden meeting, Marthe ironically flirts with Mephistopheles, and he is at pains to reject her unconcealed advances. Gretchen confesses her love to Faust, but she knows instinctively that his companion (Mephistopheles) has improper motives. Gretchen presents Faust with the famous question "Now tell me, how do you take religion?" She wants to admit Faust to her room, but fears her mother. Faust gives Gretchen a bottle containing a sleeping potion to give to her mother. Catastrophically, the potion is poisonous, and the tragedy takes its course. ;At the well In the following scenes Gretchen has the first premonitions that she is pregnant. Gretchen and Lieschen's discussion of an unmarried mother, in the scene at the Well, confirms the reader's suspicion of Gretchen's pregnancy. Gretchen is distressed to discover the poor place in society of such women. ;In the street Valentine, Gretchen's brother, is enraged by her liaison with Faust and challenges him to a duel. Guided by Mephistopheles, Faust defeats Valentine, who curses Gretchen just before he dies. ;Cathedral Gretchen seeks comfort in the church, but she is tormented by an Evil Spirit who whispers in her ear, reminding her of her guilt. This scene is generally considered to be the finest in the play, the Evil Spirit's tormenting accusations and Gretchen's attempts to resist them are interwoven with verses of the Latin hymn Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), which is being sung in the background. ;Walpurgisnacht A folk belief holds that in the night between April 30 and May 1, upon the boulders in the Harz mountains, the witches meet in celebration with the devil. The celebration is a Bacchanalia of the evil and demonic powers. At this festival, Mephistopheles draws Faust from the plane of love to the sexual plane, to distract him from Gretchen's fate. Mephistopheles is costumed here as a Junker and with cloven hooves. Mephistopheles lures Faust into the arms of a naked young witch, but he is distracted by the sight of Medusa, who appears to him in "his lov'd one's image": a "lone child, pale and fair", resembling "sweet Gretchen". Gretchen has drowned the newborn child in her despair, and has been condemned to death in consequence. Now she awaits her execution. Faust feels culpable for her plight and reproaches Mephistopheles, who however insists that Faust himself plunged Gretchen into perdition. Mephistopheles accuses Faust of initiating the pact: "did we force ourselves on thee, or thou on us?", but finally agrees to assist Faust in rescuing Gretchen from her cell. ;Dungeon, Gretchen's release Mephistopheles procures the key to the dungeon, and puts the guards to sleep, so that Faust may enter. Gretchen is no longer subject to the illusion of youth upon Faust, and initially does not recognize him. Faust attempts to persuade her to escape, but she refuses because she recognizes that Faust no longer loves her, but pities her. When she sees Mephistopheles, she is frightened and implores to heaven: "Judgment of God! To thee my soul I give!". Mephistopheles pushes Faust from the prison with the words: "She now is judged" (Sie ist gerichtet). Gretchen's salvation, however, is proven by voices from above: "is saved" (ist gerettet). |
4892116 | /m/0csx0y | The Unlimited Dream Company | J. G. Ballard | 1979 | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/05hgj": "Novel"} | In The Unlimited Dream Company, a man named Blake crashes a stolen aircraft into the River Thames outside the London suburb of Shepperton. Whether he survives the crash, to become a sort of supernatural messiah for the small town, or if he actually drowns, and dying, imagines the whole thing, is never truly revealed. Contradictory hints are scattered throughout the novel which may support both interpretations. Since the story is told by Blake in the first person, we know what he wants us to know, and we are only told what he likes to tell us. In the first chapter of the novel, where Blake outlines his life before the air accident, there are elements that may make us suspect that he is insane, so that he is an absolutely unreliable narrator. Blake has extraordinary powers: he can fly, heal sick people, phagocytize other people whenever he likes; but he cannot leave the suburbs, though he repeatedly tries to go away. Moreover, Blake is obsessed by the relic of the small Cessna aircraft that he crash-landed on, which has been left submerged in river Thames. This might support the hypothesis that he is dead and is only imagining the strange events of the story. However, there is a crucial moment when Blake, who is about to absorb all the citizens of Shepperton in order to gain energy to escape the suburb, is shot by Stark, another loner who manages a rickety zoo. The wound triggers a deep inner change in the character, who gets rid of his cannibalistic drives and becomes more human and compassionate. He then helps other people to escape Shepperton, and remains there alone, waiting for the return of the woman he loves, Miriam St. Cloud. As well as protagonist's name, the novel draws on the works of William Blake, particularly his epic work Milton a Poem in other ways. The surreal descriptions of Shepperton's transformation are drawn in part from William Blake's psychogeographical descriptions of London, while the final confrontation between Blake and the corpse of the drowned pilot (which he comes to realise is himself) echoes that between Milton and Satan at the end of Milton a Poem. |
4896961 | /m/0ct2hd | Patterns of Force | Michael Reaves | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction"} | One of the leading Star Wars cover illustrators is Cliff Nielson, having illustrated the Jedi Apprentice series covers and several of the 20 New Jedi Order titles. It is to be a mass market paperback. There is not very many details on the book since it is coming out almost three years (or more than that) after the other Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith follow-ups like Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader and the prequel Labyrinth of Evil. It is to deal with characters from the Medstar Duology. It is supposedly the last in a series of three books by Michael Reaves, author of bestselling Star Wars: Clone Wars novels with Steve Perry. It will be preceded by two books that will have reappearing characters from the Medstar Duology, told within the timeline of the Star Wars: Clone Wars series. |
4897269 | /m/0ct2sp | Facing the Future | Jerry B. Jenkins | 7/1/1998 | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03mfnf": "Young adult literature"} | In this book the teens help the police arrest three wanted criminals. Pastor Bruce Barnes, found by the teens at New Hope Village Church, is teaching them about the events to come during the Tribulation. The teens and Bruce already know why they are there: they were not true believers. But careful studying of the Bible shows that they can make sure they do not get left behind again on Jesus' second returning, and be prepared for the disastrous Tribulation before that time. But one question still remains... who is the Antichrist? They find out for sure near the end of the book when a journalist tells his nightmarish story of Nicolae Carpathia. *Best Quote: 'Do you think I'm awful?' Vicki said. 'Hardly' Judd said, 'The truth is I think you're pretty special!' |
4902299 | /m/0ctb7k | Total War: 2006 | null | null | {"/m/0mz2": "Alternate history"} | The future history the book lays out begins in 2001 with many minor conflicts taking place around the world, such as the end of the Algerian civil war, victory belonging to the Islamic Fundamentalists; Morocco following suit; and a military coup in Turkey to prevent such a development. Meanwhile the United Kingdom and the USA invade Iraq as the final action of a failing US president whose nation is attempting to draw ever more into isolationism. Next North Korea announces that possesses nuclear weapons; a second Korean War follows closely followed by an attempted Chinese invasion of Taiwan which is easily stopped by American air power. In 2003 Russia has a military coup which (officially) restores the communists to power, closely followed by an invasion of the Baltic States resulting in a conventional war with NATO. Whilst the attention of the west is drawn here however Saudi Arabia also has a take over by Islamic fundamentalists. The Islamic Alliance is united behind a Saladin-like figure and forms an alliance of convenience with Russia launching its attack on the West, the principle acts of terrorism being a midget submarine attack on San Francisco harbour and an attack on RAF Brize Norton by home grown Brummie Islamic terrorists. At the end of the book much of the Middle East is in ruins, biological weapons launched by the Islamic Alliance against Israel having been met with an implementation of the Samson Option by the Israelis, with nuclear weapons launched at cities across the Islamic crescent by the dying Jewish state. In a desperate bid to prevent Israel from laying waste to much of the world in its death throes, the US President authorises a nuclear strike on Israel itself. |
4904168 | /m/0ctf0b | The Lords of the North | Bernard Cornwell | 5/22/2006 | {"/m/02p0szs": "Historical fiction", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0hwxm": "Historical novel"} | 878 - 881: Uhtred of Bebbanburg makes his way back to his native Northumbria seeking revenge against his uncle Ælfric and childhood enemies Sven the One-Eyed and Kjartan the Cruel. He travels by ship with his friend and lover, Hild. They make landfall near Eoferwic (York) to find the region in disarray. Lord Ivarr Ivarsson and his army are engaged with the Scots in the north. The formerly Danish-held Eoferwic has been conquered by Saxons. The central lands of Dunholm are ravaged by Kjartan and Sven, and Bebbanburg remains under the control of Ælfric. Uhtred is hired to escort a Danish merchant's family north, through Dunholm, to safety. As they travel and attempt to avoid the Dunholm fortress and Kjartan's troops, they are unsuccessful and are led into a slave trading camp led by Sven. Uhtred disguises himself as Thorguild the Leper, Dark Swordsman of Niffelheim, and convinces Sven he is sent from the dead to haunt him. He frees Danish King Guthred of Cumbraland from the slave pens. In Cumbraland, Uhtred becomes the commander of Guthred's household troops and adviser. He trains a band of thirty new warriors and stops an attempt by Kjartan to capture him and Guthred. Uhtred supports Guthred's bid for power against the rival factions of Northumbria, including his uncle Ælfric who now rules Bebbanburg. He falls in love with Gisela, Guthred's sister, before being betrayed by Guhtred and cast into slavery. During two years spent chained to the oar of a Danish trading ship, Uhtred befriends Finan the Agile, a former warrior. Uhtred is rescued by Steapa and Ragnar who pursued the trading ship in their Red Ship on the orders of King Alfred. Uhtred returns to Wessex to learn that it was Hild who convinced Alfred to send Steapa and Ragnar to his rescue. Hild had promised to Alfred that she would use Uhtred's hoard of silver to build an abbey and recommit herself to Christ, and in return Alfred agreed to rescue Uhtred. Uhtred, Father Beocca, Steappa and Ragnar are sent on embassy to Guthred with a message to make peace in Northumbria. They arrive in Guthred's court to find that Gisela was married to Ælfric via proxy in return for support against Kjartan. Uhtred is certain his uncle will send no men to support Guthred. He chases off Ælfric's men without allowing them to take Gisela, kills Ælfric's monk Jænberht and leads Guthred's men against Dunholm himself. Uhtred's plan to take Dunholm is to once again become a sceadugengan. In the darkness, he along with eleven of his best men climb the hill upon which Dunholm sits and sneak into the fort through a gate used to fetch well water. Although they are discovered, they are assisted by Ragnar's sister Thyra, who has been held by Sven and Kjartan since the events of "The Last Kingdom". Her assistance allows Uhtred to open the gate for Ragnar with the main forces of Guthred's army to enter the stronghold. Kjartan and Sven are killed and Guthred transfers control of Dunholm to Ragnar. Guthred's claim to the throne of Northumbria is not complete yet. Guthred's army meets Ivarr's stronger force in the field. Uhtred provokes Ivarr into single combat and the novel ends with Uhtred winning the duel against Ivarr. |
4904241 | /m/0ctf44 | The Chasm of Doom | Joe Dever | 1985 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | In this book, Lone Wolf is charged by the King of Sommerlund to investigate the disappearance of a troop of cavalry. The cavalry, led by a man named Captain D'Val, themselves disappeared under mysterious circumstances while investigating a disruption in the flow of mined resources from the province of Ruanon. Lone Wolf, along with the fifty Sommlending soldiers who accompany him, must uncover the truth surrounding the missing men and stop the resurrection of an ancient and terrible evil. |
4904368 | /m/0ctfdf | Shadow on the Sand | Joe Dever | 1985 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | Once more, the reader (Lone Wolf) must set out on a mission bestowed upon him by the king. This time, the mission is a diplomatic one, in which a crucial peace treaty must be signed in the far away desert empire of Vassagonia. But as always, things are more complex than they seem, and peace is elusive. Lone Wolf walks into a trap from which he barely escapes, and he must fight the prime Darklord (Haakon) to regain a secret Kai artefact which will determine the fate of the Kai Order. This artifact is called the 'Book of the Magnakai'. |
4904437 | /m/0ctfgh | Sharpe's Fury | Bernard Cornwell | 8/28/2006 | {"/m/098tmk": "War novel", "/m/0hwxm": "Historical novel"} | The action takes place during the winter of 1811; the Peninsular War appears to have been won—by the French. Cádiz is the only major Spanish town still holding out. From their overwintering strongholds in Portugal, the British sally forth to the River Guadiana with a small force seeking to break a key bridge across the river. The mission is commanded by the young Brigadier General Moon, a man with no love for the upstart rifleman, and meets disaster when Sharpe and the men with him encounter a brutal opponent in the French Colonel Henri Vandal, commander of the 8th Regiment of the Line. Running from this first encounter, Sharpe and his small band of survivors are driven by Vandal into the fortress city of Cádiz, which is already besieged by a French army led by Marshal Victor. In Cadiz Sharpe finds himself in the employment of ambassador Henry Wellesley, younger brother to the Duke of Wellington, who is struggling to keep the various faction in Cadiz united against the French. To remedy this Sharpe finds himself drawn into a deadly game of intrigue between the British spymaster Lord Pumphrey and a shadowy murderous faction that is threatening to break the fragile alliance between Spain and Britain apart. The tensions that have grown up between the British and Spanish allies are heightened by the threat to the city and the only chance seems to be a lifting of the siege. The joint army, led by the British General Thomas Graham and Spanish Aristocrat General Lapena seeks to take the battle to the French; however the Spanish refuse to fight, leaving the British isolated. It also means Richard Sharpe will meet Colonel Vandal for a second time at the Battle of Barrosa. |
4904442 | /m/0ctfh5 | The Kingdoms of Terror | Joe Dever | 1985 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | In order to fulfill his pledge to restore the Kai, Lone Wolf must first himself become a Kai Grand Master. To accomplish this monumental task, he must retrieve the Lore Stones led only by the wisdom of Sun Eagle, the First Kai Grandmaster. As the last of the Kai, there is little to guide Lone Wolf in his studies, except for a faded inscription in the Book of the Magnakai directing him to seek the Lorestone of Varetta. And so, Lone Wolf sets off for Varetta in the Stornlands, far to the south of Sommerlund, to find this ancient relic and revive the glory of the Kai. |
4904487 | /m/0ctfkp | Castle Death | Joe Dever | 1986 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | In his quest to attain Kai Grand Master status, Lone Wolf must seek out and find 7 Lorestones. After obtaining the Lorestone of Varetta in the previous book and absorbing its wisdom and power, the location of the next Lorestone is revealed as the remote township of Herdos. Here, Lone Wolf is directed by friendly Elder Magi to search within the accursed fortress of Kazan-Oud, otherwise known as "Castle Death". |
4904565 | /m/0ctfpy | The Jungle of Horrors | Joe Dever | 1987 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | After surviving the perils of Castle Death and being tutored by the Elder Magi, Lone Wolf and the reader now seek out the third Lorestone. The location of this Lorestone is thought to be hidden in a temple deep within a jungle-swamp known as the Danarg. Over the years, this fetid swamp has become the home for any number of evil creatures who seek to protect the jungle and its treasures. To make matters worse, news is delivered that the Darklords have united behind a new leader, and may soon again bring war to Magnamund, increasing Lone Wolf's sense of urgency. |
4904744 | /m/0ctfz7 | The Cauldron of Fear | Joe Dever | 1987 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | As Lone Wolf races against time to recover the remaining Lorestones, he learns that the next one resides deep underground, beneath the streets of the city of Tahou. Unfortunately, the war against the Darklords has not been going at all well for the freeland nations, and Tahou is now in danger of falling before Lone Wolf even reaches it. If it falls to the Darklords and their Vassagonian allies before the Lorestone is recovered, the hopes of Lone Wolf completing the Magnakai quest will be thwarted forever. |
4904828 | /m/0ctg22 | The Dungeons of Torgar | Joe Dever | 1987 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | After discovering that the three remaining Lorestones have fallen into the hands of the Darklords, Lone Wolf and his allies must formulate a daring plan to recover them. It is rumored that the stones are being kept in the grim Drakkarim fortress-city of Torgar, where the darklords' evil sorcerers (the Nadziranim) are searching for the means to destroy them. Once more, Lone Wolf must make haste in an attempt to recover the Lorestones before the Nadziranim can bring about their destruction. The adventure ends with an exciting twist, which threatens to banish Lone Wolf from Magnamund for all time. |
4904867 | /m/0ctg56 | The Prisoners of Time | Joe Dever | 1987 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | Although Lone Wolf is successful in rescuing one of the captive Lorestones from Torgar, both he and the remaining two Lorestones are blasted through a dimensional portal (Shadow Gate) by Darklord Gnaag. After plummeting through the Shadow Gate, Lone Wolf finds himself trapped on the Daziarn Plane and must join strange allies and face old enemies if he hopes to make his way back from the Daziarn in time to save his homeland from destruction at the hands of the Darklords and their powerful new armies. |
4905102 | /m/0ctghq | The Masters of Darkness | Joe Dever | 1988 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | After his struggles in the plane of Daziarn, Lone Wolf finally recovers the last of the Lorestones and finds a Shadow Gate back to his home. Unfortunately, upon his return, he finds that considerable time has passed and that, in his absence, the Darklords have conquered much of Magnamund. Now with all of the Lorestones wisdom absorbed within him, and the hopes of Sommerlund and all the free peoples of Magnamund on his shoulders, Lone Wolf must travel to the very heart of the Darklords' foul realm, to the infernal city of Helgedad, and confront Archlord Gnaag himself. The adventure culminates with a spectacular battle in Helgedad and the destruction of the Darklords' principal city. |
4905637 | /m/0cthnq | The Plague Lords of Ruel | Joe Dever | 1990 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | After the events of the previous series of books, Lone Wolf has taken up training new Kai recruits, and under his tutelage, the Kai have been re-founded. Even though peace reigns for the moment, chaos is once again poised to unfold, as a group of Cenerese druids plot to unleash a massive plague upon all of Magnamund. Lone Wolf and the reader must find the source of this plague and destroy it before it can be released. |
4905682 | /m/0cthrg | The Captives of Kaag | Joe Dever | 1991 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | Three months after the events of The Plague Lords of Ruel, Lone Wolf learns that his friend, Guildmaster Banedon, has been abducted by a band of Giaks under the command of Nadziranim sorcerers. It is theorized that they are planning to torture him to extract magical techniques which can be united with their own dark sorcery. Lone Wolf and the reader must venture to Kaag, where Banedon is held, and attempt a rescue before he meets his demise, or worse, yields the coveted magical secrets of left-handed magic. |
4905724 | /m/0cthvn | The Darke Crusade | Joe Dever | 1991 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | Once more, Lone Wolf's help is sought by a monarch, this time King Sarnac of Lencia. While battling the Drakkarim under control of Magnaarn, the High Warlord of Darke, the Lencians have discovered that Magnaarn seeks an ancient artifact, the Doomstone of Darke. It is feared that he is close to discovering this artifact, and with it, the power to rally the Nadziranim sorcerers and other Darklord allies against Lencia. Lone Wolf and the reader take up the cause of Lencia to thwart Magnaarn's aims. |
4905888 | /m/0ctj4c | The Curse of Naar | Joe Dever | 1993 | {"/m/03ff00": "Gamebook", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature"} | In this book you (in the guise of the heroic Lone Wolf) again travel to the Plane of Darkness. Your quest involves rescuing an artifact crafted by the Lords of Light - the Moonstone - from the Dark God's clutches. The Plane of Darkness is a predictably nasty place, and even a being as powerful as a Kai Grand Master may shrink from the challenge. Dare you face up to the Dark God Naar himself? |
4906737 | /m/0ctkz4 | Galaxy of Fear: Eaten Alive | John Whitman | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | Tash and Zak Arranda are preteen siblings whose parents were killed when the Galactic Empire destroyed their home planet of Alderaan. With nowhere else to go, they began to travel with their Uncle Hoole, a mysterious shape-shifting Shi'ido who studies different species on many planets. With him they live on his starship, the Lightrunner, and learn from their new caretaker droid, DV-9. When they travel to the mysterious planet of D'vouran, they are pulled out of hyperspace, seemingly too soon, by the planet's gravity and crash land at the spaceport. Though Tash feels bad things about the planet, the Enzeen, the alien race who live on the planet, are more than happy to help out with anything they need while on the planet. D'vouran has become a tourist destination and the Enzeen hope to bring more people to live on the planet. When Chood, the Enzeen who personally helps the family, brings them to an inn to find help in repairing the engine, they are attacked and the children taken captive by the forces of Shada the Hutt, who demands Hoole's service. With help from the Rebels who are also investigating the planet, Shada's forces release the children. Outside of the inn they meet Kevreb Bebo, a disgraced pilot who tries to warn the people staying on planet that people are disappearing. When their Uncle Hoole leaves them with Chood while he is studying, Tash sees an alien creature standing over a sleeping Zak. Waking him, they run to town to warn the others, only to find that no one is chasing them. After Hoole speaks to them, Tash stops worrying about the planet and who is chasing them. The next day, Zak, while alone, is attacked by Shada's forces. Bebo is there also, and manages to evade all their laser shots at him. Hoole is eventually able to stop Shada, but Tash convinces him to let her speak with Bebo. He brings her, accompanied by DV-9, to a cave where he shows her a laboratory which had long ago been abandoned. He shows her a seemingly bottomless pit, which she feels there is something wrong with, and he shows her his medallion, a device which apparently keeps him safe from the disappearances. Believing him, she tries to return to the town. He gives her his medallion, but after she has gone, he is killed by one of Shada's guards. As she returns to town, she is attacked by the Enzeen, who have become parasitic monsters, but manages to escape, when an earthquake shakes the ground. Back at town, however, everyone is missing, and she goes to Shada's fortress, thinking he has done something. There she finds Zak in captivity. With DV-9's help they escape Shada's fortress, but are recaptured easily. However, now outside the fortress, Shada, his guards, and the children are attacked by the Enzeen and the planet, as holes begin to open up and take people into the planet. Shada, on his repulsor sled and the children, protected by the medallion, are kept safe, but are brought by the Enzeen to the heart of the planet, the pit Bebo showed Tash. There it is revealed that the planet is alive and needs nourishment and the Enzeen get their own nourishment from the planet while attracting more people to come. The medallion created a forcefield around the wearers that the planet couldn't absorb. When Hoole, who was disguised as an Enzeen, gets the medallion, he throws it into the pit, causing planet to begin to erupt. Able to escape the pit, even as Shada falls in and is absorbed, they finally reach their ship. The ship, however, is unable to take-off as the planet has grabbed hold of it. Losing hope, the Millennium Falcon comes to their rescue and with deft flying by Han Solo, is finally able to escape the planet, which collapses on itself behind them. |
4906891 | /m/0ctl9b | Galaxy of Fear: The Nightmare Machine | John Whitman | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | Zak and Tash visit a family friendly theme park called 'Hologram Fun World' to relax while Hoole continues his work. They discover that the attraction, the 'Nightmare Machine', which manifests seemingly harmless versions of your worst fears, is far more than it seems. For one, the voice code to end the simulation is broken. Lando Calrissian appears, interested in purchasing the theme park. |
4906920 | /m/0ctl9p | Galaxy of Fear: Army of Terror | John Whitman | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, and C-3PO all make an appearance in the book as they attempt to stop Project Starscream. Their appearance in the book is apparently prior to their relocation to Hoth. The shadow creatures inhabiting Kiva were reduced to that state by an accident caused by Gog and Hoole. Little is said about the connection between Gog and Hoole, but they once worked together, which is interesting because they are both Shi'idos. Gog's weapon is disguised as an innocent baby, with a bruise on his forehead, named "Eppon". Many people left alone with the baby mysteriously disappear. The baby also grows at an alarming rate and quickly matures into an adult. When the Rebels find an imperial lab, they also find Gog, who reveals that Hoole's full name is Mammon Hoole, who the Shadows had been talking about. Then, it is revealed that Eppon is really an imperial Bio-weapon. Eppon turns into a giant monster which tries to eat Hoole. Tash convinces Eppon to turn on Gog, who promptly blows Eppon up with a control he had in his coat, much to Tash's dismay. The Shadows burst in to kill Hoole, when suddenly the computer in the lab is turned on, revealing that it was Gog who rigged an experiment to make the power of a star in a test tube fail, and as a result it was Gog who created the Shadows. Gog is promptly killed by the Shadows immediately afterward. |
4906936 | /m/0ctlbc | Galaxy of Fear: The Brain Spiders | John Whitman | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | A murderer who carves a K into his victims is imprisoned in Jabba's palace, when the story begins. A prisoner tricks Zak into believing that he is innocent, and Zak lets him escape. This is presumed to be the same murderer. Later, Zak thinks he sees Tash kill someone and carve the same K. This is explained when a brain spider spells out "IM TASH" in sand, suggesting that the murderer's brain was placed in Tash's body and that Tash's brain was placed in a spider. Tash tries to develop her sense of the force at the Sarlacc pit. |
4906968 | /m/0ctldv | Galaxy of Fear: The Doomsday Ship | John Whitman | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | All unfortunate events that took place on the Star of Empire, were orchestrated by a supercomputer (SIM?) designed as a harmless autopilot for the ship. The computer seemingly had its own agenda, when it forced the evacuation of most passengers by falsely warning them of a critical meltdown. The rebel Dash Rendar, meets the protagonists of the story, but Zak and Tash do not trust him as much as other rebels. The computer communicates with Zak and Tash frequently. A large part of the book is written in a font specifically devoted to the computer's speech. Zak and Tash trusted the computer for most of the story and only discovered its sinister motives at the end. Doomsday Ship is notable for having an intentionally unresolved ending. When Tash and Zak, think they have deactivated the computer, it turns itself back on and rectifies its own errors. |
4906986 | /m/0ctlgx | Galaxy of Fear: The Hunger | John Whitman | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | Hoole, Tash and Zak are still looking for a place where the Empire won't find them. After losing their ship in an attack by a bounty hunter, they find themselves landing on a certain swamp planet, where they encounter a rather friendly but starving tribe of survivors. Boba Fett is after the group, and in various occasions has them in his grasp. Yoda also makes an appearance in this book, teaching the children a valuable lesson. |
4908377 | /m/0ctnzc | The Vision | Dean Koontz | 1977 | {"/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | A woman is haunted by visions of the man who tortured her in her childhood, and who also vowed that one day he'll return for her. |
4908429 | /m/0ctp1w | The Face of Fear | Dean Koontz | null | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | Graham Harris was once one of the world's foremost mountain climbers, until a fall five years earlier left him with a lame leg, a fear of heights...and a frightening psychic ability in which he can see murders as they are happening. Harris lives in New York City, where a murderous madman known as the Butcher has been mutilating young women. While he is giving an interview on live television one night, Graham senses the Butcher claiming another victim. When the madman realizes that Graham poses a threat to him he formulates a plan to kill the clairvoyant. While working late one night in his office building, Graham senses that the Butcher is coming to his floor aboard an elevator. With his girlfriend Connie at his side, Graham begins a long night of playing hide and seek to try to avoid the psychopath's grip. |
4908465 | /m/0ctp37 | Whispers | Dean Koontz | 1980-04 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Hilary Thomas, a screenwriter living in Los Angeles, is attacked in her home by Bruno Frye, a mentally disturbed man whose vineyard in Napa Valley she recently visited. Frye tries to rape her, but she forces him to leave at gunpoint and calls the police. Detective Tony Clemenza tells her that Frye has an airtight alibi... The police called his home and he answered, proving that he couldn't have been anywhere near Los Angeles that night. The next day Frye returns and attacks Hilary again, this time receiving several stab wounds before escaping. She calls the police and once again meets with Clemenza, who tell her that Frye's body has been found and take her to the morgue to identify it. Afterward, Clemenza asks Hilary out, and the two begin a romantic relationship. Hilary is once again attacked by a man who appears to be Frye. "Frye" escapes just before Clemenza arrives, and Hilary tells him what happened. After some investigations, Frye's psychologist, lets them listen to a tape recording of one of Frye's sessions. Frye talks about identical twins being born with cauls on their faces, and says he read somewhere that this was a mark of a demon. Frye has been killing women he believes are possessed by the spirit of his dead mother, who abused him and said she would come back from the dead. He believes that Hilary is his mother's latest "host". Hilary and Tony meet a retired madam who tells them that Leo, Frye's grandfather, brought his daughter, Katherine, there to be cared for after he got her pregnant. Shortly after Leo's death, Katherine gave birth to identical twin boys. The twins were born with cauls on their faces, leading the mentally unstable Katherine to believe they were demons. She raised her sons as if they were one person. They were both called Bruno, and both were rewarded or punished for anything either one of them did. Finally, Hilary and Clemenza return to Frye's home, where he once again attacks them, before being killed during a struggle with Clemenza. |
4908539 | /m/0ctp6b | The Mask | Dean Koontz | 1981 | {"/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | An amnesic blonde girl appears in the middle of traffic on a busy day. Carol and Paul, a married couple, are drawn to her, seeing her as the child they never had, they take her in. Then the hauntings begin- ghastly noises in the dead of night, a bloody face in the mirror,and the razor sharp ax. Where has Jane come from? Is she just an orphan in need of love? Or is she hiding something more sinister? Who is the girl behind the mask? |
4908574 | /m/0ctp7r | The Eyes of Darkness | Dean Koontz | 1981 | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/01qxvh": "Romance novel", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | ==Character |
4908656 | /m/0ctpc5 | The House of Thunder | Dean Koontz | 1982 | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | The novel revolves around a woman named Susan Thorton, who wakes up in a hospital bed with no recollection of her past or how she got there. Her physician, Dr. McGee, helps Susan recover some of her memory, including that of an anti-Semitic hate crime she witnessed years earlier that led to the death of her fiance, but she can't seem to recall anything related to the company where she works or her recent past. Phone calls from her colleagues do nothing to jog Susan's memory. In the meantime, Susan begins having dreams and vivid hallucinations connected to her fiance's murder. The men responsible for the crime show up at the hospital, although they claim not to recognize her and none of them appear to have aged at all, despite the fact that over a decade has passed. The men begin tormenting Susan, who must decide whether or not she can trust Dr. McGee as she tries to discover if the men are ghosts, doppelgangers, or if these horrific experiences only exist in her mind. |
4910684 | /m/0ctsf5 | Darkfall | Dean Koontz | 1984 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Jack Dawson is a New York Detective dealing with a variety of situations in his life. His wife Linda has recently died, and that leaves him the sole caretaker for his two children Penny and Davey. Aside from missing his wife very much; he is confronted by an especially brutal string of murders of Mafia criminals. These murders are both grisly and unearthly, seemingly done by animals, although forensics cannot determine any living creature that would simply tear a victim to pieces without actually eating anything. Finally, his partner Rebecca is a woman that does not share his approach to this crimewave. Dawson believes that there may be supernatural or magical factors in the killings, while Rebecca believes this to be absurd. Dawson's instincts are seldom wrong; and although he can't deny the initial absurdity of some kind of magic, alternative explanations are disappearing quickly. In truth these denizens are called forth from hell by a bocor(an evil sorcerer of voodoo). Because of their small size Carver Hampton came to the conclusion that this were just minor devils and the hole to hell is not yet big enough to grant access to greater demons. Though these denizens have different appearance they have similar characteristics such as a number of very sharp claws and teeth and the eyes the color of hot silver. At the end of the novel where Jack is about to arrest Lavelle, he was surprised to see that the pit where this demons pass through has gone so big that it has engulfed the shed where it is concealed. Numerous tentacles have sprouted from the pit and dragged Lavelle to hell. When Jack sees this he comes to the conclusion that this was just a mere finger of a greater evil that was about to come. When holy water doesn't stop the pit from growing, Jack uses his blood from the wound inflicted by a tentacle to stop the pit. He fears that if he fails, he will be forced to sacrifice himself into the pit. The novel ends with all the denizens turning to mud and Jack hearing Rebecca say "I love you Jack" in thin air. |
4910689 | /m/0ctsfw | Twilight Eyes | Dean Koontz | 1987 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | The book begins with Slim sneaking up on, and killing, a "goblin or beast" on the fair grounds of a local carnival. Goblins are monsters which can shape shift between human and bestial forms, genetically engineered super-predators which desire bloodshed and human misery. Created in an ancient, technologically superior era of human civilization, they exist to torment and ultimately murder humans. They can only be seen by a few people, including Slim himself, Rya Raines (his wife), and Joel Tuck (Slim's friend and fellow carnie). These goblins are superhuman and extremely dangerous and genocidal, at least as intelligent as us, and can mimic human behavior. While they appear and act as a normal person would, they experience only a negative emotions like fear and hate. Their only pleasure is in torturing and murdering humans. Slim's claim to fame is his "Twilight Eyes", which give him the ability to receive psychic, or prophetic, premonitions of the future. They also allow him to see through the human seeming disguise of the goblins. These eyes are named what they are because they are colored purple like the skyline at dusk. After this encounter, Slim proceeds to join the carnival (one of many he has drifted from) as a way to support himself while killing goblins and hiding from his murderous past (in which he killed an uncle by marriage that was a goblin responsible for the deaths of several family members). One of the prominent members of the "carnies" is a young woman named Rya Raines, who quickly becomes his lover and confidant. As their relationship matures, Slim has several more run-ins with the goblins which leads to the revelation that his friend Joel, and even Rya herself, can see the goblins too, and that each of them in their own way has suffered terribly from the goblins actions in their past. It is soon revealed that Rya had long before made a pact with the goblins to report to them whenever she found someone who could see through their disguise in exchange for safety from their predations. She wants him to make the same pact with them, but he refuses. This reality creates a gulf between her and Slim that almost comes to bloodshed between them. She regrets this later and after reconciling with Slim she becomes his wife. They decide to go on a mission to destroy any and all of the creatures they possibly can. Together they set out on a personal mission to wage a secret war against the monsters in a small mining town named Yontsdown, Pennsylvania, the seeming center of their cruel and brutal version of civilization. There they would discover and face the ultimate, diabolical plans the goblins had for the world and all of mankind. |
4910776 | /m/0ctsmc | Strangers | Dean Koontz | 1986 | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | It is about a group of people who are brought together by their different and equally strange maladies. These people gather to meet in the middle of the Nevada 'high-desert' to try to figure out what was done to them, and who could have done it, while at same time being watched by the people who have done this. Altogether they realize that a UFO landed near the Tranquility Motel. |
4910784 | /m/0ctsnd | Watchers | Dean Koontz | 1987-02 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | The story begins in Santa Barbara, California. Travis Cornell, a former Delta Force operative, feels that his life has grown pointless, and is exploring a canyon near his home when he encounters two genetically engineered creatures that have escaped from a top-secret government lab. One, a golden retriever with extraordinarily enhanced intelligence, befriends Travis; the other, a terrifying creature known as the Outsider, appears to be trying to kill the dog. After eluding the Outsider, Travis takes the dog home and names him Einstein. Meanwhile, Nora Devon, an introverted young woman, whose abusive aunt recently has died, is attacked in her home by a man who attempts to rape her. Travis and Einstein intervene and the three quickly form a tight bond. Travis, Nora, and Einstein soon find themselves on the run not only from the Outsider, but from federal agents determined to track down the lab escapees, and Vince Nasco, a ruthless professional assassin, hired to kill the creatures and eliminate any witnesses he may encounter along the way. |
4910791 | /m/0ctspg | Shadow Fires | Dean Koontz | 1987 | {"/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/01qxvh": "Romance novel"} | The protagonist of the story is a woman who is in the process of divorcing her abusive husband Eric, an intense scientist at a bio-research company, when he is killed in a traffic accident. As it turns out, the husband was doing research into immortality, due to an obsession with cheating death stemming from sexual abuse he suffered as a child and the fear that his abuser is waiting for him in Hell. In fact, he experimented on himself using an untested serum designed to grant incredible regenerative abilities. The husband wakes up in the morgue, but his "immortality" turns out to be flawed; it cannot properly repair brain damage, as the "mind" is made of electrical signals and not just flesh and protein. The trauma from the traffic accident has resulted in him suffering constant pain and a lack of mental clarity. The husband, now an unstoppable killing machine, proceeds to stalk his wife across the country while slowly descending into madness and the return from death causing him to mutate at a rapid pace. Rachael and her boyfriend Ben Shadway track the reanimated Eric to his secret country hideaway in the hope of killing him before he can regenerate to a level where he would be able to find and kill Rachael. However, Eric outwits them and manages to hide in the trunk of Rachael's car after overhearing her and Ben in conversation discussing their plan to split up and meet in Las Vegas. As Rachael Leben unwittingly transports Eric toward Las Vegas, she stops off along the way and witnesses Eric emerge from the trunk of her car, now hideously transformed into some kind of indescribable mutant and rapidly mutating. A chase ensues into the desert, but Rachael manages to escape from Eric's clutches while he's feeding on a den of rattlesnakes and finds her way back to her car, setting off again toward Vegas. Some time later Eric kills and eats the driver of a car then rapes, kills, and devours the female passenger before he too sets off to Vegas. Ben Shadway is also being chased by federal agent Anson Sharp, who harbours a 20 year old grudge against Shadway after the two served in Vietnam together and Shadway exposed Sharp's corruption and illegal smuggling activities, culminating in Sharp being dishonourably discharged from the US army. Partners in Eric Leben's bio-research company are also on the tail of Shadway and Rachael Leben to try to prevent them from exposing the top-secret project that the company was working on to the media but are stopped by Sharp's forces. Sharp seeks to kill them both, to keep Project Wildcard secret and get revenge on Ben. After a lengthy pursuit across Nevada to Las Vegas, the couple have their final confrontation with Eric at Ben's hotel. Eric's mutation finally stabilizes into a seemingly unstoppable and unreconizable insectoid form incapable of being slain by the firearms they have. Thinking quickly they pour gasoline on Eric and set him on fire. Consumed by fire, the accelerated metabolism in Eric's mutated body devours itself in an attempt to regenerate and mutate further, reducing his body to ooze and finally killing the genetic abomination but not before Eric's shattered consciousness finally accepts death. Sharp attempts to kill them but one of his own men who realizes how insane Sharp had become shoots Sharp in the head and kills him. With both their enemies dead, Rachael and Ben finally prepare to get married as well as break the story to the press. |
4910795 | /m/0ctspt | The Servants of Twilight | Dean Koontz | 1988 | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Single parent Christine Scavello and her young son Joey are confronted in a mall parking lot by a madwoman who claims that Joey is the Antichrist. After a distressing attack on the family home results in her dog being decapitated, Christine enlists the help of private detective Charlie Harrison. Harrison traces a van that is following Christine back to one Grace Spivey—a charismatic elderly woman who is the leader of a fanatical religious cult called The Servants Of Twilight. Christine is provided with bodyguards for her protection; however, it is not long before one of them is killed in an attack by cult members. Christine, Charlie, Joey, and the new dog Chewbacca begin a tiresome cross country journey to escape the deluded members of "The Twilight". It seems that no matter how far they travel or where they go, Spivey's people find them. It is revealed that this is due to Spivey being a psychic who can see into the future, a gift that also plagues her with many sleepless nights. After several more attacks (including a car bomb and an arson attack) the group tries to escape the growing threat of The Twilight by retreating to Charlie's lodge in the mountains. Here, Charlie finds himself falling love in with Christine, and the two end up sleeping together. Spivey is certain that Joey is the Antichrist, and continually has visions of the apocalypse where the child is the cause. Rather than considering herself insane or unjust, Spivey sees her need to kill the boy (as well as anyone that may get in her way) as a service to mankind. Her faith is so strong that she is able to enlist the following of many key members of the community, including police officers and a man named Kyle Barlow - a sociopath Spivey had saved from a life of crime. The Servants of Twilight eventually track the group to Charlie's mountain lodge. After a chase and more gun fights with heavily armed cult members in a treacherous blizzard, the family finds themselves in a cave in the side of a mountain. They are exhausted, Charlie has suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and Joey develops a serious illness, including hives to the face and a very pale complexion, both caused by exposure to the extreme cold. Kyle Barlow knows he must finish the job, but finds he does not have the ability to kill a child, even if Grace believed him to be the Antichrist. The story reaches it climax inside the cave when Spivey and her last standing helper, Kyle Barlow, begin their descent to kill the child and stop the supposed rise of the Antichrist. Christine has no energy left to fight, and Charlie is barely conscious from his gunshot wound. It all looks very bleak as Grace Spivey raises a gun to Joey's head. Just before she pulls the trigger, however, Spivey is attacked by a barrage of bats who attack her and leave her for dead. The strange behavior of the bats causes Christine to wonder if her son could have caused the attack. The book closes with the end of the ordeal and with Christine and Charlie in a stable relationship. Charlie’s curiosity about Joey grows, as the boy's illness cleared up very quickly and mysteriously. The story ends with Charlie trying to find evidence in the buried remains of the family's original dog. The grave does not hold the remains of Christine's dog but a dog of a different breed, which Charlie finds humorous and concludes that Joey could not be the Antichrist. |
4910803 | /m/0ctsqv | Lightning | Dean Koontz | null | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | As Laura Shane is born in January 1955, during a freak lightning storm, a mysterious blond stranger (Stefan) prevents a drunken Dr. Paul Markwell from attending to the difficult and complicated delivery. Her mother dies in childbirth, though Laura is a perfectly healthy, exceptionally beautiful baby, and she is left to be raised by her father Bob Shane. When Laura is eight years old, a junkie attempts to rob her father's convenience store; however the blond stranger reappears, saving them both and instructing them on what to tell the police. In 1967, Bob Shane dies of a heart attack. At her father’s funeral Laura sees the stranger watching over her yet again and begins to think he is her guardian angel, along with an unnamed man calling for her when she tries to follow him. Laura is sent to live in the McIlroy orphanage, where she is housed with a set of twins, Thelma and Ruth, who later become her best friends. She also meets Willy Sheener, a frightening child molester who is also the maintenance man and custodian. Willy becomes infatuated with Laura due to her uncommonly good looks, haunting her wherever she goes in the orphanage. However, due to past experience the twins warn Laura that reporting Sheener, also known as "The White Eel" or "Eel" for short, will do more harm than good. Laura is eventually sent to live with a foster family that exploits her, so she purposely behaves badly and they send her back to the orphanage. After several disturbing incidents, her mysterious angel visits Sheener and brutally beats him. This scares him off for some time, until Laura is sent to live with the Dockwielers, with whom she quickly forms a bond. Sheener comes to their home one afternoon; Laura is able to fend him off and eventually kill him, but the shock of discovering the scene causes her new foster mother to suffer a fatal heart attack, sending Laura back to the orphanage. Shortly thereafter, Laura turns 13 and is moved to another orphanage for older children, and receives the devastating news that Ruth was caught in a fire in McIlroy and died. At college, Laura's creative writing brings her to the attention of Danny, a naive man who has fallen in love with her from afar. After a botched attempt at being her secret admirer they agree to date and over time, fall in love. After their marriage Laura becomes a celebrated author of several books and gives birth to a boy, Christopher Robin. The birth was difficult, making it so she will not be able to have any children in the future. Years later, Danny, Laura and Chris are saved from a horrific accident by the blond man's (revealed to be named Stefan) intervention. The unnamed man shows up moments later. Both Danny and the blond man attack but Danny dies of several gunshot wounds, before Stefan kills the man and tells Laura what to say, like years ago at the grocery store. He promises to return soon and tell more, but due to mistakes, he doesn't return until a year later, wounded, in an isolated stretch of winter woods. Laura and Chris are able to treat him at a doctor they locate in the phone book, but must battle unknown assassins shortly thereafter. The group hides out in a small motel. Stefan recovers and finally tells his story. He is from Nazi Germany in the year 1944, and is part of secret time traveling experiments, sending agents to the future to uncover ways to change the outcome of World War II. Stefan had previously arrived in an alternate version of 1984 and had seen Laura, who was a quadriplegic because of Dr. Markwell's drunken errors during her delivery. However, despite her disability, she wrote beautiful books of poetry which inspired Stefan to renounce his mission, and travel to difficult parts of her life to change them. However, his superior Kokoschka became suspicious of him and followed him, sending the assassins into the future to learn of their path. With the help of Thelma, who has become rich as an actress since her sister's death, they gain many supplies they need. Fat Jack, an arms dealer, supplies them with guns and Vexxon nerve gas. With the aid of modern computational technology, Stefan is prepared to go back to his time. He uses the nerve gas to kill the five men on duty at the time and disposes their bodies six billion years in the future. He makes a jump to see Winston Churchill and convinces him that the institute containing the time machine must be bombed; Churchill agrees. Stefan also makes a trip to Adolf Hitler, to convince the dictator of various threads that must be cleared up, in reality sabotaging the German war effort. While he is gone, Laura and Chris, in an empty patch of rain washed desert, are attacked by more Nazis, as records of a police stop have been discovered. Stefan returns to find Laura and Chris dead. He works around the time limit of the machine by sending Laura a message to save them. Despite this, Chris and Laura still have to battle all four men themselves. The second cylinder of nerve gas proves invaluable. It is Laura who eventually kills all four men pursuing them, as she protects Chris as best she can. In the long months that follow, Laura and Chris are questioned by the police. They soon believe a story of 'drug dealers' who wanted revenge. Laura backs up her story by turning over Fat Jack, something she was going to do anyway (he does not blame her, due to his personal beliefs). Stefan, who had been hiding with Thelma, comes to live with the two again. After even more time, Laura finds herself falling in love with him. |
4910824 | /m/0ctsrw | The Bad Place | Dean Koontz | null | {"/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror"} | Frank Pollard wakes up in an alley at night, filled with confusion and fear. He knows nothing but his name, and that he must escape fast, or else he will be killed. Pursued by a mysterious assailant, Frank barely escapes with his life. Every time he goes to sleep, he wakes up to find evidence of bizarre nighttime travels which he cannot remember. Afraid of his own actions, Frank enlists the help of husband-wife security team, Bobby and Julie Dakota. At first, the case merely seems absurd, but as they track deeper into the life and past of the mysterious Frank Pollard, the Dakotas uncover an increasingly bizarre and dangerous world threatened by a madman who thirsts for blood. It is ultimately revealed that Frank Pollard is the brother to the mysterious madman as well as twin sisters. They were born from a mother who was the product of an incestuous relationship. Her father was a hallucinogenic drug-abuser and her mother was his sister. She is a hermaphrodite and impregnated herself with her own seed. As a result of this compounded inbreeding, Frank and his siblings developed unusual psychic abilities. Frank, wanting a normal life, tries to escape from his family while being pursued by his brother who seeks to either bring him back or kill him, and nothing will stand in his way. After a message from Julie's younger brother, who has Down Syndrome and possesses minor psychic ability himself, Bobby, Julie, Frank and his family begin speeding into a final confrontation. |
4910915 | /m/0ctsx4 | Mr. Murder | Dean Koontz | 1993 | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | This story has two intervening plots occurring throughout. One of an assassin, who is a clone. Bestselling mystery writer Marty Stillwater was recording himself one day when he realized that he was saying "I need..." repeatedly. When he went back to see what he had been saying before he found out he had been saying "I need" for over 7 minutes. Marty was tense that whole day, when he put the kids to bed though he calmed down considerably and was finally consoled. Meanwhile, the Killer was roaming the streets before his job, when he went into a bar and went with a prostitute to a motel and slept with her but soon after became angry because he felt dirty, and murdered her. Then proceeded to his job. He kills his targets and goes to the hotel he is staying. That night, being restless, he leaves his itenary and goes towards Topeka. Suddenly, he starts saying: The Killer was attracted like a magnet by some force he didn't understand to the Stillwater residence. On his way he killed several people, an old couple for a set of clothes and a gas station clerk for food and to save money. When he breaks into the house he sees a picture of Marty and notices he looks exactly like him. He sees the pictures of the daughters Emily and Charlotte and Marty's wife Paige, he then decides he wants to be the father and husband. He goes to the computer to write a book, but since he can't he destroys the computer. Marty was quite upset about his fugues (a break in one's memory) and so went to see a doctor. The doctor said it was just stress. When Marty comes home he found things misplaced and his computer smashed. The Other than comes and Marty shoots him twice in the chest, but he gets away. Then they fight and the Other gets away. Marty's wife then comes home, and Marty sends them to their neighbour's house. Soon after, the police arrive. Cyrus Lowbock, the detective, interrogates Marty and doesn't believe him, so Marty sends him away. The Killer was hurt so he needed food, so he went to McDonald's and ate enough for six. Then he went to get the women that he thought were his from who he thought was an impostor. He went to the neighbour's house and got the daughters, but as he was leaving Marty came out and the girls escaped to him. The Killer fled again. Drew Oslett and Karl Clocker were going to where The Killer (whom they referred to as "Alfie") had killed two seniors and taken out his tracking device. When they arrived and saw he wasn't there they left and found a picture of Marty in a People magazine and saw he looked exactly like Alfie. They then went to see a contact that might help them find Alfie. After discussing they decided the Stillwaters had to be terminated to look like a murder/suicide and Alfie had to be brought in. Meanwhile the Stillwaters fled to a cabin in Mammoth Lakes and set up to get attacked by The Other. Paige hid under a rock to ambush The Other, but impredictably he ran his car through the cabin. The Stillwaters then fled to an abandoned church. Here Marty is shot and Paige and the girls leave. As The Other comes Drew and Karl track him and enter. Drew kills The Other and is then killed by Karl who rescues the Stillwaters provides them with new identities, a new home and evidence to bring the company down. After a few months Marty mails the evidence to the authorities from an anonymous name thus ending the story. |
4910968 | /m/0ctszn | Dragon Tears | Dean Koontz | 1993 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | Harry Lyon is a cop who embraces tradition and order. His partner, Connie Gulliver, is Harry's exact opposite. Harry doesn't like the messiness of her desk, her lack of social polish or her sometimes casual attitude towards the law. Connie often urges him to surrender to the chaos of life that is the 1990s. "Look, Harry, it's the Age of Chaos," she tells him. "Get with the times." And when Harry and Connie have to take out a hopped-up gunman in a restaurant, the chase and shootout swiftly degenerate into a surreal nightmare that seems to justify Connie's view of the modern world. Shortly after, Harry encounters a filthy, rag-clad denizen of the streets, who says ominously, "Ticktock, ticktock. You'll be dead in sixteen hours." Struggling to regain the orderly life he cherishes, Harry is trapped in an undertow of terror and violence. For reasons he does not understand, someone is after him, Connie Gulliver and the people he loves. |
4910998 | /m/0ctt0c | Winter Moon | Dean Koontz | null | {"/m/0dwly": "Children's literature", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction"} | The story begins with a thirty-two-year-old Los Angeles police officer named Jack McGarvey. |
4911008 | /m/0ctt11 | Dark Rivers of the Heart | Dean Koontz | 1994 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | Spencer Grant is a man with a tainted past and a lovable dog, Rocky, who together embark on a quest to find a life in a woman named Valerie Keene, whom he meets in a nightclub. Grant and his dog come back to the club later to find out that the woman is late for work. When Grant attempts to find her at her home, a SWAT-like team bombards the place, sending Grant into confusion. Grant is now determined to find Valerie. He searches for her in Las Vegas and is pursued by a secret government agency who are also looking for Valerie. He gets caught in a storm in the Nevada desert and is injured. He is rescued by Valerie and she helps Spencer's injuries. Meanwhile Roy Miro, a high ranking official in the agency, is the main antagonist who has been looking for Valerie for months. He and the agency use a satellite to find Spencer and Valerie's location in the desert. Roy and some agents get into a helicopter and corner them into a shopping center. Spencer and Valerie take hostage a helicopter and fly out of Nevada to Colorado to visit the house Spencer had his childhood in. When Spencer was 14 years old he heard a noise in the night and went out to the barn in the backyard to investigate. Inside the barn he found his father torturing a woman and Spencer found a gun and non-fatally shot his father. His father was later sent to a mental hospital. Roy takes Spencer's father out of the hospital and flies to the Colorado house to confront Spencer and Valerie. Spencer's father shoots Roy in the barn, which only paralyzes Roy. Spencer then fatally shoots his father while he and Valerie leave the barn. They use a satellite heat beam to disable the other agents while leaving the house and starting a new life together helping a resistance group against the government agency. it:Il fiume nero dell'anima |
4911172 | /m/0ctt60 | Intensity | Dean Koontz | 1996 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/03npn": "Horror", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/02n4kr": "Mystery", "/m/02xlf": "Fiction", "/m/0c3351": "Suspense"} | Chyna Shepard is a college student visiting the family of her friend, Laura Templeton, for a long weekend. Chyna, who was abused and neglected by her mother as a child, finds the Templeton house provides something she has yearned: acceptance. This comes to a violent end when Edgler Vess, a serial killer, breaks into the house in the night and methodically kills all of the occupants except Laura and Chyna. Chyna hides from him under her bed and waits until he goes downstairs. She searches the house and finds Laura's father shot and tied to a toilet seat, and the mother stabbed to death in the shower. Chyna encounters Vess on the stairs eating a spider before she sneaks into Laura's room. She finds Laura tied up and raped. Chyna sneaks away, promising to return. Before she can intervene, Vess kills Laura and takes her to his motor home. Chyna hears Laura screaming and runs upstairs intending to attack Vess with a knife. Unaware Laura is dead, Chyna sneaks aboard the motor home and finds her friend's corpse. Before she can escape, Vess drives away. Chyna hides in a back room, planning to escape at the earliest opportunity. When he stops at a gas station, she sneaks out of the motor home, and heads inside the gas station to find a phone. Chyna surreptitiously watches Vess boast to the gas station clerks that he is holding a young girl, Ariel, prisoner in his basement, before he kills them and drives away. Chyna feels compelled to follow Vess and help free the girl. She takes an attendant's car, and follows Vess. Chyna passes Vess while traveling through a state park and crashes her car into a redwood tree. While Vess gets out to investigate, Chyna sneaks on board the motor home. By the time Vess reaches his house, he has discovered that Chyna is on board. Fascinated, he decides not to kill her immediately to see what she will do. Chyna breaks into his house and goes into the basement to find Ariel, locked in a room and catatonic. Before she can free Ariel, Vess attacks Chyna in the kitchen, punching her unconscious before binding her with a chain in the kitchen. He taunts her for a while, revealing details about his past and past crimes. Obsessed with the "intensity" of any particular experience, sensory and existential, Vess styles himself as a "homicidal adventurer", and has killed continually since childhood. He offers to allow Chyna to live if she aids him in mentally torturing Ariel out of her catatonia. Then, Vess leaves for work. Chyna escapes from her chains by breaking away from the table to which she is chained and slamming her chair into a wall. She releases Ariel from her prison. Vess has trained a pack of deadly Dobermann pinschers to guard his property and kill anyone attempting to get in or out. Chyna dresses in Vess's dog-training clothing and sprays ammonia on the dogs to get through the dogs and into the motor home. She and Ariel exit the house, and take a vehicle. Chyna sees a police car on the road, so she pulls over to signal it, only to discover that the driver is Vess, the local "county sheriff". In the ensuing showdown, she rams his police car, soaking him and the highway with gasoline, though this fails to kill him as he escapes his car and uses a shotgun to disable the motor home, causing it to tip over. Chyna and Ariel escape the crippled wreck but Vess catches up to them and knocks Chyna to the ground but Ariel continues on, distracting Vess long enough for Chyna to get a lighter she'd grabbed at the gas station. She uses it to ignite the gas covering Vess and the highway before rolling to safety. She catches up to Ariel and watches as Vess meets his end in the flames. They are then rescued by a passing motorist. A few months later Chyna adopts Ariel, who has begun to speak in small phrases and meets a man who she falls in love with. |
4911453 | /m/0cttkh | Le Cousin Pons | Honoré de Balzac | null | null | The novella was based on a short story by an acquaintance of Balzac, Albéric Second, as Tim Farrant has demonstrated. Its original title was to have been “Le Parasite”. Sylvain Pons, a musician in a Parisian boulevard orchestra, has a close friend in another musician from that same orchestra, the German pianist Wilhelm Schmucke. They lodge with Mme Cibot, but Pons – unlike Schmucke – has two failings: his passion (which is almost a mania) for collecting works of art, and his passion for good food. Schmucke, on the other hand, has only one passion, and that is his affection for Pons. Pons, being a gourmet, much enjoys dining regularly with his wealthy lawyer cousins M. and Mme Camusot de Marville, for their food is more interesting than Mme Cibot’s and full of gastronomic surprises. In an endeavour to remain on good terms with the Camusots, and to repay their favour, he tries to find a bridegroom for their unappealing only child Cécile. However, when this ill-considered marriage project falls through, Pons is banished from the house. The novella becomes a novel as Mme Camusot learns of the value of Pons’s art collection and strives to obtain possession of it as the basis of a dowry for her daughter. In this new development of the plot line a bitter struggle ensues between various vulture-like figures all of whom are keen to lay their hands on the collection: Rémonencq, Élie Magus, Mme Camusot – and Mme Cibot herself. Betraying his client Mme Cibot’s interests, the unsavoury barrister Fraisier acts for the Camusots. Mme Cibot sells Rémonencq eight of Pons’s choicest paintings, untruthfully stating in the receipt that they are works of lesser value. She also steals one for herself. Horrified to discover his betrayal by Mme Cibot, and the plots that are raging around him, Pons dies, bequeathing all his worldly possessions to Schmucke. The latter is browbeaten out of them by Fraisier. He in turn dies a broken-hearted man, for in Pons he has lost all that he valued in the world. The art collection comes to the Camusot de Marville family, and the vultures profit from their ill-gotten gains. |
4911853 | /m/0ctv7l | Zorba the Hutt's Revenge | Paul Davids | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | In order to help Ken become accustomed to the world outside of the Lost City of the Jedi, Luke brings him to Tatooine to experience the "Droidfest." Although they are attacked by Tusken Raiders and bounty hunters hoping to get the reward Trioculus set for Ken, they manage to escape to Bespin with Han's housewarming gift, a housekeeping droid named Kate. Meanwhile, Zorba the Hutt, the father of Jabba, upon learning of his son's death, flies to Cloud City in order to claim Jabba's casino. Although the governor, Lando Calrissian, who has taken over the casino, refuses the claim, he agrees to bet the city and the casino on a game of sabacc. With Zorba marking the cards in an ultraviolet paint that only Hutts can see, Lando lost the city and left after warning Han and Leia. After a series of mishaps, Leia is captured by Trioculus' guards and brought to his factory on the planet and Ken is captured by Zorba. When Zorba learns that his son's murderer is in the custody of Trioculus he proposes a trade. Trioculus, however, won't give up his queen, and although has his stormtroopers ready to aid him, is defeated by Zorba's police force. Ken, however, is able to escape his jailers through a use of a Jedi mind trick and is reunited with Han. Luke is also able to rescue Leia and all are taken aboard the Millennium Falcon before Zorba destroys Trioculus' factory. Thinking that Leia was killed, he taunts Trioculus before freezing him in carbonite. The rebels leave the planet with Han wondering if he'll ever be able to ask Leia to marry him. |
4911872 | /m/0ctv99 | Mission from Mount Yoda | Paul Davids | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | With Trioculus imprisoned in carbonite, the Moffs meet in Kadann's Chamber of Dark Visions to hear his new prophecy on the leadership of the Empire. Kadann spoke in quatrains, prophesying that Trioculus would never again get the blessing to be leader, the new leader is on Duro and finally about the last days of the Rebel Alliance. As the Moffs concoct a plan to retrieve Trioculus' body and destroy it, Luke, Leia and Han fly to Dagobah. The rebels began to colonize Dagobah by building a school, which Ken is to attend, and a fortress that served as the Defense Research and Planetary Assistance Center, DRAPAC. DRAPAC was based on Mount Yoda, and was the subject of Kadann's prophecy When the dragon pack, Perched upon Yoda's stony back, Receives a visitor pierced by gold, Then come the last days of the Rebel Alliance. While there, a Duros, Dustini, brings news that the planet Duro is under attack by Imperial stormtroopers, who are stealing artifacts. Though he managed to save some, one was a golden crown that was booby trapped and stabbed Dustini, seemingly fulfilling the prophecy. As the Rebels send a mission to Duro to stop the Empire, the Moffs destroy the block of carbonite, only to discover it was fake and Trioculus was still alive. In a secret cavern on Duro, Luke, Han and Ken finally encounter Triclops, the true son of Emperor Palpatine. Though the Imperials attacked trying to abduct Triclops, with his help the rebels escaped and brought Triclops back to DRAPAC, with him promising to bring down his father's Empire. |
4911880 | /m/0ctvbb | Queen of the Empire | Paul Davids | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | When a demonstration of a "decoy" Human Replica Droid of Leia goes wrong and the droid shoots a scientist, Han and Leia are forced to fly him to his home planet of Chad to get treatment. When they reach the planet's hospital a hurricane is ravaging it. After Han is able to bring the scientist to the doctors, he is trapped by falling rubble caused by the storm. When Leia eventually saves him, he reveals that the experience scared him that he wouldn't be able to reveal his big plans. Upon leaving the scientist in the doctors' care, Han proposes to Leia and they plan on eloping at Hologram Fun World, an amusement park. With the help of the new owner of the park, Lando Calrissian, they plan a wedding and visit many hologram attractions, including a trip through the Alderaan of Leia's memories. While they are at the park, one of Zorba the Hutt's spies in the park tells him that Leia is alive and he plans on capturing her and killing her on Tatooine as she did to his son. With some help, he manages to capture her during a magic show and take her to his ship, with the carbonite-frozen body of Trioculus, for the trip to Tatooine. Zorba's ship, however, is captured by the Moffship of Grand Moff Hissa. When they discover Trioculus is still alive, he is quickly unfrozen and only spares Zorba's life when Zorba reveals where Leia is. Hoping to turn Leia to his side, Trioculus drops Zorba into the Pit of Carkoon into the mouth of the Sarlacc. While Trioculus makes plans to marry Leia, Han and Lando, joined by Luke, Ken and the Human Replica Droid of Leia are able to infiltrate the Moffship and plan a rescue operation. They rescue Leia and are able to replace her with the Human Replica Droid, who goes to the wedding in Leia's place. While the Millennium Falcon escapes, the droid's lasers pierce Trioculus' heart. As he lay dying, unbeknownst to anyone, Zorba crawled out of the Sarlacc, as no creature in the universe can digest a Hutt. |
4911894 | /m/0ctvcq | Prophets of the Dark Side | Paul Davids | null | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | As Trioculus lay dying he made Grand Moff Hissa promise that he would make Luke Skywalker and the rest of the Rebels pay for killing him. Meanwhile, at the Rebel base, they realize that Triclops, while sleepwalking, goes through files at the base and transmits them, through an implant on his tooth, to Imperial probe droids which are evading defenses. Leia proposes that a defense probe be built from plans found at the Lost City of the Jedi. These plans happen to be from Ken's homework assignments, prompting him and Luke to return to the city. While there, Ken's caretaker Dee-Jay and the other droids tell them about a decoy transport to the city that now leads to an underground sea of lava and also warn them of a prophecy by Supreme Prophet Kadann which says When the Jedi Knight Becomes a captive of Scardia Then shall the Jedi Prince Betray the Lost City. While they return to the Rebel base on Yavin, Zorba the Hutt has a meeting with the Prophets of the Dark Side in their space station Scardia. He tells of the grand moffs betrayals and plans of making Trioculus leader once again. When the Moffship is captured, they are put to trial, and surprised to see Zorba as the main witness. All of the moffs are sentenced to certain death, with Hissa's being the cruelest, as the loyalest supporter of Trioculus. Back on Yavin 4, Luke decides to give Triclops false information about the decoy transporter. In order to stop the information leak altogether, Luke, Ken, and Chewbacca went to the planet Arzid to find a mushroom to deactivate the implant. While there they are captured by Imperial stormtroopers and brought to the Prophets. Kadann, using the false information from Triclops, sends Hissa to his death in the decoy transport and threatens that he will send Luke if Ken doesn't betray the location of the real transport. He also promises Ken that he will reveal who his father was. With that motivation, Ken betrays the city and is brought with the Prophets to it. There Kadann reveals that Ken's father is Triclops meaning his grandfather was the Emperor. Not wanting to believe them and crying, Ken is told that he will be bred to be the new Emperor and will know the Dark Side of the Force. Meanwhile, Luke, finally able to get free of his guards and rescued by Han and the others, is able to sneak into the city through a steam vent. He rescues Ken, but not before the city is shut down by the Imperials and an earthquake destroys the main computer. Although Luke and Ken are able to reach the surface, Kadann and the other prophets are trapped in the city. Ken is able to come to terms with his parentage, but is unable to speak to his father about it, as Triclops manages to escape and evade capture in the forests of Yavin. The story ends with Leia, preparing for her wedding and seeing a vision of Han with their two children, wondering if they are twins. |
4913305 | /m/0ctx74 | Second Chance | null | null | {"/m/03mfnf": "Young adult literature"} | After splitting up from the church, Judd Thompson and Vicki Byrne go together to O'Hare International Airport to get Judd's car. Along the way they pray to receive Christ as a taxi driver drops them off three miles from the airport. They band together as brother and sister in their new faith in the early hours of the morning. Finding the parking lot hopelessly gridlocked they finally get the car out around four in the morning. Vicki asks Judd to take her to her trailer park where she hopes to stay. Finding her trailer burned to the ground, she has no choice but to stay with Judd at his house. Meanwhile, Lionel (who was the first to receive Christ) finds Ryan after he ran out of the church not wanting to hear that his parents are in Hell. They team up and go to Ryan's house, where they set up a tent in the back yard. Next, they head over to Lionel's house, a few miles away, to grab some of his clothes and stuff. There Lionel finds a voicemail message from his Uncle Andre telling Lionel He's sorry and is going to kill himself. Not wanting that to happen, he and Ryan ride their bikes down to the hotel that Andre was staying in only to find his Uncle being taken out in a body bag. Scared and now without any family, They go back to Ryan's house and spend the night in the back yard because Ryan is too scared to go in. The next day he convinces Ryan to go to his house to live. But after they get there they find that the house has been taken over by "friends" Of Andre. He goes and grabs some stuff and bolts out of there. They then go to the church where they meet up with Judd and Vicki. After telling Bruce their good news Lionel and Ryan decide to move in with Judd. |
4915976 | /m/0cv0g1 | The Ruling Class | Francine Pascal | 2004 | {"/m/06nbt": "Satire", "/m/03mfnf": "Young adult literature"} | The book centers around a 16-year old girl, Twyla Gay Stark, . She soon transfers to a new town and a new school in a wealthy neighborhood, Highland Park High, where the rich and nasty strut around in designer labels. The worst happens when Twyla Gay runs afoul of the resident bitch clique, led by the beautiful, intimidating and rich Jeanette Sue and bringing in the rear of the vicious pack is Myrna Fry, a "hanger-on" who is shallow, ignorant, racist and no backbone, the kind of girl you just love to hate. Jeanette Sue and her cohorts at first pretend to be friends with Twyla Gay, until a wicked prank almost has Twyla Gay raped and killed at the local mall at night. Encouraged by the fact that Twyla Gay likes Jeanette Sue's boyfriend Ryder, the bullying becomes even worse, with Jeanette Sue marginalizing the fact that Twyla Gay is poor. She also turns everyone against the helpless Twyla Gay, make online websites to bash on her and practically chasing her out of school. Twyla Gay considers dropping out, until she runs into the school outcast, Deena, another victim of the in crowd, who has been labeled slut. Together the two girls vow to exact revenge on Jeanette Sue and her entourage, by gathering other social rejects of the school and silently retaliating. Pessimistic at first, Twyla Gay and Deena's team eventually learn respect, trust and to stand up for themselves, and realize that Jeanette Sue is controlling the school with her mentality and peer pressure. They break out of their fear and intimidated state and it all leads to a showdown in the school between the all the students (everyone who isn't with The Ruling Class) and Jeanette Sue's clique itself. <!- |
4916504 | /m/0cv1bm | The Crack in Space | Philip K. Dick | 1966 | {"/m/06n90": "Science Fiction", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction", "/m/01hmnh": "Fantasy"} | On a future Earth (c.2080 CE) overwhelmed with severe difficulties related to overpopulation, a portal is discovered that leads to a parallel world. Jim Briskin, campaigning to be the first Negro president of the United States, believes that the new "alter-Earth" could be colonized and become a home for the seventy million people that are being kept in cryopreservation. Known as bibs, these are people - mostly non-caucasians - who decided to be "put to sleep" until a time when the overpopulation problem is solved. Briskin is a social conservative, who does not support the Golden Doors of Bliss orbital brothel, and opposes widespread abortion access. There are two dominant US political parties, the "Republican Liberals" and the "States Rights Conservative Democrats" who run CLEAN, a racist frontgroup that opposes Briskin's candidacy, although higher-income white American voters support him. Terraforming becomes a pivotal election issue, until a warp drive malfunction in a "'scuttler" tube results in the discovery of an apparently uninhabited alternate world, an 'alter-Earth' where homo sapiens either never evolved or lost in competition with other early hominids. In this case, the point of divergence appears to have occurred between one to two million years ago, as homo erectus, also known as sinanthropus/pithecanthropus or Peking Man, is the dominant species. In reference to the latter designation, the explorers refer to the indigenous hominids of this world as "Pekes." There is a hasty initial colonization attempt. The minimum time period necessary for all of the tens of millions of "bibs" to emigrate is estimated to be twenty years. In order to cut this down to 5 years the rift is temporarily closed so a new power supply can be installed which will theoretically quadruple the width of the rift. When this action is completed, however, it is discovered that one hundred years has elapsed in the parallel world. During this time the conjoined twin businessman George Walt, who had run the Golden Doors of Bliss satellite brothel, had emigrated into the parallel world during initial colonization and set himself up as a "wind god". He spent those hundred years teaching and filling in technological gaps in the Peke's world as well as learning many new ideas from them. He also apparently assisted in sabotaging the colonization effort, as it would not exactly be in his own best interest were word to leak out that he was merely a mutated homo sapiens. After all the decades-consuming preparations have been completed, however, George Walt eventually sets a trap so that whenever the rift eventually re-opens, the "Pekes" can power it from their side and keep it from closing. This procedure allows the Pekes to begin an invasion of Earth, but they abruptly depart en masse when it is finally revealed, as George Walt originally feared, that their wind god is actually just a wind bag; that is to say, he's just another lying, deceiving, untrustworthy member of the species homo sapiens. The colonization attempt from Earth is thereby aborted, and Briskin, being newly elected, is left at the story's end to deal with the consequences during his next two presidential terms. |
4917454 | /m/0cv2y4 | Tyrannosaur Canyon | Douglas Preston | 2005 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/06n90": "Science Fiction"} | The novel opens with a lunar find by the Apollo 17 astronauts, which is suppressed. Tom Broadbent (who first appeared in Preston's novel The Codex) is riding in the New Mexico desert when he hears gunshots coming from Tyrannosaur Canyon (a fictional canyon east of the Rio Chama Gorge, on Mesa Viejo, and north of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert). Following the sound, he comes upon an old prospector who has been shot by a sniper. He gives Tom a notebook just before he dies, and Tom rides off on his horse to find help. The murderer, Jimson Maddox, is furious that the notebook is gone by the time he reaches the body; he has been hired to retrieve it at any cost. He does, however, find an interesting rock sample. When Tom returns to Tyrannosaur Canyon with the police, the prospector's body has disappeared without a trace. The notebook is filled with numbers, some kind of code Tom is unable to decipher. He brings the book to Wyman Ford, a monk in training at a nearby monastery. Ford is a retired CIA analyst and he takes the notebook to try to decipher it. Ford discovers that the numbers are not a code but a sequence of ground-penetrating radar readings. When processed, they form the image of a fully intact Tyrannosaurus. The rock sample Maddox found turns out to be a fragment of the Tyrannosaurus. Maddox's employer, Iain Corvus, is a curator at the American Museum of Natural History, and he convinces a lab assistant, Melodie Crookshank, to examine the sample in secret. Corvus intends to steal her research, acquire a permit to excavate the Tyrannosaur, and thus secure tenure at the museum, as well as wealth and fame. Melodie discovers tiny particles within the sample which she calls "Venus particles". Upon making this discovery, Melodie calls Corvus to describe it to him, and the NSA hears the call. They initiate a black op led by J.G. Masago to cover up evidence of the particles, kill any witnesses, and retrieve the specimen. Meanwhile, Ford goes into the desert to look for the dinosaur. At the same time, desperate to recover the notebook, Maddox kidnaps Tom Broadbent's wife. He takes her to an abandoned mine to use as a bargaining chip, forcing Tom to hand over the notebook. Now that Maddox has the notebook, however, he intends to kill Sally so he can not be identified. She manages to break free, Tom rescues her, and the two of them escape into the desert on foot, pursued by Maddox and his rifle. Masago infiltrates the museum and kills Corvus, stealing the samples and his research. But Melodie, realizing previously that Corvus would try to steal the credit from her, had made copies of everything and hid them, along with more samples of the dinosaur. When she sees that he has been murdered and that his work is missing, she realizes she is the next likely target. Her only chance is to complete the research and post it to the Internet, so killing her would no longer serve the purposes of a cover-up. During her final research, she discovers that the 65-million-year-old Venus particles are still alive. They are a type of virus that destroys the cell structure of reptiles, evidently introduced to the earth by the Chicxulub meteorite. She posts her findings to the web to show the world. Back in the desert, the black ops team has tracked Ford down, and Maddox is gaining on Tom and Sally. They manage to overpower Maddox and kill him, retrieving the notebook, and Ford leads them out of the canyon in an effort to evade the government assassins. Trapped in an old Anasazi cave, they discover the partially excavated Tyrannosaurus Rex. Ford convinces Masago's team to turn on him. Masago tells them about the Venus particles, which had also been found on the moon, thus establishing convincingly their extraterrestrial origin. All leave in a helicopter. Masago breaks free and causes the helicopter to crash, killing most on board. Tom, Sally, Ford, and Masago's former right-hand man escape alive. By the time they arrive with news about the dinosaur's location, Melodie's research has spread across the Internet. All those involved are made famous, including Robbie Weathers, the old prospector's daughter. The Smithsonian Institution funds a program to research the Venus particles and the dinosaur itself and the theory is raised that the particles may have been intentionally developed by an alien race to destroy the dinosaurs and allow humans to begin their evolution. |
4918085 | /m/0cv3vg | Dance of Death | Lincoln Child | 2005 | {"/m/01jfsb": "Thriller", "/m/017rf8": "Techno-thriller", "/m/014dfn": "Speculative fiction"} | The book follows FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast and his sidekick, Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta. Pendergast was last seen at the end of the first novel, Brimstone, where he was buried alive behind a brick wall in Castel Fosco. His estranged brother, Diogenes, rescues him and nurses him back to health. However this is not a true act of kindness; Diogenes has a dark agenda and needs his brother alive in order to carry out his nefarious plans. Pendergast's ward Constance Greene requests Vincent D'Agosta's presence for a very important meeting. D'Agosta is shown a letter written many months previously by Pendergast about his brother Diogenes. In the letter, Pendergast writes that he does not know of Diogenes's whereabouts, but does in fact know one thing—a date, January 28. D'Agosta presumes that this will be the date of Diogenes's greatest crime. Having been hated by and hating his family, Diogenes obviously cannot be trusted. |
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