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The Circus of Dr. Lao | Charles G. Finney | null | The novel is set in the fictional town of Abalone, Arizona, the inhabitants of which epitomize ordinary Americans as they are simultaneously backhandedly celebrated and lovingly pilloried for their emergent reactions to the wonders of magic and of everyday life. A circus owned by a Chinese man named Dr. Lao pulls into town one day, carrying legendary creatures from all areas of mythology and legend, among them a sea serpent, Apollonius of Tyana who tells dark, yet always truthful, fortunes, a medusa, a satyr, and others. Through interactions with the circus, the locals attain various enigmatic peak experiences appropriate to each one's particular personality. The tale ends with the town becoming the site of a ritual to a pagan god whimsically given the name "Yottle", possibly an allusion to the Mesoamerican god Yaotl, whose name means "the enemy". The ritual ends when the god himself slays a virgin, her unrequited lover and the priest. The circus over, the townsfolk scatter to the winds. Apparently few of them profit from the surreal experiences. A "Catalogue" (similar to an appendix), notes all the people, places, items and mythological beings mentioned in the novel, summing up the characters pithily and sardonically, revealing the various fates of the townsfolk and listing a number of plot holes and unanswered questions not addressed in the book. List of Dr. Lao's Captured Animals: # Satyr: 2,300 years old, he was captured in Tu-jeng, China near the Great Wall. He was born of the union of a goatherd and one of his goats. # Medusa: She was very young and wore very little clothing. She had many species of snakes in her hair only three are mentioned: Tantillas, the brown, with black ring around their necks, Night Snakes, grey snakes with black spots on them, and Arizona elegans, faded brown snakes. She was a Sonoran Medusa from Northern Mexico. # Roc Chick: The roc chick had hatched from its egg (which would sweat salt water) Its feathers were the size of Ostrich's and the corners of the mouth were as yellow as butter. Its bill was yellow as well. The book describes a full grown roc as, "No where near as big as Sindbad said it was, but plenty big enough to do what Sindbad said it did!" # Hound of the Hedges: Created when water touched a dry ricefield for the first in many years, the hound was born. He was the only one of his species, no mate, no offspring. He had a tail that was made of ferns, his fur was green grass, instead of teeth he had rose thorns, his blood and saliva were chlorophyll. # Mermaid: She was captured in the Gulf of Pei-Chihli, the same day as the sea serpent. Her tail was sea-green and sleek scaled, her tail fin was as pink as a trout's. Her hair was seaweed green, her human half was young and slender with slight breasts. # Sphinx: A hermaphroditic, African Sphinx. Its head was blunt nosed and womanlike, it had breasts like a woman and had the voice of a man. It is not mentioned whether it had wings like the Greek sphinx, or no wings like an Egyptian sphinx. # Chimera: The chimera was male unlike the chimera in Greek myth thus its body was different. Although it still had a lion's body and a snake's tail, it had eagle's wings and a metal barb at the end of the tail. # Sea Serpent: He was almost a hundred feet long and was dark grey, his tongue was as thick as a man's arm and bright yellow. His eyes were bronze and had black slits for pupils. His tail was paddle shaped similar to a sea snakes. The Sea Serpent that is the only animal that did not become tame after being captured. He planned to escape with the mermaid and return to the sea. # Werewolf: She started her transformation as a large gray wolf. When she transformed she changed into an old woman, not the young lady the men were expecting. # Unicorn: a Kirin of Asian Myth. # Golden Ass: A man who had been extremely rude to Isis was transformed in to a golden haired donkey and was kept by the circus. |
Doubt: A Parable | John Patrick Shanley | 2,004 | The play is set in the fictional St. Nicholas Church School, in the Bronx, during the fall of 1964. It opens with a sermon by Father Flynn, a beloved and progressive parish priest, addressing the importance of uncertainty ("Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty," he says). The school's principal, Sister Aloysius, a rigidly conservative nun vowed to the order of the Sisters of Charity, insists upon constant vigilance. During a meeting with a younger nun, Sister James, it becomes clear that Aloysius harbors a deep mistrust toward her students, her fellow clergymen, and society in general. Naïve and impressionable, James is easily upset by Aloysius’ severe manner and harsh criticism. Aloysius and Father Flynn are put into direct conflict when she learns from Sister James that the priest met one-on-one with Donald Muller, St. Nicholas’ first African-American student. Mysterious circumstances lead her to believe that sexual misconduct occurred. In a private meeting purportedly regarding the Christmas pageant, Aloysius, in the presence of Sister James, openly confronts Flynn with her suspicions. He angrily denies wrongdoing, insisting that he was disciplining Donald for drinking altar wine, claiming to have been protecting the boy from harsher punishment. James is relieved by his explanation. Flynn's next sermon is on the evils of gossip. Aloysius, unsatisfied with Flynn's story, meets with Donald's mother, Mrs. Muller. Despite Aloysius's attempts to shock her, Mrs. Muller says she supports her son's relationship with Flynn. She ignores Aloysius's accusations. Before departing, she hints that Donald may be "that way", and that Mr. Muller may be beating him consequently. Father Flynn eventually threatens to remove Aloysius from her position if she does not back down. Aloysius informs him that she previously phoned the last parish he was assigned to, discovering a history of past infringements. After declaring his innocence, the priest begins to plead with her, at which point she leaves the office, disgusted. Flynn calls the bishop to apply for a transfer, where, later, he receives a promotion and is instated as pastor of a nearby parochial school. Learning this, Aloysius reveals to Sister James that the decisive phone call was a fabrication. With no actual proof that Father Flynn is or is not innocent, the audience is left with its own doubt. |
The Hidden Curriculum | null | null | The Hidden Curriculum is a book in seven chapters. The title is a phrase coined by Philip Jackson in a 1968 essay entitled "Life in Classrooms". Jackson argues that we must understand education as a socialization process; Snyder elaborates upon this thesis with studies of particular institutions. In the first chapter, "The Two Curricula", Snyder advances the proposition that :The assignments given in the classroom and the rewards for superior work are not limited to the formal curriculum. While many tasks are cast in explicit terms — "Do problems 1 through 8 on page 67," "Read Chapter 3 and be prepared to discuss the period 1792-94 in French politics" — there is another set of less obvious tasks which bears a most interesting and important relationship to the formal curriculum. The question for the student is not only what he will learn but how he will learn, and when he will learn. These covert, inferred tasks, and the means to their mastery, are linked together in a hidden curriculum. They are rooted in the professors' assumptions and values, the students' expectations, and the social context in which both teacher and taught find themselves. Snyder then continues to address the question of why students — even or especially the most gifted — turn away from education. Even honest efforts to enrich curricula frequently fail, says Snyder, thanks to the importance of the tacit and unwritten understanding. He observes that while some students do not realize there is a disjunction between the two curricula, almost all students must resort to ploys and stratagems to cope with the requirements they face. For example, within the first month of classes, many (or perhaps most) students discover they cannot conceivably complete all the work assigned them; consequently, they must selectively neglect portions of the formal schoolwork. Attempts to beat the "competitive game", such as compiling "bibles" of solutions to be passed from one generation to the next, often only worsen the situation. Professors become locked into the competition, and only a determined effort can change the behavior pattern on either side. No part of the university community, writes Snyder, neither the professors, the administration nor the students, desires the end result created by this process. In the second chapter, Snyder investigates the question of "selective negligence" more deeply, using a psychological study which began in 1961. He reports the (pseudonymous) comments made by five students, discussing their career at MIT. For Moore, MIT is a "huge beast", where competitive social roles lead professors into "wreaking [their] vengeance" on his classmates' grades. He notes that, when his friends make even trivial mistakes in class, they respond by shutting off their senses of wonder and curiosity. He used the terminology of game theory to describe his attitude, and that of his classmates, to the stressful life they led. Jones, also aware of the unwritten demands placed upon him, perceived less irony in the situation, and his high grades became "very nearly the most important basis" of his individual self-worth. His only (relatively minor) academic troubles were with a freshman humanities subject and an unstructured, experimental engineering class he took as a junior, classes where it was more difficult to tell which answers the professors considered "correct". By contrast, Smith was an example of academic failure. He had performed admirably well in high school, exerting almost no serious effort, but at MIT he began to fail quizzes. During an exam in his freshman year, his memory blanked after half an hour and he froze. He then placed his faith in osmosis, sleeping with books under his pillow. Eventually, after two years, Smith was academically disqualified and left MIT. In his interview, Smith revealed aspects of his personal and family history which prompted Snyder to write, "Only a relatively few students have problems as extreme as this, but many have passed through a period in which they respond in such a manner. However, Smith's case does not explain the bulk of withdrawals from college. Most are not caught up in such extreme distortion or such severe neurotic restriction in their adaptive choices." Other students managed to adapt. One such student, Brown, hailed from the Midwest. In both the school's estimation and his own, he was one of his class's lower-ranking students; in fact, on the basis of his College Board test scores, he expected to be denied admission. By mastering selective negligence, Brown was able to raise his grades and make the dean's list. The last student, Robertson, began with the belief that by learning scientific skills at MIT, he would benefit humanity at large. "The necessity for becoming a 'ruthless' competitor posed a special threat to his image as a 'good person.'" He responded by moving across the Charles River to a fraternity, where he could direct his energy into helping his younger fellows to adapt. The third chapter, written by Martin Trow of the University of California, Berkeley, discusses patterns of stress in the MIT lifestyle, and describes some reforms instituted to ameliorate these problems. Trow notes that MIT's nature is inherently conflicted or paradoxical, for it is at once a university for scientists — who must learn ingenuity and creativity — and a professional school for training engineers, who must focus on technical competence. These two roles, not entirely distinct, reflect themselves in conflicting demands which the students must resolve. Even though "it is really quite impossible" to train a good engineer in four years, Trow observes, the sheer mass of knowledge which the students are expected to learn tyrannizes over their lives, robs their leisure time and prevents them from exploring other interests, even those not far removed from professional training. The professors, too, are distracted and pressured, whether by the need to maintain institutional prestige or by the sheer frenzy of activity interrupting their creative cycles. Chapter 4 broadens the conclusions beyond MIT by comparing that school's situation to Wellesley, a liberal-arts college which at the time had just under two thousand female students. Unlike at MIT, the professors at Wellesley described education as "cultivation", "providing nutrients" for intellectual growth, monitoring the "bad seeds" — heavily agricultural imagery. In a deeper sense, Snyder observes that change was viewed as cyclical, rather than progressive, in a way reminiscent of agricultural societies. He found that both students and faculty interacted with politeness, containing anger or directing it inward. Students facing academic difficulties mocked the image of the student as a cultivated plant, he observed, but they reinforced it by blaming their own mentality before blaming the college. Examining the 10 percent of the students who consulted the campus psychiatrist, Snyder found that their sense of depression frequently stemmed from harsh judgments inflicted upon themselves, which were reinforced by faculty and classmates. A large group indicated that their self-worth was based on knowing some aspect of culture in depth, and then in communicating that depth to others. "Many students said explicitly that their function in life was to provide the continuity of tradition." In both environments, students seeking the psychiatrist's services reported depression as the most frequent problem. At Wellesley Snyder found harsh self-deprecation within the troubled students, and at MIT the primary cause seemed often to be students' placing expectations far beyond their reach. The final three chapters are the most overtly "political", and they are the least cited by later publications. These chapters explore the role of education in the broader world, where ever-accelerating rates of technological change combined with the 1960s' social upheaval make "education for complexity" a crucial requirement. Snyder addresses the breakdown of trust between students and faculty, from militant movements to the failure of students to grasp a seemingly simple demonstration of probability — a failure brought about because the class was too fixated on finding the "trick" to the problem. The epilogue concludes with a warning: increasing numbers of students view their education as an exercise in gamesmanship, a study in alienation. Because the hidden curriculum is so resistant to change and exerts such a strong influence on the effectiveness of education, it must be examined thoroughly if higher education is to have any relevance at all. |
The Fist of God | Frederick Forsyth | 1,994 | Dr. Gerald Bull designs a supergun codenamed Project Babylon for Iraq. He believes that it is for launching Arab satellites into space and that it could serve no military purpose since it could only fire once and then would be located, targeted and destroyed. He realizes the true reason shortly before being assassinated by his Iraqi paymasters. Iraq then invades Kuwait and the British and Americans need top level intelligence on the ground. Major Mike Martin of the Special Air Service is seconded to SIS to work with the Kuwaiti resistance. Not only does Major Martin speak fluent Arabic, but with his jet black hair and dark complexion, he can actually pass for an Arab. His brother, Terry, an expert in Arab military studies, is asked to advise the Medusa Committee, a joint Anglo-American panel on possible Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The CIA does not have any assets in the Iraqi government, so they ask the Israelis; Mossad deny they have any active assets in Iraq. This is not strictly true as they did have an asset, codenamed Jericho, but he remained anonymous and they were never able to identify him. They have paid $2 million into his Viennese bank account for information about Iraq's military strength, but he has gone to ground since the invasion. However, one of the team who helped run him, a man who feels the truth is most important, tells the Americans, and Israel is forced to admit the truth or face repercussions in Washington. As Israel is forced to stay out of this war—for political reasons, so as not to alienate the Arab nations taking part—they agree to let the Americans run Jericho—if they can find him. Mike Martin is recalled from Kuwait and sent into Iraq to run Jericho through a series of dead drops. His cover is as house gardener to the Soviet embassy in Baghdad. Meanwhile, the Mossad Director is furious over the American actions regarding Jericho, but quickly comes up with a plan called "Operation Joshua" to be staged in Vienna that will resolve Jericho's situation from his end in the Mossad's favor. The Medusa committee concludes that Iraq's biological weapons capability is not a threat and, though it has a plentiful supply of yellowcake, it has not had enough time with its limited underground centrifuges to spin it out into weapons grade uranium to make an atomic bomb. They decide that gas is the real threat, so the Americans make an unequivocal threat to the Iraqi government to nuke Baghdad if gas is used. However, an overeager American F-15E pilot, angry at an aborted bombing run, drops his bomb on a building not on his target list and reconnaissance photographs reveal strange large metal discs underneath the roof. Terry Martin takes the photographs to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to see if they can identify the discs. It is a retired veteran of the Manhattan Project who is able to tell him - they are Calutrons, California Cyclotrons, a low-tech solution to refining uranium, but ideal for Third World nations wanting to develop their own nuclear capability. If used in conjunction with Iraq's existing centrifuges, Iraq would already have made a nuclear bomb. Jericho reveals the location of the factory where the atomic bomb was put together and it is attacked. But he later reveals that the bomb had been moved hours earlier to its new site. Despite the $5 million already paid to him, Major Martin offers him $3 million more to reveal the bomb's new location. The Americans believe Jericho is bluffing. One problem is delivery—such a bomb would be too heavy to attach to a Scud missile and the USAF will destroy any fighter plane that tries to sneak past their air supremacy. The solution is a supergun, hidden in the desert. It will fire, just once, a single atomic weapon—“The Fist of God”—into Saudi Arabia the moment the Americans invade Iraq. Approximately 100,000 soldiers will die and the radioactive fallout will be carried into Iran. Jericho reveals the location of the supergun and Major Martin volunteers to HALO jump into Iraq to destroy it. The Americans agree to delay the invasion by two days, citing weather conditions as the reason. Martin and his SAS team lase the target and a single F-15 destroys the Supergun in a bombing run. General Norman Schwarzkopf is told the mission has been successful and orders the land invasion of Iraq. In "Operation Joshua", a Mossad agent seduces the secretary to the Viennese banker who handles Jericho's account; she reveals how he keeps details of the accounts in a secret compartment of his desk. The Mossad break into the bank and secretly photocopy the account details. They then transfer the entire $10 million out of his account into one owned by the Mossad, known as the "Fun Fund". Edith Hardenburg, the secretary, commits suicide when she realized that her "lover" has used her to obtain the information. Jericho - who turns out to be Brigadier Omar Khatib (called "The Tormentor"), the head of the AMAM - is picked up by Mossad agents pretending to be American intelligence. He is flown out of Iraq, drugged, and his body thrown into the sea from 10,000 feet. |
The Walrus and the Carpenter | Lewis Carroll | 1,871 | The Walrus and the Carpenter are the eponymous characters in the poem, which is recited by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. Walking upon a beach one night when both sun and moon are visible, the Walrus and Carpenter come upon an offshore bed of oysters, four of whom they invite to join them. To the disapproval of the eldest oyster, many more follow them. After walking along the beach (a point is made of the fact that the oysters are all neatly shod despite having no feet), the two main characters are revealed to be predatory and eat all of the oysters. After hearing the poem, the good-natured Alice attempts to determine which of the two leading characters might be the more sympathetic, but is thwarted by the twins' further interpretation: |
Taltos | Anne Rice | 1,993 | As the trilogy continues, the reader is introduced to Ashlar, founder of a multi-million dollar toy corporation based in New York City -- and a Taltos, possibly the last of his kind on earth. He is quietly reflecting back on his long life when he gets a call from a friend named Samuel. A male Taltos has been seen in the glen of Donnelaith, and there is someone with information about the male. Ashlar is shocked, as he hasn't seen one of his kind in centuries, and immediately flies to London to meet with his friend. As for Rowan Mayfair, after burying her daughter, the Taltos Emaleth, she goes into a semi-catatonic state. She walks, she bathes, she eats, but she does not speak, and does not respond to those around her. Her husband Michael Curry and adopted designess Mona are worried for her, and plead with her to speak. A visiting cousin by the name of Mary Jane takes one look at Rowan and declares that she is still there, and that she will speak again in her own time. And so she does that same afternoon when we discover that her beloved friend, Aaron Lightner, an excommunicated Talamasca scholar who recently married into the family, has been deliberately run over by a car. She immediately goes to the morgue, taking Mona with her. After saying her good-bye to him, she makes plans with Michael to go to London and seek revenge on the Talamasca, whom she believes to be responsible for her friend's death. Mona discovers that she is pregnant by Michael, and after Rowan gives her blessing, she ecstatically shares the news with the family. Michael and Rowan leave for London to meet up with Yuri Stefano, a pupil and friend of Aaron who has also been excommunicated by the Talamasca. Through Yuri they meet the Taltos Ashlar and his friend Samuel, who is one of the Little People of Donnelaith (Dwarf-like creatures which are Taltos who never fed on their mother's milk—becoming stunted). Ashlar has by then killed the Superior General of the Talamasca, Anton Marcus, for his part in Aaron's death. They kidnap Stuart Gordon, an elderly member who has also had a hand in the death and the mysterious goings-on of late. Through him we discover that he and two of his pupils have hatched a scheme to unite Lasher with a female Taltos they have possession of so that they may witness the birth of a Taltos. To make sure that Aaron and Yuri didn't catch on, the pupils, Marklin and Tommy, sent fake communications to them that they believed came from the Elders, the governing force behind the Talamasca. When Aaron and Yuri continued to interfere, the Elders "excommunicated" the pair. Stuart is forced to take the group into the countryside, where he keeps the female Taltos. Ashlar comes face to face with this female, exciting Stuart, who demands that they give birth to a child. Ashlar embraces the female, named Tessa, and informs Stuart that she is unable to bear any children. He points out that every strand of her hair is white, indicating her great age and her inability to conceive. This breaks Stuart's heart. And after finally knowing what has been going on, Ashlar decides to kill Stuart for all the trouble he has caused: killing people to achieve his goals. But Rowan beats him to the punch, using her strong telepathic abilities to cause a stroke. Yuri takes Tessa to the Talamasca, who now know what has been going on. They welcome Tessa with open arms, and punish Marklin and Tommy for their treachery by burying them alive. Meanwhile, Mona has discovered that the child she carries is a Taltos, a female named Morrigan. She runs off with Mary Jane to Fontevrault, an old plantation sunken into the marsh that has been owned by a separate branch of the Mayfair family for generations. There Mary Jane's grandmother, Dolly Jean, helps deliver the new Taltos, who is a spitting image, if taller version, of her mother. Mona then and there names Morrigan the Designee of the Mayfair Legacy, and she and Mary Jane make plans for the future in case Rowan and Michael try to kill Morrigan. Ashlar takes Rowan and Michael with him to New York, and tells them the story of his long life; how the Taltos once thrived on a tropical island north of the British Isles that apparently was a semi-active volcano. They had been there since "The Time Before the Moon" (briefly mentioned by the vampire Maharet in The Queen of the Damned, the third installment in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles), and lived innocently and peacefully until the land began to shift under their feet. The water became too hot, and the animals died. The tribe escapes in time and flees south to the bitter cold of Scotland. From there they can see the island as it sinks into the sea. They make do in their new home, becoming hunter-gatherers, and occasionally spotting the early humans, whom they kept as pets once in while. They break off into different tribes and the largest of them, led by Ashlar, goes south to Somerset where they settle. Their peace is often disrupted by the Celtic raids on the land. To adapt and live peacefully among humans, they become the Picts, and Ashlar their king. When Christianity comes to them in the form of St Columba, Ashlar converts with more than half his tribe. But there is a conflict between the Christians and non-Christians, and war ensues. Soon only five Taltos males left, and they all become priests, including Ashlar. Several years later, he attempts to tell his story to a fellow priest, but he only laughs and says that the story is blasphemy. Ashlar is disillusioned, and goes on a pilgrimage, leaving Donnelaith forever. So ends his story. Rowan and Michael return to New Orleans, where Michael is introduced to his daughter, Morrigan. He and Rowan accepts Mona's decision to make Morrigan the Designee, and Morrigan settles in until Ashlar sends gifts to his new friends. When he doesn't hear from them, he goes to the First Street house to see them. There he sees this young female Taltos, who is in a frenzy. She can smell Ashlar on the gifts, and demands to know where she can find him. She catches his scent on the wind, and sees him standing outside. She breaks through a window and runs into his arms, and they run away together. fr:Taltos it:Taltos, il ritorno nl:Taltos ru:Талтос |
Naked Empire | Terry Goodkind | 2,003 | The novel begins detailing the travels of the main characters as they move through the Old World in order to accomplish temporary goals. Their travels are interrupted by the entrances of Nicholas, who is a Slide (a wizard that is capable of soul stealing and using souls to project himself into animals). This situation is further complicated by Owen, a man from the Bandakar Empire. He poisons Richard in order to force him to help the Bandakar Empire shed the yoke of the Imperial Order. Much of the novel focuses on Richard's interactions with the Bandakar people. The people of Bandakar are all pristinely ungifted like Richard's half-sister Jennsen. They are descendants of the house of Rahl who were banished into the Old World thousands of years before. These people were then again banished by the people of the Old World. A wizard,Kaja-Rang, placed them behind a boundary that would force any that tried to leave to walk straight to the Pillars of Creation. The Bandakar shunned all forms of violence and they laid their lives down before any aggressor. It was believed that,because they "could not see evil" or, rather because they strongly embraced a philosophy which required them to disbelieve reality that they were a threat to the existence of the Old World. Richard convinces several of the Bandakar to shed their ideals and embrace the individualist ideas espoused by Richard and his D'Haran Empire. This allowed the Bandakar to take up arms and fight for their own freedom. However, throughout the entire ordeal Richard is reeling not only from the poison the Bandakar gave him, but also because his gift is out of balance. Nathan and Ann go to the Bandakar Empire in order to realign Richard with prophecy. They save Richard and his companions from certain death, but are ultimately unable to aid him in restoring his gift to balance. Eventually Richard realizes that his belief that not eating meat would be the necessary balance to his need to kill was mistaken. By not putting his faith in himself and in his abilities he was creating improper balancing ultimately causing not only the gift within himself to twist and fail, but also the magic of the Sword of Truth to fail. He realizes that his actions are justified in themselves and require no additional balancing. After Richard has once again set himself in order, he and the Bandakar people destroy the remaining Imperial Order encampment in Bandakar resulting in the death of Nicholas, who destroys the antidote, and the rescue of Kahlan. Richard uses his gift to piece together the what and how of creating the antidote himself. During the course of these actions, Zedd and Adie are captured as the Keep is taken by men captured from Bandakar and forced to do the work of the Imperial Order. They were forced to identify random objects from within the keep for a Sister of the Dark. If they refused to do so, they were forced to listen to the screams of children being tortured while their parents begged them to give up the information. As a result of this identification process, Zedd is able to unleash a constructed spell within an object that kills several men in the camp along with all the other artifacts. Zedd and Adie are saved from destruction by three independently orchestrated rescue attempts: Captain Zimmer and some of his men, Chase and Rachel, and Rikka. Adie goes with Zimmer and his men to free the families being used for torture, while Zedd and Chase go back to reclaim the Keep. While in the keep, Zedd remembers a time when it was full of the laughter of children and families; as a result, he invites Chase to move in with his family to guard the keep. |
The Pillars of the Earth | Ken Follett | 1,989 | Tom Builder roams southern England, seeking work. He had lost his wife in childbirth. He encounters a woman Ellen, who lives in a forest cave with her son, Jack. (Jack's father was French and was executed after washing ashore and being with Ellen.) Tom settles in Kingsbridge with Ellen and Jack, and his own two children. He works for Prior Philip, who wants to expand his priory by rebuilding a cathedral. Philip appeals to King Stephen for financial support and is given land and the right to take stone from the quarry. The quarry has been granted to Percy Hamleigh as part of the earldom of Shiring. His interests are not in supporting the cathedral. Hamleigh wants to topple the earl Bartholomew, as his daughter, Aliena, rejected Hamleigh’s son William. William attacks Aliena and her brother Richard at the castle; he rapes the girl and injures the boy. Homeless and destitute, Aliena and Richard go to petition the king for aid; at the court, they find their dying father Bartholomew in prison. The siblings swear an oath to work for Richard to regain the earldom. Aliena supports Richard financially by becoming a wool merchant. He becomes a knight for King Stephen, fighting in the civil war against Maud. Richard gains the king's favour by defending him at the Battle of Lincoln. Tom, meanwhile, has been building the cathedral, and living with his children, Alfred and Martha, his lover Ellen and her son Jack. Alfred bullies Jack. When Ellen and Tom are discovered to be unmarried, a charge of fornication is brought against them. Outraged, Ellen returns to the forest with Jack. Tom befriends Prior Philip and, when Ellen returns, he persuades Philip to allow them to marry. As masons, Jack and Alfred fight again. While the better mason and a skilled sculptor, Jack is expelled from the cathedral construction. He becomes a novice monk in order to stay in Kingsbridge. William and Richard compete for the earldom, but it has been bankrupted by the prosperity of Kingsbridge at Shiring's expense. Attempting to restore his fortunes, William burns down Kingsbridge and kills many people, including Tom Builder. After losing her fortune again, Aliena agrees to marry Alfred, as he promised to support Richard in exchange. Jack and Aliena make love on the morning of her wedding. When she marries Alfred anyway, Ellen curses the wedding and renders him impotent. Jack goes to France and hones his skills as a sculptor and mason. Having learned his father's identity, he meets his family in Cherbourg. He does not know that Aliena is pregnant. In Kingsbridge, Alfred persuades Philip to replace the wooden roof with a stone vault. The building collapses during a service, killing many people. Aliena gives birth to a red-headed son, and Alfred abandons her, as he has been impotent. Jack returns to England and they seek permission to marry. Philip forbids the union until her marriage is annulled. This requires Waleran Bigod’s recommendation to the archibishop, but Bigod and the Hamleighs are allies, and they intend to ruin Philip and Aliena. Meanwhile, Richard has joined the forces of Maud's son, Henry, Count of Anjou. When Henry invades, Stephen agrees to have Henry succeed him, with all properties to revert to those who had owned them prior to Stephen’s reign. Frustrated that Richard will not gain the earldom until Stephen's death, Aliena persuades William's young wife, Elizabeth, to hand the castle over to them. William returns to the village of Hamleigh as sheriff. After many years, Kingsbridge cathedral is completed. Waleran accuses Prior Philip of fornication by claiming the monk Jonathan is Philip's son. Ellen swears that Jonathan is Tom Builder’s son. After Waleran accuses her of perjury, she exposes his complicity in a conspiracy to sink the White Ship carrying William Adelin, heir of King Henry I. Ruined, Bigod lives out his days as a humble monk. Meanwhile, William Hamleigh has become involved with the plot to assassinate Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. William is convicted and hanged for his part. The Pope forces King Henry’s public repentance and symbolic subjugation of the crown to the church. |
Blood of the Fold | Terry Goodkind | 1,996 | Blood of the Fold resumes from the preceding novel, Stone of Tears, when Richard Rahl has just reunited with his future wife, Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor, in a place between worlds. Upon returning to Aydindril in the real world he realizes that seizing power for himself is the only way to halt the continuous advance of the Imperial Order through the Midlands. Richard ends the Midlands alliance and the rule of the Confessors, taking control of Aydindril and issuing a demand for unconditional surrender of Midlands nations to D'haran rule. Meanwhile, in the Old World, trouble courses through the Palace of the Prophets. Sister Verna, the newly named Prelate, discovers the former Prelate, Annalina, isn't really dead, but has fled with Nathan Rahl. The lands of the Midlands must decide whether to surrender to D'Hara or the Imperial Order. In his neverending search for banelings, what the Blood call those with some form of the gift, Tobias Brogan, the Lord General of the Blood of the Fold, captures Kahlan Amnell and Adie and takes them, following the instructions of the Creator, to the Palace of the Prophets. Richard, who finds out his wife-to-be is in the Old World, uses an ancient means of transportation, the Sliph, to travel to her almost immediately. There, fooled by the ability to become invisible, Richard releases the Mriswith Queen, who then flees to Aydindril back through the Sliph. Brought back to his senses, Richard then destroys the Palace of the Prophets to prevent Jagang from receiving the treasures inside, saves Kahlan, and hurries back to Aydindril in the New World, where He discovers the mriswith queen nesting in the Wizard's keep preparing to hatch a new batch of mriswith in the new world. After smashing her eggs and a difficult battle with her, Richard and Kahlan defeat the Mriswith Queen. They then discover a battle in the City is being lost by Richard's D'haran army but with his arrival he leads his soldiers to a victory over the Blood of the Fold and the mriswith. |
Temple of the Winds | Terry Goodkind | 1,997 | Temple of the Winds picks up shortly after where the last volume, Blood of the Fold, left off. A wizard named Marlin appears in Aydindril announcing his intent to kill Richard Rahl. He is immediately captured and questioned by the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell, and one of Richard's bodyguards, Cara. Cara uses her Mord'Sith ability to capture Marlin's gift when he tries to escape, but the link between Cara and Marlin is used against her when Emperor Jagang takes possession of Marlin soon thereafter. A lady named Nadine, whom Richard had known as an herbalist from the Westland, arrives and attempts to heal Cara, but fails. Richard's half-brother Drefan, a self-proclaimed high priest of a sect of healers, does however succeed in curing Cara. Meanwhile, Zedd and Prelate Annalina continue their search for the unleashed Nathan Rahl. Their search leads them to a run down inn in an unnamed city, where they discover that Nathan misled them into following another man. The man then gives them a message informing them not to follow Nathan but to protect a treasure instead. A Sister of the Dark, who was also following Nathan, ends up getting caught in a snare Zedd intended for the Prophet Rahl. Richard and Berdine continue to work on the translation of the journal of Kolo, a dead wizard found in the depths of the Wizard's Keep. In the midst of all these activities, a Sister of the Dark travels through Aydindril spreading a magical plague. In a search for a cure, Richard travels to the First Wizard's Enclave. To save the people of the Midlands from the plague, Kahlan must betray Richard to allow him to enter the Temple of the Winds. In doing so, Richard saves the people of the Midlands, but to return, he pays the price of knowledge, leaving the Temple with something that no vast library of knowledge can ever teach - understanding. Through this, Richard is saved from the life of the eternally condemned. Meanwhile, Nathan rescues a woman named Clarissa from a life of slavery in the Imperial Order. He then builds a relationship with the woman and uses her to obtain items from Jagang that were given under a tentative deal struck between Nathan (acting as Lord Rahl at the time) and the Emperor. When Richard returns, Kahlan learns that she must destroy a book in order to save Richard, so she travels to the Old World in the sliph. Upon her arrival she finds Nathan, Sister Verna, and Warren in a compromised situation, and she immediately spring into action to aid them. Clarissa is killed in the struggle by traitors. With the book, Kahlan returns to Aydindril, but a battle ensues with Drefan, and she is unable to defeat him. Luckily, Richard arrives and disables Drefan by ripping his spine out through his stomach. When Richard rushes to Kahlan's side, the still-conscious Drefan gets up and prepares to attack him, but is killed by the sliph. Kahlan destroys the book, and Richard is cured of the plague. Now, three of Drefan's sect come to see Richard. They tell him that Drefan was seriously disturbed, and that he may be a danger to others and himself. When Richard tells them that their high priest is dead, they tell him that Drefan was barely a novice in healing, let alone a high priest. Richard accepts this fact, and decides to remember Drefan in a different way. Richard and Kahlan travel to the land of the Mud People to be wed, where they meet up with Zedd and Ann. Richard and Kahlan are soon thereafter wed and are visited by the witch woman Shota, who once again warns them not to conceive a child. |
Soul of the Fire | Terry Goodkind | 1,999 | Continuing on from Temple of the Winds, we begin the story after Richard and Kahlan's wedding in the village of the Mud People. Strange deaths and the appearance of a 'chicken-that-isn't-a-chicken' leaves Richard fearing the worst. Zedd confides in Richard that the chicken is a Lurk sent by Emperor Jagang's Sisters of the Dark. According to Zedd, the only way to destroy the Lurk is by smashing a bottle from the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril with the Sword of Truth. However, Zedd is actually lying. He has surmised that a terrible magic known as "the chimes" has been released. The chimes will eventually drain all magic from the world of the living, beginning with the additive magic. This would cause death to beings that require magic and possibly cause the destruction of the world if additive magic were to completely fail. Zedd determines that he must find a remedy and wants Richard and Kahlan safely out of the way while he does so. Richard, Kahlan and Cara, unaware of the truth, set out to accomplish the task of breaking the bottle. Meanwhile, Zedd and Ann set off in separate ways. Zedd recalls some lore that relates the chimes to Anderith and he travels there to attempt to banish the chimes. Ann infiltrates the Imperial Order in order to save the Sisters of the Light under Jagang's enslavement. However, the Sisters of the Light betray Ann to Jagang because they fear the wrath of Emperor Jagang, causing Ann to be captured. Elsewhere, we are introduced to the Machiavellian politics of Anderith. Both the Anders, black-haired people who govern the city, and the Hakens, red-haired people under the boot of Ander oppression, occupy Anderith. From an early age Hakens are kept under control and disrespected by the Anders and are taught that this oppression is a necessity to protect the Hakens from their violent ancestral ways. Most Hakens have bought into this idea and willingly subject themselves to the oppression. Anderith is being wooed by the Imperial Order in the person of Stein, who personifies the savage ruthlessness of Jagang's empire. Stein offers double the going rate for any goods that merchants, all of the Ander race, will sell to the Imperial Order. He also plots with the Minister of Culture, Bertrand Chanboor, to surrender Anderith to the Order. They begin infiltrating Imperial Order soldiers into Anderith under the guise of Special Anderian Troops. Dalton Campbell, aide to the Minister of Culture, has a hand in most events within the Anderith nation. He uses his connections, along with his squad of messengers, to accomplish underhanded tasks to ensure that the Minister will ascend to the chair of Sovereign (a religious position similar to the real world pope) when the present one passes on. Dalton treasures his wife Teresa above all else. A kitchen scullion, Fitch, is recruited into the messenger corps by Dalton. Though he has conflicting goals and values, Fitch's gratitude towards Dalton results in blind obedience and he smothers his conscience to accomplish Dalton's bidding. Ultimately Dalton betrays Fitch, who is forced to flee. Fitch determines to redeem himself by becoming the Seeker of Truth, a longtime fantasy of his. The first step to becoming Seeker is to obtain the Sword of Truth. We are also given a glimpse at the Anderith Army, which is seriously under-trained and little more than children. The Anderith Army guards the Dominie Dirtch, a defensive line of giant bell-shaped structures, seemingly made from a solid piece of dark-veined stone, which kill anything in front of them when struck. Elsewhere, Richard realizes the chimes are, in fact, loose, and so he sends Cara to Aydindril to retrieve the Sword of Truth while Richard, Kahlan and Du Chaillu (Richard's first "wife" and spirit woman of the Baka Ban Mana) head to Anderith to banish the chimes. Richard also deduces that the army of the Imperial Order is marching on Anderith. If the Imperial Order conquers Anderith it will be a continuing imminent threat to the rest of the midlands. Arriving in Anderith first, Zedd attempts to banish the chimes by offering them his soul. This is the cause of the chimes' presence: they don't have souls, and when Kahlan summoned them she promised them Richard's soul. However, it is not Zedd's soul the chimes want. When Zedd's attempt fails, he undergoes a transformation, becoming a raven. Richard and Kahlan arrive in Anderith and set out to look for the chimes but also work on joining Anderith with the D'Haran Empire. Word spreads and a vote is taken. While Richard makes a good plea to the people of Anderith, Dalton Campbell's interference sways the vote, leaving Richard defeated. At the same time, Kahlan struggles with the knowledge that she is with child, and the trouble that will come because of it. Meanwhile, Ann finds the captive Sisters of the Light and persuades them to come with her. Since magic is failing, Jagang's abilities as a Dream Walker are null, and Ann informs the Sisters of a bond to Richard, the Lord Rahl, that can keep them safe from the Dream Walker. However the Sisters, fearful of retribution by Jagang, betray Ann to the Imperial Order. She is left in her tent by herself when Sister Alessandra, a Sister of the Dark, begins visiting her and bringing her food. She attempts to sway Alessandra, at first to no avail but with success in the end. Dalton Campbell, along with help from a Sister of the Dark, sets a group of his messengers on Kahlan when she is off by herself pondering on whether or not to keep Richard's child. She is beaten nearly to death, but she is saved by Richard, who at first doesn't recognize her. When he finally does however, he realizes that he will be unable to heal her unless he manages to banish the chimes first. Cara almost obtains the Sword of Truth, but is beaten to it by Fitch and his friend, Morley. A combination of sheer dumb luck and the fact that the Chimes have deactivated the Wizards' Keep defenses and killed many of its guards allow Fitch and his accomplice to easily obtain the Sword. Cara gives chase and kills the friend before chasing Fitch back to Anderith. When she catches him at the Dominie Dirtch she loses the sword when Imperial Order scouts attack. The Order's soldiers collect the sword as a prize for Stein to present to Emperor Jagang. Around this time, Dalton Campbell manages to murder the Sovereign, instead of waiting for the feeble figurehead to pass naturally. This immediately pushes Bertrand Chanboor to the rank of Sovereign. The empowered Chanboor consummates his promotion by sleeping with Dalton's wife, Teresa. Dalton pretends not to be disturbed by this betrayal and even seemingly "joins" the web of infidelity by sleeping with both Teresa and Chanboor's wife in turn. In reality, however, Campbell is livid and even kills the Imperial Order emissary, Stein, (who had "shared" Teresa with Chanboor) gaining possession of the Sword of Truth in turn. Having studied the actions of Joseph Ander, the ancient founder of Anderith, Richard comes to realize that the chimes and the Dominie Dirtch are connected. More specifically, Richard comes to understand that Joseph Ander enslaved the Chimes using them to power the Dominie Dirtch. Richard finally comes to understand that by using art as a form of intent he can alter the Grace and create a new pathway for magic. Thus Richard counters the magic Ander used to enslave the Chimes and calls them forth giving the chimes a choice: The Soul, his soul (which they were promised by Kahlan) or revenge on the spirit of Ander for enslaving them. The chimes choose vengeance, taking Ander to the underworld. Once he is successful in banishing the chimes, Richard sets off to heal Kahlan but is stopped by Du Chaillu, who tells Richard that his healing powers would kill her due to a hidden subtractive magic spell that has been placed within her. Alessandra eventually frees Ann, reverts her faith back to The Creator and gives her oath to Richard. The pair soon sets off out of Anderith, and when Zedd's soul is returned to his body with the banishment of the chimes, he also departs. Richard decides to leave for Westland, where he plans to let Kahlan recover from her wounds naturally. Dalton Campbell sees them off with his apologies and informs Richard that Campbell, Chanboor, and both of their wives have become stricken with an "unfortunate", incurable venereal disease and have doomed themselves to a slow, agonizing demise. He returns the Sword of Truth to Richard before they set off. Richard claims he will wait in Westland until the people of the world can prove to him that they truly desire freedom. |
The Professor | Charlotte Brontë | 1,857 | The book is the story of a young man, William Crimsworth, and is a first-person narrative from his perspective. It describes his maturation, his loves and his eventual career as a professor at an all-girls school. The story starts off with a letter William has sent to his friend Charles, detailing his refusal to his uncle's proposals to become a clergyman, as well as his first meeting with his rich brother Edward. Seeking work as a tradesman, William is offered the position of a clerk by Edward. However, Edward is jealous of William's education and intelligence and treats him terribly. By the actions of the sympathetic Mr. Hunsden, William is relieved of his position and gains a new job at an all-boys boarding school in Belgium. The school is run by the friendly M. Pelet, who treats William kindly and politely. Soon, William's merits as a professor reach the ears of the headmistress of the neighboring girls school. Mlle. Reuter offers him a position at her school, which he accepts. Initially captivated by Mlle. Reuter, William begins to entertain ideas of falling in love with her, only to have them crushed when he overhears her and M. Pelet talk about their upcoming marriage. Slightly heartbroken, he now treats Mlle. Reuter with a cold civility and begins to see the underlying nature of her character. Mlle. Reuter, however, continues to try to draw William back in, pretending to be benevolent and concerned. She goes so far as to plead him to teach one of her young teachers, Frances, who hopes to improve her skill in languages. William sees in this pupil promising intelligence and slowly begins to fall in love with her as he tutors her English. Jealous of the attention Francis is receiving from William, Mlle. Reuter takes it upon herself to casually dismiss Frances from her school and hide her address from William. It is revealed that as she was trying to make herself amiable in William's eyes, Mlle. Reuter accidentally fell in love with him herself. Not wanting to cause a conflict with M. Pelet, Crimsworth leaves his establishment and moves out, in hopes of finding Frances. Eventually bumping into his beloved pupil in a graveyard, the two reconcile . William gets a new position as a professor at a college, with an exceedingly high wage. The two eventually open a school together and have a child. After obtaining financial security, the family travels all around England and settle in the countryside next to Mr. Hunsden. |
The House of the Spirits | Isabel Allende | 1,982 | The story starts with the del Valle family, focusing upon the youngest and the oldest daughters of the family, Clara and Rosa. The youngest daughter, Clara del Valle, has paranormal powers and keeps a detailed diary of her life. Using her powers, Clara predicts a death in the family. Shortly after this, Clara's green-haired sister, Rosa the Beautiful, is accidentally killed by poison intended for her father who is running for the Senate. The young Clara stumbles upon her sister's autopsy and afterwards, terrified, stops speaking, believing her premonition had caused her sister's death. Rosa's fiancé, a poor miner named Esteban Trueba, is devastated and attempts to mend his broken heart by devoting his life to uplifting his family hacienda, Tres Marías. Through a combination of intimidation and reward systems, he quickly earns/forces respect and labor from the fearful peasants and turns Tres Marías into a "model hacienda". He turns the first peasant who spoke to him upon arrival, Pedro Segundo, into his foreman, who quickly becomes the closest thing that Trueba ever has to an actual friend during his life. However, unable to control himself, he rapes many of the peasant women, and his first victim, Pancha García, becomes the mother of his bastard son, who would eventually become Esteban García. Esteban returns to the city to see his dying mother. After her death, Esteban decides to fulfill her dying wish: for him to marry and have legitimate children. He goes to the del Valle family to ask for Clara's hand in marriage. Clara accepts Esteban's proposal; she herself has predicted her engagement two months prior, speaking for the first time in nine years. During the period of their engagement, Esteban builds what everyone calls "the big house on the corner," a large mansion in the city where the Trueba family will live for generations. After their wedding, Esteban's sister Férula comes to live with the newlyweds in the big house on the corner. Férula develops a strong dedication to Clara, which fulfills her need to serve others. However, Esteban's wild desire to possess Clara and to monopolize her love causes him to throw Férula out of the house. She curses him, telling him that he will shrink in body and soul, and die like a dog. Although she misses her sister-in-law, a passive and dreamy Clara finds happiness in developing her psychic powers. Spirits, artists, and spiritualists flock to the Truebas' house. Clara gives birth to a daughter named Blanca and later, to twin boys Jaime and Nicolás. The family, which resides in the capital, stays at the hacienda during the summertime. Upon arriving at Tres Marías for the first time, Blanca immediately befriends a young boy named Pedro Tercero, who is the son of her father's foreman. During their teenage years, Blanca and Pedro Tercero eventually become lovers. After an earthquake that destroys part of the hacienda and leaves Esteban injured, the Truebas move permanently to Las Tres Marías. Clara spends her time teaching and helping peasant children, while Blanca is sent to a convent school and the twin boys back to an English boarding school, both of which are located in the city. Blanca fakes an illness so as to be sent back to Las Tres Marías, where she can be with Pedro Tercero. Life runs smoothly until Pedro Tercero is banished from the hacienda by Esteban, on account of his revolutionary communist/socialist ideas. A visiting French count to the hacienda, Jean de Satigny, reveals Blanca's nightly romps with Pedro Tercero to her father. Esteban furiously goes after his daughter and brutally whips her. When Clara expresses horror at his actions, Esteban slaps her, knocking out her front teeth. Clara decides to never speak to him again, reclaims her maiden name and moves out of Tres Marías and back to the city, taking Blanca with her. Esteban, furious and lonely, blames Pedro Tercero for the whole matter; putting a price on the boy's head with the local corrupt police. At this point, Pedro Segundo deserts Esteban, telling him he does not want to be around when Trueba inevitably catches his son. Enraged by Pedro Segundo's departure, Trueba begins hunting for Pedro Tercero himself, eventually tracking him down to a small shack near his hacienda. He only succeeds in cutting off three of Pedro's fingers, and is filled with regret for his uncontrollable furies. Jaime becomes an empathetic doctor while crafty Nicolás concocts money-making schemes. The two develop a strange relationship with a woman named Amanda. Nicolas and Amanda are originally introduced to the story together, but split later on due to her pregnancy. Jaime loves Amanda dearly at this point but will never admit to his feelings around her. He agrees to help terminate her pregnancy not because his cowardly brother asked him to, but for the woman he cannot have. Years later Jaime and Amanda meet again and Jaime saves her from near death. Amanda remembers Jaime as the tender doctor and falls in love with him, but he realizes that she is not the same beautiful woman that bewitched him originally. He continues to have a relationship with Amanda though he does not love her. Blanca finds out she is pregnant with Pedro Tercero's child. Esteban, desperate to save the family honor, gets Blanca to marry the French count by telling her that he has killed Pedro Tercero. At first, Blanca gets along with her new husband, but she leaves him when she discovers his participation in sexual fantasies with the servants. Blanca quietly returns to the Trueba household and names her daughter, who has Rosa's green hair, Alba. Clara predicts that Alba will have a very happy future and good luck. Her future lover, Miguel, happens to watch her birth, as he had been living in the Trueba House with his sister, Amanda. They move out shortly after Alba's birth. Esteban Trueba eventually moves to the Trueba house in the capital as well, although he continues to spend periods of time in Tres Marías. He becomes isolated from every member of his family except for little Alba, whom he is very fond of. Esteban runs as a senator for the Conservative Party but is nervous about whether or not he will win. Clara speaks to him, through signs, informing him that "those who have always won will win again" - this becomes his motto. Clara then begins to speak to Esteban through signs, although she keeps her promise and never actually speaks to him again. A few years later, Clara dies peacefully and Esteban is overwhelmed with grief. Alba is a solitary child who enjoys playing make-believe in the basement of the house and painting the walls of her room. Blanca has become very poor since leaving Jean de Satigny's house, getting a small income out of selling pottery and giving pottery classes to mentally handicapped children, and is once again dating Pedro Tercero, now a revolutionary singer/songwriter. Alba and Pedro are fond of each other, but do not know they are father and daughter, although Pedro suspects this. Alba is also fond of her uncles. Nicolás is eventually kicked out by his father, moving, supposedly, to North America. When she is older, Alba attends a local college where she meets Miguel, now a grown man, and becomes his lover. Miguel is a revolutionary, and out of love for him, Alba involves herself in student protests against the conservative government. After the victory of the People's Party (a socialist movement), Alba celebrates with Miguel. Fearing a Communist dictatorship, Esteban Trueba and his fellow politicians plan a military coup of the socialist government. However, when the military coup is set into action, the military men relish their power and grow out of control. Esteban's son Jaime is killed by power-driven soldiers along with other supporters of the government. After the coup, people are regularly kidnapped and tortured. Esteban helps Blanca and Pedro Tercero flee to Canada, where the couple finally find their happiness. The military regime attempts to eliminate all traces of opposition and eventually comes for Alba. She is made the prisoner of Colonel Esteban García, the son of Esteban Trueba and Pancha García's illegitimate son, and therefore grandson to Esteban Trueba. During an earlier visit to the Trueba house, García molests Alba as a child. In pure hatred of her privileged life and eventual inheritance, García tortures Alba repeatedly, looking for information on Miguel. He rapes her, thus completing the cycle that Esteban Trueba put into motion when he raped Pancha García. When Alba loses her will to live, she is visited by Clara's spirit who tells her not to wish for death, since it can easily come, but to wish to live. Esteban Trueba manages to free Alba with the help of Miguel and Tránsito Soto, an old friend/prostitute from his days as a young man. After helping Alba write their memoir, Esteban Trueba dies in the arms of Alba, accompanied by Clara's spirit; he is smiling, having avoided Férula's prophecy that he will die like a dog. Alba explains that she will not seek vengeance on those who have injured her, suggesting a hope that one day the human cycle of hate and revenge can be broken. Alba writes the book to pass time while she waits for Miguel and for the birth of her child. |
Mirette on the High Wire | Emily Arnold McCully | null | Mirette lives in a boardinghouse in France. One day her life is changed by a man named Bellini, a famous tightrope walker, who teaches Mirette how to walk on a tightrope. |
The Five People You Meet in Heaven | Mitch Albom | 2,003 | The book starts with an elderly man named Eddie who works as the head of maintenance at an amusement park called Ruby Pier. Eddie is able to perform this job despite leg injuries he received as a soldier during World War II. On Eddie's birthday, one of the amusement park rides malfunctions because of a damaged cable and stops halfway through the ride. Two of the staff at Ruby Pier are able to rescue the passengers on the ride and then release the ride's cart not knowing that there is a little girl under it. Eddie attempts to save the girl who was sitting under a roller coaster ride that one of the carts was about to fall on. Eddie then finds himself awake and uninjured and realizes that he feels young and much more energetic. He meets a man dubbed as "The Blue Man" who had worked at Ruby Pier's freak show and whose real name is Joseph Corvelzchik. Through their conversation, Eddie finds out that he is dead, has gone to heaven and has to meet five people who significantly impacted his life. He also finds out that he feels so much younger because he will feel the way he felt when these people came into his life. Eddie asks why Joseph, whom he does not know, is his first person and Joseph informs Eddie that he died when Eddie ran across the street as a child and caused Joseph to wreck his own car. From this, Eddie learns his first lesson which is that there are no random events in life and all people are connected in some way. The second person that Eddie meets is his former captain from the army who Eddie finds sitting in a tree in a Philippine rainforest. The captain reminds Eddie of their time together as prisoners of war in a forced labor camp. Their group escaped after a lengthy period of time and burned the camp. Eddie remembers that he had seen a shadow running from the hut that he was setting on fire although he had never found out who the person was. The captain confesses that he was the one who shot Eddie in the leg to prevent Eddie from chasing the shadow in the fire. This saved Eddie's life while leaving him with the lifelong injury. The captain later died by a landmine while scouting ahead during the escape, saving the lives of the group. Eddie learns his second lesson about the importance of people's willingness to make sacrifices for others. The scene changes and Eddie finds himself outside a diner where he meets a well dressed woman named Ruby. Ruby tells Eddie that she had once worked as a waitress at the diner and explains that Ruby Pier was named after her by her husband Emile who built it in tribute to her. Emile was wounded while fighting a fire that burned much of Ruby Pier and later died from failing health. Ruby confesses that she picked the diner because that was where she had met Emile and wanted the diner to be a refuge for anyone who had ever been hurt in any way by Ruby Pier. Eddie's father, who had been a very harsh and abusive man, is also at the diner. Ruby teaches Eddie to release his anger and forgive his father for all the trouble and hurt he had caused. Eddie now awakens in a room with several doors. Behind each of the doors there is wedding from a different culture and Eddie meets his late wife, Marguerite, in one of the weddings. They spend an extended period together, moving from one wedding to the next and catching up on all the things they had not been able to share since Marguerite's death. They remember their own wedding and in the end, Marguerite teaches Eddie that love is never lost in death. When Eddie awakens to a new scene, he sees children playing along a riverbed and a young Asian girl named Tala comes up to him. Tala reveals that she was the little girl from the hut that Eddie set on fire. The girl shows Eddie the burns that she suffered from the fire. She hands Eddie a stone and tells him to rub the burns off. Eddie starts to scrape off the injuries he had inflicted on her and soon Tala is free of the scars. Eddie believes that he failed to save the little girl from the amusement park and remembers feeling the girl's hands in his just before his death but Tala says that it was her hands that Eddie had felt as she pulled him safely up to heaven. In reality, Eddie did manage to save the girl at Ruby Pier. Tala teaches Eddie that his life was not for nothing and that its purpose was to protect children at Ruby Pier through his care for the safety of the rides. In this way, he also atoned for causing Tala's death. In the end, it shows that Eddie's heaven was the Stardust Band Shell, where he met Marguerite. He is also one of the five people to be met by the girl whose life he saved when she dies. |
Shantaram | Gregory David Roberts | 2,003 | Shantaram is a novel influenced by real events in the life of the author, Australian Gregory David Roberts. In 1978, Roberts was sentenced to 19-year imprisonment in Australia after being convicted of a series of armed robberies of building society branches, credit unions, and shops. In July 1980, he escaped from Victoria’s Pentridge Prison in broad daylight, thereby becoming one of Australia's most wanted men for the next ten years. The protagonist Lindsay (according to the book, Roberts' fake name) arrives in Mumbai carrying a false passport in the name of Lindsay Ford. Mumbai was only a stopover on a journey that was to take him from New Zealand to Germany, but he decides to stay in the city. Lindsay soon meets a local man named Prabaker whom he hires as a guide, but soon becomes his best friend and renames him Lin (Linbaba). Both men visit Prabaker's native village, Sunder, where Prabaker's mother decided to give Lin a new Maharashtrian name, like her own. Because she judged his nature to be blessed with peaceful happiness, she decided to call him Shantaram, meaning Man of God's Peace. On their way back to Mumbai after a night out, Lin and Prabaker are robbed. With all his possessions gone, Lin is forced to live in the slums, giving him shelter from the authorities and free rent in Mumbai. After a massive fire on the day of his arrival in the slum, he sets up a free health clinic as a way to contribute to the community. He learns about the local culture and customs in this crammed environment, gets to know and love the people he encounters, and even becomes fluent in Marathi, the local language. He also witnesses and battles outbreaks of cholera and firestorms, becomes involved in trading with the lepers, and experiences how ethnic and marital conflicts are resolved in this densely crowded and diverse community. The novel describes a number of foreigners of various origins, as well as local Indians, highlighting the rich diversity of life in Mumbai. Lin falls in love with Karla, a Swiss-American woman who does not love him back, befriends local artists and actors, landing him roles as an extra in several Bollywood movies, and is recruited by the Mumbai underworld for various criminal operations, including drug and weapons trade. Lin eventually lands in Mumbai's Arthur Road Prison, where he endures many beatings and other physical and mental abuse by guards, while existing under extremely squalid conditions, along with hundreds of other inmates. However, thanks to the protection of Afghan mafia don "Abdel Khader Khan", Lin is eventually released, and works in black market currency exchange and passport forgery. Having travelled as far as Africa on trips commissioned by the mafia, Lin later goes to Afghanistan to smuggle weapons for mujahideen freedom fighters in Afghanistan. When his mentor Khan is killed, Lin realizes he became everything he grew to loathe and falls into depression after he returns. He decides that he must fight for what he believes is right, and build an honest life. The story ends with him planning to go to Sri Lanka which lays the premise for the sequel to this book. Based on Roberts' known biography, Shantaram reads as largely factual. A few parts of the story, such as Roberts' criminal history and escape from prison in Australia, are a matter of public record, while others remain harder (or impossible) to verify. There is a great deal of debate as to where the boundaries lie between fact and fiction in the book. Roberts has stated the characters in the story are largely invented, and that he merged different elements taken from true events and people into such events and characters like Prabaker 'of the big smile'. In March 2006, the Mumbai Mirror, reported they may have discovered the inspiration for the big smile of the character Prabaker as belonging to a still living cab driver called Kishore, who took Roberts to his home village. "With respect, Shantaram is not an autobiography, it’s a novel. If the book reads like an autobiography, I take that as a very high compliment, because I structured the created narrative to read like fiction but feel like fact. I wanted the novel to have the page-turning drive of a work of fiction but to be informed by such a powerful stream of real experience that it had the authentic feel of fact." As with the novel Shantaram, the experiences in The Mountain Shadow are derived from my own real experiences, and the characters, dialogue, and narrative structure are all created. |
Roots: The Saga of an American Family | Alex Haley | 1,976 | Brought up on the stories of his elderly female relatives—including his Grandmother Cynthia, whose father was emancipated from slavery in 1865—Alex Haley claimed to have traced his family history back to "the African," Kunta Kinte, captured by members of a contentious tribe and sold to slave traders in 1767. In the fictional novel, each of Kunta's enslaved descendants passed down an oral history of Kunta's experiences as a free man in Gambia, along with the African words he taught them. Haley researched African village customs, slave-trading and the history of African Americans in America—including a visit to the griot (oral historian) of his ancestor's African village. He created a colorful and fictional history of his family from the mid-eighteenth century through the mid-twentieth century, which led him back to his heartland of Africa. |
King Rat | James Clavell | 1,962 | The novel opens in early 1945. Peter Marlowe, a young British RAF Flight Lieutenant, has been a P.O.W. since 1942. Marlowe comes to the attention of the "King", an American corporal who has become the most successful trader and black marketeer in Changi, when the King sees him conversing in Malay. Marlowe's language skill, intelligence, honesty, and winning personality cause the King to befriend him and attempt to involve him in black market deals. This, in turn, brings Marlowe to the attention of Robin Grey, a British officer and Provost Marshal of the camp, who has developed a Javert-like obsession with the King and hopes to arrest him for violating camp regulations. Grey is attempting to maintain strict military discipline among the prisoners and sees the King as the antithesis of everything he believes. Despite being only an enlisted man and without distinction in civilian life, the King has become a major power in the enclosed society of the P.O.W. camp through his charisma and intelligence. Trading with Korean guards, local Malay villagers, and other prisoners for food, clothing, information, and what few luxuries are available, the King keeps himself and his fellow American prisoners alive. Even senior officers come to him for help in selling their valuables to buy extra food, and other officers are secretly on his payroll. Grey, the son of a working-class family, follows the rules for their own sake using his position as Provost Marshal to gain a status otherwise unavailable to him in British society. Marlowe is initially put off by the King's perspective and behavior, which are at odds with the British upper class ideals he has been taught. He turns down a lucrative business partnership with the King because "Marlowes aren't tradesmen. It just isn't done, old boy." But Marlowe soon understands that the King is not the thief and con artist that Grey would have him believe. Rather, the King asks for the best of each man and rewards him accordingly, irrespective of class or position. Through the experiences of Marlowe, the King and other characters, the novel offers a vivid, often disturbing portrayal of men brought to the edge of survival by a brutal environment. The P.O.W.'s are given nothing by the Japanese other than filthy huts to live in and the bare minimum of food needed to prevent starvation. Officers from various parts of Britain's Asian empire, accustomed to having native servants provide them with freshly laundered uniforms daily, are reduced to wearing rags and homemade shoes. For most, the chief concern is obtaining enough food to stay alive from day to day and avoiding disease or injury, since almost no medical care is available. Some are degraded and come close to losing their humanity, while others display courage and compassion beyond anything one would expect. Some literally steal food out the mouths of their comrades, while others give away what they have or take terrible risks to help their friends. |
King Rat | China Miéville | 1,998 | Saul Garamond returns to the flat he shares with his father in London late one evening, skipping on greetings and heading straight to bed. In the morning he is awakened by police pounding on the door, come to arrest him. It appears he is the lone suspect in his father's murder case. After spending most of a day being interrogated and in a holding cell, Saul finds he has a mysterious visitor, who introduces himself as King Rat. The two begin a one sided rooftop escape as King Rat carries Saul along. At the end of this journey, King Rat reveals to Saul that he is his uncle by way of Saul's mother being a rat and also that Saul has been set up to take the fall for his father's death. Saul follows King Rat exploring the secrets of London, from the rooftops to the sewers. Being half rat, his two primary abilities are being able to eat anything, even garbage, and squeezing into holes and shadows too small for other creatures. Meanwhile, Saul's friend Natasha Karadjian, a drum and bass musician, begins to write and record new music with a flautist named Pete. Two of their other mutual friends, Fabian and Kay, are unnerved by this stranger but find it hard not to like the music the two are making. These friends are also being pursued by the police for any information on Saul's whereabouts. After spending several days with King Rat, Saul hears whispers of the return of the Ratcatcher. This prompts King Rat to gather allies, Anansi, the spider king, and Loplop, the bird king; they are prompted to join him for their own reasons—the Ratcatcher is also the Spidercatcher and Birdcatcher, their enemy as well. So, King Rat relates the story of living in Hamelin, the last time he really was king. But he was displaced, of course, by the Pied Piper of Hamelin and his flute. It is revealed that now the Piper travels the world seeking pests so he may kill for the fun of it. The three animal kings end the story by swearing revenge. Even with his new found powers, Saul is forced to stay in the shadows with King Rat, but cannot forget his own friends and past. He visits Kay but the two no longer understand each other. This visit leads to Pete, being reveled as the returned Piper, finding and murdering Kay. Meanwhile, the animal kings' plans begin to fall short and they drift apart. Saul begins to push his new boundaries and explore London on his own. During this time, he meets Deborah, a vagrant. Together they return to Saul's former flat, where he finds his father's old notebook. Here finds an entry about an attack on his mother nine months before his own birth. He realizes he is not King Rat's nephew but his son, by way of rape and that everything since his father's death has been a set up by King Rat, who must therefore be the murderer of the man Saul considers his father. As they discover these facts, the Piper confronts Saul and Deborah. He kills Deborah but Loplop saves Saul. The piper reveals that he cannot control Saul as he can the others, although he has attempted it; he has befriended Natasha to create a kind of music which can control humans. Saul returns to the sewers to confront King Rat, leading to a falling out. He wants to go his own way and leave the Piper to the animal kings. Natasha and Pete have set up an act at a club, Jungle, to debut their music. Fabian is interrogated by the police again and he realizes that the flute left behind when Saul was attacked belongs to Pete. He calls the police to meet him at Natasha's home but when they arrive no one is there. After wandering for a few days, Saul meets up with Anansi, who informs him of Kay's death by the Piper. He begins to notice something is wrong in the sewer as well, as the rats have disappeared, their scratching replaced by a new sound, music. He traces the sound back to King Rat's throne room, now filled with dead rats; King Rat and Loplop, though alive, are mesmerized by the music playing on a ghetto blaster. Saul realizes the title on the tape within is written in Natasha's handwriting. He finds a poster for Natasha and the Piper's show, and despite knowing it is a trap, he goes to save his friends. Saul sneaks into the club with his new rat allies and Anansi leading the spiders. However, when Natasha takes the stage to spin her records, Pete throws her a DAT, which has his flute samples on it. This mix of his flute and her DJ skills will control Saul. Saul and Anansi and the crowd are under the Piper's spell. However, King Rat bursts from under the stage and attacks the Piper, but proves to be only a momentary distraction. With the musical fusion playing, the entire club is under the Piper's control and all he wants to kill Saul, who will not dance for him. The music does not mesh: instead of one solo flute, two flutes compete for the overlying sound. This dissonance causes Saul to regain control just as the Piper attempts to kill him; he dodges the blow and resists the Piper. The Piper knows he cannot win a physical fight, so he tears a hole in reality by playing his flute through which he can escape, just as he tore a hole in the mountain to hide the children of Hamelin. King Rat attacks the Piper with the Piper's own flute; they both fall into the rent but King Rat jumps away, and suddenly the hole closes, the Piper on the other side. Saul and King Rat are unsung heroes of the club but the they both know they can never be a part of the world they just saved. King Rat still wants his kingdom back from Saul. Saul refuses to give in and knows that if the Piper returns, King Rat will still need him, so he can't be killed to restore complete order to the rat kingdom. Saul then gathers his own band of rats and makes the declaration that King Rat is not the one true leader of all rats and he is not Prince Rat, but he is one of them, Citizen Rat. |
To Your Scattered Bodies Go | Philip José Farmer | 1,971 | The novel begins with adventurer Sir Richard Francis Burton waking up after his death on a strange new world made up of one ongoing river. He discovers that he is but one of billions of previously dead personalities from throughout Earth's history stretching from the Neolithic age through 2008 AD also 'resurrected'. At first the resurrectees are primarily focused on survival, though their basic needs for food are mysteriously taken care of; but eventually Burton decides to make it his mission to find the headwaters of the River and discover the purpose and intention of humanity's resurrection. Along the way he is enslaved and then, after being partnered with Nazi war criminal Hermann Göring, discovers the existence of a mysterious organization responsible for the resurrection of humanity, and is recruited by a rogue member of this group to take down their carefully laid plans. |
The Fabulous Riverboat | Philip José Farmer | 1,971 | Twenty years after humanity was resurrected on Riverworld, Sam Clemens is traveling with the crew of a Viking longboat, captained by Eric Bloodaxe, who is notable for having an axe made of metal. On the metal-poor Riverworld, where even a few ounces of metal is a treasure, this is a rarity. Clemens and Bloodaxe have allied in order to find the source of this metal. Clemens is accompanied on his quest by a gigantic prehistoric hominid whom he has named Joe Miller. Miller, despite being very cordial, and talking with a lisp, is a fearsome warrior because of his size, and protects Clemens from Bloodaxe's crew. Clemens is also motivated in his quest by his desire to be reunited with his terrestrial wife, Livy. Unknown to the others, Clemens had been contacted by a mysterious being whom he named X. X claimed to be a member of the beings who were responsible for resurrection, although he disagreed with their goals. He was aware of Clemens's desire to build a metal riverboat, and assured the author that the metal needed to realise this dream could be found upriver. X manages to send a nickel-iron meteor crashing into Riverwold, not far from Clemens. Clemens and his crew manage to survive the resulting tidal wave that kills nearly everyone in the vicinity. Sadly, Clemens discovers Livy is one of the dead when her body washes up on deck. She had been in the area but will now be resurrected thousands of miles from him. In the wake of the tidal wave all the survivors in the region are put to sleep by a strange fog, and awake to discover the valley has been restored to a pristine condition. Clemens realizes that the meteor likely contains a source of metal and the crew sets out to look for it. They are soon joined by German aviator Lothar von Richthofen, a World War One ace and brother of the famous Red Baron. Lothar becomes a trusted ally of Clemens and an additional ally against Bloodaxe. When the crew reaches the area where the meteor fell, they find a new group of resurrectees who have formed a nascent kingdom. The crew quickly kill the leaders and assume control of the region for themselves. They begin mining the metal from the meteorite. However, Clemens does not trust Bloodaxe, and has his co-leader assassinated. As more metal is exhumed from the ground the technology level of the area begins to rise, including the reintroduction of firearms. While the meteorite is rich in nickel and iron Clemens needs other materials to manufacture modern conveniences. To get these resources he must trade much of his metal to neighboring kingdoms. Many of these kingdoms eye his own kingdom jealously and Clemens is constantly on guard lest he be invaded and his precious mine taken from him. Of particular concern is a neighboring kingdom led by the English King John Lackland. Eventually King John and another kingdom join forces to invade Clemens's land. However, Clemens makes a deal with King John to unite their lands. John betrays his one-time ally and forms the nation of Parolando with Clemens. As production begins on the boat, Clemens receives a rude shock when his wife arrives in the company of Cyrano de Bergerac. In the intervening years Livy has become Cyrano's lover. When the Frenchman, who is noted as one of the best swordsmen in the world, had heard of a kingdom with metal, he became obsessed with traveling there in order to obtain a proper sword. Despite his discomfort with the situation, Clemens quickly warms to Cyrano, and the Frenchman becomes part of Clemens' inner circle. Diplomatic problems continue for Parolando, most notably with nearby "Soul City", a kingdom founded by a black nationalists. Demanding ever increasing payments for its resources, Soul City eventually attacks Parolando, almost conquering the nation until agents of John Lackland dynamite a dam, sending a wave of water to sweep the invading enemies into the river. Despite such setbacks, Clemens builds his riverboat, a side paddle wheeler which is named the Not For Hire. However, on the day of its christening, King John betrays Clemens and steals the ship. As the boat steams away, Clemens vows to build an even bigger and better boat and to exact revenge on King John. |
The Dark Design | Philip José Farmer | 1,977 | The shortest of the three plotlines is that of Richard Francis Burton and his friends. Reunited, Burton and crew once again begin traveling up river. At this point, many decades after resurrection, the stone supplies in the valley have begun to run out and technology has begun to break down. Also, for reasons unknown, the "little resurrections" have stopped, and people who are killed are not brought back to life. As they sail up river the crew encounters a group of ancient Egyptians who tell them a detailed story of the last attempt to reach the mouth of the river. This mission, which was launched by the Pharaoh Imhotep, included the giant whom Sam Clemens calls Joe Miller (believed by the Egyptians to be an incarnation of the god Thoth). This mission reached the end of the river, and found a massive waterfall. Scaling its sides, they eventually found a passage through to the polar sea. Descending a ledge which had been carved into the rock they found a cave filled with food and powered boats. While most of the Egyptians sailed to the tower, never to return, one died and took their story to the valley. Besides learning this story the group's main significant act is uncovering a pair of impostors within their midst. Under hypnosis, the neanderthal Kaz remembers when they last encountered an agent of the people who created the Riverworld. He noted at the time that every resurrectee had marking on their forehead which Kaz and other Neanderthals could see, but which were invisible to others. The exception was this agent. At the time Kaz noticed that Monat and Frigate also lacked these markings. However, before he could tell Burton, he was confronted by the pair, who hypnotized him into forgetting his discovery. Burton quickly concludes that Monat and Frigate are agents sent to spy on him. When he goes to confront the two, he finds that they have escaped. The second storyline deals with the real Peter Jairus Frigate. Unaware that an alien agent has been posing as him, this Frigate, whose life story is identical in most respects to the one which the phony Frigate told (the exception being the real Frigate was born and lived a few decades earlier than the impostor had claimed), has been living an ordinary life along the river. One day a ship docks near his home and he recognizes the two men who captain it as his childhood heroes Jack London and Tom Mix. Accompanied by the sufi Nur ed Din and the African warrior Umslopogas, the two men are traveling incognito up the river. Desperate to join his heroes, Frigate signs on the ship where he becomes a valued crew member, not revealing for years that he knows the men's identities. Eventually he admits that he knows who they are and the two men tell their story. They were each contacted by The Mysterious Stranger, who enlisted them to find the headwaters of the River. When the boat arrives at a metal-rich kingdom named New Bohemia, Frigate suggests that they speed their travel there by building a balloon. After a betrayal by the ruler of New Bohemia, the men eventually get their balloon and travel a good distance upriver, only to crash when they have a near-miss with another flying vehicle. The story of that flying vehicle is told in the third stream of the novel. This details the efforts of the nation of Parolando to build an airship. The ship, the brainchild of Parolando's president, the engineer Milton Firebrass, will be able to reach the pole more quickly than the two riverboats which Parolando has already constructed. Firebrass is assisted in these efforts by Cyrano de Bergerac, who has remained behind to work on the project. They are joined by newcomer Jill Gulbirra, an Australian dirigible pilot and strident feminist. Gulbirra, the most experienced lighter-than-air pilot in the region, quickly becomes important to the project, as does Cyrano, who, surprisingly, turns out to be the nation's best pilot. When the ship is built it sets off, under the command of Firebrass and Gulbirra, for the pole. Making its way through a massive hole in the mountains which surround the polar sea, the airship confronts the dark tower. Suddenly anxious, Firebrass, along with a few hand picked others, board a helicopter to descend to the tower. However, their helicopter is blown up shortly before landing, killing all aboard. The culprit is Barry Thorne, an engineer who had been working on the ship. While he is confined to a prison, the rest of the crew begins to explore the tower. They find an open door on the roof which leads into the structure. However, when they attempt to gain entry they become blocked by an invisible force. The only one who manages to enter the building is one of the pilots, a Japanese Sufi named Piscator, who never returns. After waiting some time for him to return, the ship reluctantly departs. After they return to the valley, they are cajoled by Clemens into conducting a revenge mission against King John. John had managed to persuade the pilot of a second Parolando dirigible to attack Clemens' ship, the Mark Twain. Seeking revenge, Clemens orders the larger airship, the Parseval, to conduct a mission to kidnap King John and return him for punishment. The mission, led by Cyrano, meets with some success, until John manages to escape as their helicopter attempts to return to the airship. Frustrated, the attackers return to discover that Thorne has escaped. He parachutes from the airship, which soon explodes from the bombs which he had planted aboard it. |
The Guns of the South | Harry Turtledove | 1,992 | It is January 1864, and the Confederacy is losing the war against the United States. Men with strange accents and oddly mottled clothing approach Robert E. Lee at the headquarters of the Army of Northern Virginia, demonstrating a rifle far superior to all other firearms of the time. The men call their organization "America Will Break" (or "AWB"), and offer to supply the Confederate army with these rifles, which they refer to as AK-47s. The weapons operate on chemical and engineering principles unknown to Confederate military engineers. Soldiers are trained by the AWB men to use their new weapons, and ammunition is issued. Confederate morale improves considerably as the men prepare to meet Union forces in the 1864 campaign. They soon engage General Grant's men at the Battle of the Wilderness, and inflict a devastating defeat on Union forces. The AWB establish a base in the little town of Rivington, making it into a combined fortress and arsenal. They continue to offer inexplicable information and technology to the Confederacy, even providing Lee with nitroglycerin pills, which ease his frequent chest pains. Finally, Lee questions their leader, Andries Rhoodie, who ultimately decides to tell Lee the truth. The men of AWB are time travelers from the year 2014, the 21st-century. The newcomers claim that white supremacy has not endured to the modern era, and that blacks in the future will eclipse whites. Lee is informed that unless a slave-holding South is allowed to endure into the 20th century, blacks will take over the world. A slave-owner himself, Lee is surprised by this revelation—he never thought Negroes capable of participating in government. With the AWB's guns and some direct military aid from the racist South Africans, the Army of Northern Virginia drives Ulysses Grant's forces out of Virginia and in a surprise night attack captures Washington, D.C., thus ending the Civil War. The United Kingdom and France recognize the Confederacy and President Lincoln is forced to accept Southern victory. As Confederate forces begin to end their occupation of Washington, the new country starts to determine its future social and political direction. In negotiations between the two Americas, to which Lee is made a representative for the CSA, the United States agrees to pay millions of dollars in reparations, albeit reluctantly. The Confederacy, in turn, gives up any claim to Maryland and West Virginia. After much debate, both sides agree for Kentucky and Missouri to hold elections and determine whether they will remain in the Union or secede. Supporters, both official and unofficial, pour into both states and try to sway voters their way. Ultimately, despite an assassination attempt on Lee by a former slave and efforts at rigging elections by the Rivington men, Kentucky secedes and Missouri remains in the Union. Confederate slaves freed during the war by Union troops violently resist returning to slavery. Lee, already dubious about slavery and respectful of the courage of the United States Colored Troops during the war, becomes convinced that continuing to enslave Negroes is both wrong and impracticable. The genie is already out of the bottle, and black guerrillas will continue to make trouble in the future. Some parts of the South had already lost many of their slaves during the war anyway. Despite threats by the Rivington men, Lee makes no effort to hide his views as he runs for president in 1867. The Rivington men convince Nathan Bedford Forrest to run against Lee on a pro-slavery ticket, and pour their considerable resources into Forrest's campaign. When Lee manages a narrow victory, Forrest respectfully concedes defeat and promises to help rally the young nation behind its new president. At Lee's inauguration, AWB men attempt to assassinate him using Uzis, resulting in the death of Lee's wife, Mary; his vice president, Albert Gallatin Brown; various dignitaries and generals; and many civilians. The AWB offices in Richmond are seized after a fierce battle, and Lee enters the stronghold to find more technological marvels (such as light bulbs), along with a collection of books that document the increasing marginalization of racism from 1865 into the 21st century. Lee shows these books to Confederate congressmen, hoping that the future's nearly universal condemnation of slavery will convince the congressmen to vote for his plan for gradual abolition. Confederate forces surround Rivington and after a long siege capture the town. Confederate infantry destroy the AWB's time machine during the fighting, prompting the rest to lose hope and surrender. Andries Rhoodie is killed by an enraged slave, who the Confederates, well aware of the Rivington men's cruelty and treason, spare. In Richmond, the Confederate Congress passes President Lee's abolition bill. Contemporaries have reproduced the nitroglycerin pills brought by the AWB, and Lee hopes, with their help, to live to see the effects of his plan for emancipation. Meanwhile, a few of the stranded South Africans agree to help the Confederacy replicate their 21st century technology from 2014, helping Lee to counter the Union's own replica AK-47's and greater industrial strength. Though the Union has started a war with the British Empire by invading Canada and Lee fears the Union may attempt a war of revenge against the CSA in the future, he rests assured that the CSA will remain the most technologically-advanced nation in the world for many decades to come. |
The Winter of Our Discontent | John Steinbeck | 1,961 | Feeling the pressure from his family and acquaintances to achieve more than his current station, Ethan considers letting his normally high standards of conduct take a brief respite in order to attain a better social and economic position. Ethan's decision to gain wealth and power is influenced by criticisms and advice from people around him. His acquaintance Margie urges him to take bribes; the bank manager (whose ancestors Ethan blames for his family's fall from grace) urges him to be more ruthless. Ethan's friend Joey, a bank teller, even gives Ethan a rundown on how to rob a bank and get away with it. On discovering that the current store owner, Italian immigrant Alfio Marullo, might be an illegal immigrant, he places an anonymous tip with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. After Marullo is taken into custody, he transfers ownership of the store to Ethan through the actions of the very government agent that caught him. Marullo gives Ethan the store because he believes Ethan is so honest and deserving. Ethan also considers, plans, and mentally rehearses a bank robbery, stopping short of carrying it out only because of external circumstances. Eventually, he manages to become powerful in the town by taking possession of a strip of land needed by local businessmen to build an airport; he gets the land from Danny Taylor, the town drunkard and Ethan's childhood best friend, through a will made out by Danny and slipped under the door of the store. The will was drawn up without any spoken agreement some time after Ethan gave Danny money under the auspices of sending Danny to receive treatment for alcoholism. Danny assures him that drunks are liars and that he will just drink the money away, and this is indeed confirmed when Danny is found dead with empty bottles of whiskey and sleeping pills. In this way, Ethan gets to a position where he's able to control the behind-the-scenes dealings of the corrupt town businessmen and politicians. Ethan seems to accept what he has done but is confident that he will not become corrupted by it. He considers that while he had to kill men in the war, he never became a murderer thereafter. When he discovers that his son won a nationwide essay contest by plagiarizing classic American authors and orators, a conversation ensues with his son in which his son denies any kind of guilty feelings. The son maintains that everyone cheats and lies and that this is in fact the way of things. Perhaps after seeing his own moral decay in his son's actions, and experiencing the guilt of Marullo's deportation and especially the death of Danny, Ethan sets out to commit suicide. His daughter, intuitively understanding his intent, slips a family talisman into his pocket during a long embrace. When Ethan decides to commit the act, he reaches into his pocket to find razorblades and instead comes across the talisman. As the tide comes into the alcove in which he has sequestered himself, he struggles to get out in order to return the talisman to his daughter, in hopes that the light does not go out of her. |
Ecce Romani | null | 2,000 | The stories revolve around the wealthy Cornelii family, who live outside the town of Baiae in the Roman province of Campania in AD 80. The family is made up of Gaius Cornelius, a Roman senator, his wife, Aurelia, and their two children, Marcus and Cornelia. The family has also taken in a boy named Sextus, whose mother died the previous year in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, and whose father is in Asia Minor. In the beginning of the book, Cornelia often plays with her friend and neighbour Flavia. The Cornelii also have many slaves, including Davus (from Britannia, the overseer of their farm) and Eucleides (a Greek, the boys' paedagogus or tutor). The first chapters all deal with the family's daily life in their villa, particularly the adventures of the children. In one, Cornelia and Flavia are surprised by a wolf in the woods, and Marcus chases off the wolf while Sextus runs away in fear. Later, Gaius receives from the emperor a letter in which he is told he urgently needs to go to Rome. Instead of going alone, he brings everyone in the family, including Sextus. After their departure, Davus is placed in control of the farm and deals with a runaway slave named Geta in the typical Roman manner, i.e., by capturing him and then branding his forehead with the letters "FUG" (for fugitive). Meanwhile, as the family is traveling down the Via Appia (Appian Way), a courier goes by quickly, forcing the family's carriage into a ditch. The carriage driver, Syrus, cannot extract the carriage from the ditch, and the family becomes stranded along the side of the road. Gaius and Aurelia are worried. They finally decide to stay at a nearby inn, owned by Apollodorus. Aurelia understands the dangers that inns pose to wealthy Romans, and is afraid of staying there. Marcus and Sextus, however, are not so fearful, and accompany Gaius to the dining area, where they are told a frightening story by a soldier staying in the inn. Afterwards, the boys are terrified to go to sleep, but both eventually drift off. The next morning, the inn's slaves help Syrus drag the family's carriage from the ditch, and they complete the journey to Rome without further mishap. Upon arrival, they are welcomed to the city by Cornelia and Marcus's uncle, Titus. Shortly after their arrival Eucleides, Marcus, Cornelia, and Sextus visit the Circus Maximus and watch a chariot race. In the second book of the textbook series, the Cornelii are preparing to throw a dinner party for friends and family. Cornelia and Aurelia go out into the city to purchase food for the party, and in the streets witness some typical Roman scenes including a terrible fire in an insula (apartment building). Later, at the dinner party, Titus collapses because of inebriation. After the party is over, Eucleides returns home wounded. He had been mugged in a bad part of Rome, the Subura, while coming back from his brother's house. After he recovers, he takes the boys to school, where Sextus disobeys the teacher and is beaten. Two letters now play an important role. In the first Sextus writes about his life in a letter to his distant father. In the second the family learns of the imminent arrival of Quintus Valerius, a distinguished young man whose family is known by the Cornelii. There is a story of pirates, a trip to the baths (thermae), and a retelling of Pyramus and Thisbe, as originally told by the Roman poet Ovid. Marcus, Sextus, and Cornelia play typical games in between their studies and housework (in the case of Cornelia). Marcus goes to the Colosseum and witnesses the games there. Sometime later, Marcus comes of age, closely followed by Cornelia's marriage to the above named Valerius. The final chapter of Book II is the funeral of Titus. The final book of the series breaks away from stories about the Cornelii, and students are exposed to reading excerpts of historical Latin by authors such as Petronius, Cicero, and Augustus. |
Le Grand Meaulnes | Alain-Fournier | 1,913 | François, the narrator of the book, is the son of M. Seurel, who is the director of the school in a small village in the Sologne, a region of lakes and sandy forests. After arriving in class, Augustin Meaulnes, who comes from a poor background, soon disappears. He returns from an escapade he had which was an incredible and magical costume party where he met the girl of his dreams, Yvonne de Galais. |
Bear Island | Alistair MacLean | 1,971 | A converted fishing trawler, Morning Rose carries a movie-making crew across the Barents Sea to isolated Bear Island, well above the Arctic Circle, for some on-location filming, but the script is a secret known only to the producer and screenwriter. En route, members of the movie crew and ship's company begin to die under mysterious circumstances. The crew's doctor, Marlowe, finds himself enmeshed in a violent, multi-layered plot in which very few of the persons aboard are whom they claim to be. Marlowe's efforts to unravel the plot become even more complicated once the movie crew is deposited ashore on Bear Island, beyond the reach of the law or outside help. The murders continue ashore, and Marlowe, who is not what he seems to be either, discovers they may be related to some forgotten events of the Second World War. |
Last Son of Krypton | Elliot S! Maggin | null | Last Son of Krypton is Elliot S. Maggin's first Superman novel. It tells the "life story" of Superman; from his birth on the planet Krypton, to his childhood in Smallville and his career as Superboy, to his arrival in Metropolis and his career as Superman. The main antagonist in this story is a mysterious alien ruler with ties to Superman's past. Superman and his greatest enemy Lex Luthor must join forces to retrieve a document written by Albert Einstein and stop the alien ruler. |
Miracle Monday | null | null | In the story, Samael, the ruler of Hell, sends his greatest agent of evil, C. W. Saturn, to Earth, to destroy Superman morally. Saturn is able to enter our dimension thanks to Lex Luthor having used a form of magic to escape prison, leaving a 'hole' between worlds. At the same time, Kristin Wells, a journalism student from the far future, uses time travel technology to arrive in the present, for the purpose of finding out the origin of the holiday known as Miracle Monday, of which only the fact that it is somehow connected to Superman is known. She infiltrates Clark Kent's circle of friends by becoming Lois Lane's assistant. Unfortunately, because she does not belong in the present, Saturn is able to possess her. Saturn then proceeds to cause worldwide havoc, taunting Superman that the only way for him to stop it would be by killing its host—thus making him break his vow against killing. Saturn even reveals Superman's secret identity to the world, to further drive him into desperation. Ultimately, however, Superman refuses to kill Kristin, even if it means he would have to spend the rest of his life battling Saturn. At that moment, because of the rules that bind demons, Saturn is defeated, and forced to grant Superman a wish. He asks that everything that happened since Saturn's arrival be undone, and it is granted, with Saturn then being banished back to Hell. However, a lingering memory of the events remained within the souls of humanity, causing them to begin celebrating the day every year, on the third Monday of May, starting the Miracle Monday tradition. Kristin then returns to the future to reveal this fact to the public. |
Enchantment | Orson Scott Card | 1,999 | The protagonist and narrator is Ivan Smetski, a young Ukrainian-American linguist who specializes in Old Church Slavonic, a language from 10th-century Russia. In 1992, Ivan returns to his native town of Kiev to pursue additional graduate studies. While there he discovers the body of a woman, apparently sleeping in the woods. He awakens her with a kiss, and she tells him, in Old Church Slavonic, that she is Katerina, a princess of the kingdom of Taina. Transported back to the 10th century, Ivan follows Katerina back to Taina where he finds the Christian kingdom terrorized by the traditional Russian arch-villainess Baba Yaga. Ivan and Katerina marry and escape back to the 20th century to avoid the machinations of Baba Yaga, who has enslaved a god and laid claim to Taina's throne, and the druzhinnik Dimitri who covets the throne. Baba Yaga's magical powers, however, allow for her to follow Ivan and Katerina to modern times. Back in the Ukraine, Ivan discovers that his cousin is in reality the immortal god Mikola Mozhaiski. Returning to the United States, Ivan further discovers that his mother is a magic user, with the same powers as Katerina. After Katerina discovers Dimitri's plot through scrying, Ivan and Katerina return to Taina, deftly avoiding Baba Yaga who magically "skyjacks" their intended 747 back to the 10th century. Returning to Taina, Ivan and Katerina confront Dimitri, the enslaved god, and Baba Yaga. Though the Castle of Taina is destroyed, the two emerge victorious, and return to the modern world to live. |
Roadwork | Stephen King | null | The novel starts with a "man on the street" news interview in August 1972, in which an unnamed man (later revealed to be Dawes) gives his angry opinion of the highway extension project. The narrative then jumps forward to November 1973, with Dawes, seemingly unaware of the underlying motivations of his actions, visiting a gun shop and purchasing a heavy-caliber pistol and rifle. As the story progresses, it is revealed that Dawes' son Charlie had died from brain cancer several years earlier, and that Dawes is unable or unwilling to sever his emotional ties to his workplace and the house that his son grew up in. Dawes loses his middle management job at an industrial laundry after sabotaging the purchase of their new facility, and after learning of his actions, his wife Mary leaves him. Dawes then approaches Sal Magliore, the owner of a local used-car dealership with ties to the Mob, in an attempt to obtain explosives. Magliore initially dismisses him as a crackpot, so Dawes assembles a load of Molotov cocktails and uses them to damage the highway construction equipment, causing a brief delay in the project. Later, Magliore agrees to sell Dawes a load of explosives, paid for with money from the sale of Dawes' house to the city under its eminent domain statute, and has Dawes' house checked for phone taps planted by the city. Dawes gives most of the rest of his money to Magliore to invest on behalf of Olivia Brenner, a young hitchhiker on whom he took pity during a brief meeting and sexual encounter. In January 1974, during the final hours before the morning when he must leave the property, Dawes wires the whole house with the explosives and barricades himself inside. When the police arrive to forcibly evict him, he shoots at them, forcing them to take cover and attracting the attention of the media. Dawes coerces the police into letting a reporter - the same one who interviewed him in 1972, though neither recognizes the other - come in and speak to him. Once the reporter has left, Dawes tosses his guns out the window and sets off his explosives, destroying the house with himself inside. A short epilogue reveals that there was no real reason for the extension project; the city simply had extra money in its road construction budget, and had to spend it for fear of having the next year's budget reduced. |
The Sum of Our Discontent | null | null | The first chapter is entitled "A Short History of Counting". It describes the progression of numbers from being considered divine in early history to their present day pragmatism. It opens in 1904 Berlin with the story of a counting horse named Clever Hans, who was, to the relief of all, proved by psychologist Oskar Pfungst to not really be able to count. This fit in with the earlier opinion of Nicholas of Cusa, a cardinal who was a pioneer of quantification, that counting is what separates man from animals. Boyle then covers the history of counting in detail, starting with when numbers were considered to be divine and were the exclusive domain of the accountant-priests of the Assyrian Empire, then going on to Pythagoras and the Ancient Greeks who believed numbers represented the harmony of nature. Legend has it that Pythagoras may have studied with the Magi and been influenced by them after having been held captive in Babylon. Even a later practical and scientific mathematician such as Heinrich Hertz agreed with this natural significance of numbers. Boyle then goes to the medieval fascination and obsession with clocks that are thought to have possibly been invented by Gerbert of Aurillac, a monk. The long and fascinating history of the abacus also turns up time and time again in counting history. Luca Pacioli's invention of double-entry accounting further brought us to the present day situation of numbers being used to measure everything. The next chapters tell the stories of various historical figures and how they relate to the book's concept. They are all good stories; many of them focus on the unintended consequences of the ideas of their creators, specifically Thomas Malthus and John Maynard Keynes, who have both become known as measurers, but were really more interested in unmeasurable concepts. It all starts with eccentric Jeremy Bentham who tried to measure happiness, then progresses to his utilitarian followers John Stuart Mill and Thomas Malthus. One problem with counting that became evident from this era was that it gave no solutions or causality, just data. Next he describes the political self-esteem movement started by California politician John Vasconcellos in consultation with his friend Jack Canfield, author of the popular self-esteem self-help book Chicken Soup for the Soul. A lot of Vasconcellous' ideas came from the Esalen Institute in the mountains near Big Sur, where Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs theory was popularized. Boyle then tells the interesting story of Frederick Winslow Taylor and his extremely number-oriented scientific management. He then covers the ethical investing fad, an attempt to measure by more than numbers that itself falls victim to counting irrationality. Next is the story of economist John Maynard Keynes. The chapter on "New Indicators" describes attempts to replace GNP with broader measures such as the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) that attempt to account for full environmental costs. That index was popularized in a 1994 article in The Atlantic Monthly by Clifford Cobb about his new Redefining Progress think tank. Hazel Henderson's 1981 book Politics for the Solar Age was responsible for sparking the creation of the Air Pollution Index, one of many quality of life measurements that are now proliferating. An interesting point is that such measurements are often most meaningful if created and made by the people who care about them. The next chapter covers the story of Edgar Cahn http://nejl.wcl.american.edu/cahnarticle.html who came up with the time dollar as an outgrowth of his battles with proponents of cost-benefit analysis but more importantly from his desire to make people feel valuable. The initial time dollar projects began in 1987 with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The book ends appropriately enough with a chapter named "The bottom-line". Boyle summarizes how the practice of trying to measure everything (which used to go by the name pantometry but is now so common that the word has fallen out of use) can rob us of our humanity. Measuring is very necessary, but so is intuition and storytelling, which can often express points much better than numbers can. He thinks we should try to bridge the gap between the eastern and western view of numbers, which have been in conflict since Pythagoras. He ends with a relevant quote from Prince Charles from his millennium broadcast on the BBC. Boyle's bottom line is that measuring does not in itself improve anything. |
Edward II | Christopher Marlowe | 1,593 | The play telescopes most of Edward II's reign into a single narrative, beginning with the recall of his favourite, Piers Gaveston, from exile, and ending with his son, Edward III, executing Mortimer Junior for the king's murder. Marlowe's play opens at the outset of the reign, with Edward's exiled favourite, Piers Gaveston, rejoicing at the recent death of Edward I and his own resulting ability to return to England. In the following passage he plans the entertainments with which he will delight the king: :Music and poetry is his delight; :Therefore I'll have Italian masques by night, :Sweet speeches, comedies, and pleasing shows; :And in the day, when he shall walk abroad, :Like sylvan nymphs my pages shall be clad; :My men, like satyrs grazing on the lawns, :Shall with their goat-feet dance an antic hay. :Sometime a lovely boy in Dian's shape, :With hair that gilds the water as it glides, :Crownets of pearl about his naked arms, :And in his sportful hands an olive tree :To hide those parts which men delight to see, :Shall bathe him in a spring; and there, hard by, :One like Actaeon, peeping through the grove, :Shall by the angry goddess be transformed, :And running in the likeness of a hart :By yelping hounds pulled down and seem to die. :Such things as these best please his majesty. (I.i.53-70) Upon Gaveston’s re-entry into the country, Edward gives him titles, access to the royal treasury, and the option of having guards protect him. Although Gaveston himself is not of noble birth, he maintains that he is better than common people and craves pleasing shows, Italian masques, music and poetry. However much Gaveston pleases the king, however, he finds scant favour from the king's nobles, who are soon clamouring for Gaveston's exile. Edward is forced to agree to this and banishes Gaveston to Ireland, but Isabella of France, the Queen, who still hopes for his favour, persuades Mortimer, who later becomes her lover, to argue for his recall, though only so that he may be more conveniently murdered. The nobles accordingly soon find an excuse to turn on Gaveston again, and eventually capture and execute him. Edward in turn executes two of the nobles who persecuted Gaveston, Warwick and Lancaster. Edward now seeks comfort in a new favourite, Spencer, and his father, decisively alienating Isabella, who takes Mortimer as her lover and travels to France with her son in search of allies. France, however, will not help the queen and refuses to give her arms, although she does get help from Sir John of Hainault. Edward, both in the play and in history, is nothing like the soldier his father was — it was during his reign that the English army was disastrously defeated at Bannockburn — and is soon outgeneralled. Edward takes refuge in Neath Abbey, but is betrayed by a mower, who emblematically carries a scythe. Both Spencers are executed, and the king himself is taken first to Kenilworth. His brother Edmund, Earl of Kent, after having initially renounced his cause, now tries to help him but realizes too late the power the young Mortimer now has. Arrested for approaching the imprisoned Edward, Edmund is taken to court, where Mortimer, Isabella, and Edward III preside. He is executed by Mortimer, who claims he is a threat to the throne, despite the pleading of Edward III. The prisoner king is then taken to Berkeley Castle, where he meets the luxuriously cruel Lightborn, whose name is an anglicised version of "Lucifer". Despite knowing that Lightborn is there to kill him, Edward asks him to stay by his side. Lightborn, realizing that the king will not fall for deception, kills him. Maltravers and Gurney witness this before Gurney kills Lightborn to keep his silence. Later, however, Gurney flees, and Mortimer sends Maltravers after him, as they fear betrayal. Isabella arrives to warn Mortimer that Edward III, her son with Edward II, has discovered their plot. Before they can plan accordingly, her son arrives with attendants and other lords, accusing Mortimer of murder. Mortimer denies this, but eventually is arrested and taken away. He tells Isabella not to weep for him, and the queen begs her son to show Mortimer mercy, but he refuses. Edward III then orders Mortimer's death and his mother's imprisonment, and the play ends with him taking the throne. |
La Galatea | Miguel de Cervantes | 1,585 | The main characters of the Galatea are Elicio and Erastro, best friends and enamoured with Galatea. The novel opens with her and her best friend, Florisa, bathing, talking of love. Erastro and Elicio reveal to each other their desire for Galatea, but agree not to let it come betwixt their friendship. Eventually, all four of them begin their journey to the wedding of Daranio and Silveria, along which, in the pastoral tradition, they encounter other characters who tell their own stories and often join the traveling group. The vast majority of the characters in the book are involved primarily in minor story lines. Lisandro loses his love, Leonida, when Crisalvo mistakenly kills her instead of his former love Silvia. Lisandro avenges Crisalvo in the presence of the main party. Astor, under the pseudonym Silerio, feigns attraction for Nísida’s sister Blanca in order to avoid the scorn of Nísida’s lover Timbrio, who dies following the confusion present after a successful duel against his rival Pransiles. Astor’s grief thrusts him into hermitage, waiting to hear from Nísida. Arsindo holds a poetry competition betwixt Francenio y Lauso, which is judged by Tirsi and Damón, lauded by many within the novel as some of the most famous poets of Spain, and is determined to have no single winner. The wedding has controversy as Mireno is deeply in love with Silveria, yet Daranio’s wealth guaranteed him the hand of Silveria. These stories sometimes have characters that cross over, resulting in the sub-plots being intertwined at times. For example, Teolinda, whose sister Leonida played in an integral role in separating Teolinda from her lover Artidoro, finds Leonida much later with a group of soldiers. The fame of Tirsi and Damón instantly connects them with the hired wedding bards, Orompo, Crisio, Marsilio, and Orfenio, as well as the teacher Arsindo. |
Anandamath | Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay | 1,882 | The book is set in 1771 during famine in Bengal (see Famine in India, for more information about famine in India under the British regime). Kalyani, a housewife, is fleeing through the forest with her infant, trying to escape from man-hunters who will sell her for food. After a long chase, she loses consciousness at the bank of a river. A Hindu monk, stumbles upon her and the baby, but before he can help her, he is arrested by the British soldiers, because other priests were fueling revolt against the British rule. While being dragged away he spots another priest who is not wearing his distinctive robes and sings, The other priest deciphers the song, rescues Kalyani and the baby, taking them to a rebel priest hideout. Concurrently, Kalyani's husband, Mahendra, is also given shelter by the priests, and they are reunited. The leader of the rebels shows Mahendra the three faces of Bharat-Mata (Mother India) as three goddess idols being worshipped in three consecutive rooms: #What Mother Was - An idol of Goddess Jagaddhatri # What Mother Has Become - An idol of Goddess Kali # What Mother Will Be - An idol of Goddess Durga Gradually, the rebel influence grows and their ranks swell. Emboldened, they shift their headquarter to a small brick fort. The British attack the fort with a large force. The rebels blockade the bridge over the nearby river, but they lack any artillery or military training. In the fighting, the British make a tactical retreat over the bridge. The Sannyasis undisciplined army, lacking military experience, chases the British into the trap. Once the bridge is full of rebels, British artillery opens fire, inflicting severe casualties. However, some rebels manage to capture some of the cannons, and turn the fire back on to the British lines. The British are forced to fall back, the rebels winning their first battle. The story ends with Mahendra and Kalyani building a home again, with Mahendra continuing to support the rebels. |
Pandora | Anne Rice | 1,998 | Pandora was born with the name Lydia in the Roman Republic in the year 15 BC to a Senatorial family. She is tall, with rippling brown hair and gold-brown eyes. Like many Patrician Roman females of the time Pandora was taught how to read and write and is well versed in epic poems, especially Ovid's works. She meets Marius for the first time when he is twenty-five and she is ten. Marius asks for Lydia's hand in marriage, but her father rejects Marius' offer. Five years later, Lydia sees Marius at a festival and begs her father to allow her to marry Marius. Her father again refuses. Pandora's father holds a high rank as a Senator. But when a new emperor takes power, her family is betrayed by her own brother and killed. Only Pandora and her traitorous brother survive the massacre, and she is taken to Antioch (after changing her name) by a man who was very close to her father. There she meets Marius again, twenty years after their last encounter. Unbeknownst to her, Marius is now a vampire. She eventually finds out what Marius has become, and also that he protects and hides the Queen and King of all Vampires. The vampire, Akabar, wants to steal the Queen's powerful and ancient blood. Marius and Pandora try to prevent him from carrying out his plan. To gain access to the Queen, Akabar uses Marius's love for Pandora against him and drains Pandora to the point of death. In order to save her, Marius is forced to make Pandora into a vampire and forced to let Akabar see the Queen, who then destroys Akabar. The pair stay together for the next two hundred years, taking care of the King and Queen of all vampires, before arguing and separating. Marius later characterized the breakup (of which he left her and she spent six months or more waiting for him to return) as being entirely his fault: He considers himself a teacher who longs to impart what he knows upon his pupils, but Pandora -being as free-spirited and highly educated as she was -had no patience to be his student. During their time together, against his objection, she did turn one of her beloved slaves into a vampire. As soon as he was turned he left the pair and was not seen again. The next time they meet again is in a Dresden ballroom in the early to late-17th century. Marius tries in vain to make Pandora leave her companion and fledgling, Arjun, and come back to him. Pandora's relationship with Arjun is of great concern to Marius, who fears Pandora is being held against her will. While she outwardly denies this, Pandora overcomes her embarrassment and admits to David in her writing that she could not bring herself to leave Arjun, citing that his stronger will propelled them both through time. The next and last time that they meet is in 1985, when she is among thirteen vampires who survived Akasha's killing spree and gathered at Maharet's house in the Sonoma compound to battle against Akasha. Pandora remains quiet and withdrawn throughout the whole ordeal, staring out the windows and saying little, rousing herself only once to say that Akasha is trying to justify deplorable "reasons" for a holocaust. Like many vampires, Pandora is a morose, despairing immortal who initially wanted immortality but soon regretted her choice and turns into a dark, indifferent cynic. Lestat thinks that Pandora was troubled in some deep, fundamental way even before she became a vampire, because she's the only vampire who doesn't receive visions of Maharet and Mekare in her dreams. During the confrontation in Sonoma, when Akasha directly asks Pandora to join with her or die, Pandora merely responds in a quiet, indifferent voice that she can't do what Akasha is asking of her, and stoically accepts the idea of being killed. Even after Akasha herself is destroyed and the thirteen vampires regroup in Armand's Night Island in Florida, Pandora still acts withdrawn from her fellow vampire kin, watching music videos all day long and completely ignoring Marius, who dotes on her lovingly. There is no sense of recovery or security in her as there is with the other vampires, and she departs from Night Island alone, still just as morose as ever. David Talbot encounters her in Paris shortly after the events of Memnoch the Devil and before the story of The Vampire Armand. He asks her to write the story of her life, which she does in a cafe by writing in some notebooks he gave her. She recalls the details of her life before becoming a vampire and briefly discusses the period when she was with Marius. After she has finished, she writes that she plans to go to New Orleans to look for Marius and to look into the eyes of Lestat, and try to understand what it is he saw. She is last seen at the end of Blood and Gold, alongside Marius. es:Pandora (novela) fr:Pandora (roman) hr:Pandora (vampir) it:Pandora (romanzo) pl:Pandora (powieść) pt:Pandora (livro) ru:Пандора (роман) |
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love | Brad Fraser | null | Using and subverting elements of various genres, including thriller, situation comedy and grade-B horror film, the piece is written with cynical humor, but is serious in tone. As the play begins, a serial killer is preying on young women in the city; we soon realize that Bernie is the murderer, a fact only discovered by the other characters late in the play. Narration is provided by Benita, a prostitute with psychic ability whose mental gifts will figure prominently in the resolution of the plot. |
Lest Darkness Fall | L. Sprague de Camp | 1,941 | Lest Darkness Fall is written along lines similar to those of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. American archaeologist Martin Padway is visiting the Pantheon in Rome in 1938. A thunderstorm arrives, lightning cracks, and he finds himself transported to 6th century Rome (535). The period Padway arrives in is a rather obscure one: Italy was ruled by the Ostrogoths, who had recently overthrown the Western Roman Empire, but were (in de Camp's opinion anyway) ruling relatively benevolently, e.g. allowing freedom of religion, and maintaining the urban Roman society which they conquered essentially unchanged. In real history, shortly after this the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire temporarily expanded westwards, embarking on what came to be known as the Gothic War (535–554). They overthrew the Ostrogoths in Italy and the Vandals in north Africa, but they never consolidated their rule over Italy, and it collapsed into various small states with further invasions by the Lombards. The war was highly devastating to the Italian urbanized society that was supported by a settled hinterland, and by the end of the conflict Italy was devastated and considerably depopulated: the Italian population is estimated to have decreased from 7 million to 2.5 million. The great cities of Rome and her allies were abandoned as Italy fell into a long period of decline. There are some grounds for historians to consider this – rather than the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the previous century – as the true beginning of the Dark Ages. Padway begins his adventures confused, wondering if he is dreaming or delusional. Quickly, he accepts his fate and sets out to survive. At first, Padway hits upon the idea of making a copper still and selling brandy for a living. He convinces a banker, Thomasus the Syrian, to lend him money to start his endeavor, partially by teaching his clerks Arabic numerals and double entry bookkeeping. Padway moves on to develop a printing press, issue newspapers, and build a sketchy semaphore telegraph system. His efforts to produce a mechanical clock, gunpowder, and a cannon are failures. Despite his technological and academic bent he becomes more and more involved in the politics of the state, as Italy is invaded by the Imperials and also threatened from the south and east. Padway rescues the recently deposed Thiudahad and becomes his quaestor. He uses the king's support to gather forces to defeat the Imperial general Belisarius – no mean feat, for somebody who never fought in any war against one of history's most well-known military talents, but Padway did manage to completely surprise Belisarius with tactics never used in the ancient world. Then, deceiving the Dalmatian army, he re-enthrones the largely senile Thiudahad and imprisons King Wittigis as a hostage. In 537, when Wittigis is killed and Thiudahad reduced to madness, Padway has a protégé of his married to Mathaswentha and then created king of the Ostrogoths. He also tricks Justinian I into releasing Belisarius from his oath of allegiance and quickly enlists the military genius to command an army against the Franks. The landing of an Imperial army at Vibo and a rebellion led by the son of Thiudahad threaten the Ostrogothic kingdom and the Ostrogoth army is destroyed at Crathis Valley. Padway assembles a new force, distributes an "emancipation proclamation" to the Italian serfs, and recalls Belisarius. The armies clash near Calatia and then Benevento. Despite the lethal indiscipline of his Gothic forces, some simple tactical tricks and the nick-of-time arrival of Belisarius secure Padway's victory. At the end of the novel Padway has stabilised the Italo-Gothic kingdom, introduced a constitution, arranged the end of serfdom, liberated the Burgunds, is having boats built for an Atlantic expedition (Padway wants tobacco), and has entered negotiations with the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. Europe will not experience the Dark Ages due to Padway's actions; darkness will not fall. |
The Feminine Mystique | Betty Friedan | 1,963 | The Feminine Mystique begins with an introduction describing what Friedan called "the problem that has no name"—the widespread unhappiness of women in the 1950s and early 1960s. It discusses the lives of several housewives from around the United States who were unhappy despite living in material comfort and being happily married with fine children. Chapter 1: Friedan points out that the average age of marriage was dropping and the birthrate was increasing for women throughout the 1950s, yet the widespread unhappiness of women persisted, although American culture insisted that fulfillment for women could be found in marriage and housewifery; this chapter concludes by declaring "We can no longer ignore that voice within women that says: 'I want something more than my husband and my children and my home.'" Chapter 2: Friedan shows that the editorial decisions concerning women's magazines were being made mostly by men, who insisted on stories and articles that showed women as either happy housewives or unhappy, neurotic careerists, thus creating the "feminine mystique"—the idea that women were naturally fulfilled by devoting their lives to being housewives and mothers. Friedan notes that this is in contrast to the 1930s, at which time women's magazines often featured confident and independent heroines, many of whom were involved in careers. Chapter 3: Friedan recalls her own decision to conform to society's expectations by giving up her promising career in psychology to raise children, and shows that other young women still struggled with the same kind of decision. Many women dropped out of school early to marry, afraid that if they waited too long or became too educated, they would not be able to attract a husband. Chapter 4: Friedan discusses early American feminists and how they fought against the assumption that the proper role of a woman was to be solely a wife and mother. She notes that they secured important rights for women, including education, the right to pursue a career, and the right to vote. Chapter 5: Friedan, who had a degree in psychology, criticizes Sigmund Freud (whose ideas were very influential in America at the time of her book's publication). She notes that Freud saw women as childlike and as destined to be housewives, once pointing out that Freud wrote, "I believe that all reforming action in law and education would break down in front of the fact that, long before the age at which a man can earn a position in society, Nature has determined woman’s destiny through beauty, charm, and sweetness. Law and custom have much to give women that has been withheld from them, but the position of women will surely be what it is: in youth an adored darling and in mature years a loved wife." Friedan also points out that Freud's unproven concept of "penis envy" had been used to label women who wanted careers as neurotic, and that the popularity of Freud's work and ideas elevated the "feminine mystique" of female fulfillment in housewifery into a "scientific religion" that most women were not educated enough to criticize. Chapter 6: Friedan criticizes functionalism, which attempted to make the social sciences more credible by studying the institutions of society as if they were parts of a social body, as in biology. Institutions were studied in terms of their function in society, and women were confined to their sexual biological roles as housewives and mothers and told that doing otherwise would upset the social balance. Friedan points out that this is unproven and that Margaret Mead, a prominent functionalist, had a flourishing career as an anthropologist. Chapter 7: Friedan discusses the change in women's education from the 1940s to the early 1960s, in which many women's schools concentrated on non-challenging classes that focused mostly on marriage, family, and other subjects deemed suitable for women, as educators influenced by functionalism felt that too much education would spoil women's femininity and capacity for sexual fulfillment. Friedan says that this change in education arrested girls in their emotional development at a young age, because they never had to face the painful identity crisis and subsequent maturation that comes from dealing with many adult challenges. Chapter 8: Friedan notes that the uncertainties and fears during World War II and the Cold War made Americans long for the comfort of home, so they tried to create an idealized home life with father as the breadwinner and mother as the housewife. Friedan notes that this was helped along by the fact that many of the women who worked during the war filling jobs previously filled by men faced dismissal, discrimination, or hostility when the men returned, and that educators blamed over-educated, career-focused mothers for the maladjustment of soldiers in World War II. Yet as Friedan shows, later studies found that overbearing mothers, not careerists, were the ones who raised maladjusted children. Chapter 9: Friedan shows that advertisers tried to encourage housewives to think of themselves as professionals who needed many specialized products in order to do their jobs, while discouraging housewives from having actual careers, since that would mean they would not spend as much time and effort on housework and therefore would not buy as many household products, cutting into advertisers' profits. Chapter 10: Friedan interviews several full-time housewives, finding that although they are not fulfilled by their housework, they are all extremely busy with it. She postulates that these women unconsciously stretch their home duties to fill the time available, because the feminine mystique has taught women that this is their role, and if they ever complete their tasks they will become unneeded. Chapter 11: Friedan notes that many housewives have sought fulfillment in sex, unable to find it in housework and children; Friedan notes that sex cannot fulfill all of a person's needs, and that attempts to make it do so often drive married women to have affairs or drive their husbands away as they become obsessed with sex. Chapter 12: Friedan discusses the fact that many children have lost interest in life or emotional growth, attributing the change to the mother's own lack of fulfillment, a side effect of the feminine mystique. When the mother lacks a self, Friedan notes, she often tries to live through her children, causing the children to lose their own sense of themselves as separate human beings with their own lives. Chapter 13: Friedan discusses Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs and notes that women have been trapped at the basic, physiological level, expected to find their identity through their sexual role alone. Friedan says that women need meaningful work just as men do to achieve self-actualization, the highest level on the hierarchy of needs. Chapter 14: In the final chapter of The Feminine Mystique, Friedan discusses several case studies of women who have begun to go against the feminine mystique. She also advocates a new life plan for her women readers, including not viewing housework as a career, not trying to find total fulfillment through marriage and motherhood alone, and finding meaningful work that uses their full mental capacity. She discusses the conflicts that some women may face in this journey to self-actualization, including their own fears and resistance from others. For each conflict, Friedan offers examples of women who have overcome it. Friedan ends her book by promoting education and meaningful work as the ultimate method by which American women can avoid becoming trapped in the feminine mystique, calling for a drastic rethinking of what it means to be feminine, and offering several educational and occupational suggestions. |
The Adventurer | null | null | The book begins in the city of Turku and follows Mikael along an adventure throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. The book depicts many actual historical events with a rich style, although Mikael's involvement in the events is fictitious. The historical events and millieus featured in the book include: *Denmark's conquest of Sweden, Stockholm bloodbath and eventually the downfall of king Christian II of Denmark. * Student life at the Sorbonne in Paris at this time. *Protestant reformation and related peasants' war in Germany, Luther and Müntzer themselves appearing as side characters. *Spanish monarch sending conquistadors to New World, Mikael almost made to join Pizarro's expedition. * A Witch-hunt conducted by the Inquisition in a small German town, claiming the life of an innocent girl. *Wars in 16th century Europe and expansion of Ottoman empire. *Plundering of Rome (Sack of Rome) during reign of Pope Clement VII The story is continued in The Wanderer, where the protagonist explores the Ottoman empire. it:L'avventuriero (romanzo) hu:Mikael fi:Mikael Karvajalka sv:Mikael Ludenfot |
The Pyramid | Ismail Kadare | 1,996 | Every sentence has two meanings – one in the novel and one that tells something about Communism. For example, the Pharaoh Cheops desires to build a pyramid so large that it will drain the prosperity out of Egypt, and an unprosperous people will not rebel. |
The Golden Master | Walter B. Gibson | 1,939 | Shiwan Khan, heir to Genghis Khan, is in the United States to steal military technology in order to build his own army with the intent of conquering the world. He hypnotises Paul Brent of Globe Aircraft through the electronic lights of a nearby billboard. He orders him to create a larger production run of aircraft than originally intended, with the excess being sent on to Shiwan Khan. By similar methods, he also acquired engines and weapons. The Shadow enters the story when Shiwan Khan attempts to dispose of Paul Brent. Working with Brent, The Shadow eventually tracks his opponent to his base of operations and apparently kills him when his escape plane crashes into the river. |
Judas, My Brother | Frank Yerby | 1,968 | Written from the viewpoint of Nathan ('the Thirteenth Disciple'), the heavily footnoted book presents an adventure and romance storyline against the backdrop of the 1st century Roman Empire. Nathan's travels lead him to Rome to fight as a retiarius, and on his return to Palestine to become involved with the Apostles, the Zealots and the Essenes. He loves Shelomith (the disciple Salome, depicted in the novel as a prostitute), who does not return his affections due to her unrequited love for Yeshua (Jesus). |
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou | 1,969 | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings follows Marguerite's (called "My" or "Maya" by her brother) life from the age of three to seventeen and the struggles she faces – particularly with racism – in the Southern United States. Abandoned by their parents, Maya and her older brother Bailey are sent to live with their paternal grandmother (Momma) and crippled uncle (Uncle Willie) in Stamps, Arkansas. Maya and Bailey are haunted by their parents' abandonment throughout the book – they travel alone and are labeled like baggage. Many of the problems Maya encounters in her childhood stem from the overt racism of her white neighbors. Although Momma is relatively wealthy because she owns the general store at the heart of Stamps' Black community, the white children of their town hassle Maya's family relentlessly. One of these "powhitetrash" girls, for example, reveals her pubic hair to Momma in a humiliating incident. Early in the book, Momma hides Uncle Willie in a vegetable bin to protect him from Ku Klux Klan raiders. Maya has to endure the insult of her name being changed to Mary by a racist employer. A white speaker at her eighth grade graduation ceremony disparages the Black audience by suggesting that they have limited job opportunities. A white dentist refuses to treat Maya's rotting tooth, even when Momma reminds him that she had loaned him money during the Depression. The Black community of Stamps enjoys a moment of racial victory when they listen to the radio broadcast of Joe Louis's championship fight, but generally they feel the heavy weight of racist oppression. A turning point in the book occurs when Maya and Bailey's father unexpectedly appears in Stamps. He takes the two children with him when he departs, but leaves them with their mother in St. Louis, Missouri. Eight-year-old Maya is sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. He is found guilty during the trial, but escapes jail time and is murdered, presumably by Maya's uncles. Maya feels guilty and withdraws from everyone but her brother. Even after returning to Stamps, Maya remains reclusive and nearly mute until she meets Mrs. Bertha Flowers, "the aristocrat of Black Stamps", who supplies her with books to encourage her love of reading. This coaxes Maya out of her shell. Later, Momma decides to send her grandchildren to their mother in San Francisco, California, to protect them from the dangers of racism in Stamps. Maya attends George Washington High School and studies dance and drama on a scholarship at the California Labor School. Before graduating, she becomes the first Black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco. While still in high school, Maya visits her father in southern California one summer, and has some experiences pivotal to her development. She drives a car for the first time when she must transport her intoxicated father home from an excursion to Mexico. She experiences homelessness for a short time after a fight with her father's girlfriend. During Maya's final year of high school, she worries that she might be a lesbian (which she equates with being a hermaphrodite), and initiates sexual intercourse with a teenage boy. She becomes pregnant, and on the advice of her brother, she hides from her family until her eighth month of pregnancy in order to graduate from high school. Maya gives birth at the end of the book and begins her journey to adulthood by accepting her role as mother to her newborn son. |
The Flight of the Phoenix | Elleston Trevor | 1,964 | Pilot Frank Towns and navigator Lew Moran are ferrying a mixed bag of passengers out of the Jebel oil town of the Libyan desert, among them oil workers, a couple of British soldiers, and a German who was visiting his brother. An unexpected sandstorm forces the aircraft down, damaging the plane, killing two of the men, and severely injuring the German. In the book, the action takes place in the Libyan part of the Sahara. The survivors wait for rescue but begin to worry, as the storm has blown them far off course, away from where searchers would look for them. After several days, Captain Harris marches toward a distant oasis together with another passenger. His aide Sergeant Watson feigns a sprained ankle and does not join Harris. A third man follows after them. Days later, Harris barely manages to return to the crash site. The others are lost. As the water begins to run out Stringer, a precise, arrogant English aeronautical engineer, proposes a radical solution. He claims they can rebuild a new aircraft from the wreckage of the old twin-boom aircraft, using the undamaged boom and adding skids to take off. They set to work. At one point they spot a party of nomadic tribesmen. Captain Harris decides to ask them for help, but Sergeant Watson refuses to accompany him. Instead another survivor, a Texan named Loomis, goes with him. The next day, Towns finds their looted bodies, throats cut, and the nomads gone. Later, Towns finds out that Stringer's job is designing model aircraft, not real, full-scale ones. Afraid of the effect on morale, he and Moran keep their discovery secret, though they now believe Stringer's plan is doomed. However, they turn out to be wrong. The aircraft is reborn, like the mythical Phoenix. It flies the passengers, strapped to the outside of the fuselage, to an oasis and civilization. |
Hatchet | Gary Paulsen | 1,987 | Brian Robeson is a 13 year-old boy, whose parents are divorced, who travels on a Cessna 406 bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in northern Canada for the summer. During the flight, the pilot suffers a heart attack and dies; Brian tries to land the plane, but ends up crash-landing into a lake in the forest, saving nothing but his hatchet and his own life. Throughout the summer, Brian attempts to survive in the endless wilderness with only his hatchet, which was a gift his mother gave him shortly before his plane departed. He figures out how to make fire with the hatchet and makes himself eat whatever food he can find, such as snapping turtle eggs, fish, berries, fruit, rabbits, and birds. He deals with threats from animals such as a porcupine, bear, skunk, moose, wolves and eventually becomes a fine woodsman, crafting a bow, arrows, and a fishing spear. He also fashions a shelter out of the underside of a rock overhang. During his time alone, Brian struggles with memories of home, and the bittersweet memory of his mother, whom Brian had caught cheating on his father with somebody else. When a sudden tornado hits the area, it draws the tail of the plane toward the shore of the lake. Brian makes a raft from a few broken off tree tops to get to the plane. When Brian is cutting his way into the tail of the plane, he drops his hatchet in the lake and dives in to get it. Once inside the plane, Brian finds a survival pack with an emergency transmitter, many packs of food, a first aid kit, some cooking utensils, and a .22 rifle. Back on shore, Brian activates the transmitter, but he does not know how to use it, he thinks it is broken and throws it aside. Later, when Brian is cooking the food packs, a fur buyer arrives in a float plane some time after because he caught the transmitter's signal. He rescues Brian, who returns home after 54 days in the wilderness a different person. Brian later finds himself marveling at all the food, quantities and variety, at the grocery store. He finally reaches his father at the oil fields, yet he is still unable to discuss his mother's affair with another man to his father. |
El filibusterismo | José Rizal | 1,891 | Thirteen years after leaving the Philippines, Crisostomo Ibarra returns as Simoun, a rich jeweler sporting a beard and blue-tinted glasses, and a confidant of the Captain-General. Abandoning his idealism, he becomes a cynical saboteur, seeking revenge against the Spanish Philippine system responsible for his misfortunes by plotting a revolution. Simoun insinuates himself into Manila high society and influences every decision of the Captain-General to mismanage the country’s affairs so that a revolution will break out. He cynically sides with the upper classes, encouraging them to commit abuses against the masses to encourage the latter to revolt against the oppressive Spanish colonial regime. This time, he does not attempt to fight the authorities through legal means, but through violent revolution using the masses. Simoun has reasons for instigating a revolution. First is to rescue María Clara from the convent and second, to get rid of ills and evils of Philippine society. His true identity is discovered by a now grown-up Basilio while visiting the grave of his mother, Sisa, as Simoun was digging near the grave site for his buried treasures. Simoun spares Basilio’s life and asks him to join in his planned revolution against the government, egging him on by bringing up the tragic misfortunes of the latter's family. Basilio declines the offer as he still hopes that the country’s condition will improve. Basilio, at this point, is a graduating student of medicine at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. After the death of his mother, Sisa, and the disappearance of his younger brother, Crispín, Basilio heeded the advice of the dying boatman, Elías, and traveled to Manila to study. Basilio was adopted by Captain Tiago after María Clara entered the convent. With Captain Tiago’s help, Basilio was able to go to Colegio de San Juan de Letrán where, at first, he is frowned upon by his peers and teachers not only because of the color of his skin but also because of his shabby appearance. Captain Tiago’s confessor, Father Irene is making Captain Tiago’s health worse by giving him opium even as Basilio tries hard to prevent Captain Tiago from smoking it. He and other students want to establish a Spanish language academy so that they can learn to speak and write Spanish despite the opposition from the Dominican friars of the Universidad de Santo Tomás. With the help of a reluctant Father Irene as their mediator and Don Custodio’s decision, the academy is established; however they will only serve as caretakers of the school not as the teachers. Dejected and defeated, they hold a mock celebration at a pancitería while a spy for the friars witnesses the proceedings. Simoun, for his part, keeps in close contact with the bandit group of Kabesang Tales, a former cabeza de barangay who suffered misfortunes at the hands of the friars. Once a farmer owning a prosperous sugarcane plantation and a cabeza de barangay (barangay head), he was forced to give everything to the greedy and unscrupulous Spanish friars. His son, Tano, who became a civil guard was captured by bandits; his daughter Julî had to work as a maid to get enough ransom money for his freedom; and his father, Tandang Selo, suffered a stroke and became mute. Before joining the bandits, Tales took Simoun’s revolver while Simoun was staying at his house for the night. As payment, Tales leaves a locket that once belonged to María Clara. To further strengthen the revolution, Simoun has Quiroga, a Chinese man hoping to be appointed consul to the Philippines, smuggle weapons into the country using Quiroga’s bazaar as a front. Simoun wishes to attack during a stage play with all of his enemies in attendance. He, however, abruptly aborts the attack when he learns from Basilio that María Clara had died earlier that day in the convent. A few days after the mock celebration by the students, the people are agitated when disturbing posters are found displayed around the city. The authorities accuse the students present at the pancitería of agitation and disturbing peace and has them arrested. Basilio, although not present at the mock celebration, is also arrested. Captain Tiago dies after learning of the incident and as stated in his will—forged by Irene, all his possessions are given to the Church, leaving nothing for Basilio. Basilio is left in prison as the other students are released. A high official tries to intervene for the release of Basilio but the Captain-General, bearing grudges against the high official, coerces him to tender his resignation. Julî, Basilio’s girlfriend and the daughter of Kabesang Tales, tries to ask Father Camorra’s help upon the advice of an elder woman. Instead of helping Julî, however, the priest tries to rape her as he has long-hidden desires for Julî. Julî, rather than submit to the will of the friar, jumps over the balcony to her death. Basilio is soon released with the help of Simoun. Basilio, now a changed man, and after hearing about Julî's suicide, finally joins Simoun’s revolution. Simoun then tells Basilio his plan at the wedding of Paulita Gómez and Juanito, Basilio’s hunch-backed classmate. His plan was to conceal an explosive which contains nitroglycerin inside a pomegranate-styled Kerosene lamp that Simoun will give to the newlyweds as a gift during the wedding reception. The reception will take place at the former home of the late Captain Tiago, which was now filled with explosives planted by Simoun. According to Simoun, the lamp will stay lighted for only 20 minutes before it flickers; if someone attempts to turn the wick, it will explode and kill everyone—important members of civil society and the Church hierarchy—inside the house. Basilio has a change of heart and attempts to warn Isagani, his friend and the former boyfriend of Paulita. Simoun leaves the reception early as planned and leaves a note behind: Initially thinking that it was simply a bad joke, Father Salví recognizes the handwriting and confirms that it was indeed Ibarra’s. As people begin to panic, the lamp flickers. Father Irene tries to turn the wick up when Isagani, due to his undying love for Paulita, bursts in the room and throws the lamp into the river, sabotaging Simoun's plans. He escapes by diving into the river as guards chase after him. He later regrets his impulsive action because he had contradicted his own belief that he loved his nation more than Paulita and that the explosion and revolution could have fulfilled his ideals for Filipino society. Simoun, now unmasked as the perpetrator of the attempted arson and failed revolution, becomes a fugitive. Wounded and exhausted after he was shot by the pursuing Guardia Civil, he seeks shelter at the home of Father Florentino, Isagani’s uncle, and comes under the care of doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña, Doña Victorina's husband, who was also hiding at the house. Simoun takes poison in order for him not to be captured alive. Before he dies, he reveals his real identity to Florentino while they exchange thoughts about the failure of his revolution and why God forsook him. Florentino opines that God did not forsake him and that his plans were not for the greater good but for personal gain. Simoun, finally accepting Florentino’s explanation, squeezes his hand and dies. Florentino then takes Simoun’s remaining jewels and throws them into the Pacific Ocean with the corals hoping that they would not be used by the greedy, and that when the time came that it would be used for the greater good, when the nation would be finally deserving liberty for themselves, the sea would reveal the treasures. |
Armor | John Steakley | 1,984 | Armor is the story of humanity's war against an alien race whose foot soldiers are three-meter-tall insects, referred to in the book as 'ants'. It is also the story of a research colony on the fringes of human territory which is threatened by pirates. The two sub-plots intersect at the end, with each providing answers and insight into events of the other. The title most obviously refers to the nuclear-powered exoskeletons worn by the soldiers, but also references the emotional armor the protagonists maintain to survive. The protagonist is Felix, an anonymous enlistee who's been given "scout" duty on an alien planet in the seemingly endless "Antwar." Little is known of him initially but that he suffers from burnout and refuses to die, even when it seems inevitable. The novel starts with Felix and his Company assaulting a gaseous, inhospitable planet aptly named "Banshee." Using armored infantry suits, soldiers drop onto the planet from starships via a teleportation device called "Transit." The attack goes horribly wrong, as Felix's Company is completely wiped out, and the mountain fort they were originally supposed to capture is revealed to be a giant hive. In the aftermath of his first encounter, Felix regroups with the surviving humans. There, he meets another highly skilled scout named Forest, who participated in the fleet wide Armored Olympics against decorated soldier Nathan Kent. It is also revealed that the Ants can lock onto the fleet's Transit beacons and barrage them with missiles fired from the Hive, making retreat impossible. During a fallback to an elevated bluff, a dying soldier exploits his armor's functions and creates a nuclear explosion. Several warriors are killed in the disaster, including Forest. Before dying she confesses to Felix that she always loved Kent. With no options left the warriors resort to attacking the Hive to secure transport back to the ship. Exploiting the Hive's tunnel system, they plan to use a wounded soldier as a bomb to destroy it. Before the attack, Felix meets a soldier named Bolov who tells him that as a scout on his first drop, Felix has a 10% chance of survival. Felix and his fellow soldiers are ambushed by ants on their way up the hive. During the attack, the soldier they planned on using as a bomb is killed, rendering him useless. In a stroke of bad luck, Bolov is also mortally wounded and grudgingly accepts the task of sacrificing himself. The Hive is then destroyed and the survivors are able to retreat back to the ship. After 19 drops on Banshee, Felix has learned that he is an almost unstoppable warrior. His 20th drop is revealed to be a fleet mission to create humanity's first forward operating base on Banshee. He also learns that Nathan Kent will be dropping with him. The soldiers successfully create an impregnable fort on Banshee. Felix learns from his inexperienced Commanding Officer, Canada Shoen, that the purpose of the fort is to show non-combat officers and journalists what the war is like. Felix is disgusted by this revelation. After spending time with Nathan Kent, he tells him about Forest's death and her true feelings for him. Kent is devastated and attacks Felix in a drunken rage. The fort withstands several assaults from the ants and wears them down almost to complete exhaustion. During a celebration for their victory, ants attack from underground and kill dozens of people, before ultimately being crushed again. Felix discovers that his 21st drop will be with the affluent monarch of an extra-solar planet, named the Masao. They drop onto an area not infested with ants so that he can see Banshee for himself. However, in a moment of climax, Felix is revealed to be the runaway monarch of an equally wealthy planet called Golden. After a tragic freighter accident that killed his wife, Felix escaped and joined the fleet to suppress the memories of her. The Masao, who is his best friend, begs for Felix to return to Golden. He agrees to leave the military, but still refuses to return to his home planet. Only moments before being teleported onto the ship, Felix notices a Hive in the distance that barrages them with missiles, killing the Masao. In the ensuing chaos on board the ship, Kent grabs Felix and helps him escape from the fleet before ultimately being killed himself. Most of the action of the final 2/3 of the book takes place on Sanction, a planet far removed from the fighting, at a Fleet research facility. The deuteragonist is Jack Crow, a notorious celebrity and one-time pirate. A morally questionable character with views and opinions that are just as questionable, he is a tough man who does not hesitate to kill. He is constantly at odds with his own morality but he knows the difference between his celebrity reputation and his real personality. At times, his reputation is more of a burden than a blessing. We meet Jack in prison on an alien world just prior to his breaking out. His escape takes him to the ship of a mutineer and deserter from the Antwar named Borglyn. Jack strikes a deal where, in exchange for Borglyn saving his life, he will infiltrate and sabotage the Fleet research project on Sanction so Borglyn can access its limitless Fleet power source to refuel his ship, and continue on his deserter way. Borglyn will also pay Jack and give him a small scout ship to go his own way. On Sanction, Jack takes an old suit of battle armor to project Director Hollis "Holly" Ware, to ingratiate himself and get the necessary access to fulfill his bargain with Borglyn. But Jack is then asked by Holly to participate in an experiment to retrieve the data from the suit's battle recorder, which is the "memory" of the wearer while the suit was active. Out of curiosity and a bit of false bonhomie, Jack agrees and we see that he, Holly and Lya (a Fleet psychologist and Holly's girlfriend) spend several sessions "immersed" first hand in the life of Felix on Banshee and on board ship. During these sessions, we learn much more of events on Banshee, and are truly introduced for the first time to Felix as he sees himself and experiences battle. A few tidbits of memory also tantalize the researchers (and ourselves) to learn the true identify of Felix. Through immersions, we learn how extraordinary Felix truly is and how, through either the complacency or gross incompetence of his superiors, he has suffered unbelievably, yet continues to soldier on. This also challenges the trio to deal with the knowledge that the public story of the Antwar is far different from the true horror. These immersions change Jack - as it does the others - so that he chooses to make an almost certain suicidal stand with Holly against Borglyn's attack on the facility. Throughout the novel, Jack comes into contact with the alcoholic owner of Sanction, a wealthy rancher named Lewis. Lewis is profoundly anti-war and doesn't allow his citizens to carry energy weapons. Jack comes to despise Lewis for his irresponsible drunken nature. However, he later saves Jack and Holly during Borglyn's attack. Lewis is then revealed to be Felix, who dons the black scout armor once more to fend off the attackers. He destroys Borglyn's forces and attempts to attack his ship. At the last second, Borglyn fires all of the ships weapons, seemingly destroying everything around it. Jack and Holly watch in awe as this happens, and catch a final glimpse of Felix through a security camera, who appears to be alive. Felix destroys the camera and is hinted to escape once again. The novel ends with Jack, Holly, and Lya starting new lives on Sanction outside of fleet influence. |
The Card | Arnold Bennett | 1,911 | The novel begins when "Edward Henry Machin first saw the smoke on the 27th May 1867"—the very day of Bennett's own birth. At age 12, Denry begins his career by altering his marks in a test sufficiently to earn him a scholarship to grammar school. At 16, he leaves school to work for Mr. Duncalf, the town clerk and a solicitor. Duncalf is responsible for organizing an exclusive ball; Denry "invites" himself, then also a few others in exchange for things he will need, such as lessons from dance instructor Ruth Earp. On a bet, he audaciously asks the energetic, beautiful Countess of Chell (of whom everyone, including Machin, is in awe) to dance, thus earning himself the reputation of a "card" (a "character", someone able to set tongues wagging) - a reputation he is determined to cement. Later, when Duncalf treats a disgruntled client brusquely, Denry leaves his employ after persuading the client to hire him as a rent collector. When some of the tenants fall behind, he begins loaning them money (at a highly profitable interest rate). Ruth herself is several months in arrears and tries to sneak away in the middle of the night. Denry catches her by accident, but rather than being angry, he admires her audacity and starts courting her. While on holiday at the seaside resort town of Llandudno with Ruth and her friend Nellie Cotterill, he witnesses a shipwreck and the rescue of the sailors. Noting the interest generated, he buys a lifeboat, hires some of the stranded mariners as rowers, and conducts tours of the picturesque wreck. However, Ruth's spendthrift nature becomes alarmingly apparent during the trip and they break up. By the end of the summer, Denry has made a substantial profit from the sightseers, which he uses to finance his boldest venture. He starts up the Five Towns Universal Thrift Club. Members deposit money little by little; once they have accumulated half the sum they need to purchase whatever it is they want, the club allows them to buy on credit, but only from stores associated with the club. Denry makes money by getting a discount from the vendors in return for access to his large customer base. When his capital starts to run out, he arranges an "accident" for the Countess's coach. He drives conveniently by and gives her a lift to an urgent appointment. On the way there, he talks her into becoming the club's sponsor, ensuring easy financing. This proves to be the making of Denry's fortune. With his great success, he is appointed a town councillor. He also backs a new daily newspaper (to be bought out at a profit by its established rival anxious to keep its monopoly) and tricks his obstinate mother into moving into a luxurious new house. At this point, Ruth reappears in Denry's life, now the widow of a rich older man. He considers renewing their relationship, but at the last moment, realizes that Nellie is the one for him and marries her. The crowning achievement comes when Denry decides to become the youngest mayor in the history of Bursley. To sway the voters, he purchases the rights to footballer and native son Callear, the "greatest centre forward in England", for the failing Bursley football club. "It will probably be news to him that Aston Villa have offered £700 to York for the transfer of Callear, and Blackburn Rovers have offered £750, and they're fighting it out between 'em. Any gentleman willing to put down £800 to buy Callear for Bursley?" he sneered. "I don't mind telling you that steam-engines and the King himself couldn't get Callear into our club." "Quite finished?" Denry inquired, still standing. Laughter, overtopped by Councillor Barlow's snort as he sat down. Denry lifted his voice. "Mr Callear, will you be good enough to step forward and let us all have a look at you?" His antics are regarded with affection and admiration by most others, as shown by the book's final exchange: "What a card!" said one, laughing joyously. "He's a rare 'un, no mistake." "Of course, this'll make him more popular than ever," said another. "We've never had a man to touch him for that." "And yet," demanded Councillor Barlow, "what's he done? Has he ever done a day's work in his life? What great cause is he identified with?" "He's identified," said the speaker, "with the great cause of cheering us all up." |
The Brethren | John Grisham | 2,000 | Three former judges (known as "The Brethren") incarcerated at Trumble, a fictional, federal minimum security prison located in northern Florida, develop a scam to blackmail wealthy closeted gay men. With the help of their lawyer, Trevor Carson, they transfer their ill-gotten money to a secret Bahamian bank account. Meanwhile, Teddy Maynard, the ruthless and soon-to-retire director of the CIA, is orchestrating a scheme to control the United States presidential election. Aaron Lake, a strongly pro-defense expenditure candidate has been identified and Maynard is determined to control him - and then get him elected. Unknowingly, the Brethren hook Teddy's candidate for President. The CIA scrambles to stop them from finding out what they've done. But, a leak has sprung. It takes all of Teddy's experience with illegal maneuvering to save his candidate from being exposed. The Brethren lose their trust in Trevor and fire him; he is later killed by CIA agents in the Caribbean. The CIA plant a man inside Trumble, who tells the judges that he knows they have been involved in the scam. A deal is worked out, money changes hands and the judges are pardoned by the out-going President at Maynard's insistence. The judges leave the country and travel in Europe. Later, they re-start the scam. |
Where The Wild Things Are | Maurice Sendak | 1,963 | A young boy named Max, after dressing in his wolf costume, wreaks havoc through his household and is disciplined by being sent to his bedroom. As he feels agitation with his mother, Max's bedroom undergoes a mysterious transformation into a jungle environment, and he winds up sailing to an island inhabited by malicious beasts known as the "Wild Things." After successfully intimidating the creatures, Max is hailed as the king of the Wild Things and enjoys a playful romp with his subjects; however, he decides to return home, to the Wild Things' dismay. After arriving in his bedroom, Max discovers a hot supper waiting for him. |
These Old Shades | Georgette Heyer | 1,926 | Fortune favors Justin Alastair, the uncanny and notorious Duke of Avon, casting in his way, one Paris night, the means to revenge himself on his enemy, the Comte de Saint-Vire. Avon literally collides with an abused boy, Léon Bonnard, whose red hair, deep blue eyes and (improbably) black eyebrows proclaim him a child of the Comte. Not knowing if the boy is a legitimate child or a "natural" (bastard) child, Avon purchases the boy from his brother, a tavern keeper. He takes the boy as his page, and Léon follows him to society's highest functions, and even goes to a Court party held by Louis XV, where he sees the king himself (who looks just like the coins, he says), views the Queen, and sees Madame de Pompadour. While at Versailles, the Duke displays Léon before the Comte's wife and his son and heir. He notes the resemblance of the son, Henri, to Léon's brother, Jean Bonnard, a tavern keeper. He also notes that the boy, Léon's age, prefers rural life, and wants to be a farmer. After this excursion to Versailles, the Comte sends one of his satellites to purchase the page, but Avon refuses. The Duke's friend, Hugh Davenant, tries to convince Avon to give him the page; they both have realized, separately, that the boy Léon is actually the girl Léonie. The Duke journeys into Champagne, where Léonie has grown up, to meet a childhood mentor, the village priest who educated her. This old man confirms to him that the Bonnard family came originally from the same province, indeed, from one of the estates, as the Comte de Saint-Vire. The Duke's desire for revenge soon turns to passion for justice as Léon — or rather, Léonie — has endeared herself to him. He takes her home to England and teaches her to be a girl again. After an attempt to lure Léonie from Avon Court fails, the Comte kidnaps her and carries her to France. Léonie escapes from him and seeks refuge at an inn where Avon finds her and rescues her from a second attempt to abduct her. In the meantime, Fanny Marling, the Duke's sister, and his younger brother, Lord Rupert, also race to France to save her. The Comte is forced to bide his time while Léonie makes her Parisian debut under the aegis of Lady Fanny. She becomes the toast of Paris, and the Comte and his wife watch helplessly, waiting for Avon to take his revenge. A rumor comes to Léonie’s ears that she is the Comte’s illegitimate child—the family likeness is very striking. When she confronts him with it, the Comte realizes he has a chance to turn the tables on Avon. Admitting the rumor, the Comte tries to persuade Léonie he abducted her to save her. She does not believe him, but his threat to use her to harm Avon’s reputation makes her agree to go away where no one will ever find her. She takes refuge with her old tutor, the priest in her home village. Avon swiftly realizes what the Comte has done. At a party with the Paris nobility watching, Avon tells her pathetic story as a fable and the Parisian high society, to their growing horror, realize the truth: that Léonie is indeed the Comte’s legitimate daughter and that she was switched at birth with a farm laborer’s son to prevent the Comte’s detested brother from inheriting the Comte’s title. Avon tells them how she suffered from the Comte’s actions and of his threat to use her to hurt the man she loves. Then, with a twist, he lets them believe that Léonie has drowned herself in the Seine. This breaks her mother, whose open grief betrays the Comte’s guilt. Knowing he is ruined in society, the Comte shoots himself. His despised brother becomes the new Comte. With no difficulty, Avon traces Léonie to her childhood home in the country. She is glad her father is dead, but refuses to go back to her life in Paris. She doesn’t want her family back — she wants Avon, but he knows his tainted reputation makes him unworthy of her. She doesn’t care. Avon returns to Paris in triumph to present his new duchess, Léonie. Devil's Cub follows These Old Shades with the adventures of Avon's and Léonie's son, Dominque, and shockingly selfish and indulged young man who elopes with a poor relation of one of his father's friends. An Infamous Army completes the story with the Duke of Avon's great-granddaughter, Barbara, marrying the hero of An Infamous Army. An Infamous Army is also a sequel to Regency Buck. |
Up From Slavery | Booker T. Washington | null | Up from Slavery chronicles over fifty years of Washington’s life: from slave to schoolmaster to the face of southern race relations. In this text, Washington climbs the social ladder through hard, manual labour, a decent education, and relationships with great people. Throughout the text, he stresses the importance of education on the black population as a reasonable tactic to ease race relations in the South. The book is in essence Washington’s traditional, non-confrontational message supported by the example of his life. |
Ripley Under Ground | Patricia Highsmith | 1,970 | Six years after the events of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Tom Ripley is now in his early 30s, living a comfortable life in France with his heiress wife, Héloïse Plisson. The lifestyle at his estate, Belle Ombre, is supported by Dickie Greenleaf's fortune, occasional fence work with an American named Reeves Minot, and Derwatt Ltd. — an art forgery scheme that he helped set up years before. Derwatt Ltd., in which Ripley is a silent partner, involves himself, two Londoners — photographer Jeff Constant and freelance journalist Ed Banbury — and Bernard Tufts, a painter whom Ripley convinced to forge Derwatt paintings. Years prior, the painter Philip Derwatt disappeared and committed suicide in Greece. After Derwatt's death, his friends Constant and Banbury began to publicize his work and managed to sell a number of authentic paintings. Thanks to their PR efforts Derwatt becomes more and more famous and his paintings ever more valuable. When the original Derwatts begin to run out, Ripley suggests pretending that Derwatt went into seclusion in Mexico. Bernard Tufts' forgeries are sold as Derwatts and a gallery called the Buckmaster, is opened to handle the work. The money is rolling in, but Bernard, who had idolized Derwatt, is plagued by guilt for forging his paintings. As the novel opens, the Derwatt enterprise is threatened by a disgruntled American collector, Thomas Murchison, who (correctly) surmises that one of his paintings is a forgery. Worried that the lid is about to be blown on the whole scheme, Ripley decides to go to London and impersonate Derwatt, meet with Murchison and convince him that the paintings are genuine. Ripley is unable to convince Murchison, however, particularly as Bernard meets with the latter and tells him not to buy any more Derwatts. Ripley, as himself, invites Murchison to Belle Ombre to inspect his own Derwatt painting (also a fake) to try to persuade him from taking the case to a Tate Gallery curator and the police. At Belle Ombre, Murchison inspects Ripley's painting and believes it is also a fake. Realizing that the argument is futile, Ripley reveals the entire scam to Murchison, asking for mercy for Bernard's sake. Murchison refuses, however, so Ripley kills him. He takes Murchison's suitcase and painting to Orly Airport and abandons them on the curb near the Departures entrance. He then buries the body just inside the woods near his house. Chris Greenleaf, Dickie's cousin, comes to stay while on a European tour. He notices the fresh grave outside the house but doesn't think much of it. Bernard also comes to visit Ripley, rattled by the recent events and saying he wants to confess everything to the police. Ripley confesses to Bernard his murder of Murchison and, realizing his own terrible choice of a gravesite, asks Bernard to help move the body. Together, they dump it in a river. The French police and Inspector Webster from the London police both investigate the case on behalf of Murchison's wife, making trips to Belle Ombre and inspecting the house and grounds. Things are further complicated for Ripley as Héloïse returns from a Greek holiday and discovers a man hanging in the cellar. It turns out to just be stuffed clothing, a prop left by Bernard a suicide in effigy. Bernard leaves a note suggesting that he is going to confess his forgeries. When Bernard returns to Belle Ombre, Héloïse leaves in disgust. Driven over the edge by guilt, Bernard unsuccessfully tries to strangle Ripley, whom he blames for starting the forgery scheme; Ripley feels sorry for the disturbed man and does not retaliate. Later, however, Bernard again tries to kill Ripley, this time knocking him out with a shovel and burying him alive in Murchison's empty grave. Ripley manages to escape and returns to London to impersonate Derwatt for a second appearance, this time for Mrs. Murchison and Inspector Webster. Mrs. Murchison decides to pay a visit to Belle Ombre, the last place her husband was seen. Back at Belle Ombre, Ripley entertains Mrs. Murchison. After she leaves, Ripley realizes that Bernard is contemplating suicide. Feeling responsible, Ripley goes to look for him in Greece, Paris, and finally Salzburg, Austria. There he finds Bernard, but the painter believes Ripley is a ghost - he thinks he killed him in France. Bernard runs from Ripley and leaps off a cliff to his death. Ripley uses the corpse to tie up loose ends; he partially cremates and buries the body, making sure to smash or hide any teeth. He then goes to the police with the information that Derwatt killed himself there. Seeing suicidal journal entries, the police presume that Bernard also killed himself in Salzburg by jumping off a bridge. With Bernard and Derwatt both gone, the art forgery allegations have no active leads and Derwatt Ltd's existence is no longer in jeopardy. The novel ends with Ripley's being content in bed with Héloïse, who prefers to remain ignorant of what he has done and, further, how exactly he makes his money. He receives an optimistic-sounding call from the gallery, but still fears that the next one will be from the persistently inquisitive police, who have noticed that many people die after approaching Ripley. |
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl | Harriet Ann Jacobs | 1,861 | Born into slavery, Linda spends her early years in a happy home with her mother and father, who are relatively well-off slaves. When her mother dies, six-year-old Linda is sent to live with her mother’s mistress, who treats her well and teaches her to read. After a few years, this mistress dies and bequeaths Linda to a relative. Her new masters are cruel and neglectful, and Dr. Flint, the father, takes in interest in Linda and tries to force her into a sexual relationship with him. Linda continues to thwart his attempts and maintain her distance. Knowing that Flint will do anything to get his way, Linda consents to a love affair with a white neighbor, Mr. Sands. She is ashamed at her discretion, but she knows it is better than being raped by Dr. Flint. During their affair, Mr. Sands and Linda have two children. Their names are Benjamin, who is often called Benny in the narrative, and Ellen. Throughout her narrative, Jacobs argues that a powerless slave girl cannot be held to the same standards of morality as a free woman. She also has practical reasons for agreeing to the affair: she hopes that when Flint finds out about it, he will sell her to Sands in disgust. Instead, the vengeful Flint sends Linda to his plantation to be broken in as a field hand. When she discovers that Benny and Ellen are to receive similar treatment, Linda hatches a desperate plan. Escaping to the North with two small children would be impossible. Unwilling to submit to Dr. Flint’s abuse, but equally unwilling to abandon her family, she hides in the attic crawl space in the house of her grandmother, Aunt Martha. She hopes that Dr. Flint, under the false impression that she has gone North, will sell her children rather than risk having them disappear as well. Linda is overjoyed when Dr. Flint sells Benny and Ellen to a slave trader who is secretly representing Mr. Sands. Mr. Sands promises to free the children one day and sends them to live with Aunt Martha. But Linda’s triumph comes at a high price. The longer she stays in her tiny garret, where she can neither sit nor stand, the more physically debilitated she becomes. Her only pleasure is to watch her children through a tiny peephole, as she cannot risk letting them know where she is. Mr. Sands marries and becomes a congressman. He brings Ellen to Washington, D.C., to look after his newborn daughter, and Linda realizes that Mr. Sands may never free her children. Worried that he will eventually sell them to slave traders, she determines that she must somehow flee with them to the North. However, Dr. Flint continues to hunt for her, and escape remains too risky. After seven years in the attic, Linda finally escapes to the North by boat. Benny remains with Aunt Martha, and Linda is reunited with Ellen, who is now nine years old and living in Brooklyn, New York. Linda is dismayed to find that her daughter is still held in virtual slavery by Mr. Sands’s cousin, Mrs. Hobbs. She fears that Mrs. Hobbs will take Ellen back to the South, putting her beyond Linda’s reach forever. She finds work as a nursemaid for a New York City family, the Bruces, who treat her very kindly. Dr. Flint continues to pursue Linda, and she flees to Boston. There, she is reunited with Benny. Dr. Flint now claims that the sale of Benny and Ellen was illegitimate, and Linda is terrified that he will re-enslave all of them. After a few years, Mrs. Bruce dies, and Linda spends some time living with her children in Boston. She spends a year in England caring for Mr. Bruce’s daughter, and for the first time in her life she enjoys freedom from racial prejudice. When Linda returns to Boston, Ellen goes to boarding school and Benny moves to California with Linda’s brother William. Mr. Bruce remarries, and Linda takes a position caring for their new baby. Dr. Flint dies, but his daughter, Emily, writes to Linda to claim ownership of her. The Fugitive Slave Act is passed by Congress, making Linda extremely vulnerable to kidnapping and re-enslavement. Emily Flint and her husband, Mr. Dodge, arrive in New York to capture Linda. Linda goes into hiding, and the new Mrs. Bruce offers to purchase her freedom. Linda refuses, unwilling to be bought and sold yet again, and makes plans to follow Benny to California. Mrs. Bruce buys Linda anyway. Linda is devastated at being sold and furious with Emily Flint and the whole slave system. However, she says she remains grateful to Mrs. Bruce, who is still her employer when she writes the book. She notes that she still has not yet realized her dream of making a home for herself and her children to share. The book closes with two testimonials to its accuracy, one from Amy Post, a white abolitionist, and the other from George W. Lowther, a black antislavery writer. |
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave | Frederick Douglass | 1,845 | Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass encompasses eleven chapters that recount Douglass' life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. The story begins by telling the reader that Douglass does not know the date of his birth and that he is relatively saddened by this. He continues by explaining that his mother died when he was 7 years old. This does not affect Douglass outwardly because he was intentionally separated from his mother when he was very young, a practice which was common in slavery. It was only on the rare occasion that he would see his mother at nighttime. His father was believed to be a white man, and most people actually had the notion that Douglass was the son of his owner. At a very early age, Douglass witnesses his first brutal act of slavery when he sees Aunt Hester being whipped. The text continues and details the structure of farms, what role slaves play, and how they operate when interacting with their masters. A very important section of the Narrative is found at this point, where Douglass describes the singing of the slaves. After this, Douglass details the cruel interaction that occurs between slaves and slave holders, as well as how slaves are supposed to behave in the presence of their masters, and that even when Douglass says that fear is what kept many slaves where they were, when they tell the truth they are punished by their owners. Douglass continues by describing several events in which there has been extreme brutality against his fellow slaves. At this point in the Narrative, Douglass is moved to Baltimore, Maryland. This is rather important for him because he believes that if he had not been moved, he would have remained a slave his entire life. He even starts to have hope for a better life in the future. At this point, he discusses his new mistress, Mrs. Sophia Auld, who begins as a very kind woman but eventually turns cruel. Douglass learns the alphabet and how to spell small words from this woman, but her husband, Mr. Auld, disapproves, and states that if slaves could read, they will not be fit to be a slave, being unmanageable and sad. Upon hearing why Mr. Auld disapproves of slaves being taught how to read, Douglass realizes the importance of reading and the possibilities that this skill could help him. He takes it upon himself to learn how to read and learn all he can, but at times, this newfound skill torments him. Douglass then gains an understanding of the word abolition and develops the idea to run away to the North. He also learns how to write and how to read well. At the age of ten or eleven, Douglass' master dies and his property is left to be divided between his son and daughter. The slaves are valued alongside with the livestock, causing Douglass to develop a new hatred to slavery. He feels lucky when he is sent back to Baltimore to live with the family of Master Hugh. He is then moved through a few before he is sent to St. Michael's. He regrets not having attempted to run away, but on his voyage he makes a mental note that he traveled in the North-Easterly direction and considers this information to be of extreme importance. For some time, he lives with Master Thomas Auld who is particularly cruel, even after attending a Methodist camp. He is pleased when he eventually is lent to Mr. Covey for a year, simply because he would be fed. While under the control of Mr. Covey, Douglass is a field hand and has an especially hard time at the tasks required of him. He is harshly whipped almost on a weekly basis, apparently due to his awkwardness. He is worked and beaten to exhaustion, which finally causes him to collapse one day while working in the fields. Because of this, he is brutally beaten once more by Covey, and eventually complains to Thomas Auld, who ultimately sends him back to Covey. One day, Covey attempts to tie up Douglass, but he fights back. After a long, two hour physical battle, Douglass ultimately conquers. After this fight, he is never beaten again. He is sent to live on another plantation where he befriends other slaves and teaches them how to read. He and the others make a plan to escape, but before doing so, they are caught and Douglass is put in jail. After he is released 2 years later, he is sent to Baltimore once more, but this time to learn a trade. He becomes an apprentice in a shipyard where he is abused by several white people, when 4 whites nearly takes off his left eye. When this happens, Douglass goes to Master Hugh, who is kind regarding this situation and refuses to let Douglass return to the shipyard. Master Hugh tries to find a lawyer, but all refuse, saying they can only do something to a white person. Sophia Auld, who had turned cruel, had pitied Douglass and tended to the wound at his left eye until he is healed. At this point, Douglass is employed to be a caulker and receives wages, but is forced to give every cent to Master Auld in due time. Douglass eventually finds his own job and plans the date in which he will escape to the North. He succeeds, but Douglass does not give details of how he did so, in order to protect those who helped him and to ensure the possibility of other slaves' escape. At this point, Douglass unites with his fiancé and begins working as his own master. He ultimately attends an antislavery convention and supports the cause from that time forth. |
Iron Sunrise | Charles Stross | 2,004 | Martin Springfield and Rachel Mansour return to Earth to recuperate following the events of Singularity Sky, however Rachel is quickly called upon to explain the administrative expenses she incurred during her previous assignment. Shortly thereafter she finds herself negotiating with a lunatic believing himself to be a reincarnation of Idi Amin and in possession of an armed nuclear device which, in the black humor typical of the series, he has threatened to detonate after receiving an eviction notice from his apartment. Meanwhile, a young and hopeful planetary civilization is murdered by the apparent use of a causality violation device which causes their sun to explode without warning (the "iron sunrise" of the title), and their defense systems to deploy automatically against the homeworld of the suspected perpetrators of the atrocity. Rachel and Martin set off to investigate these events and prevent the assassination of the remaining members of the murdered civilization's leaders, who can abort the retaliation strike. In the background the Eschaton continues to play its own game. |
The Terminal Man | Michael Crichton | 1,972 | Harry Benson, a man in his 30s, suffers from psychomotor epilepsy. He often has seizures followed by blackouts, and then wakes up hours later with no knowledge of what he has done. During one of his seizures he severely beats two people. He is a prime candidate for an operation to implant electrodes and minicomputer in his brain to control the seizures. Surgeons John Ellis and Morris are to perform the surgery, which is unprecedented for the time. In modern medicine, such a device would be called a brain pacemaker. The ramifications of the procedure are questioned by psychiatrist Janet Ross, and by an emeritus professor named Manon at the lecture about the surgery. Manon raises concerns that Benson is psychotic (pointing to Benson's adamant belief that there is no difference between man and machine) and the crimes he commits during the blackouts won't be curtailed. Ellis admits that what they are doing isn't a cure but just a way to stimulate the brain when the computer senses a seizure coming on. It would prevent a seizure but not cure his personality disorder. Despite the concerns voiced, the team decides to go ahead with the operation. The operation implants forty electrodes in Benson's brain, controlled by a small computer that is powered by a plutonium power pack in his shoulder. Benson must wear a dog tag that says to call the University Hospital if he is injured, as his atomic power pack might emit radiation. While he is recovering, a woman named Angela Black gives Morris a wig for Benson, whose head was shaved prior to the operation. Morris goes back to his normal work, where he interviews a man who volunteers to have electrodes put into his mind to stimulate pleasure. Morris refuses him, but realizes that people like Benson could potentially become addicts. He recalls a Norwegian man, who was allowed to stimulate himself as much as he wanted, and did so much that it actually gave him brain damage. McPherson, head of the Neuropsychiatric department, interviews Benson, who is still convinced machines are taking over the world. McPherson realizes Manon and Ross were right and orders nurses to administer thorazine to Benson. After resting for a day, Benson goes through "interfacing". The forty electrodes in his brain are activated by computer technician Gerhard, one by one, to see which ones would stop a seizure. Each produces different results. One of the electrodes stimulates a sexual pleasure. Ross asks Gerhard to monitor Benson. Gerhard shows his findings to Ross, who realizes that the seizures are getting more frequent. She explains that Benson is learning to initiate seizures involuntarily because the result of these seizures is a shock of pleasure, which leads to him having more frequent seizures. Ross checks on Benson, and discovers that, due to a clerical error, Benson has not been receiving his thorazine. She then finds out that Benson has escaped from the hospital. Ross goes to Benson's house, but finds two girls instead who say he has a gun and blueprints for the basement of University Hospital (where the computer mainframe is). Ellis searches at a strip club where Benson, who is fascinated with all things sexual, spends a lot of time. He doesn't find him. Morris goes to his job, and meets Benson's boss who said that Benson feared the University Hospital because of its ultra-modern computer system, an upgraded IBM System/360 Ross is contacted by Anders, a policeman who found Benson's dogtag at the murder scene of Angela Black. After answering questions at the police station, Ross goes home. Benson arrives at her house, and has a seizure, which causes him to attack Ross. Ross manages to turn on her microwave, which disrupts the atomic pacemaker in his shoulder. He runs away. Ross goes back to the hospital and goes to sleep. When Angela Black is brought back to the hospital for autopsy, pathologists find a book of matches that have the name of an airport. Morris goes to this airport, and a bartender says he saw Benson an hour ago leaving with Joe, who took him to the hangar. Morris goes to this hangar and finds Joe severely beaten. He is in turn attacked by Benson, who smashes the lower part of his face in with a steel pipe and then flees. Ross, back at the hospital, is awakened by Gerhard. She has a call from Benson. When Anders traces the call he realizes that Benson is inside the hospital. Gerhard's computers begin to malfunction, as if somebody was messing with the mainframe. Anders and Ross go down into the basement in search of Benson. Anders locates Benson and has a brief firefight, injuring and disarming Benson before becoming lost in the maze of corridors. Benson goes back to the computer room to finish shutting down the computer mainframe and finds Ross. Ross picks up Benson's gun, Benson returns to the computer and goes to steal the gun from Ross. After an intense (and tearful) internal struggle finally shoots and kills Benson unintentionally. |
The Wolf's Hour | Robert R. McCammon | 1,989 | It is 1944. A message from Paris warns Allied Intelligence of something big in the works---which might have serious implications for Operation Overlord. The only way to get more information from the agent in Paris---now closely watched by the Gestapo---is to send in a personal courier. Russian émigré Michael Gallatin is picked for the job. In retirement as a secret agent since a grisly episode in North Africa, Gallatin is parachuted into occupied France, on a mission which will take him to the festering heart of the Third Reich on the scent of doomsday. As a master spy, Gallatin has proved he can take on formidable foes---and kill them. As a passionate lover, he attracts beautiful women. But there is one extra factor which makes Michael Gallatin a unique special agent---he is a werewolf, able to change form at will, able to assume the body of a wolf and its capacity to kill with savage, snarling fury. In the madness of war, Gallatin hunts his prey---ready to outthink his opponents with his finely tuned brain. Or tear their throats out with his finely honed teeth. The novel flashes back to when his parents and sister were brutally murdered and before and after Michael is bitten by a Werewolf. Once bitten, he becomes a werewolf and lives in isolation with a wolf clan in Russian forests. Michael Gallatin is a British emigrant that is a top spy for Britain during World War II. In 1942, he overtakes Rommel in North Africa and foils the Nazis plan to control the Suez Canal. This vital waterway would ensure that Nazi Germany could choke off Allied shipping and continue their march east into Russia. In 1944, the war still rages on and the Nazis are forced toward Berlin by the Soviets, but Western Europe is still in Hitler’s grip. Gallatin, in seclusion since 1942, is called back for a vital mission: The first part of the mission has him parachuting into Nazi-occupied France to retrieve vital information from an informant named Adam. Adam is in Paris under tight Gestapo security (the Nazi’s official secret police). Gallatin contacts Adam through a Nazi deserter called “Mouse”. He slips a note in Adams pocket that informs Adam to go to an opera at the third act, so Gallatin can receive the information. Unfortunately, the Gestapo had followed Adam and shoot him in the head just after the information was disclosed to Michael. Michael escapes by faking suicide using cyanide; he doesn’t swallow the pill. This fake-out allots him time to turn into a werewolf and he kills the fleeing Gestapo. Gallatin and Mouse must make their way east to Berlin, the heart of the Nazis lair, in an attempt to foil a top-secret Nazi plan, “Iron Fist”. |
Settling Accounts: Drive to the East | Harry Turtledove | 2,005 | As the title suggests, it involves that world's version of the invasion of Russia and the battle of Stalingrad with a Confederate push from occupied Ohio into Pittsburgh, codenamed Operation Coalscuttle. It also involves analogues of the Battle of Midway, the Manhattan Project, and the Holocaust. By the summer of 1942, the U.S. push under General Daniel MacArthur into northern Virginia has stalled in the face of fierce opposition. This allows General George Patton to concentrate his forces in Ohio for a renewed push into western Pennsylvania. Aided by improved armor and assault tactics, his troops quickly advance across eastern Ohio to Pittsburgh's outskirts. However Brigadier General Irving Morrell, who now commands the U.S. defense of the Ohio Front, prevents the CSA from enveloping Pittsburgh as planned and forces them into a street to street fight. Meanwhile, Jeff Pinkard enjoys rapid advancement through the Freedom Party hierarchy as he begins to develop the machinery required to implement Jake Featherston's Final Solution to the Negro problem. His Camp Determination is now so efficient that it is able to swallow and extinguish the entire Negro population of Jackson, Mississippi as reprisals against local insurgents. In Augusta's now ghettoized Negro district, Scipio, a former slave and communist rebel during the Great War, manages for a time to skirt the ever increasing terror descending across the CSA's Negro population. Eventually, he too, is swallowed up and finds himself in a cattle car heading towards a bleak future. Elsewhere in Georgia, captured U.S fighter pilot Jonathon Moss escapes from a POW camp and joins a small band of Negro rebels. At sea, Lt. Sam Carsten's ship, USS Remembrance, is sunk by a Japanese carrier attack and the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) are threatened with capture. Nevertheless, he finds himself promoted and placed in charge of a destroyer escort, where he spends time patrolling Atlantic sea lanes and engaging in special operations. George Enos' destroyer is nearly sunk in an engagement near Japanese-held Midway due to lack of sea-borne air power. However, when two escort carriers manage to reach Oahu, the tide begins to turn. In a climactic battle, George's fleet sinks a Japanese carrier guarding Midway. In this history, the Pacific War against Japan is treated as essentially a sideshow, getting only a trickle of resources - since the US is facing a dangerous invasion of its industrial heartland. Strategic aims in the Pacific are confined to recapturing Midway to remove the threat to the Sandwich Islands, and characters consider the idea of conducting an island-hopping war all the way to the Japanese home islands (as the US did in World War II) as an unrealistic fantasy. Also, in this history, the Philippines are a long-standing and recognized possession of the Japanese, which they had wrested from Spain and to which the US lays no claim. Under cover of an early November storm, General Morrell leads an armored breakthrough against poorly equipped Mexican troops protecting Patton's flank. Joining up with another salient coming out of West Virginia, he traps the bulk of Patton's army, and drives deep into Ohio. Featherston, beginning an apparent descent into madness, gives the trapped army maniacal orders to hold its ground rather than attempt a breakout. When the promised resupply by air fails, Patton is ordered to escape by air and CSA resistance near Pittsburgh collapses. The sequence of events is similar to that which led to the destruction of the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad during our timeline's World War II. Jonathan Moss spends most of the book as a frustrated POW held at Andersonville, Georgia, under conditions unpleasant but far more tolerable than of the infamous Civil War POW camp of the same location. He and others manage to escape after a tornado blows down the camp's fences. He and another escaped POW join a black guerrilla band whose capable leader took up the nom de guerre Spartacus. During a raid on Plains, Georgia Moss kills Jimmy Carter - here a young Confederate naval officer on leave trying to rally the townspeople against the raiding blacks. General Abner Dowling is transferred from the Virginia front, to take up command of the 11th Army and open a new front by invading Texas and preventing the Confederates from moving forces from there to reinforce the main front around Pittsburgh. By February 1943, his forces are approaching Lubbock, Texas and - still unknown to him, but highly alarming for Pinkard and the Freedom Party High Command - threatening to capture Camp Determination and expose its litany of horrors. Both sides are working desperately to develop a nuclear weapon, although the US is slightly in the lead. Featherston's growing incapacity raises suspicions and leads Generals Clarence Potter and Nathan Bedford Forrest III to consider a plot to overthrow him. |
Settling Accounts: Return Engagement | Harry Turtledove | 2,004 | Following the return of the occupied states of Kentucky and Houston to the Confederacy in early 1941, President Jake Featherston breaks his solemn vow and re-militarizes them, essentially declaring war against the United States in act if not in word. US President Al Smith hurries to prepare for war, but his country is sent reeling by the Confederate attack into Ohio on June 22, 1941. The Yankees under General Abner Dowling and Colonel Irving Morrell fight desperately, but by 1942 the Confederate Army has reached the shores of Lake Erie and cut the country in two. Meanwhile, the Mormons in Utah have once again revolted, prompting a swift response from the U.S. Army. A US counterattack in Virginia bogs down, and the Confederates are preparing a second offensive for the summer of 1942 when Al Smith is killed in a bombing raid on the capital city of Philadelphia. A shaken Charlie La Follette is sworn in as President of a nation fighting for its survival. Meanwhile, in the Confederacy, the murderous persecution of Blacks is escalating towards a full-scale genocide, similar to our timeline's Holocaust. Another hint of things to come is provided when Featherston makes a strategic blunder in rejecting the offer of a physics professor to start research towards producing nuclear weapons, believing that the professor just wants government money to finance an abstruse scientific project - while it is hinted that the US does start a version of the Manhattan Project, located in this case in the state of Washington and overseen by Franklin Roosevelt - in this world an Assistant Secretary of War harboring no presidential ambitions. |
The Skin of Our Teeth | Thornton Wilder | null | Act one is an amalgam of early 20th century New Jersey and the dawn of the Ice Age. The father is inventing things such as the lever, the wheel, the alphabet, and multiplication tables. The family (the Antrobuses) and the entire north-eastern U.S. face extinction by a wall of ice moving southward from Canada. The story is introduced by a narrator and further expanded by the family maid, Sabina. There are unsettling parallels between the members of the Antrobus family and various characters from the Bible. In addition, time is compressed and scrambled to such an extent that the refugees who arrive at the Antrobus house seeking food and fire include the Old Testament judge Moses, the ancient Greek poet Homer, and women who are identified as Muses. Act II takes place on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the Antrobuses are present for George's swearing-in as president of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Mammals, Subdivision Humans. Sabina is present, also, in the guise of a scheming beauty queen, who tries to steal George's affection from his wife and family. Although the conventioneers are rowdy and partying furiously, there is an undercurrent of foreboding, since the weather signals change from summery sunshine to hurricane to deluge. (A fortune teller had previously attempted to warn them about this but had been ignored). Gladys and George each attempt their individual rebellions, and are brought back into line by the family. The act ends with the family members reconciled and, paralleling the Bibilical story of Noah's Ark, directing pairs of animals to safety on a large boat where they survive the storm and/or the end of the world. The final act takes place in the ruins of the Antrobuses' former home. A devastating war has occurred; Maggie and Gladys have survived by hiding in a cellar. When they come out of the cellar we see that Gladys has a baby. Sabina joins them, "dressed as a Napoleonic camp-follower". George has been away at the front lines leading an army. Henry also fought, on the opposite side, and returns as a general. The family members discuss the ability of the human race to rebuild and continue after continually destroying itself. The question is raised, 'is there any accomplishment or attribute of the human race of enough value that its civilization should be rebuilt'? The stage manager interrupts the play-within-the-play to explain that several members of their company can't do their parts because they're sick (possibly with food poisoning: the actress playing Sabina claims she saw blue mold on the lemon meringue pie at dinner). The stage manager drafts a janitor, a dresser, and other non-actors to fill their parts, which involve quoting philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle to mark the passing of time within the play. The alternate history action ends where it began, with Sabina dusting the living room and worrying about George's arrival from the office. Her final act is to address the audience and turn over the responsibility of continuing the action, or life, to them. |
The Weapon Shops of Isher | A. E. van Vogt | 1,951 | The Weapon Shops of Isher and its sequel The Weapon Makers detail the workings of Isher civilization and the adventures of Robert Hedrock, The One Immortal Man, as he keeps it in balance in the face of attempts by the Weapon Makers, who have forgotten their purpose as a permanent opposition, and the strong government of the Empress, Innelda Isher, with its intimate connections to a network of financial institutions, to undermine each other. The Weapon Shops provide the populace with defensive weapons and an alternative legal system. The Isher/Weapon Shops novels are one of the very few examples of Golden Age science fiction that explicitly discusses the right to keep and bear arms, specifically guns. Indeed, the motto of the Weapon Shops, repeated several times, is "The right to buy weapons is the right to be free". Van Vogt's guns have virtually magical properties, and can only be used in self-defense. The political philosophy of the Weapon Shops is minimalist. They will not interfere with the corrupt imperial monarchy of the Isher government, on the grounds that men always have a government of the type they deserve: no government, however bad, exists without at least the tacit consent of the governed. The mission of the Weapon Shops therefore is merely to offer single individuals the right to protect themselves with a firearm, or, in cases of fraud, access to a "Robin Hood" alternative court system that judges and awards compensation from large, imperial merchant combines to cheated individuals. Because the population has access to this alternative system of justice, the Isher government cannot take the final step toward totalitarianism. The novel was published by Greenberg in New York in 1951. It was also published as a paperback by Ace Books and in 1969 by New English Library in the U.K. |
Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality | Sigmund Freud | 1,905 | Freud's first essay, on "The Sexual Aberrations", designated 'the person from whom sexual attraction proceeds the sexual object and the act towards which the instinct tends the sexual aim ', and stressed that 'numerous deviations appear in respect of both of these - the sexual object and the sexual aim'. Turning to neurotics, Freud emphasised that 'in them tendencies to every kind of perversion can be shown to exist as unconscious forces...neurosis is, as it were, the negative of perversion'. In one section "The Sexually immature and animals as sexual objects" he discusses pedophilia and bestiality, although he does not use the terms. He says in the section that only rarely are prepubescent children a preferred object, generally it occurs more in cases where an impotent or cowardly person cannot gain satisfaction from adults or adolescents. However he also mentions that there are cases where teachers have molested their students, and he also says sexual relations with animals are "not at all rare among farmers". He says in this section that most people would prefer to limit these perversions to the insane "on aesthetic grounds" but that they exist in the normal people also. He says that people who are behaviorally abnormal are always sexually abnormal in his experience but that many people who are normal behaviorally otherwise are sexually abnormal also. Freud concluded that 'a disposition to perversions is an original and universal disposition of the human sexual instinct and that...this postulated constitution, containing the germs of all the perversions, will only be demonstrable in children '. His second essay, on "Infantile Sexuality", demonstrated that 'children are born with sexual urges, which undergo a complicated development before they attain the familiar adult form'. Freud argued thereby that "perversion" was present even among the healthy, and that the path towards a mature and normal sexual attitude began not at puberty but at early childhood (see psychosexual development). Looking at children, Freud claimed that 'infantile sexual emotions and desires take many and varied forms, not all of them palpably erotic: thumb sucking and other displays of autoeroticism, retention of feces, sibling rivalry, masturbation'. 'The years of puberty and adolescence, to which Freud devoted the last of his three essays...consolidate sexual identity, revive long-buried oedipal attachments, establish the dominance of the genitals for the attainment of sexual gratification'. In "The Transformations of Puberty" Freud also formalised the distinction between the pleasures of infantile sexuality which 'may be suitably described as "fore-pleasure" in contrast to the "end-pleasure" or pleasure of satisfaction derived from the sexual act'. Freud sought to link to his theory of the unconscious put forward in The Interpretation of Dreams (1899) and his work on hysteria by means of positing sexuality as the driving force of both neuroses (through repression) and perversion. In its final version, the "Three Essays" also included the concepts of penis envy, castration anxiety, and the Oedipus complex. |
Closer | Patrick Marber | null | A young man, Dan, takes a young woman to the hospital after she has been hit by a taxi; they flirt as they wait for the doctor to attend to her bloodied knee. Larry, a doctor in dermatology, inspects her leg briefly and leaves. Dan and the young woman introduce themselves—he is Daniel Woolf, an obituary writer and failed writer who tells her how he and his colleagues use euphemisms humorously in their work in obituaries. Upon the girl's prompting, he says his euphemism would be "reserved" and hers would be "disarming." She is Alice Ayres, a self-described waif who has a scar along her leg which is shaped like a question mark. Wanting him to spend the rest of the day with her, she calls his editor and tells his boss that he's sick and can't come in to work. More than a year later, Dan is on the verge of publishing a book based on Alice's past as a stripper, and Anna is taking his photograph for publicity. Dan falls in love with Anna, though he is in a relationship with Alice, having left his former girlfriend for her. He begs Anna to see him again, and she rejects him. Alice overhears his conversation with Anna. She asks Anna to take her photo, and when Dan has left, confronts her; Anna insists she is "not a thief" and snaps a photo of a tear-stricken Alice. Six months later, Dan and Larry meet in an adult chat room. Dan impersonates Anna and has internet sex with Larry. He tries to play a practical joke on Larry by arranging for Larry to meet him (Dan pretending to be Anna in the chat room) in the London Aquarium the next day. When Larry arrives, stunned to see Anna (who Dan didn't know would actually be there), he acts under the impression that she is the same person from last night and makes a fool of himself. Anna catches on and explains that it was probably Dan playing a practical joke on him. She reveals that it is her birthday and snaps a photo of Larry. They become a couple. At Anna's showing, Alice stands in front of her photo, looking at it; Dan is watching her. They have an argument over Alice's presentiment that Dan will leave her. Larry meets Alice, whom he recognizes as the woman in the photo, and knows that she is Dan's girlfriend. Meanwhile, Dan convinces Anna to carry on an affair with him. They cheat on their partners with each other, even through Anna and Larry's marriage. Finally, one year later, they tell their partners the truth and leave their respective partners for each other. Alice, devastated, disappears from Dan's life and goes back to stripping, going by the name Jane. Larry finds her at one of the seedy strip clubs in London, where he pushes her to tell the truth about her name. In a poignant moment, he asks, "Tell me something true, Alice." She tells him, "Lying is the most fun a girl can have, without taking her clothes off, but it's better if you do." They share a connection based on mutual betrayal and heartbreak. He asks her to meet him later for sex. She declines, but we later learn she does actually go home with him after all. A month after this, Anna is late meeting Dan for dinner. She's come from asking Larry to sign the divorce papers. Dan finds out that Larry had demanded Anna have sex with him before he would sign the papers. Dan becomes upset and jealous, asking Anna why she didn’t lie to him. They have a candid, brutally truthful conversation, and it is revealed that Anna did in fact have sex with Larry and he did sign the papers. Alice meanwhile has been sleeping with Larry. On his birthday, she summons him to the museum and sets up Anna to meet him there. Larry and Anna exchange words, as Anna discovers Alice and Larry have been having a casual relationship. Larry asks Anna if their divorce will ever become finalized; he leaves when Alice emerges. The two women share a heated exchange in which their mutual animosity is revealed. Anna calls Alice "primitive", a description Alice accepts. The younger Alice paints a pathetic picture of Larry's emotional state and gleans from Anna that Dan still calls out for "Buster" (Alice's nickname) in his sleep. Anna goes back to Larry. Distraught, Dan confronts Larry at his office and has to come to terms with the fact that Anna no longer wants him. Larry recommends Dan go back to Alice and reveals that he had seen her in the strip club. He lies for Alice at first and tells Dan that they did not sleep together, since Alice feared that, if Dan found out, he would not want her anymore. At the end, Larry decides to hurt Dan and reveals the truth — that they had slept together. Dan and Alice, back together, are preparing to go to America. They relive the memories of their first meeting, but Dan is haunted by their encounters with Larry and Anna and pushes Alice to tell him the truth. In the moment when Alice becomes caught between telling the truth (which she refuses to do) and being unable to lie to him, she falls out of love with Dan and says, "I don't love you anymore. Goodbye." (She had told Dan in the beginning that these are the words she tells her significant others when their relationship is over and she's going to leave.) She tells Dan to leave. Dan struggles with her; she spits in his face, and he throws her back on the bed, grabbing her neck. She dares him to hit her, and he hits her; she leaves. Later, Anna and Larry meet again, only to reveal that they have broken up once again and Larry is dating a young nurse named Polly. They are meeting because Alice has died the night before in New York, having been hit by a car while crossing the street. Larry leaves as Dan arrives because he has patients to see. Dan talks with Anna and says that no one could identify Alice's body and he is flying over to America to do so. Before Dan leaves, he tells Anna that Ruth, his ex-girlfriend whom he left for Alice/Jane, is now married, has a child, and is pregnant with a second. She married a poet, having fallen in love with him (without ever having met him) by reading his book of poems called "Solitude." Dan and Anna tell each other "goodbye" somewhat coldly and Dan leaves to catch his flight, leaving Anna alone. |
Wise Children | Angela Carter | null | The story begins on the 75th birthday of identical twin sisters, Dora and Nora Chance. By what Dora, who is also the narrator of the story, describes as a bizarre coincidence, it is also the 100th birthday of their natural father, Melchior Hazard, and his fraternal twin brother, Peregrine Hazard, who is believed to be dead. The date is similarly Shakespeare's supposed birthday - April 23. Dora and Nora's birthday gets off to a dramatic start when their half-brother, Tristram Hazard, who believes himself to be the nephew of the twins, arrives on their doorstep. He announces that Tiffany - his partner, and the goddaughter of the twins, is missing. Dora and Nora soon discover that Tiffany is pregnant with Tristram's baby, but he is unwilling to take on the responsibility. Once this bombshell has been dropped, it soon emerges that a body has been found, and it is believed to be Tiffany's. Most of the novel consists of Dora's memories. As well as providing the backstory of her natural father, Melchior Hazard, her legal father, Peregrine Hazard, and her guardian, Grandma Chance, Dora describes key events of her life. These include her early theatre performances, how she and her sister deal with being rejected by their father, as well as the time that she spent in Hollywood, producing a film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It also makes the reader wonder about a sexual and incestuous relationship between Peregrine and Dora as there are hints that some sexual activity took place on the Brighton trip, but Carter does not clear this mystery up. Dora and Nora attend Melchior's 100th birthday party, where he acknowledges they are his children for the first time in their lives. The twins learn that both Peregrine and Tiffany are alive, and the true nature of their long-time enemies, Saskia and Imogen, is revealed. The novel ends with Dora and Nora being presented with twin babies to look after - a gift from Peregrine. They realise that they "can't afford" to die for another twenty years, as they want to see the children grow up. The final line of the story is a message constantly conveyed by Carter throughout the novel: "What a joy it is to dance and sing!" |
The Pioneers | James Fenimore Cooper | 1,823 | The story takes place on the rapidly advancing frontier of New York State and features an elderly Leatherstocking (Natty Bumpo), Judge Marmaduke Temple of Templeton, whose life parallels that of the author's father Judge William Cooper, and Elizabeth Temple (based on the author's sister, Hannah Cooper), of the fictional Templeton, New York. The story begins with an argument between the Judge and Leatherstocking over who killed a buck, and as Cooper reviews many of the changes to New York's Lake Otsego, questions of environmental stewardship, conservation, and use prevail. Leatherstocking and his closest friend, the Mohican Indian Chingachgook, begin to compete with the Temples for the loyalties of a mysterious young visitor, a "young hunter" known as Oliver Edwards, who eventually marries Elizabeth. Chingachgook dies, exemplifying the vexed figure of the "dying Indian", and Natty vanishes into the sunset. |
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West | Gregory Maguire | 1,995 | The novel is a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil and takes place in The Land of Oz, in the years leading to Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West. Gregory Maguire fashioned the name of Elphaba () from the initials of Lyman Frank Baum, L-F-B. The story is divided into five different sections based on the plot location. There is also a prologue where Elphaba is spying on Dorothy and her friends, hearing their gossip about her. Elphaba is born to Melena Thropp, the granddaughter of the Eminent Thropp of Munchkinland, and Frexspar, an itinerant unionist minister. Frex is the seventh son of a seventh son, and the third pastor in his family. Because Melena married lower than her family's social standing she seems unhappy in her marriage and is known to have previously had many other men in her life. Though it does not become clear until much later, Melena is at some point approached by a mysterious stranger, who gives her a potion called "Miracle Elixir" from a green bottle. He seduces her and nine months later she gives birth to a child, Elphaba. Elphaba is born with green skin, sharp teeth, is seemingly savage, biting at anyone and anything forcing her parents to fashion a muzzle, so she cannot hurt herself or others. She is terrified of water, even as a newborn, as touching it causes her pain. Frex believes the baby is punishment from the Unnamed god for failing to protect his parishioners while Melena has trouble bonding with and caring for Elphaba, calling on her childhood nanny for help. With Nanny there to help, Frex decides to leave home to travel spreading the word of the Unnamed God. To dull the pain of raising a difficult child and loneliness while Frex is away, Melena chews pinlobble leaves (a type of Munchkinlander drug) and drinks heavily. About a year and a half later, a traveling Quadling glassblower named Turtle Heart visits the home of Melena and Frex. Melena offers him food and drink, and Turtle Heart blows a beautiful glass reflecting mirror for Elphaba. With Frex absent for extended periods, preaching to the Munchkinlanders, Turtle Heart and Melena begin a secret affair. When Frex returns, he befriends Turtle Heart (seemingly ignorant of the relationship between the Quadling and his wife), out of unionist charity (Quadlings, after all, "ranked about as low on the social ladder as it was possible to get and still be human"), religious zeal (Quadlings have no concept of religion, so Frex sees Turtle Heart as a potential convert), and an attraction to Turtle Heart of his own. At the end of the first part, Melena is pregnant with Elphaba's younger sister Nessarose or "Nessie" for short. It is unknown whether the father is Frex or Turtle Heart. Melena orders Nanny to ensure her second child will not be born green like her firstborn, but the actions she takes to avoid this have unforeseen consequences. Nessarose is born as pink as Elphaba is green, but more importantly, she has no arms and requires constant supervision and care. Nessarose eventually embraces Frex's zealotry and, thus, she is her father's favorite, to Elphaba's lasting angst. On a steam train enroute to Shiz, a city in southwestern Gillikin two of the train's passengers, Doctor Dillamond and Galinda, are bound for Shiz University. Upon arrival, Doctor Dillamond retreats to his professors' quarters and Galinda heads off to Crage Hall, the women's college. Having lost her chaperone, Ama Clutch, during the train ride to Shiz (Ama Clutch stepped on a rusty nail and stayed behind for medical treatment), Galinda has no one to represent her in her roommate negotiations. Refusing to bunk with the common girls in the group dormitory (the Pink Dormitory), Galinda is forced to room with seventeen year old Elphaba, with whom she initially does not get along very well. Elphaba, being green, is not interested in socializing, and Galinda, who descends from the noble Arduenna Clan of Gillikin on her mother's side, is more interested in climbing the social ladder than becoming friends with her outcast roommate. Later, Galinda (after having a fight with her new friends) decides to mock Elphaba by making her wear a hat that she was sure Elphaba would look hideous in. When Elphaba looks pretty in the hat, Galinda says so, partly horrified that she talked to the "green girl." They start talking about evil and Elphaba teaches Galinda how to think and they start attending Doctor Dillamond's biology lectures together. Doctor Dillamond is a self-aware Goat, and part of a minority of talking Animals (self-aware animals are distinguished from non-self-aware animals throughout the book through capitalization of the letter at the beginning of the word referring to them - "animals" versus "Animals," "goat" versus "Goat", etc) that hold civil rights equal to humans. Doctor Dillamond informs the class that, under the despotic reign of the Wizard of Oz, Animals are being discriminated against, treated like regular (sentient but non-self-aware) animals and, in some cases, forced to return to the fields (it should be noted that, as mentioned on the train ride to Shiz, Doctor Dillamond's ancient mother at this time cannot afford to travel first class, and will have to ride in a pen if she wants to visit Doctor Dillamond at Shiz). Doctor Dillamond's fears that Animal discrimination is becoming widespread are seemingly confirmed by Madame Morrible (whom Elphaba nicknames "Horrible Morrible"), the Headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University, who holds a poetry soiree that turns out to be nothing more than a forum for her propagandizing through use of quells, one of which ends with the following phrase: Animals should be seen and not heard. Elphaba is drawn to the Animal rights movement early on and she later becomes Doctor Dillamond's secretary and lab assistant. Elphaba becomes friends with a Munchkin boy named Boq (son of Bfee, the Mayor of Rush Margins, which was the town in which Elphaba was born), who develops a crush on Galinda. As she is a tall Gillikinese, and he is a short Munchkinlander, she rebuffs him. He hopes his friendship with Elphaba will bring him closer to Galinda; however, he ends up becoming wrapped up in Elphaba and Doctor Dillamond's cause. Their friendship is shaken, however, when Doctor Dillamond is murdered while on the verge of a great discovery about the genetic similarities between humans and Animals; Galinda's chaperone Ama Clutch witnesses Madame Morrible's wind-up servant Grommetik kill Dillamond, but she is magicked into a false stupor to keep her quiet. Galinda is wracked with guilt over what has happened to Ama Clutch, but it is the murder of Doctor Dillamond that has the most profound impact on her. In his memory, Galinda adopts Dr. Dillamond's mispronunciation of her name, Glinda, and throws herself into her studies, having settled on a course of study in Sorcery, at Madame Morrible's insistence. Glinda and Elphaba become close friends. Boq's crush on Glinda eventually subsides, and they all become friends with a Vinkus Prince named Fiyero, a quiet boy who speaks little of the Oz-language, but draws attention by his strange customs and pattern of blue diamond tattoos all across his body and who is new to Shiz. Elphaba's sister Nessarose is also called up to Shiz, ostensibly to accompany Nanny, who is to be the new chaperone for Glinda and Elphaba. Frex sends his favorite child a "back-to-school" gift, a pair of shoes covered with hand-blown glass beads, a technique taught to him by Turtle Heart. Meanwhile, Elphaba carries on the research of deceased Doctor Dillamond in secret. Over time, Ama Clutch's condition gradually deteriorates and, when it is clear that she is about to die, Glinda tries to use magic to bring her out of her stupor. Her lucidity briefly restored, Ama Clutch tells Glinda that she witnessed Grommetik kill Doctor Dillamond, which he could only have done on the order of Madame Morrible. After Ama Clutch's funeral, Elphaba, Glinda and Nessarose are almost convinced by Madame Morrible to become silent pawns of the Wizard, so-called "ambassadors of peace": Elphaba will go east, to Munchkinland; Glinda will go further north in Gillikin; Nessarose will go south, to Quadling Country, with no one going west because few people live there. While Elphaba is reluctant to accept this position, Glinda is entranced. When they try to discuss the situation with one another, they find they cannot, because they are bound by a spell that prevents them from discussing Morrible's proposition. Unwilling to remain silent, Elphaba decides that something must be done. She and Glinda travel to the Emerald City, where they meet the Wizard of Oz and plead the case of the Animals. However, the Wizard of Oz dismisses their concerns out of hand, and Glinda and Elphaba have no choice but to return to Shiz. Elphaba stays behind and sends Glinda back alone, saying that she cannot see her again. She has decided to take matters into her own hands. Almost five years have passed since Elphaba has seen Glinda, Boq, or any of her other friends from college and she now lives in the Emerald City, secretly involved in the movement to help free the Animals and get rid of the Wizard of Oz. Fiyero, now a Prince with 3 children, comes to the Emerald City to settle business with politicians. He encounters Elphaba in front of a shrine to St. Glinda, and though Elphaba at first denies being the girl he once knew from Shiz and evades Fiyero, she eventually gives in when he follows her home. After this, they start to reconnect. He discovers she has started to take up magic, and tells her that Nessa has taken a class in sorcery, Glinda is now a sorceress and that they miss Elphaba. She and Fiyero begin to have an illicit love affair, and he neglects his wife Sarima and his children, Irji, Manek and Nor. The two lovers are at peace, and despite their occasionally conflicting personalities, Elphaba is actually happy with her life for once. Her life changes the night she sets out to finally fulfill her task: kill Madame Morrible. Fiyero follows her, but she cannot complete her task due to a group of children interfering with Elphaba's line of fire. He returns to her apartment to wait for her, where the Gale Force, the Wizard's secret police force who are looking for Elphaba, attack him. He is kidnapped, hauled away and assumed murdered. Elphaba escapes from the City, and runs to a mauntery, where she meets an elderly woman named Yackle, formerly the dame of the Philosophy Club. Yackle takes the now homeless Elphaba, turned mute from grief after Fiyero's murder, under her wing. Having been unconscious for almost a year, and then a mute for six more years, Elphaba goes to the Vinkus, the land where Fiyero was prince, and meets his wife and children. Elphaba brings along a boy named Liir, to whom she claims no relation, and stays at the castle Kiamo Ko for a year and a half or so. She attempts to tell Sarima, Fiyero's wife, of their affair, but Sarima refuses, saying she does not want to talk about her late husband. Fiyero's family, Elphaba, and Liir unexpectedly become a family unit, and are joined by Nanny after some time. While staying at the castle, Elphaba also discovers a mysterious book of spells that she calls a 'Grimmerie', and begins to study its contents, written in a language which Elphaba is unique among Ozians in being able to read. Manek, one of Sarima's sons, convinces Liir during a game of hide and seek to hide in a well and leaves him there. Liir nearly dies, and Elphaba's anger at Manek makes an icicle fall on him and it kills him. The experience makes Elphaba realize that she has motherly feelings, and that she feels that she is Liir's mother, but she finds that her new found warmth is not reciprocated. Liir claims that while in the well a Fish told him he was Fiyero's son. Sarima becomes upset and grieves, and the family starts to fall apart. Elphaba gets a letter from her father Frex, asking her to come help him with Nessarose, who has taken Elphaba's position of Eminent Thropp of Munchkinland. When she arrives, he asks her to help him talk to Nessa, whom Elphaba discovers has become a witch, who she accidentally labels the Wicked Witch of the East. Elphaba leaves after Nessa promises to give Elphaba the infamous silver shoes after she dies (Glinda enchanted them to allow her to walk without help). When she returns to Kiamo Ko, she finds everyone gone except Nanny. Nanny explains that the soldiers who were staying in the house made everyone because Nor lets slip that Elphaba is not there to protect the household. The villagers and the previous residents of the house hope that she will rescue them. Elphaba vows to do everything in her power to get everyone back. Seven years later, a storm visits Munchkinland, dropping a farmhouse on Nessa, killing her. The farmhouse's passengers are a little girl named Dorothy Gale and her puppy, Toto. Glinda, who was nearby, sends Dorothy off with Nessa's shoes for fear of their power igniting a civil war in Munchkinland, as well as to ensure Dorothy's safety. She sent Dorothy to the Wizard in hopes that he will send her back to Kansas. Elphaba comes to the funeral for Nessa. Elphaba and Glinda rejoice at seeing each other after more than a decade. The two talk of their titles and catch up. When Glinda tells Elphaba that she gave Nessa's shoes to Dorothy, Elphaba becomes furious with Glinda, as they were rightfully hers. She is then forced into a meeting with the Wizard to bargain for the release of Nor, whom Elphaba is told is the last survivor of Fiyero's family. He reveals, after seeing a ripped page from the Grimmerie that the reason he is in Oz is to acquire the Grimmerie and learn the magic within. Elphaba refuses to part with it without Nor. The Wizard, however, refuses to make any agreements. On her way back to Kiamo Ko, Elphaba stops at Shiz to kill Madame Morrible, the task she had been trying to complete the night of Fiyero's murder. She bashes in her skull with her broom; however, it is revealed that Madame Morrible had died only minutes before Elphaba came to murder her. Regardless, Elphaba decides to claim to have committed the murder and confesses to Avaric, an old schoolmate, so that she will get the credit when the news spreads. She comes upon the Clock of the Time Dragon, which puts on a special show for her: it shows the Wizard, and not Frex, to be her father. The dwarf running it (also found working with Yackle in the Philosophy Room) claims to be not of this world, and remarks that Yackle is also not what she seems. Some time after returning to Kiamo Ko, Elphaba finds out that Dorothy and a few friends are heading to Kiamo Ko, apparently to kill her under the Wizard's orders. When the friends are almost at the castle, Elphaba, having convinced herself that her beloved Fiyero had survived his encounter with the Gale Force and was now masquerading as the Scarecrow, sends her dog Killyjoy out to lead the friends to the castle. Dorothy and her friends misunderstand the group of dogs howling toward them and the Tin Woodman kills the dogs. The Scarecrow somehow kills the crows Elphaba sends next. Elphaba sends her bees, which are killed as well, and Elphaba is forced to believe the Scarecrow is what he seems: just a scarecrow. With all her pets gone, the shock of this revelation only serves to further unhinge her. When Dorothy arrives, she tells Elphaba that the Wizard did indeed send her to kill the witch, but Dorothy herself came to apologize for killing her sister. Furious that Dorothy is asking for the forgiveness when Elphaba has never received absolution for her own perceived sins, Elphaba waves her now-burning broom in the air and inadvertently sets her skirt on fire. Innocently, Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her to save her. Instead the water kills her, leaving nothing but her clothes and the infamous hat on the floor where she once stood. Dorothy returns to the Wizard with the green potion bottle that has been kept in the family for years. He recognises the bottle. The bottle was meant to be the potion that subdued Elphaba's Mother in some way though how is uncertain. It is implied that the Wizard is the Father of Elphaba; however, this doesn't work out chronologically with the story as Elphaba, around the age of 2 or 3, has a vision along with Turtle Heart of the Wizard arriving. Rumors abound through Oz about the whereabouts of Dorothy (and her dog), few actually believing that she returned to Kansas. The Wizard plans his departure from Oz and his ensuing suicide. The last lines of the book seem to imply that Elphaba will rise from the ashes some day: "And there the wicked old Witch stayed for a good long time." "And did she ever come out?" "Not yet." |
Hocus Pocus | Kurt Vonnegut | 1,990 | Eugene is fired from his job as a college professor after having several of his witticisms surreptitiously recorded by the daughter of a popular conservative commentator. Eugene then becomes a teacher at a nearby overcrowded prison run by a Japanese corporation. His employer, and occasional acquaintance, is the prison's warden, Hiroshi Matsumoto. After a massive prison break, Eugene's former college is occupied by escapees from the prison, who take the staff hostage. Eventually the college is turned into a prison, since the old prison was destroyed in the breakout. Ironically, Eugene is ordered to be the warden of the prison, but then becomes an inmate, presumably via the same type of "hocus pocus" that led to his dismissal from his professorship. |
Deadeye Dick | Kurt Vonnegut | 1,982 | The novel's main character, Rudy Waltz, nicknamed Deadeye Dick, commits accidental manslaughter as a child (he kills a pregnant woman who was vacuuming) and lives his whole life feeling guilty and seeking forgiveness for it. He was so traumatized by the events directly after the woman's death that he lives life as an asexual "neuter," neither homosexual nor heterosexual. He tells the story of his life as a middle-aged man expatriate in Haiti, which symbolizes New York City, until the end, when the stream of time of the story catches up with him. At this point, he confronts an event that has been suggested and referred to throughout the novel. The generic Midwestern town of Midland City, Ohio (also the setting of Breakfast of Champions) in which Rudy was raised is virtually destroyed by a neutron bomb. At the ending of the book, it appears that Rudy, while he may not have fully come to terms with his actions, has at least come to live with them. In addition, the ending is where Vonnegut provides his most direct commentary on society, although there are hints here and there throughout the novel. Another key theme throughout the book is the relationship between Waltz and his parents. Vonnegut focuses on connecting the actions and attitudes of parents to the ensuing actions and attitudes of the offspring, in this case, Rudy Waltz. Rudy writes a play, based on events in the life of his father's former best friend. In the latter half of the book some scenes are described as theater scripts. |
The Fox | D. H. Lawrence | null | Banford and March live on a farm together because it does not look like they will marry. Although they are only in their late twenties, in that era women who were still single at their age were generally considered to have foregone the prospect of marriage. Banford is thin and frail, in contrast to her companion who is physically masculine. However particular emphasis is given to March's face, which is feminine and expressive. The women are depicted as fearful of femininity and fertility. For example, they sell a heifer before it calves. The fox becomes a hindrance to Banford and March, but March finds she cannot hunt it, and rather, she becomes entranced by it. Shortly after this, Henry, a young man, comes to stay with the women, and a link is established between the fox and Henry. This intriguing novella explores gender roles, sexuality, femininity, and the pity of war, as do two other Lawrence novellas written at the same time, The Ladybird and The Captain's Doll. |
Dream Story | Arthur Schnitzler | null | Dream Story is set in early-20th-century Vienna. The protagonist of the story is Fridolin, a successful 35-year-old doctor who lives with his wife Albertina (also translated as Albertine) and their young daughter. One night, Albertina confesses that the previous summer, while they were on vacation in Denmark, she had had a sexual fantasy about a young Danish military officer. Fridolin then admits that during that same vacation he had been attracted to a young girl on the beach. Later that night, Fridolin is called to the deathbed of an important patient. Finding the man dead, he is shocked when the man’s daughter, Marianne, professes her love to him. Restless, Fridolin leaves and begins to walk the streets. Although tempted, he refuses the offer of a young prostitute named Mizzi. He encounters his old friend Nachtigall, who tells Fridolin that he will be playing piano at a secret high-society sex orgy that night. Intrigued, Fridolin procures a mask and costume and follows Nachtigall to the party at a private residence. Fridolin is shocked to find several men in masks and costumes and naked women with only masks engaged in various sexual activities. When a young woman warns him to leave, Fridolin ignores her plea and is soon exposed as an interloper. The woman then announces to the gathering that she will sacrifice herself for Fridolin and he is allowed to leave. Upon his return home, Albertina awakens and describes a dream she has had: while making love to the Danish officer from her sexual fantasies, she had watched without sympathy as Fridolin was tortured and crucified before her eyes. Fridolin is outraged, as he believes that this proves his wife wants to betray him. He resolves to pursue his own sexual temptations. The next day, Fridolin learns that Nachtigall has been taken away by two mysterious men. He then goes to the costume shop to return his costume and discovers that the shop-owner is prostituting his teenage daughter to various men. He finds his way back to where the orgy had taken place the night before; before he can enter, he is handed a note addressed to him by name that warns him to not pursue the matter. Later, he visits Marianne, but she no longer expresses any interest in him. Fridolin searches for Mizzi, the prostitute, but is unable to find her. He reads that a young woman has been poisoned. Suspecting that she is the woman who sacrificed herself for him, he views the woman’s corpse in the morgue but cannot identify it. Fridolin returns home that night to find his wife asleep, with his mask from the previous night set on the pillow on his side of the bed. When she wakes, Fridolin confesses all of his activities. After listening quietly, Albertina comforts him. Fridolin says that it will never happen again but Albertine tells him not to look too far into the future, and the important thing is that they survived through their adventures. The story ends with them greeting the new day with their daughter. |
A Mathematician's Apology | G. H. Hardy | null | In the book's title, Hardy uses the word "apology" in the sense of a formal justification or defense (as in Plato's Apology of Socrates), not in the sense of a plea for forgiveness. Hardy felt the need to justify his life's work in mathematics at this time mainly for two reasons. Firstly, at age 62, Hardy felt the approach of old age (he had survived a heart attack in 1939) and the decline of his mathematical creativity and skills. By devoting time to writing the Apology, Hardy was admitting that his own time as a creative mathematician was finished. In his foreword to the 1967 edition of the book, C. P. Snow describes the Apology as "a passionate lament for creative powers that used to be and that will never come again". In Hardy's words, "Exposition, criticism, appreciation, is work for second-rate minds. [...] It is a melancholy experience for a professional mathematician to find himself writing about mathematics. The function of a mathematician is to do something, to prove new theorems, to add to mathematics, and not to talk about what he or other mathematicians have done." Secondly, at the start of the Second World War, Hardy, a committed pacifist, wanted to justify his belief that mathematics should be pursued for its own sake rather than for the sake of its applications. He wanted to write a book in which he would explain his mathematical philosophy to the next generation of mathematicians; that would defend mathematics by elaborating on the merits of pure mathematics solely, without having to resort to the attainments of applied mathematics in order to justify the overall importance of mathematics; and that would inspire the upcoming generations of pure mathematicians. Hardy was an atheist, and makes his justification not to God but to his fellow man. One of the main themes of the book is the beauty that mathematics possesses, which Hardy compares to painting and poetry. For Hardy, the most beautiful mathematics was that which had no practical applications in the outside world (pure mathematics) and, in particular, his own special field of number theory. Hardy contends that if useful knowledge is defined as knowledge which is likely to contribute to the material comfort of mankind in the near future (if not right now), so that mere intellectual satisfaction is irrelevant, then the great bulk of higher mathematics is useless. He justifies the pursuit of pure mathematics with the argument that its very "uselessness" on the whole meant that it could not be misused to cause harm. On the other hand, Hardy denigrates much of the applied mathematics as either being "trivial", "ugly", or "dull", and contrasts it with "real mathematics", which is how he ranks the higher, pure mathematics. Hardy expounds by commenting about a phrase attributed to Carl Friedrich Gauss that "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics". Some people believe that it is the extreme non-applicability of number theory that led Gauss to the above statement about number theory; however, Hardy points out that this is certainly not the reason. If an application of number theory were to be found, then certainly no one would try to dethrone the "queen of mathematics" because of that. What Gauss meant, according to Hardy, is that the underlying concepts that constitute number theory are deeper and more elegant compared to those of any other branch of mathematics. Another theme is that mathematics is a "young man's game", so anyone with a talent for mathematics should develop and use that talent while they are young, before their ability to create original mathematics starts to decline in middle age. This view reflects Hardy's increasing depression at the wane of his own mathematical powers. For Hardy, real mathematics was essentially a creative activity, rather than an explanatory or expository one. |
A New Way to Pay Old Debts | Philip Massinger | null | Set in rural Nottinghamshire, the play opens with its protagonist, Frank Welborn, being ejected from an alehouse by Tapwell and Froth, the tavernkeeper and his wife. Welborn has been refused further service ("No booze? nor no tobacco?"); he quarrels with the couple and beats them, but is interrupted by Tom Allworth. The conversations in the scene supply the play's backstory, indicating that Welborn and Allworth are both members of the local gentry who have fallen victim to the financial manipulations of Sir Giles Overreach. Welborn has lost his estates and been reduced to penury, while young Allworth has been forced to become the page of a local nobleman, Lord Lovell. Allworth offers Welborn a small sum, "eight pieces," to relieve his immediate wants, but Welborn indignantly rejects the offer from a junior contemporary; he says that as his own vices have led to his fall, he will rely on his own wits for his recovery. Tom Allworth's widowed mother, Lady Allworth, retains her country house; she is visited there by neighbors and prospective suitors, including Sir Giles. While she has her servants greet these guests with appropriate hospitality, she remains "cloister'd up" in the seclusion of her mourning. When Sir Giles visits, he is accompanied by his two prime henchmen, the lawyer Jack Marall and Justice Greedy, the local justice of the peace. Together, Greedy and the Lady's servants provide most of the play's comic relief. Greedy is a lean man with an enormous appetite; a gourmand and a glutton, he is obsessed with food. Lady Allworth instructs her son to avoid the dissolute Welborn; but Welborn forces his way into her presence, and reminds her of his relationship with her late husband. When the late Allworth had been down on his luck, Welborn had supported him, even seconding him in all his duels. The recollection makes Lady Allworth repent her harsh attitude toward the reprobate Welborn, and she offers him financial help; he rejects this, but requests a favor of her instead. The request is made in a whisper; the audience discovers its nature as the plot progresses. Overreach is shown with Marall, discussing his plan to marry his daughter Margaret to Lord Lovell. He also gives a first glimpse into the ruthless way he conducts his business affairs. Welborn seeks out Overreach, but Sir Giles refuses to speak with him; Marall mocks his poverty. Yet Marall has to change his tune when he sees Lady Allworth come out of mourning to meet Welborn. When she kisses Welborn, Marall is convinced that the two will marry. When Marall informs Overreach of what he's seen, however, Overreach refuses to believe him, and even beats him. Eventually, though, Overreach himself sees Welborn and Lady Allworth together, and accepts the "truth" of their connection. Sir Giles favors their marriage, since he is sure that once Welborn possesses the Lady's remaining property he can cheat the dissolute man of this property too. Margaret Overreach has no interest in marrying Lord Lovell, since she is in love with Tom Allworth, as he is with her. Lord Lovell knows of his page's affections, and is willing to act as a go-between for the two. Young Allworth is nervous at this, suspecting that his patron will not be able to resist Margaret's charms; but Lovell is an honorable man, and sincerely promotes their match. Overreach thinks that Allworth is carrying messages between the Lord and his daughter, though the young page is actually pursuing his own romance. Together, the young couple manage to fool Sir Giles into thinking that Lovell wants a reluctant Margaret to elope with him; Overreach pressures his daughter to conform, and even sends hurried written instructions to a compliant clergyman at the village of Gotham, to marry his daughter to "this man." Of course he means Lovell, though the ambiguity favors the young lovers. To facilitate the marriage of Welborn and Lady Allworth, Sir Giles advances Welborn a thousand pounds. He also discusses his plans with Lovell, revealing more of his intentions and his dark character, so that Lovell breaks into a "cold sweat" listening to him. (With each of his appearances in the play, Overreach's expressions of his villainy become more flagrant and overwrought, leading up to the denouement of the final scene.) Marall sees Welborn's apparent ascension in fortune, and, chafing at Overreach's insulting and brutal treatment of him, decides to switch allegiances; his command of Overreach's legal papers gives Marall a key advantage in seeking his own revenge. When Overreach believes that Lovell and Margaret are married, he enters a state of near rapture: "My ends! my ends are compass'd!...I can scarce contain myself, / I am so full of joy; nay, joy all over!" The play's final scene shows his sudden reversal, when he realizes that he has been fooled and that Margaret has married Allworth. Enraged, he demands that Welborn provide security for the loan of £1000 from the Lady's estates; Welborn rejects this, and demands that Overreach return possession of his lands. Sir Giles dismisses this as folly — but discovers that the text of his deed to Welborn's lands has mysteriously faded away (thanks to the trickery of Marall). Overreach is ready to work his revenge with his sword, but Welborn, Lovell, and the Lady's servants altogether are too formidable for him. He storms out...but returns in a distracted state of mind. The stresses of his reversal of fortune have caused him to lose his sanity, and he is taken into protective custody. Welborn decides to demonstrate his reformation by taking a military commission in the regiment Lovell commands. Lovell and Lady Allworth have agreed to marry. Allworth and Margaret state that they will turn control of Overreach's estates to Lord Lovell, to make reparations for all the to the people Sir Giles has cheated and oppressed. |
Fathers and Sons | Ivan Turgenev | 1,862 | Arkady Kirsanov has just graduated from the University of Petersburg and returns with a friend, Bazarov, to his father's modest estate in an outlying province of Russia. The father, Nikolai, gladly receives the two young men at his estate, called Marino, but Nikolai's brother, Pavel, soon becomes upset by the strange new philosophy called "nihilism" which the young men advocate. Nikolai feels awkward with his son at home, partially because Arkady's views have dated his own beliefs, and partially because he has taken a servant, Fenichka, into his house to live with him and has already had a son by her. The two young men remain at Marino for a short time, then decide to visit a relative of Arkady's in a neighboring province. There they observe the local gentry and meet Madame Odintsova, an elegant woman of independent means who invites them to spend a few days at her estate, Nikolskoe. At Nikolskoe, they also meet Katya, Madame Odintsova's sister. They remain for a short period over the course of which they both change a lot, especially their relationship for each other, because they both find themselves drawn to Madame Odintsova. Bazarov in particular, finding this distressing because falling in love goes against his beliefs. Eventually, he announces that he loves her. She does not respond to his declaration, and soon after, Arkady and Bazarov leave for Bazarov's home. At Bazarov's home, they are received enthusiastically by his parents. Bazarov is still disturbed by his rejection, and is difficult to get along with. He almost comes to blows with his friend Arkady. After a brief stay, they decide to return to Marino, and circle by to see Madame Odintsova, who receives them coolly. They leave almost immediately and return to Arkady's home. Arkady remains for only a few days, and makes an excuse to leave in order to go to Nikolskoe. Once there, he realizes he no longer is in love with Odintsova, but instead her sister Katya. Bazarov stays at Marino to do some scientific research, and tension between him and Pavel increases. Bazarov enjoys talking with Fenichka and playing with her child, and one day he gives her a quick, harmless kiss which is observed by Pavel. He, secretly being in love with Fenichka himself, challenges Bazarov to a duel. Pavel is wounded slightly, and Bazarov must leave Marino. He stops for an hour or so at Madame Odintsova's, then continues on to his parents' home. Meanwhile, Arkady and Katya have fallen in love and have become engaged. At home, Bazarov cannot keep his mind on his work and while performing an autopsy fails to take the proper precautions. He contracts typhus, and on his deathbed, sends for Madame Odintsova, who arrives in time to hear Bazarov tell her how beautiful she is. Arkady marries Katya and takes over the management of his father's estate. His father marries Fenichka and is delighted to have his son home with him. Pavel leaves the country and lives the rest of his life as a "noble" in Dresden, Germany. |
Zero Minus Ten | Raymond Benson | 1,997 | As the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong from the British to the People's Republic of China nears, Bond is given ten days to investigate a series of terrorist attacks taking place that could disrupt the fragile handover and cause the breakout of a large-scale war. Simultaneously a nuclear bomb is test detonated in the Australian outback. In Hong Kong, Bond suspects and is led to a wealthy British shipping magnate, Guy Thackeray, who he catches cheating at mahjong at a casino in Macau. Later, after cheating the cheater and winning a large sum of Thackeray's money, Bond attends a press conference where Thackeray announces that he is selling his company, EurAsia Enterprises to the Chinese, secretly due to a long-forgotten legal document that grants the descendants of Li Wei Tam ownership of the company if the British were to ever lose control of Hong Kong. Because the descendants were claimed to have abandoned China, General Wong of the People's Republic of China claims the document on behalf of the government and forces Thackeray out. Immediately following the announcement Thackeray is killed in a car bomb by an unknown assassin after numerous previous attempts that claimed the lives of the entire board of directors at EurAsia Enterprises as well as several employees. Through his Hong Kong contact, T.Y. Woo, Bond also investigates Li Xu Nan, the Triad head of the Dragon Wing society and the rightful descendant of Li Wei Tam. Li's identity as the Triad head is supposed to be a secret, though after Bond involves a hostess, Sunni Pei, 007 is forced to protect her from numerous Triads for breaking an oath of secrecy. When she is finally captured, Bond makes a deal, off the record, to go to Guangzhou and retrieve the long-forgotten document from General Wong that will give Li Xu Nan ownership of EurAsia Enterprises upon the exchange at midnight on July 1, 1997. Through Li's contacts, Bond successfully travels and meets General Wong in Guangzhou under the guise of a solicitor from England. Bond's cover is later blown and T.Y. Woo who followed Bond is executed. Bond avenges his friend's death by killing General Wong and stealing the document, which he hand delivers to Li Xu Nan and retrieves Sunni Pei. With Li Xu Nan in Bond's debt, Bond uses Li's contacts to go to Australia to investigate EurAsia Enterprises and find a link between it and the nuclear blast. As it turns out Thackeray is very much alive and has been mining unreported uranium in Australia to make his own nuclear bomb, which he plans to detonate in Hong Kong at the moment the handover takes place in retaliation for his loss of his family's legacy. Returning to Hong Kong, Bond, Li Xu Nan, and a Captain with the Royal Navy track down Thackeray's nuclear bomb and defuse it. The battle claims the lives of Li Xu Nan as well as Thackeray's, who is drowned by Bond in the harbour. |
Demon City Shinjuku | Hideyuki Kikuchi | null | The movie begins with a battle between fates, the evil Rebi Ra (also pronounced Levi Ra or even Devi Da) versus the short-lived hero Genichirou. Rebi Ra has allowed himself to be possessed in order to gain the incredible powers of evil and plans to summon demons to conquer the world. Defeating Genichirou and destroying Shinjuku, a part of Tokyo, with a devastating earthquake, the area becomes a demon-haunted wilderness. The novel doesn't have a fight scene between Genichirou and Rebi Ra. It opens with a quiet time in Shinjuku and then in a sudden change the Demon Quake hits only Shinjuku. Ten years later, the World President, put in place to uphold world peace, is attacked by Rebi Ra indirectly to keep his old master, Aguni Lai (Aguni Rai), as the protector of the president, occupied. However, Rebi Ra did not know that Genichirou had a son who inherited his powers and more. After an emotional plea from the president's daughter, Sayaka Rama, the unlikely hero Kyoya Izayoi follows her deep into the heart of the evil city, finding new allies and terrifying enemies along the way. In the novel Aguni Rai asks the Information Bureau Japan Section Chief to look for Kyoya as the only one who could stop Rebi Ra. The Section Chief tests Kyoya with a commando cyborg and then relates to Kyoya that the president is in a life threatening curse and only has three days to defeat Rebi Ra before the president is killed as the ritual sacrifice to bring the Demon Realm to Earth, which he failed to do years prior, causing the Demon Quake. During the course of explanation Aguni Rai uses a doppelganger to communicate to Kyoya from New York in hopes of convincing him to save the world. Sayaka soon enters and pleads with him to do so as well. Kyoya finally decides to help because of Sayaka's pleas. |
The Fabric of the Cosmos | Brian Greene | 2,004 | The main focus of Part I is space and time. Chapter 1 is an introduction of what is to come later in the book, such as discussions revolving around classical physics, quantum mechanics and cosmological physics. Chapter 2, "The Universe and the Bucket", features space as its key point. The question posed by Greene is this: "Is space a human abstraction, or is it a physical entity?" The key thought experiment is a spinning bucket of water, designed to make one think about what creates the force felt inside the bucket when it is spinning. The ideas of Isaac Newton, Ernst Mach, and Gottfried Leibniz on this thought experiment are discussed in detail. Chapter 3, "Relativity and the Absolute", makes spacetime its focal point. The question now becomes, "Is spacetime an Einsteinian abstraction or a physical entity?" In this chapter, concepts of both special relativity and general relativity are discussed as well as their importance to the meaning of spacetime. In chapter 4, "Entangling Space", Greene explores the revolution of the quantum mechanical era, focusing on what it means for objects to be separate and distinct in a universe dictated by quantum laws. This chapter provides an in-depth study of quantum mechanics, including the concepts of probability waves and interference patterns, particle spin, the photon double slit experiment, and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. The reader will also be informed of the challenges posed to quantum mechanics that were compiled by Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen. Part II begins by addressing the issue that time is a very familiar concept, yet it is one of humanity's least understood concepts. Chapter 5, "The Frozen River", deals with the question, "Does time flow?" One of the key points in this chapter deals with special relativity. Observers moving relative to each other have different conceptions of what exists at a given moment, and hence they have different conceptions of reality. The conclusion is that time does not flow, as all things simultaneously exist at the same time. Chapter 6, "Chance and the Arrow", asks the question, "Does time have an arrow?" The reader discovers that the laws of physics apply both moving forward in time and backwards in time. Such a law is called time-reversal symmetry. One of the major subjects of this chapter is entropy. Various analogies are given to illustrate how entropy works and its apparent paradoxes. The climax of the chapter is the co-relation between entropy and gravity, and that the beginning of the universe must be the state of minimum entropy. In chapters 5 and 6, time has been explained only in terms of pre-modern physics. Chapter 7, "Time and the Quantum", gives insights into time's nature in the quantum realm. Probability plays a major role in this chapter because it is an inescapable part of quantum mechanics. The double slit experiment is revisited in a stunning way that reveals both interesting and shocking things about the past. Many other experiments are presented in this chapter, such as the delayed choice quantum eraser experiment. Other major issues are brought to the reader's attention, such as quantum mechanics and experience, as well as quantum mechanics and the measurement problem. Finally, this chapter thoroughly addresses the important subject of decoherence and its relevance towards the macroscopic world. Part III deals with the macroscopic realm of the cosmos. Chapter 8, "Of Snowflakes and Spacetime", tells the reader that the history of the universe is in fact the history of symmetry. Symmetry and its importance to cosmic evolution becomes the focus of this chapter. Again, general relativity is addressed as a stretching fabric of spacetime. Cosmology, symmetry, and the shape of space are put together in a unique way. Chapter 9, "Vaporizing the Vacuum", introduces the theoretical idea of the Higgs boson. This chapter focuses on the critical first fraction of a second after the big bang, when the amount of symmetry in the universe was thought to have changed abruptly by a process known as symmetry breaking. This chapter also brings into play the theory of grand unification and entropy is also revisited. Chapter 10, "Deconstructing the Bang", makes inflationary cosmology the main point. General relativity and the discovery of dark energy (repulsive gravity) are taken into account, as well as the cosmological constant. Certain problems that arise due to the standard big bang theory are addressed and new answers are given using inflationary cosmology. Such problems include the horizon problem and the flatness problem. Matter distribution throughout the cosmos is also discussed, and the concepts of dark matter and dark energy come full circle. Chapter 11, "Quanta in the Sky with Diamonds", continues with the topic of inflation, and the arrow of time is also discussed again. The chapter addresses three main developments, the formation of structures such as galaxies, the amount of energy required to spawn the universe we now see, and, of prime importance, the origin of time's arrow. Part IV deals with new theoretical aspects of physics, particularly in the field of the author. Chapter 12, "The World on a String", informs the reader of the structure of the fabric of space according to string theory. New concepts are introduced, including the Planck length and the Planck time, and ideas from The Elegant Universe are revisited. The reader will learn how string theory fills the gaps between general relativity and quantum mechanics. Chapter 13, "The Universe on a Brane", expands on ideas from chapter twelve, particularly, a theory called M-theory, of which string theory is a branch. This chapter is devoted to speculations on space and time according to M-theory. The collective insights of a number of physicists are presented, including those of Edward Witten and Paul Dirac. The focal point of the chapter becomes gravity and its involvement with extra dimensions. Near the end of the chapter, a brief section is devoted to cyclic cosmology, otherwise known as the cyclic model. Part V deals with many theoretical concepts, including space and time travel. Chapter 14, "Up in the Heavens and Down on the Earth", is about various experiments with space and time. Previous theories are brought back from previous chapters, such as Higgs theory, supersymmetry, and string theory. Future planned experiments are described in an attempt to verify many of the theoretical concepts discussed, including the constituents of dark matter and dark energy, the existence of the Higgs boson, and the verification of extra spacial dimensions. Chapter 15, "Teleporters and Time Machines", is about traveling through space and time using intriguing methods. Quantum mechanics is brought back into the picture when the reader comes across teleportation. Puzzles of time travel are posed, such as the idea of time travel to the past being a possibility. The end of the chapter focuses on worm holes and the theory behind them. Chapter 16, "The Future of an Allusion", focuses on black holes and their relationship to entropy. The main idea of this chapter is that spacetime may not be the fundamental makeup of the universe's fabric. |
A Million Open Doors | John Barnes | 1,992 | The story begins sometime in the 29th century on the planet Wilson (orbiting Arcturus) with a young man named Giraut and his romantic, swashbuckling friends, who are all members of the Nou Occitan culture and residents in the Quartier de Jovents, a sort of playground for teens and twenty-somethings who have not yet moved on to the more "grown-up" lifestyle of their parents. Technologically safeguarded, these young adults have swordfights in the streets with "neuroducer" épées and frequent the taverns of the Quartier, living in an imaginative recreation of Occitan literature and the trobador tradition. However, Giraut is forced to grow up much more quickly than most of his friends, because one day his friend Aimeric, who was, before coming to Wilson and becoming a jovent, an economist in the Caledon culture of the nearest inhabited planet, Nansen (orbiting Mufrid), is called upon by the government to return to his home planet on a mission to regulate the effects of the springer on Caledonian economy. The springer is a method of instantaneous transportation which is quickly reuniting humanity across known space. Giraut decides to leave when he catches his girlfriend getting into the Interstellar "arts scene" (the art is called "sadoporn") which is an acting out against the exclusive values and code of honor valued by Giraut and his friends. Thus, Aimeric and Giraut advise the rational council of the Caledonians to adjust their economy to that of the rest of the universe so that the springer will have as few adverse effects as possible. When the Caledonians decide that Aimeric and Giraut, as well as the Interstellar government, are trying to usurp their power, they begin to try to seize back control of everything, and an urban conflict ensues. Giraut discovers among the strife who he really is and begins to see how fake his life back home was, and recognize faults in his home culture. |
Letters on the English | Voltaire | null | Lettres anglaises consists of twenty-four letters: *Letter I: On The Quakers *Letter II: On The Quakers *Letter III: On The Quakers *Letter IV: On The Quakers *Letter V: On The Church of England *Letter VI: On The Presbyterians *Letter VII: On The Socinians, or Arians, or Antitrinitarians *Letter VIII: On The Parliament *Letter IX: On The Government *Letter X: On Trade *Letter XI: On Inoculation *Letter XII: On The Lord Bacon *Letter XIII: On Mr. Locke *Letter XIV: On Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton *Letter XV: On Attraction *Letter XVI: On Sir Isaac Newton's Optics *Letter XVII: On Infinites in Geometry, and Sir Isaac Newton's Chronology *Letter XVIII: On Tragedy *Letter XIX: On Comedy *Letter XX: On Such of The Nobility as Cultivate The Belles Lettres *Letter XXI: On The Earl of Rochester and Mr. Waller *Letter XXII: On Mr. Pope and Some Other Famous Poets *Letter XXIII: On The Regard That Ought to Be Shown to Men of Letters *Letter XXIV: On The Royal Society and Other Academies Voltaire first addresses religion in Letters 1–7. He specifically talks about Quakers (1–4), Anglicans (5), Presbyterians (6), and Socinians (7). In the Letters 1-4, Voltaire describes the Quakers, their customs, their beliefs, and their history. He appreciates the simplicity of their rituals. In particular, he praises their lack of baptism ("we are not of opinion that the sprinkling water on a child's head makes him a Christian"), the lack of communion ("'How! no communion?' said I. 'Only that spiritual one,' replied he, 'of hearts'"), and the lack of priests ("'You have, then, no priests?' said I to him. 'No, no, friend,' replies the Quaker, 'to our great happiness'"), but still expresses concern regarding the manipulative nature of organized religion. Letter 5 is devoted to the Anglican religion, which Voltaire compares favourably to Catholicism ("With regard to the morals of the English clergy, they are more regular than those of France"), but he criticizes the ways in which it has stayed true to the Catholic rituals, in particular ("The English clergy have retained a great number of the Romish ceremonies, and especially that of receiving, with a most scrupulous attention, their tithes. They also have the pious ambition to aim at superiority"). In Letter 6, Voltaire attacks the Presbyterians, whom he sees as intolerant ("[The Presbyterian] affects a serious gait, puts on a sour look, wears a vastly broad-brimmed hat and a long cloak over a very short coat, preaches through the nose, and gives the name of the whore of Babylon to all churches where the ministers are so fortunate as to enjoy an annual revenue of five or six thousand pounds, and where the people are weak enough to suffer this, and to give them the titles of my lord, your lordship, or your eminence") and overly strict ("No operas, plays, or concerts are allowed in London on Sundays, and even cards are so expressly forbidden that none but persons of quality, and those we call the genteel, play on that day; the rest of the nation go either to church, to the tavern, or to see their mistresses"). Finally, in the Letter 7, he talks about the "Socinians," whose belief system is somewhat related to Voltaire's own deist viewpoint. Voltaire argues that while this sect includes some of the day's most important thinkers (including Newton and Locke), this is not enough to persuade the common man that it is logical. According to Voltaire, men prefer to follow the teachings of "wretched authors" such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, or Huldrych Zwingli. In Letters 8 and 9, Voltaire discusses the English political system. Letter 8 talks about the British parliament, which he compares to both Rome and France. In terms of Rome, Voltaire criticizes the fact that Britain has entered wars on account of religion (whereas Rome did not), but he praises Britain for serving liberty rather than tyranny (as in Rome). In terms of France, Voltaire responds to French criticism concerning the regicide of Charles I by highlighting the British judicial process as opposed to the outright murders of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII or Henry III of France, or the multiple attempts on the life of Henry IV of France. In Letter 9, Voltaire gives a brief history of the Magna Carta, talks about the equal dispensing of justice, and the levying of taxes. In Letter 10, Voltaire praises the English trade system, its benefits, and what it brings to the English (from 1707, British) nation. According to Voltaire, trade greatly contributed to the liberty of the English people, and this liberty in turn contributed to the expansion of commerce. It is trade as well that gave England its naval riches and power. In addition, Voltaire takes the opportunity to satirize the German and French nobles who ignore this type of enterprise. For Voltaire, nobles are less important than the businessman who "contributes to the felicity of the world." In Letter 11, Voltaire argues in favour for the English practice of inoculation, which was little known in continental Europe at the time, having only been made known in Great Britain through the efforts of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Voltaire mentions Montagu's campaign in favour of inoculation in his letter, along with the decision by Caroline of Ansbach, the Princess of Wales, to allow her two daughters to be inoculated against the disease. This letter may have been written in response to a 1723 smallpox epidemic in Paris that killed 20,000 people. Letter 12 speaks of Francis Bacon, author of Novum Organum and father of experimental philosophy. Letter 13 is about John Locke and his theories on the immortality of the soul. Letter 14 compares British philosopher Isaac Newton to French philosopher René Descartes. Upon his death in 1727, Newton was compared to Descartes in a eulogy performed by French philosopher Fontenelle. While the British did not appreciate this comparison, Voltaire argues that Descartes, too, was a great philosopher and mathematician. Letter 15 focuses on Newton's work with the laws of attraction. Letter 16 talks about Newton's work with optics. Letter 17 discusses Newton's work with geometry and his theories on the end of the world. In Letter 18, Voltaire talks about British tragedy, specifically in the hands of William Shakespeare. Voltaire presents his readers with the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Hamlet along with a translation into French rhyming verse. He also cites a passage from John Dryden and gives a translation. In Letter 19, Voltaire addresses British comedy, citing William Wycherley, John Vanbrugh, and William Congreve. Letter 20 speaks briefly of the belles lettres of the nobility, including the Earl of Rochester and Edmund Waller. Letter 21 references the poetry of Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. In Letter 23, Voltaire argues that the British honour their Men of Letters far better than the French in terms of money and veneration. The last letter, letter 24, discusses the Royal Society of London, which he compares unfavourably to the Académie Française. |
James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 | John Pearson | 1,973 | The premise of James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 is that James Bond is based upon a real MI6 agent. Fleming hinted so in You Only Live Twice, in Bond's obituary, that his adventures were the basis of a series of "sensational novels"; illustrating this contention, that novel's comic strip adaptation used covers from Fleming's James Bond novels. Writing autobiographically, Pearson begins the story with his own recruitment to MI6. Already, the department had assigned Ian Fleming to write novels based upon the real agent; Fleming was to be truthful about the agent's adventures. The idea was to hide the truth, of Bond's exploits, in plain sight; along the way, Fleming created fictional tales, such as Moonraker, to keep the Soviets guessing what was fact and what was not. Pearson's also incorporates Fleming's flippant claim to not having written The Spy Who Loved Me, but that Vivienne Michel mysteriously sent him the manuscript. Based upon the success of his Fleming biography, The Life of Ian Fleming (1966), MI6 instruct Pearson to write 007's biography; he is introduced to a retired James Bond — who is in his fifties, yet healthy, sun-tanned, and with Honeychile Ryder, the heroine of Dr. No. Most of James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 is Bond telling his life story, including school and first MI6 missions, referring to most every novel and short story and, notably, to Colonel Sun, the Robert Markham series-continuation novel. At conclusion, as Bond rushes to another mission (contrary to mandatory retirement), John Pearson is invited to assume Ian Fleming's scribal duties, like Dr. Watson assumed with Sherlock Holmes. In fact, Glidrose Publications considered John Pearson's becoming the new, series writer; despite good reviews and sales of James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007, nothing happened. |
Colonel Sun | Kingsley Amis | 1,968 | Kidnappers violently take the Secret Service chief M from his house and almost capture James Bond, who is visiting. Intent on rescuing M, Bond follows the clues to Vrakonisi, one of the Aegean Islands. In the process, Bond discovers the complex military-political plans of Colonel Sun of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Sun had been sent to sabotage a Middle East détente conference which the Soviet Union is hosting. He intends to attack the conference venue and use M and Bond's bodies to blame Great Britain for the disaster, leading to a world war. Bond meets Soviet agents in Athens and they realise that not only is a third country behind the kidnap, but that there is a traitor in the organisation. An attack on the Soviet headquarters kills all the agents except Ariadne Alexandrou, a Greek Communist. As he is dying, the Soviet leader encourages Bond and Ariadne to work together to prevent an international incident. Ariadne persuades Litsas, a former WW2 resistance fighter and friend of her late father to help them by telling him about the involvement in the plot of former Nazi, Von Richter. Trying to find M and Colonel Sun, Bond is nearly captured by the Russians, but is saved by Litsas. Finally, Bond finds Sun's headquarters, but is knocked out by one of Sun's men; Bond learns that Von Richter will use a mortar to destroy the conference venue and that Bond will be tortured by Sun, before his inevitable demise. Sun tortures him brutally, until one of the girls at the house is ordered by Sun to caress Bond fondly. In the process she cuts one of Bond's hands free and provides him with a knife. She tells Sun that Bond is dead: when examined Bond stabs Sun. He then frees other captives who help Bond stop Von Richter. However Sun survives the stab wound and kills several of the other escapees. Bond tracks down Sun and kills him in the confrontation. The Soviets thank Bond for saving their conference, offering him a medal for his work, which he politely turns down. |
Phantastes | George MacDonald | null | The tale starts the day after Anodos' twenty-first birthday. He discovers an ancient fairy lady (whom he learns to be his grandmother) in the desk which he opens with a key that he inherited as a birthright from his late father. After the fairy shows him Fairy Land in a vision, Anodos awakes the next day to find that his room, crafted after natural elements, is taking literal form and transforming into a wood. He discovers that he has been transported to Fairy Land. Anodos then encounters a woman and her daughter in a cottage who warn him about the Ash Tree and the Alder Tree, who seek to destroy him. He is told that the spirits of these trees can leave their tree-hosts and wander throughout Fairy Land. He then explores the world of the fairies, which live in flowers, causing them to glow. The flowers, he is told, die if the fairies leave. He then has a nightmarish encounter with the spirit of the Ash Tree, escapes, and finds rest in the warmth and love of the Beech Tree's spirit. After this, he finds the statue (fondly called "my Marble Lady" by Anodos) by Pygmalion. After he sings to it, the statues flees from him. He pursues the lady and finds a woman he believes to be her. However, this lady is actually the Maid of the Alder Tree in disguise. The spirit of the Ash Tree joins the Maid and is close to killing Anodos when he is saved by Sir Percivale (who chopped the actual ash tree with an axe.) Anodos then meets a woman and her daughter who believe in fairy tales and the magic of Fairy Land, despite the unbelief of the woman's husband. Anodos also finds his shadow, an evil presence that follows and torments Anodos throughout the rest of the story. Anodos finds a palace that mysteriously belongs to him and contains a room with an inscription that reads "Sir Anodos". In the palace, he reads the story of Cosmo of Prague. Cosmo is a believer in fantasy who sacrifices his life to free the soul of his lover from an enchanted mirror (whether the event was a fictional story made by an author from Fairy Land or if it was a recording from an event in Anodos' world is left ambiguous). Anodos spends much time in the palace, relating his various wanderings and readings. In one such wandering, he comes upon corridors filled with still statues. Hearing the last vestiges of song from the corridors, and considering the statues as recently frozen into immobility upon his approach, Anodos ventures deeper and deeper into the halls. He dreams of the marble lady, that she alone has an empty pedestal among the statues. He later finds this pedestal, and, figuring a way in which to trick the statues into continuing to dance as he enters the room, he eventually sings to the pedestal. The marble lady materializes, but Anodos attempts to grab her. She flees and disappears. Anodos follows, going down into a strange subterranean world with gnome-like creatures (like the German Kobolds) that mock him. Anodos escapes this place and finds himself in a stormy sea. When a boat arrives, he boards it. It takes him to an "island" with a cottage with four doors which in inhabited by an ancient lady with young eyes. Anodos enters each door in turn, each containing a different world. In the first he becomes a child again, remembering the death of his brother. He comes back to the cottage crying. In the next door he finds the marble lady and Sir Percivale, alive, well, and in love. They are talking about him, and Anodos (previously unnoticed) makes a last outburst of his love for the marble lady. They leave, as does Anodos. The next door recounts the death of a loved one of Anodos, and he finds his family mausoleum. His ancestors help him back to the cottage. Anodos travels through the last door ("the door of the timeless") but is saved by the ancient lady without remembering anything. The ancient lady says that because she saved him he must leave (the "island" in fact has an isthmus). Next Anodos finds himself with two brothers who also call Anodos their "brother", due to a prophecy given to them that a third would come to help them. They are forging armor and swords in order to fight three giants that have fortified a castle nearby, to the dismay of the townsfolk. The brothers are the sons of the king. Anodos joins them in their fight, but they are attacked unarmed by the giants. The brothers die, but Anodos lives, becoming a hero of the kingdom. He wanders to tell a woman whom one of the brothers loved of his honorable death, but he finds instead a manifestation of his shadow, who imprisons Anodos in a tower. Anodos is saved by the song of a woman whom he had met before in fairy land, and he is not troubled by his shadow ever again. Anodos becomes the dedicated squire of the knight, and they become good friends. They come upon a temple full of worshipers doing an unknown evil to a select few. Sir Percivale, always seeing good in people, is deceived, but Anodos rises to end the practice. He destroys the idol made of rotting wood which is sitting on a throne. He is killed by the multitude before Percivale can save him. In death Anodos finds peace, having died nobly. He floats overlooking things, and finally awakes alive in the "real" world, never forgetting his experiences in Fairy Land. His sisters inform him he had been gone 21 days, but to him it felt like 21 years. |
The Unknown Shore | Donald Malcolm | 1,959 | In the early part of the novel, set in London, other members of the expedition are featured. They appear in more detail in The Golden Ocean, another O'Brian novel about the Anson expedition. The expedition is beset by storms while rounding of Cape Horn, the Wager is shipwrecked off the coast of Chile as their position could not be determined. The crew reject the authority of their officers, once the ship was wrecked and leave the captain, some officers and some other crew on the island when they sail away in a boat built from the wreck. The marooned officers make their way to a Spanish settlement with the help of the native people. The novel is based on the accounts of the survivors. Survivors from the lower deck made their way back to Britain long before the officers. The novel describes the crew members asserting that the officers had no authority over them, once their ship was wrecked. |
The Simultaneous Man | null | null | The book's protagonist is Andrew Horne (nicknamed "Bear"), a Russian-born U.S. scientist, who works at "West Wing" on Project Beta, a secret government mind-control project, which aims to perfect the art of brainwashing until it is possible to completely re-make a person's mind and soul. The Project operates on hopeless cases from psychiatric wards, and "prison-volunteers" who would otherwise be executed. The Project's first Remake having failed disastrously, it is decided to base the second Remake on the mind of Horne himself. The prison-volunteer chosen for the Remake is a Black soldier, referred to as prisvol 233/234, who has killed an officer and been sentenced to death. The project first uses ultrasound to destroy his access to his old memories, and then, having washed the slate clean, exposes him to immersive movie reenactments of Horne's childhood, college days, war service, and entry into the Project. (As this is performed, the reader discovers that Horne himself was on the receiving end of torture and brainwashing in the Korean War, which he fought against by creating a "false self" which he betrays to the enemy - the "Lieutenant Kijé defense"). At the end of this process, 233/234, now known as "Black Bear", is, for all intents and purposes, Andrew Horne in a new body. However, when Security realizes that Black Bear also has all of Horne's secret knowledge, and considers him a security risk, this sets off a chain of events where their mirror image identities will lead both Black Bear and Horne to "East Wing" in Russia. |
The Grandmother | null | null | The book describes, in an idealized form, the childhood of Němcová. The plot weaves together a remembrance of the agrarian calendar and customs of the neighborhood with the love stories of several women, which reveal more of the history and customs of that area. The main action of the novel seems to take place during the first one or two years after the Grandmother has come to live at the Old Bleachery with her daughter's family, to help manage the household. The father is frequently absent due to his job as equerry to the local noblewoman, which takes him away to Vienna during the winter. The principal action of the story is to tell the intertwining tales of Viktorka, Kristla, and the Countess. The author is identified with Barunka, the eldest daughter of the Prošek family; however, the novel is not told from her point of view. |
Rich Man, Poor Man | Irwin Shaw | null | In the early parts of the novel Shaw goes to great lengths to make the point about "Jordache blood" - violent, bitter, resentful. One of the ways he does this is by meticulously describing the hate-filled marriage of the parents, Mary and Axel. The novel is told in the third person omniscient point of view but never wholly objectively, often through the lens of the consciousness of one of the five family members. When told through the POV of either Mary or Axel the view of humanity, and of the Jordache family, is relentlessly bleak and pessimistic. The tripwire that sets all of the ensuing plot action in motion occurs when Gretchen Jordache begins an affair with the president of the company she works for, Teddy Boylan, a man much older than herself. Eventually her brothers Rudolph and Thomas also become involved with Boylan, in different ways, and it is his influence upon all three that first springs each of them into the world beyond the small upstate New York town where their parents scrape by with their bakery. Boylan constitutes their first true encounters with an adult beyond their parents. Many people, mainly because of their familiarity with the miniseries rather than the actual source material, thought of the story as a very simplistic juxtaposition of the virtuous, goody two shoes brother (Rudolph) with the black sheep, ne'er-do-well younger sibling (Thomas, whom Shaw seeks to differentiate psychologically by means of a physical symbol - he is the only blond haired member of the family), but the novel is much more complex than this in its demonstrative understructure. For example Rudolph is constantly developing positive relationships only with people who can help him - his father, Mr. Calderwood, Johnny Heath, Boylan. In stark contrast to this both Gretchen and Thomas consistently entangle themselves with the kinds of people that modern self help literature calls "drain people" or "toxic people". A couple of examples: Thomas' only friend in the world, Claude, gives him up immediately to the authorities the second his own well being is threatened, and when Axel Jordache learns of Tom's actions his only impulse is to get rid of him, to send him away to live with family in Ohio. Contrast this with Rudolph's friend, Johnny Heath, who becomes his lifelong friend, attorney, and business partner, and also with what Axel Jordache does when confronted by Rudolph's French teacher over a behavior miscue - he slaps the teacher in the face. We cannot imagine him defending either Gretchen or Thomas in this manner. Boylan serves as the macguffin that drives the plot for all three of the Jordache siblings. For Gretchen he is an introduction to the world of men and relationships. He awakens in her the realization that she is the kind of woman who reduces men to cowering wimps but who cannot, perhaps somewhat paradoxically, put together a sound, completely fulfilling relationship. Her marriage to Willie Abbott collapses under the weight of his alcoholism and her marriage to Colin Burke ends in tragedy when Burke dies in a car accident. Similarly none of her numerous affairs bear any genuine emotional fruit. It is because of Boylan that Thomas embarks on a savage act of vandalism (with his friend Claude, who eventually turns him in). When caught, the men of the town present Axel Jordache with a choice - send Thomas away or let him and the family face the consequences with the law. Jordache sends him away to live with his brother in Ohio, thus beginning a pattern that is repeated over and over and over in the novel: Thomas settles somewhere for a while, does OK for a time, then gets into trouble and has to flee. Finally Boylan offers to pay for Rudolph to go to college. Although on one level Rudolph despises Boylan as a petty vindictive rich pervert of an old man, he sees another side of him as well - the financially independent man of the world who wants for nothing. Shaw uses Rudolph's even, balanced judgment of Boylan as a counterpoint to the wholly negative, wholly one sided opinion of him both Gretchen and Thomas, in their own separate ways, cling to. |
Dinosaur Planet | Anne McCaffrey | 1,978 | A team visits fictional planet Ireta to survey its mineral wealth. Several anomalies are discovered. Before all can be explained the Heavyworlder "muscle people" mutiny. |
The Night Land | William Hope Hodgson | 1,912 | The beginning of the book establishes the framework in which a 17th century gentleman, mourning the death of his beloved, Lady Mirdath, is given a vision of a far-distant future where their souls will be re-united, and sees the world of that time through the eyes of a future incarnation. The language and style used are intended to resemble that of the 17th century, though the prose has features characteristic of no period whatsoever: the almost-complete lack of dialogue and proper names, for example. Once into the book, the 17th century framing is mostly inconsequential. Instead, the story focuses on the future. The Sun has gone out and the Earth is lit only by the glow of residual vulcanism. The last few millions of the human race are gathered together in a gigantic metal pyramid, the Last Redoubt, under siege from unknown forces and Powers outside in the dark. These are held back by a Circle of energy, known as the "air clog," powered from a subterranean energy source called the "Earth Current". For millennia, vast living shapes—the Watchers—have waited in the darkness near the pyramid. It is thought they are waiting for the inevitable time when the Circle's power finally weakens and dies. Other living things have been seen in the darkness beyond, some of unknown origins, and others that may once have been human. To leave the protection of the Circle means almost certain death, or worse an ultimate destruction of the soul. As the story commences, the narrator establishes mind contact with an inhabitant of another, forgotten Lesser Redoubt. First one expedition sets off to succour the inhabitants of the Lesser Redoubt, whose own Earth Current has been exhausted, only to meet with disaster. After that the narrator sets off alone into the darkness to find the girl he has made contact with, knowing now that she is the reincarnation of his past love. At the conclusion of the adventure, the narrative does not return to the framework story, instead ending with the happy homecoming of the couple and his inauguration into the ranks of their most honored heroes. The term "Abhuman" was used by Hodgson in The Night Land to name (apparently) several different species of intelligent beings evolved from humans who interbred with alien species or adapted to changed environmental conditions and were seen as decayed or malign by those living inside the Last Redoubt, who preserved artificially (to an unspecified extent) their human characteristics, though they were not fit for the new environmental conditions. |
Coyote | Allen Steele | null | The year is 2070, and the United Republic of America, the authoritarian conservative regime constructed after the fall of the United States, has built its first starship: the URSS Alabama. The welcoming celebration for Captain Robert E. Lee takes a sudden turn when Lee initiates his plan to steal the Alabama. Working with a handful of conspirators, Lee manages to take the ship by the helm and override the clearance codes. URS soldiers climb aboard to stop Lee, but they are too late. Not wishing to abandon their orders, Colonel Reese and the other soldiers become stowaways. Captain Lee knew exactly what he was doing. His destination: the 47 Ursae Majoris system, some 46 light years away—far enough to escape the tyrannical United Republic. At a cruise velocity of .2c, Alabama would not arrive at its destination until 230 earth years have passed. So the crew of 104 soldiers, scientists, and civilians were put in biostasis, to be awakened from their virtual immortality by the ship’s AI 226 years into the future. (Four years are spared due to time dilation.) 47 Ursae Majoris' system has four planets- named Fox, Raven, Bear and Wolf after Native American mythology. Bear has six satellites- Dog, Hawk, Eagle, Coyote, Snake and Goat. Of these six, Coyote is large enough to support its own biosphere. Just three months into the journey, something goes terribly wrong. Leslie Gillis, the senior communications officer, is awakened from biostasis. Expecting the year to be 2300, Gillis is horrified when he questions the AI. There was a mix up, and now it is impossible for Gillis to return to his dreamless sleep. His grueling options are either suicide or a lonely existence surviving off the ship’s supplies. While suicide may be more honorable than devouring the crewmate’s rations, Gillis chooses life. After a brief chat with the AI, Gillis learns that a Mr. Eric Gunther was originally scheduled to awake three months into the trip. Gunther is an agent for the URA, and would attempt to contact the president, or destroy the ship. The program was changed at the last minute to wake someone else instead- Les Gillis. Gillis leaves a note for Captain Lee explaining Gunther’s plans for treason. Why they were changed at the last minute remains a mystery, but it was a change that would cost Gillis his life. During Leslie Gillis’ solitary life, he did everything he could to keep from going insane, attempting to eat and sleep at regular hours, reading all of the books which were on board, playing chess against the AI, writing stories, and painting. Using practically all of the ship’s art supplies, Gillis created a story about a prince named Rupurt and the fantastic alien world he lived in. He painted scenes of his books on the ship’s inside walls. Eventually, Gillis died in his old age with a fall from the main ladder, after trying to get a better look at the alien ship he had seen. The AI automatically expelled his body into space with the arms of a maintenance bot, and the ship sailed on to 47 Ursae Majoris with no more incidents. The crew is awakened as planned in the year 2300. The Alabama has entered the 47 Ursae Majoris system and is approaching its third planet, Bear. Bear (currently known as 47 Ursae Majoris b) is a gas giant that orbits 47 Ursae Majoris at 2.1 AUs and Coyote, its fourth moon, is larger even than Mars. This habitable satellite is lush with green plants and rivers of water. This will be the crew’s new home. Captain Lee directs the landing procedures of the two ships docked to the Alabama, the Wallace and the Helms. The crew finds Coyote to be habitable, but very peculiar nevertheless. Coyote’s seasons change at a much slower pace than Earth’s. A year for Coyote consists of 1,096 days with 27 hours per day. Life forms on Coyote seem similar to those on Earth at first glance, but behave in unique ways. As described in Gillis’ novel, the world is home to gigantic bird-like creatures which are anything but friendly. Using Gillis’ term for the beasts, Boids are common in the grasslands around the new settlement. The remainder of Coyote tells of the adventures of Carlos and Wendy along the banks of the equatorial river which stretches around Coyote. |
State of Fear | Michael Crichton | 2,004 | The story takes place in 2004. The plot is built around a group of eco-terrorists who are attempting to create a state of fear to further advance their agenda regarding global warming. The protagonist is an environmentalist lawyer named Peter Evans. Evans is a junior associate at a large Los Angeles law firm that represents many environmentalist clients (although they also have clients in industry). Evans is described as someone who eagerly accepts all conventional wisdom about global warming, but not unquestioningly. He is also described as something of a weak-willed person who has lukewarm relationships with women. Evans' chief client is a millionaire philanthropist, George Morton, who donates large sums to environmentalist causes. Evans' main duties are managing the legal affairs surrounding Morton's contributions to an environmentalist organization, the National Environmental Resource Fund (NERF) (modeled after the Natural Resources Defense Council [NRDC]). Morton becomes suspicious of NERF and its director, Nicholas Drake, after he discovers that NERF has misused some of the funds he has given the group. Soon after, Morton is visited by two men, John Kenner and Sanjong Thapa, who appear on the surface to be researchers at MIT, but, in fact, are international law enforcement agents on the trail of an eco-terrorist group, the Environmental Liberation Front (ELF) (modeled on the Earth Liberation Front). The ELF is attempting to create "natural" disasters to convince the public of the dangers of global warming; all these events are timed to happen during a NERF-sponsored climate conference that will highlight the "catastrophe" of global warming. The eco-terrorists have no qualms about how many people are killed in their manufactured "natural" disasters and ruthlessly assassinate anyone who gets in their way (their preferred methods being ones few would recognize as murder; the venom of a rare Australian blue-ringed octopus which causes a form of paralysis most hospitals mistake for a disease and therefore never successfully treat, and "lightning attractors" which cause their victims to get electrocuted in electrical storms). Kenner and Thapa suspect Drake of involvement with the ELF to further his own ends (garnering more donations to NERF from the environmentally-minded public). Morton pulls his funding from NERF and has Evans rewrite the contract so that Drake can't access the money except in small amounts. This earns Drake's wrath resulting in strained relations between Evans and the partners at his firm (Drake is a major client of the firm and accuses Evans of being a spy for corporate industry). NERF holds a banquet in Morton's honor citing him as "NERF's Concerned Citizen of the Year"; at the event Morton gives a rambling speech in which he announces the pulling of his funding. Morton subtly makes this look due to his having drunk too much on the flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco where he was accompanied by two of NERF's biggest supporters (Ted Bradley, an actor and celebrity endorser of NERF, and Ann Garner, a wealthy socialite) and Evans. Soon after the speech, Morton dies in a car accident under mysterious circumstances. Following Morton's last instructions, Evans teams up with Kenner and Thapa on a globe-spanning trip to thwart various ELF disaster schemes. Also along for the ride is Morton's beautiful assistant, Sarah Jones. Evans is intimidated by Sarah because of her beauty and because she possesses a self-confidence Evans lacks. By the same token, Sarah also finds Evans attractive, but is put off by his lack of bravado. A subplot parallels the main plot and is the driving force for many of Evans' actions later on, at the behest of Morton. Morton has promised to donate $10 million to support a class action lawsuit on behalf of the people of the fictional island nation Vanutu (not to be confused with non-fictional Vanuatu.) The suit claims that by its inaction to curb global warming the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has doomed Vanutu to destruction, technically an act of war, because when sea levels increase by the amount that most climate models predict the nation will be underwater. At Morton's behest, Evans pays a visit to the offices of the legal team that is preparing the suit, where he volunteers to be a pre-jury selection interviewee. The interviewer is Jennifer Haynes, who presents him with various pieces of evidence that she feels the defense will use in an attempt to discredit the "science" behind the lawsuit. Later she reveals that the lawsuit is just an elaborate publicity stunt. The parties who initiated it know that it will never succeed. They only want to create a legal action that will drag on for years, giving them numerous opportunities to dramatize the plight of the islanders as they cope with the "catastrophe" of global warming. They also plan to continue diverting funds earmarked for the lawsuit to other ventures - which is what made Morton suspicious of their motives in the first place. Later, Haynes reveals herself to be Kenner's niece and in league with him. Kenner, Sanjong, Evans and Sarah travel to various locations to sabotage the ELF's planned "natural" disasters: first, the detonation of several explosives in an Antarctic ice shelf to release an enormous iceberg, then the use of special rockets and filament wire to produce a man-made lightning storm and flood in a crowded national park. During his travels, Evans finds his convictions about global warming challenged by Kenner and Sanjong who present him with reams of data suggesting that global warming may not be happening at all, may be insignificant if it is, and may not be caused by human activity. Evans' convictions are further shaken as he observes the ELF trying to manufacture disasters that will kill thousands of people, discovers that Drake is directing these terrorist acts, and narrowly escapes several ELF assassination attempts. He also begins to shed his weak-willed demeanor and grows more enamored of Sarah after he saves her life on several occasions. After NERF disbands the legal team that was preparing the Vanutu suit Jennifier joins the group for the final leg of the trip. In the finale of the story, the group travels to a remote island in the Solomons to stop the ELF's "piece de resistance", a tsunami that will inundate the coastline of California just as Drake is winding up the international conference on the "catastrophe" of global warming. Along the way they battle man-eating crocodiles and cannibalistic tribesmen (who feast on Ted Bradley, whom Drake had sent to spy on Kenner and his team). The rest of the group are rescued in the nick of time by Morton who resurfaces. It turns out that he faked his own death to throw Drake off the trail so that he could keep watch on the ELF's activities on the island while he waited for Kenner and his team to arrive. The group has a final confrontation with the elite ELF team on the island during which Jennifer is almost killed and Evans kills one of the terrorists who had tried to kill both him and Sarah in Antarctica. The rest of the ELF team is killed by the backwash from their own tsunami, which Kenner and his team have sabotaged just enough to prevent it from becoming a full-size tsunami and reaching California. (The tsunami that reached California was only a series of five waves averaging 6 feet.) None of the team were allowed to leave the island for the next three days. Morton wanted to be taken to Sydney for his collapsed lung, but was unable to go because he had been labeled as a missing person in the United States. Later they return to Los Angeles, during which time Morton discusses the idea of Evans quitting the firm to work for Morton with his new (unnamed) organization, which will practice environmental activism as a business, free from potential conflicts of interest. He hopes Evans and Sarah will take his place in the new organization after his death. |
Rushing to Paradise | J. G. Ballard | 1,994 | Dr. Barbara is a disgraced doctor who forms a small band of environmentalists to attempt to save the albatross from nuclear testing by the French government on the remote Pacific island of St.Esprit. Neil, a naïve 16 year old, joins the group and the story is told from his perspective. During an illegal landing on the island, Neil is caught on film being shot in the foot by a French soldier. The subsequent news coverage makes Neil, and their environmental campaign, media celebrities. This allows a return visit to the island with a larger and more eccentric group of campaigners. Whilst attempting to land, a French navy frigate collides with their boat. This event is broadcast live to the world by the cameraman who dies in the collision. The subsequent adverse news coverage causes the French to leave the campaigners unmolested on the island. The coverage also leads to a deluge of gifts from well wishers all over the world, a steady stream of visitors and a growing collection of endangered animals which are meant to use the island as sanctuary. Visitors include a representative from Club Med who investigates whether the island can be turned into a resort. These excesses cause Dr. Barbara to manipulate Neil and other residents to commit ever greater acts of sabotage to cut themselves off from the outside world. Gradually, the male residents of the island (except Neil) become ill and slowly die under the 'care' of Dr. Barbara. As fewer able bodied residents are left, the endangered animals they are supposed to be saving are killed and eaten. Slowly, Neil realises that his role is to father as many children as possible from the female residents. As more visitors arrive on the island, the female members stay and the male members disappear. When another young man arrives on the island, Neils role as stud is in jeopardy and he too becomes ill whilst the new arrival is kept healthy. Slowly, over the course of the story, the environmentalists change from being the sane ones in an insane world into total insanity as Dr. Barbara's all female 'paradise' is constructed. Neil and the remaining residents are rescued in the nick of time by the French navy after a couple who only just manages to escape alerts the authorities to what is really happening on the island. |
Blood of Elves | Andrzej Sapkowski | 1,994 | The Empire of Nilfgaard attacks and overwhelms the Kingdom of Cintra. Queen Calanthe of Cintra commits suicide and her granddaughter, Cirilla, called Ciri, or "Lion Cub of Cintra" somehow flees from the burning capital city. Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard, sends his spies to find her. He knows that this young girl has great importance, not only because of her royal blood, but also because of her magical potential and elven blood in her veins. The girl is protected by Geralt of Rivia, a witcher - a magically and genetically mutated monster slayer for hire, and also a man whose destiny is bound with that of Ciri. Aided by several others including the famous bard Dandilion and a powerful sorceress named Yennefer, Geralt quickly learns of a man named Rience who is hunting Ciri relentlessly, aided by some powerful and influential allies. As she learns the ways of both a witcher and a magic user, Ciri and those around her begin to realise that almost everybody wishes to either use her for her mysterious power or kill her so that such a power cannot become wielded by others. |
Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | 1,938 | "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" is the book's famous opening line, and after the first two chapters, its unnamed narrator (she is only known by her title, Mrs de Winter) reminisces about her past. While working as the companion to a rich American woman vacationing in Monte Carlo, the narrator becomes acquainted with a wealthy Englishman, Maximilian (Maxim) de Winter, a 40-something widower. After a fortnight of courtship, she agrees to marry him and, after the wedding and honeymoon, accompanies him to his mansion, the beautiful West Country estate Manderley. Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, was profoundly devoted to the first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca. She continually attempts to undermine the new Mrs. de Winter psychologically, subtly suggesting to her that she will never attain the urbanity and charm the first one possessed. Whenever the new Mrs. de Winter attempts to make changes at Manderley, Mrs. Danvers describes how Rebecca ran it when she was alive. Each time Mrs. Danvers does this, she implies that the new Mrs. de Winter lacks the experience and knowledge necessary for running an important estate. Cowed by Mrs. Danvers's imposing manner, the new mistress simply caves. She is soon convinced that Maxim regrets his impetuous decision to marry her and is still deeply in love with the seemingly perfect Rebecca. The climax occurs at Manderley's annual costume ball. Mrs. Danvers manipulates the protagonist into wearing a replica of the dress shown in a portrait of one of the former inhabitants of the estate—the same costume worn by Rebecca to much acclaim shortly before her death. The narrator has a drummer announce her entrance using the name of the lady in the portrait: Caroline de Winter. When the narrator shows Maxim the dress, he gets very angry at her and orders her to change. Shortly after the ball, Mrs. Danvers expressly reveals her contempt for our heroine by encouraging Mrs. de Winter to commit suicide by jumping out the window. However she is thwarted at the last moment by the disturbance occasioned by a nearby shipwreck. A diver investigating the condition of the wrecked ship's hull also discovers the remains of Rebecca's boat. Maxim confesses the truth to our heroine: how his marriage to Rebecca was nothing but a sham; how from the very first days husband and wife loathed each other. Rebecca, Maxim reveals, was a cruel and selfish woman who manipulated everyone around her into believing her to be the perfect wife and a paragon of virtue. She repeatedly taunted Maxim with sordid tales of her numerous love affairs and suggested that she was pregnant with another man's child, which she would raise under the pretense that it was Maxim's and he would be powerless to stop her. She intentionally provoked him into fatally shooting her. Then, fearing to be hanged, he disposed of her body on her boat and sank it at sea. Our heroine is relieved to hear he had never loved Rebecca, but really loves her. Rebecca's boat is now raised and it is discovered that it was deliberately sunk. An inquest brings a verdict of suicide, however, Rebecca's first cousin (and lover) Jack Favell attempts to blackmail Maxim, claiming to have proof that Rebecca could not have intended suicide. It is revealed Rebecca had an appointment with a Doctor Baker shortly before her death, presumably to confirm her pregnancy. When the doctor is found he reveals Rebecca had been suffering from cancer and would have died within a few months; furthermore, due to the malformation of her uterus, she could never have been pregnant. Knowing she was going to die, Rebecca manipulated Maxim into killing her quickly, rather than face a lingering death. Maxim feels a great sense of foreboding and insists on driving through the night to return to Manderley. However, before he comes in sight of the house, it is clear from a glow on the horizon and wind-borne ashes that it is ablaze. It is evident at the beginning that Maxim and the second Mrs. de Winter now live in some foreign exile. The events recounted in the book are in essence a memoir of her life at Manderley. |
Everyone Poops | Taro Gomi | 1,993 | Everyone Poops is essentially plotless. The first sixteen pages contain various prompts regarding defecation in animals such as opposites ("An elephant makes a big poop" and "[a] mouse makes a tiny poop"), comparisons (that various species produce various sizes and shapes of poop) and questions ("What does whale poop look like?"). On the seventeenth page, a nameless boy with black overalls and a red shirt is introduced, seen running into a bathroom. The book then goes on to explain how people of all ages, from adult to very young child, defecate, and how infants may use diapers. After that, there are only three more illustrations that lack the nameless overall-clad boy. On the next page of the book, the child uses toilet paper and flushes the toilet. The final portion of the book explains that because every animal eats, it must therefore defecate, and the book ends with rear views of the boy and six different animals defecating and the words "Everyone Poops". |
The Dancing Girl of Izu | Yasunari Kawabata | 1,926 | "The Dancing Girl of Izu" tells of the story between a young male student who is touring the Izu Peninsula and a family of traveling dancers he meets there, including their youngest girl on the onset of puberty. The student finds the naïve girl attractive even though he eventually have to part with the family after spending memorable time together. |
Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today | Margot Adler | 1,979 | Drawing Down the Moon offers a guide to the Pagan movement across the United States. |
Religion Explained | Pascal Boyer | 2,001 | Boyer's multifaceted book explains the genesis of religious concepts through the mind's cognitive inference systems, comparable to pareidolia and perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena resulting from face perception processes within the human brain. Boyer supports this naturalistic origin of religion with evidence from many specialized disciplines including biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and information processing. Religion Explained frames religious practices and beliefs in terms of recent cognitive neuroscience research in the modularity of mind. This theory involves cognitive "modules" ("devices" or "subroutines") underlying inference systems and intuitions. For instance, Boyer suggests culturally-widespread beliefs in "supernatural agents" (e.g., gods, ancestors, spirits, and witches) result from agent detection: the intuitive modular process of assuming intervention by conscious agents, regardless of whether they are present. "When we see branches moving in a tree or when we hear an unexpected sound behind us, we immediately infer that some agent is the cause of this salient event. We can do that without any specific description of what the agent actually is." Boyer cites E. E. Evans-Pritchard's classic Zande story about a termite-infested roof collapsing. For the anthropologist, the house caved in because of the termites. For the Zande, it was quite clear that witchcraft was involved. However, the Zande were also aware that the termites were the proximate cause of the incident. But what they wanted to know was why it happened at that particular time, when particular people were gathered in the house. Within Boyer's hypothesis, religion is a "parasite" (or "spandrel") offshoot from cognitive modules, comparable to the way the reading process is parasitic upon language modules. As I have pointed out repeatedly the building of religious concepts requires mental systems and capacities that are there anyway, religious concepts or not. Religious morality uses moral intuitions, religious notions of supernatural agents recruit our intuitions about agency in general, and so on. This is why I said that religious concepts are parasitic upon other mental capacities. Our capacities to play music, paint pictures or even make sense of printed ink-patterns on a page are also parasitic in this sense. This means that we can explain how people play music, paint pictures and learn to read by examining how mental capacities are recruited by these activities. The same goes for religion. Because the concepts require all sorts of specific human capacities (an intuitive psychology, a tendency to attend to some counterintuitive concepts, as well as various social mind adaptations), we can explain religion by describing how these various capacities get recruited, how they contribute to the features of religion that we find in so many different cultures. We do not need to assume that there is a special way of functioning that occurs only when processing religious thoughts. Boyer admits his explanation of religion is not a quick, shoot-from-the-hip solution of the kind that many people, either religious or not, seem to favor. There cannot be a magic bullet to explain the existence and common features of religion, as the phenomenon is the result of aggregate relevance – that is, of successful activation of a whole variety of mental systems. |
Stone of Farewell | Tad Williams | 1,990 | After the cliffhanger ending of The Dragonbone Chair, we find that Simon, the scullion-turned-warrior, has wrested the legendary sword Thorn from the frozen lair of Igjarjuk, the ice dragon. The dragon's blood, scalding his face and turning some of his hair white, earns him the new name Simon Snowlock, but while his scars may brand him as a dragonslayer, he's much the same young man he was before. As Simon recovers from his wound, Binabik the troll and Sludig the Rimmersman are being tried for crimes against the Qanuc people. Sludig's crime is merely being a Rimmersman, a traditional enemy of the Qanuc, while Binabik is charged with abandoning his fiancée, Sisqi, before marriage. Jiriki, a Sithi prince who owes Simon several favors, isn't inclined to help Simon free his imprisoned friends. Eventually, Simon does manage to free Binabik and Sludig, where the friends head south to deliver Thorn to Prince Josua. Meanwhile, the exiled prince Josua and his ragged band of survivors flee from the ruins of Naglimund. They head for Aldheorte Forest, trying to escape the swords and arrows of their enemies, all the while trying to reach the Stone of Farewell, where the League of the Scroll believes they will be able to regroup and recuperate. Elsewhere, Josua's niece Miriamele is traveling undercover in the dubious company of the monk Cadrach, a drunken sot. Daughter of the evil King Elias, she is at constant risk of being discovered and captured. Duke Isgrimnur, also having gone undercover, hopes to find Miriamele and return her to her uncle Josua before she is harmed or captured, either by her father or by others. At the same time, Maegwin, the Hernystiri princess, teeters between desperation and insanity while searching deep in the earth for some salvation for her refugee people. After surviving many perils, Simon becomes the only mortal to enter Jao e-Tinukai'i, last refuge of the Sithi. The band led by Prince Josua, though betrayed by the chieftain of the nomadic Thrithings-folk, eventually reaches the Stone of Farewell, where they wait for the arrival of Simon and the blade Thorn. As King Elias consolidates his power, the Storm King's blight brings permanent winter to most of Osten Ard, and the remaining defenders ready for a decisive battle at the Stone. |
To Green Angel Tower | Tad Williams | 1,993 | The story begins with the forces of Prince Josua Lackhand rallied at the Stone of Farewell, where the icy hand of the Storm King Ineluki has yet to take a deathgrip on the land. The remaining members of the League of the Scroll have also gathered at the Stone in hopes of unraveling an ancient prophecy. If deciphered, it could reveal to Josua and his army the only means of striking down the unslayable Storm King. After Simon and Binabik have their reunion, they come to the realization that Memory - one of the three Great Swords recognized as being key to defeating the Storm King - is one and the same with Bright-Nail, old King John’s sword that was buried with him not three years previously. The trouble is, the grave of King John Presbyter lies in the shadow of the Hayholt, the stronghold of King Elias, and between the Stone of Farewell and Hayholt marches the army Elias has sent to besiege the defenders. Meanwhile, Miriamele, Elias’s daughter who has joined Josua’s cause, is an unhappy prisoner on the ship of a lascivious and ambitious lordling to whom which she has surrendered her virtue knowing only too late of his true nature. Another princess, Maegwin of Hernystir, falls deeper into madness, leading her people in a seemingly futile resistance against Elias’s allies who have conquered her kingdom, and deep in the ancient forest of Aldheorte, the immortal Sithi are mustering for a final conflict. While Josua and his army must make a final stand to try to delay the forces of King Elias, Simon embarks upon a quest to Hayholt to try to obtain the last of the three legendary swords and use their hidden magics to defeat The Storm King Ineluki and restore peace to Osten Ard once and for all. |
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