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Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.
Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family." But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn't live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.
When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.
On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come under attack. Lessa is an outcast survivor—her parents murdered, her birthright stolen—a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge. But when an ancient threat reemerges, Lessa will rise—upon the back of a great dragon with whom she shares a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection. Together, dragon and rider will fly, and Pern will be changed forever.
Since Lessa and Ramoth, her golden queen dragon, traveled into the past to bring forward a small army of dragons and riders to save their world from deadly alien spores, fear and desperation have spread across the land. But while the dragonriders struggle with threats both human and otherworldly, a young rider named F'nor and his brown dragon, Canth, hatch a bold plan to destroy the alien scourge at its source—the baleful Red Star that fills the heavens and promises doom to all.
Never in the history of Pern has there been a dragon like Ruth. Mocked by other dragons for his small size and pure white color, Ruth is smart, brave, and loyal—qualities that he shares with his rider, the young Lord Jaxom. Unfortunately, Jaxom is also looked down upon by his fellow lords, and by other riders as well. His dreams of joining the dragonriders in defending Pern are dismissed. What else can Jaxom and Ruth do but strike out on their own, pursuing in secret all they are denied? But in doing so, the two friends will find themselves facing a desperate choice—one that will push their bond to the breaking point . . . and threaten the future of Pern itself.
Only once in a great while does a writer come along who defies comparison—a writer so original he redefines the way we look at the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer and Snow Crash is such a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring us the gigathriller of the information age.
In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse.
Praise for Snow Crash
"[Snow Crash is] a cross between Neuromancer and Thomas Pynchon's Vineland. This is no mere hyperbole."—The San Francisco Bay Guardian
"Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the twenty-first century."—William Gibson
"Brilliantly realized . . . Stephenson turns out to be an engaging guide to an onrushing tomorrow."—The New York Times Book Review
--The Wanderer, A Literary Journal (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
The #1 Bestselling series!
RISE OF THE VALIANT is book #2 in Morgan Rice's bestselling epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS (which begins with RISE OF THE DRAGONS, a free download)!
In the wake of the dragon's attack, Kyra is sent on an urgent quest: to cross Escalon and seek out her uncle in the mysterious Tower of Ur. The time has come for her to learn about who she is, who her mother is, and to train and develop her special powers. It will be a quest fraught with peril for a girl alone, Escalon filled with dangers from savage beasts and men alike—one that will require all of her strength to survive.
Her father, Duncan, must lead his men south, to the great water city of Esephus, to attempt to free his fellow countrymen from the iron grip of Pandesia. If he succeeds, he will have to journey to the treacherous Lake of Ire and then onto the icy peaks of Kos, where there live the toughest warriors of Escalon, men he will need to recruit if he has any chance of taking the capital.
Alec escapes with Marco from The Flames to find himself on the run through the Wood of Thorns, chased by exotic beasts. It is a harrowing journey through the night as he quests for his hometown, hoping to be reunited with his family. When he arrives, he is shocked by what he discovers.
Merk, despite his better judgment, turns back to help the girl, and finds himself, for the first time in his life, entangled in a stranger's affairs. He will not forego his pilgrimage to the Tower of Ur, though, and he finds himself anguished as he realizes the tower is not what he expects.
Vesuvius spurs his giant as he leads the Trolls on their mission underground, attempting to bypass The Flames, while the dragon, Theos, has his own special mission on Escalon.
With its strong atmosphere and complex characters, RISE OF THE VALIANT is a sweeping saga of knights and warriors, of kings and lords, of honor and valor, of magic, destiny, monsters and dragons. It is a story of love and broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is fantasy at its finest, inviting us into a world that will live with us forever, one that will appeal to all ages and genders.
Book #3 in the series--THE WEIGHT OF HONOR--is now also available!
"If you thought that there was no reason left for living after the end of the Sorcerer's Ring series, you were wrong. Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of trolls and dragons, of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page.…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy."
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
"[The novel] succeeds—right from the start…. A superior fantasy…It begins, as it should, with one protagonist's struggles and moves neatly into a wider circle of knights, dragons, magic and monsters, and destiny.…All the trappings of high fantasy are here, from soldiers and battles to confrontations with self….A recommended winner for any who enjoy epic fantasy writing fueled by powerful, believable young adult protagonists."
--Midwest Book Review, D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
"A plot-driven novel that's easy to read in a weekend…A good start to a promising series."
--San Francisco Book Review (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves--Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.
--The Wanderer, A Literary Journal (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
The #1 Bestselling series!
THE WEIGHT OF HONOR is book #3 in Morgan Rice's bestselling epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS (which begins with RISE OF THE DRAGONS, a free download)!
In THE WEIGHT OF HONOR, Kyra finally meets her cryptic uncle, and is shocked to discover he is not the man she expected. She embarks on a period of training which will test her stamina and her frustration, as she soon encounters the limits of her power. Unable to summon her dragon, unable to search deep within, and feeling an urgency to help in her father's wars, Kyra doubts if she will ever become the warrior she thought she was. And when she meets a mysterious boy, more powerful than her, deep in the forest, she wonders what her future really has in store for her.
Duncan must descend the peaks of Kos with his new army and, vastly outnumbered, launch a risky invasion on the capital. If he wins, waiting behind its ancient walls, he knows, will be the old king and his nest of nobles and aristocrats, all with their own agendas, all of them as quick to betray as they are to embrace. Unifying Escalon may, indeed, be harder than freeing it.
Alec, in Ur, must tap his unique skills in the forge to aid the resistance if they have any chance of defending against the looming Pandesian invasion. He is awestruck when he encounters Dierdre, the strongest girl he has ever meet. The time she has a chance to make a stand against Pandesia, and as she bravely faces off, she who wonders if her father and his men will have her back this time.
Alec, in Ur, must tap his unique skills in the forge to aid the resistance if they have any chance of defending against the looming Pandesian invasion. He is awestruck when he encounters Dierdre, the strongest girl he has ever met. This time she has a chance to make a stand against Pandesia, and as she bravely faces off, she wonders if her father and his men will have her back this time.
Vesuvius leads his Troll nation across a vulnerable Escalon, devastating the land, while Theos, enraged at what becomes of his son, is on a rampage himself, and will not stop until all of Escalon is aflame.
With its strong atmosphere and complex characters, THE WEIGHT OF HONOR is a sweeping saga of knights and warriors, of kings and lords, of honor and valor, of magic, destiny, monsters and dragons. It is a story of love and broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is fantasy at its finest, inviting us into a world that will live with us forever, one that will appeal to all ages and genders.
Book #4 in KINGS AND SORCERERS will be published soon.
"If you thought that there was no reason left for living after the end of the Sorcerer's Ring series, you were wrong. Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of trolls and dragons, of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page.…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy."
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
"[The novel] succeeds—right from the start…. A superior fantasy…It begins, as it should, with one protagonist's struggles and moves neatly into a wider circle of knights, dragons, magic and monsters, and destiny.…All the trappings of high fantasy are here, from soldiers and battles to confrontations with self….A recommended winner for any who enjoy epic fantasy writing fueled by powerful, believable young adult protagonists."
--Midwest Book Review, D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
"A plot-driven novel that's easy to read in a weekend…A good start to a promising series."
--San Francisco Book Review (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.
Praise for Dan Simmons and Hyperion
"Dan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish."—The Washington Post Book World
"An unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed."—The New York Times Book Review
"Simmons's own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry."—The Denver Post
"An essential part of any science fiction collection."—Booklist
--The Wanderer, A Literary Journal (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
The #1 Bestselling series, with over 400 five star reviews!
A FORGE OF VALOR is book #4 in Morgan Rice's bestselling epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS (which begins with RISE OF THE DRAGONS, a free download)!
In A FORGE OF VALOR, Kyra slowly returns from the verge of death, healed by Kyle's love and mysterious power. As he sacrifices for her, she regains her strength—yet not without a price. She presses Alva for the secret of her lineage, and he finally reveals all about her mother. Given a chance to quest to the source of her power, Kyra must make a crucial choice: whether to complete her training or journey to help her father, who wallows in the capital dungeon, his execution pending.
Aidan, Motley at his side, also strives to rescue his father, trapped in the perilous capital, while in the far corner of the kingdom, Merk, amazed by what he discovers in the Tower of Ur, braces himself against a massive troll invasion. His Tower surrounded, he must fight alongside his fellow Watchers, to defend his nation's most precious relic.
Dierdre finds herself facing a full-fledged Pandesian invasion in her embattled city of Ur. As her precious city is destroyed all around her, she has to decide whether to escape or to make a final, heroic stand. Alec, meanwhile, finds himself at sea with his cryptic newfound friend, sailing to a land he's never been, one even more mysterious than his companion. It is here that, finally, he learns of his destiny—and of the last hope for Escalon.
With its strong atmosphere and complex characters, A FORGE OF VALOR is a sweeping saga of knights and warriors, of kings and lords, of honor and valor, of magic, destiny, monsters and dragons. It is a story of love and broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is fantasy at its finest, inviting us into a world that will live with us forever, one that will appeal to all ages and genders.
Book #5 in KINGS AND SORCERERS will be published soon.
"If you thought that there was no reason left for living after the end of the Sorcerer's Ring series, you were wrong. Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of trolls and dragons, of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page.…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy."
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith joins a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.
Animal Farm is Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution -- an account of the bold struggle, initiated by the animals, that transforms Mr. Jones's Manor Farm into Animal Farm--a wholly democratic society built on the credo that All Animals Are Created Equal. But are they?
While Spartans get all the glory, no soldier―not even the legendary Master Chief―wins a war on their own. Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck and his team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs) played a major role in saving the Earth from all-out invasion at the end of the Covenant War―acts of bravery and ingenuity that did not go unnoticed by the United Nations Space Command.
Now, after many Spartans have been killed in battle and the Master Chief is listed as MIA, the UNSC decides to create a new generation of Spartans to defend humanity from threats both outside―and within. When they come to Buck with an extraordinary proposition, he is forced to make a life-altering decision. With the Covenant War finally over, is it time for him to finally retire to the sidelines for a life he could only dream about…or is he prepared to step up and become part of the military's new blood?
Copyright © 2015 by Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Halo, the Halo logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.
—Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding A Quest of Heroes)
THE GIFT OF BATTLE (Book #17) is the finale of the Bestselling series THE SORCERER'S RING, which begins with A QUEST OF HEROES (book #1)—a free download on Google Play!
In THE GIFT OF BATTLE, Thor meets his greatest and final challenge, as he quests deeper into the Land of Blood to attempt to rescue Guwayne. Encountering foes more powerful than he ever imagined, Thor soon realizes he is up against an army of darkness, one for which his powers are no match. When he learns a sacred object may give him the powers he needs—an object which has been kept secret for ages—he must embark on a final quest to retrieve it before it is too late, with the fate of the Ring hanging in the balance.
Gwendolyn keeps her vow to the King of the Ridge, entering the tower and confronting the cult leader to learn what secret he is hiding. The revelation sends her to Argon, and ultimately to Argon's master—where she learns the greatest secret of all, one which may alter the destiny of her people. When the Ridge is discovered by the Empire, the invasion begins and, under attack by the greatest army known to man, it falls on Gwendolyn to defend, and to lead her people on one final, mass exodus.
Thor's Legion brothers, on their own, face unimaginable risks, as Angel is dying from her leprosy. Darius fights for his life beside his father in the Empire capital, until a surprise twist prods him, with nothing left to lose, to finally tap his own powers. Erec and Alistair reach Volusia, battling their way upriver, and they continue on their quest for Gwendolyn and the exiles, as they face unexpected battles. And Godfrey realizes that he must ultimately make a decision to be the man he wants to be.
Volusia, surrounded by all the power of the Knights of the Seven, must put herself to the test as goddess and discover if she alone has the power to crush men and rule the Empire. While Argon, faced with his end of days, realizes the time has come to sacrifice himself.
As good and evil hang in the balance, one final, epic battle—the greatest battle of all—will determine the outcome of the Ring for all time.
With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, THE GIFT OF BATTLE is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders. THE GIFT OF BATTLE is the longest of all the books in the series, at 93,000 words!
"Action-packed …. Rice's writing is solid and the premise intriguing."
—Publishers Weekly (regarding A Quest of Heroes)
From the author of Legion and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive comes an action-filled novella about privilege, culture clash, and expectations.
God-Emperor Kairominas is lord of all he surveys. He has defeated all foes, has united the entire world beneath his rule, and has mastered the arcane arts. He spends his time sparring with his nemesis, who keeps trying to invade Kai's world.
Except for today. Today, Kai has to go on a date.
Forces have conspired to require him to meet with his equal—a woman from another world who has achieved just as much as he has. What happens when the most important man in the world is forced to have dinner with the most important woman in the world?
Years have passed since humanity's destruction emerged from the Breach.
Friendless and alone he walks across a desolate, war-torn landscape.
As each day passes the world tumbles further into depravity, bent and twisted by the new order, corrupted by the Usurper, the enemy, and his infernal horde.
His purpose is to reach the Shining City, last bastion of the human race, and deliver the only weapon that may make a difference in the ongoing war.
What little hope remains is dying. Abandoned by its leader, The Seven, and its heroes, The Seraph Knights, the last defences of a once great civilisation are crumbling into dust.
But the Shining City is far away and the world is a very dangerous place.
Bob Arctor is a junkie and a drug dealer, both using and selling the mind-altering Substance D. Fred is a law enforcement agent, tasked with bringing Bob down. It sounds like a standard case. The only problem is that Bob and Fred are the same person. Substance D doesn't just alter the mind, it splits it in two, and neither side knows what the other is doing or that it even exists. Now, both sides are growing increasingly paranoid as Bob tries to evade Fred while Fred tries to evade his suspicious bosses.
In this award-winning novel, friends can become enemies, good trips can turn terrifying, and cops and criminals are two sides of the same coin. Dick is at turns caustically funny and somberly contemplative, fashioning a novel that is as unnerving as it is enthralling.
It is 2555, more than two years after the Master Chief went missing-in-action following a decisive conflict on Installation 00—the massive, extragalactic Forerunner construct known as the Ark—as part of the final chapter in humanity's bloody thirty-year struggle against the overwhelming forces of the Covenant. Now, as a tenuous peace exists between the humans and the Elites, a startling scientific discovery is made…and the riddle behind its Forerunner origins could very well seal the fate of the entire galaxy within a matter of weeks. In order to unravel these dangerous secrets, a heroic, hastily formed coalition of humans and Elites must attempt to overcome their differences as they embark on a covert mission back to the Ark—an astonishing, enigmatic place beyond comprehension from which few have returned and where mortal danger awaits them all…
—Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding A Quest of Heroes)
"[An] entertaining epic fantasy."
—Kirkus Reviews (regarding A Quest of Heroes)
"The beginnings of something remarkable are there."
—San Francisco Book Review (regarding A Quest of Heroes)
A JOUST OF KNIGHTS is Book #16 in the Bestselling series THE SORCERER'S RING, which begins with A QUEST OF HEROES (book #1)—a free download with over 500 five star reviews on Amazon!
In A JOUST OF KNIGHTS, Thorgrin and his brothers follow Guwayne's trail at sea, pursuing him to the Isle of Light. But as they reach the ravaged isle and the dying Ragon, all may be just too late.
Darius finds himself brought to the Empire capital, and to the greatest arena of them all. He is trained by a mysterious man who is determined to forge him into a warrior, and to help him survive the impossible. But the capital arena is unlike anything Darius has seen, and its formidable foes may be too intense for even he to conquer.
Gwendolyn is pulled into the heart of the family dynamics of the royal court of the Ridge, as the King and Queen beg her for a favor. On a quest to unearth secrets that can change the very future of the Ridge and save Thorgrin and Guwayne, Gwen is shocked by what she discovers as she digs too deep.
Erec and Alistair's bonds deepen as they sail further upriver, into the heart of the Empire, determined to find Volusia and save Gwendolyn—while Godfrey and his crew wreak havoc within Volusia, determined to avenge their friends. And Volusia herself learns what it means to rule the Empire, as she finds her precarious capital embattled from all sides.
With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, A JOUST OF KNIGHTS is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders.
THE GIFT OF BATTLE (BOOK #17 IN THE SORCERER'S RING), the finale of the Sorcerer's Ring, is now also available!
And book #1 in Morgan Rice's new epic fantasy series, RISE OF THE DRAGONS (KINGS AND SORCERERS--BOOK 1), is now available!
"A spirited fantasy ….Only the beginning of what promises to be an epic young adult series."
—Midwest Book Review (regarding A Quest of Heroes)
It was caught in a hovering, jagged chunk of ice, the runes that ran the length of its blade glowing a cool blue. Below it was a dais of some sort, standing on a large gently raised mound that was covered in a dusting of snow. A soft light, coming from somewhere high above where the cavern was open to daylight, shone down on the runeblade. The icy prison hid some details of the sword's shape and form, exaggerated others. It was revealed and concealed at the same time, and all the more tempting, like a new lover imperfectly glimpsed through a gauzy curtain. Arthas knew the blade -- it was the selfsame sword he had seen in his dream when he first arrived. The sword that had not killed Invincible, but that had brought him back healed and healthy. He'd thought it a good omen then, but now he knew it was a true sign. This was what he had come to find. This sword would change everything. Arthas stared raptly at it, his hands almost physically aching to grasp it, his fingers to wrap themselves around the hilt, his arms to feel the weapon swinging smoothly in the blow that would end Mal'Ganis, end the torment he had visited upon the people of Lordaeron, end this lust for revenge. Drawn, he stepped forward.
The uncanny elemental spirit drew its icy sword. "Turn away, before it is too late," it intoned.
* * *
His evil is legend. Lord of the undead Scourge, wielder of the runeblade Frostmourne, and enemy of the free peoples of Azeroth. The Lich King is an entity of incalculable power and unparalleled malice -- his icy soul utterly consumed by his plans to destroy all life on the World of Warcraft.
But it was not always so. Long before his soul was fused with that of the orc shaman Ner'zhul, the Lich King was Arthas Menethil, crown prince of Lordaeron and faithful paladin of the Silver Hand.
When a plague of undeath threatened all that he loved, Arthas was driven to pursue an ill-fated quest for a runeblade powerful enough to save his homeland. Yet the object of his search would exact a heavy price from its new master, beginning a horrifying descent into damnation. Arthas's path would lead him through the arctic northern wastes toward the Frozen Throne, where he would face, at long last, the darkest of destinies.
For generations, the dragonriders had dedicated their lives to fighting Thread, the dreaded spores that periodically rained from the sky to ravage the land. On the backs of their magnificent telepathic dragons they flew to flame the deadly stuff out of the air before it could reach the planet's surface. But the greatest dream of the dragonriders was to find a way to eradicate Thread completely, so that never again would their beloved Pern be threatened with destruction.
Now, for the first time, it looks as if that dream can come true. For when the people of Pern, led by Masterharper Robinton and F'lar and Lessa, Weyrleader and Weyrwoman of Bendon Weyr, excavate the ancient remains of the planet's original settlement, they uncover the colonists' voice-activated artificial intelligence system—which still functions. And the computer has incredible news for them: There is a chance—a good chance—that they can, at long last, annihilate Thread once and for all.
In the star-spanning civilization known as the Intersolar Commonwealth, twenty-three planets have fallen victim to the Prime, a technologically advanced alien species genetically hardwired to exterminate all other forms of life. But the Prime is not the only threat. The Starflyer, an alien with mind-control abilities impossible to detect or resist, has secretly infiltrated the Commonwealth and is sabotaging the war effort. Is the Starflyer an ally of the Prime, or has it orchestrated a fight to the death between the two species for its own advantage? Caught between two deadly enemies, the fractious Commonwealth must unite as never before. This will be humanity's finest hour—or its last gasp.
Praise for Judas Unchained, the sequel to Pandora's Star
"Bristles with the energy of golden age SF, but the style and characterizations are polished and modern."—SF Site
"You're in for quite a ride."—The Santa Fe New Mexican
"The reader is left breathless in amazement."—SFRevu
The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars, contains more than six hundred worlds interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: over one thousand light-years away, a star . . . disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, the Second Chance, a faster-than-light starship commanded by Wilson Kime, a five-times-rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat.
Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, led by Bradley Johansson. Shortly after the journey begins, Kime wonders if the crew of the Second Chance has been infiltrated. But soon enough he will have other worries. Halfway across the galaxy, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth . . . and humanity itself.
"Should be high on everyone's reading list . . . You won't be able to put it down."—Nancy Pearl, NPR
"Recommended . . . A large cast of characters, each with his own story, brings depth and variety to this far-future saga."—Library Journal
--The Wanderer, A Literary Journal (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
The #1 Bestselling series, with over 400 five star reviews on Amazon!
A REALM OF SHADOWS is book #5 in Morgan Rice's bestselling epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS (which begins with RISE OF THE DRAGONS, a free download)!
In A REALM OF SHADOWS, Kyra finds herself in the midst of a burning capital, attacked by a host of dragons, clinging for life. With her beloved homeland destroyed, The Flames down and the trolls pouring in, Kyra must urgently quest to Marda to retrieve the magic weapon before it is too late—even if it takes her into the very heart of darkness.
Duncan finds himself trapped, with the others, in the burning capital, and he uses all his wits to find his men, attempt escape, and rally his forces to regroup and attack Pandesia. Across the kingdom, Merk sails with King Tarnis' daughter through the Bay of Death as they abandon the Tower of Kos and sail for the warrior isle of Knossos. Pursued by Vesuvius and his army of trolls, crossing the world's most treacherous waters, they know they have little chance to reach the isle, and even less chance of escape.
Dierdre and Marco survive the tidal wave that destroyed Ur only to find their beloved city under water. With everyone they knew and loved lost and dead, they must pick up the pieces and journey to the one person they know who is left alive: Kyra. Alec, meanwhile sails back for Escalon with the people of The Lost Isles, holding the precious sword that might just change everything. But none expect to encounter a land destroyed, a land that is now teeming with dragons.
With its strong atmosphere and complex characters, A REALM OF SHADOWS is a sweeping saga of knights and warriors, of kings and lords, of honor and valor, of magic, destiny, monsters and dragons. It is a story of love and broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is fantasy at its finest, inviting us into a world that will live with us forever, one that will appeal to all ages and genders.
Book #6 in KINGS AND SORCERERS will be published soon.
"If you thought that there was no reason left for living after the end of the Sorcerer's Ring series, you were wrong. Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of trolls and dragons, of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page.…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy."
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
Go'el's mien, which had been deeply peaceful, now looked troubled. "I have heard, of course."
"And . . . you do nothing?"
"I have another path," he said. "You have seen the results of that path. A threat that—"
"Go'el, I hear this, but now that task is over. Garrosh is stirring up trouble between the Alliance and the Horde—trouble that didn't exist until he started it. I can understand if you don't wish to undermine him publicly, but—perhaps you and I can work together. Form a summit of sorts. Ask Baine to join us; I know he has no love for what Garrosh is striving for. I could speak with Varian. As of late, he seems to be more reachable. Everyone respects you, even in the Alliance, Go'el. You have earned that respect because of your actions. Garrosh has earned nothing but mistrust and hatred because of his."
She indicated her cloak, which had blown about with the wind he had sent to bear her to shore. "You can control the winds as a shaman. But the winds of war are blowing, and if we do not stop Garrosh now, many innocents will pay the price for our hesitation."
The ashes of the Cataclysm have settled across Azeroth's disparate kingdoms. As the broken world recovers from the disaster, the renowned sorceress Lady Jaina Proudmoore continues her long struggle to mend relations between the Horde and the Alliance. Yet of late, escalating tensions have pushed the two factions closer to open war, threatening to destroy what little stability remains in the . . .
Dark news arrives in Jaina's beloved city, Theramore. One of the blue dragonflight's most powerful artifacts—the Focusing Iris—has been stolen. To unravel the item's mysterious whereabouts, Jaina works with the former blue Dragon Aspect Kalecgos. The two brilliant heroes forge an unlikely bond during their investigation, but another disastrous turn of events looms on the horizon. . . .
Garrosh Hellscream is mustering the Horde's armies for an all-out invasion of Theramore. Despite mounting dissent within his faction, the brazen warchief aims to usher in a new era of Horde domination. His thirst for conquest leads him to take brutal measures against anyone who dares question his leadership.
Alliance forces converge on Theramore to repel the Horde onslaught, but the brave defenders are unprepared for the true scope of Garrosh's cunning and deceptive strategy. His attack will irrevocably transform Jaina, engulfing the ardent peacekeeper in the chaotic and all-consuming . . . TIDES OF WAR
In the twenty-fifth century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person's consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or "sleeve") making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.
Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his last death was particularly painful. Dispatched one hundred eighty light-years from home, re-sleeved into a body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco, now with a rusted, dilapidated Golden Gate Bridge), Kovacs is thrown into the dark heart of a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats "existence" as something that can be bought and sold.
Praise for Altered Carbon
"Compelling . . . immensely entertaining . . . [Richard] Morgan's writing is vivid and his plotting inventive."—The Philadelphia Inquirer
"A fascinating trip . . . Pure high-octane science fiction mixes with the classic noir private-eye tale."—Orlando Sentinel
"Gritty and vivid . . . looks as if we have another interstellar hero on our hands."—USA Today
After decades of grim combat against the humans and then the traitorous Covenant Prophets, the Sangheili warrior Rtas 'Vadum—the Half-Jaw—has earned a long rest. But not all of the Prophets perished in their holy city, High Charity, and now one of their fearsome Prelates has sworn his vengeance. This powerful threat has set a cataclysmic plan in motion—a plan to lure the Half-Jaw into a trap that will herald the utter destruction of the entire Sangheili race…
Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance's one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic "Black Jack" legend...
"Unmissable . . . Bloodline's tense politics, vivid new characters, and perfectly characterized Leia make it feel as central to the Star Wars universe as one of the films."—Tordotcom
When the Rebellion defeated the Empire in the skies above Endor, Leia Organa believed it was the beginning to a lasting peace. But after decades of vicious infighting and partisan gridlock in the New Republic Senate, that hope seems like a distant memory.
Now a respected senator, Leia must grapple with the dangers that threaten to cripple the fledgling democracy—from both within and without. Underworld kingpins, treacherous politicians, and Imperial loyalists are sowing chaos in the galaxy. Desperate to take action, senators are calling for the election of a First Senator. It is their hope that this influential post will bring strong leadership to a divided galaxy.
As the daughter of Darth Vader, Leia faces with distrust the prospect of any one person holding such a powerful position—even when supporters suggest Leia herself for the job. But a new enemy may make this path Leia's only option. For at the edges of the galaxy, a mysterious threat is growing. . . .
Praise for Bloodline
"[Claudia] Gray paints a much more complete galaxy than we often get to see on the big screen. . . . Knowing that Rian Johnson (writer, director of Star Wars: Episode VIII) had some creative input on the novel provides hope that we haven't seen the last of all of these wonderful characters. . . . Star Wars: Bloodline isn't just a great Star Wars book, or a great Leia book, or a great book; it's a great introduction into the larger world of Star Wars in general."—ComicBookdotcom
"Bloodline is a nonstop page-turner that grabs at heartstrings that you weren't aware of and yanks down on every one of them. The story is loaded with context for The Force Awakens that plants the seeds for The First Order in perfectly haunting ways, and leaves the reader grasping for more details on newly discovered favorite characters."—Inverse
Stephen Leeds is perfectly sane. It's his hallucinations who are mad.
A genius of unrivaled aptitude, Stephen can learn any new skill, vocation, or art in a matter of hours. However, to contain all of this, his mind creates hallucinatory people—Stephen calls them aspects—to hold and manifest the information. Wherever he goes, he is joined by a team of imaginary experts to give advice, interpretation, and explanation. He uses them to solve problems…for a price.
His brain is getting a little crowded, however, and the aspects have a tendency of taking on lives of their own. When a company hires him to recover stolen property—a camera that can allegedly take pictures of the past—Stephen finds himself in an adventure crossing oceans and fighting terrorists. What he discovers may upend the foundation of three major world religions—and, perhaps, give him a vital clue into the true nature of his aspects.
A note from the publisher: Brandon will send a free copy of this ebook to anyone who purchased the Subterranean Press hardcover. See the title page in the ebook preview for details.
Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.
Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin's old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA's dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.
Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin's concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter's connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.
Unaware of the disaster brewing in Ashenvale, the night elves' legendary leaders, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind and Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, conduct a summit near Darnassus in order to vote the proud worgen of Gilneas into the Alliance. However, resentment of Gilneas and its ruler, Genn Greymane, runs deep in Stormwind's King Varian Wrynn. His refusal to forgive Genn for closing his nation off from the rest of the world years ago endangers more than just the summit: it threatens to unravel the Alliance itself.
Varian's animosity is only one of many unsettling developments in Darnassus. An uneasiness creeps over the once-immortal night elves as the first of them fall victim to the infirmities of age. While they cope with their mortality, tensions flare over the reintroduction of the Highborne, formerly the highest caste of night elf nobility, into their society. Many night elves are unable to pardon the Highborne for the destruction unleashed on Azeroth millennia ago by their reckless use of magic.
When a murdered Highborne is discovered on the outskirts of Darnassus, Malfurion and Tyrande move to stop further bloodshed and unrest by appointing one of the night elves' most cunning and skilled agents to find the killer: the renowned warden Maiev Shadowsong. Yet with all that is transpiring in Darnassus, the Alliance might be powerless to stop the relentless new warchief Garrosh from seizing the whole of Ashenvale.
It is 2553, and the three-decade long Covenant War that defined a generation has suddenly drawn to a close. Yet, in the remotest parts of human space, tensions remain that threaten to overflow into another full-scale conflict. Beneath the surface of the planet Gao lies a vast cavern system renowned for its therapeutic effects and rumored miraculous cures. But now Gao natives are turning up brutally murdered down there—violent acts that happen to coincide with the recent arrival of a UNSC research battalion protected by Spartan Blue Team, led by the renowned Spartan-II Fred-104.
Maverick detective Veta Lopis of the Gao Ministry of Protection is only trying to do her job as the Special Inspector assigned to catch a serial killer—one who is possibly hiding within the Spartan ranks—but she never anticipates the situation spiraling out of control into an all-out crisis. When Gao is revealed to harbor ancient Forerunner technology that could solidify the UNSC's military supremacy for centuries to come, Insurrection loyalists within the planetary government will do anything—even align with a vicious faction of what remains of the Covenant—to ensure that never happens…
Decades into our future, a stone's throw from the ancient city of Shanghai, a brilliant nanotechnologist named John Percival Hackworth has just broken the rigorous moral code of his tribe, the powerful neo-Victorians. He's made an illicit copy of a state-of-the-art interactive device called A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer Commissioned by an eccentric duke for his grandchild, stolen for Hackworth's own daughter, the Primer's purpose is to educate and raise a girl capable of thinking for herself. It performs its function superbly. Unfortunately for Hackworth, his smuggled copy has fallen into the wrong hands.
Young Nell and her brother Harv are thetes—members of the poor, tribeless class. Neglected by their mother, Harv looks after Nell. When he and his gang waylay a certain neo-Victorian—John Percival Hackworth—in the seamy streets of their neighborhood, Harv brings Nell something special: the Primer.
Following the discovery of his crime, Hackworth begins an odyssey of his own. Expelled from the neo-Victorian paradise, squeezed by agents of Protocol Enforcement on one side and a Mandarin underworld crime lord on the other, he searches for an elusive figure known as the Alchemist. His quest and Nell's will ultimately lead them to another seeker whose fate is bound up with the Primer—a woman who holds the key to a vast, subversive information network that is destined to decode and reprogram the future of humanity.
Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future. One of the few who live in Eternity, a location outside of place and time, Harlan's job is to create carefully controlled and enacted Reality Changes. These Changes are small, exactingly calculated shifts in the course of history, made for the benefit of humankind. Though each Change has been made for the greater good, there are also always costs.
During one of his assignments, Harlan meets and falls in love with Noÿs Lambent, a woman who lives in real time and space. Then Harlan learns that Noÿs will cease to exist after the next Change, and he risks everything to sneak her into Eternity.
Unfortunately, they are caught. Harlan's punishment? His next assignment: Kill the woman he loves before the paradox they have created results in the destruction of Eternity.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
From New York Times #1 bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes a detective thriller in a police beat like no other. Anthony Davis and his partner Chaz are the only real people in a city of 20 million, sent there by court order to find out what happened in the real world 10 days ago so that hidden evidence can be brought to light and located in the real city today.
Within the re-created Snapshot of May 1st, Davis and Chaz are the ultimate authorities. Flashing their badges will get them past any obstruction and overrule any civil right of the dupes around them. But the crimes the detectives are sent to investigate seem like drudgery—until they stumble upon the grisly results of a mass killing that the precinct headquarters orders them not to investigate. That's one order they have to refuse.
The hunt is on. And though the dupes in the replica city have no future once the Snapshot is turned off, that doesn't mean that both Davis and Chaz will walk out of it alive tonight.
Film rights have now been optioned by MGM, with Broken Road Productions and Entertainment 360 producing.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . .
When the Emperor and his notorious apprentice, Darth Vader, find themselves stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely on each other, the Force, and their own ruthlessness to prevail.
"It appears things are as you suspected, Lord Vader. We are indeed hunted."
Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, is just a memory. Darth Vader, newly anointed Sith Lord, is ascendant. The Emperor's chosen apprentice has swiftly proven his loyalty to the dark side. Still, the history of the Sith Order is one of duplicity, betrayal, and acolytes violently usurping their Masters—and the truest measure of Vader's allegiance has yet to be taken. Until now.
On Ryloth, a planet crucial to the growing Empire as a source of slave labor and the narcotic known as "spice," an aggressive resistance movement has arisen, led by Cham Syndulla, an idealistic freedom fighter, and Isval, a vengeful former slave. But Emperor Palpatine means to control the embattled world and its precious resources—by political power or firepower—and he will be neither intimidated nor denied. Accompanied by his merciless disciple, Darth Vader, he sets out on a rare personal mission to ensure his will is done.
For Syndulla and Isval, it's the opportunity to strike at the very heart of the ruthless dictatorship sweeping the galaxy. And for the Emperor and Darth Vader, Ryloth becomes more than just a matter of putting down an insurrection: When an ambush sends them crashing to the planet's surface, where inhospitable terrain and an army of resistance fighters await them, they will find their relationship tested as never before. With only their lightsabers, the dark side of the Force, and each other to depend on, the two Sith must decide if the brutal bond they share will make them victorious allies or lethal adversaries.
Praise for Lords of the Sith
"A compelling tale [that] gives us new insight into the relationship between Darth Vader and his master, Emperor Palpatine."—New York Daily News
"Endlessly fascinating . . . a tale [that is] not just compelling but completely thrilling."—Big Shiny Robot
"The best novel so far in this new era of official canon Star Wars stories."—IGN
"Packed with action . . . hard to put down."—Seattle Geekly
Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business—deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in "half-life," a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter's face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time. As consumables deteriorate and technology gets ever more primitive, the group needs to find out what is causing the shifts and what a mysterious product called Ubik has to do with it all.
"More brilliant than similar experiments conducted by Pynchon or DeLillo."—Roberto Bolaño
As a viper, she's no stranger to death. As a sister, she'll do anything to protect her kin.
Kate Richmond has seen it all. The former army ranger and ISS operative has engaged in missions of sabotage, cyber theft, espionage, and assassination on her path to become a viper cyborg. After barely surviving a full-scale incursion by the Merkiaari, she doubts life can hold anymore surprises, until a family mystery lands on her doorstep.
Her brother has been linked with a dead viper and numerous Merkiaari corpses. Now she must embark on a mission she never expected. It's time to find her brother.
Operation Breakout is the fourth installment in Merkiarri Wars, a five-book military sci-fi space opera. Get lost in a detailed universe with heroes, villains, and everything in between. If you like page-turning futuristic action, you'll love Mark E. Cooper's latest.
Buy Operation Breakout to continue the epic space opera today!
Reading Order:
1. Hard Duty
2. What Price Honour
3. Operation Oracle
4. Operation Breakout
5. Incursion
This is a science fiction series of first contact and alien invasion seen from both human and alien points of view. Expect to see space fleets battling and military themes.
Praise for Iain M. Banks:
"Poetic, humorous, baffling, terrifying, sexy -- the books of Iain M. Banks are all these things and more" -- NME
"An exquisitely riotous tour de force of the imagination which writes its own rules simply for the pleasure of breaking them." -- Time Out
Now, in the stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, Simmons returns us to a far future resplendent with drama and invention. On the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing—nothing anywhere in the universe—will ever be the same.
Praise for The Fall of Hyperion
"One of the finest SF novels published in the past few years."—Science Fiction Eye
"A magnificently original blend of themes and styles."—The Denver Post
Change is afoot in Ankh-Morpork. Discworld's first steam engine has arrived, and once again Moist von Lipwig finds himself with a new and challenging job.
Life couldn't be better...until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship's captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expendedon avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is...and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.
Redshirts is the winner of the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Old Man's War Series
#1 Old Man's War
#2 The Ghost Brigades
#3 The Last Colony
#4 Zoe's Tale
#5 The Human Division
#6 The End of All Things
Short fiction: "After the Coup"
Other Tor Books
The Android's Dream
Agent to the Stars
Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded
Fuzzy Nation
Lock In
The Collapsing Empire (forthcoming)
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
In a time when the deadly scourge Thread has not fallen on Pern for centuries—and many dare to hope that Thread will never fall again—a boy is born to Harper Hall. A musical prodigy who has the ability to speak with the dragons, he is called Robinton, and he is destined to be one of the most famous and beloved leaders Pern has ever known.
It is a perilous time for the harpers who sing of Thread—they are being turned away from holds, derided, attacked, even beaten. In this climate of unrest, Robinton will come into his own. But despite the tragedies that beset his own life, he continues to believe in music and in the dragons, and he is determined to save his beloved Pern from itself—so that the dragonriders can be ready to fly against the dreaded Thread when at last it returns . . .
"The story takes wing . . . when McCaffrey's beloved dragons roar and their riders soar upon the beasts' mighty backs. . . . Fans of Pern will likely be enthralled."—Publishers Weekly
Solatium is Book 2 of the Emanations series. The first book, Nolander, is available at no cost.
The Emanations Series
Of all the beings that have lived on Earth, what if just a few had the power to make new realities, according to their desires? What would they create? The Second Emanation: a shadow world where ancient creatures persist, where humanity's dominance is far less certain, where wonder competes with horror. A world like an autumn forest, its realities as multiple and layered as fallen leaves. The world that gives us our gods. In Becca Mills's Emanations series, this strange and magical world crosses paths with a seemingly ordinary young woman from the American Midwest. It'll never be the same again.
Series keywords: fantasy, urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy, fantasy series, speculative fiction, hard fantasy, dark fantasy, paranormal, female protagonist, female main character, science-fantasy, science fantasy, action, adventure, fantasy adventure, lost, quest, journey, mission, voyage, hero, monsters, deities, gods, demons, dragons, dying earth, magic, alternative history, parallel world, outlaw, peril
When the first humans came to settle the planet Pern, they did not come alone: intelligence-enhanced dolphins also crossed the stars to colonize Pern's oceans while their human partners settled the vast continents. But then disaster struck. The deadly silver spores called Thread fell like rain from the sky, and as the human colonists' dreams of a new, idyllic life shattered into a desperate struggle for survival, the dolphins were forgotten.
Now, centuries later, as the dragonriders of Pern prepare to complete the momentous task of ridding their world of Thread forever, T'lion, a young bronze rider, and his friend Readis, son of the Lord Holder of Paradise River Hold, make contact with the legendary "shipfish." And as the dragonriders grapple with the end of an era, T'lion, Readis, and the dolphins face the start of a new one: reviving the bond between land- and ocean-dwellers—and resurrecting the dreams of the first colonists of Pern.
In the late seventeenth century, two immortals meet in an African forest. Anyanwu is a healer, a three-hundred-year-old woman who uses her wisdom to help those around her. The other is Doro, a malevolent despot who has mastered the power of stealing the bodies of others when his wears out. Together they will change the world. Over the next three centuries, Doro mounts a colossal selective breeding project, attempting to create a master race of telepaths. He succeeds beyond his wildest dreams, splitting the human race down the middle and establishing a new world order dominated by the most manipulative minds on Earth. In these four novels, award-winning author Octavia E. Butler tells the classic story that began her legendary career: a mythic tale of the transformation of civilization. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author's estate.
Rescued by the mysterious Mieli and her flirtatious spacecraft, Jean is taken to the Oubliette, the Moving City of Mars, where time is currency, memories are treasures, and a moon-turnedsingularity lights the night. What Mieli offers is the chance to win back his freedom and the powers of his old self-in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed.
As Jean undertakes a series of capers on behalf of Mieli and her mysterious masters, elsewhere in the Oubliette investigator Isidore Beautrelet is called in to investigate the murder of a chocolatier, and finds himself on the trail of an arch-criminal, a man named le Flambeur....
The Quantum Thief is a crazy joyride through the solar system several centuries hence, a world of marching cities, ubiquitous public-key encryption, people communicating by sharing memories, and a race of hyper-advanced humans who originated as MMORPG guild members. But for all its wonders, it is also a story powered by very human motives of betrayal, revenge, and jealousy. It is a stunning debut.
The Quantum Thief is a Kirkus Reviews Best of 2011 Science Fiction & Fantasy title.
One of Library Journal's Best SF/Fantasy Books of 2011
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The beautiful planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists—until unimaginable terror turned it into hell. Suddenly deadly spores were falling like silver threads from the sky, devouring everything—and everyone—on their path. It began to look as if the colony, cut off from Earth and lacking the resources to combat the menace, was doomed.
Then some of the colonists noticed that the small, dragonlike lizards that inhabited their new world were joining the fight against Thread, breathing fire on it and teleporting to safety. If only, they thought, the dragonets were big enough for a human to ride and intelligent enough to work as a team with a rider…
And so they set their most talented geneticist to work to create the creatures Pern so desperately needed—Dragons!
Since discovering a cache of Prothean technology on Mars in 2148, humanity has spread to the stars. Now, on the edge of colonized space, ship commander and Alliance war hero David Anderson investigates the remains of a top secret military research station. Who attacked this post and for what purpose? And where is Kahlee Sanders, the young scientist who mysteriously vanished from the base hours before her colleagues were slaughtered? Sanders is now the prime suspect, but finding her creates more problems than it solves. Partnered with a rogue alien agent he can't trust and pursued by an assassin he can't escape, Anderson battles impossible odds on uncharted worlds to uncover a sinister conspiracy—one he won't live to tell about. Or so the enemy thinks.
In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules—keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you're out—permanently.
A "psychologically dark tale with commentary on society, teenage life, and cultural entertainment, The Long Walk is still poignant decades after its original publication" (Publishers Weekly). This edition features an introduction by Stephen King on "The Importance of Being Bachman."
She gnawed her lower lip, thinking.
It was the greatest challenge the dragonflights would face, but she did not know against whom they would be fighting. It might come soon . . . or aeons from now. Could it have something to do with the return of Deathwing? Surely it had to . . . did it not? This breaking of the world was one of the worst things that had ever happened to Azeroth.
How could she persuade others of the direness of the situation when she herself could not articulate it? She uttered a little noise of annoyance and frustration.
One thing she knew for certain. There were many pieces missing from this puzzle, but there was one core piece that was necessary before any of the others could fall into place. It was a very strange piece, an unlikely one at best, and she was uncertain as to how he would fit in. She only knew that he had to.
Ysera had seen him, floating in and out of her dreaming. She had thought she understood his role in things, but now, peculiar as it seemed, something—some inner certainty that even she did not fully understand—was leading her to think she had not seen the full breadth of his contribution to Azeroth.
He was not a dragon. But he had the interests of the dragonflights in his heart—whether he knew it or not. He straddled worlds—but did not seek to rule or command or destroy them. He was unique.
She tilted her head, let the wind play with her long green hair. Perhaps that was why he fit in. Even the Aspects were not singular beings, although each had unique abilities. Not one but five there had been at the beginning, when the titans had come and shared their power for the good of Azeroth. Four there were now, but there would soon be five again, when the blues determined how to choose the one who would lead them.
But there was only one like this being.
There was only one Thrall.
Her name was Killashandra Ree; and after ten grueling years of musical training she was young, beautiful—and still without prospects.
Then she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild on the planet Ballybran, where the fabled Black Crystal was found.
For those qualified, the Guild was said to provide careers, security, and the chance for wealth beyond imagining. The problem was, few people who landed on Ballybran ever left.
To Killashandra the risks were acceptable . . .
For centuries, the barren, desolate landscape of the red planet has beckoned to humankind. Now a group of one hundred colonists begins a mission whose ultimate goal is to transform Mars into a more Earthlike planet. They will place giant satellite mirrors in Martian orbit to reflect light to the surface. Black dust sprinkled on the polar caps will capture warmth and melt the ice. And massive tunnels drilled into the mantle will create stupendous vents of hot gases. But despite these ambitious goals, there are some who would fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed.
Praise for Red Mars
"A staggering book . . . the best novel on the colonization of Mars that has ever been written."—Arthur C. Clarke
"Absorbing . . . a scientifically informed imagination of rare ambition at work."—The New York Times Book Review
"Tremendous . . . a high-water mark in novels of Earth emigration."—The Washington Post Book World
Vol'jin, courageous leader of the Darkspear tribe. His strength and cunning are unmatched even among the Horde's most exalted champions. Now on the legendary continent of Pandaria, the troll chieftain faces his greatest trial yet, one that may redefine his purpose in the…
Warchief Garrosh's assassins strike at Vol'jin, leaving him at death's door. But fate smiles on the wounded Darkspear leader when renowned brewmaster Chen Stormstout transports him to the safety of an isolated mountain monastery. There, Vol'jin wrestles with old hatreds smoldering between the Alliance and the Horde as he struggles to recover alongside a mysterious human soldier.
Yet this is only the beginning of Vol'jin's worries. Soon, he becomes embroiled in an invasion of Pandaria launched by the Zandalari, revered trolls driven by dreams of conquest and power. This ancient tribe offers Vol'jin a chance to seize the glory that is the birthright of all trolls…an offer made even more tempting after Garrosh's brazen treachery.
Amid these troubling events, Vol'jin is rocked by intense visions depicting his race's grand history. As he questions where his loyalties lie, he knows he must make a choice about his own destiny that could save his people or damn them to languish under Garrosh's heel in the…
© 2013 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Blizzard Entertainment and World of Warcraft are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries.
"The body you are wearing used to be mine." So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.
She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.
In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.
Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, THE ROOK is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.
When his turn came, Steven said, "When I grow up I'm going to be the last man on Earth."
Warning signs don't come much clearer than that.
Death Sails the Seas . . .
The lost kingdom of Orr lies beneath the ocean waves, an entire civilization swallowed by an ancient cataclysm. For centuries, it has lain dormant in the depths, its ancient secrets lost.
Until now.
The Elder Dragon Zhaitan has risen. In its wake, the drowned kingdom of Orr is reborn—and another is destroyed. The city of Lion's Arch, for generations a cornerstone of civilization in Tyria, is brutally swept beneath the waves, leaving nothing but ruins. Among the survivors is Cobiah Marriner, a human sailor shipwrecked by the tsunami and stranded at sea. When he is rescued by a ferocious charr, Cobiah knows that he's been plunged into a world forever changed.
Now, Zhaitan's undead servants dominate the sea, destroying port after port and slaughtering anything in their path. In the midst of ruin, Cobiah vows to see Lion's Arch rebuilt. Amid the storm of the dragon's rising, Cobiah must become a hero to his crew and an admiral to the pirate fleet, and face the ghosts of his past. Only then will he master the Sea of Sorrows and crush the armada of Orr.
It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.
This harrowing, Hugo Award–winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to wake.
Winner of the Hugo Award
After a brutal fifteen-year war for survival, the Coalition of Ordered Governments is forced to destroy mankind's last city in a final bid to stop the Locust Horde. As the survivors flee Jacinto, they must contend with the last of the Locust, bent on vengeance, as they struggle to stay alive in an icy wilderness. Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and their fellow Gears fight to get Jacinto's refugees to a safe haven, but find themselves in a lawless new world where the enemy is human—and as desperate and dangerous as any grub.


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As the economy continues its tepid recovery, middle class families across the country are beginning to pare down their debts.
Continue Reading Below
Total household debt, which includes outstanding mortgage, auto and college loan balances, fell 1.1% in the first quarter of this year among middle-class families, from 4.2% at the end of 2012, according to financial organization site Manilla.com.
"Loan debt is decreasing, meaning people have been amassing their money around housing, making bigger down payments and are better qualified to make purchases today than they were before," says Marc Karasu, vice president of marketing for Manilla.com.
These better qualifications are also translating into better student loan debt rates, he adds.
The unemployment rate and debt levels tend rise hand in hand. For example, Syracuse, N.Y. was in the top 10 for highest student loan debt rates at the first quarter of 2013, but has since dropped off the list as its unemployment rate fell, Karasu says.
"We have seen [student loan] debt being highest in places like Las Vegas," he says. "When you look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for unemployment rates, the three markets with the highest debts also have very above average student debt rates."
Overall, consumers are being more cautious before taking on new debts for major investments like homes, education and autos.
"People just aren't spending money as frivolously as they had been in the past," he says. "People are being more careful, spending what they can only afford in cash, or what they can easily cover. They're not overextending themselves.
Here is a look at the worst cities when it comes to debt across the country.
Mortgage Debt
Americans average mortgage debt was $150,200.21 as of July 1, down 4% since the end of 2012. Here are the top 10 cities with the highest mortgage balances:
- San Francisco: $312,301.64
- Los Angeles: $262,792.56
- San Diego: $258,548.22
- New York: $250,078.12
- Washington, D.C.: $226,444.31
- Seattle-Tacoma: $199,205.30
- Sacramento: $194,796.46
- Portland, Ore.: $176,452.78
- Boston: $176,350.70
- Miami-Ft. Lauderdale: $176,057.60
Student Loan Debts
The national student loan debt average was $12,814.54 as of July 1, compared to $12,826.04 at the end of the first quarter this year. The average loan payment fell 8% from $121.66 to $112, Manilla reports.
The cities with the highest debt offenders for student loans as of July 1 are:
- Memphis: $21,578.22
- Las Vegas: $19,571.48
- Atlanta: $18,470.69
- Birmingham: $18,088.25
- Washington, DC: $17,918.88
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy: $17,046.92
- Richmond-Petersburg: $17,034.41
- Phoenix: $17,013.12
- Baton Rouge: $16,913.43
- Chicago: $16,733.68
Auto Loan Debts
Auto loan balances have increased by 7.9% since the end of 2012, Manilla.com reports, because Americans are now willing to spend more on cars, which signals a stronger economy.
Eight of the 10 markets with the highest auto loan balances remained consistent in the first half of 2013. The worst debt offenders for auto loans as of July 1 are:
- Little Rock-Pine Bluff.: $17,797.82
- Houston: $17,078.08
- Miami-Ft. Lauderdale: $16,997.15
- New Orleans: $16,968.24
- New York: $16,672.47
- Memphis.: $16,538.02
- Birmingham.: $16,436.04
- Las Vegas: $16,294.38
- Waco-Temple-Bryan: $16,263.03
- San Antonio: $16,164.34


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Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney + More Team Up to Fight Hunger
This summer, some of the biggest names in music -- including Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney -- are pooling their talents together to help raise funds and awareness for WhyHunger's 'Summer Meals Rock for Kids' program.
"We are thrilled to have so many artists, activists and friends rallying around the Summer Meals Rock for Kids campaign to ensure that all kids have access to healthy meals to keep their bodies and minds active this summer," said Bill Ayres of WhyHunger. "We believe that everyone, especially our children, should have the right to nutritious food and are fighting for a day when every American has that right."
In addition to Springsteen and McCartney, WhyHunger has also brought Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac and others into the fold. Throughout their tours this summer, they will offer special tickets and meet-and-greets to those who contribute.
Although his tour has already ended, Springsteen raised more $41,000 for WhyHunger this spring, in part through a t-shirt with the cover photo from 'Born to Run' on the front and the WhyHunger logo on the back.
WhyHunger was founded in 1975 by Ayres and the late Harry Chapin to fight the causes of hunger, poverty and injustice. For more information, visit their website.


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|February 18, 2005
Homeschool Team Wins B.E.S.T. Robotics Competition
Last fall, forty-five homeschool students, from the Wichita Kansas area, came together to form the Wichita Warriors Homeschool Robotics Team. They competed in the B.E.S.T. (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) robotics competition, winning first place in the B.E.S.T. Award and second place in the Game Award at the Texas B.E.S.T. regional competition.
B.E.S.T. was started in 1993 by two Texas Instrument engineers, Steve Marum and Ted Mahler. Beginning with just one site (called a hub) and only fourteen teams, it has now grown to 23 hubs with more than 575 public, private, and homeschool teams which include more than 6,000 students from ten states. The B.E.S.T. program has two parts, the Game Award and the B.E.S.T. Award.
The B.E.S.T. Award documents how the robot was built and is considered the higher of the two awards. It includes a thirty-page technical notebook documenting the engineering process used to design and build the robot. A twenty minute oral presentation is given by each team to a panel of judges, explaining their fundraising efforts, publicity, promotional events, and team dynamics. A booth, similar to a tradeshow display, is built to show the team's promotional efforts for B.E.S.T. within their school and community, and interviews by a panel of judges are conducted to assess the students' enthusiasm and to prove that the students were the primary builders of the robot. The teams were also evaluated for their display of spirit and sportsmanship on Game Day.
At the Kansas Game Day, the Wichita Homeschool Warriors received first place in the B.E.S.T. Award and second place in the Game Award. They continued on to the Texas B.E.S.T. Regionals, held at Southern Methodist University, where they competed against sixty other teams to finish once again with a first place in B.E.S.T. Award, and a second place in the Game Award. This was the Warrior's third consecutive first place win in the B.E.S.T. Award at both the Kansas and Texas competitions.
Other homeschool teams did very well in the Texas B.E.S.T. Award. Texoma Home Educators took third place, Woodlands Homeschoolers took fourth place, and Alamo Area Home School took fifth place.
Many parents note that their children have learned many skills while participating in robotics, including public speaking, fundraising, leadership, and teamwork. Because the competition is student-oriented, the students lead the team, design and build the robot, and make the decisions. They can receive advice from their parents and engineering mentors provided to the team, but the students must do the work themselves. Diligence, perseverance, and attention to detail certainly helps all homeschoolers do well in B.E.S.T. Robotics.
| Other Resources
For more information about BEST Robotics, please go to http://www.bestinc.org.


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Reviewed by Emma R. (age 7)
My favorite part was when Penny found a name for her new doll. Penny is my favorite character because she is cute. This story relates tom life because I played with my doll before. Looking at all of the pictures helped me to understand the story.
I think others should read this story because it has a nice ending. It can also be silly, funny, and cute.


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With this amazing bridal Alice in Wonderland shoot.
It was shot a Joy Gabler's home from The Vintage Rabbit.
Couture Events Event Coordination in San Diego is a preferred vendor and proud sponsor of The Wedding Chicks.
Coordination: Couture Events
Photography: Joielala Photography
Stationary: Delphine
Florist: The Floral Department
Cupcakes: Cupcake Love
Make up Artist: Think Pink, Dana Marie
Hair: Shawna Messner- firstname.lastname@example.com
Gowns: M Bride
Cake: The French Gourmet
Linens: The Floral Department for La Tavola Linen
Bracelets and paper florals: The Vintage Rabbit
Hair Accessories: Radokri
Model: Ari Cover
Bunnies: Ashli Hurst – firstname.lastname@example.com
Creative Director: Krystel Tien


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In 1948, Carol Frost was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. She was raised in the Northeast with an identical twin, and spent a year in her mother's hometown of Vienna, where German became the first language she spoke. As a child, she first discovered poetry in Tennyson's Idylls of the King, soon followed by the work of John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Wallace Stevens.
She was educated at Sorbonne in Paris, received a BA in English in 1967 from the State University College at Oneonta, NY, and a master's in Literature and Creative Writing in 1977 from Syracuse University.
Her first collection was the chapbook The Salt Lesson published in 1976 by Graywolf Press, followed shortly by Liar's Dice (Ithaca House, 1978). She is the author of numerous books of poetry including: Entwined: Three Lyric Sequences (Tupelo Press, 2014); Honeycomb: Poems (Triquarterly Books, 2010); The Queen's Desertion (2006), I Will Say Beauty (2003), and Love and Scorn, New and Selected Poems (2000).
Her awards and honors include two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, four Pushcart Prizes, and a Teacher/Scholar Award and grants from Hartwick College. Frost has taught most recently at SUNY Potsdam, New England College, Bucknell University, and Hartwick College. She is now a professor of English and the Alfond Chair in Creative Writing at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida.


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Alone, Batman (known by day as Bruce Wayne) is a force to be reckoned with. He is rich enough to have the most advanced gadgets and vehicles, and is a well-trained fighter.
A talented ex-con with the power to stretch his body into any shape or size, flexible hero Plastic Man can snap back into shape to help his friend Batman out in any situation!
With super-strength, super-speed and the ability to create tornado-force winds with his body Red Tornado is not your average android!
Blue Beetle is Batman's biggest fan... and sometimes also his biggest headache. But on the plus side, villains are no match for this not-so-typical teenager when he changes into his armoured scarab beetle suit!
The world's greatest archer with a quiver full of surprises, Green Arrow is a master at inventing trick arrows. Like Batman, he also has themed gadgets, which keeps their friendly rivalry going and makes the Green Arrow good at getting one up on Batman!


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'Treme,' Ep. 19: Can't Get Out Alive
Lately, our rundowns of musical performances in Treme have ignored some of the non-musical narratives for the sake of brevity. This week is a little lighter on music, and a bit heavier on plot twists — especially at the end of this episode. So we'll address a few of the other storylines this week too. (Spoiler alert for what follows, naturally.)
In real life, singer-songwriter Steve Earle, who plays the street troubadour/sage counsel Harley, recently released a new album and his debut novel, both titled I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive. Both are named after the posthumous Hank Williams song, and both muse heavily on mortality. As recently as late January, Earle — who also had a role on HBO's The Wire — wasn't anticipating he'd have to apply that titular maxim to his role in the series. When Billboard magazine asked him about touring, he said, "depends on whether I'm in the third season of 'Treme' or whether they kill me or something. But I feel like I've got a lot less chance of getting killed on 'Treme' than I did on 'The Wire.'" The odds did not fall his way.
Even after a relatively quiet Mardi Gras, violent crime remained a problem in New Orleans in 2007. New Orleans native Josh Jackson joins me again for more insights on this, and other elements of this week's episode.
Patrick Jarenwattananon: It seems as if Davis' protege, rapper Lil Calliope, is overshadowing his mentor. You know, I appreciate that Treme is trying to integrate hip-hop and R&B into its primary storylines. And in doing so, I think it's important the show stresses that rap in New Orleans is not primarily being made by rich white people who see themselves as political agitators and align themselves with canonical New Orleans traditions. Sometimes a good song is just a good song.
Josh Jackson: It helps to have some great horn lines too. Thank tuba player Kirk Joseph for that. Let's be honest — hip-hop culture arose from the black experience in America. That music has its own networked community in New Orleans. Davis is certainly extending the message, but he's not exactly the cultural arbiter of what's hot.
PJ: Another nice touch: inviting tin whistle specialist "Spider" Stacy from The Pogues to guest on this St. Patrick's Day episode. We meet him during the day, then see him at night busking with Harley — with Annie's violin, it feels like Celtic folk music a bit.
JJ: They perform "Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" outside the Sound Café. That's an Irish nationalist song about fighting the Black and Tans, a British loyalist force used to police the rebellion in Ireland. Later, we hear Annie join in on Steve Earle's "The Galway Girl."
There's a neighborhood in New Orleans called the Irish Channel. Immigrants moved to this area to work the shipping docks along the Mississippi. There's not much Irish anymore, but the neighborhood still has a St. Patrick's Day parade. My family typically went to the parade in Old Metairie, a New Orleans suburb. Revelers marched and passed out paper flowers in exchange for kisses, and you could also catch enough ingredients for a decent stew — whole heads of cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, and smoked sausage if you're lucky.
PJ: Have you noticed, as I have, that the Treme team writes with real authority around law enforcement and justice system issues? It makes sense, considering the pedigree of The Wire, but Toni's investigation and LaDonna's legal case just feel appropriately "two steps forward, one step back" enervating. And Lieutenant Colson's reassignment to the homicide division — working under the man he embarrassed to his superiors — seems an appropriately dysfunctional consequence. Anyway, who's the singer that Colson and Toni see at the classy bar?
JJ: This episode in particular delves heavily into the procedural aspect of law enforcement, and that's writer George Pelecanos' bread and butter. Aside from that, Colson and Toni are checking out Ingrid Lucia. She performs "Stars Fell on Alabama," a song she also covers on her recording Almost Blue. Ingrid is also the leader and singer of The Flying Neutrinos, a really fun early swing and blues group.
PJ: Meanwhile, Antoine, still frustrated at the state of things with his own band, finds himself playing at the Blue Nile. He goes down the street to Ray's Boom Boom Room (now closed), sits in with Kermit Ruffins on "Let's Stay Together" (Al Green, of course), steals his audience, segues into Jean Knight's classic "Mr. Big Stuff" with his own band, then — of course — gets his audience stolen back by the charismatic Kermit. Pshew. Well, there are certainly enough clubs on Frenchmen Street that it's plausible!
JJ: Antoine teaches us to never underestimate the power of a go-cup. Jean Knight (nee Caliste) is a New Orleanian who recorded "Mr. Big Stuff" at Malaco Studios in Jackson, Miss. Wardell Quezergue arranged the session. Stax Records released it, and it became quite the sensation.
PJ: A few things about this Sofia storyline merit explaining, I think. One: Where is Jefferson Parish in relation to New Orleans? And two: Just how many inside jokes can they give to Oliver Thomas to deliver? "The price you pay," etc.
JJ: Jefferson Parish is adjacent to Orleans Parish. It is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area, but it is a distinctly different place. The populace is generally more conservative than in New Orleans proper. There was a large migration of white middle class families from New Orleans to surrounding parishes. As you might imagine, there's a very complicated explanation for this. As for Oliver Thomas, I'm going to give him a commendation for rehabilitating his transgressions. He certainly is a very good sport.
PJ: We see Oliver Thomas' face appear on TV for supporting the "recovery zones" plan that would make Nelson rich. How does that work, exactly, such that it behooves him to buy up as much property in certain red-lined districts as possible?
JJ: Buying property in the red-lined districts is good business for a developer. Tax subsidies flow into these areas in the same way that cities have "Economic Empowerment Zones." As I mentioned earlier, there's plenty of money to be had from tragedy. If, say, the mayor and the state want to build an enormous medical facility in Mid-City, and you can be the rainmaker, there's plenty of money coming your way from taxpayer wallets.
PJ: As an Asian-American person, I have noticed that one of the few areas that people branded with my ethnicity are respected (without asterisks or glass ceilings) in the U.S. is in food. David Chang wows Janette with his badass experiments, and I take it, from Sonny's infatuation, that Vietnamese immigrants have left their stamp on the seafood industry in Louisiana.
JJ: Anyone who has eaten at any of the Momofuku establishments in New York has to have some serious respect for David Chang, the chef behind some pretty delicious dishes (I recommend the pork buns and virtually any noodle dish). The Vietnamese fishers of South Louisiana are a very tight-knit community, and they have developed an incredibly efficient model of how to succeed in America in the face of racism and other obstacles.
Naturally, there have been tensions with the local fishermen who have worked in the industry for generations. Shrimping is hard work. If you're going to wear the white rubber fishing boots — what my family in Terrebonne Parish calls "Dulac Reeboks" — be prepared to eek out a living and work your ass off. By the way, brown shrimp season is May. White shrimp season is in August.
PJ: Finally, Albert Lambreaux is kind of a grump sometimes, huh? I mean, he recognizes his cranky tendency — when he winks at the documentary filmmaker in the museum, for instance — but it doesn't stop him from preferring what he knows at all costs. In Delmond's project, absolute top-of-the-line New York rhythm sections aren't enough for him — he needs his own New Orleans musicians and a New Orleans studio to do it right. Prima donna much? Or perhaps an embodiment of how good music can actually be created anywhere, despite regional preferences?
JJ: Yeah, the Big Chief is a tough, contrary old man. We often give him a pass because he's earned that respect, but maybe pride gets the best of him here. Who tells Ron Carter how to play bass? Not me, for sure. Carter is very deferential to Lambreaux, but I can almost hear the interior thoughts a man who does not suffer fools lightly. ("Have you ever heard me play music? No? Well, that's your first mistake.")
In some ways, I can understand Lambreaux's sense of cultural primacy. He doesn't need anyone from New York or anywhere else to explain his own culture to him. He doesn't need a translator, or anyone who may dilute Lambreaux's own pure experience. But he can do a better job sharing it with others.


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Quentin Tarantino will make a cameo appearance in 'Django Unchained' - and even took some of Rex Linn's lines for the role he created for himself.
The director - who is known for popping up in roles of varying sizes in his own films, including 'Inglourious Basterds', 'Death Proof' and 'Reservoir Dogs' - even took some lines of one of his cast, Rex Linn, because he liked a particular scene so much.
'CSI: Miami' star Rex told OXC: "Quentin told me that he liked the scene so much he wanted to be in it, too, and that he would also be taking some of my lines.
"So, you'll know the scenes when you see them. We'll be on the screen with Don Johnson and Jonah Hill. The scenes may not be long, but you will remember them."
Despite losing some of his lines, Rex loved working on the film, particularly because of the acclaimed director.
He said: "Quentin has more enthusiasm than anyone I've ever met. There is always some kind of chase scene or action scene going on inside his head.
"It's not my movie. I'm just happy to be in the movie. I mean it's the most anticipated movie of the rest of this year. It's a dream come true."
'Django Unchained' is released in America on December 25 and January 18 in the UK.


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You can decorate the biscuits by placing half a glace cherry in the centre of each biscuit before baking but, seeing as the first thing I do is pick it off, I didn't bother!
News just in – I've had a decadent idea...how about spreading the flat side of the biscuit with a little raspberry or strawberry jam – a sort of biscuit version of a Madeleine? Ever eager and dedicated to my research (ahem), I have scuttled to the kitchen and tested my theory:
Oh yes, it tastes even better than it looks! This is the BEST way to enjoy these biccies!
250g caster sugar
2 eggs
150g desiccated coconut – you may need a tablespoon or so extra
300g plain flour


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This is the official home of the national grassroots legislative movement to enact the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill. The HWB is the boldest proposed change to U.S. employment law in 40 years. We are a volunteer network of citizen activists working since 2002 in many states to pass the bill into law.
Current discrimination and harassment laws rarely address bullying concerns. Bullying is four times more prevalent than illegal discrimination, but is still legal in the U.S. People deserve more protection against arbitrary cruelty that has nothing to do with work.
"Sometimes I wonder if we shall ever grow up in our politics and say definite things which mean something, or whether we shall always go on using generalities to which everyone can subscribe, and which mean very little." -- Eleanor Roosevelt


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Girls T-shirt with shield
Scuderia Ferrari Store Exclusive
The kids T-shirt with the large two-toned Shield and puff sleeves is made of 100% cotton.
This fresh and light Scuderia Ferrari T-shirt has an especially intricate design, which includes the delightful detail of the slightly puffed sleeves, made of perforated fabric. Another feature of this new T-shirt model is the central print depicting gears, which fade into what seem like flowers floating around the iconic Shield, here in two delicate shades of pink. This new short-sleeve Scuderia Ferrari T-shirt is topped off by the jacquard label sewn on the side.
- Puff sleeves
- Print on the front
- Jacquard Scuderia Ferrari label
- Composition: 100% Cotton
We offer both Standard and Express shipping: choose the service that best meets your needs at checkout.
We provide free pick up for your returns: you have 15 days from delivery to follow our quick and easy return procedure.


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Esponjosanube needed a new print or packaging design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 45 designs submitted by 11 freelance designers.
I work for free. I am a creator, not only a writer. I make deals around the world, always creating things. I am looking for people who likes to design and to dare in new things, like me. For me, a job has to be funny, exciting or help people to be happy.
This job is for new audience. The book is for people who are preparing for a few public exams or other kind or hard exams.
But is not for all these people. Is for people who want to improve their lives. For people who does not conform only with studying. The people who create things and do not want to study and repeat things as a parrot.
It is not only a study method, is a lifestyle.
There are not many requirements. I will do it simple: the one who has to be in this project has to be creative. I do not want someone who like to design always the same things: happy families laughing and running with their golden retriever dog.
I want someone who want to create something new and amazing, not the standard adverts or designs. I want someone dynamic and with energy. Someone who knows how to laugh and enjoy life.
How has to be the design? Well, I saw kind of interesting the cover of the book 4 hours workweek, but I am not obsessed with this idea. I only want something interesting, not the usual things.
Think that this book is for people who has lots of energy, and are trying to escape from being sit studying for 8 hours a day. Is not for methodical people who only knows to study for hours and do nothing for the rest of their lives.
The cover should represent in some way how to feel free of this. How to achieve the aim of the exam enjoying the journey. It has to be eye catching.
I do not mind how. You are the designer. Use strong colors, a good image...whatever. I am almost sure that i want a designed cover. But if for some reason you have a really good picture, you could offer it. But mainly, I prefer a graphical design from scratch .
Is there someone who could catch people sight as this book do within?If you are like me, feel welcome to OUR project =)