- Table View
- List View
The Parable of a True Knight: Chronicles of the Knights Errant
by Tj PohlmanWhat is the first thing that comes to your mind when someone mentions a knight-in-shining-armor? Perhaps you think of a valiant warrior dressed in plate armor (naturally), galloping across the land with his noble steed looking for wrongs he can right. Or maybe you image him facing a mighty dragon with sword and shield in hand, braving the fire-breathing monster fearlessly. You may even envision him rescuing a beautiful princess who has been locked in a castle tower by her ruthless uncle until she agrees to marry him. All of these things and more encapsulate the dreams of young Benjamin Knight. And, as he is likely to explain to you, he is not a true knight. That&’s just his name.Benjamin has been raised in a loving home in a medieval setting and wants nothing more than to grow up to become a true knight. That opportunity presents itself in an unlikely manner one day when he meets a young man, Joshua, advertising the Jousting Tournament that is coming to town. Joshua recognizes Benjamin&’s genuine love for the traditional knight-in-shining-armor, and takes him under his wing, teaching him that his understanding of knights, while quite popular with the masses, is incomplete.Our young hero struggles with many of the same worldly temptations we all face along the way; greed, selfishness, a sense of worthlessness and a desire to quit when things get too difficult. In the midst of his journey, he encounters an evil man who draws Benjamin into an equally evil plot to overthrow the kingdom. He is then given an ultimatum: Assist in the plot and have your dreams come true or refuse and lose everything that is important to you. What choice will he make?This book weaves and illustrates the instructive lessons Joshua demonstrates with the colorful and active imagination of a young boy. Readers should be able to relate with Benjamin and his adventures and hopefully glean from this parable some encouraging truths and moral principles to apply to their own lives.
Parable of the Sower: A Powerful Tale Of A Dark And Dystopian Future (Earthseed #1)
by Octavia E. ButlerIn 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. <P><P> Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren's father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others. When fire destroys their compound, Lauren's family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. <P><P>With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author's estate.
Parable of the Sower (Earthseed Series #1)
by Octavia E. ButlerForced to flee an America where anarchy and violence have completely taken over, empath Lauren Olamina--who can feel the pain of others and is crippled by it--becomes a prophet carrying the hope of a new world and a new faith christened "Earthseed". A stirring portrait of 21st-century America by the author of "Wild Seed".
Parable of the Sower: the New York Times bestseller
by Octavia E. ButlerThe extraordinary, prescient NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling novel.'If there is one thing scarier than a dystopian novel about the future, it's one written in the past that has already begun to come true. This is what makes Parable of the Sower even more impressive than it was when first published' GLORIA STEINEM'Unnervingly prescient and wise' YAA GYASI--We are coming apart. We're a rope, breaking, a single strand at a time.America is a place of chaos, where violence rules and only the rich and powerful are safe. Lauren Olamina, a young woman with the extraordinary power to feel the pain of others as her own, records everything she sees of this broken world in her journal.Then, one terrible night, everything alters beyond recognition, and Lauren must make her voice heard for the sake of those she loves. Soon, her vision becomes reality and her dreams of a better way to live gain the power to change humanity forever.PRAISE FOR OCTAVIA E. BUTLER, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR'In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time... for sheer peculiar prescience, Butler's novel may be unmatched' NEW YORKER'Butler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision' GUARDIAN'Octavia Butler was a visionary' VIOLA DAVIS'One of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century. One cannot exaggerate the impact she has had' JUNOT DIAZ'An icon of the Afrofuturism world, envisioning literary realms that placed black characters front and center' VANITY FAIR'Butler writes with such a familiarity that the alien is welcome and intriguing. She really artfully exposes our human impulse to self-destruct' LUPITA NYONG'O
Parable of the Sower: A Novel (Earthseed Ser. #1)
by Octavia E. ButlerThis acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale" and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times). When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions. Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
Parable of the Talents: winner of the Nebula Award (Earthseed Ser. #2)
by Octavia E. ButlerThe stunning sequel to Parable of the Sower, the NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling novel.'In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time... for sheer peculiar prescience, Butler's novel may be unmatched' NEW YORKER'Octavia Butler was playing out our very real possibilities as humans. I think she can help each of us to do the same' GLORIA STEINEM---In order for me to understand who I am, I must begin to understand who she was.Asha was born into a broken world. There are many things she needs to know: how her country could embrace a violent, far-right President promising to make America great again, why they turned a blind eye to the suffering - and the truth about her mother.In her journals, Lauren Olamina tells of a great love divided between her young daughter, her community and the revelation that led her to found a new faith that teaches 'God Is Change'. But under a tyrannical religious regime who consider the mere existence of a black female leader a threat, Lauren knows she must soon either sacrifice her daughter and her followers - or forsake the beliefs that could transform human destiny.PRAISE FOR OCTAVIA E. BUTLER, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR'Unnervingly prescient and wise' YAA GYASI'If there is one thing scarier than a dystopian novel about the future, it's one written in the past that has already begun to come true. This is what makes Parable of the Sower even more impressive than it was when first published' GLORIA STEINEM'Butler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision' GUARDIAN'Octavia Butler was a visionary' VIOLA DAVIS'One of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century. One cannot exaggerate the impact she has had' JUNOT DIAZ'An icon of the Afrofuturism world, envisioning literary realms that placed black characters front and center' VANITY FAIR'Butler writes with such a familiarity that the alien is welcome and intriguing. She really artfully exposes our human impulse to self-destruct' LUPITA NYONG'O
Parable of the Talents: A Nebula Award-winning Novel Of A Terrifying Dystopian Future (Earthseed #2)
by Octavia E. ButlerAs America rebuilds itself, bigotry threatens a peaceful haven. Lauren Olamina was only eighteen when her family was killed, and anarchy encroached on her Southern California home. She fled the war zone for the hope of quiet and safety in the north. There she founded Acorn, a peaceful community based on a religion of her creation, called Earthseed, whose central tenet is that God is change. Five years later, Lauren has married a doctor and given birth to a daughter. Acorn is beginning to thrive. But outside the tranquil group’s walls, America is changing for the worse.<P><P> Presidential candidate Andrew Steele Jarret wins national fame by preaching a return to the values of the American golden age. To his marauding followers, who are identified by their crosses and black robes, this is a call to arms to end religious tolerance and racial equality—a brutal doctrine they enforce by machine gun. And as this band of violent extremists sets its deadly sights on Earthseed, Acorn is plunged into a harrowing fight for its very survival.<P> <P><b>Nebula Award winner.
Parable of the Talents
by Octavia E. ButlerOriginally published in 1998, this shockingly prescient novel's timely message of hope and resistance in the face of fanaticism is more relevant than ever.In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction of her home and family, and realized her vision of a peaceful community in northern California based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed. The fledgling community provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to "make America great again." In an increasingly divided and dangerous nation, Lauren's subversive colony--a minority religious faction led by a young black woman--becomes a target for President Jarret's reign of terror and oppression.Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew, Lauren Olamina. As she searches for answers about her own past, she also struggles to reconcile with the legacy of a mother caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future.
Parabolas of Science Fiction
by Brian Attebery Veronica HollingerAs a geometric term, parabola suggests a narrative trajectory or story arc. In science fiction, parabolas take us from the known to the unknown. More concrete than themes, more complex than motifs, parabolas are combinations of meaningful setting, character, and action that lend themselves to endless redefinition and jazzlike improvisation. The fourteen original essays in this collection explore how the field of science fiction has developed as a complex of repetitions, influences, arguments, and broad conversations. This particular feature of the genre has been the source of much critical commentary, most notably through growing interest in the "sf megatext," a continually expanding archive of shared images, situations, plots, characters, settings, and themes found in science fiction across media. Contributors include Jane Donawerth, Terry Dowling, L. Timmel Duchamp, Rachel Haywood Ferreira, Pawel Frelik, David M. Higgins, Amy J. Ransom, John Rieder, Nicholas Ruddick, Graham Sleight, Gary K. Wolfe, and Lisa Yaszek.
Paradise-1
by David Wellington'Wellington skillfully combines hard sci-fi worldbuilding with tense mystery . . . Readers will be on the edges of their seats' Publishers Weekly (starred review)WELCOME TO PARADISEParadise-1. Earth's first deep space colony. For thousands of colonists, it was an opportunity for a new life. Until it went dark. No communication has been received from the colony for months. It falls to Firewatch Agent Alexandra Petrova and the crew of the Artemis to investigate.What they find is more horrifying than they could have imagined.Paradise-1 begins a terrifying new trilogy of survival and exploration in deep space, from Clarke Award-nominated author David Wellington.'A captivating, eerie story with such engaging characters you won't want to say goodbye at the end' S. A. Barnes, author of Dead Silence'Intensely creepy worldbuilding' Library Journal
Paradise-1
by David Wellington'Wellington skillfully combines hard sci-fi worldbuilding with tense mystery . . . Readers will be on the edges of their seats' Publishers Weekly (starred review)WELCOME TO PARADISEParadise-1. Earth's first deep space colony. For thousands of colonists, it was an opportunity for a new life. Until it went dark. No communication has been received from the colony for months. It falls to Firewatch Agent Alexandra Petrova and the crew of the Artemis to investigate.What they find is more horrifying than they could have imagined.Paradise-1 begins a terrifying new trilogy of survival and exploration in deep space, from Clarke Award-nominated author David Wellington.'A captivating, eerie story with such engaging characters you won't want to say goodbye at the end' S. A. Barnes, author of Dead Silence'Intensely creepy worldbuilding' Library Journal
Paradise-1 (Red Space #1)
by David WellingtonAn electric blend of sci-fi and horror, Paradise-1 begins a terrifying new trilogy of exploration and survival in deep space from Arthur C. Clarke Award-nominated author David Wellington."A superior space thriller that never flags....Readers will be on the edge of their seats." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Paradise-1. Earth&’s first deep space colony. For thousands of people, it was an opportunity for a new life. Until it went dark. No communication has been received from the colony for months. And it falls to Firewatch inspector Alexandra Petrova and the crew of the Artemis to investigate. What they find is more horrifying than anything they could have imagined.
Paradise and Elsewhere
by Kathy PageThe rubble of an ancient civilization. A village in a valley from which no one comes or goes. A forest of mother-trees, whispering to each other through their roots; a lakeside lighthouse where a girl slips into human skin as lightly as an otter into water; a desert settlement where there was no conflict, before she came; or the town of Wantwick, ruled by a soothsayer, where tourists lose everything they have. These are the places where things begin. New from the author of The Story of My Face, Paradise & Elsewhere is a collection of dark fables at once familiar and entirely strange: join the Orange Prize-nominated Kathy Page as she notches a new path through the wild, lush, half-fantastic and half-real terrain of fairy tale and myth.
Paradise Interrupted
by John S. DrewSTARFLEET CORPS OF ENGINEERS For centuries, Risa has been the garden spot of the Alpha Quadrant, the place to go for rest, relaxation, and recreation. When the S.C.E. crew of the U.S.S. da Vinci learn their latest assignment is to Risa, they expect to find themselves in paradise. But paradise isn't what it used to be. Something is draining power from the complex weather systems that keep the planet pleasant, and if the S.C.E. doesn't determine the cause soon, Risa as they know it will cease to exist forever! Paradise Interrupted
Paradise Island
by Charmaine RossIt is Dartmouth Cove, Nova Scotia, 1853 and Captain Estelle Stonebridge is consumed with revenge against the man that killed her father. Captain Gregory Marshall is lulled to sleep by the fiery-haired valkrie’s magical song when she kidnaps him. Upon waking he finds himself in chains staring at the beautiful Estelle. Estelle is taking him to her Island of Paradise to face trial for a murder he didn't commit.Attacked by the notorious pirate, Jack Cutlass, and magically appearing in a land they know nothing about, Estelle soon realizes there is more at stake than fighting her archenemy. With the unsettling notion that there is something otherworldly manipulating them all, Estelle is torn between taking Gregory with her to Paradise, battling her powerful attraction to him, and fighting the magical curse - Amor Fati - that Cutlass has unleashed on the world.As Estelle and Gregory work together, albeit begrudgingly at first, and are drawn closer to the evil source, the battle intensifies as an evil power takes over minds of many men and eventually Estelle herself. Estelle must use her magical gift to defeat the terrible power that is close to being unleashed on the world, overcome her deep mistrust of men, and realize her powerful love for Gregory.Sensuality Level: Sensual
Paradise Lost
by Steven L. LayneThe highly anticipated sequel to This Side of Paradise-which Kirkus heralds as an "an entertaining, suspenseful thriller"-Paradise Lost delivers the same chilling scenarios and head-scratching secrets that fans expect from author Steven L. Layne.Meet Chase Maxfield. After a summer break, the former wallflower returns to school with a new found confidence to match his sudden, yet classic, good looks. His popularity even pulls the attention away from golden boy Troy Barrett. But not everyone is enamored with the overnight class favorite. Troy's brother, Jack, suspects something sinister is behind Chase's unexpected transformation, and his skepticism only grows as other eerie events occur.When his grandmother is mysteriously poisoned, his brother disappears, and his girlfriend soon develops an interest in someone else, Jack becomes even more determined to discover the truth. Yet the late Mr. Eden-a man who embodies evil-will do whatever it takes to stop Jack until he meets his ultimate demise. Packed with action and off-the-wall incidents, this fast-paced novel invites readers on an adventure that builds momentum until the very last page.
The Paradise Mission
by Phillip MannLong before Paradise was properly colonised and investigated, one young woman was sent to explore the strange new world. Her mission - to find and rescue the discoverer of the planet, a young man obsessed with finding alien species and protecting them from rapacious humanity.Crispin's initial reports were positive, but became increasingly infrequent and jumbled. And then they stopped altogether. But his life support systems show green, and his hard-earned knowledge is needed. Hetty must explore this new idyllic land, learn what she can about its tricks and dangers, and track down someone who may not want to be found, almost certainly doesn't want help, and might even be dead.But something is alive on Paradise...
The Paradise Mission
by Phillip MannLong before Paradise was properly colonised and investigated, one young woman was sent to explore the strange new world. Her mission - to find and rescue the discoverer of the planet, a young man obsessed with finding alien species and protecting them from rapacious humanity. Crispin's initial reports were positive, but became increasingly infrequent and jumbled. And then they stopped altogether. But his life support systems show green, and his hard-earned knowledge is needed. Hetty must explore this new idyllic land, learn what she can about its tricks and dangers, and track down someone who may not want to be found, almost certainly doesn't want help, and might even be dead. But something is alive on Paradise...
Paradise of Shadows and Devotion
by Gaja J. KosHunted for her present. Haunted by her past.As a mermaid stranded on land, Liana’s only goal is to survive this new world and not succumb to the call of the sea—unless she wants death to find her a second time.Her struggle takes a turn for the worse when a PI tracks her down to the small cafe in Piran where she sought refuge. Her dashing Italian boss offers her a way out of the clutches of her past. In exchange for her honesty.Revealing the taint of her previous life to Santino is terrifying enough, but with her lethal nature and the attraction brimming between them, growing close could become dangerous. Especially as she realizes there is more to him than meets the eye.With Santino’s aid, Liana just might overcome her darkness. But will she be able to accept his?
Paradise Rot: A Novel
by Jenny Hval Marjam IdrissA lyrical debut novel from a musician and artist renowned for her sharp sexual and political imageryJo is in a strange new country for university and having a more peculiar time than most. In a house with no walls, shared with a woman who has no boundaries, she finds her strange home coming to life in unimaginable ways. Jo’s sensitivity and all her senses become increasingly heightened and fraught, as the lines between bodies and plants, dreaming and wakefulness, blur and mesh.This debut novel from critically acclaimed artist and musician Jenny Hval presents a heady and hyper-sensual portrayal of sexual awakening and queer desire.
The Paradise Snare: Star Wars Legends (Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy - Legends #1)
by A. C. CrispinHere is the first book in the blockbuster trilogy that chronicles the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler, and thief.The first book in this exciting Han Solo series begins with a recounting of Han's late teen years and shows us how he escaped an unhappy adopted home situation to carve out an adventurous new life for himself as a pilot. Han Solo, the handsome rogue, is every girl's dream man, and every boy's hero. Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!
Paradise Tales
by Geoff RymanGeoff Ryman writes about the other and leaves us dissected in the process. His stories are set in recognizable places-London, Cambodia, tomorrow-and feature men and women caught in recognizable situations (or technologies) and not sure which way to turn. They, we, should obviously choose what's right. But what if that's difficult? What will we do? What we should, or . . . ?Paradise Tales builds on the success of his most recent novel, The King's Last Song, and on the three Cambodian stories included here, "The Last Ten Years of the Hero Kai," "Blocked," and the exceedingly-popular "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter." Paradise Tales includes stories selected from the many periods of Ryman's career including "Birth Days," "Omnisexual," "The Film-makers of Mars," and a new story, "K is for Kosovo (or, Massimo's Career)."To complement this first full-length short story collection, Small Beer Press is reprinting Ryman's backlist: Was, The Child Garden, and a book of four novellas, The Unconquered Countries, with new introductions to continue to build the readership of one of the most fascinating writers exploring the edges of being, gender, science, and fiction.Geoff Ryman is the author of the novels The King's Last Song, The Child Garden, Air (a Clarke and Tiptree Award winner), and The Unconquered Country (a World Fantasy Award winner). Canadian by birth, he has lived in Cambodia and Brazil and now teaches creative writing at the University of Manchester in England.
The Paradise Trap
by Catherine JinksEleven year old Marcus loves video games and hates the beach. So he is not happy when his mum Holly drags him to Diamond Beach, the place she loved as a child. Once there, Holly meets Coco, her friend from her childhood. She is there with her electronics-obsessed husband, Sterling Huckstepp, and their kids, cool teenage Newt, pizza-loving Edison and the family robot, Prot. Opening a door into the basement of Holly's caravan, Edison discovers the most amazing amusement park. Whoever opens a door in the basement finds themselves in their very own dream vacation. But when the dream becomes impossible to escape from, it all begins to feel more like a nightmare: Marcus, Holly, and the Huckstepps find themselves trapped in a matrix of terrifyingly perfect dreamscapes peopled with strange characters that will allow them to do anything they want, except leave... A whirlwind adventure at a breakneck speed.
The Paradise War: The Paradise War; The Silver Hand; The Endless Knot (The Song of Albion #1)
by Stephen Lawhead"When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the world I knew." Lewis Gillies is an American graduate student in Oxford who should be getting on with his life. Yet for some reason, he finds himself speeding north with his roommate Simon on a lark--half-heartedly searching for a long-extinct creature allegedly spotted in a misty glen in Scotland. Expecting little more than a weekend diversion, Lewis accidently crosses through a mystical gateway where two worlds meet: into the time-between-times, as the ancient Celts called it. And into the heart of a collision between good and evil that's been raging since long before Lewis was born. First published almost twenty years ago, The Song of Albion Trilogy has become a modern classic that continues to attract passionate new readers. Enter into The Paradise War and experience the dazzling brilliance of a world like ours--yet infinitely bolder and brighter: a place of kings and warriors, bards and battles, feats of glory and honour. It is a place you will forever wish to be. It is Albion.