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Venus of Dreams (Venus #1)
by Pamela SargentThe first adventure in the Nebula Award–winning author&’s &“masterful SF trilogy&” about the attempted colonization and terraforming of the planet Venus (Publishers Weekly). Iris Angharads, a determined, independent woman, sets herself one massive goal: to make the poison‑filled atmosphere of Venus hospitable to humans. She works day and night to realize her dream, with only one person sharing her passion, Liang Chen. It seems impossible to make Venus, with its intolerable air and waterless environment, into a paradise, but Iris succeeds. And in doing so, she also creates a powerful dynasty, beginning with her first born, Benzi Liangharad.
A House of Pomegranates
by Oscar WildeNot your typical modern-day fairy tale… A House of Pomegranates is a collection of four fairy tales by Oscar Wilde, first published in 1891. Wilde himself once said, “These tales are not intended for very young children,” warning parents to not ruin the imaginative minds of their children by reading these stories to them. Although you won’t find any happy endings in these brilliantly written short stories, they are filled with beautiful language, whimsical imagination, and varying messages on love. “The Young King” touches on the love of God and humility. “The Birthday of the Infanta” touches on sorrows experienced when love is not returned. “The Fisherman and His Soul” explores forbidden love and the lengths one goes to achieve it. “The Star-Child” completes the book by touching on forgiveness and redemption in the name of love. This freshly rendered edition of A House of Pomegranates captures Oscar Wilde's extraordinary language, timeless themes, and captivating storytelling that is sure to leave readers enthralled. Includes a new foreword by award-winning author Russell Davis.
From Street to Screen: Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep (Studies in the Cinema of the Black Diaspora)
by Michael T. Martin and David C. WallCharles Burnett's 1977 film, Killer of Sheep is one of the towering classics of African American cinema. As a deliberate counterpoint to popular blaxploitation films of the period, it combines harsh images of the banality of everyday oppression with scenes of lyrical beauty, and depictions of stark realism with flights of comic fancy. From Street to Screen: Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep is the first book-length collection dedicated to the film and designed to introduce viewers to this still relatively unknown masterpiece. Beginning life as Burnett's master's thesis project in 1973, and shot on a budget of $10,000, Killer of Sheep immediately became a cornerstone of the burgeoning movement in African American film that came to be known variously as the LA School or LA Rebellion. By bringing together a wide variety of material, this volume covers both the politics and aesthetics of the film as well as its deeper social and contextual histories. This expansive and incisive critical companion will serve equally as the perfect starting point and standard reference for all viewers, whether they are already familiar with the film or coming to it for the first time.
Without Fear: A Martha Beale Novel (The Martha Beale Mysteries #3)
by Cordelia Frances BiddlePhiladelphia heiress and amateur sleuth Martha Beale investigates the identity of a headless corpse found on Joseph Bonaparte&’s estate in the third novel in acclaimed author Cordelia Frances Biddle&’s Martha Beale Mystery seriesWith her hands full raising her adopted children and managing her father&’s financial empire, Martha Beale is also grieving the loss of her beau. Thomas Kelman, an assistant to the mayor, felt he could never belong in Martha&’s upper-crust society and has boarded a merchant ship bound for South America. But the grisly discovery of a decapitated corpse on Joseph Bonaparte&’s palatial estate outside of Philadelphia while Martha is visiting there will take the heiress far from her privileged world.The dead woman is believed to be a missing employee of the Quaker City Mill. Martha searches for answers while also trying to help her friend Becky Taitt, a former actress and runaway wife whose abusive socialite husband will kill her before he lets her take custody of his child and heir. From the drawing rooms of Philadelphia&’s elite to the inhumane factories and textile mills that exploit working-class women and children, Without Fear exposes the ever-growing divide between rich and poor and a festering evil that touches everyone, including Martha&’s daughter.
There Is Room for You: A Novel
by Charlotte BaconIn a braided narrative that unites the stories of two striking women, Charlotte Bacon explores the emotional and psychological turbulence of suppressed family histories, the bravery needed to renew broken lives, and the difficulties we all have in responding to the pain of others.Anna Singer, a charmingly independent young New Yorker, feels derailed after losing her father to a car accident and her husband to a younger woman. She books a trip to India, hoping that there she will be able to put her grief into perspective. Though this is her first visit, India has always tantalized her: her English mother, Rose, was raised in Calcutta during the twilight of the British Raj, but seldom spoke of her childhood. Then, as Anna departs, Rose gives her a manuscript in which she has recorded her Indian memories--growing up with a Hindu ayah and a widower father, torn between two cultures and belonging completely to neither. Anna's sense of how she fits into the world is unexpectedly challenged by the daunting complexity of modern India, but even greater surprises are in store when she turns the pages of her mother's memoir. There is Room for You brilliantly traces the experience of India from the dual perspectives of Anna, who flees to the country, and Rose, who fled from it. The unexpected parallels in the lives of mother and daughter become a nuanced contemplation of the nature of family in a world of profound suffering.
American Skin: A Novel
by Ken BruenAt the beginning of Bruen&’s dark tribute to the Irish fascination with the American dream, Stephen Blake is on the run after a bank heist, hoping to disappear in the desert near Tucson. Blake has the money and his girlfriend, Siobhan, knows how to launder it. All he has to do is change his accent and his skin and pass as an American. But John A. Stapleton, contract killer for the IRA, wants more than his share of the swag—and the psychotic Dade, obsessively devoted to the music of Tammy Wynette, is wandering the Southwest like a slaughter wagon. Noir master Bruen (The Guards) effortlessly moves his storyline back and forth in time, all his trademark pop-culture references in place, the banshee of existential agony wailing loudly.
Honor Thy Children: One Family's Journey to Wholeness
by Molly FumiaExperience this gripping true story of a Japanese American family’s transformation from brokenness to wholeness in the face of tragedy.The inspirational account of a Japanese-American family’s triumph after grappling with the death of their three children—two from AIDS and a third the victim of a tragic drive-by shooting—Honor Thy Children chronicles the creation, devastation, and remarkable resurrection of the Nakatanis, who journey from unimaginable grief to healing.Praise for Honor Thy Children“This is a story that will break your heart and make it whole again. It will bring you into a realm of humanness and compassion you didn’t know you had. It might even set you free to love in ways you’ve never loved before.” —Sister Helen Prejean, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Dead Man Walking“I have never read such a powerful story about a Japanese American family like this before. It relates a universal message of the deep love the Nakatanis have for their children which transcended alienation and despair…. It is the Nakatanis enduring legacy of love and hope to the world.” —Ford H. Kuramoto, national director, National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
Arnold Schoenberg's Journey
by Allen ShawnA composer's study and celebration of a difficult but influential artist, his work, and his timeProposing that Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) has been more discussed than heard, more tolerated than loved, composer Allen Shawn puts aside ultimate judgments about Schoenberg's place in musical history to explore the composer's fascinating world in a series of "linked essays--soundings" that are more searching than analytical, more suggestive than definitive. In an approach that is unusual for a book of an avowedly introductory character, the text plunges into the details of some of Schoenberg works, while at the same time providing a broad overview of his involvement in music, painting and the history through which he lived. Emphasizing music as an expressive art of rhythms and tones, Shawn approaches Schoenberg primarily from the listener's point of view, uncovering both the seeds of his radicalism in his early music and the traditional bases of his later work. Although liberally sprinkled with musical examples, the text can be read without them. By turns witty, personal, opinionated and instructive, "Arnold Schoenberg's Journey" is above all an appreciation of a great musical and artistic imagination in a time unlike any other.
The Invitation
by Barb JohnsonThe lives of four unlikely friends intersect on the backstreets of New Orleans. Living amid poverty and violence, these fragile heroes of the American underclass redefine our notions of family, redemption, and love.
Swift Thoughts
by George ZebrowskiThis collection of stories showcases the work of George Zebrowski, one of science fiction&’s masters and a writer Hugo and Nebula Award winner Robert J. Sawyer has called &“one of the most philosophically astute writers in science fiction.&” Like the writers Olaf Stapledon, Arthur C. Clarke, and Stanislaw Lem, Zebrowski explores the &“big questions&”—the expansion of human horizons, and the growth of power over our lives and the world in which we live. In the title story, scientists push the boundaries of human mentality to keep pace with ever-evolving AIs. In &“The Eichmann Variations,&” a finalist for the Nebula Award, exact copies of captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann stand trial for his crimes against humanity, while in &“The Word Sweep,&” all speech must be rationed because spoken words take on physical form. In &“Wound the Wind,&” another Nebula Award finalist, unchanged humans roam freely until captured by those who know what&’s best for them, and in &“Stooges,&” a visiting alien hijacks the persona of Curly Howard. From hard science fiction (&“Gödel&’s Doom&”) to alternate history (&“Lenin in Odessa&”) to first alien contact (&“Bridge of Silence&”), and with an introduction by renowned physicist/writer Gregory Benford, this collection presents one of the most distinctive voices writing in the field of science fiction today.
Bound to Happen
by Mary Kay McComasA novel that asks the age-old question, Does true love really exist? Leslie Rothe wants to believe in love. But the data research analyst has just about given up on finding the One. Her life changes the day she crashes her car into a stranger&’s truck. Suddenly, Leslie is stranded in the Rocky Mountains with a man who awakens treacherous desire within her—and there is no hope of rescue in sight. Joe Bonner loves the mountains, and will do everything in his power to preserve his Western ancestors&’ sacred legacy. Now he has found a woman who shares his passion for the land. But he soon discovers that Leslie works for a developer who is out to destroy the pristine wilderness that Joe is fighting so hard to save. Has he given his trust to a woman fated to betray him? Or has he found a love that transcends differences—a love to have and to hold in his heart forever?This ebook features an extended biography of Mary Kay McComas.
Moravian Soundscapes: A Sonic History of the Moravian Missions in Early Pennsylvania (Music, Nature, Place)
by Sarah Justina EyerlyIn Moravian Soundscapes, Sarah Eyerly contends that the study of sound is integral to understanding the interactions between German Moravian missionaries and Native communities in early Pennsylvania. In the mid-18th century, when the frontier between settler and Native communities was a shifting spatial and cultural borderland, sound mattered. People listened carefully to each other and the world around them. In Moravian communities, cultures of hearing and listening encompassed and also superseded musical traditions such as song and hymnody. Complex biophonic, geophonic, and anthrophonic acoustic environments—or soundscapes—characterized daily life in Moravian settlements such as Bethlehem, Nain, Gnadenhütten, and Friedenshütten. Through detailed analyses and historically informed recreations of Moravian communal, environmental, and religious soundscapes and their attendant hymn traditions, Moravian Soundscapes explores how sounds—musical and nonmusical, human and nonhuman—shaped the Moravians' religious culture. Combined with access to an interactive website that immerses the reader in mid-18th century Pennsylvania, and framed with an autobiographical narrative, Moravian Soundscapes recovers the roles of sound and music in Moravian communities and provides a road map for similar studies of other places and religious traditions in the future.
Transformation Space: Book Four Of The Sentients Of Orion (Sentients of Orion #4)
by Marianne de PierresWinner of the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction novel—the fourth Sentients of Orion book. &“Beautifully written . . . a serious series for a new generation&” (Falcata Times). Mira Fedor and her friends stand in the eye of the hurricane, and everything in the Orion League remains in flux. Mira is pregnant, and her gestation is proceeding at an inhuman pace. As she hides out on her bioship, Insignia, it seems clear that the extropist&’s procedures have had unforeseen effects—but will her child be more than human? As secrets are revealed and conspiracies exposed about the attack on Araldis, Mira wonders if there is still time to thwart one last master plan. The pieces are all in place; all that remains is for each side to commit to its endgame. But there is one question nobody has thought to ask: Will the Sole Entity—God—play by the rules? It is the epic conclusion to what the Sydney Morning Herald called &“Space opera supreme.&” Marianne de Pierres&’s epic series the Sentients of Orion has been called &“a grand space opera&” (Times Literary Supplement) and &“brilliant in all senses of the word&” (Sean Williams). All four books were short-listed for the prestigious Aurealis Award, with the final book winning for Best Novel. Don&’t miss the entire Sentients of Orion series: Dark Space, Chaos Space, Mirror Space, and Transformation Space.
Dead Letter (Digger #3)
by Warren MurphyIn Dead Letter, Digger&’s boss&’s daughter is the next name on a college chain letter that has led to a string of murders—and her daddy is afraid she will be next.
Daggers of Gold
by Katherine DeauxvilleA Saxon beauty and a courageous knight fall prey to forbidden passion, as the medieval saga that began in Blood Red Roses continues. Romantic Times praises DAGGERS OF GOLD as &“A magnificent love story...real history brought to life by a consummate storyteller.&” Find out for yourself what makes this spellbinding sequel to the best-selling Blood Red Roses so hot! Ingrith is the grand-daughter of a formerly powerful Saxon noble who has fallen from the King&’s grace and left his family in the position of slaves and serfs. Her fiery will and glossy silver tresses set her apart from other peasant girls, but she has no control over her destiny. She remains bound by the will of others due to her family&’s ancient ties to the web of intrigue surrounding the royal family. Her beauty at full flower, she finds herself the unwilling captive of a swarthy knight setting out to prove his loyalty to the King. Ingrith is to be a gift to the King, his servant and whore, until he tires of her. She refuses to submit to such an outrageous violation. But the only way she can escape is with the help of her captor, who has his own debt of honor to pay, and whose gorgeous eyes send shivers down her spine.
The Four Just Men (The Four Just Men #1)
by Edgar WallaceThe thrilling debut of the Four Just Men, the world&’s most sophisticated vigilantes In a time of turmoil and intrigue, with governments around the world buffeted by the winds of radical change, four men vow to do whatever it takes to ensure that justice prevails. They kill without remorse, their victims powerful men and women guilty of the vilest of crimes: rape, embezzlement, extortion, murder. Now the British foreign secretary finds himself in the crosshairs of Manfred, Gonsalez, Poiccart, and Thery—the newest member of the four and a man with a very special skill. Sir Philip Ramon&’s Aliens Political Offences Bill threatens to expel honest revolutionaries from the safety of England and return them to their corrupt native lands, where torture and death await. The Four Just Men publicly ask Ramon to withdraw the bill. When he refuses, they put their ingenious plan into action. Edgar Wallace self-published The Four Just Men and bankrupted himself promoting it. One century later, it stands as one of the most innovative and influential thrillers ever written. This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices. The Four Just Men is the first book in the Four Just Men series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Walking and Other Excursions
by Henry David ThoreauIN THE SPIRIT OF UNDYING ADVENTURE! Sauntering through natural landscapes is a noble art; and one that Henry David Thoreau held in the highest regard. Though he is perhaps best known for Walden: Life in the Woods and his essay “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau was an early advocate of recreational hiking, canoeing, and conserving natural resources. A passionate nature writer, he penned many articles that shared these philosophies and perspectives. This carefully restored re-creation of the 1863 essay collection Excursions features the nine original essays that were published posthumously: “Natural History of Massachusetts” “A Walk to Wachusett” “The Landlord” “A Winter Walk” “The Succession of Forest Trees” “Walking” “Autumnal Tints” “Wild Apples” “Night and Moonlight” This revised special edition also includes the original detailed biographical sketch of Thoreau by fellow transcendentalist and friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. Featuring a brand-new foreword by J.F. Penn, best-selling author of PILGRIMAGE: Lessons Learned from Walking Three Ancient Ways, and a fresh introduction from editor Mark Leslie. ______ "In these ever more fast-moving times, as the constant noise of media in every form buffets us, and bad news from across the world shakes our sense of well-being daily, we can find truth in Thoreau’s words that 'in society you will not find health, but in nature.'" - J.F. Penn
Midnight Fire (The Fire Trilogy)
by Linda LaddAs the Revolutionary War rages, a sheltered beauty battles her own heart over the man who has vowed to protect her in the second Fire Trilogy novel. Carlisle Kincaid is as untouchable and unresponsive in her beautiful perfection as a marble statue. Educated by devout nuns in a strict convent, she instinctively repulses the attentions of any man, denying the haughty and reckless nature promised in her burning gaze. Chase Lancaster, a rugged adventurer on his own, is sworn to protect her seemingly indomitable virtue...while he struggles to deny the enchantment she casts over him. As a revolutionary war rages around them, they are torn apart by mistrust and the strain of divided loyalties-—even as they continue to be drawn together by need and desire. Will they fall prey to the treacherous longings raging in their souls as the ravages of war devastate everything around them?
Miscalculations
by Elizabeth MansfieldA spendthrift viscount must contend with a financial advisor—a surprisingly beautiful and charming one—in this Regency romance. Jane Douglas had a sharp wit, a brilliant mind, and an extraordinary knack for numbers. As financial advisor to Lady Martha Kettering, she was able to provide for herself, her sister, and her mother. Jane had resigned herself to a quiet life in the country, in service. Viscount Luke Kettering was a Corinthian: self-confident, elegant, with a talent for all the manly arts, and a penchant for taking risks. He was admired by his peers, yet his constant requests for funds to settle his gambling debts caused his mother deep concern. He eagerly accepted her challenge to give him control of his inheritance if he could prove to be financially responsible. All he had to do was act prudently for one month. He did not factor in one detail—that Lady Martha's financial advisor would be overseeing his accounting for the month—and that he was—a she!
Crompton Divided
by Robert SheckleyCrompton Divided was also published in the United Kingdom under the title The AlchemicalMarriage ofAlistair Crompton. Alistair Crompton, skilled nosologist at Psychosmell, Inc., sniffs out something he&’s been missing his whole life: his other selves. His disturbed psyche was divided into three parts and the other two were implanted in other bodies on other planets. His obsession to reunite himself leads to disturbing discoveries about the underpinnings of the society he lives in, personal conflicts, a vastly destructive war, and a shocking ultimate revelation. The master of SF madness operates at the top of his form. From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and fellow authors as a master storyteller and the wittiest satirist working in the science fiction field. Open Road is proud to republish his acclaimed body of work, with nearly thirty volumes of full-length fiction and short story collections. Rediscover, or discover for the first time, a master of science fiction who, according to the New York Times, was &“a precursor to Douglas Adams.&” &“In case anyone has managed to miss this singular author&’s seminal influence on the world of imaginative literature, my best advice is to throw oneself in the way of Crompton Divided and give oneself up to wonderful madness.&” —Harlan Ellison
What Is Life?: Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology
by Ed RegisIn 1944, the Nobel Prize–winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger published a groundbreaking little book called What Is Life? In fewer than one hundred pages, he argued that life was not a mysterious or inexplicable phenomenon, as many people believed, but a scientific process like any other, ultimately explainable by the laws of physics and chemistry. Today, more than sixty years later, members of a new generation of scientists are attempting to create life from the ground up. Science has moved forward in leaps and bounds since Schrödinger's time, but our understanding of what does and does not constitute life has only grown more complex. An era that has already seen computer chip–implanted human brains, genetically engineered organisms, genetically modified foods, cloned mammals, and brain-dead humans kept "alive" by machines is one that demands fresh thinking about the concept of life.While a segment of our national debate remains stubbornly mired in moral quandaries over abortion, euthanasia, and other "right to life" issues, the science writer Ed Regis demonstrates how science can and does provide us with a detailed understanding of the nature of life. Written in a lively and accessible style, and synthesizing a wide range of contemporary research, What Is Life? is a brief and illuminating contribution to an age-old debate.
The Stricken Field (A Handful of Men #3)
by Dave DuncanA king resists a sorcerer&’s rule over the Impire in this fantasy series from the Aurora Award–winning author of the Man of His Word novels. Paranoid but almighty, the sorcerer Xinixo had seized control of the Impire. But ruling the imps and most of the world was not enough. He would never feel safe until he was universally loved, so he would smash everything and then rebuild the whole world in his own insane image. Who could resist him? King Rap of Krasnegar and Shandie, the rightful imperor, were still at large and determined to resist the evil, however slender their chances. Their one, faint hope was to enlist the help of the remaining free sorcerers of the world, those not already spellbound by Xinixo. Their quest soon ran into disaster. Their messengers were betrayed or ensnared. A rampaging goblin army had captured Shandie and was about to torture him to death. Rap was mired in a tropical jungle, hoping his wife and children were safe back home in Krasnegar. They were not in Krasnegar and certainly not safe. As the flames of war raged across Pandemia, news of the disasters penetrated even into Thume, the Accursed Land. Outsiders believed that the pixies had been extinct for a thousand years, but they still lived there, hoarding their magic. Their ruler, the Keeper, adamantly refused to meddle in events outside her borders, but one young pixie girl was prepared to rebel against the ancient order . . .
Murder in the Queen's Armes: Fellowship Of Fear, The Dark Place, Murder In The Queen's Armes, And Old Bones (The Gideon Oliver Mysteries #3)
by Aaron ElkinsThe Skeleton Detective puzzles over the theft of an ancient bit of bone—and a student&’s murder—in this novel by the Edgar Award–winning author of Switcheroo. Anthropology professor Gideon Oliver would prefer to keep his mind on his beautiful new bride Julie during their English honeymoon, but one intrusive question will not stop nagging at him: Who would want to steal a thirty‑thousand‑year‑old parieto‑occipital calvarial fragment? Yet someone has lifted this chunk of prehistoric human skull from a musty museum in Dorchester. Then, thirty miles away, an archaeology student is murdered, increasing tension and suspicion at a dig that had already seethed with suspicion, rivalry, and mistrust. Could there be a connection between a hot bone and a cold‑blooded murder? Gideon is called on by the police to apply the unique skills for which the media have named him &“the Skeleton Detective,&” and he reluctantly agrees. Before he is done, his sleuthing will lead him to another murder and will—in the most literal and terrifying manner imaginable—sic the dogs on him, putting Gideon himself, and Julie as well, in mortal danger . . .Murder in the Queen&’s Armes is a suspenseful, fun-filled whodunit by the author of the Alix London and Chris Norgren series—a celebrated master who &“thoroughly understands the art of the murder mystery&” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Murder in the Queen&’s Armes is the 3rd book in the Gideon Oliver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Harriet Quimby: Flying Fair Lady
by Leslie KerrOne of the first women to fly, Harriet Quimby paved the way for Amelia EarhartA Victorian-era woman who challenged the mores of her timeQuimby was a pioneer in photojournalism, script writing, and fashion design
Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World
by H. R. McMasterThe former National Security Advisor's New York Times bestselling critique of US foreign policy—with new material on the Jan. 6th assault on the Capitol. In Battlegrounds, Lt. General H.R. McMaster, U.S. Army, ret., the former National Security Advisor under President Trump, delivers a bold re-examination of the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States. In this new edition, McMaster addresses the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol and discusses how citizens across the free world can work together to restore confidence in democratic institutions.According to McMaster, American foreign policy has been misconceived and poorly implemented since the end of the Cold War. This has allowed threats to security, freedom, and prosperity—such as nuclear proliferation and jihadist terrorism—to grow. As National Security Advisor, he pursued course correction through a fundamental shift in policy. Now he provides a clear path to improving strategic competence and prevailing in complex competitions against our adversaries.Calling on all Americans to rise above the vitriol of partisan discourse, McMaster stresses the importance of educating ourselves about the national and international security challenges we face. Only then can we work together to secure peace and prosperity for future generations.