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In Search of the Unknown


Robert W. Chambers - 1904
    "Very genuine, though not without the typical mannered extravagance of the eighteen-nineties, is the strain of horror in the early work of Robert W. Chambers . . . One cannot help regretting that he did not further develop a vein in which he could so easily have become a recognised master." -- H.P. Lovecraft. (Includes a brief introduction by Lovecraft.)

The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille: Told by its Commander


Georges Thenault - 1921
     During the next twenty-one months this aviation squadron was to be seen over every important battlefield, with its men fighting and dying for France. George Thenault’s fascinating history of the Lafayette Escadrille covers from its very inception to the end of the war. Many Americans living in France at the outbreak of war in 1914 wanted to fight for the country that they saw as the founder of Liberty, and some of those men were pilots. But with the French army only having 80 planes the Americans were initially rejected from joining the air force and instead had to sign up with the Foreign Legion. It was only after months of persuasion that some of these intrepid Americans were given control of France’s planes and later, under Thenault’s command, they developed their own squadron. They were immediately thrown into the thick of the fighting above the pockmarked land of the Western Front. Thenault provides vivid descriptions of his brave pilots which included Norman Prince, the Rockwell brothers and the ace Raoul Lufbery. Some of these pilots were rather eccentric, for example William Thaw who when in Paris bought two lions, named Whiskey and Soda, which became the escadrille’s mascots. Flying their Nieuports, they were fighting at the very beginning of military aviation and were instrumental in pioneering new battle techniques. Their life expectancy was not long and many who had joined at the inception of the escadrille did not make it through until the end of the war. Thenault’s extremely personal account covers all aspects of this squadron in World War One, from their activities on the ground to their dogfights in the air. It is a truly remarkable read. Eventually with the United States joining the war the Lafayette Escadrille was disbanded and a number of its members were inducted into the U.S. Air Service as members of 103 Aero Squadron. George Thenault’s The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille was published in 1921. His book gained widespread American public recognition. In May 1922, he accepted an assignment that began an eleven year diplomatic service in the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1933 following successful completion of duties as Military Attache for Aeronautics at the French Embassy in Washington DC, he returned to France and continued his military services with the French Air Army. He died in 1948.

The Family Dictionary


Lisa Walker - 2013
    Quiet, that is, until threatening notes show up to disturb the peace. Trying to discover who is sending the notes leads them to investigate long-dead relatives and a family heirloom, the dictionary passed down through generations. Connie and Rebecca rush to figure out the secrets enclosed in the family dictionary with the help of local cop, Brad Hamilton. But will they find the clues in time?

Dead Ringer


Lester del Rey - 2010
    Dead Ringer appeared in the November 1956 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.There was nothing, especially on Earth, which could set him free--the truth least of all!

The Happy Hypocrite (1915)


Max Beerbohm - 1896
    Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves


Anonymous - 2000
    In the original story, Ali Baba’s brother marries a wealthy woman and lives a lavish life while Ali Baba, who marries a poor village girl, seems destined to spend his life as a poor woodcutter.Fortunes change quickly when Ali Baba accidentally discovers a cave filled with the loot of many robberies committed by a band of forty thieves.Unfortunately, sharing his knowledge leads to the gruesome murder of his brother and a number of attempts to find and kill Ali Baba,himself, all of which are miraculously foiled by a lowly, but clever, servant girl named, Morgiana. .Modern translations of this story have filtered out much of the harsher portions to make it suitable for children, but the early versions such as this one should perhaps be reserved for adultsThe story raises some moral questions about how far one should go in seeking revenge, whether or not it is right to profit from stolen goods, etc.

The Sword and the Spirits


Robert Denton III - 2018
    Trained as a samurai warrior, she was to be the bodyguard of Isawa Tadaka, a powerful shugenja—and the man she loved. Although her new duties have drawn them apart, she refuses to stand by and watch as Tadaka falls to the darkness within him.Tsukune follows Tadaka north to Cliffside Shrine, home of the Kaito family, where he is investigating the mysterious death of a prominent priestess. All around them, the shrine shows signs of decay and desecration, and the wards that for centuries have bound an evil demon are fraying. What secrets are the Kaito family keeping? And can Tsukune save Tadaka from descending down a dark path before it’s too late?

Hard Bite


Anonymous-9 - 2012
    Now a paraplegic, Dean Drayhart unleashes payback on suspected hit-and-runners in Los Angeles with helper-monkey Sid as his deadly assistant. Dean's gentle, doting nurse knows nothing about what he's up to. When Sid tears out the throat of a Mexican Mafia member, Marcie gets kidnapped in order to force Dean's surrender. Armed with nothing but his wits, Sid, and a sympathetic streetwalker named Cinda, Dean manipulates drug-cartel carnales and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department in a David-against-Goliath plot that twists and turns to a heart-pounding showdown.

Astounding Days


Arthur C. Clarke - 1990
    It centers on three editors, Harry Bates, F. Orlin Tremaine, and John W. Campbell, who created the magazine now known as Analog (until 1960 it was called Astounding Science Fiction). Clarke gives his reaction to the writers and illustrators who first aroused his interest in science fiction. The scientific ferment of the 1930s and the 1940s is related to the ideas of the period and to the author's work in rocketry and radar. A sweeping view of popular science and popular fiction.- Katherine Thorp, St. Louis Univ. Lib.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Last Train Home


Tony Wilson - 2012
    Their lives are worlds apart, yet inextricably linked. In this captivating twist on a seasonal tale, the three men are brought together on the last train home and given their chance at redemption. But will they take it? Always gripping, sometimes sad, yet ultimately uplifting, don’t miss your place on The Last Train Home.

The Interview


Eric Weule - 2012
    The drunk guy was not part of the plan. But the guy pushed. Kelly pushed back. Now, Kelly’s life is about to get complicated. A cop, a killer, and a businessman are suddenly very interested in Kelly Jenks. They want something from him, and Kelly is about to find out that these folks get what they want. Let The Interview begin . . .

Blue Blood Runs Cold


M.A Wallace - 2015
     When the blizzard passes that collapsed the roof of Ravney Hall and claimed the life of a student, a storm of even greater danger is only just beginning to brew. Students rebel. A cop is killed. Detective Michael Ross of the Shippensburg Borough Police Department and his partner, William “Billy” McGee, are called to the scene. It appears as an open-and-shut case, but soon it becomes a discovery beyond what anyone ever imagined possible at this small university in Pennsylvania. It seems whoever steps foot on “The Ship” has a chance of never making it back out alive… including Michael Ross.

The Desert Run


Gregg Dunnett - 2017
    He’s looking to use his new degree in Economics and Business Studies. But he can’t get a job and a mountain of student debt is threatening to overwhelm him. And when the ordinary life he has planned doesn’t much impress the girl of his dreams, he starts to consider his best friend’s idea to get rich quick. After all, it’s only a little bit illegal, and they're smart enough to not get caught. . . The Desert Run is an intriguing and suspenseful thriller charting how one young man succumbs to the siren call of adventure. One little crime doesn't make you a criminal. Does it?

A Spy Came Home


H.N. Wake - 2014
    Massacres are taking place in communities on a regular basis. In schools, lockdown drills are now as commonplace as fire drills. Politicians on Capitol Hill, impotent in the face of one of the most influential lobbying powers, have failed to pass gun legislation since 1994. Mac Ambrose, a twenty-year, international veteran of the CIA, is recruited by her closest friends to run a domestic operation: bring down the gun lobby by any means necessary so the Senate can pass a new assault weapons ban. In four weeks. ​From the hearing rooms of Capitol Hill, to the rolling hills of Kentucky and the wealthy suburbs of New Orleans, Mac flawlessly sets the traps of a multi-pronged strategy to ensnare a lawmaker, a lobbyist and a gun manufacturer. From a safe house in Philadelphia, she rediscovers relationships forsaken in the name of national security.

More Short Fuses (Four Free Short Stories)


Stephen Leather - 2014
     The short stories are: Rules of Engagement (where Spider Shepherd has to help a friend who is in serious trouble with the police), The Constituency Meeting (where a group of old folks decide to commit a murder), Ghost Kids (where a holidaymaker takes more home from Thailand than he expected) and Massage Therapy (where the massage skills of a Thai masseuse change a man's life forever). There are also tasters of five of his bestselling novels, including Hard Landing, The Stretch and The Tunnel Rats. Stephen Leather is one of the UK’s most successful thriller writers, an eBook and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan “Spider’ Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels. Before becoming a novelist he was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mirror, the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He is one of the country’s most successful eBook authors and his eBooks have topped the Amazon Kindle charts in the UK and the US. In 2011 alone he sold more than 500,000 eBooks and was voted by The Bookseller magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world. Born in Manchester, he began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages. He has also written for television shows such as London’s Burning, The Knock and the BBC’s Murder in Mind series and two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were filmed for TV. You can find out more from his website www.stephenleather.com and you can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenleather