A story of the making and breaking of convictions and loyalties and the quest for actual truth.Quoting biblical scriptures to illuminate the characters’ mindsets, this book will resonate powerfully with those who have experience of such 'churches' or who wish to understand the mentality of people who lead and join such organisations.

    Prince William is asked by The Queen to go to northern England and represent her at these events. The Security Services provide him with a local bodyguard, in the shapely form of Special Agent Amelia Hartliss, (or 'Heartless', as she is sometimes known). The two young people become very close, as the Prince is threatened by terrorists and local troublemakers. He is lonely. His wife has been forced by ill health to stay in London, and he becomes increasing reliant on the beautiful bodyguard, both for his well-being and his morale. They make a good team, fighting off the foes and celebrating the Games. Melia even manages to unmask a spy in the camp, as well as defeat one of her oldest adversaries, the evil Emil Gorange. He escapes, as does the Prince, back to London and his other responsibilities, taking her heart with him.

    It's hard to fit in when your nightmares open portals to the Netherworld, where horrible creatures live--like the class 3 Netherstalker that invaded a sleepover and tried to eat the other children. Luckily there's a place for Charlie--the Nightmare Academy. Built from wrecked ships set in the branches of the world's most incredible tree fort, the Academy trains people to use their unique gifts to fight the monsters that rush in when the lights go out. But Charlie is far more powerful than anyone ever imagined, and his entrance exam opens a portal straight to the heart of the Netherworld, where ultimate evil plots Earth's destruction. He'll need all his cleverness--and the help of his new friends--to save himself and his family and to put these bad boys to bed once and for all. The monsters under your bed are realBut never fear--the Nightmare Academy will train Nethermancers and Banishers like you to destroy them

    Clutter's bookshop window: "Adventurers Wanted. Apply Within." No one but fifteen-year-old Alex Taylor even seems to notice it is there. And for Alex, who has wished for a change in his life, it is an irresistible invitation.Upon entering Mr. Clutter's shop, Alex is swept away on an incredible adventure to a faraway land filled with heroic warriors, mysterious elves, and hard-working dwarves.Alex becomes the eigth man in a band of adventurers seeking the lair of Slathbog the Red - and evil dragon with a legendary treasure. Along the way, Alex and his new friends must battle dangerous trolls and bandits, face undead wraiths, and seek the wisdom of the Oracle in her White Tower.Alex's adventure takes him to distant and exotic lands where he learns about courage, integrity, honor, and, most importantly, friendship.Slathbog's Gold is the first book in an exciting new YA epic fantasy series and heralds the arrival of a major new talent in the genre.

    But Flora is late for school, so she takes the unpredictable elevator anyway. Huge mistake. Lost in her own house, she stumbles upon the long-banished butler--and into a mind-blowing muddle of intrigue and betrayal that changes her world forever.     Full of wildly clever plot twists, this extraordinary first novel establishes Ysabeau Wilce as a compelling new voice in teen fantasy.

    A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

    Level one is the most common, possible evidence. Level two, clear evidence of non-human intelligence. Level three is verified signs of non-human intelligence. Level three has a very high burden of proof, requiring verified artifacts. It is the last step before level four. Contact.Centuries ago, Humanity reached for the stars. But the galaxy has turned out to be a lonely place. The Imperial Survey Service explores systems and identifies planets for colonization beyond the edge of explored space, beyond the rim worlds. They also search for signs of an alien civilization. It is a part of their mission they take very seriously.A routine planetary survey mission to system X5682 believes they have found clear evidence of intelligent activity. The usual reports are made. Protocol demands that any reports of potential intelligent activity be investigated. A small fleet task force is dispatched. Their job is to secure the system. Task force Marines secure the site until Imperial Survey can verify the find. The routine has been played out many times, and always ends the same way. No scientific findings, an explainable phenomenon, no confirmation.Until now.The survey team leader is elated by his potential discovery. It is an elation the fleet task force commander does not share. His captains are also ambivalent, save one who is out to prove himself.Unfortunately, the fleet task force has to be to be cobbled together from people unfortunate enough to delay too long before proceeding on shore leave. The Marines are not exactly welcome in the midst of a group of scientists who are used to being immersed in their research on a new planet.The Imperial Fleet mostly keeps the peace and war is a faded memory. That means resources are tight and ships stay in service a long time. The task force that arrives is not exactly in perfect condition. Even the Marines have to be pulled from different ships and base assignments. Everyone expects a short mission once they reach the planet. All they have to do is wait for the specialist team from the Imperial Survey Service to show up and declare another potential find to be nothing after all.Unexpectedly, without warning, humanity makes first contact. Elation turns to desperation and a fight for survival. The Globur are coming.

    Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

    Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).

    Every indication is that he has limited chances for survival. As an enemy bomber looms overhead, he prays that he can survive a sixteen-month tour of duty without, as his sergeant says, getting his ass shot off.Wylie is recruited to join the staff of a Division Public Information Office (PIO) where he reports on many aspects of the conflict. He uses his infantry training in bloody combat, makes many colorful new friends, learns how to maneuver through the military system, finds love and loss, and grows up in the turmoil of combat and the war’s aftermath.Veterans have hailed the story as accurate, believable, touching, funny, and “the way it really was.” The story is based on the author’s experiences, careful historical research, and the 300 letters he sent his future wife from Korea. He touches on prisoner of war experiences on both sides of the DMZ, the armistice, realistic scenes of combat, the many United Nations forces engaged in the war, and poignant and funny aspects of military service. The second edition of the book includes recently disclosed information, and scenes and observations drawn from the comments of many veteran readers. The book is dedicated to the dwindling number of men and women who risked their lives to preserve democracy in South Korea.

    until she discovers a mysterious library book that promises her the chance to become a wizard. But she has no idea of the difference that taking the Wizard's Oath is going to make in her life. Shortly, in company with fellow beginner-wizard Kit Rodriguez, Nita's catapulted into what will be the adventure of a lifetime—if she and Kit can both live through it. For every wizard's career starts with an Ordeal in which he or she must challenge the one power in the universe that hates wizardry more than anything else: the Lone Power that invented death and turned it loose in the worlds. Plunged into a dark and deadly alternate New York full of the Lone One's creatures, Kit and Nita must venture into the very heart of darkness to find the stolen, legendary Book of Night with Moon. Only with the dangerous power of the wizardly Book do they have a chance to save not just their own lives, but their world...

    No more following in her six older sisters' footsteps. No more going to class with kids who've seen her grandma doing jujitsu in the front yard next to the headstones of her four dead husbands. And no more worrying about keeping her deep, dark secret hidden.Sparrow makes a new best friend and has her eye on an irritatingly appealing guy in her history class. She feels like she's well on her way to a normal life. But it's another boy--a dead one--who wants Sparrow's attention, and he won't let her be till she's helped him Move On.You see, Sparrow Delaney's secret is that she's a psychic. And there's one very persistent ghost who won't let her forget it.

    But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

    But now that she is a young woman, she begins to see the dark side of this magical place...

    Just like that. Easy as pie.Sure, she hasn’t mastered reverse propulsion and her loops are kind of sloppy, but she’s real good at loop-the-loops.Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma is at her wit’s end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents’ farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities.School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences.Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore.At turns exhilarating and terrifying, Victoria Forester’s debut novel is an unforgettable story of defiance and courage about an irrepressible heroine who can, who will, who must...fly.