Hardfought/Cascade Point


Greg Bear - 1988
    Authors Greg Bear (Eon) and Timothy Zahn (The Last Command) provide non-stop, heart-pounding action that will keep readers on edge until the final page.

The Belgian Cookbook


Mrs. Brian Luck - 1915
    This dish is not obligatory; recollect that it is but aculinary work of supererogation.SOUP: Let your soup be extremely hot; do not let it be like theLaodiceans. You know what St. John said about them, and you would besorry to think of your soup sharing the fate which he describes with suchsaintly verve. Be sure that your soup has a good foundation, and avoidthe Italian method of making _consommé_, which is to put a pot ofwater on to warm and to drive a cow past the door.FISH: It is a truism to say that fish should be absolutely fresh, yetonly too many cooks think, during the week-end, that fish is like themanna of the Hebrews, which was imbued with Sabbatarian principles thatkept it fresh from Saturday to Monday. I implore of you to thinkdifferently about fish. It is a most nourishing and strengthening food--other qualities it has, too, if one must believe the anecdote of theSultan Saladin and the two anchorites.MEAT: If your meat must be cooked in water, let it not boil but merelysimmer; let the pot just whisper agreeably of a good dish to come. Do youknow what an English tourist said, looking into a Moorish cooking-pot?"What have you got there? Mutton and rice?" "For the moment, Sidi, it ismutton and rice," said the Moorish cook; "but in two hours, inshallah,when the garlic has kissed the pot, it will be the most deliciouscomforter from Mecca to Casa Blanca." Simmer and season, then, yourmeats, and let the onion (if not garlic) just kiss the pot, even if youallow no further intimacy between them. Use bay-leaves, spices, herbs ofall sorts, vinegar, cloves; and never forget pepper and salt.Game is like Love, the best appreciated when it begins to go. Onlyexperience will teach you, on blowing up the breast feathers of apheasant, whether it ought to be cooked to-day or to-morrow. Men, as arule, are very particular about the dressing of game, though they may notall be able to tell, like the Frenchman, upon which of her legs apartridge was in the habit of sitting. Game should be underdone ratherthan well done; it should never be without well-buttered toast underneathit to collect the gravy, and the knife to carve it with should be very,very sharp.VEGETABLES: Nearly all these are at their best (like brunettes) justbefore they are fully matured. So says a great authority, and no doubt heis thinking of young peas and beans, lettuces and asparagus. Try to dresssuch things as potatoes, parsnips, cabbages, carrots, in other ways thansimply boiled in water, for the water often removes the flavor and leavesthe fiber. Do not let your vegetable-dishes remind your guests ofFroissart's account of Scotchmen's food, which was "rubbed in a littlewater."

Worlds of The Golden Queen


David Farland - 2005
    In the first novel, The Golden Queen, the insectoid Dronons have slain the human queen Semarritte, thowing into chaos the ten thousand worlds over which she reigned. Desperate to save mankind, Lord Veriasse, her near-immortal consort, has created a new queen: Everynne, cloned from the dead original. Hotly pursued, Everynne falls in with cocky bodyguard Gallen O'Day; the pious Orick, an intelligent black bear; and the beautiful orphan Maggie Flynn. With Gallen and the others newly sworn to her service, the young queen begins the great struggle against the aliens. Leaping from world to world via an ancient system of instantaneous transport gates, the heroes face terrible dangers and great wonders as they seek the heart of the dronon worlds, carrying the battle straight to the enemy.In the second novel, Beyond the Gate, Maggie Flynn has become, by test of combat, the new Golden Queen. Gallen, Maggie, and Orick face an attack by Dronons on a planet where humans have achieved the pinnacle of genetic engineering. They must stop them while guarding the secret of Maggie's whereabouts, for she is only the Golden Queen until her champion, Gallen, is defeated by a Dronon challenger. In the midst of a slam-bang story, Farland raises and examines deep questions of humanity's definition and identity.

Nineteen Eighty-Four


Fiona MacKenzie - 2020
    With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online.Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content.The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.Visit the Penguin Readers websiteExclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.Winston Smith re-writes history for the Ministry of Truth in Oceania. Big Brother and the Thought Police watch everyone for signs of Thought Crime. But when Winston falls in love with Julia, he begins to have new ideas and hopes. Winston and Julia start to question the world that they live in - but Big Brother does not like independent thought.

Archie Meets the School Gyrls (Archie, #607)


Archie Comics - 2010
    Will the “School Gyrls” collaboration with the Archies be a chart-topping hit or a resounding dud?

Collision with Chronos


Barrington J. Bayley - 1973
    They were thought to be the ruins of an invading force of space monsters that men had defeated during the Dark Ages centuries before. Butthe ruins were visibly getting newer — rebuilding themselves. The militarists who had reconstructed society after the supposed invasion were getting panicky. Until they found a complete invader vehicle -- and learned it travelled through time. But what was Time? What was Now? Could there be more than one Time Front — one going forward, one in reverse? And what would happen when two such fronts met in the inevitable COLLISION COURSE?

Issue in Doubt


David Sherman - 2013
    Seventeen of them had not developed interstellar travel. Those were destroyed by the species that did reach the stars. That space-faring eighteenth decimated the human colony on the Semi-Autonomous World Troy. A Marine Force Recon platoon sent to investigate is wiped out almost to the last man. In reaction, the North American Union assembles the largest army seen since the major wars of the 20th Century. A Marine Corps Combat Force is sent to "kick in the door," backed up by a four-division Army corps to take the planet back. The initial landing is unopposed. It isn't until the fleet carrying the Army corps is approaching Troy that the enemy strikes, with devastating effect.

The Belt: Complete Trilogy


Gerald M. Kilby - 2018
    The ship contains an experimental quantum device, lost while en route to a research colony on Europa. On Earth, powerful corporate forces are moving to resume unrestricted, inter-AI communications, their objective being to gain complete dominion over the colonized solar system. But the outer worlds are mobilizing to prevent them from achieving their objective, a fight back which is being led by Solomon, a sentient quantum intelligence (QI), also on Europa. However, once word of the crew’s discovery gets out, they soon realize that ownership of this technology could fundamentally change the balance of power within the solar system, and they now find themselves at the very nexus of a system-wide conflict. Their fight for survival plays out across the solar system, from the mining outposts of the asteroid belt to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and from the great Martian city of Jezero to the irradiated wastelands on Earth. This is an epic tale of humanity’s struggle for survival and meaning in a time when artificial intelligence has finally out-paced our own ability to control it. About The Belt: The story is set a century or so into the future where humanity has colonized most of the inner solar system. The asteroid belt (The Belt) is now a hive of mining activity and ships ply the trade routes to Earth and Mars. The technology depicted, for the most part, is what I consider to be technically plausible, although I do stretch it a little with quantum entanglement. That said, you won’t need a calculator or a slide-rule to enjoy the story.

Battlefield Earth Part 1 Of 2


L. Ron Hubbard - 1982
    and Man has become an endangered species under the ruthless rule of an alien race.

Half a Hero


Richard Lee Byers - 2011
    He's just an ordinary guy living an ordinary life...until alien invaders attack the Earth, and all of humanity's costumed champions go down fighting. By chance, Matt falls heir to their powers, but how can a fake hero save the world when the real ones have already failed? To find out, he begins a quest through a post-apocalyptic world where alien horrors and human supervillains battle for dominion.The Impostor is an exciting new series by veteran fantasy and horror writer Richard Lee Byers, the author of over thirty novels and a frequent contributor to the Forgotten Realms universe. This volume contains Matt's first four adventures: "Suiting Up," "The Enemy of My Enemy," "The Trade," and "Adaptation." Also included is the bonus story "Vets."

Exile- and Glory


Jerry Pournelle - 2008
    But the governments and power structures didn't yet control space, where bold new techniques could freely be applied and the vast resources of the solar system could be utilized by such courageous men and women as: • Aneas MacKenzie—he had believed in the man he had helped to reach the office of the presidency of the United States, and had tirelessly rooted out corruption wherever he found it, until the trail led straight back to the White House. After that, no place on Earth was safe for him. • Laurie Jo Hansen—she controlled a multi-national corporation more powerful than many governments. Unlike those governments, she wanted to see Earth’s problems solved and reaching the high frontier was the only way to do that. • Kevin Senecal—he had made the mistake of fighting back against a juvenile gang, and accidentally killing one of them while escaping. Both the gang and the law were after him, and on all of Earth there was no place to hide. • Ellen MacMillan—a young employee of the Hansen Corporation who fascinated Kevin, she was on a secret mission, and the biggest secret was her real name.   Two complete novels—High Justice and Exiles to Glory—in one volume by a New York Times best-selling author, telling of an Earth sinking into a morass of corruption, red tape, and failure of nerve, while a dedicated few dare to reach for the stars.

Half a King: free sampler


Joe Abercrombie - 2014
    MARTINRead the first seven chapters of Joe Abercrombie’s fantastic new book!Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy…

Keller's Homecoming


Lawrence Block - 2016
    He collects stamps. He used to have a dog, until the dog walker walked off with him. Then he soldiered on alone.It's his profession that sets him apart. He's a hit man. He kills strangers for a living.And he's a Guilty Pleasure for an ever-increasing number of readers. "I don't think I ought to like Keller," readers tell me. "But I can't help myself..." In the fourth Keller novel, HIT AND RUN, Keller's whole life in New York came to an abrupt end; by the time he'd sorted things out, he was married and living in New Orleans, with a kid on the way. And now, for the first time since the substance hit the fan, he's back in New York—once his home, and now the most dangerous place on the planet for him. And his job is impossible. He has to break into a monastery in the middle of Murray Hill and kill the abbott.Lots of luck, Keller...This edition of KELLER'S HOMECOMING (which was incorporated into the book Hit Me) includes as a bonus the opening sequence of another Keller adventure, KELLER'S DESIGNATED HITTER.

The Lost Valley


William Meikle - 2019
     A small team of prospectors and their local guides are looking for gold. What they find is blood and terror and death. The valley's monstrous inhabitants are not about to let go of its secrets lightly.

The Final Encyclopedia, 1 of 2


Gordon R. Dickson - 1986
    Dickson's future history of humankind and its ultimate destiny. Now one of its central novels return to print in a two-volume corrected edition.In The Final Encyclopedia the human race is split into three Splinter cultures: the Friendlies, fanatic in their faith; the truth-seeking Exotics; and the warrior Dorsai. But now humanity is threatened by the power-hungry Others, whose triumph would end all human progress.Hal Mayne is an orphan who was raised by three tutors: an Exotic, a Friendly, and a Dorsai. He is the only human capable of uniting humanity against the Others. But only if he is willing to accept his terrifying destiny...as savior of mankind.A towering landmark of future history, The Final Encyclopedia is a novel every SF fan needs to own.