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The Christmas Thingy by F. Paul Wilson
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The Fight to Survive
Terry Bisson - 2002
The evolution of the ultimate badguy: one of the most popular Star Wars characters ever comes to life in this spin-off from Episode II.
Dr. Dredd's Wagon of Wonders
Bill Brittain - 1987
Wells were running dry, livestock suffered, great cracks crisscrossed farmers' fields, no crops could be planted. Rain had become more valuable than gold.Then a miracle happened: Dr. Dredd and his Wagon of Wonders came to town, and among his wonders was a young boy called Bufu the Rainmaker. At first the townspeople were skeptical moments later they were dancing for joy, faces turned up into a driving rain. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the rain stopped.More rain! somebody yelled. Dr. Dredd's toothy smile grew wide. Yes, he could command Bufu to make more rain but what it would cost Coven Tree, he wouldn't say. Not yet.Those who thought rain would be worth whatever it cost didn't know what Bufu knew. And when fourteen-year-old Ellen McCabe found Bufu cowering in her family's woodshed later that night, seeking sanctuary from his evil master, all of Coven Tree soon would know the terrible wrath and frightening powers of Dr. Hugo Dredd.
The Essential Tales and Poems
Edgar Allan Poe - 2008
Here are some of the remarkable features of "Barnes & Noble Classics" New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. "Barnes & Noble Classics "pulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Creator of the modern detective story, innovative architect of the horror genre, and a poet of extraordinary musicality, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of America's most popular and influential writers. His tales and poems brim with psychological depth, almost painful intensity, and unexpected--and surprisingly modern--flashes of dark humor and irony. This anthology offers an exceptionally generous selection of Poe's short stories. It includes his famed masterpieces, such as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter," featuring Poe's great detective, Dupin; his insightful studies of madness "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"; "The Gold-Bug," his delightful exercise in "code-breaking"; and important but lesser-known tales, such as "Bon-Bon," "The Assignation," and "King Pest." Also included are some of Poe's most beloved poems, haunting lyrics of love and loss, such as "Annabel Lee," nightmare phantasmagories such as "The Raven," and his grand experiment in translating sound into words, "The Bells."Benjamin F. Fisher, Professor of English, University of Mississippi, is a longtime enthusiast of the works of Poe. He has published books, articles, and notes about Poe, and in American, Victorian, and Gothic studies, and serves on editorial boards for several professional journals. He has also been acclaimed for outstanding teaching.
The Essential Ellison
Harlan Ellison - 1974
A time traveler, observing him from within an invisible bubble, would not have marked him as anything more interesting than an undersized fourteen-year-old, seemingly always in hot water. Lively blue eyes, but basically just another kid." "But something was stirring, something was wakening in that nexus of energy. And in The Cleveland News of June 7th, little more than a week after he turned fifteen, Harlan Ellison's first professional writing appeared in print: the initial installment of a five-part adventure serial (liberally cribbed from Sir Walter Scott) titled "The Sword of Parmagon."" "Now, in a retrospective, 50 years of the best of Harlan Ellison has been assembled in a volume exceeding 1200 pages, encompassing fiction, essays, personal reminiscences, reviews and (published for the first time anywhere) a complete teleplay. Eighty-six complete and (with one exception) unabridged examples of the nonpareil writings of the man The Los Angeles Times labels "the 20th Century Lewis Carroll." Contents:1 · Introduction: Sublime Rebel · Terry Dowling · in 5 · Beginnings · Misc. Material · si 11 · The Sword of Parmagon · ss The Cleveland News, 1949 17 · The Gloconda · ss The Cleveland News, 1949 23 · The Wilder One · vi Sundial Jan ’55 25 · The Saga of Machine Gun Joe · vi Sundial Jan ’55 27 · Introduction to Glowworm · is Unearth Win ’77 30 · Glowworm · ss Infinity Science Fiction Feb ’56; slightly revised and expanded 41 · Life Hutch [Kyben] · ss If Apr ’56 53 · S.R.O. [as by Ellis Hart] · ss Amazing Mar ’57 63 · Worlds of Terror · Misc. Material · si 67 · Lonelyache · ss Knight Jul ’64 83 · Punky & the Yale Man · nv Knight Jan ’66 107 · A Prayer for No One’s Enemy · nv Cad Mar ’66 125 · Worlds of Love · Misc. Material · si 129 · In Lonely Lands · ss Fantastic Universe Jan ’59 135 · The Time of the Eye · ss The Saint Detective Magazine May ’59 143 · Grail · nv Twilight Zone Apr ’81 163 · That New Old-Time Religion · Misc. Material · si 167 · I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream · ss If Mar ’67 181 · Corpse · ss F&SF Jan ’72 189 · The Whimper of Whipped Dogs · ss Bad Moon Rising, ed. Thomas M. Disch, Harper & Row, 1973 205 · A Stab of Merriment · Misc. Material · si 209 · The Voice in the Garden · vi Lighthouse Jun ’67 211 · Erotophobia · ss Penthouse Aug ’71 217 · Mom · nv Silver Foxes Aug ’76 229 · Ecowareness · ss Sideshow Sep ’74 231 · The Outpost Undiscovered By Tourists · ss F&SF Jan ’82 235 · Dept. of “What Was the Question?” Dept. · ms * 237 · From Competition 4: Story Leads from the Year’s Worst Fantasy and SF · ms F&SF Apr ’73 238 · From Competition 8: Near-Miss SF Titles · ms F&SF Sep ’74 239 · From Competition 23: Unwieldy SF Titles · ms F&SF Feb ’80 239 · From Competition 26: Imaginary Collaborations · ms F&SF Mar ’81 240 · From Competition 39: Complete the Following Sentence... · ms F&SF Mar ’86 241 · Trouble with Women · Misc. Material · si 245 · The Very Last Day of a Good Woman [“The Last Day”] · ss Rogue Nov ’58 253 · Valerie: A True Memoir · ar Los Angeles Free Press Nov 3-24 ’72 267 · The Other Eye of Polyphemus · ss Cosmos SF&F Magazine Nov ’77 275 · All the Birds Come Home to Roost · ss Playboy Mar ’79 287 · To the Mattresses with Mean Demons · Misc. Material · si 293 · The Tombs: An Excerpt from Memos from Purgatory · ar Memos from Purgatory, Harlan Ellison, Regency, 1961 333 · “Our Little Miss” · ar Los Angeles Free Press, 1970 341 · A Love Song for Jerry Falwell · ar, 1984 347 · Telltale Tics and Tremors · ar Unearth Fll ’77 357 · True Love: Groping for the Holy Grail [“How I Survived the Great Videotape Matchmaker”] · ar Los Angeles Magazine, 1978 377 · Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54’ N, Longitude 77° 00’ 13" W · nv F&SF Oct ’74 407 · Rococo Technology · Misc. Material · si 413 · The Sky Is Burning · ss If Aug ’58 421 · The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World · nv Dangerous Visions, ed. Harlan Ellison, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967 439 · Along the Scenic Route [“Dogfight on 101”] · ss Adam Aug ’69; Amazing Sep ’69 449 · The Song the Zombie Sang · Harlan Ellison & Robert Silverberg · ss Cosmopolitan Dec ’70 461 · Knox · ss Crawdaddy Mar ’74 475 · Heart’s Blood · Misc. Material · si 481 · From Alabamy, with Hate [“March to Montgomery”] · ar Knight Sep ’65 493 · My Father · ar Los Angeles Free Press, 1972 499 · My Mother · ar Saint Louis Literary Supplement, 1976 507 · Tired Old Man · ss Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine Jan ’76 517 · Gopher in the Gilly · ss Stalking the Nightmare, Phantasia, 1982 523 · Strange Wine · ss Amazing Jun ’76 531 · Nights & Days in Good Old Hollyweird · Misc. Material · si 537 · The Resurgence of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie · na Love Ain’t Nothing But Sex Misspelled, Trident, 1968 607 · Flintlock: An Unproduced Teleplay (1972) · pl * 687 · The Man on the Mushroom · in Ellison Wonderland, Paperback Library, 1974 691 · Somehow, I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas, Toto · ar Genesis Jun ’74; revised 707 · Face-Down in Gloria Swanson’s Swimming Pool · ar Los Angeles Magazine, 1978 711 · Petards & Hangings · Misc. Material · si 715 · Soldier [“Soldier from Tomorrow”] · nv Fantastic Universe Oct ’57 735 · The Night of Delicate Terrors · ss The Paper: A Chicago Weekly Apr 8 ’61 743 · Shattered Like a Glass Goblin · ss Orbit 4, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1968 751 · At the Mouse Circus · ss New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971 759 · Shadows from the Past · Misc. Material · si 763 · Free with This Box! · ss The Saint Detective Magazine Mar ’58 771 · Final Shtick · ss Rogue Aug ’60 781 · One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty · ss Orbit 8, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1970 795 · Jeffty Is Five · ss F&SF Jul ’77 813 · Contracts on the Soul · Misc. Material · si 817 · Daniel White for the Greater Good · ss Rogue Mar ’61 827 · Neither Your Jenny Nor Mine · ss Knight Apr ’64 861 · Alive and Well and on a Friendless Voyage · ss F&SF Jul ’77 871 · The Classics · Misc. Material · si 877 · “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman · ss Galaxy Dec ’65 887 · Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes · nv Knight May ’67 905 · A Boy and His Dog [Vic & Blood] · nv New Worlds Apr ’69; revised 939 · The Deathbird · nv F&SF Mar ’73 965 · Dark Liberation · Misc. Material · si 971 · The Thick Red Moment · ar The Los Angeles Weekly News, 1981 989 · The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge · ss Analog Aug ’78 1003 · Driving in the Spikes · ar Los Angeles Magazine, 1983 1015 · Afterword · aw
Mommy?
Maurice Sendak - 2006
And what does he want? He wants Mommy!No matter how scary these monsters are, there's no besting a little boy who's looking for his mommy. In one hilarious pop-up extravaganza after another, this kid shows them a thing or two.
Sourland
Joyce Carol Oates - 2010
Sourland—sixteen previously uncollected stories that explore how the power of violence, loss, and grief shape both the psyche and the soul—shows us an author working at the height of her powers.With lapidary precision and an unflinching eye, Oates maps the surprising contours of "ordinary" life. From a desperate man who dons a jack-o'-lantern head as a prelude to a most curious sort of courtship, to a "story of a stabbing" many times recounted in the life of a lonely girl; from a beguiling young woman librarian whose amputee state attracts a married man and father, to a girl hopelessly in love with her renegade, incarcerated cousin; from a professor's wife who finds herself tragically isolated at a party in her own house, to the concluding title story of an unexpectedly redemptive love rooted in radical aloneness and isolation, each story in Sourland resonates beautifully with Oates's trademark fascination for the unpredictable amid the prosaic—the commingling of sexual love and violence, the tumult of family life—and shines with her predilection for dark humor and her gift for voice.
A Kidnapped Santa Claus
Alex Robinson - 2009
Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz, describes the action of some uncommon events in the land of Santa. Not far from the Laughing Valley where Santa and all his magical helpers live, and beyond the Forest of Burzee, there stands a huge mountain that contains the Cave of Demons. Each demon has a specialty: Selfishness, Envy, Hatred, Malice, and Repentance. Because the promise of Santa puts all girls and boys on their best behavior, the demons have hardly any visitors to their caves. In order to remedy their dismal foot traffic, they conspire to kidnap Santa But oh even when it looks as if the demons might win, one can never underestimate the power of devoted (and magical ) friends. Adapted by Alex Robinson, author of several graphic novels, the action and menace of the tale will be enhanced and lightly spoofed. It seems a most appropriate treatment of Baum's work -- he was an author who often let his profound and unsettling meanings roil beneath the surface of his otherwise fanciful stories.
SantaKid
James Patterson - 2004
Everything at the North Pole seems to change overnight-the elves stop making kids' favorite toys, the Christmas doves won't fly or sing, and no one seems to laugh anymore. It looks like Christmas is going to be ruined. But then the Claus family's daughter, Chrissie, remembers something she had learned from her dadremembers something she had learned from her dad: you must believe in something bigger than yourself. With a little help from her dad's helpers, Chrissie-as santaKid-delivers presents to children on Christmas eve, sending Warrie Ransom back to where he came from! After all, when you believe in something, magic can happen.
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents: The Play
Stephen Briggs - 2003
Maurice, an amazing cat, who has survived four years on the toughest streets in the whole of the Discworld, reckons that rats are dumb. Clever, OK, but dumb. Maurice, however, is smart -- smart enough to recognize that there's a new kind of rat around; rats that have been eating wizards' rubbish and can now talk. And Maurice is also smart enough to get a pretty amazing idea when he spots a kid playing the flute. Now he has his very own Pied Piper to go with his "plague of rats." And Maurice's money-bags are getting fuller and fuller. That is, until the group reaches the far flung village of Bad Blintz.
Game Over, Pete Watson
Joe Schreiber - 2014
When videogame obsessed Pete Watson discovers his dad is not only a super-spy but has been kidnapped and is now trapped inside a video game, he has to use his super gaming skills and enter the game to rescue him. Will he be able to save his friends and family and the entire world from giant mechanical cockroaches and a massive cyber attack set to take down the world's network? And if he succeeds, who will save Pete from his massive crush on Callie Midwood? From the comedic mind of Joe Schreiber (Lenny Cyrus School Virus, Au Revoir Crazy European Chick, Perry's Killer Playlist), comes an action-packed Alex Rider-meets-Greg Heffley middle grade romp that grabs readers by the funny bone and doesn't let go! Illustrated throughout with black and white comic drawings by Andy Rash.
Ghoulfriends Forever
Gitty Daneshvari - 2012
As new students, the trio must navigate the bewildering array of cute monster boys, established cliques, and monster-rific subjects like Mad Science, G-ogre-phy, and Physical Deaducation. As if that weren't hard enough, something strange and sinister seems to be happening at the school. Popular girls like Frankie Stein and Cleo de Nile are acting weird-and all signs point to everyone's new favorite teacher, Miss Sylphia Flapper. Can the new GFFs expose the fave as a fraud, or will they succumb to peer pressure?
10 Trick-or-Treaters
Janet Schulman - 2005
10 trick-or-treaterson a dark and spooky nightout to get some candyor give someone a fright.Little do these ten trick-or-treaters know that they are the ones who will be frightened on Halloween night when a toad hops near, a skeleton tries to join their dance party, and a monster asks to share their candy.This not-too-scary Halloween counting book features the bright, bold artwork of Linda Davick and the comforting, lively rhythms of Janet Schulman's story, making it the perfect gift for young trick-or-treaters everywhere!
The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
Ryder Windham - 2007
told for the first time in its entirety by NYT bestselling Star Wars author Ryder Windham.The full story of Anakin Skywalker, from his birth in slavery to his death as the powerful Darth Vader ... told for the first time in its entirety by NYT bestselling Star Wars author Ryder Windham. Spanning all six Star Wars movie and including the pieces of the story that fill in the gaps, this novel will be a must-have for any Star Wars fan.