Sand & Storm


Patty Jansen - 2016
    There are no second chances. An ancient machine that produced icefire was destroyed twenty years ago, but the deadly magic is again on the increase. No one understands why or where it’s coming from. King Isandor sends his Eagle Knights to investigate a concentration of icefire in the mountains at the border. It appears that the neighbouring country Arania wants revenge for a defeat in a war forty years ago, and is using icefire as weapon. The evil power source must be eradicated. Lana is a student about to make a vitally important discovery about icefire, but the people in power, including her own father, are too busy talking about war to listen to her.

Babylon Heights


Irvine Welsh - 2006
    Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The production called for the casting of many dwarfs to play the Munchkins of the mythical Land of Oz and the studio began recruiting 'small persons' from all over the world. During production, rumours spread around Hollywood of wild Munchkin sex orgies, drunken behavior and general dwarf debauchery. More sinisterly, a Munchkin is said to have committed suicide by hanging himself on the set during filming - what appears to be a small human body is clearly visible hanging from a tree in the Tin Man scene. It is a claim that has passed into Hollywood legend. Set in a hotel room in Culver City, California, Babylon Heights is Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh's scabrous and hilarious imagining of what could, very possibly, have led to that dwarf suicide. Babylon Heights premiered at the Exit Theatre, San Francisco, in June 2006.

A Line Too Far


B.C. Colman - 2016
    Thousands of Australian soldiers are held hostage. International realpolitik has left Australia abandoned by its supposed allies and its brittle social fabric is rapidly unwinding as the people panic. A Chinese ultimatum demands the annexation of the country’s top half in ten days, or face a full scale invasion. As other politicians clamour to sue for peace, Prime Minister, Gary Stone, in a desperate race against time and impossible military and political odds must commit to a risky and controversial plan to try and free the country …

The Night Book


Charlotte Grimshaw - 2010
    And then there was the question of Simon Lampton.' Roza Hallwright leads a quiet, orderly life, working at her publishing job each day, returning home to the large, comfortable house she shares with her politician husband David and her two stepchildren. But this peaceful existence is about to be changed forever. In the next few months there will be an election, and, if the polls are correct, Roza will become the Prime Minister's wife. She has faced the prospect with relative calm, but a chance encounter with party donor Simon Lampton sparks a chain of consequences that will bring turmoil to both their lives. Award-winning writer Charlotte Grimshaw has turned her unflinching eye on contemporary New Zealand society in this intricate and elegant novel. Sharp, moving, brimming with insight and observation, The Night Book is at once a meditation on power and politics, and an intensely humane look at the choices people make as they struggle, against the odds, to maintain love and integrity in their lives.

Breathing Room


Patricia Elam - 2001
    But now they're at a crossroads where understanding may not be enough -- a place where they must risk it all to rediscover what they cherish most. Photographer Norma Simmons-Greer has a loving husband, a lively young son, and an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Probation officer Moxie Dilliard is as dedicated to her ideals as she is to her talented teenage daughter, Zadi. Best friends after meeting in college, Norma and Moxie are each other's reality check and reassurance. But suddenly the bond between them begins to unravel in unexpected ways. Anguished over the loss of her second child and her husband's recent withdrawal, Norma takes refuge in a complex love affair that puts her at odds with Moxie -- and with herself. Haunted by her beloved mother's inspiring yet disturbing emotional legacy, Moxie struggles to understand her friend, while her own refusal to compromise threatens to shatter her relationship with Zadi. And a devastating crisis will challenge both women to face the hardest of truths. With insight, humor, and heartbreaking immediacy, Patricia Elam presents a beautifully written portrait of two unforgettable women, and the teenager they both cherish, as they negotiate the ever-shifting terrain of friendship and identity. A wise, tender novel of what love can and cannot survive, Breathing Room is also an exploration of how the past can at once inspire and limit us, and of the pain -- and promise -- that accompany us on the journey we all share.

His Robot Wife


Wesley Allison - 2011
    Then he purchased a Daffodil. Far more than regular robots, his Daffodil Patience, changed his life in ways that he had never thought possible. Now it is the year 2037, and Mike and Patience have been married for five years. Retired and enjoying life, Mike thought that all his troubles were behind him, but it seems as though they are creeping up again. California Proposition 22 proposes to define a person as a biological entity, thereby annulling marriages, like Mike’s and Patience’s, performed in other states. Battle lines have been drawn, at least as far as the proponents of the bill are concerned. Now Mike must muster his own support to defeat the measure. But there is more going on than just politics. Daffodil, the robot maker, is in the news again. Hardware issues are leaving robots across the globe unable to function. Is it only an antenna issue? Now Patience herself is behaving oddly. Is there something really wrong with her, or does she just need a software upgrade?

The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (Summary & Study Guide)


BookRags - 2011
    

Mommy's Choice


Scott Curtis - 2007
     According to Stephanie, her last name is Tanner. According to everyone else, it’s not. According to Stephanie, her 22 year old son just simply vanished. According to everyone else, he did a little more than “vanish.” Has Stephanie lost touch with reality? Why can’t she figure out what happened between her and Jonathan? Perhaps returning to her old job (a job she apparently never had) and talking to her old friend Dave (who apparently never met her) could help uncover the clues necessary to answer her nagging question – What happened to her son & best friend Jonathan? It will keep you guessing up until the final page! This updated version of the original novel simply brings the story to more recent times, making it easier to relate to. For the most part, all the years in the timeline have changed, with minor changes throughout to keep the story properly connected. Scott McElhaney is the winner of the 2008 Christian Choice Book Award for his debut suspense novel "Mommy's Choice." With over 250,000 books downloaded worldwide, he is making nearly all of his novels available to Kindle readers at the very accessible price of only 99 cents. Scott is a veteran of the US Navy, a father of two teenage boys, and he has been happily married for more than 20 years. EDITORIAL REVIEWS: "McElhaney's story telling is deft, well-paced, and with an ear for conversation" ~ Beacon Journal Book Review "The author does a good job of sucking you into the moment and feeling as if you are the main character. The technology and scenarios are realistic enough for this sci fi fan and, if you like a good storyteller Mr. McElhaney knows how to do it." ~Top 50 Amazon Reviewer and Vine Voice Michael Gallagher

Yaccub's Curse


Wrath James White - 2009
    But when he is ordered to kill a local crack whore and her newborn child he has a revalation that leads him into a desperate battle with a man who might be Satan himself. Caught in a struggle between good and evil, sanity and madness, redemption and damnation, the violence of the streets and the power of the occult, Malik must risk his life to save a newborn crack baby that he believes to be Jesus Christ. But is Malik a force good or were he and his employer both created millenniums ago by an evil geneticist for the same purpose, to ensure strife between the races. "Deeply disturbing in a way that only the most honest stories are, YACCUB is a fiercely written, daring journey through America's urban wilderness and into the souls of our forgotten brothers. But Wrath James White hasn't forgotten about them--and after reading this book, neither will you." --Brandon Massey, author of THE OTHER BROTHER "Wrath James White is the premiere author of hard-core horror. Period." --Edward Lee author of GOLEMESQUE, CITY INFERNAL and INFERNAL ANGEL "If Wrath doesn't make you cringe, then you must be riding in the wrong end of a hearse." --Jack Ketchum, author of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, RED, and OFF SEASON "Wrath is a warrior. He comes at you on the written page with the intent to overpower you, yet he rarely overwhelms. This carnage has purpose. There's lit tle over-indulgence. His over-the-top cathartic bloodbaths are seldom pointless. Put bluntly, he isn't just going for the gross-out. Wrath is a philosopher, and he loves to flaunt his technique and sense of limitless ethics in each of his tales. He has wit and intelligence and utter ruthlessness..." --CEMETERY DANCE review "Without apologies, White tears through your emotions from sympathy to hate, humor to shock, blending everyday language and poetic imagery as his words wrap around your mind and cause you to pause and appreciate them..." --HorrorWeb

Rough Diamond


Norhafsah Hamid - 2019
    But, deep down inside, Linda longs for true love and contentment.Trapped between the glamorous world that she was brought up in and the overwhelming desire to find solace, Linda finds herself lost. Misery became her companion.Will Linda continue her pretentious socialite life or will she find the hidden path to happiness?

The Missing Piece


Carol McCormick - 2003
    Problems almost crushed him. Love motivated him to mend the damage, once he found all the pieces. After only a few months of marriage, Lorraine left Dylan on a wintry night after he'd spent one too many nights out with the guys. Unable to cope with the loss, Dylan escapes the painful feelings by drinking them away. This decision costs him a year-and-a-half of his life after he stops in a little mountain town and ends up in the local jail. When he's released, he returns home in search of a job to get his life—and his wife back. THE MISSING PIECE is not only a love story about a man who loves a woman, but is also a love story about a merciful God who loves mankind, even when he falls. The novel is an emotionally-charged journey of hope and redemption with a touch of spunk, a hint of humor, and a few twists along the way.Engaging and inspiring!

Pillar of Fire


Karah Quinney - 2012
    They race deep into the primeval forest leaving behind everything they have ever known. Together they forge an unbreakable bond that will guide them on their quest to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Their only hope lies within the heart of an outcast warrior and the only woman that he will ever love. It will take bravery, tenacity and great strength to face untold dangers. They will choose to fight for the freedom of their people or simply cease to exist.

My Life in the Red Army


Fred Virski - 2014
    The book chronicles Virski's experiences as a soldier in the Ukraine and Central Asia, describing the hardships, his comrades-in-arms, the food, clothing, and interactions with officers and the NKVD (secret police). When war with Germany breaks-out, Virski witnesses scenes of brutality and is caught in fierce fighting, where he is wounded and hospitalized. Following his recovery, he eventually makes his way back to his native Poland. My Life in the Red Army is impressive for its straightforward style yet tinged with a sense of humor towards his situation.

मानस का हंस


Amritlal Nagar - 1975
    The novel is an attempt to address the complications of religion through Tulsidas while portraying him as a person who was afflicted with all the virtues and vices known to human beings. How Tulsidas finds Shri Ram -- is a question that the author answers in a fashion that can only be termed as brilliant for lack of better word. The best thing about the work is that it doesn't attempt to glorify any God or deity, but simple tries to go into the mind of the devotee -- Tulsidas in this case.

അയൽക്കാർ | Ayalkar


P. Kesavadev - 2017
    Kesavadev, one of the prolific writers of 20th century Kerala. In the “introduction” to this book, the author contemplates on the social progress to which Kerala was slowly waking up in the beginning of twentieth century. His analyses of these developments often give birth to his literary works, as what happened in this book too, the author says. Dev, as the writer has been popularly known in Kerala, recalls that there were three main aspects for the social progress witnessed by Kerala in the first half of twentieth century (the introduction written in 1963 takes into account half a century preceding it to make this inference). The destruction of matrilineal system (marumakkathayam), which had a tint of feudal character in it, the social mobility of Ezahvas, who had witnessed backwardness in a caste-ridden society, and the progress of Christian community in the economic and education front were the three aspects.