Popular books

Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol

Robert Langdon

<p>Dan Brown’s new novel, the eagerly awaited follow-up to his #1 international phenomenon, , which was the bestselling hardcover adult novel of all time, will be published on September 15, 2009.</p><p>“ is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown’s prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book. This is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history, and it was well worth the wait,” said Sonny Mehta, Chairman and Editor in Chief of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.</p><p>Brown’s longtime editor, Jason Kaufman, Vice President and Executive Editor at Doubleday said, “Nothing ever is as it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. This book’s narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, Dan’s readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. is full of surprises.”</p><p>"This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey," said Brown. "Weaving five years of research into the story's twelve-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine."</p><

Sebastian Barry

The Secret Scripture

<p>A gorgeous new novel from the author of the Man Booker finalist A Long Long Way</p><p>As a young woman, Roseanne McNulty was one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland. Now, as her hundredth year draws near, she is a patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital, and she decides to record the events of her life.</p><p>As Roseanne revisits her past, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards in her bedroom, she learns that Roscommon Hospital will be closed in a few months and that her caregiver, Dr. Grene, has been asked to evaluate the patients and decide if they can return to society. Roseanne is of particular interest to Dr. Grene, and as he researches her case he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne's life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves.</p><p>Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal, and unavoidable tragedy, and a vivid reminder of the stranglehold that the Catholic Church had on individual lives for much of the twentieth century.</p><

Roberto Bolaño

2666

<p>Es un libro bello, largo y complejo. Consta de cinco partes que tienen ritmos y temas diferentes, pero que armonizan y convergen para conformar un todo inmenso, un relato multifacético que presenta la realidad social y la realidad individual en el siglo XX y el enigmático comienzo del XXI.</p><p>Podría decirse que el protagonista es un escritor alemán que tiene un proceso de desarrollo singularísimo, dramático y cómico a la vez, que, careciendo de educación y capacidades comunicativas, escribe por puro talento y debe ocultar su identidad para protegerse del caos del nazismo, mientras que sus críticos lo buscan sin éxito por todo el mundo, todo lo cual conforma un relato que mantiene al lector en suspenso, de sorpresa en sorpresa. Pero eso no sería exacto. También podría decirse, y tal vez sería más cierto, que el protagonista de la novela es la maldad misma y la sinrazón del ser humano en el siglo XX, desde el noroeste de México hasta Europa Oriental, desde la vida liviana de unos críticos de literatura hasta las masacres de una aristocracia mafiosa en los pueblos del tercer mundo, pasando por la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el mundo del periodismo, el deporte (boxeo), la descomposición familiar y los establecimientos siquiátricos. El singular escritor alemán encarna, tal vez, la bondad y la autenticidad que resplandecen en medio de tanta maldad.</p><p>Cada una de las cinco partes es una pequeña novela. Una serie de estupendos personajes secundarios dan vida a cinco cuentos que se entrelazan de forma insospechada. No obstante, es el conjunto el que presenta el cuadro fabuloso que el autor quiere comunicar.</p><p>El estilo es sobrio, preciso, estricto, bello. El suspenso mantiene el interés del lector. Un verdadero ejemplo de literatura.</p><

Michael Bishop

Brittle Innings

Frankenstein meets Field of Dreams in this nostalgic, gracefully written but fundamentally flawed baseball novel. Set in a sleepy Georgia town during WW II, this coming-of-age saga is based on the real-life story of Danny Boles, a major league scout who died of throat cancer in 1989. The fictional Boles leaves his rural Oklahoma digs to become shortstop for the Hightower Hellbenders, vaulting the Class C team into a pennant race in the process. Veteran writer Bishop (No Enemy but Time) delivers smooth and polished baseball prose and does some nice tricks with sports colloquialisms. He also tackles gritty issues such as the origins-in sexual abuse-of Boles's stuttering, the ravages of war and the rampant racism that plagued the sport. More problematic is Boles's huge teammate, slugging first baseman Henry "Jumbo" Cerval, who bears a suspicious resemblance to the gargantuan outcome of Victor Frankenstein's grand experiment. In the beginning, Bishop presents Cerval as a literate, likable freak. As the season unfolds, Cerval is revealed as the original monster, having escaped and survived for almost a century in the frozen North. Bishop milks the ludicrous premise for an intriguingly macabre ending, but the real problem is that Henry is far more interesting as a flawed human than as a scientific creation. That flaw aside, Brittle Innings should prove an engaging read for both sports buffs and fiction fans.<

Don Brown

Black Sea Affair

It’s a mission that could bring the world to the brink of nuclear war. Now time is running out. It starts with a high-stakes theft: weapons-grade plutonium is stolen from Russia. The Russian army is about to attack Chechnya to get it back. But U.S. intelligence discovers that the stolen shipment is actually on a rogue Russian freighter in the Black Sea. It turns into a global nightmare: a secret mission gone awry; an American submarine commander arrested and hauled before a military tribunal in Moscow; and a game of brinksmanship so dangerous that war might be its only possible conclusion. As the U.S. Navy searches for weapons-grade plutonium that has been smuggled out of Russia by terrorists, a submarine mishap escalates the international crisis. With the world watching, JAG Officer Zack Brewer is called to Moscow to defend submarine skipper Pete Miranda and his entire crew. It is a heart-stopping race against the clock. With Russian missiles activated and programmed for American cities, Brewer stalls for time as the U.S. Navy frantically searches the high seas for a floating hydrogen bomb that could threaten New York Harbor.<

Gary Braver

Elixir

<p>When biologist Chris Bacon headed for the unspoiled rainforests of Papua New Guinea in search of medicinal plants, he had no idea that he would bring home a rare flower rumored by a tribal shaman to prevent human aging. Driven by fountain-of-youth dreams, he plans to turn the flower into an elixir of youth and health.</p><p>But as Chris begins tampering with the ultimate secret of nature, he unleashes forces that not only threaten his own family, but expose the world to unimaginably horrific consequences.</p><p>***</p><p>"Elixir has something smart to say, and combines the best of the thriller genre to say it: engrossing story, hot science, interesting characters, stylish prose, and runaway pacing."</p><p>– Robert B. Parker, New York Times</p><p>bestselling author of the Spenser novels</p><p>"Elixir is stylish, finely tuned and terrifying-the best thriller I've curled up with in a long while. If you need a good night's sleep, wait until morning to start this one."</p><p>– Michael Palmer, New York Times</p><p>bestselling author of Miracle Cure</p><p>"Exceeds in the art of storytelling… Taut, fast, bullet-sleek, with that hauntingly persistent question: How far would you be willing to go to obtain immortality, and what price are you willing to pay for it?"</p><p>– The Charleston Post Courier</p><p>"Fast paced and well-plotted… Braver's larger purpose is to explore the moral and ethical dilemmas proposed by anti-aging technologies. He does so with compelling plot twists, as well as down-to-earth writing that brings his characters to life as ordinary yet complex people. The drug itself may produce a fatal addiction, but the story behind its development makes for an intoxicating read."</p><p>– Publishers Weekly</p><p>"A roller-coaster ride… a fascinating story that leads to philosophical pondering as well."</p><p>– The Port St. Lucie News</p><p>"A fast-paced gem of a thriller."</p><p>– The Capital Times, Madison Wisconsin</p><p>"Gary Braver has produced a stimulating mixture of villainy, science and the philosophical and practical issues that underlie the new found ability to create 'immortality' or, at least, a major deferment of the aging process. Along the way, Mr. Braver introduces us to some of the scientific issues underlying the aging process, the role of telomerase and whether aging is in fact inevitable… Enough science to make the narrative plausible, but not too much to paralyze the narrative development… Once started, Elixir could not be easily put down. Elixir should be a deservedly popular read by scientists and non-scientists alike."</p><p>– Pharmaceutical News, Vol. 7, No. 4</p><p>"Elixir delivers all the suspense and excitement you could ask for, and asks a hard question, too: What would you do if you found that you could live forever? Read Elixir and find out."</p><p>– William Martin, New York Times</p><p>bestselling author of Cap Cod and Annapolis</p><p>"Among the best of recent contributions to its genre because of its engaging plot and the issues it addresses, this is an outstanding addition to all fiction collections."</p><p>– Library Journal</p><p>"A terrifying novel… fast-paced, filled with action, twists and turns."</p><p>– Midwest Book Review</p><p>"Engaging prose and plausible character development… Braver's background in physics and his extensive knowledge of the mechanisms of aging, make much of the technical aspects of Elixir ring true."</p><p>– The Arlington Advocate</p><p>"A first-rate biotech thriller that explores the ethical and moral dilemma projected by anti-aging technologies… This is an excellent [book] with a lot of important ideas about the real-life rush to strip the rainforest to find botanical cures, and the agonizing decisions we face as to who should control the finds."</p><p>– Sullivan County Democrat</p><p>"Elixir [is the] new, heady literary thriller by Arlington author Gary Braver… Braver has taped into an American obsession and come up with a relentless page-turner that manages to deal with technical, scientific and medical material while still being entertaining, witty and very unnevering."</p><p>– Watertown Tab Press</p><p>"In Gary Braver's page-turning thriller Elixir, a biologist stumbles across an anti-aging drug that works. Once the secret is out in the open, everyone gets into the act, from the drug lords to corporate management to the FBI… Can biologist Christopher Bacon resist the drug, even if it means that he'll stay young and vibrant while his family ages? Wouldn't want to spoil the fun."</p><p>– The Herald (WA)</p><p>"This novel has some winning twists and even a nostalgic visit with Ronald Reagan… Elixir is really bad science but awfully good fiction."</p><p>– Tampa Tribune Times</p><p>"If you're tired of the Grisham legal drama and the Clancy spy novel, and if you're looking for an exciting, fun, read, pick up Elixir. It is wonderfully written… The characters are beautifully realized… Lots of drama; lots of suspense. This is a great thriller!"</p><p>– Entertainment Tomorrow</p><p>"A fantastic thriller and an intriguing ethical study… A thrilling cascade of drama and paranoia."</p><p>– The Northeastern News</p><p>"A novel of commendable skill and literary craftsmanship."</p><p>– The Armenian Mirror Spectator</p><p>"Braver makes sure that every twist and turn makes sense… He is a master craftsman when it comes to creating characters. There is not a single character major or minor, that feels as if they are two-dimensional, put on the pages as if to serve a purpose… Elixir has all the makings of a great movie… I expect to see it on the silver screen."</p><p>– Shelflife</p><p>"I found myself thinking about this book every time I put it down. And it was very hard to put down. It races to a heart-stopping conclusion but lingers with you long after the last page. This is a great book for that long plane ride or a day at the beach."</p><p>– Kate's Mystery Books Newsletter</p><p>"[Braver] has tapped into an American obsession and come up with a relentless page-turner that manages to deal with technical, scientific, and medical material while still being entertaining, witty, and very unnerving."</p><p>– Metrowest and Community Newspapers</p><p>"Gary Braver's plot is informed by a real-world sensibility in which the heroes may be smart, but are given to blindness and ambition-and the bad guys, while evil, are far from stupid. A breathtaking series of moves and countermoves propels the story toward unforeseeable, tragic consequences, but at its heart the book remains a meditation on the nature of life and its need for family. This is one terrific thriller."</p><p>– Wigglefish.com</p><p>"A fasten-your-seatbelt thriller… with never an obvious or cliched moment… Elixir not only gives us a complex story but also features characters who are complex and richly textured, and who act in ways that surprise but make perfect sense given what we come to know about their personalities… While he has produced an unabashedly commercial page-turner, Braver has also probed, in a profound and often disturbing fashion, some fundamental questions about the ever-expanding role of biotechnology in modern life… Perhaps Elixir is not only entertaining and provocative, but prophetic as well."</p><p>– Northeastern University Magazine</p><

Michael Barr

Programming Embedded Systems in C and C++

This book introduces embedded systems to C and C++ programmers. Topics include testing memory devices, writing and erasing Flash memory, verifying nonvolatile memory contents, controlling on-chip peripherals, device driver design and implementation, optimizing embedded code for size and speed, and making the most of C++ without a performance penalty.<

Richard Bach

Juan Salvador Gaviota

Novela que nos habla de la libertad, la vida, el amor…y su importancia. Nos explica que no hay barrera que no pueda ser traspasada, con el simple deseo de querer hacerlo. Un libro bastante sencillo de leer, una manera muy practica de enseñarnos el concepto de la libertad, a través de la Gaviota que quería aprender a mejorar su vuelo…y descubre que hay muchas cosas más que el subsistir y vivir cómodamente… Libro construido a través de una serie de metáforas y simbolísmos, bastantes sencillos de interpretar. Un libro que podría cambiarte la vida, despertar tus ilusiones, por cierto…más tarde una reseña del libro Ilusiones del mismo autor. Al terminar de leer éste libro que es por cierto, corto…podrías ver las cosas de una manera diferente, con mayor significado… Podría ser tu libro de cabecera, de esos libros que lo lees ahora y te dan ganas de leerlo después y con frecuencia, siempre le encontrarás nuevos significados. Te enseña o muestra, a plantearte como eres, y que es lo que quieres ser, de siembra la semilla de la independencia, la libertad. Por otra parte, te resalta la importancia, la necesidad de compartir, de enseñar lo poco o mucho que tu sepas. Disfrutar, al mismo tiempo, lo ya conseguido y llegar hasta donde tu quieras, ese es nuestro límite, nuestras propias metas. Igualmente resalta, la capacidad de aprendizaje que puede verse notablemente incrementada, cuando alguien está fuertemente motivado. Y por último, resalta también que la juventud o vejez, es…solo un concepto que en éste sentido no aplica…Lo verdaderamente real, es mantener el espíritu despierto, las metas trazadas y la decisión de trascender…<

Barbara Taylor Bradford

A Woman of Substance

<p>From New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford comes a triumphant novel of an unforgettable woman</p><p>Determined to rise above all that she has ever known, a young and impoverished Emma Harte embarks on a journey first of survival, then of unimaginable achievement. Driven to succeed, the iron-willed Emma parlays a small shop into the world's greatest department store and an international business empire: Harte Enterprises.</p><p>Unhappily married twice, loving only the one man she can never marry, personal happiness eludes her. Harte Enterprises, the realization of her grand dreams, is her all: her heart, her soul, her life. When those closest to her threaten to destroy her empire through their greed and envy, Emma brilliantly outwits her enemies. She wreaks her devastating revenge on those who would betray her in a way only she knows how.</p><p>Drawing us into the mesmerizing life of a remarkable woman who dared to seize a dream and was willing to pay any price to make it come true, Barbara Taylor Bradford's deeply involving novel is a celebration of an indomitable spirit.</p><

Mark Billingham

Bloodline

When a dead body is found in a North London flat, it seems like a straightforward domestic murder until a bloodstained sliver of X-ray is found clutched in the dead woman's fist – and it quickly becomes clear that this case is anything but ordinary. DI Thorne discovers that the victim's mother had herself been murdered fifteen years before by infamous serial killer Raymond Garvey. The hunt to catch Garvey was one of the biggest in the history of the Met, and ended with seven women dead. When more bodies and more fragments of X-ray are discovered, Thorne has a macabre jigsaw to piece together until the horrifying picture finally emerges. A killer is targeting the children of Raymond Garvey's victims. Thorne must move quickly to protect those still on the murderer's list, but nothing and nobody are what they seem. Not when Thorne is dealing with one of the most twisted killers he has ever hunted…<

Barbara Taylor Bradford

Everything To Gain

Mallory Keswick can't imagine how her life could possibly be better. She has a wonderful, fulfilling marriage to a man who loves, supports, and nurtures her. She has a lovely home and beautiful twins who bring joy to her days, to all of which she devotes herself wholeheartedly. Mallory feels she has finally found the elusive sense of family that never quite rang true in her own childhood-until an exceptionally cruel act of violence tears apart the fabric of her happiness. Devastated, distraught, and wondering how she will ever go on, suddenly Mallory's spirit is being tested as never before, forcing her to discover new reserves of courage and strength to confront the darkness that has left her with nothing more to lose and…<

Mikhail Bulgakov

THE WHITE GUARD

<p>with an epilogue by Viktor Nekrasov</p><p>Copyright © 1971 by McGraw-Hill Book Company. </p><p>Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 70-140252 08844</p><p>Printed in Great Britain</p><

Jenna Black

The Devil You Know

Morgan Kingsley

<p>The beautiful. The bad. The possessed.</p><p>Some people worship them. Some people fear them. And some people — like Morgan Kingsley — go up against them toe-to-toe, flesh to flesh, and power against power. An exorcist by trade, Morgan is one of the few humans with an aura stronger than her possessor, even though her demon can tease her body senseless. She's also a woman who has just discovered a shocking truth: everything she once believed about her past, her identity, may have been a lie.</p><p>With a family secret exploding around her and a full-scale demon war igniting, Morgan is a key player in an unsettled world. Then a rogue sociopathic demon enters her life with a bang. His name is The Hunter. And since she is the prey, Morgan has only one choice: to hunt The Hunter down — no matter what heartbreaking truths she uncovers along the way…</p><

Ben Bova

La prova del fuoco

Era notte nell'emisfero occidentale quando il Sole emise la sua grande fiammata, e questo salvò il continente americano dalla combustione totale. Ma non lo salvò dalle atomiche sovietiche che cominciarono subito a piovere. Perché, chi avrebbe potuto dar torto ai pochi russi superstiti sottoterra, nella stanza dei bottoni, se pensarono che l'attacco fosse venuto dall'America?<

Lois Mcmaster Bujold

Gravità zero

Barrayar

<p>Quando Leo Graf, ingegnere spaziale della potente GalacTech, giunge sulla stazione di Cay Habitat, che orbita attorno al pianeta Rodeo, si aspetta di svolgere un compito di ordinaria amministrazione, e cioè insegnare a una classe di operai spaziali le tecniche più avanzate nel proprio campo.</p><p>Ma non appena il responsabile del progetto, Bruce Van Atta, gli presenta il primo studente, Leo rimane letteralmente senza fiato: già, perché non si tratta di semplici operai, bensì di creature straordinarie prodotte dall’ingegneria genetica e destinate a vivere e lavorare in permanenza a gravità zero. Oltre ai numerosi mutamenti introdotti nel loro metabolismo, l’alterazione più spettacolare è la sostituzione degli arti inferiori con un secondo paio di braccia. I quad, come essi vengono chiamati, sono creature simpatiche e affabili, in grado di riprodursi normalmente, e quindi si considerano come una nuova specie di umanità, mentre invece, per l’industria spaziale che li ha creati, non sono altro che schiavi in un mondo tecnologicamente avanzatissimo...</p><p>E, infatti, non appena nuove sorprendenti scoperte rendono superfluo l’impiego dei quad, la GalacTech non vede altra soluzione se non quella di sbarazzarsene rapidamente, condannandoli all’esilio e all’emarginazione come «umani a metà». E proprio allora Leo Graf sarà chiamato a guidare una rivolta senza precedenti, dove un popolo che non ha chiesto di nascere vuole ora affermare il suo diritto ad esistere, ma soprattutto a conquistare una patria nella quale vivere in libertà.</p><

Dan Brown

La verità del ghiaccio

Un meteorite, sepolto sotto i ghiacci del circolo polare artico, è stato localizzato dalla Nasa e sembra contenga fossili di insetti che proverebbero una volta per tutte l'esistenza di vite extraterrestri. Prima di divulgare la notizia, il presidente degli Stati Uniti vuole essere sicuro dell'autenticità della scoperta, anche per non compromettere la sua futura (ma già incerta) rielezione. La giovane Rachel Sexton e il professor Michael Tolland sono inviati sul posto insieme ad altri studiosi ma presto si rendono conto che si tratta di una truffa colossale, orchestrata ad arte. Ma da chi? E chi ha assoldato la banda di killer che li ha presi di mira, costringendoli a scappare e a rifugiarsi tra i banchi galleggianti di ghiaccio?<

Lois Mcmaster Bujold

Legacy

The Sharing Knife

<p>Fawn Bluefield, the clever young farmer girl, and Dag Redwing Hickory, the seasoned Lakewalker soldier-sorcerer, have been married all of two hours when they depart her family's farm for Dag's home at Hickory Lake Camp. Having gained a hesitant acceptance from Fawn's family for their unlikely marriage, the couple hopes to find a similar reception among Dag's Lakewalker kin. But their arrival is met with prejudice and suspicion, setting many in the camp against them, including Dag's own mother and brother. A faction of Hickory Lake Camp, denying the literal bond between Dag and Fawn, woven in blood in the Lakewalker magical way, even goes so far as to threaten permanent exile for Dag.</p><p>Before their fate as a couple is decided, however, Dag is called away by an unexpected—and viciously magical—malice attack on a neighboring hinterland threatening Lakewalkers and farmers both. What his patrol discovers there will not only change Dag and his new bride, but will call into question the uneasy relationship between their peoples—and may even offer a glimmer of hope for a less divided future.</p><p>Filled with heroic deeds, wondrous magic, and rich, all-too-human characters, is at once a gripping adventure and a poignant romance from one of the most imaginative and thoughtful writers in fantasy today.</p><

Lois Mcmaster Bujold

Passage

The Sharing Knife

<p>Young Fawn Bluefield and soldier-sorcerer Dag Redwing Hickory have survived magical dangers and found, in each other, love and loyalty. But even their strength and passion cannot overcome the bigotry of their own kin, and so, leaving behind all they have known, the couple sets off to find fresh solutions to the perilous split between their peoples. </p><p>But they will not journey alone. Along the way they acquire comrades, starting with Fawn's irrepressible brother Whit, whose future on the Bluefield family farm seems as hopeless as Fawn's once did. Planning to seek passage on a riverboat heading to the sea, Dag and Fawn find themselves allied with a young flatboat captain searching for her father and fiancé, who mysteriously vanished on the river nearly a year earlier. They travel downstream, hoping to find word of the missing men, and inadvertently pick up more followers: a pair of novice Lakewalker patrollers running away from an honest mistake with catastrophic consequences; a shrewd backwoods hunter stranded in a wreck of boats and hopes; and a farmer boy Dag unintentionally beguiles, leaving Dag with more questions than answers about his growing magery. </p><p>As the ill-assorted crew is tested and tempered on its journey to where great rivers join, Fawn and Dag will discover surprising new abilities both Lakewalker and farmer, a growing understanding of the bonds between themselves and their kinfolk, and a new world of hazards both human and uncanny.</p><

Iain Banks

Use of Weapons

Culture

Cheradenine is an ex-"special circumstance" agent who had been raised to eminence by a woman named Diziet. Skaffen-Amtskaw, the drone, had saved her life and it believes Cheradenine to be a burnt-out case. But not even its machine intelligence can see the horrors in his past.<

Iain Banks

Inversions

Culture

<p>Some years ago, rocks and fire fell from the sky and the old Empire fell with them. In the lands released from that crushing hegemony, a new world order is about to emerge. Two people in particular can see all this in a wider context.</p><p>In the winter palace, the King's new physician has more enemies than she at first realises. But then she also has more remedies to hand than those who wish her ill can know about.</p><p>In another palace across the mountains, in the service of the regicidal Protector General, the chief bodyguard too has his enemies. But his enemies strike more swiftly, and his means of combating them are more traditional.</p><p>Both the doctor and the bodyguard have at least one person they care for deeply and who cares for them. None of them, however, can risk saying so.</p><p>This is the story of two stories. Spiralling round a central core of secrecy, deceit, love and betrayal — and linked more closely than even those involved can know — each climbs to its own devastating climax.</p><

David Brin

Glory Season

<p>Hugo and Nebula award-winning author David Brin is one of the most eloquent, imaginative voices in science fiction. Now he returns with a new novel rich in texture, universal in theme, monumental in scope—pushing the genre to new heights.</p><p>Young Maia is fast approaching a turning point in her life. As a half-caste var, she must leave the clan home of her privileged half sisters and seek her fortune in the world. With her twin sister, Leie, she searches the docks of Port Sanger for an apprenticeship aboard the vessels that sail the trade routes of the Stratoin oceans.</p><p>On her far-reaching, perilous journey of discovery, Maia will endure hardship and hunger, imprisonment and loneliness, bloody battles with pirates and separation from her twin. And along the way, she will meet a traveler who has come an unimaginable distance—and who threatens the delicate balance of the Stratoins’ carefully maintained, perfect society…</p><p>Both exciting and insightful, is a major novel, a transcendent saga of the human spirit.</p><

Dave Barry

Big trouble

Lois Mcmaster Bujold

L’ombra della maledizione

Chalion (it)

 Da una grande maestra della narrativa fantastica, più volte vincitrice del premio Hugo, un potente racconto di mistero, magia e tradimento. Il destino di un cavaliere, della sua stirpe e di un regno tormentato. Provato nel corpo e nello spirito da una lunghissima prigionia, il comandante Lupe dy Cazaril ritorna nel regno di Chalion, in cui aveva servito come paggio, e viene nominato tutore di Royesse, bella e intelligente sorella dell’erede al trono. Ma quell’occasione di riscatto si trasforma presto in un incubo, poiché Cazaril scopre che a corte proprio quegli uomini che lo hanno tradito ora occupano posti di grande potere. E scopre soprattutto che l’intera stirpe di Chalion è gravata da una terribile maledizione, che non può essere annullata se non con la magia più nera…<

Beverly Barton

Raintree: Santuary

<p>War with their archrival, the evil Ansara clan, is unavoidable. For Mercy Raintree, a war means she must assume her position as guardian of the Sanctuary-the sacred Raintree home place deep in the Smoky Mountains. But doing so threatens to disclose her most prized secret-one Mercy has kept to herself for six years.</p><p>As the solstice looms and the battle heats up, Dranir Judah Ansara gathers his forces, intending to wipe every Raintree from the face of the land. Including Mercy, whom he's claimed as his to kill. Then he comes face-to-face with her-and with her daughter, Eve. Will Mercy's closely guarded secret change not only the outcome of the battle-but also Judah 's own bitter heart?</p><

Alfred Bester

The Demolished Man

<p>At the dawn of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Alfred Bester--who as a comic book writer created the original Green Lantern </p><p>Oath and such supervillains as Solomon Grundy--wrote two of the seminal works of the genre and then pretty much retired from </p><p>the scene.  His first, The Demolished Man, won the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953. </p><p>These classic overtones helped to give added intellectual heft to what might have been merely one more entry in an essentially </p><p>pulp fiction medium.  Some of it is a little clunky now--the Freudian motivations ring especially hollow--but it's easy to see </p><p>why it would have been so important to the field of Science Fiction when it was written.  Borrowing from the classics, Bester </p><p>himself created a Classic.</p><

Beverly Barton

Grace Under Fire

<p>A brand-new book in the bestselling saga The Protectors</p><p>SOME WOMEN WERE MADE FOR LOVE…</p><p>SOME MEN FOR MURDER…</p><p>Grace Beaumont had it all once: wealth, social prominence, a family. Until the accident that tore apart her life. An accident, she'd just discovered, that might not have been as random as it seemed. Now she was determined to uncover what had happened all those years ago. Then someone became determined to stop Grace – dead.</p><p>Enter Jed Tyree, a hot-blooded bodyguard with a scar on his soul and a hunger to protect all he holds dear. And he holds Grace Beaumont's life very, very dear, though he can never tell her why. Never reveal his secret connection to her sorrowful past. Never surrender to the powerful emotion he feels every time he looks into her eyes… Or can he?</p><

Peter S Beagle

A Fine and Private Place

Now available in a handsome trade paperback edition, this timeless classic of a romance between two ghosts who must fight to remain cognizant of what life and love once were--and still are--is a love story that transcends all love stories and a ghost story that transcends all ghost stories. Funny and heartwarming, it's perfect for young readers and adults alike.<

Steve Berry

The Paris Vendetta

<p>The only thing rarer than the vintage editions Cotton Malone sells in his Copenhagen bookshop is the time he actually gets to spend there. Retirement has been anything but relaxing for the onetime U.S. government operative, who's been drawn into one perilous adventure after another, crisscrossing the globe from the Sinai Desert to Antarctica, while racing to uncover some of the most precious secrets in recorded history.</p><p>Back home in Denmark, Malone's barely had a chance to rest and regroup after his last high-risk mission when trouble comes knocking again. Actually, it breaks and enters-in the form of an American Secret Service agent with a pair of would-be assassins on his heels. Malone has his doubts about the anxious young man, but narrowly surviving a ferocious firefight convinces Malone to follow his unexpected new ally into the night-and into another all-too-close encounter with certain danger.</p><p>Their first stop is the secluded country estate of Malone's good friend Henrik Thorvaldsen. The wily Danish tycoon's eyes and ears around the world have uncovered the insidious plans of the Paris Club, a cabal of multimillionaires out to manipulate the global economy. Only by matching wits with a murderous terrorist-for-hire, foiling a catastrophic attack, and plunging into a desperate hunt for the legendary lost treasure of Napoleon Bonaparte can Malone hope to avert international financial anarchy. But Thorvaldsen's objective is much more personal: to avenge at any cost the murder of his beloved son by the larcenous aristocrat at the heart of the conspiracy. Through the storied streets and cathedrals of Paris, a breathless game of duplicity and death will be played, all to claim a prize of untold value-or to suffer consequences of unthinkable magnitude.</p><

Dan Brown

Il simbolo perduto

Robert Langdon (it)

<p>Come in "Angeli e demoni" e ne "Il codice da Vinci" il protagonista de "Il simbolo perduto" è Robert Langdon, professore di Harvard specializzato in simbologia. Langdon, a Washington per una conferenza, si trova coinvolto in una serie di segreti legati alla massoneria americana dopo che il suo amico Peter Solomon, esponente della massoneria, viene rapito. A questo punto a Langdon non rimane che cominciare ad indagare per salvare il suo amico; in sole 12 ore, aiutato dalla sorella di Solomon, dovrà decifrare il simbolo perduto in un susseguirsi di misteri, colpi di scena, imprevisti e realtà nascoste.</p><p>Robert Langdon, professore di simbologia ad Harvard, è in viaggio per Washington. È stato convocato d’urgenza dall’amico Peter Solomon, uomo potentissimo affiliato alla massoneria, nonché filantropo, scienziato e storico, per tenere una conferenza al Campidoglio sulle origini esoteriche della capitale americana. Ad attenderlo c’è però un inquietante fanatico che vuole servirsi di lui per svelare un segreto millenario. Langdon intuisce qual è la posta in gioco quando all’interno della Rotonda del Campidoglio viene ritrovato un agghiacciante messaggio: una mano mozzata col pollice e l’indice rivolti verso l’alto. L’anello istoriato con emblemi massonici all’anulare non lascia ombra di dubbio: è la mano destra di Solomon. Langdon scopre di avere solamente poche ore per ritrovare l’amico. Viene così proiettato in un labirinto di tunnel e oscuri templi, dove si perpetuano antichi riti iniziatici. La sua corsa contro il tempo lo costringe a dar fondo a tutta la propria sapienza per decifrare i simboli che i padri fondatori hanno nascosto tra le architetture della città. Fino al sorprendente finale. Un nuovo capitolo de "Il Codice da Vinci", un thriller dalla trama mozzafiato, che si snoda a ritmo incalzante in una selva di simboli occulti, codici enigmatici e luoghi misteriosi.</p><

Alfred Bester

L’uomo disintegrato

Il problema — o la speranza — della telepatia ha suggerito agli scopritori di f.s. migliaia di pagine, quasi tutte di una scoraggiante ingenuità; abbiamo quindi pensato di ripubblicare qui il famoso romanzo di Bester, vero e proprio « classico » sull’argomento, già apparso anni fa, a puntate, su altro periodico Mondadori, e che pensiamo sia sfuggito,alla maggior parte dei lettori di Urania. E un’opera di eccezionale ingegnosità, dove la trasmissione del pensiero diventa l’arma di un duello mortale tra un assassino e un detective insoliti.<

Michael Buckley

Once upon a crime

<p>In the long-awaited fourth book in the New York Times bestselling series, the Grimms take on New York City!</p><p>Surprises abound for Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, fairy-tale detectives extraordinaire. When they venture into the big city, they stumble upon a murder, face betrayal by a friend, and discover an amazing secret about their mother, Veronica.</p><p>Sabrina just wants to be normal-no detecting, no dangerous escapes, and especially no Everafters. Unfortunately, New York City is a hiding spot for many famous fairy-tale folk. And there’s a murderer in their midst! The girls and their friends must figure out who killed Puck’s father, King Oberon, while coming to terms with their mother’s secret life. Will they stop the murderer before he or she can strike again? And will Sabrina ever accept her family’s destiny?</p><p>The colorful world of the Grimms expands in new and hilarious directions in Once upon a Crime. Critics and readers alike have embraced the Sisters Grimm series and its independent, quick-thinking heroines.</p><

Donald Bain

Gin and Daggers

Cabot Cove's own mystery writer and sleuth, Jessica Fletcher, travels to London to visit the grande dame of mystery novels, only to discover that the acclaimed author has been murdered.<

David Brin

Startide Rising

Uplift

<p>Won Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1984</p><p>Won Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1983</p><

Charles Bukowski

Listonosz

Większość książek Bukowskiego zawiera wątki autobiograficzne. Tak jest też w powieści Listonosz, w której autor przedstawia dość długi epizod ze swojego życia, kiedy jako doręczyciel przemierzał codziennie ulice Los Angeles z torbą przewieszoną przez ramię. Choć szczerze nienawidził tej pracy, trzymał się jej, jak żadnej innej potem, przez wiele lat. Ta mieszanka niechęci i fascynacji zaowocowała książką pełną pasji, przypominającą reportaż. Z właściwym sobie dystansem i cierpkim humorem Bukowski – krytyczny obserwator rzeczywistości – przygląda się funkcjonowaniu instytucji poczty i panującym w niej stosunkom, z wrażliwością reagując na ludzką krzywdę.<

Michael Buckley

The Unusual Suspects

<p>Nancy Drew meets Shrek in this funny, exciting new series of mysteries set in a community of fairy-tale characters. In the second book, The Sisters Grimm (Book Two): The Unusual Suspects , girl detectives Sabrina and Daphne Grimm start school at Ferryport Landing Elementary. If there is one thing they’ve learned since they moved in with Granny Grimm, it’s that having fairy-tale characters as neighbors means facing the unexpected. And sure enough, their new school is full of surprises. Daphne’s lucky enough to get Snow White for a teacher-she’s so good with little people-but poor Sabrina’s stuck in Mr. Grumpner’s class, where the students are either sleepy or psychotic and her teacher is teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Is this just typical sixth-grade suffering or is there something seriously wrong at the school? When Mr. Grumpner is found dangling from the classroom ceiling in a spider web, even sunny Daphne is convinced that Ferryport Landing Elementary has a monster problem. Can the Sisters Grimm solve the crime?</p><p>The Sisters Grimm are a welcome addition to the ranks of literary girl sleuths, and their adventures are sure to enchant.</p><

Charles Bukowski

Hollywood

Charles Bukowski, amerykański pisarz niemieckiego pochodzenia pozostawił po sobie bogaty dorobek w postaci ponad 30 książek, tomów prozy i poezji. Otaczająca go atmosfera skandalu i prowokacji, emanująca z jego prozy postawa niepokornego buntownika, obalanie obyczajowych tabu, dosadny, często wulgarny język sprawiły, że stał się kultowym pisarzem undergroundu, idolem mas i pokolenia bitników. W powieści "Hollywood", będącej znakomitym literackim wizerunkiem słynnej "fabryki snów", Bukowski obnażył kabotyństwo filmowego świadka, drwiąc bezlitośnie z obowiązujących w nim konwencji i reguł gry, które obudziły jego odrazę.<

Charles Bukowski

Faktotum

<p>Faktotum to powieść złożona z krótkich rozdziałów wypełnionych przygodami tytułowego "totumfackiego", który nieustannie poszukuje zajęcia, a do kwestionariuszy kolejnych pośredniaków wpisuje nieodmiennie: "dwa lata college'u, specjalność: dziennikarstwo i sztuki piękne".</p><p>W tej książce fascynuje niezwykła, niemal magiczna realność. Sytuacje i zdarzenia, które opowiada nam Bukowski, mają fantastyczną moc: są prawdziwe, nawet jeśli się nie wydarzyły.</p><

Charles Bukowski

Factotum

Henry Chinaski, an outcast, a loner and a hopeless drunk, drifts around America from one dead-end job to another, from one woman to another and from one bottle to the next. Uncompromising, gritty, comical and confessional in turn, his downward spiral is peppered with black humour.<

Robert Buettner

Orphan's Triumph

Extraterrestrial life has led Earth's population to the verge of extinction – and humanity's future hangs in the balance. It seems that only Jason Wander has the experience, and the guts, to do what must be done. But he will sure need some help…<

Stephen Baxter

Raft

Xeelee Sequence

Five hundred years after a handful of human starship travelers got lost in a hostile universe, their descendants are still struggling for survival. As hard as life is on The Raft — a platform remnant of the ship’s hull — it’s even harder in The Belt — a string of shacks circling the iron-rich core of a dead star. Every Belter has heard the story of the legendary starship but most of them don’t believe it. But Rees, a lowly mine-rat, does. He wonders why the sky is angry red instead of the blue his parents remembered. Why food from The Raft gets less and less nutritious. Why fewer and fewer stars form every day. In his quest to find answers, Rees travels from boyhood to manhood, from the outermost edges of his world into its mysterious heart. And along the way he discovers there’s more at stake than his simple curiosity: life in his enigmatic universe is about to become impossible…<

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