Ein dramatisches Zeitalter auf wenigen Seiten zu besichtigen, dazu bedarf es der minimalistischen Kunst eines großen Autors. Taras Prochasko verwandelt ein Familienepos, das Hunderte Geschichten birgt, in lauter erzählerische Extrakte, die eine versunkene Welt und ihre Bewohner heraufbeschwören und zum Gegenstand der Meditation machen. Diese Welt heißt Stanislau und liegt im Karpatenvorland, einem Winkel des Habsburger Reichs. Nach zwei Weltkriegen ist dort nichts mehr wie zuvor. Nur der Enkel Taras wohnt noch immer im Haus seines tschechischen Großvaters an der Hauptstraße. Nicht nur ihre verworrenen Lebensläufe ruft er auf, sondern auch die vielen Dinge, die es einmal gab, chaotische Belanglosigkeiten, die schon bald verschwunden sein werden: »Manchmal, wenn ich nichts tue und nichts sage, scheint es mir, als machten genau sie mein eigentliches Ich aus.« Taras Prochasko, der jüngere Weggefährte von Andrzej Stasiuk und Juri Andruchowytsch, ist ein poetischer Landvermesser und Geschichtenerzähler ganz eigener Art. Das »Stanislauer Phänomen«, die überraschende Blüte literarischer Talente in einer Provinzstadt des mittelöstlichen Europas, hat in Prochasko die prägnanteste Gestalt angenommen.

A dangerous world of sex, lust and violence…

All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond—beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman’s daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier.

The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal—men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet.

Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense sexual attraction, and soon they’re crossing every boundary Noelle barely knew she had. But if she wants to belong to Jas, first she’ll have to open herself to the gang, and to a world where passion is power, and freedom is found in submission.

A fast-paced thriller about the conspiracy surrounding the 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, from the author of the international bestseller The Last Pope

An international journalist, a war-weary Portuguese veteran, a Muslim with visions of the Virgin MAry, a rogue priest, and members of the world's most pwoerful-and secretive-organizations come together after the suspicous death of Pope John Paul I. A few operatives bold enough to penetrate the Vatican's shadowy inner circle will investigate what went wrong-and try to prevent the popular new pope from meeting the same fate.

In London, journalist Sarah Monteiro is again drawn into the web of international conspiracy, and must reunite-reluctantly-with the mysterious priest/assassin Rafael, and the sinister mastermind known only as JC. Sarah's and Rafael's commitment to truth and justice could prove to be extremely dangerous, for thema nd for John Paul II, especially if they discover the true power behind the papal throne. Author Bio:Luis Miguel Rocha was born in Oporto, Portugal, and worked for many years in London as a television writer and producer.

Already an international bestseller, The Last Pope is a terrific, fast-paced thriller about the conspiracy surrounding the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I.

1978, Vatican City: On September 29, the world awakens to news of the shocking, sudden death of Pope John Paul I, elected only thirty-three days earlier. The Vatican 's official response: His Holiness died of unknown causes, 'possibly associated with a heart attack.' The pope's body is embalmed within twenty-four hours, preventing any possibility of an autopsy.

2006, London: Journalist Sarah Monteiro returns from vacation to find a mysterious envelope stuffed in her mailbox. Inside is a list of unfamiliar names and a coded message.

At first, Sarah is merely puzzled by the strange delivery. But when a masked intruder breaks into her home, she knows that the list has put her in danger.

Drawn into a vortex of double crosses and terror, Sarah soon learns that the contents of the envelope hold the key to unveiling corruption beyond anything she has investigated – a plot that implicates not only unscrupulous mercenaries and crooked politicians but also princes of the Church, and perhaps even her own father. Indeed, the appearance of the envelope signals a moment of truth that brings to light a number of long-unanswered questions: What really happened during the brief reign of John Paul I? Whose plans were cut short that fatal night in September 1978? And who really benefited from the pope's sudden demise?

From Publishers Weekly

The election of Don Albino Luciani to the papal throne in 1978 threatens the Vatican status quo in this routine thriller from Portuguese author Rocha, his first novel. John Paul I's views on papal infallibility and such controversial subjects as birth control, not to mention his resolve to clean house of those men of God who sullied the Roman Catholic church by financial chicanery with mob links, lead to his murder soon after he becomes pope. In the present-day, London journalist Sarah Monteiro receives a letter implicating the pope's killers. The same shadowy band turns out to be behind the attempt on the life of John Paul II as well as the assassination of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme. Sarah struggles to stay alive and keep the evidence out of the wrong hands amid predictable action sequences and hairbreadth escapes. An author interview at book's end claiming that John Paul I was actually murdered is sure to please conspiracy buffs. (Aug.) ""
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

From Booklist

Rocha is not the first author to allege that Pope John Paul I did not die of natural causes 33 days into his reign in September 1978. This blend of fact and fiction centers on papers pointing to the Vatican’s financial involvement in corruption, through the mysterious Masonic Lodge P2, and the new pope’s intent to replace those involved and to liberalize various church positions. In nonstop action jumping between New York and several European capitals, papers revealing the plot—sent by a priest to his goddaughter, a Portuguese journalist—are hunted down by those who fear their exposure, including a corrupt CIA official. The action is so fast, with a rising murder count along the way, that readers need to be attentive to connect dots and follow multiple plot threads (including the third secret of Fatima). Rocha, convinced that the pope was murdered, includes information clarifying which characters are historical. Although the novel is likely to appeal to fans of conspiracy theories and readers of Dan Brown, it sacrifices storytelling for making the case about the death of the pope. --Michele Leber

En esta obra se busca introducir al lector en el mundo de las partículas, los constituyentes primarios de la naturaleza, que el hombre, en su afán por comprender la composición del Universo, ha intentado siempre sistematizar y simplificar. El autor explica su desarrollo y evolución desde un punto de vista histórico-anecdóti co, desde los primeros estudios e investigaciones surgidos en la antigua Grecia hasta la actualidad. El autor reseña la historia de la química hasta la consolidación de la teoría atómica de la materia y la aparición del electrón y del fotón.

Tres de Los Cinco Caballeros, una orden encargada de velar por unos valiosos manuscritos encontrados en el mar muerto en los que se refuta la crucifixión de Jesús, han muerto y otro de ellos, encargado de guardarlos, está ilocalizable. Desde el Vaticano saltan todas las alarmas y envían a Sarah, una editora internacional del Times especialista en temas vaticanos y persona de confianza, a recuperar los manuscritos. Al mismo tiempo, el Vaticano envía al padre Rafael y a Jacopo a investigar quién puede estar detrás de los asesinatos, y todas las pistas parecen conducir a un mismo lugar: la orden jesuita. Los brutales crímenes prosiguen hasta que finalmente solo queda uno de Los Cinco Caballeros: Joseph Ratzinger.

En 1978, Juan Pablo I fue asesinado. Ahora otros inocentes van a morir Y en cuanto a usted, Señor Patriarca, la corona de Cristo y los días de Cristo. (Hermana Lucía a Albino Luciani, Coimbra, 1 de julio de 1977). Año 1978. El 29 de septiembre, el mundo se despierta sobresaltado con la noticia de la repentina muerte del Papa Juan Pablo I, elegido Sumo Pontífice apenas treinta y tres días antes. La reacción oficial del Vaticano ataja de forma expeditiva cualquier duda que pudiera plantearse sobre la causa de tan inesperado suceso: el Papa, hombre de salud delicada, ha sufrido un ataque al corazón. Año 2006. La periodista Sarah Monteiro vuelve de vacaciones a su casa de Londres. Allí le está esperando un sobre en el que se encuentran dos extraños documentos: una lista de nombres y un mensaje cifrado. A partir de ese momento su vida correrá un grave peligro y se irá viendo inmersa en la vorágine de una trama en la que están implicados príncipes de la Iglesia sin escrúpulos, políticos corruptos y mercenarios dispuestos a vender su alma al mejor postor. Para muchos, ha llegado el momento de la verdad: ¿qué pasó realmente durante los breves días del pontificado de Juan Pablo I? ¿Qué planes se truncaron tan abruptamente aquella fatídica noche? En suma... ¿a quién podía beneficiar su desaparición?