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books tagged “german”
books tagged “german”
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Adolf Hitlerby John TolandISBN 0345343174 (0-345-34317-4)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmesby Arthur Conan DoyleISBN 0345327128 (0-345-32712-8)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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All the Weyrs of Pernby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345368932 (0-345-36893-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'All the Weyrs of Pern'Book summary:For generations, the dragonriders had dedicated their lives to fighting Thread, the dreaded spores that periodically rained from the sky to ravage the land. On the backs of their magnificent telepathic dragons they flew to flame the deadly stuff out of the air before it could reach the planets surface. But the greatest dream of the dragonriders was to find a way to eradicate Thread completely, so that never again would their beloved Pern be threatened with destruction. Now, for the first time, it looks as if that dream can come true. For when the people of Pern, led by Masterharper Robinton and Flar and Lessa, Weyr-leader and Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr, excavate the ancient remains of the planets original settlement, they uncover the colonists voice-activated artificial intelligence system which still functions. And the computer has incredible news for them: There is a chance a good chance that they can, at long last, annihilate Thread once and for all. When McCaffreys beloved dragons roar and their riders soar upon the beasts mighty backs...fans of Pern will likely be enthralled. Publishers Weekly [via]
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Bitter Medicineby Sara ParetskyISBN 0345347226 (0-345-34722-6)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Bitter Medicine'Book summary:Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski knows from the start that Consuelo Alvarado's baby is trouble. Consuelo is sixteen. Diabetic. And the daughter of a friend. When she goes into labor too early, even V.I.'s wild drive to get her to the hospital can't save either Consuelo or her child. Soon V.I. is investigating possible malpractice at the emergency room--and falling for a doctor who works there. Mixing business and love is always bad medicine, but V.I. finds herself listening to her heart, not her head. And when a brutal murder and the violent destruction of a women's clinic put her at the center of a very dirty conspiracy, justice may be the only remedy for a hurt that cuts deep...and chills right to the bone.... [via]
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The Book of Lost Talesby J. R. R. TolkienISBN 0345375211 (0-345-37521-1)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book of Lost Tales'Book summary:This second part of THE BOOK OF LOST TALES includes the tale of Beneren and Luthien, Turin and the Dragon, Necklace of the Dwarves, and the Fall of Gondolin. Each tale is followed by a commentary in the form of a short essay, together with the texts of associated poems, as well as information on names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages. [via]
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Camber of Culdiby Katherine KurtzISBN 0345347676 (0-345-34767-6)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Castle Roognaby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345350480 (0-345-35048-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Castle Roogna'Book summary:Millie, a ghost for 800 years wants only one man--Jonathan, and he's a zombie. To prove himself, Magician Dor volunteers to get the potion that can restore Jonathan to full life. But he has to go back through time to do it, to a peril-haunted, ancient Xanth, where danger lurks at every turn....
From the Paperback edition. [via] -
Castles Of Steel: Britain, Germany, And The Winning Of The Great War At Seaby Robert K. MassieISBN 0345408780 (0-345-40878-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Castles Of Steel: Britain, Germany, And The Winning Of The Great War At Sea'Book summary:In a work of extraordinary narrative power, filled with brilliant personalities and vivid scenes of dramatic action, Robert K. Massie, the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Dreadnought, elevates to its proper historical importance the role of sea power in the winning of the Great War.
The predominant image of this first world war is of mud and trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, poison gas, and slaughter. A generation of European manhood was massacred, and a wound was inflicted on European civilization that required the remainder of the twentieth century to heal.
But with all its sacrifice, trench warfare did not win the war for one side or lose it for the other. Over the course of four years, the lines on the Western Front moved scarcely at all; attempts to break through led only to the lengthening of the already unbearably long casualty lists.
For the true story of military upheaval, we must look to the sea. On the eve of the war in August 1914, Great Britain and Germany possessed the two greatest navies the world had ever seen. When war came, these two fleets of dreadnoughtsgigantic floating castles of steel able to hurl massive shells at an enemy miles awaywere ready to test their terrible power against each other.
Their struggles took place in the North Sea and the Pacific, at the Falkland Islands and the Dardanelles. They reached their climax when Germany, suffocated by an implacable naval blockade, decided to strike against the British ring of steel. The result was Jutland, a titanic clash of fifty-eight dreadnoughts, each the home of a thousand men.
When the German High Seas Fleet retreated, the kaiser unleashed unrestricted U-boat warfare, which, in its indiscriminate violence, brought a reluctant America into the war. In this way, the German effort to seize the trident by defeating the British navy led to the fall of the German empire.
Ultimately, the distinguishing feature of Castles of Steel is the author himself. The knowledge, understanding, and literary power Massie brings to this story are unparalleled. His portrayals of Winston Churchill, the British admirals Fisher, Jellicoe, and Beatty, and the Germans Scheer, Hipper, and Tirpitz are stunning in their veracity and artistry.
Castles of Steel is about war at sea, leadership and command, courage, genius, and folly. All these elements are given magnificent scope by Robert K. Massies special and widely hailed literary mastery.
From the Hardcover edition. [via]More editions of Castles Of Steel: Britain, Germany, And The Winning Of The Great War At Sea:
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Caves of Steelby Isaac AsimovISBN 0345338200 (0-345-33820-0)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Caves of Steel'Book summary:A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer. The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the "R" stood for robot--and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim! [via]
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Centaur Aisleby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345352467 (0-345-35246-7)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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Changing Landby Roger ZelaznyISBN 0345344413 (0-345-34441-3)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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Cider House Rulesby John IrvingISBN 0345387651 (0-345-38765-1)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Cider House Rules'Book summary:First published in 1985, The Cider House Rules is set in rural Maine in the first half of the twentieth century. The novel tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch-saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Cloud's, ether addict and abortionist. This is also the story of Dr. Larch's favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted. [via]
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Crystal Singerby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345327861 (0-345-32786-1)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Crystal Singer'Book summary:Her name was Killashandra Ree. And after ten grueling years of musical training, she was still without prospects. Until she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild who could provide careers, security, and wealth beyond imagining. The problem was, few people who landed on Ballybran ever left. But to Killashandra the risks were acceptable.... [via]
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The Day of the Triffidsby John WyndhamISBN 0345328175 (0-345-32817-5)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Disclosureby Michael CrichtonISBN 0345391055 (0-345-39105-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Disclosure'Book summary:"Expertly crafted, ingenious and absorbing." The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The #1 Bestseller by the author of "Jurassic Park." As he did in "Rising Sun," Crichton focuses on a topic as close as today's newspaper headlines: sexual harassment.
Tom Sanders is an up-and-coming executive at the computer firm DigiCom. When his new boss turns out to be a woman who is both his former lover and a business rival, Sanders determines to be professional. But after a closed-door meeting, the woman accuses him of sexual harassment. It's her word against his, and suddenly Sanders finds himself caught in a nightmarish web of deceit in which he is branded as the villian. As he scrambles to save his career and his reputation, Sanders uncovers an electronic trail into DigiCom's secrets . . . and the cynical scheme devised to bring him down. [via]More editions of Disclosure:
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Dolphins of Pernby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345368959 (0-345-36895-9)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dolphins of Pern'Book summary:In a new Pern novel that takes place a decade after All the Weyrs of Pern, two boys--one of them a dragonrider-- reestablish crucial contact with the wise dolphins, the legendary ""shipfish"" of Pern. [via]
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Dragonflightby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345335465 (0-345-33546-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dragonflight'Book summary:How can one girl save an entire world?to the nobles who live in benden weyr, lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for lessa to shed her disguise-and take back her stolen birthright. But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, lessa's world is threatened by thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their riders once protected the planet from thread, but there are very few of them left these days. Now brave lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world [via]
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Dragonquestby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345335082 (0-345-33508-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dragonquest'Book summary:Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again, So the bold dragonriders took to the air once more and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reached the ground. But F'lar knew he had to find a better way to protect his beloved pern, and he had to find it before the rebellious Oldtimers could breed any more dissent...before his brother F'nor would be foolhardy enough to launch another suicide mission...and before those dratted fire-lizards could stir up any more trouble! [via]
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Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A. D. 922by Michael CrichtonISBN 0345354613 (0-345-35461-3)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Eaters of the Dead : The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A. D. 922'Book summary:Michael Crichton takes the listener on a one-thousand-year-old journey in his adventure novel Eaters Of The Dead. This remarkable true story originated from actual journal entries of an Arab man who traveled with a group of Vikings throughout northern Europe. In 922 A.D, Ibn Fadlan, a devout Muslim, left his home in Baghdad on a mission to the King of Saqaliba. During his journey, he meets various groups of "barbarians" who have poor hygiene and gorge themselves on food, alcohol and sex. For Fadlan, his new traveling companions are a far stretch from society in the sophisticated "City of Peace." The conservative and slightly critical man describes the Vikings as "tall as palm trees with florid and ruddy complexions." Fadlan is astonished by their lustful aggression and their apathy towards death. He witnesses everything from group orgies to violent funeral ceremonies. Despite the language and cultural barriers, Ibn Fadlan is welcomed into the clan. The leader of the group, Buliwyf (who can communicate in Latin) takes Fadlan under his wing.
Without warning, the chieftain is ordered to haul his warriors back to Scandinavia to save his people from the "monsters of the mist." Ibn Fadlan follows the clan and must rise to the occasion in the battle of his life.--Gina Kaysen [via]
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- Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A. D. 922: ISBN 0345383249 (0-345-38324-9)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group - Eaters of the Dead : The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A. D. 922: ISBN 0345354613 (0-345-35461-3)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
- Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A. D. 922: ISBN 0345383249 (0-345-38324-9)
The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monasteryby Janwillem Van De WeteringISBN 0345339460 (0-345-33946-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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Fahrenheit 451by Ray BradburyISBN 0345342968 (0-345-34296-8)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Fahrenheit 451'Book summary:In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Fire Captain Beatty explains it this way, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs.... Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy."
Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman undergoing a crisis of faith. His wife spends all day with her television "family," imploring Montag to work harder so that they can afford a fourth TV wall. Their dull, empty life sharply contrasts with that of his next-door neighbor Clarisse, a young girl thrilled by the ideas in books, and more interested in what she can see in the world around her than in the mindless chatter of the tube. When Clarisse disappears mysteriously, Montag is moved to make some changes, and starts hiding books in his home. Eventually, his wife turns him in, and he must answer the call to burn his secret cache of books. After fleeing to avoid arrest, Montag winds up joining an outlaw band of scholars who keep the contents of books in their heads, waiting for the time society will once again need the wisdom of literature.
Bradbury--the author of more than 500 short stories, novels, plays, and poems, including The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man--is the winner of many awards, including the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Readers ages 13 to 93 will be swept up in the harrowing suspense of Fahrenheit 451, and no doubt will join the hordes of Bradbury fans worldwide. --Neil Roseman [via]
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First King of Shannaraby Terry BrooksISBN 0345396537 (0-345-39653-7)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'First King of Shannara'Book summary:Dark forces are on the move from the Northlands, and Bremen, an outcast Druid, learns of the huge Troll armies on the march and the Skull Bearers who act as their spies. To save the Druids, Bremen must convince the people of the Four Lands that their only hope lies in uniting -- and in using the magic they fear above all else. [via]
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Foucault's Pendulumby Umberto EcoISBN 0345368754 (0-345-36875-4)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Foucault's Pendulum'Book summary:"As brilliant and quirky as THE NAME OF THE ROSE, as mischievous and wide-raning....A virtuoso performance."
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Three clever book editors, inspired by an extraordinary fable they heard years befoe, decide to have a little fun. Randomly feeding esoteric bits of knowledge into an incredible computer capable of inventing connections between all their entires, they think they are creating a long lazy game--until the game starts taking over....
Here is an incredible journey of thought and history, memory and fantasy, a tour de force as enthralling as anything Umberto Eco--or indeed anyone--has ever devised.
From the Paperback edition. [via] -
Foundation and Earthby Isaac AsimovISBN 0345339967 (0-345-33996-7)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Foundation and Earth'Book summary:The fifth novel in Asimov's popular Foundation series opens with second thoughts. Councilman Golan Trevize is wondering if he was right to choose a collective mind as the best possible future for humanity over the anarchy of contentious individuals, nations and planets. To test his conclusion, he decides he must know the past and goes in search of legendary Earth, all references to which have been erased from galactic libraries. The societies encountered along the way become arguing points in a book-long colloquy about man's fate, conducted by Trevize and traveling companion Bliss, who is part of the first world/mind, Gaia. [via]
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Giants' Starby James Patrick HoganISBN 0345327209 (0-345-32720-9)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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The Guns of Augustby Barbara W. TuchmanISBN 034538623X (0-345-38623-X)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Guns of August'Book summary:"More dramtatic than fiction...THE GUNS OF AUGUST is a magnificent narrative--beautifully organized, elegantly phrased, skillfully paced and sustained....The product of painstaking and sophisticated research."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Tuchman has brought to life again the people and events that led up to Worl War I. With attention to fascinating detail, and an intense knowledge of her subject and its characters, Ms. Tuchman reveals, for the first time, just how the war started, why, and why it could have been stopped but wasn't. A classic historical survey of a time and a people we all need to know more about, THE GUNS OF AUGUST will not be forgotten. [via]More editions of The Guns of August:
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The Hotel New Hampshireby John IrvingISBN 034540047X (0-345-40047-X)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Hotel New Hampshire'Book summary:The first of my fathers illusions was that bears could survive the life lived by human beings, and the second was that human beings could survive a life led in hotels. So says John Berry, son of a hapless dreamer, brother to a cadre of eccentric siblings, and chronicler of the lives lived, the loves experienced, the deaths met, and the myriad strange and wonderful times encountered by the family Berry. Hoteliers, pet-bear owners, friends of Freud (the animal trainer and vaudevillian, that is), and playthings of mad fate, they dream on in a funny, sad, outrageous, and moving novel by the remarkable author of A Prayer for Owen Meany and Last Night in Twisted River.
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Hotel Paradiseby Martha GrimesISBN 0345394259 (0-345-39425-9)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Actionby Jeff Yang, Jackie ChanISBN 0345415035 (0-345-41503-5)
Hardcover, Ballantine Books
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Indiana Jones and the Last Crusadeby Rob MacGregorISBN 034536161X (0-345-36161-X)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Interview With the Vampireby Anne RiceISBN 0345337662 (0-345-33766-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Interview With the Vampire'Book summary:In the now-classic novel Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice refreshed the archetypal vampire myth for a late-20th-century audience. The story is ostensibly a simple one: having suffered a tremendous personal loss, an 18th-century Louisiana plantation owner named Louis Pointe du Lac descends into an alcoholic stupor. At his emotional nadir, he is confronted by Lestat, a charismatic and powerful vampire who chooses Louis to be his fledgling. The two prey on innocents, give their "dark gift" to a young girl, and seek out others of their kind (notably the ancient vampire Armand) in Paris. But a summary of this story bypasses the central attractions of the novel. First and foremost, the method Rice chose to tell her tale--with Louis' first-person confession to a skeptical boy--transformed the vampire from a hideous predator into a highly sympathetic, seductive, and all-too-human figure. Second, by entering the experience of an immortal character, one raised with a deep Catholic faith, Rice was able to explore profound philosophical concerns--the nature of evil, the reality of death, and the limits of human perception--in ways not possible from the perspective of a more finite narrator.
While Rice has continued to investigate history, faith, and philosophy in subsequent Vampire novels (including The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the Body Thief, Memnoch the Devil, and The Vampire Armand), Interview remains a treasured masterpiece. It is that rare work that blends a childlike fascination for the supernatural with a profound vision of the human condition. --Patrick O'Kelley [via]
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Last Chance to Seeby Douglas Adams, Mark CarwardineISBN 0345371984 (0-345-37198-4)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Last Chance to See'Book summary:"Very funny and moving...The glimpses of rare fauna seem to have enlarged [Adams'] thinking, enlivened his world; and so might the animals do for us all, if we were to help them live."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
Join bestselling author Douglas Adams and zooligist Mark Carwardine as they take off around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures. Hilarious and poignant--as only Douglas Adams can be--LAST CHANCE TO SEE is an entertaining and arresting odyssey through the Earth's magnificent wildlife galaxy. [via]More editions of Last Chance to See:
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The Last Unicornby Peter S. BeagleISBN 0345353676 (0-345-35367-6)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Last Unicorn'Book summary:The Last Unicorn is one of the true classics of fantasy, ranking with Tolkien's The Hobbit, Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy, and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Beagle writes a shimmering prose-poetry, the voice of fairy tales and childhood:
The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.
The unicorn discovers that she is the last unicorn in the world, and sets off to find the others. She meets Schmendrick the Magician--whose magic seldom works, and never as he intended--when he rescues her from Mommy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival, where only some of the mythical beasts displayed are illusions. They are joined by Molly Grue, who believes in legends despite her experiences with a Robin Hood wannabe and his unmerry men. Ahead wait King Haggard and his Red Bull, who banished unicorns from the land.
This is a book no fantasy reader should miss; Beagle argues brilliantly the need for magic in our lives and the folly of forgetting to dream. --Nona Vero [via]
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Lenya: A Lifeby Donald SpotoISBN 0345365429 (0-345-36542-9)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Lion of Macedonby David GemmellISBN 034537911X (0-345-37911-X)
Softcover, Del Rey
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The Lost Worldby Michael CrichtonISBN 034540288X (0-345-40288-X)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Lost World'Book summary:Written in the wake of Jurassic Park's phenomenal box-office success, The Lost World seems as much a guidebook for Hollywood types hard at work on the franchise's followup as it is a legitimate sci-fi thriller. Which begs the inevitable questions: Is the plot a rehash of the first book? Sure it is, with the action unfolding on yet another secluded island, the mysterious "Site B." Is the cast of characters basically the same? Absolutely, from a freshly minted pair of cute, compu-savvy kids right down to the neatly exhumed chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (who was presumed dead at the close of JP). But is it fun to read? You betcha. Hollywood (and Michael Crichton) keeps telling us the same old stories for a very good reason: we like them. And the pulp SF formula Crichton has mastered with Jurassic Park and The Lost World is no exception. --Paul Hughes [via]
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Nerilka's Storyby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345339495 (0-345-33949-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Nerilka's Story'Book summary:Ashamed of her father's refusal to help the others of Fort Hold, Nerilka helps Lord Alessan prepare a serum to combat a dreaded plague. [via]
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Night Mareby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345354931 (0-345-35493-1)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Night Mare'Book summary:Although the Nextwave of barbarian warriors was invading Xanth, Mare Imbrium discovered that ever since she had gained the half soul, the night mare had begun to mishandle her job of delivering bad dreams. Exiled to the day world with a message for King Trent, Mare met the relentless, unforgiving Horseman. For the night mare, it began to be all a horrible nightmare! [via]
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No Man's Landby John TolandISBN 0345335775 (0-345-33577-5)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Ogre, Ogreby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345354923 (0-345-35492-3)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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On a Pale Horseby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345338588 (0-345-33858-8)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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Order of Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SSby Heinz HohneISBN 0345345045 (0-345-34504-5)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Pegasus in Flightby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345368975 (0-345-36897-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Pegasus in Flight'Book summary:As director of the Jerhattan Parapsychic Center, telepath Rhyssa Owen coordinated the job assignments for psychically gifted Talents. And though she had her hands full dealing with the unreasonable demand for kinetics to work on the space platform that would be humankind's stepping-stone to the stars, she was always ready to welcome new Talents to the Center.
Feisty and streetwise, twelve-year-old Tirla used her extraordinary knack for languages to eke out a living in the Linear developments, where the poor struggled to make ends meet and children were conscripted or sold into menial work programs. Young Peter, paralyzed in a freak accident, hoped someday to get into space where zero gravity would enable him to function more easily. Both desperately needed help only other Talents could provide.
With the appearance in her life of one extraordinary man with no measurable Talent at all, Rhyssa suddenly found herself questioning everything she thought she knew about her people. And when two Talented children were discovered to have some very unusual -- and unexpected -- abilities, she realized that she would have to reassess the potential of all Talentkind...
From the Paperback edition. [via] -
A Prayer for Owen Meanyby John IrvingISBN 0345361792 (0-345-36179-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'Book summary:Owen Meany is a dwarfish boy with a strange voice who accidentally kills his best friend's mom with a baseball and believes--accurately--that he is an instrument of God, to be redeemed by martyrdom. John Irving's novel, which inspired the 1998 Jim Carrey movie Simon Birch, is his most popular book in Britain, and perhaps the oddest Christian mystic novel since Flannery O'Connor's work. Irving fans will find much that is familiar: the New England prep-school-town setting, symbolic amputations of man and beast, the Garp-like unknown father of the narrator (Owen's orphaned best friend), the rough comedy. The scene of doltish the doltish headmaster driving a trashed VW down the school's marble staircase is a marvelous set piece. So are the Christmas pageants Owen stars in. But it's all, as Highlights magazine used to put it, "fun with a purpose." When Owen plays baby Jesus in the pageants, and glimpses a tombstone with his death date while enacting A Christmas Carol, the slapstick doesn't cancel the fact that he was born to be martyred. The book's countless subplots add up to a moral argument, specifically an indictment of American foreign policy--from Vietnam to the Contras.
The book's mystic religiosity is steeped in Robertson Davies's Deptford trilogy, and the fatal baseball relates to the fatefully misdirected snowball in the first Deptford novel, Fifth Business. Tiny, symbolic Owen echoes the hero of Irving's teacher Günter Grass's The Tin Drum--the two characters share the same initials. A rollicking entertainment, Owen Meany is also a meditation on literature, history, and God. --Tim Appelo [via]
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Princess Brideby William GoldmanISBN 0345348036 (0-345-34803-6)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Princess Bride'Book summary:The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a "good parts version" of "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure." Morgenstern's original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern's mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the "Classic Tale" nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."
Goldman frames the fairy tale with an "autobiographical" story: his father, who came from Florin, abridged the book as he read it to his son. Now, Goldman is publishing an abridged version, interspersed with comments on the parts he cut out.
Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers, that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? Simply a funny, frenetic adventure? No matter how you read it, you'll put it on your "keeper" shelf. --Nona Vero [via]
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The Queen of the Damnedby Anne RiceISBN 0345351525 (0-345-35152-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Queen of the Damned'Book summary:Did you ever wonder where all those mischievous vampires roaming the globe in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles came from? In this, the third book in the series, we find out. That raucous rock-star vampire Lestat interrupts the 6,000-year slumber of the mama of all bloodsuckers, Akasha, Queen of the Damned.
Akasha was once the queen of the Nile (she has a bit in common with the Egyptian goddess Isis), and it's unwise to rile her now that she's had 60 centuries of practice being undead. She is so peeved about male violence that she might just have to kill most of them. And she has her eye on handsome Lestat with other ideas as well.
If you felt that the previous books in the series weren't gory and erotic enough, this one should quench your thirst (though it may cause you to omit organ meats from your diet). It also boasts God's plenty of absorbing lore that enriches the tale that went before, including the back-story of the boy in Interview with the Vampire and the ancient fellowship of the Talamasca, which snoops on paranormal phenomena. Mostly, the book spins the complex yarn of Akasha's eerie, brooding brood and her nemeses, the terrifying sisters Maharet and Mekare. In one sense, Queen of the Damned is the ultimate multigenerational saga. --Tim Appelo [via]
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Raiders of the Lost Arkby Campbell BlackISBN 0345353757 (0-345-35375-7)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Random House German-English English-German Dictionaryby Anne DahlISBN 034541439X (0-345-41439-X)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Random House German-English English-German Dictionary'Book summary:RANDOM HOUSE GERMAN-ENGLISH ENGLISH-GERMAN DICTIONARY
RELIABLE, DETAILED, AND UP-TO-DATE
More than 60,000 entries, including the most common meanings
Two sections, German-English and English-German
All entries, from A to Z, in a single alphabetical listing
American English spellings and vocabulary
Hundreds of new words, including byte, CD-Spieler, Europaparlament, and Informatile
Grammatical information
Pronunciation clearly explained
The Random House imprint has long stood for excellence in the reference field. Random House reference books--prepared by its permanent lexicographic staff with the assistance of many hundreds of scholars, educators, and specialists--have been widely acclaimed for their outstanding quality and usefulness. [via]More editions of Random House German-English English-German Dictionary:
Red Squareby Martin Cruz SmithISBN 0345384733 (0-345-38473-3)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Ringworld Engineersby Larry NivenISBN 0345334302 (0-345-33430-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Ringworld Engineers'Book summary:Ringworld: the most stunning artifact in known space, an articficial world with three million times Earth's surface area. Who built it? And where are they? In this stunning sequel to Larry Niven's Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel, Louis Wu (now a near-hopeless lirehead hooked on electrical ecstasy), the aged Kzin warrior, Speaker-to-Animals, and the Hindmost, puppeteer mate of mad Nessus, return to Ringworld. Their aim is to prevent cataclysm. IN the process, they find themselves learning Ringworld's incredible secrets... [via]
The Ringworld Throneby Larry NivenISBN 0345412966 (0-345-41296-6)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Ringworld Throne'Book summary:In Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers Larry Niven created Known Space, a universe in the distant future with a distinctive and complicated history. The center of this universe is Ringworld, an expansive hoop-shaped relic 1 million miles across and 600 million miles in circumference that is home to some 30 trillion diverse inhabitants. As in his past novels, Niven's characters in The Ringworld Throne spend their time unraveling the complex problems posed by their society. [via]
Roadmarksby Roger ZelaznyISBN 0345345150 (0-345-34515-0)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Robots and Empireby Isaac AsimovISBN 0345328949 (0-345-32894-9)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Robots and Empire'Book summary:Long after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Earthman Elijah Baley, Keldon Amadiro embarked on a plan to destroy planet Earth. But even after his death, Baley's vision continued to guide his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, who had the wisdom of a great man behind him and an indestructable will to win.... [via]
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Roofworldby Christopher FowlerISBN 0345357019 (0-345-35701-9)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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Running with the Demonby Terry BrooksISBN 0345379624 (0-345-37962-4)
Hardcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Running with the Demon'Book summary:Terry Brooks's Running with the Demon is billed as "A Novel of Good and Evil," but he could've called it "A Novel of Here and Now." The fantasy master behind the Shannara series switches his focus from neo-Tolkien jungles to the woebegone steel town of Hopewell, Illinois. Though Illinois teenager Nest Freemark (where does he get these names?) looks like your average kid, she spends her free time in the woods asking her 6-inch pal Pick for advice in dodging the Demon and his creepy Feeders, spirits who gobble the souls of humans. Nest is also being tailed by John Ross, a shining Knight of the Word who wants to keep her from the Feeders' jaws.
Meanwhile, in the real world that dominates the novel, Nest Freemark is being stalked by a handsome, evil classmate who she has rejected, and a pack of surly, insurgent striking steelworkers plot a bombing at the company's Fourth of July picnic. The boy and the bombers are unaware that they're being subconsciously manipulated by the Demon. The book's matter-of-fact take on the uncanny is a bit like The X-Files. (And if you want to compare the two, check out Ted Edwards's X-Files Confidential: The Unauthorized X-Philes Compendium.)
Brooks's plot has more strands than a plate of pasta, yet his mind is logical to a fault--he used to be a lawyer. There's something for everyone: gory monster attacks, a dread family secret, magical mind-game duels, even a (rather flat) teen-romance subplot. The setting has real grit and the countdown to the Independence Day bombing peps up the tale. Brooks sometimes prosaically explains things a better literary stylist would dramatize, and his minatory visions of environmental apocalypse are more fun than the obvious, nagging, don't-be-a-litterbug message they exist to convey. Brooks will never be as deep as Tolkien, and many readers will find him less awesome as their adolescence recedes. Still, he's the genuine article, and with this book, he raises the stakes he's playing for. [via]
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Saint Camberby Katherine KurtzISBN 0345347684 (0-345-34768-4)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Saint Camber'Book summary:When Camber of Buidi, master of arcane Deryni powers, led a successful revolution against Imre, his sister Ariella, plotted war against Cinhill, her brother's successor. But Cinhill didn't want a fight, he didn't want power, and it was up to Camber to save crown and country.... [via]
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The Seven-Percent Solutionby John H. Watson, Nicholas MeyerISBN 0345331567 (0-345-33156-7)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Shining Throughby Susan IsaacsISBN 0345358031 (0-345-35803-1)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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The Sign of Fourby Arthur Conan Doyle, P. G. WodehouseISBN 0345352904 (0-345-35290-4)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Source of Magicby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345350588 (0-345-35058-8)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Source of Magic'Book summary:Ordered by King Trent to determine the source of Xanth's magic, Bink and his companions were harried by an unseen enemy determined to thwart them. When even their protector turned against them, Blink still managed to reach his goal and carry out the King's orders...but the king did not expect Blink's next act--to destroy utterly the magic of Xanth! [via]
A Spell for Chameleonby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345347536 (0-345-34753-6)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Spell for Chameleon'Book summary:Though already developing a successful career in SF with such heady novels as Chthon and Omnivore, Piers Anthony did not reach brand-name status until he cooked up some fantasy in 1977. And it was cheerful, humorous fantasy at that, as in his first Xanth series novel, A Spell for Chameleon. The book's young hero, Bink, is without magical powers in a world ruled entirely by magic. Worse still, if he doesn't discover his own magical talent soon, he will be forever banished from his homeland. Naturally, it takes an epic quest for Bink to learn what his unique talent truly is--and perhaps to win the girl of his dreams as well. A Spell for Chameleon was the very first of Anthony's bestselling (and still ongoing) humorous fantasy series. Noteworthy for their outrageous word puns and bizarre characters, the Xanth books are a light yet often satisfying brew, especially when compared with the author's sometimes nihilistic and ultraviolent hard SF. --Stanley Wiater [via]
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Sphereby Michael CrichtonISBN 0345353145 (0-345-35314-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sphere'Book summary:Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton is possibly the best science teacher for the masses since H.G. Wells, and Sphere, his thriller about a mysterious spherical spaceship at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, is classic Crichton. A group of not-very-complex characters (portrayed in the film by Sharon Stone, Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Queen Latifah) assemble to solve a cleverly designed roller coaster of a mystery while attempting (with mixed success) to avoid sudden death and expounding (much more successfully) on the latest, coolest scientific ideas, including the existence of black holes. Somehow, Crichton manages to convey the complicated stuff in utterly simplistic prose, making him, as his old pal Steven Spielberg puts it, "the high priest of high concept." Yet there is more to Crichton than science and big-ticket show biz. He is also, as any reader of his startling memoir Travels knows, a bit of a mystic--he is entirely open to notions spouted by spoon-bending psychics that most science writers would scorn. Sphere is not only a gratifying sci-fi suspense tale; it also reflects Crichton's keen interest in the unexplained powers of the human mind. When something passes through a black hole in Crichton's fiction, a lesson is learned. The book also contains another profound lesson: when you're staring down a giant squid with an eyeball the size of a dinner plate, don't blink first. [via]
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Split Infinityby Piers AnthonyISBN 0345354915 (0-345-35491-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Split Infinity'Book summary:Split Infinity is the first book in Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series. Here two worlds exist side by side: Proton and Phaze. Proton is a science fiction world, where everything works in a logical and scientific manner. Phaze is a fantasy world similar to Anthony's Xanth in that there's no such thing as science--it's all done with magic! The wild plot involves a young adventurer named Stiles who lives in Proton and learns that his "double" in Phaze has been murdered. To solve his own demise, Stiles must travel between the two realities, each abounding with the expected confusions and unexpected plot twists for which Anthony is famous. An artful blending of SF and fantasy clichés and situations, Split Infinity shows Piers Anthony at the top of his ingenious game(s). --Stanley Wiater [via]
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Starman Jonesby Robert A. Heinlein, Judy-Lynn Del ReyISBN 0345328116 (0-345-32811-6)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Switch Bitchby Roald DahlISBN 0345338359 (0-345-33835-9)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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The Sword of Shannaraby Terry BrooksISBN 0345336860 (0-345-33686-0)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Sword of Shannara'Book summary:Living in peaceful Shady Vale, Shea Ohmsford knew little of the troubles that plagued the rest of the world. Then the giant, forbidding Allanon revaled that the supposedly dead Warlock Lord was plotting to destory the world. The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness was the Sword of Shannara, which could only be used by a true heir of Shannara--Shea being the last of the bloodline, upon whom all hope rested. Soon a Skull Bearer, dread minion of Evil, flew into the Vale, seeking to destroy Shea. To save the Vale, Shea fled, drawing the Skull Bearer after him....
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Tales of the Cityby Armistead MaupinISBN 0345351908 (0-345-35190-8)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Trying to Save Piggy Sneedby John IrvingISBN 0345404742 (0-345-40474-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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The Two Faces of Tomorrowby James Patrick HoganISBN 0345323874 (0-345-32387-4)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Unfinished Talesby J. R. R. TolkienISBN 0345357116 (0-345-35711-6)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Unfinished Tales'Book summary:Mythic lore and forgotten legends are unveiled in stories of the three ages of Middle-earth unearthed by Christopher Tolkien from his father's archives. [via]
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The Vampire Armandby Anne RiceISBN 0345409272 (0-345-40927-2)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Vampire Armand'Book summary:In The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice returns to her indomitable Vampire Chronicles and recaptures the gothic horror and delight she first explored in her classic tale Interview with the Vampire (in which Armand, played by Antonio Banderas in the film version, made his first appearance as director of the Théâtre des Vampires).
The story begins in the aftermath of Memnoch the Devil. Vampires from all over the globe have gathered around Lestat, who lies prostrate on the floor of a cathedral. Dead? In a coma? As Armand reflects on Lestat's condition, he is drawn by David Talbot to tell the story of his own life. The narrative abruptly rushes back to 15th-century Constantinople, and the Armand of the present recounts the fragmented memories of his childhood abduction from Kiev. Eventually, he is sold to a Venetian artist (and vampire), Marius. Rice revels in descriptions of the sensual relationship between the young and still-mortal Armand and his vampiric mentor. But when Armand is finally transformed, the tone of the book dramatically shifts. Raw and sexually explicit scenes are displaced by Armand's introspective quest for a union of his Russian Orthodox childhood, his hedonistic life with Marius, and his newly acquired immortality. These final chapters remind one of the archetypal significance of Rice's vampires; at their best, Armand, Lestat, and Marius offer keen insights into the most human of concerns.
The Vampire Armand is richly intertextual; readers will relish the retelling of critical events from Lestat and Louis's narratives. Nevertheless, the novel is very much Armand's own tragic tale. Rice deftly integrates the necessary back-story for new readers to enter her epic series, and the introduction of a few new voices adds a fresh perspective--and the promise of provocative future installments. --Patrick O'Kelley [via]
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Waffen SSby John KeeganISBN 0345326415 (0-345-32641-5)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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The White Dragonby Anne McCaffreyISBN 0345341678 (0-345-34167-8)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The White Dragon'Book summary:The third volume in a series of adventures in the land of Pern. [via]
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The Witching Hourby Anne RiceISBN 0345367898 (0-345-36789-8)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Witching Hour'Book summary:In this engrossing and hypnotic tale of witchcraft and the occult spanning four centuries, we meet a great dynasty of witches--a family given to poetry and incest, to murder and philosophy, a family that over the ages is haunted by a powerful, dangerous and seductive being. [via]
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With Friends Like These...by Alan Dean FosterISBN 0345323904 (0-345-32390-4)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'With Friends Like These...'Book summary:Willie Whitehorse could have been just another boozed-up guitarist, if it hadn't been for his songs. Somehow they were different -- they reached out and grabbed people's souls. Now agent Sam Parker wanted a piece of the action. But when he had it, Sam knew he'd made a terrible mistake...a mistake it was much too late to correct...
With Friends Like These...
The aliens had returned to Earth after centuries because they needed allies. But after hundreds of years, they had no idea what they would be getting the universe into...and they soon found out!
Dream Done Green
Pericles was a poet and a genius, who also happened to be a horse!
Why Johnny Can't Speed
A father could teach his son a lot of important things, but combat on the freeways wasn't one of them...not when the kid was eighteen and too full of himself to survive. But revenge did have its compensations! [via]More editions of With Friends Like These...:
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The World According to Garpby John IrvingISBN 034536676X (0-345-36676-X)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The World According to Garp'Book summary:"Garp was a natural storyteller," says the narrator of John Irving's incandescent novel, referring to the book's hero, the novelist Garp, who has much in common with Irving himself. "He could make things up one right after the other, and they seemed to fit."
Irving packs wild characters and weird events into his classic--officially recognized as such in a Modern Library edition with a new introduction by the author--while amazingly maintaining the rough feel of realism in every scene and the pulse of life in every heart. Many novelists of his time might have populated a novel with a novelist protagonist whose life and books comment on each other and the novel we're reading. Transsexual football players, ball turret gunners lobotomized in battle, multiple adultery, unicycling bears, mad feminists who amputate their tongues in sympathy with the celebrated victim of a horrifying rape--Irving made them all people. Even the bear is a fitting character.
In a crucial episode, Garp's wife's seduction of a young man coincidentally occurs at the moment when Garp is delighting their young sons with a reckless car trick (one of the few scenes beautifully, eerily, heartbreakingly captured in the film version as well). Many authors would have been content with the harsh comedy of the scene, but Irving respects its integrity, and he builds the rest of the book on the consequences of the event. How does he get away with his killer cocktail of slapstick and horror? Because it's simply what we all face daily, rearranged into soul-satisfying art. "Life is an X-rated soap opera," according to Garp, and who can contradict him?
Rereading Garp 20 years later, one is struck by how elegantly Irving structures his bizarre and complex story. Take the two most celebrated bits in the book, the Under Toad and Garp's story "The Pension Grillparzer," which shimmers like an exquisite Kafkaesque insect in the amber of the novel. When Garp warns his son about the "undertow" at the beach, the boy imagines a monster out of Beowulf who lurks beneath the waves to suck you under: the "Under Toad." It's funny at first, but we soon find that the Under Toad is a metaphor with teeth--he connects with a prophetic dream of death in "The Pension Grillparzer," set in Vienna. Garp's son's last words are, "It's like a dream!" And as Irving--who studied at the University of Vienna--can certainly tell you, the German word for "death" sounds precisely like the English word "toad."
All that death, and yet Garp is mainly exuberant. This story is, as Garp's stuttering writing teacher puts it, "rich with lu-lu-lunacy and sorrow." It enriches literature, and our lives. --Tim Appelo [via]
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