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books tagged “quest”
books tagged “quest”
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyerby Mark TwainISBN 0375756817 (0-375-75681-7)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'Book summary:The text of this Norton Critical Edition is based, with typesetting errors corrected, on the first U.S. edition (1876), the most authoritative of the editions published in Twains lifetime.
Backgrounds and Contexts provides students with the standard source materials often cited by criticsTwains stories of Good and Bad Boys, his Boys Manuscript, his correspondence with William Dean Howells, and his 1870 letter to Will Bowen. This section also includes lesser-known but valuable contextual materials, among them Twains journalistic description of school exercise and the discussion of Perry Davis Pain Killer and other nineteenth-century nostrums.
Criticism includes interpretations by William Dean Howells, Hamlin L. Hill, Judith Fetterley, Alan Gribben, Glenn Hendler, Carter Revard, and Susan R. Gannon.
A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included. [via]More editions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:
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The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Againby J. R. R. TolkienISBN 0395476909 (0-395-47690-9)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again'Book summary:The definitive edition of this beloved children's classic, featuring a wealth of accompanying illustrations and notes which take the reader further into both the story, and the tale of how it was written. Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale, The Hobbit. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, Bilbo Baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals: Alice, Pooh, Toad...As with all classics, repeated readings continue to bring new detail and perspectives to the reader's mind, and Tolkien's Middle-earth is a vast mine of treasures and knowledge, its roots delving deep into folklore, mythology and language. The Hobbit is, therefore, an ideal book for annotation: as well as offering a marvellous and entrancing story, it introduces the reader to the richly imagined world of Middle-earth, a world more fully and complexly realised in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Douglas Anderson's annotations make fascinating reading. Additionally, many of Tolkien's own illustrations embellish the text, and numerous illustrations from foreign editions exhibit an extraordinary range of visual interpretation. In an appendix there are details of the revisions made by Tolkien at various times to the publsihed text, which provide an uncommon and privileged glimpse into the special concerns of an exceptional and painstaking writer. [via]
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As I Lay Dyingby William FaulknerISBN 0375504524 (0-375-50452-4)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'As I Lay Dying'Book summary:Faulkner's distinctive narrative structures--the uses of multiple points of view and the inner psychological voices of the characters--in one of its most successful incarnations here in As I Lay Dying. In the story, the members of the Bundren family must take the body of Addie, matriarch of the family, to the town where Addie wanted to be buried. Along the way, we listen to each of the members on the macabre pilgrimage, while Faulkner heaps upon them various flavors of disaster. Contains the famous chapter completing the equation about mothers and fish--you'll see. [via]
Beyond The Deepwoodsby Chris Riddell, Paul StewartISBN 0385750684 (0-385-75068-4)
Hardcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Beyond The Deepwoods'Book summary:Chris Riddell's dramatic line drawings are the perfect complement to Paul Stewart's striking words in Beyond the Deepwoods, the first book of The Edge Chronicles.
Twig, on the verge of manhood at the age of 13, is told that the Woodtrolls who brought him up are not his real parents and that he must venture forth into the Deepwoods, keeping only to the path, to discover the truth about himself.
Armed with just a few magical gifts from his adopted mother, Spelda, Twig steps off the path and tumbles into a terrifying other world where nothing and no-one can be trusted.
From the mountainous Banderbear who becomes Twig's best friend, to the murderous Wig-wigs and the hideous all-female tribe of the Termagant Frogs, Beyond the Deepwoods sows the seeds of magic and adventure in the imagination, and lets them grow in the most exotic corners of the reader's mind. --Susan Harrison [via]
Black Houseby Stephen King, Peter StraubISBN 0375431519 (0-375-43151-9)
Hardcover, Ballantine Books
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Book Without a Nameby Kit WilliamsISBN 039453817X (0-394-53817-X)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Book Without a Name'Book summary:The author hid the title of this allegory in a sealed box to be opened a year and a day from publication, though clues to the title are hidden in the pages of the book. [via]
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The City of Emberby Jeanne DuprauISBN 0375822747 (0-375-82274-7)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The City of Ember'Book summary:It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from floodlamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. Beyond are the pitch-black Unknown Regions, which no one has ever explored because an understanding of fire and electricity has been lost, and with it the idea of a Moveable Light. "Besides," they tell each other, "there is nowhere but here" Among the many other things the people of Ember have forgotten is their past and a direction for their future. For 250 years they have lived pleasantly, because there has been plenty of everything in the vast storerooms. But now there are more and more empty shelves--and more and more times when the lights flicker and go out, leaving them in terrifying blackness for long minutes. What will happen when the generator finally fails?
Twelve-year-old Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet seem to be the only people who are worried. They have just been assigned their life jobs--Lina as a messenger, which leads her to knowledge of some unsettling secrets, and Doon as a Pipeworker, repairing the plumbing in the tunnels under the city where a river roars through the darkness. But when Lina finds a very old paper with enigmatic "Instructions for Egress," they use the advantages of their jobs to begin to puzzle out the frightening and dangerous way to the city of light of which Lina has dreamed. As they set out on their mission, the haunting setting and breathless action of this stunning first novel will have teens clamoring for a sequel. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell [via]
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Coralineby Neil Gaiman, Dave McKeanISBN 0380807343 (0-380-80734-3)
Softcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Coraline'Book summary:Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious.
What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson [via]
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The Crying of Lot 49by Thomas PynchonISBN 0397004184 (0-397-00418-4)
Hardcover, Lippincott
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Crying of Lot 49'Book summary:The highly original satire about Oedipa Maas, a woman who finds herself enmeshed in a worldwide conspiracy, meets some extremely interesting characters, and attains a not inconsiderable amount of self knowledge.
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The Curse of Chalionby Lois McMaster BujoldISBN 0380818604 (0-380-81860-4)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Curse of Chalion'Book summary:In a dazzling display of invention and storytelling, the incomparable Lois McMaster Bujold offers us the razor-keen edge of a very different sword...
The Curse of Chalion
On the eve of the Daughter's Day -- the grand celebration that will honor the Lady of Spring, one of the five reigning deities -- a man broken in body and spirit makes his way slowly down the road to Valenda. A former courtier and soldier, Cazaril has survived indignity and horrific torture as a slave aboard an enemy galley. Now he seeks nothing more than a menial job in the kitchens of the Dowager Provincara, in the noble household where he served as page in his youth.
But the gods have greater plans for this humbled man. Welcomed warmly, clothed and fed, he is named, to his great surprise, secretary tutor to the Royesse Iselle -- the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is destined to be the next ruler of the land. But the assignment must ultimately carry Cazaril to the one place he fears even more than the sea: to the royal court of Cardegoss, rife with intrigues and lethal treacheries.
In Cardegoss, the powerful enemies who once placed Cozoril in chains and bound him to a Roknori oar now occupy the most lofty positions in the realm, beneath only the Roya himself. Yet something for more sinister than their scheming hangs like a sword over the royal family: a curse of the blood that taints not only those who would rule, but those who stand in their circle. The life and future of both Iselle and her entire blighted House of Cholion lie in dire peril. The only recourse left to her loyal, damaged servant is the employment of the darkest and most forbidden of magics -- a choice that Will indelibly mark Cazaril as a tool of the miraculous ... and trap him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death for as long as he dares walk the five-fold pathway of the gods.
Only Robert A. Heinlein has won more Hugo Awards for Best Novel than Lois McMaster Bujold, a singularly lauded author whose work has been compared to Jane Austen's. Now channeling her remarkable storytelling genius in an exciting new direction, she creates a riveting tale rich in atmosphere, magic, character, and consequence that twists and turns in unanticipated ways. Much more than simply the next eagerly awaited tour de force by Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion is a stunning masterwork of fantastic invention that demonstrates the vast range of her astonishing tolents -- and elevates her into the pantheon of premier contemporary fantasists.
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Darkness at Sethanonby Raymond E. FeistISBN 0385192150 (0-385-19215-0)
Hardcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Darkness at Sethanon'Book summary:An evil wind blows through Midkemia. Dark legions have risen up to crush the Kingdom of the Isles and enslave it to dire magics. The final battle between Order and Chaos is abotu to begin in the ruins of the city called Sethanon.
Now Pug, the master magician sometimes known as Milamber, must undertake an awesome and perilous quest to the dawn of time to grapple with an ancient and terrible Enemy for the fate of a thousand worlds. [via]More editions of Darkness at Sethanon:
Disappearing Energy: Can We End the Crisisby Dorothy Edwards Shuttlesworth, Lee Ann WilliamsISBN 0385048637 (0-385-04863-7)
Hardcover, Doubleday
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Draculaby Bram Stoker, Peter StraubISBN 0375756701 (0-375-75670-1)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dracula'Book summary:Dracula is one of the few horror books to be honored by inclusion in the Norton Critical Edition series. (The others are Frankenstein, The Turn of the Screw, Heart of Darkness, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Metamorphosis.) This 100th-anniversary edition includes not only the complete authoritative text of the novel with illuminating footnotes, but also four contextual essays, five reviews from the time of publication, five articles on dramatic and film variations, and seven selections from literary and academic criticism. Nina Auerbach of the University of Pennsylvania (author of Our Vampires, Ourselves) and horror scholar David J. Skal (author of Hollywood Gothic, The Monster Show, and Screams of Reason) are the editors of the volume. Especially fascinating are excerpts from materials that Bram Stoker consulted in his research for the book, and his working papers over the several years he was composing it. The selection of criticism includes essays on how Dracula deals with female sexuality, gender inversion, homoerotic elements, and Victorian fears of "reverse colonization" by politically turbulent Transylvania. [via]
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Draculaby Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Bram StokerISBN 0385095805 (0-385-09580-5)
Hardcover, Doubleday
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Draculaby Stephanie Spinner, Bram Stoker, Jim SpenceISBN 0394848284 (0-394-84828-4)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dracula'Book summary:String garlic by the window and hang a cross around your neck! the most powerful vampire of all time returns in our stepping stone classic adaption of the original tale by bran stoker. Follow johnathan harker, mina harker, and dr. Abraham van helsing as they discover the true nature of evil. Their battle to destroy count dracula takes them from the crags of his castle to the streets of london... And back again [via]
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Dragons of Spring Dawningby Michael Williams, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress)ISBN 0394741838 (0-394-74183-8)
Softcover, TSR
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dragons of Spring Dawning'Book summary:The final installment in Weis and Hickman's Chronicles series--Dragonlance's undisputed must-read trilogy--brings on the main event: the Companions vs. the dragons in a knock-down drag-out at the iron works of Pax Tharkas, as the fate of Krynn hangs in the balance. They've mastered the Orbs and picked up the Dragonlance (see Dragons of Winter Night), and things are looking pretty good with the return of the good metallic dragons. But the band soon learns they must do battle with their own inner conflicts if they ever hope to defeat the Dark Queen Takhisis. A bang-up conclusion to Dragonlance's best-loved trilogy. --Paul Hughes [via]
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Dreamsnakeby Vonda N. McIntyreISBN 0395264707 (0-395-26470-7)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin
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Eaters of the Deadby Michael CrichtonISBN 0394494008 (0-394-49400-8)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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Ericby Terry PratchettISBN 0380821214 (0-380-82121-4)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Eric'Book summary:Eric, also known as Faust Eric, is the ninth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. It was originally published in 1990[1] as a "Discworld story", in a larger format than the other novels and illustrated by Josh Kirby.[2] It was later reissued as a normal paperback without any illustrations, and in some cases, with the title given on the cover and title pages simply as Eric. (The page headers, however, continued to alternate between Faust and Eric.) The story is a parody of the tale of Faust,[3] and follows the events of Sourcery in which the Wizard Rincewind was trapped in the Dungeon Dimensions. Rincewind wakes in a strange place, having been summoned by the 13-year-old demonologist, Eric Thursley, who wants the mastery of all kingdoms, to meet the most beautiful woman who ever existed, and to live forever. He is disappointed when Rincewind tells him he is unable to deliver any of these things, and embarrassed when Rincewind sees through his disguise. Rincewind is disheartened to learn that the spells to confine the demon summoned are working on him; Eric's parrot tells him that because he was summoned as a demon, he is subject to the same terms. [via]
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The Fabulous Riverboatby Philip Jose FarmerISBN 0399102736 (0-399-10273-6)
Hardcover, Putnam Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Fabulous Riverboat'Book summary:In To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip José Farmer introduces readers to the awesome Riverworld, a planet that had been carved into one large river on whose shores all of humanity throughout the ages has seemingly been resurrected. In The Fabulous Riverboat, Farmer tells the tale of one person whose is uniquely suited to find the river's headwaters, riverboat captain and famous Earthly author Sam Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain). Clemens has been visited by "X," a mysterious being who claims to be a rebel among the group that created Riverworld. X tells Clemens where he can find a large deposit of iron and other materials that Clemens can use to build the greatest riverboat ever seen. Since there is virtually no metal on the planet, it will also give Clemens an unbeatable edge when it comes to battling the various warlike societies that dominate the Riverworld.
But Clemens is not alone in his quest for the iron, which arrives on the planet in the form of a giant meteorite. In fact, Clemens is besieged on all sides by forces determined to seize the precious ore, leading him to make a deadly pact with one of history's most notorious villains, John Lackland. Lackland's crimes during his reign as king of England were so hideous that no other English monarch will ever carry his name, and he's up to equally nefarious tricks on Riverworld. However, Clemens has a guardian angel in the form of Joe Miller, a giant subhuman with a big nose, a serious lisp, and a cutting wit. Miller has also been to the very headwaters of the river, where he saw a mysterious tower in the middle of the North Sea and where the creators of Riverworld are thought to reside. He will be an invaluable ally in completing the riverboat and sailing to the headwaters, but even an 800-pound giant may not be enough to help Clemens fulfill X's mission. --Craig E. Engler [via]
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Foundation's Edgeby Isaac AsimovISBN 0385177259 (0-385-17725-9)
Hardcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Foundation's Edge'Book summary:Now, 498 years after its founding, the Foundation seemed to be following the Seldon Plan perfectly. Too perfectly. Now an impossible planet -- with impossible powers -- threatens to upset the Seldon Plan for good unless two men, sworn enemies, can work together to save it!
From the Paperback edition. [via]More editions of Foundation's Edge:
The Gilded Chainby Dave DuncanISBN 0380791269 (0-380-79126-9)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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The Heart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad, Paul B. ArmstrongISBN 0393926362 (0-393-92636-2)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Heart of Darkness'Book summary:In Conrad's haunting tale, Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey in search of the enigmatic Kurtz. Travelling to the heart of the African continent, he discovers how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local people. Marlow's struggle to fathom his experience involves him in a radical questioning of not only his own nature and values but the nature and values of his society. [via]
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Heart of Darkness & Selections from the Congo Diaryby Joseph Conrad, Caryl PhillipsISBN 037575377X (0-375-75377-X)
Softcover, Modern Library
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Heart of Darkness & Selections from the Congo Diary'Book summary:Introduction by Caryl PhillipsCommentary by H. L. Mencken, E. M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Bertrand Russell, Lionel Trilling, Chinua Achebe, and Philip GourevitchOriginally published in 1902, Heart of Darkness remains one of this century's most enduring works of fiction. Written several years after Joseph Conrad's grueling sojourn in the Belgian Congo, the novel is a complex meditation on colonialism, evil, and the thin line between civilization and barbarity. This edition contains selections from Conrad's Congo Diary of 1890-the first notes, in effect, for the novel, which was composed at the end of that decade. Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad: "His books are full of moments of vision. They light up a whole character in a flash. . . . He could not write badly, one feels, to save his life." [via]
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The Hobbitby J.R.R. TolkienISBN 0395071224 (0-395-07122-4)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Hobbit'Book summary:"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
The hobbit-hole in question belongs to one Bilbo Baggins, an upstanding member of a "little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves." He is, like most of his kind, well off, well fed, and best pleased when sitting by his own fire with a pipe, a glass of good beer, and a meal to look forward to. Certainly this particular hobbit is the last person one would expect to see set off on a hazardous journey; indeed, when Gandalf the Grey stops by one morning, "looking for someone to share in an adventure," Baggins fervently wishes the wizard elsewhere. No such luck, however; soon 13 fortune-seeking dwarves have arrived on the hobbit's doorstep in search of a burglar, and before he can even grab his hat or an umbrella, Bilbo Baggins is swept out his door and into a dangerous adventure.
The dwarves' goal is to return to their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountains and reclaim a stolen fortune from the dragon Smaug. Along the way, they and their reluctant companion meet giant spiders, hostile elves, ravening wolves--and, most perilous of all, a subterranean creature named Gollum from whom Bilbo wins a magical ring in a riddling contest. It is from this life-or-death game in the dark that J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork, The Lord of the Rings, would eventually spring. Though The Hobbit is lighter in tone than the trilogy that follows, it has, like Bilbo Baggins himself, unexpected iron at its core. Don't be fooled by its fairy-tale demeanor; this is very much a story for adults, though older children will enjoy it, too. By the time Bilbo returns to his comfortable hobbit-hole, he is a different person altogether, well primed for the bigger adventures to come--and so is the reader. --Alix Wilber [via]
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The Incredible Journeyby Sheila Burnford, Carl BurgerISBN 0385322798 (0-385-32279-8)
Hardcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Incredible Journey'Book summary:Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love. The Incredible Journey is one of the great children's stories of all time--and has been popular ever since its debut in 1961. [via]
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The Infernoby Dante Alighieri, Robert Hollander, Jean HollanderISBN 0385496982 (0-385-49698-2)
Softcover, Anchor Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Inferno'Book summary:"Palma's wonderfully readable translation comes close to perfection. I'm tempted to call it a miracle."X. J. Kennedy
Unlike every known translator before him, Michael Palma re-creates Dante's masterpiece in all its dimensions, without emphasizing some aspects over others, rendering Inferno into contemporary American English while maintaining Dante's original triple rhyme scheme. The result is a translation that can be appreciated for its literal faithfulness and beautiful poetic form, accompanied by facing-page Italian and explanatory notes. "A superb translation; highly recommended."Library Journal "I find Michael Palma's Inferno to be one that I'm having a hard time improving."Lawrence Ferlinghetti "I think highly of Michael Palma's Inferno....Readers will find it admirably clear and readable."Richard Wilbur [via]More editions of The Inferno:
- Inferno: ISBN 0393323870 (0-393-32387-0)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc - The Inferno: ISBN 039397796X (0-393-97796-X)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc - The Inferno: ISBN 0385496974 (0-385-49697-4)
Hardcover, Doubleday Publishing - The Inferno: ISBN 039304341X (0-393-04341-X)
Hardcover, W W Norton & Co Inc - Inferno: ISBN 0385496982 (0-385-49698-2)
Softcover, Anchor Books
- Inferno: ISBN 0393323870 (0-393-32387-0)
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The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translationby Dante Alighieri, Robert Pinsky, Nicole PinskyISBN 0374524521 (0-374-52452-1)
Softcover, Farrar Straus & Giroux
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation'Book summary:The one quality that all classic works of literature share is their timelessness. Shakespeare still plays in Peoria 400 years after his death because the stories he dramatized resonate in modern readers' hearts and minds; methods of warfare have changed quite a bit since the Trojan War described by Homer in his Iliad, but the passions and conflicts that shaped such warriors as Achilles, Agamemnon, Patroclus, and Odysseus still find their counterparts today on battlefields from Bosnia to Afghanistan. Likewise, a little travel guide to hell written by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri in the 13th century remains in print at the end of the 20th century, and it continues to speak to new generations of readers. There have been countless translations of the Inferno, but this one by poet Robert Pinsky is both eloquent and tailored to our times.
Yes, this is an epic poem, but don't let that put you off. An excellent introduction provides context for the work, while detailed notes on each canto are a virtual who's who of 13th-century Italian politics, culture, and literature. Best of all, Pinsky's brilliant translation communicates the horror, despair, and terror of hell with such immediacy, you can almost smell the sulfur and feel the heat from the rain of fire as Dante--led by his faithful guide Virgil--descends lower and lower into the pit. Dante's journey through Satan's kingdom must rate as one of the great fictional travel tales of all time, and Pinsky does it great justice. [via]
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The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translationby Robert Pinsky, Nicole Pinsky, Alighieri Dante, Michael MazurISBN 0374525315 (0-374-52531-5)
Softcover, Noonday Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation'Book summary:The one quality that all classic works of literature share is their timelessness. Shakespeare still plays in Peoria 400 years after his death because the stories he dramatized resonate in modern readers' hearts and minds; methods of warfare have changed quite a bit since the Trojan War described by Homer in his Iliad, but the passions and conflicts that shaped such warriors as Achilles, Agamemnon, Patroclus, and Odysseus still find their counterparts today on battlefields from Bosnia to Afghanistan. Likewise, a little travel guide to hell written by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri in the 13th century remains in print at the end of the 20th century, and it continues to speak to new generations of readers. There have been countless translations of the Inferno, but this one by poet Robert Pinsky is both eloquent and tailored to our times.
Yes, this is an epic poem, but don't let that put you off. An excellent introduction provides context for the work, while detailed notes on each canto are a virtual who's who of 13th-century Italian politics, culture, and literature. Best of all, Pinsky's brilliant translation communicates the horror, despair, and terror of hell with such immediacy, you can almost smell the sulfur and feel the heat from the rain of fire as Dante--led by his faithful guide Virgil--descends lower and lower into the pit. Dante's journey through Satan's kingdom must rate as one of the great fictional travel tales of all time, and Pinsky does it great justice. [via]
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Into the Wildby Jon KrakauerISBN 0385486804 (0-385-48680-4)
Softcover, Vintage Books
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Journey to Jo'Burgby Beverley Naidoo, Eric VelasquezISBN 0397321686 (0-397-32168-6)
Hardcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books
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Lambby Christopher MooreISBN 0380813815 (0-380-81381-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Lamb'Book summary:While the Bible may be the word of God, transcribed by divinely inspired men, it does not provide a full (or even partial) account of the life of Jesus Christ. Lucky for us that Christopher Moore presents a funny, lighthearted satire of the life of Christ--from his childhood days up to his crucifixion--in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This clever novel is surely blasphemy to some, but to others it's a coming-of-age story of the highest order.
Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) knows he is unique and quite alone in his calling, but what exactly does his Father want of him? Taking liberties with ancient history, Moore works up an adventure tale as Biff and Joshua seek out the three wise men so that Joshua can better understand what he is supposed to do as Messiah. Biff, a capable sinner, tags along and gives Joshua ample opportunities to know the failings and weaknesses of being truly human. With a wit similar to Douglas Adams, Moore pulls no punches: a young Biff has the hots for Joshua's mom, Mary, which doesn't amuse Josh much: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone." And the origin of the Easter Bunny is explained as a drunken Jesus gushes his affection for bunnies, declaring, "Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around."
One small problem with the narrative is that Biff and Joshua often do not have distinct voices. A larger difficulty is that as the tone becomes more somber with Joshua's life drawing to its inevitable close, the one-liners, though not as numerous, seem forced. True to form, Lamb keeps the story of Joshua light, even after its darkest moments. --Michael Ferch [via]
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Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Palby Christopher MooreISBN 0380978407 (0-380-97840-7)
Hardcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal'Book summary:While the Bible may be the word of God, transcribed by divinely inspired men, it does not provide a full (or even partial) account of the life of Jesus Christ. Lucky for us that Christopher Moore presents a funny, lighthearted satire of the life of Christ--from his childhood days up to his crucifixion--in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This clever novel is surely blasphemy to some, but to others it's a coming-of-age story of the highest order.
Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) knows he is unique and quite alone in his calling, but what exactly does his Father want of him? Taking liberties with ancient history, Moore works up an adventure tale as Biff and Joshua seek out the three wise men so that Joshua can better understand what he is supposed to do as Messiah. Biff, a capable sinner, tags along and gives Joshua ample opportunities to know the failings and weaknesses of being truly human. With a wit similar to Douglas Adams, Moore pulls no punches: a young Biff has the hots for Joshua's mom, Mary, which doesn't amuse Josh much: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone." And the origin of the Easter Bunny is explained as a drunken Jesus gushes his affection for bunnies, declaring, "Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around."
One small problem with the narrative is that Biff and Joshua often do not have distinct voices. A larger difficulty is that as the tone becomes more somber with Joshua's life drawing to its inevitable close, the one-liners, though not as numerous, seem forced. True to form, Lamb keeps the story of Joshua light, even after its darkest moments. --Michael Ferch [via]
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Le Morte D'Arthurby Thomas MaloryISBN 0375753222 (0-375-75322-2)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Le Morte D'Arthur'Book summary:The text is unabridged, with original spelling and extensive, easy-to-use marginal glosses and footnotes.
No other edition accurately represents the actual (and likely authorial) divisions of the text as attested to by its two surviving witnessesCaxtons 1485 print and, especially, the famous Winchester Manuscript. The Winchester Manuscript is now generally agreed to be the more authentic of the two earlier texts. The Norton Critical Edition is the first edition of Malory to recover important elements of this manuscript: paragraphing marginal annotations hierarchies of narrative division as signaled by size and decorative intricacy of initial capitals and font changes The Norton Critical Edition also represents, in black-letter font, the striking rubrication of proper names in the Winchester Manuscript, reconstructing for readers something of an authentic medieval reading experience, one which gives visual support to Malorys extraordinary representation, in character and setting, of a chivalric ideal. No other student edition of Malory contains such extensive contextual and critical support. [via] -
Le Petit Princeby Antoine De Saint-ExuperyISBN 0395240050 (0-395-24005-0)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin College Div
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Le Petit Prince'Book summary:The Educational Edition of this contemporary masterpiece features full-color reproductions of Saint-Exupery's original drawings. The text is presented unabridged and includes John Richardson Miller's introduction to the author's life and works, notes, a bibliography, and a complete end vocabulary. [via]
Magicianby Raymond E. FeistISBN 0385196210 (0-385-19621-0)
Softcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Magician'Book summary:In the westernmost province of the Kingdom of the Isles, upon the world of Midkemia, an orphan kitchen boy named Pug was made apprentice to the magician Kulgan. Here starts an adventure that will span lifetimes and worlds. Discover where the story begins. The world had changed even before I discovered the foreign ship wrecked on the shore below Crydee Castle, but it was the harbinger of the chaos and death that was coming to our door. War had come to the Kingdom of the Isles, and in the years that followed it would scatter my friends across the world. I longed to train as a warrior and fight alongside our duke like my foster-brother, but when the time came, I was not offered that choice. My fate would be shaped by other forces. My name is Pug. I was once an orphaned kitchen boy, with no family and no prospects, but I am destined to become a master magician... [via]
The Man in the Mazeby Robert SilverbergISBN 0380001985 (0-380-00198-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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The Many-Colored Landby Julian MayISBN 0395302307 (0-395-30230-7)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Many-Colored Land'Book summary:[via]In the year 2034, Theo Quderian, a French physicist, made an amusing but impractical discovery: the means to use a one-way, fixed-focus time warp that opened into a place in the Rhone River valley during the idyllic Pliocene Epoch, six million years ago. But, as time went on, a certain usefulness developed. The misfits and mavericks of the futuremany of them brilliant peoplebegan to seek this exit door to a mysterious past. In 2110, a particularly strange and interesting group was preparing to make the journeya starship captain, a girl athlete, a paleontologist, a woman priest, and others who had reason to flee the technological perfection of twenty-second-century life.
Thus begins this dazzling fantasy novel that invites comparisons with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Quin. It opens up a whole world of wonder, not in far-flung galaxies but in our own distant past on Eartha world that will captivate not only science-fiction and fantasy fans but also those who enjoy literate thrillers.The group that passes through the time-portal finds an unforeseen strangeness on the other side. Far from being uninhabited, Pliocene Europe is the home of two warring races from another planet. There is the knightly race of the Tanuhandsome, arrogant, and possessing vast powers of psychokinesis and telepathy. And there is the outcast race of Firvulagdwarfish, malev-o olent, and gifted with their own supernormal skills. Taken captive by the Tanu and transported through the primordial European landscape, the humans manage to break free, join in an uneasy alliance with the forest-dwelling Firvulag, and, finally, launch an attack against the Tanu city of light on the banks of a river that, eons later, would be called the Rhine.
Myth and legend, wit and violence, speculative science and breathtaking imagination mingle in this romantic fantasy, which is the first volume in a series about the exile world. The sequel, titled The Golden Torc, will follow soon.
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Mythago Woodby Robert HoldstockISBN 0380762765 (0-380-76276-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Mythago Wood'Book summary:Myth and Terror in the Forest Deeps
The mystery of Ryhope Wood, Britain's last fragment of primeval forest, consumed George Huxley's entire long life. Now, after his death, his sons have taken up his work. But what they discover is numinous and perilous beyond all expectation.
For the Wood, larger inside than out, is a labyrinth full of myths come to life, "mythagos" that can change you forever. A labyrinth where love and beauty haunt your dreams. . .and may drive you insane.
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The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucketby Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen Rachman, Jeffrey MeyersISBN 0375760075 (0-375-76007-5)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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The Neverending Storyby Michael Ende, Ralph ManheimISBN 0385176228 (0-385-17622-8)
Hardcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Neverending Story'Book summary:In this classic fantasy novel from author Michael Ende, small and insignificant Bastian Balthazar Bux is nobody's idea of a hero, least of all his own. Then, through the pages of an ancient, mysterious book, he discovers the enchanted world of Fantastica, and only Bastian himself can save the fairy people who live there. Shy, awkward Bastian is amazed to discover that he has become a character in the mysterious book he is reading and that he has an important mission to fulfill.[via]More editions of The Neverending Story:
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Nightwingsby Robert SilverbergISBN 0380414678 (0-380-41467-8)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Nightwings'Book summary:Only at night, on the winds of darkness, can she soar. And it was Avluela the Flier's ebony and scarlet wings that led the Watcher to the seven hills of the ancient city from which, in a moment of weakness, the watcher failed his vigil, leaving the skies and deep space unguarded. The invaders came and conquered. With Avluela lost in the turmoil of the conquest, the Watcher set out alone for the Holy City -- home of the Rememberers, keepers of the past, and where the secret of Earth's salvation lay hidden in antiquity. But Avluela held more for the Watcher -- and Earth -- than love. Her wonder stretched beyond flight, for she knew the riddle to free all men.... [via]
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Omnivoreby Piers AnthonyISBN 0380002620 (0-380-00262-0)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Ornby Piers AnthonyISBN 0380002663 (0-380-00266-3)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Peter Camenzindby Hermann HesseISBN 0374507848 (0-374-50784-8)
Softcover, Farrar Straus & Giroux
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Possession : A Romanceby A. S. ByattISBN 0394586239 (0-394-58623-9)
Hardcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Possession : A Romance'Book summary:Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize, this novel describes the romance between two 19th-century poets and the parallel relationship of their two biographers and includes passages of "Victorian verse". [via]
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The Razor's Edgeby W. Somerset MaughamISBN 0385043791 (0-385-04379-1)
Hardcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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The Search for Grissiby Mary ShuraISBN 038070305X (0-380-70305-X)
Softcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books
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Search for Joseph Tullyby William H. HallahanISBN 0380016966 (0-380-01696-6)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Ship's Catby Richard George AdamsISBN 0394423348 (0-394-42334-8)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knightby M. BorroffISBN 0393097544 (0-393-09754-4)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'Book summary:In translation from the West Midland dialect (sorry, prose was best I could find.) [via]
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knightby W.S. MerwinISBN 0375709924 (0-375-70992-4)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'Book summary:A splendid new translation of the classic Arthurian tale of enchantment, adventure, and romance, presented alongside the original Middle English text.
It is the height of Christmas and New Years revelry when an enormous knight with brilliant green clothes and skin descends upon King Arthurs court. He presents a sinister challenge: he will endure a blow of the axe to his neck without offering any resistance, but whoever gives the blow must promise to take the same in exactly a year and a days time. The young Sir Gawain quickly rises to the challenge, and the poem tells of the adventures he findsan almost irresistible seduction, shockingly brutal hunts, and terrifyingly powerful villainsas he endeavors to fulfill his promise.
Capturing the pace, impact, and richly alliterative language of the original text, W. S. Merwin has imparted a new immediacy to a spellbinding narrative, written centuries ago by a poet whose name is now unknown, lost to time. Of the Green Knight, Merwin notes in his foreword: We seem to recognize himhis splendor, the awe that surrounds him, his menace and his gracewithout being able to place him . . . We will never know who the Green Knight is except in our own response to him.
From the Hardcover edition. [via]More editions of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:
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Sputnik Sweetheartby Haruki Murakami, J. Philip Gabriel, Philip GabrielISBN 0375726055 (0-375-72605-5)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sputnik Sweetheart'Book summary:Sputnik Sweetheart finds Haruki Murakami in his minimalist mode. Shorter than the sweeping Wind-up Bird Chronicle, less playfully bizarre than A Wild Sheep Chase, the author's seventh novel distills his signature themes into a powerful story about the loneliness of the human condition. "There was nothing solid we could depend on," the reader is told. "We were nearly boundless zeros, just pitiful little beings swept from one kind of oblivion to another."
The narrator is a teacher whose only close friend is Sumire, an aspiring young novelist with chronic writer's block. Sumire is suddenly smitten with a sophisticated businesswoman and accompanies her love object to Europe where, on a tiny Greek island, she disappears "like smoke." The schoolteacher hastens to the island in search of his friend. And there he discovers two documents on her computer, one of which reveals a chilling secret about Sumire's lover.
Sputnik Sweetheart is a melancholy love story, and its deceptively simple prose is saturated with sadness. Characters struggle to connect with one another but never quite succeed. Like the satellite of the title they are essentially alone. And by toning down the pyrotechnics of his earlier work, Murakami has created a world that is simultaneously mundane and disturbing--where doppelgängers and vanishing cats produce a pervasive atmosphere of alienation, and identity itself seems like a terribly fragile thing. --Simon Leake [via]
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The Standby Stephen KingISBN 0385121687 (0-385-12168-7)
Hardcover, Doubleday Publishing
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Stand'Book summary:In 1978, science fiction writer Spider Robinson wrote a scathing review of The Stand in which he exhorted his readers to grab strangers in bookstores and beg them not to buy it.
The Stand is like that. You either love it or hate it, but you can't ignore it. Stephen King's most popular book, according to polls of his fans, is an end-of-the-world scenario: a rapidly mutating flu virus is accidentally released from a U.S. military facility and wipes out 99 and 44/100 percent of the world's population, thus setting the stage for an apocalyptic confrontation between Good and Evil.
"I love to burn things up," King says. "It's the werewolf in me, I guess.... The Stand was particularly fulfilling, because there I got a chance to scrub the whole human race, and man, it was fun! ... Much of the compulsive, driven feeling I had while I worked on The Stand came from the vicarious thrill of imagining an entire entrenched social order destroyed in one stroke."
There is much to admire in The Stand: the vivid thumbnail sketches with which King populates a whole landscape with dozens of believable characters; the deep sense of nostalgia for things left behind; the way it subverts our sense of reality by showing us a world we find familiar, then flipping it over to reveal the darkness underneath. Anyone who wants to know, or claims to know, the heart of the American experience needs to read this book. --Fiona Webster [via]
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The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Editionby Stephen KingISBN 0385199570 (0-385-19957-0)
Hardcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition'Book summary:In 1978, science fiction writer Spider Robinson wrote a scathing review of The Stand in which he exhorted his readers to grab strangers in bookstores and beg them not to buy it.
The Stand is like that. You either love it or hate it, but you can't ignore it. Stephen King's most popular book, according to polls of his fans, is an end-of-the-world scenario: a rapidly mutating flu virus is accidentally released from a U.S. military facility and wipes out 99 and 44/100 percent of the world's population, thus setting the stage for an apocalyptic confrontation between Good and Evil.
"I love to burn things up," King says. "It's the werewolf in me, I guess.... The Stand was particularly fulfilling, because there I got a chance to scrub the whole human race, and man, it was fun! ... Much of the compulsive, driven feeling I had while I worked on The Stand came from the vicarious thrill of imagining an entire entrenched social order destroyed in one stroke."
There is much to admire in The Stand: the vivid thumbnail sketches with which King populates a whole landscape with dozens of believable characters; the deep sense of nostalgia for things left behind; the way it subverts our sense of reality by showing us a world we find familiar, then flipping it over to reveal the darkness underneath. Anyone who wants to know, or claims to know, the heart of the American experience needs to read this book. --Fiona Webster [via]
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The Story of the Stoneby Barry HughartISBN 0385246366 (0-385-24636-6)
Hardcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Story of the Stone'Book summary:Set in a mythical, medieval China where folklore and history are indistinguishable, a dead monk, an ancientand now missingmanuscript, and a ghostly murderer entice the venerable Master Li and his faithful companion Number Ten Ox into the Valley of Sorrows for a deadly and uproarious confrontation with the long-dead Laughing Prince. [via]
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Subtle Knifeby Philip PullmanISBN 0375823468 (0-375-82346-8)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Subtle Knife'Book summary:With The Golden Compass Philip Pullman garnered every accolade under the sun. Critics lobbed around such superlatives as "elegant," "awe-inspiring," "grand," and "glittering," and used "magnificent" with gay abandon. Each reader had a favorite chapter--or, more likely, several--from the opening tour de force to Lyra's close call at Bolvangar to the great armored-bear battle. And Pullman was no less profligate when it came to intellectual firepower or singular characters. The dæmons alone grant him a place in world literature. Could the second installment of his trilogy keep up this pitch, or had his heroine and her too, too sullied parents consumed him? And what of the belief system that pervaded his alternate universe, not to mention the mystery of Dust? More revelations and an equal number of wonders and new players were definitely in order.
The Subtle Knife offers everything we could have wished for, and more. For a start, there's a young hero--from our world--who is a match for Lyra Silvertongue and whose destiny is every bit as shattering. Like Lyra, Will Parry has spent his childhood playing games. Unlike hers, though, his have been deadly serious. This 12-year-old long ago learned the art of invisibility: if he could erase himself, no one would discover his mother's increasing instability and separate them.
As the novel opens, Will's enemies will do anything for information about his missing father, a soldier and Arctic explorer who has been very much airbrushed from the official picture. Now Will must get his mother into safe seclusion and make his way toward Oxford, which may hold the key to John Parry's disappearance. But en route and on the lam from both the police and his family's tormentors, he comes upon a cat with more than a mouse on her mind: "She reached out a paw to pat something in the air in front of her, something quite invisible to Will." What seems to him a patch of everyday Oxford conceals far more: "The cat stepped forward and vanished." Will, too, scrambles through and into another oddly deserted landscape--one in which children rule and adults (and felines) are very much at risk. Here in this deathly silent city by the sea, he will soon have a dustup with a fierce, flinty little girl: "Her expression was a mixture of the very young--when she first tasted the cola--and a kind of deep, sad wariness." Soon Will and Lyra (and, of course, her dæmon, Pantalaimon) uneasily embark on a great adventure and head into greater tragedy.
As Pullman moves between his young warriors and the witch Serafina Pekkala, the magnetic, ever-manipulative Mrs. Coulter, and Lee Scoresby and his hare dæmon, Hester, there are clear signs of approaching war and earthly chaos. There are new faces as well. The author introduces Oxford dark-matter researcher Mary Malone; the Latvian witch queen Ruta Skadi, who "had trafficked with spirits, and it showed"; Stanislaus Grumman, a shaman in search of a weapon crucial to the cause of Lord Asriel, Lyra's father; and a serpentine old man whom Lyra and Pan can't quite place. Also on hand are the Specters, beings that make cliff-ghasts look like rank amateurs.
Throughout, Pullman is in absolute control of his several worlds, his plot and pace equal to his inspiration. Any number of astonishing scenes--small- and large-scale--will have readers on edge, and many are cause for tears. "You think things have to be possible," Will demands. "Things have to be true!" It is Philip Pullman's gift to turn what quotidian minds would term the impossible into a reality that is both heartbreaking and beautiful. --Kerry Fried [via]
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Trickster's Queenby Tamora PierceISBN 0375828788 (0-375-82878-8)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Trickster's Queen'Book summary:Alys adventure continues. . . . No longer a slave, Alannas daughter is now spying as part of an underground rebellion against the colonial rulers of the Copper Isles. The people in the rebellion believe that a prophecy in which a new queen will rise up to take the throne is about to be realized. Aly is busy keeping the potential teenage queen and her younger siblings safe, while also keeping her in the dark about her future. But Aly, who is usually adept at anticipating danger and changes, is in for a few nasty surprises.
New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tamora Pierce captured the imagination of readers 20 years ago with Alanna: The First Adventure. As of August 2003, she has written 21 books including three completed quartets: The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, and The Protector of the Small, set in the fantasy realm of Tortall. She has also written the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens quartets. The author lives in New York, NY.
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Unfinished Talesby J. R. R. TolkienISBN 0395324416 (0-395-32441-6)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Unfinished Tales'Book summary:Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Unfinished Tales is a posthumous collection of narratives ranging from the time of The Silmarillion - the Elder days of Middle-earth - to the end of the War of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings. Among the stories told are Gandalf's account of sending the dwarves to Bibo's party at Bag End, the tale of the appearance of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor along the coast of Beleriand, and a description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan. It also contains the only story from the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known of such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri, and the legend of Amroth. [via]
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Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earthby J. R. R. TolkienISBN 0395299179 (0-395-29917-9)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth'Book summary:Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Unfinished Tales is a posthumous collection of narratives ranging from the time of The Silmarillion - the Elder days of Middle-earth - to the end of the War of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings. Among the stories told are Gandalf's account of sending the dwarves to Bibo's party at Bag End, the tale of the appearance of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor along the coast of Beleriand, and a description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan. It also contains the only story from the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known of such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri, and the legend of Amroth. [via]
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War of the Twinsby Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress), TSR, Inc.ISBN 0394745787 (0-394-74578-7)
Hardcover, TSR
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A Wild Sheep Chase: Library Editionby Alfred Birnbaum, Haruki MurakamiISBN 037571894X (0-375-71894-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Wild Sheep Chase: Library Edition'Book summary:A marvelous hybrid of mythology and mystery, A Wild Sheep Chase is the extraordinary literary thriller that launched Haruki Murakamis international reputation.
It begins simply enough: A twenty-something advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend, and casually appropriates the image for an insurance companys advertisement. What he doesnt realize is that included in the pastoral scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man in black who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences. Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes our hero from the urban haunts of Tokyo to the remote and snowy mountains of northern Japan, where he confronts not only the mythological sheep, but the confines of tradition and the demons deep within himself. Quirky and utterly captivating, A Wild Sheep Chase is Murakami at his astounding best. [via]More editions of A Wild Sheep Chase: Library Edition:
Windmaster's Baneby Tom DeitzISBN 0380750295 (0-380-75029-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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Wuthering Heightsby Emily BronteISBN 0375756442 (0-375-75644-2)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Wuthering Heights'Book summary:The text of this new edition is based on the first edition of 1847, but, collating it with two modern texts, the editor found a great number of variants that led to changes in the text of the novel. New to this fourth edition are an explanatory preface, a chronology and three critical essays. [via]
More editions of Wuthering Heights:
- Wuthering Heights: ISBN 0393978893 (0-393-97889-3)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc - Wuthering Heights, Revised: An Authoritative Text, with Essays in Criticism: ISBN 0393042308 (0-393-04230-8)
Softcover, Norton - Wuthering Heights: ISBN 0393957608 (0-393-95760-8)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc - Wuthering Heights: ISBN 0395051029 (0-395-05102-9)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin College Div - Wuthering Heights, Revised: An Authoritative Text, with Essays in Criticism: ISBN 0393094006 (0-393-09400-6)
Hardcover, Norton - Wuthering Heights: ISBN 0396085334 (0-396-08533-4)
Hardcover, Dodd Mead - Wuthering Heights: ISBN 0375756442 (0-375-75644-2)
Softcover, Random House Inc
- Wuthering Heights: ISBN 0393978893 (0-393-97889-3)
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight : A New Verse Translationby W. S. MerwinISBN 0375414762 (0-375-41476-2)
Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight : A New Verse Translation'Book summary:A splendid new translation of the classic Arthurian tale of enchantment, adventure, and romance, presented alongside the original Middle English text.
It is the height of Christmas and New Years revelry when an enormous knight with brilliant green clothes and skin descends upon King Arthurs court. He presents a sinister challenge: he will endure a blow of the axe to his neck without offering any resistance, but whoever gives the blow must promise to take the same in exactly a year and a days time. The young Sir Gawain quickly rises to the challenge, and the poem tells of the adventures he findsan almost irresistible seduction, shockingly brutal hunts, and terrifyingly powerful villainsas he endeavors to fulfill his promise.
Capturing the pace, impact, and richly alliterative language of the original text, W. S. Merwin has imparted a new immediacy to a spellbinding narrative, written centuries ago by a poet whose name is now unknown, lost to time. Of the Green Knight, Merwin notes in his foreword: We seem to recognize himhis splendor, the awe that surrounds him, his menace and his gracewithout being able to place him . . . We will never know who the Green Knight is except in our own response to him. [via]More editions of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight : A New Verse Translation:
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