In Victorian England, an orphan girl is sent to a countryestate to work for-and ultimately woo-its young heiress, on behalfof a mysterious benefactor known as Gentleman.
"There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before TheLord of the Rings, and the story told in this book is set in thegreat country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West: landswhere Treebeard once walked, but that were drowned in the greatcataclysm that ended the First Age of the World. "In that remotetime Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress ofAngband, the Hells of Iron, in the North; and the tragedy of Turinand his sister Nienor unfolded within the shadow of the fear ofAngband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secretcities of the Elves. "Their brief and passionate lives weredominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as thechildren of Hurin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn himto his face. Against them he sent his most formidable servant,Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragonof fire. Into this story of brutal conquest and flight, of foresthiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, theD
"Good riddance", is the response of every Pecan Springsresident to the murder of local real estate shark Edgar Coleman. itdoesn't take long for China to learn that Coleman was havingnumerous affairs -- and was blackmailing City Council members fortheir votes on a bad land development deal. With her fianceimmersed in the murder investigation -- and the suspect listgrowing longer by the minute -- China can forget about a honeymoon,unless she can find the killer...
The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or,through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders givein to it byhuman beings except where such orders would conflict with the FirstLaw. 3) A robot must protect its own existence aslong as such protection does not conflict with the First or SecondLaw. With this, Asimov changed our perception ofrobots forever when he formulated the laws governing theirbehavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of therobot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitiveorigins in the present to its ultimate perfection in thenot-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may berendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, ofmind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robotpoliticians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told withthe dramatic blend of science fact science fiction thatbecame Asmiov's trademark.
In Naked, David Sedaris's message is pay attention to me.Whether he's taking to the road with a thieving quadriplegic,sorting out the fancy from the extra-fancy in a bleak fruit-packingfactory, or celebrating Christmas in the company of a recentlyparoled prostitute, this collection of memoirs creates a wickedlyincisive portrait of an all-too-familiar world. It takes Sedarisfrom his humiliating bout with obsessive behavior in 'A Plague ofTics' to the title story, in which he is finally forced to face hisnaked self in the mirrored sunglasses of a lunatic. At this soulfuland moving moment, he picks potato chip crumbs from his pubic hairand wonders what it all means. This remarkable journey into his ownlife follows a path of self-effacement and a lifelong search foridentity, leaving him both under suspicion and overdressed.
Freeman Dyson, renowned physicist and public intellectual, editsthis year's volume of the finest science and nature writing.
Years ago, the enormous, enigmatic alien spacecraft calledRama sailed through our solar system as mind-boggling proof thatlife existed -- or "had" existed -- elsewhere in the universe. Now,at the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is discoveredhurtling toward us. A crew of Earth's best and brightest minds isassembled to rendezvous with the massive vessel. They are armedwith everything we know about Raman technology and culture. Butnothing can prepare them for what they are about to encounter onboard "Rama II": cosmic secrets that are startling, sensational --and perhaps even deadly.
七万年前，原始人类在濒临灭绝的严峻情况下勉强幸存，七万年后，拥有先进文明与高端科技的人类又再一次面临灭绝危机……瘟疫虽然有了最终的解药，伊麻里组织却依旧进逼着全世界，阿瑞斯更是引爆了遍布在南极洲周围的水雷，融化的古代冰层形成一场大洪水，迅速侵袭世界各地。此时，凯特跟大卫收到一组来自外层空间的加密信号，他们知道这段信号是阻止伊麻里的关键，必须尽快解开密码，于是，一行人穿过传送门来到了亚特兰蒂斯的烽火系统……随着亚特兰蒂斯记忆拼图的逐渐完成，人类世界起源的面纱即将揭开，过去与现在相互角力，的结局，人类将何去何从？
米歇尔·图尔尼埃(1924-)，法国当代文学大师，当代著名的新寓言派文学的主将。他不仅是才华横溢的小说家，而且是睿智深刻的哲学家。西方批评界对他的小说以及融汇在小说中的现代哲学思想推崇备至，评价极高，认为他以自己独特的风格为法国小说开创了新局面。《礼拜五或太平洋上的灵薄狱》是他的代表作之一，发表当年即获法兰西学院文学大奖。 《礼拜五或太平洋上的灵薄狱》是一篇“现代文明衰亡记”的寓言，它戏仿笛福的名著《鲁滨孙漂流记》的题材，在主题上却反其道而行之。鲁滨孙孤独一人被弃荒岛后，按西方文明社会的模式将荒岛治理得井井有条。礼拜五来到荒岛后，非但没有被驯化为鲁滨孙的奴隶，反而以其自然的天性将文明的迹象破坏得一干二净，同时也慢慢影响了鲁滨孙，使这个西方文明的代表逐步抛弃了原有的文化传统，变成了一个能
As soon as it first appeared in 1953, this gem by the greatSaul Bellow was hailed as an American classic. Bold, expansive, andkeenly humorous, "The Adventures of Augie March" blends streetlanguage with literary elegance to tell the story of a poor Chicagoboy growing up during the Great Depression. A aborn recruit, aAugie makes himself available for hire by plungers, schemers, risktakers, and operators, compiling a record of choices that isato saythe leasta eccentric.
Sixteen-year-old Katya Spivak is out for a walk on thegracious streets of Bayhead Harbor with her two summer babysittingcharges when she's approached by silver-haired, elegant MarcusKidder. At first his interest in her seems harmless, even pleasant;like his name, a sort of gentle joke. His beautiful home, thechildren's books he's written, his classical music, the marvelousart in his study, his lavish presents to her -- Mr. Kidder's lifecouldn't be more different from Katya's drab working-classexistence back home in South Jersey, or more enticing. But bydegrees, almost imperceptibly, something changes, and posing forMr. Kidder's new painting isn't the lighthearted endeavor it oncewas. What does he really want from her? And how far will he go toget it? In the tradition of Oates's classic story "Where Are YouGoing, Where Have You Been?" "A Fair Maiden "is an unsettling,ambiguous tale of desire and control.
With over eight million copies of her beloved books in print,Sophie Kinsella is a true phenomenon. Now Becky Brandon (neeBloomwood) is back, in a hilarious new" "Shopaholic novel Becky'slife is blooming She's working at London's newest big store, TheLook, house-hunting with husband Luke (her secret wish is a ShoeRoom)...and she's pregnant She couldn't be moreoverjoyed--especially since discovering that shopping cures morningsickness. Everything has got to be perfect for her baby: from thedesigner nursery...to the latest, coolest pram...to the celebrity,must-have obstetrician. But when the celebrity obstetrician turnsout to be Luke's glamorous, intellectual ex-girlfriend, Becky'sperfect world starts to crumble. She's shopping for two...but arethere three in her marriage?
Praise for A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: 'In the grand epic fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best …tense, surging, insomnia-inflicting' Time Magazine ‘An absorbing, exciting read … Martin’s style is so vivid that youwill be hooked within a few pages’ The Times ‘The sheer mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasywriters away shaking their heads …Its ambition: to construct theTwelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous theycould eat the Borgias’ Guardian ‘Colossal, staggering … Martin captures all the intoxicatingcomplexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome in hisimaginary world … The writing is always powerful …' SFX
The house looked right, felt right to Dr Louis Creed.Rambling, old, unsmart and comfortable. A place where the family could settle; the children grow and play and explore. The rolling hills and meadows of Maine seemed a world away from the fume-choked dangers of Chicago.Only the occasional big truck out on the two-lane highway, grinding up through the gears, hammering down the long gradients, growled out an intrusive threat.But behind the house and far away from the road: that was safe. Just a carefully cleared path up into the woods where generations of local children have processed with the solemn innocence of the young, taking with them their dear departed pets for burial.A sad place maybe, but safe. Surely a safe place. Not a place to seep into your dreams, to wake you, sweating with fear and foreboding.
More than twenty-five years after the groundbreaking movie "StarWars: A New Hope" first hit the silver screen, "Star Wars" remainsone of the most beloved sagas ever told. Together, the threeoriginal "Star Wars" movies-"A New Hope," "The Empire StrikesBack," and "Return of the Jedi"-told one epic: a heroic tale ofinnocence lost and wisdom gained, of downfall and redemption, ofthe never-ending fight between the forces of good and evil. Readthe story of the movies-all three in one trade paperback volume-andrediscover the wonder of the legend that begins: "A long time ago,in a galaxy far, far away . . ."Luke Skywalker lived and worked onhis uncle's farm on the remote planet of Tatooine, but he yearnedto travel beyond the farthest reaches of the universe to distant,alien worlds. Then Luke intercepted a cryptic message from abeautiful, captive princess . . . and found himself catapulted intothe adventure of a lifetime. Luke Skywalker, proud Princess Leia,and headstrong Han Solo . . . merciless Darth Vader, wise Ob
