Past midnight, Chyna Shepherd, twenty- six, gazed out a moonlitwindow, unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley homeof her best friend's family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderoussociopath, Edgler Forman Vess, has entered the house, intent onkilling everyone inside. A self-proclaimed "homicidal adventure,"Vess lives only to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immensehimself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse or limits, tolive with intensity. Chyna is trapped in his deadly orbit. Chyna is a survivor, toughened by a lifelong struggle for safetyand self-respect. Now she will be tested as never before. At firsther sole aim is to get out alive-until, by chance, she learns theidentity of Vess's next intended victim, a faraway innocent onlyshe can save. Driven by a newly discovered thirst for meaningbeyond mere self-preservation, Chyna musters every inner resourceshe has to save an endangered girl—as moment by moment, theterrifying threat Edgler Foreman Vess intensifies.
Book De*ion Dean Koontz’s uniquetalent for writing terrifying thrillers with a heart and soul isnowhere more evident than in this latest suspense masterpiece thatpits one man against the ultimate deadline. If there were speedlimits for the sheer pulse-racing excitement allowed in one novel,Velocity would break them all. Get ready for the ride of yourlife. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. A diabolic killer plays a harrowing game of catand mouse with a reclusive bartender in Koontz's latest grippingsuspense thriller. Billy Wiles, a 30-something bartender and formerwriter, is content with his solitary Napa County existencelistening to "beer-based psychoanalysis" from tavern regulars;visiting his hospitalized, comatose fiancée, Barbara; and carvingwood sculptures. But the simple life gets mighty complicated whenhe finds a note with a deadly, time-sensitive ultimatum: he mustchoose between the death of a young schoolteacher or an elderlyhumanitarian in six hours. Reluctant local s
Tertuliano Maximo Afonso is a divorced, depressed historyteacher. To lift his spirits, a colleague suggests he rent acertain video. Tertuliano watches the film, unimpressed. But duringthe night, when he is awakened by noises in his apartment, he goesinto the living room to find that the VCR is replaying the video.He watches in astonishment as a man who looks exactly like him-or,more specifically, exactly like he did five years before,mustachioed and fuller in the face-appears on the screen. He sleepsbadly. Against his better judgment, Tertuliano decides to pursuehis double. As he roots out the man's identity, what begins as awhimsical story becomes a "wonderfully twisted meditation onidentity and individuality" (The Boston Globe). Saramago displayshis remarkable talent in this haunting tale of appearance versusreality.
Nothing is quite as it seems. Expect the unexpected in this veritable treasure trove of enthralling, witty, dark tales that could only come from the imagination of the greatest storyteller of our time. In this eerie, enchanting compilation, Stephen King takes readers down a road less travelled (for good reason) in the blockbuster e-book 'Riding the Bullet'. Terror becomes deja vu all over again when you get 'That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French'. 'LT's Theory of Pets' will make you stop and think before giving a dog to a loved one. And there are eleven more stories that will keep you awake until dawn.
Luther and Nora Krank are fed up with the chaos of Christmas.The endless shopping lists, the frenzied dashes through the mall,the hassle of decorating the tree... where has all the joy gone?This year, celebrating seems like too much effort. With their onlychild off in Peru, they decide that just this once, they'll skipthe holidays. They spend their Christmas budget on a Caribbeancruise set to sail on December 25, and happily settle in for arestful holiday season free of rooftop snowmen and festiveparties. But the Kranks soon learn that their vacation from Christmasisn't much of a vacation at all, and that skipping the holidays hasconsequences they didn't bargain for... A modern Christmas classic, Skipping Christmas is a charmingand hilarious look at the mayhem and madness that have becomeingrained in our holiday tradition. Luther and Nora Krank are fedup with the chaos of Christmas. The endless shopping lists, thefrenzied dashes through the mall, the hassle of decorating thetree... where
Isaac and Nora haven't seen each other in five years, yet whenNora phones Isaac late one night, he knows who it is before she'sspoken a word. Isaac, a photographer, is relinquishing his artisticcareer, while Nora, a writer, is seeking to rededicate herself tohers. Fueled by their rediscovered love, Nora is soon on fire withthe best work she's ever done, until she realizes that the storyshe's writing has turned into a fictionalized portrait of Isaac,exposing his frailties and compromises and sure to be viewed by himas a betrayal. How do we remain faithful to our calling if itestranges us from the people we love? How do we remain in loveafter we have seen the very worst of our loved ones? These are someof the questions explored in a novel that critics are calling "anabsolute pleasure" (The Seattle Times).
Kenneth Trachtenberg, the witty and eccentric narrator of"More Die of Heartbreak," has left his native Paris for theMidwest. He has come to be near his beloved uncle, theworld-renowned botanist Benn Crader, self-described aplantvisionary.a While his studies take him around the world, Benn, arestless spirit, has not been able to satisfy his longings afterhis first marriage and lives from affair to affair and from ablissto breakdown.a Imagining that a settled existence will end hisanguish, Benn ties the knot again, opening the door to a flood ofnew torments. As Kenneth grapples with his own problems involvinghis unusual lady-friend Treckie, the two men try to figure out whygifted and intelligent people invariably find themselves aknee-deepin the garbage of a personal life.a
In this, her first collection of nonfiction, Alice Walkerspeaks out as a black woman, writer, mother, and feminist inthirty-six pieces ranging from the personal to the political. Amongthe contents are essays about other writers, accounts of the civilrights movement of the 1960s and the antinuclear movement of the1980s, and a vivid memoir of a scarring childhood injury and herdaughters healing words.
One of the greatest French novelists, Balzac was also anaccomplished writer of shorter fiction. This volume includes twelveof his finest short stories many of which feature characters fromhis epic series of novels the Comedie Humaine. Compelling tales ofacute social and psychological insight, they fully demonstrate themastery of suspense and revelation that were the hallmarks ofBalzac's genius. In The Atheist's Mass, we learn the true reasonfor a distinguished atheist surgeon's attendance at religiousservices; La Grande Breteche describes the horrific truth behindthe locked doors of a decaying country mansion, while The Red Innrelates a brutal tale of murder and betrayal. A fascinatingcounterpoint to the renowned novels, all the stories collected herestand by themselves as mesmerizing works by one of the finestwriters of nineteenth-century France.
Cipriano Algor, an elderly potter, lives with his daughterMarta and her husband Marcal in a small village on the outskirts ofThe Center, an imposing complex of shops, apartments, and officesto which Cipriano delivers his pots and jugs every month. On onesuch trip, he is told not to make any more deliveries. Unwilling togive up his craft, Cipriano tries his hand at making ceramic dolls.Astonishingly, The Center places an order for hundreds, andCipriano and Marta set to work-until the order is cancelled and thethree have to move from the village into The Center. Whenmysterious sounds of digging emerge from beneath their apartment,Cipriano and Marcal investigate, and what they find transforms thefamily's life. Filled with the depth, humor, and the extraordinaryphilosophical richness that marks each of Saramago's novels, TheCave is one of the essential books of our time.
Hold tight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way. Just don't let go of my arm . . . Unrivalled master of suspense Stephen King takes the unsuspecting reader on a fantastic journey through the dark shadows of our innermost fears. Do the dead sing? In this bumper collection of chilling tales, which includes the brilliant story adapted into the acclaimed movie The Mist, we meet: a woman who has never crossed The Reach, the water dividing her from the mainland; a gramma who only wants to hug little George, even after she is dead; an innocent looking toy with sinister powers; and a primeval sea creture with an insatiable appetite.
A body is found in the attic of a fabulous Long Island estate.There is a hoofprint scorched into the floor, and the stench ofsulfur chokes the air. When FBI Special Agent Pendergastinvestigates the gruesome crime, he discovers that thirty years agofour men conjured something unspeakable. Has the devil come toclaim his due?
Narrated by a fifteen-year-old girl with a ruthless regard fortruth, The Last Life is a beautifully told novel of lies andghosts, love and honor. Set in colonial Algeria, and in the southof France and New England, it is the tale of the LaBasse family,whose quiet integrity is shattered by the shots from agrandfather's rifle. As their world suddenly begins to crumble,long-hidden shame emerges: a son abandoned by the family before hewas even born, a mother whose identity is not what she has claimed,a father whose act of defiance brings Hotel Bellevue-the familybusiness-to its knees. Messud skillfully and inexorably describeshow the stories we tell ourselves, and the lies to which we cling,can turn on us in a moment. It is a work of stunning power from awriter to watch.
Tiny Patrick Henry College, a Christian school just outsidethe nations capital, grooms ambitious young evangelicals intotomorrows conservative elite. The future front lines of politics,entertainment, and science will be commanded by these idealisticgraduates, who plan to lead the battle in reclaiming a godlessnation. Hanna Rosins "superb work of extended reportage" (ChicagoSun Times)takes us into the halls and dorms and hearts of PatrickHenry, following students from the campus to the White House,Congress, conservative think tanks, Hollywood, and other keycenters of influence. Lively and evenhanded, her account revealsthe evangelical movement at a moment of crisis and climax, itsfuture leaders struggling to resist the temptations of modern lifeeven as they try to remake the world in their image. Hanna Rosinhas crafted a vibrant, insightful look at kids who may very well bein charge of our country someday.
In 1975, the now defunct Laser Books issued Invasion byAaron Wolfe, aka Koontz (who later expanded that novel into Winter Moon , 1994), a breakneck tale of alien invasioncentered on an isolated farm. Koontz's new novel also concernsalien invasion, and a comparison of the two books offers insightinto the evolution of this megaselling author's work. Invasion was mostly speed and suspense—a brilliant ifsuperficial exercise in terror. The new novel also featuresabundant suspense, as a couple in an isolated California homeendure a phosphorescent rain and learn that, around the world, something is attacking humans and laying waste tocommunications. It's only when they drive to a nearby town thatthey learn of a global alien invasion; the tension ratchets as aweird fog descends and the aliens not only manifest physically butanimate the dead. For years, however, Koontz has aimed at more thanjust thrills; today he is a novelist of metaphysics and moralreflection. His aliens are inherently evil as well as scary;s
"The Tin Drum," one of the great novels of the twentiethcentury, was published in Ralph Manheim's outstanding translationin 1959. It became a runaway bestseller and catapulted its youngauthor to the forefront of world literature.To mark the fiftiethanniversary of the original publication, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,along with Grass's publishers all over the world, is bringing out anew translation of this classic novel. Breon Mitchell, an acclaimedtranslator and scholar, has drawn from many sources: a wealth ofdetailed scholarship, a wide range of newly available referenceworks, and the author himself. The result is a translation that ismore faithful to Grass's style and rhythm, restores omissions, andreflects more fully the complexity of the original work.After fiftyyears, "The Tin Drum" has, if anything, gained in power andrelevance. All of Grass's amazing evocations are still there, andstill amazing: Oskar Matzerath, the indomitable drummer; hisgrandmother, Anna Koljaiczek; his mother, Agnes; Alfred M
The latest "New York Times" bestseller by "America's mostpopular suspense novelist" ("Rolling Stone") is the story ofHollywood's most dazzling star whose perfectly ordered life isunder siege by an insidious killer.
city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which sparesno one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital,but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealingfood rations and raping women. There is one eyewitness to thisnightmare who guides seven strangers-among them a boy with nomother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears-through the barrenstreets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundingsare harrowing. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation anda vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century,Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayalof man's worst appetites and weaknesses-and man's ultimatelyexhilarating spirit. The stunningly powerful novel of man's will tosurvive against all odds, by the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize forLiterature.
Carl Herbold is a cold-blooded psychopath who has just escapedthe penitentiary where he was serving a life sentence. Bent onrevenge, he's going back to where he began--Blewer County,Texas... Born deaf, lately widowed, Anna Corbett fights to keep the ranchthat is her son's birthright, unaware that she is at the center ofHerbold's horrific scheme--and that her world of self-imposedisolation is about to explode... Drifter Jack Sawyer arrives at Anna's ranch asking for work,hoping to protect the innocent woman and her son from Herbold'srage. But Sawyer can't outrun the secrets that stalk him--or theday of reckoning awaiting them all...
