Rage
In the second half of the twentieth century, the future bears down on Africa--fueled by the sins of the past and the blood feuds of nations, tribes, and families. For the Courtney family, who have known this continent from the depths of its gold mines to the pinnacle of political power, a time of reckoning is at hand.
Shasa Courtney has lived, fought and loved amongst Afrikaners, Englishmen, and natives. His mother is by his side but the rest of the world around him is exploding. Even his family harbors secrets more dangerous than his own worst enemies.
Now, a continent is convulsed. Streets teem with protestors. Desperate and devious men forge volatile alliances. And Shasa faces shocking revelations amongst traitors, fugitives, and heroes--leading a beloved country into the flames of civil war…
From Publishers Weekly
In this latest epic, popular novelist Smith (The Leopard Hunts in Darkness) takes on a difficult challenge, telling of post-World War II South Africa. What he has created is a hybrid. His narrative seriously addresses the conflicts of whites and blacks, the differences between British and Afrikaners, and the tribes and personalities vying for control of the African National Congress. But it's also a soap opera, one of those conventional generational sagas with a contrived forbidden love affair between a white and a black, adultery and the rivalry between two men who do not realize they are half-brothers. The combination is simultaneously thrilling and embarrassing. Shasa Courtney is a wealthy United Party minister to the South African Parliament. A moderate of English heritage, he is often opposed to the Nationalist Party's Manfred De La Rey, an Afrikaner. Their mother, the matriarchal Centaine Courtney-Malcomess, is able to mediate their conflicts but not to control Shasa's wife, Tara, who sympathizes with the black cause. It is Tara who falls in love with the black Moses Gama, an advocate of violent opposition to apartheid. All their stories intermingle with the history of South Africa in the '50s and '60s. Smith's account of some of the worst racial riots is terrifying and his storytelling powers are strong, but readers of Rage will likely come away wondering whether turgid sub-plots really enhance a novel about one of the world's most troubled countries.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Smith continues the family saga set in South Africa which he began in The Burning Shore and The Power of the Sword. This new novel focuses on the half brothers, Shasa Courtney and Manfred De La Rey, now high officials in the Nationalist government. During the mounting protest and violence brought on by apartheid in the 1950s and early 1960s, these former enemies find themselves working together to save the land they both love. Other family members are involved too. Michael, one of Shasa's sons, becomes a reporter who opposes apartheid, while Lothar, Manfred's son, is a policeman who enforces it. The interlocking stories of these and many others, set against the authentic African historical and cultural background that Smith so effectively provides, produces both a compelling tale and some real insights into South Africa. Recommended. Judith Nixon, Purdue Univ. Lib., W. Lafayette, Ind.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Resistance
Two bright geometric shapes, metallic flashes picked out in the morning sun, moving impossibly fast and straight amidst the visual clutter and chaos of forest and rock... 'Is it dragons, Dave, is that what it is? Because I'm not ready for dragons...' A dragon brings down the Vice President's plane, a monster army is camped outside Omaha, and an empath demon springs an undercover operation in New York. New Orleans was just the beginning. New and different demons are breaking through all over America, and Dave Hooper has a new enemy with more guile and guts than the celebrity superhero, still stumbling in his role as Champion. While his agent fields offers for movies and merchandise, Dave is tasked with ending a siege in Omaha, saving his friends and deciphering the underrealms' plans to take over the earth. As an ancient and legion evil threatens to destroy mankind, Dave has to decide what kind of man he wants to be and the nature of his role in this new world. He may not be the hero humanity deserves, but he's the only one we've got. 'Birmingham's status as a leading action-adventure novelist continues to grow.' - The Age 'Weapons-grade military techno-thriller . . . [Birmingham] describes military hardware with an exuberance and virtuosity that's positively Clancyesque.' - Time on Without Warning
Rising Sun
SUMMARY:
During the grand opening celebration of the new American headquarters of an immense Japanese conglomerate, the dead body of a beautiful woman is found. The investigation begins, and immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue and a violent business battle that takes no prisoners.
During the grand opening celebration of the new American headquarters of an immense Japanese conglomerate, the dead body of a beautiful woman is found. The investigation begins, and immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue and a violent business battle that takes no prisoners.
Scarecrow
It is the greatest bounty hunt in history. The targets are the finest warriors in the world-commandos, spies, terrorists. And they must all be dead by 12 noon, today. The price on their heads: almost $20 million each.
Among the names, one stands out. The enigmatic Marine, Shane Schofield, who goes by the call-sign "Scarecrow." Schofield is plunged into a race around the world, pursued by a fearsome collection of international bounty hunters. The race is on and the pace is frantic as he fights for survival, in the process unveiling a vast international conspiracy and the terrible reason why he cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to live!
He led his men into hell in Ice Station. He protected the President against all odds in Area 7. But this time it's different, because he is the target. With all of his trademark action, Matthew Reilly continues to establish himself as one of the top thriller writers of today.
Among the names, one stands out. The enigmatic Marine, Shane Schofield, who goes by the call-sign "Scarecrow." Schofield is plunged into a race around the world, pursued by a fearsome collection of international bounty hunters. The race is on and the pace is frantic as he fights for survival, in the process unveiling a vast international conspiracy and the terrible reason why he cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to live!
He led his men into hell in Ice Station. He protected the President against all odds in Area 7. But this time it's different, because he is the target. With all of his trademark action, Matthew Reilly continues to establish himself as one of the top thriller writers of today.
From Publishers Weekly
The seemingly indestructible Marine captain Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield returns in this high-octane adventure from Reilly (Area 7, etc.). This time out, Schofield finds himself, along with 14 other members of the world's most elite military units, being hunted by a seemingly endless army of bounty hunters. The prize for the hunters is $18.6 million per head, and all 15 heads must be taken within six days. The search for the person behind this bounty hunt takes Schofield and his loyal band of marines around the world and in and out of one life-threatening situation after another. Reilly knows exactly what kind of book he's writing. His heroes are brave and self-sacrificing, his villains are bloodthirsty and ruthless, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Narrator Sowers is in perfect synch with Reilly's storytelling. Obviously enjoying himself, he knows just what words to punch in order to get the most out of each action-packed sentence, and he supports his Clint Eastwood-like delivery of Schofield's dialogue by giving each of the numerous secondary characters their own distinct voices and accents. Those who like their adventures fast and furious will not be disappointed by this energetic production.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
James Bond and Dirk Pitt can step aside--a new action hero has arrived to take their place in Reilly's latest roller-coaster ride. In the third outing for Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield (after Ice Station,1999, and Area 7, 2002), the U.S. Marine Corps captain is pitted against a colorful collection of bad guys (and gals) as he finds himself one of 15 men who have been put on an international hit list. A shadowy group of billionaires calling themselves the Council have put a price of $18.6 million on the head of each person on the list--literally, as the head must be exchanged for the bounty--and the assassinations all have to be completed within a 24-hour period. Schofield, aided by his resourceful sidekick Gunnery Sergeant Gena "Mother" Newman, must dodge the bounty hunters after his head as well as discover what common denominator binds the 15 men together. This thrill fest is highly recommended for all fiction collections--even the most jaded readers will need to fasten their seatbelts and hang on for dear life. Michael Gannon
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Shadow Kiss
Is Rose's fate to kill the person she loves most? It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since Mason's death, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She has dark flashbacks in the middle of practice, can't concentrate in class, and has terrifying dreams about Lissa. But Rose has an even bigger secret . . . .She's in love with Dimitri. And this time, it's way more than a crush.
Then Strigoi target the academy in the deadliest attack in Moroi history, and Dimitri is taken. Rose must protect Lissa at all costs, but keeping her best friend safe could mean losing Dimitri forever...
Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Rose Hathaway knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa-the last Dragomir princess-must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken . . .
From the Publisher
Praise for the Vampire Academy series
"Mead...weave[s] a unique and mesmerizing mystery with a whodunit ending that even the most skilled detectives will not predict...this little gem is sure to be a hit." --VOYA
"Teens able to handle to edgy elements will speed through this vamp story and anticipate the next installment." _ --Booklist_
"In a world that seems saturated with vampire books, Richelle Mead has created characters and a world that is both unique and believable." _ --TeensReadToo.com _
Shadow's Claim
#1 New York Times bestseller Kresley Cole introduces The Dacians: Realm of Blood and Mist, a new paranormal series following the royal bloodline of Dacia, a vampire kingdom hidden within the Lore of the Immortals After Dark.
Shadow’s Claim features Prince Trehan, a ruthless master assassin who will do anything to possess Bettina, his beautiful sorceress mate, even compete for her hand in a blood-sport tournament— to the death.
HE WON’T BE DENIED
Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself—until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.
SHE’S BOUND TO ANOTHER
Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.
A BATTLE FOR HER BODY AND SOUL
Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away—or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch. . . .
About the Author
Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals After Dark paranormal series. Her books have been translated into many foreign languages, garnered two RITA awards, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists in the U.S. and abroad. Visit her at KresleyCole.com.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
A savage kick to Princess Bettina of Abaddon’s back severed her spinal cord.
A blessing.
The searing pain that had been clawing through her entire being faded below her waist to pinpoints of pressure, then tingles, then . . .
Nothing.
Blessing. She’d long since stopped begging for her life, knew she’d never leave this field of poppies alive.
The four winged monsters who’d dragged her here had plans for her: as much agony as possible before her death.
Just as their kind had delivered to her sorceress mother twenty years before.
Though half demon, Bettina was weak in body, hopeless at fighting. She’d depended on her Sorceri power for protection—the one that these Vrekeners had siphoned from her as easily as they’d snatched the clothes from her body.
No longer could she open her swollen eyes. Her last sight? The leader standing over her, brandishing a scythe, his eyes frenzied. His claw-tipped wings had blocked the light of a low yellow moon. The scythe’s blade wasn’t fashioned out of metal, but of black flame. . . .
Yet Bettina could still hear, was still aware. In the distance, a new age band played in an outdoor arena. Young mortals danced and sang—
The force of one kick jostled her over onto her belly. Her mauled face shoved against crushed poppies. The leader played with her as a hawk would a mouse, ravaging the meat from its bones. His followers jeered and doused her with bottles of spirits.
Menacing yells, steel-toed boots, the blistering sting of alcohol.
Ah, gods, she was too aware. She tried desperately to lose herself in memories of a boy with smiling blue eyes and sun-kissed hair.
He doesn’t know how much I love him. So many things I wish I’d done—
Her upper body exploded with even more pain, as if to compensate for the numbness in her fractured legs. She could perceive her broken ribs jutting from her skin. Her mangled arms draped limply across the ground where they’d fallen when she’d last tried to protect her head. . . . Anguish multiplied.
Or perhaps the Vrekeners’ blows rained down more swiftly. The kill was near.
All she’d wanted was to go to a party with her mortal college friends. She’d been excited, happy to fit in with them, or to appear to—as a halfling, she’d never fit in before. Little did she know that she’d already drawn her enemy’s notice with her sorcery. She’d never intentionally used it—
Over all other pain, she perceived the heat of that burning scythe descending ever closer to her. Hotter, hotter, scorching.
Alcohol on her skin, the black flame . . .
Bettina choked on a sob. They planned to burn her?
Suddenly she felt weightless. This is what dying feels like?
No, she was traveling. Summoned? Dear gods, yes, the demon in her had been summoned across realms. Naked, powerless, sightless, she slipped from that field in the mortal world to her home plane of Abaddon.
In a flash, the poppies were replaced by cold marble, a balm on what was left of her skin. That awareness returned. I’m lying on the floor of my castle’s court, broken, wearing only my blood and the Vrekeners’ rank liquor. The courtiers still gossip and laugh. Can’t they see me?
She tried to scream for help; blood bubbled up over her lips. Can’t scream, can’t move. She could only listen. A conversation between her godfather Raum—the Grand Duke of the Deathly Ones—and another was already under way.
“Now you’ve done it, Raum.” It was Caspion the Tracker. The demon she secretly loved. “Tina hates being summoned with that medallion.” Not at present! “She considers it a leash.”
Her guardians had insisted on it, a condition of her leaving Abaddon.
“Ha! It probably makes her feel more like a demon,” Raum said in a gruff tone, knowing that wasn’t true. They’d had words over his use of the mystical medallion. “Besides, she told me she was coming home from college by month’s end.”
“You know time moves differently in the mortal realm,” Caspion said, amusement lacing his words. “And more, she said she was very busy but would try to visit—”
Bettina heard a courtier gasp. They’ve seen me. Murmurs rose to a furor.
From the front of the court, Caspion demanded, “What is it?” Closer by, he asked, “Who is this pitiful creature? No, no, this isn’t Tina. It can’t be!” A touch on her forehead . . . a sucked in breath of recognition . . . a roar of grief. “Bettina!”
Raum bellowed, “What has happened?”
“Tina, wake up!” Caspion commanded her. “Ah, gods, stay with me. Stay.”
For him, she managed to slit open one eye. His curling blond hair hung over his harried face. His own eyes had gone from midnight blue to black, signaling his emotion. They even started watering as he gazed over her injuries.
She saw a shining hero of old. Her beloved Cas.
He yanked off his warm coat, covering her. “A physic!” he yelled into the crowd. “Now!”
Others gathered around her. She heard Raum stomping closer. “Who’s done this to my little Tina?” Something broke directly. No doubt from his fist. “Damn you, tell me! Who’s hurt her?”
She tried to answer, parting her lips. . . . Her jaw must be broken.
Another anguished roar. Oh, Cas.
Visibly making an effort to control himself, he said, “You hang on and stay with me.”
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with you.
“I’ll get you through this, Tina. I swear it. You’re going to be all right,” he said, his voice thick. “Don’t leave me.”
Bettina felt the tiniest sliver of hope, something to fight for. Surely Cas returned her feelings, saw her as more than a little sister.
“Will she live?” Raum bit out. “She’s not hardy like a demoness, not strong like we are.”
She hadn’t been a true demon before. Now she was no longer a true sorceress. They took my root power. My soul.
A male she didn’t recognize asked, “Has she frozen into her immortality?” The physic?
Cas answered, “She was on the cusp. Maybe by now . . .”
“We need a Sorceri healer. If we act quickly, the princess could recover,” the physic said, but hastily qualified his statement: “Her body could recover from this.”
What did that mean?
Raum ordered, “Find Tina’s godmother! Don’t return from the Sorceri plane without Morgana!” Coming into Bettina’s line of vision, Raum yelled to Cas, “I should never have let her go! I was too lenient! Things will change in Abaddon!” His eyes were glinting, his voice choked up. The crusty old warrior was at a loss. He began ramming his horns against a stone wall, roaring to everyone, “Heed my words! We return to olden ways!”
Free of the attack, Bettina’s body started trying to regenerate, nerves sparking to life once more. Pain erupted all over her, blistering waves of it.
Even in the midst of her escalating agony and lingering horror, the words olden ways struck fear in her heart.
Prince Trehan Daciano shot awake in the middle of the day, bolting upright from his pallet of furs.
He gazed around in confusion, seeing his usual surroundings—shelves of books, weapons, his sideboard with carafes of mead-laced blood.
Though he’d experienced no nightmare, sleep had been snatched from him, replaced by a marked unease. With each moment, he grew even more on edge, a feeling like . . . like emptiness settling in his chest.
Like dread. So different from his usual numbness.
Brows drawn, he rose, tracing across the spacious room to one of the curtained balconies.
These grand apartments had once been the royal library. Centuries ago, he’d moved in and never moved out, haunting this place until no other member of the family would enter.
Time and history seeped from these familiar stones. He knew every crag and groove as well as he knew his own grim reflection. Like these stones, I quietly endure the ages.
Drawing back the thick curtain, he gazed outside. From this height, Trehan could survey far into the Realm of Blood and Mist, the secreted lands of the mighty Dacians.
The royal city below was still at this hour. Only the sound of Dacia’s bubbling blood fountains could be heard.
Across from his residence stood the majestic black stone castle, the heart of the realm—abandoned without a king. How many of his kinsmen had perished trying to seize that keep? How much deceit and murder surrounded it?
The warring houses of the royal family had once boasted hundreds of members each—now dwindled down to a handful.
For an immortal family, they knew death so well.
Trehan was the last born to the House of Shadow, the assassin arm of the family. Though he was a potential contender for the crown—along with four of his lethal cousins—he had no real aspiration to seize it. A quiet loner by nature, he loathed spectacle and attention, was content to blend into the shadows.
He only wanted to perform his duty. For nearly a millennium, he’d been the enforcer of law, a merciless assassin.
As his long-dead father had oft told him, “You are the sword of the kingdom, Trehan. Dacia will be your family, your friend, your mistress, the grand love of your life. That is your lot, Son. Want for nothing else. And you will never be disappointed.”
Trehan had once foolishly entertained secret hopes, but he’d eventually embraced his father’s teachings. As was logical.
I want for not...
- *
- *
Shall We Tell the President?
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. The FBI has six days to stop a plot to assassinate the President in this title originally published in 1977 as a stand-alone thriller and refashioned in 1987 to complete No. 1 New York Times best-selling author Archer's "Kane and Abel" trilogy. The narration is by Audie Award winner Lorelei King (_Tallgrass_), who also read the last entry in this series, The Prodigal Daughter (Jeff Harding read the first; abridged recordings of all three are available from Macmillan Audio). King performs expressively, adding just the right amount of excitement to the story. The abridgment is skillfully executed; it is impossible to tell where material has been omitted. Highly recommended.—Ilka Gordon, Siegel Coll. of Judaic Studies Lib., Cleveland
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Outrageous top-notch terror.” —_Vogue_
“Holds the reader in a vicelike grip.”—_Penthouse_
“The countdown is the thing; the pace, the pursuit, the what-next…”—_Boston__ Globe_
“The only difference between this book and The Day of the Jackal is that Archer is a better writer.”—_Chicago__ Tribune_
Skyward
From Brandon Sanderson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reckoners series, *Words of Radiance, * and the internationally bestselling Mistborn series, comes the first book in an epic new series about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot in a dangerous world at war with aliens.
Spensa's world has been under attack for hundreds of years. An alien race called the Krell leads onslaught after onslaught from the sky in a never-ending campaign to destroy humankind. Humanity's only defense is to take to their ships and combat the Krell. Pilots are the heroes of what's left of the human race.
Becoming a pilot has always been Spensa's dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring above the earth and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with that of her father--a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa's chances of attending Flight School at slim to none.
No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, but she is determined to fly. And the Krell just made that a possibility. They've doubled their fleet, which will make Spensa's world twice as deadly . . . but just might take her skyward.
Praise for Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners series:
#1 * New York Times* Bestselling Series**
#1 * New York Times* Bestselling Series**
"Another win for Sanderson . . . he's simply a brilliant writer. Period." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind
"Action-packed." --EW.com
"Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store." --AV Club
Sons of Fortune
From Publishers Weekly
Veteran novelist and British politician Archer (Kane and Abel) is currently serving a prison sentence for perjury, so readers can perhaps forgive him if this latest effort falls short of his usual standard. The implausibly plotted novel follows fraternal twin boys separated at birth by a bizarre set of circumstances. Nat Cartwright and Fletcher Davenport are born in Hartford, Conn., in the early 1950s. A meddlesome nurse sends them home with different families. Nat is raised in a lower-middle-class household, attends the University of Connecticut, serves heroically in Vietnam and goes into banking. Fletcher, the wealthy Yalie, becomes a lawyer and a politician. The men are repeatedly thrown into competition with each other, whether for admission to college or in their professional lives, their rivalry culminating when they both run for governor of their home state. The characters are too thin, and their respective worlds too littered with clich‚s, to offer a satisfying portrait of the baby boomer generation. Contrived plot twists offer little distraction, while the dialogue sometimes reads like a set of photo captions-information without emotion. "When you think about it, they are the obvious predator," says Nat about a takeover threat. "Fairchild's is the largest bank in the state; seventy-one branches with almost no serious rivals." Archer is usually a skillful storyteller, but he drops the ball here.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From
In Hartford, Connecticut, during the early 1950s, twin boys are separated at birth. Fletcher and Nat attend competing colleges, fall for the same girl, and have best friends who are the sons of movers and shakers. In the 1960s, Nat is drafted and becomes a hero in Vietnam, while Fletcher goes into law. By the 1990s, Nat's an affluent banker, and Fletcher's a politico on the rise; then, inevitably, their paths come together. Archer's long-anticipated new novel is sure to garner loads of publicity, but much of it may have little to do with the quality of the book: the former Olympic athlete and fabulously wealthy novelist, once a member of the British House of Lords, is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for perjury. Is the novel good? It's actually pretty standard stuff from Archer, author of such best-sellers as The Fourth Estate (1996): broad-stroke character portraits painted on a large canvas, a two-dimensional but somehow compelling saga of ambition and destiny. Fans will be quite pleased, while his critics will note all the usual deficiencies, among them a largely wooden supporting cast and dialogue that is often ludicrous. In a nutshell: a typically slick, well-written, but shallow novel that will benefit from the author's notoriety. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
State of Fear
His usual formula--three parts thrills and spills to one part hard science--to a less appetizing concoction that is half anti-global warming screed and half adventure yarn. This adds a mission impossible element to Wilson's narration: how to make pages of research interesting enough to hold the listener's attention until hero and heroine face their next peril. Unfortunately, Wilson approaches the statistical information like a newscaster communicating via Teleprompter. This earns him an A-plus for elocution and timbre, but a more average grade when it comes to dramatic interpretation. Consequently, the scientific material that Crichton spent three years researching seems even more copious in audio format than in print. And it's certainly much harder to flip past. Wilson is more successful in handling conversational passages, employing accents and adding subtle touches to various voices--a cynical tone for the hero, who's a mildly hedonistic corporate lawyer, and an edgier, less patient attitude for the beautiful, ready-for-anything heroine. As they hot-foot it around the globe, assisting an Indiana Jones-like MIT professor in thwarting evils perpetrated by a mass-murdering environmentalist, Wilson stirs up a little suspense by speaking faster and more energetically. But the book's abundance of statistics would slow any narrator's momentum, and Wilson is no exception.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Andromeda Strain
Amazon.com Review
Some biologists speculate that if we ever make contact with extraterrestrials, those life forms are likely to be--like most life on earth--one-celled or smaller creatures, more comparable to bacteria than little green men. And even though such organisms would not likely be able to harm humans, the possibility exists that first contact might be our last.
That's the scientific supposition that Michael Crichton formulates and follows out to its conclusion in his excellent debut novel, The Andromeda Strain.
A Nobel-Prize-winning bacteriologist, Jeremy Stone, urges the president to approve an extraterrestrial decontamination facility to sterilize returning astronauts, satellites, and spacecraft that might carry an "unknown biologic agent." The government agrees, almost too quickly, to build the top-secret Wildfire Lab in the desert of Nevada. Shortly thereafter, unbeknownst to Stone, the U.S. Army initiates the "Scoop" satellite program, an attempt to actively collect space pathogens for use in biological warfare. When Scoop VII crashes a couple years later in the isolated Arizona town of Piedmont, the Army ends up getting more than it asked for.
The Andromeda Strain follows Stone and rest of the scientific team mobilized to react to the Scoop crash as they scramble to understand and contain a strange and deadly outbreak. Crichton's first book may well be his best; it has an earnestness that is missing from his later, more calculated thrillers. --Paul Hughes
Product Description
The United States government is given a warning by the pre-eminent biophysicists in the country: current sterilization procedures applied to returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere.
Two years later, seventeen satellites are sent into the outerfringes of space to "collect organisms and dust for study." One of them falls to earth, landing in a desolate area of Arizona.
Twelve miles from the landing site, in the town of Piedmont,a shocking discovery is made: the streets are littered with the dead bodies of the town's inhabitants, as if they dropped dead in their tracks.
The Burning Shore
Centaine de Thiry grew up with privilege, wealth, and freedom on a sprawling French estate. Then war came crashing down around her, and a daring young South African aviator named Michael Courtney stole her heart amidst the destruction. But the tides of fate and battle sent the young woman on a journey across a dangerous sea to the coast of Africa.
When Centaine's ship is torpedoed and sunk, she is plunged into a shark-filled sea miles from the unseen shore. And when she reaches land, Centaine puts foot not in the lush world that Michael Courtney described to her, but on the edge of a burning desert--alone and fighting for her life.
In a strange world, under a great rushing sky, Centaine sets forth in the company of wandering Bushmen--and then into the arms of a renegade white soldier who may be her savior or destruction. As Michael Courtney's family searches for Centaine, she comes near her promised land--and the untold tragedy and riches that it holds...
Review
Praise for *Burning Shore*
'Wilbur Smith is an adept at thrilling and harrowing scenes, researches his facts, gets it all too horribly spot-on.' – The Sunday Times
'Wilbur Smith ... writes as forcefully as his tough characters act.' – Evening Standard
'A natural storyteller who moves confidently and often splendidly in his period and sustains a flow of convincing incident without repeating his excitements' – The Scotsman
' Wilbur has arguably the best sense of place of any adventure writer since John Buchan.' – The Guardian
‘An epic novel . . . it would be hard to think of a theme that was more appropriate today ... Smith writes with a great passion for the soul of Africa’ – Today
Praise for Wilbur Smith
“Smith is a master.” —Publishers Weekly
“One of the world’s most popular adventure writers.” —*The Washington Post Book World
“A rare author who wields a razor-sharp sword of craftsmanship.” —Tulsa World*
“Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared.” —The Times (UK)
"Best Historical Novelist--I say Wilbur Smith, with his swashbuckling novels of Africa. The bodices of rip and the blood flows. You can get lost in Wilbur Smith and misplace all of August."--Stephen King
"Best Historical Novelist--I say Wilbur Smith, with his swashbuckling novels of Africa. The bodices of rip and the blood flows. You can get lost in Wilbur Smith and misplace all of August."--Stephen King
"Action is Wilur Smith's game, and he is a master."--The Washington Post Book World
“The world’s leading adventure writer.” —Daily Express (UK)
"Wilbur Smith rarely misses a trick."--Sunday Times
“Smith is a captivating storyteller.” —The Orlando Sentinel
“No one does adventure quite like Smith.” —Daily Mirror (UK)
"A thundering good’ read is virtually the only way of describing Wilbur Smith’s books.” —The Irish Times
From the Back Cover
In a breathtaking adventure of love, war, and bitter revenge, New York Times bestselling author Wilbur Smith captures a courageous quest for survival against a country's greatest odds….
FROM THE FIRES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Centaine de Thiry grew up with privilege, wealth, and freedom on a sprawling French estate. Then war came crashing down around her, and a daring young South African aviator named Michael Courtney stole her heart amidst the destruction. But the tides of fate and battle sent the young woman on a journey across a dangerous sea to the coast of Africa.
ACROSS A BLAZING *AFRICAN *DESERT
When Centaine's ship is torpedoed and sunk, she is plunged into a shark-filled sea miles from the unseen shore. And when she reaches land, Centaine puts foot not in the lush world that Michael Courtney described to her, but on the edge of a burning desert--alone and fighting for her life.
A WOMAN DISCOVERS A WONDROUS LAND--AND THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL
In a strange world, under a great rushing sky, Centaine sets forth in the company of wandering Bushmen--and then into the arms of a renegade white soldier who may be her savior or destruction. As Michael Courtney's family searches for Centaine, she comes near her promised land--and the untold tragedy and riches that it holds...
"You can get lost in Wilbur Smith…with his swashbuckling novels of Africa."--Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly* *
FROM THE FIRES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Centaine de Thiry grew up with privilege, wealth, and freedom on a sprawling French estate. Then war came crashing down around her, and a daring young South African aviator named Michael Courtney stole her heart amidst the destruction. But the tides of fate and battle sent the young woman on a journey across a dangerous sea to the coast of Africa.
ACROSS A BLAZING *AFRICAN *DESERT
When Centaine's ship is torpedoed and sunk, she is plunged into a shark-filled sea miles from the unseen shore. And when she reaches land, Centaine puts foot not in the lush world that Michael Courtney described to her, but on the edge of a burning desert--alone and fighting for her life.
A WOMAN DISCOVERS A WONDROUS LAND--AND THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL
In a strange world, under a great rushing sky, Centaine sets forth in the company of wandering Bushmen--and then into the arms of a renegade white soldier who may be her savior or destruction. As Michael Courtney's family searches for Centaine, she comes near her promised land--and the untold tragedy and riches that it holds...
"You can get lost in Wilbur Smith…with his swashbuckling novels of Africa."--Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly* *