![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As the novel moves from present-day New York and the West Coast to ancient Egypt, fourth century Carthage, 14th-century Rome, the Venice of the Renaissance, the worlds and beings of all the Vampire Chronicles-Louis de Pointe du Lac the eternally young Armand, whose face is that of a Boticelli angel Mekare and Maharet, Pandora and Flavius David Talbot, vampire and ultimate fixer from the secret Talamasca and Marius, the true Child of the Millennia along with all the other new seductive, supernatural creatures-come together in this large, luxuriant, fiercely ambitious novel to ultimately rise up and seek out who-or what-the Voice is, and to discover the secret of what it desires and why…Īnd, at the book’s center, the seemingly absent, curiously missing hero-wanderer, the dazzling, dangerous rebel-outlaw-the great hope of the Undead, the dazzling Prince Lestat… The novel opens with the vampire world in crisis…vampires have been proliferating out of control burnings have commenced all over the world, huge massacres similar to those carried out by Akasha in The Queen of the Damned… Old vampires, roused from slumber in the earth are doing the bidding of a Voice commanding that they indiscriminately burn vampire-mavericks in cities from Paris and Mumbai to Hong Kong, Kyoto, and San Francisco. ![]() RATING: N/A Not yet released so any current ratings don’t count! ![]()
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![]() ![]() Opal Plumstead, at least, can be read and enjoyed by anyone of any age, and I was surprised to see that this book dealt with some really, really dark themes. I thought I was too old, that they wouldn't interest me in the slightest anymore, but I was wrong. I used to love Jacqueline Wilson's books when I was younger, but I haven't read one for many years. But the First World War is about to begin, and will change Opal's life forever. Roberts' handsome son, and the heir to Fairy Glen - she believes she has found her soulmate. Roberts, the factory's beautiful, dignified owner, who introduces Opal to the legendary Mrs. Opal struggles to get along with the other workers, who think her snobby and stuck-up. Yet her scholarship and dreams of university are snatched away when her father is sent to prison, and fourteen-year-old Opal must start work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory to support her family. Opal Plumstead might be plain, but she has always been fiercely intelligent. ![]() ![]() ![]() With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov formulated the laws governing robots’ behavior. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world-all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asimov’s trademark.ġ) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.Ģ) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.ģ) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-reading robots, and robots with a sense of humor. I, Robot, the first and most widely read book in Asimov’s Robot series, forever changed the world’s perception of artificial intelligence. ![]() “A must-read for science-fiction buffs and literature enjoyers alike.”- The Guardian This classic science fiction masterwork by Isaac Asimov weaves stories about robots, humanity, and the deep questions of existence into a novel of shocking intelligence and heart. ![]() ![]() ![]() Gratz has created an imaginative world with appeal far beyond its immediate middle-grade market." -"Publishers Weekly "on "The League of Seven" "This hybrid of steampunk and alternate American history features. Although it is written for a middle school audience, it also provides a clean, fast-paced romp for older students who do not mind an easy read." -VOYA Teen Reviewer 5Q, 4P M J on "The League of Seven" "An enticing alternate history presents an America in which Native tribes have as much power and presence as Yankees. From the steam-powered, clockwork-run 1870s setting to the persistent protagonist to the fresh takes on important historical events and figures, the novel is hard to put down. "The League of Seven" is amazingly interesting, unique, and captivating. ![]() ![]() ![]() Dickens and Dumas both did it, as did many of their contemporaries. ![]() Why serialize a novel? There is nothing new about the practice. ![]() ![]() But, for now at least, because this is all an experiment, that stuff will come back here and I will use the newsletter to serialize The Wistful and the Good and its sequels. You may have noticed that there has been nothing other than my occasional travel posts on the blog for a while, as I was putting most of my thoughts on the state of our literary culture into newsletter posts. Starting a newsletter was actually the publisher’s idea and I struggled for a while to figure out what to do with it and to figure out what to do with this blog. It comes about because my deal with my intended publisher fell through, something I documented in a newsletter here. (But feel free just to read the novel!) There is an index of both the novel and the background posts here. Besides the novel, I am also serializing a series of backgrounder posts discussing the historical background and literary issued behind the novel. You will be able to read the first chapter at and you can subscribe to receive a new chapter by email each week. My novel, The Wistful and the Good, begins serializing on Substack tomorrow, November 27. ![]() ![]() ![]() Let me also assure you that I am writing with a smile and a sense of humor, not a frown and a sense of feeling hurt. I get plenty of that, so don’t feel sorry for me! Please allow me this indulgence, and also understand that I am speaking on behalf of other authors who frequently see their books misrepresented in reviews. I hope it doesn’t sound defensive, or like I’m fishing for positive feedback. ![]() ![]() So here is something I’ve never done-respond to reviews of my books. (My writer friends talk about this a lot-and we often laugh about it, though for some it is admittedly frustrating, since reviewers tend to get the last word even when they misunderstand and misrepresent what an author actually said.) But in some cases, the reasons for giving Heaven the lowest possible rating were entertaining, and other times enlightening. People are entitled to not like any book, of course, and I always welcome criticism of my books, and while they’re not fun, I usually manage not to take bad reviews personally. ![]() ![]() Nick Montgomery is an organizer and writer currently at Queen's University. Nick Montgomery is an organizer and writer currently at Queen's University.| A collection of essays, some newer, some older. Joyful Militancy investigates how fear, self-righteousness, and moralism infiltrate and take root within liberation movements, what to do about them, and ultimately how tenderness and vulnerability can thrive alongside fierce militant commitment.Ĭarla Bergman co-edited Stay Solid: A Radical Handbook For Youth. The afterword of the book (On Joyful Militancy) just reached in and grabbed my radically left political heart and gave it a bloody big squeeze. "Rigid radicalism" is the congealed and debilitating practices that suck life and inspiration from the fight for a better world. "A guide to a fulfilling militant life." -Michael Hardt, co-author of Assembly ![]() ![]() "Absolutely what we need in these days of spreading gloom." -John Holloway, author of Crack Capitalism ![]() ![]() ![]() He also converted the money that was formerly paid to Rome into royal revenue. Henry was an extravagant spender, using the proceeds from the dissolution of the monasteries and acts of the Reformation Parliament. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, and Thomas Cranmer all figured prominently in his administration. He achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial by means of bills of attainder. ![]() He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope.ĭomestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, expanding royal power and ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings in opposition to papal supremacy. ![]() ![]() His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. ![]() ![]() It also showed that it wasn't just old "crones" who were accused of witchcraft. ![]() Juditha's motive in confessing to a host of murders of her non-blood related family members revealed how sometimes familial revenge seemed key in exlaining violent witchcraft. Roper ends this section with the story of an adolescent witch named Juditha at the end of the 17 th century. In the Wurzberg witch trials, about 75% of the 190 accused were women over the age of forty, and over half were menopausal or post-menopausal. Many a story were told of old women visiting a nursing mother, perhaps offering a poisoned apple as many accused witches confessed to (like the medieval tale of the evil stepmother, jealous of Snow White's youthful beauty), causing the infant's failure to thrive. ![]() This story was meant to illustrate that witches were a wicked symbol of anti-fertility, and that pregnant and chlid-weaning women, being the essence of fertility, were most susceptible to the evil machinations of the fertility-hating forces of Satan. Then, in an act of envy, they viciously attacked a pregnant woman, robbing her breastmilk and killing her baby. They plotted to steal all the food and destroy the replenishing fruits of spring. ![]() In the section from pages 125-203 of Witch Craze, Lyndal Roper begins with a story from early 16 th century Basel, Switzerland describing a group of gluttonous witches with appetites so voracious as to threaten to starve the entire country. ![]() ![]() Unknown apothecary who claims to have the cure increases the frenzy. Melchior, a charismatic prophet, draws followersīy predicting where the plague will strike next. Late apothecary Benedict Blackthorn, finds himself at the center of aĬonspiracy that will end in either a cure for the Black Death or theĭestruction of society. Prophets of doom and unscrupulous swindlers hoping to prey upon theįears of the desperate citizens. It is 1665, and the plague has arrived in London, bringing with it In this equally delightful sequel Sand mixes hysteria, history, science, and humor. Mark of the Plague is the second book in the series which technically could be read independently, but why would you? Review: I really enjoyed Kevin Sand's debut novel, The Blackthorn Key, which mixes historical fiction and mystery into a fun, action-packed story. ![]() And as the sickness strikes close to home, the stakes are higher than ever before. ![]() ![]() Threatens the apothecary’s life, Christopher and his faithful friend TomĪre back to hunting down the truth, risking their lives to untangle the Christopher’sīlackthorn shop is chosen to prepare the remedy. ![]() Mysterious prophet predicts the city’s ultimate doom-until an unknownĪpothecary arrives with a cure that actually works. Returned to London, spreading disease and fear through town. ![]() |