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A Furious Muse (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 1)
A Furious Muse (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 1)
AJ Nuest
¥18.65
Taking us back to the realm of Caedmon and Rowena, AJ Nuest has created a breathtaking follow up to The Golden Key Chronicles. Waiting for the next Outlander? Don’t miss this enthralling fantasy romance! ‘Incredibly tantalizing’ – Love Reading Romance Since the day of her birth, Princess Faedrah Austiere has been defined by her place within the kingdom. As the single heir to the half-blood gypsy king and his prophesied white queen, she is fiercely protected, shuttered inside an ivory castle and well-trained in the art of war. Yet neither her obligations as future queen nor the black infestation threatening her kingdom fail to hinder the mysterious pull of the antique armoire hidden in her parents’ bedchamber. And stealing the golden key for a leap through time is the only way to confront the dark lord haunting her dreams. One face. The image of one defiant, relentless woman has been stuck in Rhys McEleod’s head ever since he was old enough paint her luscious curves on the canvas. But the day she walks into his life off the street—sexier than hell and itching for a fight—he’s not convinced she’s the same women he’s envisioned since childhood. That is, not until he spots the golden key around her neck—an object he’d never fully shown in any of his paintings. Now if he could just persuade his lovely muse he’s not the enemy. Unless the elusive Faedrah Austiere learns to trust him, he’ll never have her in his bed—the one place he’s convinced she belongs.
A Wizard Rises (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 3)
A Wizard Rises (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 3)
AJ Nuest
¥18.65
Taking us back to the realm of Caedmon and Rowena, AJ Nuest has created a breathtaking follow up to The Golden Key Chronicles. Waiting for the next Outlander? Don’t miss this enthralling fantasy romance! ‘Incredibly tantalizing’ – Love Reading Romance The homecoming celebration held in honor of Princess Faedrah is fraught with perilous frustration. Her nightmares have returned thricefold and, to her horror, a horrendous blight has spread like a plague throughout the kingdom. Compounding her worries, Rhys’ arrival in her world has been welcomed with the exact horror-filled reaction she expected. Her beloved has been cast into the dungeons, and no amount of arguing with the king and queen will prove he’s her fated love. Magical powers were supposed to be a gift, or so Rhys McEleod had always believed. Too bad the second he landed in Faedrah’s world the legacy he inherited slammed into his body like a weight. He’s got zero control and his constant visions of Faedrah fighting an evil entity aren’t helping. At least her parents made the right decision and stuck him away someplace safe. Until he can figure out his next move, prove himself an ally and uncover the clues to stopping Faedrah’s nightmares, he’s got no choice but to wait…and learn exactly what he’s become.
Dancing With the Virgins (Cooper and Fry Crime Series, Book 2)
Dancing With the Virgins (Cooper and Fry Crime Series, Book 2)
Stephen Booth
¥18.65
The second in the series set in the Derbyshire Peak District, Dancing with the Virgins is a tense psychological follow-up to Stephen Booth’s acclaimed debut Black Dog. ‘The body of the woman sprawled obscenely among the stones… She looked like a dead woman, dancing.’ The ring of cairns known as the Nine Virgins has stood on the windswept moors of Derbyshire for centuries. Now, as winter closes in, a tenth figure is added – a body – and a modern tragedy is added to the dark legend that surrounds the stones. There’s no shortage of suspects, each with their own guilty secret, but what DS Fry and DC Cooper lack is any kind of motive. As they search separately for answers, it seems the reasons for the strange behaviour of the moor’s inhabitants may lie somewhere in the past, in a terrible crime yet to be discovered…
The Sacrifice (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 2)
The Sacrifice (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 2)
AJ Nuest
¥18.65
Taking us back to the realm of Caedmon and Rowena, AJ Nuest has created a breathtaking follow up to The Golden Key Chronicles. Waiting for the next Outlander? Don’t miss this enthralling fantasy romance! ‘Incredibly tantalizing’ – Love Reading Romance The second Faedrah Austiere walked into his life off the canvas, everything in Rhys McEleod’s world stopped making sense. Not only does her story sound like a Grimm’s fairy tale, evidently he’s been cast as the villain. If that isn’t enough, the mirror inside that old, beat up armoire at her uncle’s condo is supposedly a doorway to another world. Ever since the pathway opened, something inside him has seemed…off. If what his muse says is true, they are headed for an epic showdown, but he isn’t about to let her go. Nothing is more important than Faedrah’s protection, even if her parents refuse to accept him. Though certain their fates are bound by more than the golden key Princess Faedrah wears around her neck, it is paramount Rhys’ true identity be kept secret. Should news of his bloodline ever reach her kingdom, their entire quest to save her people could be lost. Their only hope to prove his loyalty is to steal the map to the dark lord’s Crystal Crypt. Yet her a plan endangers her beloved more than the accusations he faces in her kingdom and, to escape evil’s grasp, she and Rhys must take a leap of faith beyond her wildest imagination.
The Widows’ Cafe:A Short Story
The Widows’ Cafe:A Short Story
Camilla Lackberg
¥18.65
A short story from No. 1 international bestseller and Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg, perfect for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo. Marianne has opened a cafe in memory of her husband: Café Widows. Most customers that walk through the door are middle aged women, accompannied by men whose behaviour is often quite unpleasant. Suddenly there is a policeman on the doorstep, confronting Marianne with the news that there have been several deaths recently. Men of all different ages and origins are dying of heart attacks, after visiting Cafe Widows. Could it just be a coincidence, or is there something more sinister at play?
Erasmus Hobart and the Golden Arrow
Erasmus Hobart and the Golden Arrow
Andrew Fish
¥18.65
There are many interesting questions about history of which the most common are 'why does it happen?' and 'is there any way of stopping it?' Second only to these is the question of the infamous outlaw Robin Hood, with whom this book is concerned. Was Robin Hood a great outlaw who dispensed justice like some kind of Sherwood pharmaceutical or was he, perhaps, just a man with a bow who happened to be in the wrong place when the Sheriff of Nottingham went on a law and order drive? In this mediaeval romp, inspired by writers such as Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, we can promise that the answer to this question will be, if not answered, at least definitively ignored. Comedy, adventure and romance, all can be found within its pages (particularly if you use them to wrap up your valuable video collection).
It Girl Episode 4: Chapters 20-25 of 36: HarperImpulse Rom Com
It Girl Episode 4: Chapters 20-25 of 36: HarperImpulse Rom Com
Nic Tatano
¥18.65
NEXT ON “IT GIRL”… EPISODE 4 -It’s the first episode of Dance Off, and Dexter relents by giving Veronica a classy dress: “You look lovely in that dress. I presume it meets with your approval. It’s from the Judi Dench fall collection.” “It’s beautiful, Dexter. I appreciate it.” -Veronica lets it slip that she finds Dexter attractive: He flashed a sinister grin. “So, you think I have a perfect face and body?” So much for my having the upper hand. -Veronica and Dexter are celebrity escorts at a high school prom and made the honorary king and queen… which means they have to share a dance with Dexter in control. “Just let me lead.” “Don’t get used to it.” Will their first dance be a disaster, or lead to something more?
A Time of Reckoning (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 4)
A Time of Reckoning (The Golden Key Legacy, Book 4)
AJ Nuest
¥18.65
Taking us back to the realm of Caedmon and Rowena, AJ Nuest has created a breathtaking follow up to The Golden Key Chronicles. Waiting for the next Outlander? Don’t miss this enthralling fantasy romance! ‘Incredibly tantalizing’ – Love Reading Romance Rhys had one job to do. One measly errand that shouldn’t have been a problem, given the nature of his powers. But when an old enemy reappears, detailing the result of his actions, Rhys is forced to make a choice between a future with Faedrah or dying before his time. Frustrated and out of options, he agrees to her suggestion they to leap forward in time to the future…even though a good chance exists his powers will be nothing but a memory in his world. Flying blind on a wing and a prayer, they prepare to fight for everything they love against a wizard of insurmountable power. Faedrah does her best to gather their closest allies. The sides are squared in a war to control the future of both worlds. With the stakes so high, only one advantage has been cast in their favor. The sigil of utmost protection inherent in Rhys’ signature. If not enough to thwart the evil awaiting at the Austiere gates, she could find herself imprisoned in the future, while her kingdom and all those she has sworn to protect are lost to the mists of time.
Stones
Stones
Polly Johnson
¥18.65
A vivid, compelling and intensely moving novel from an exciting new voice in young adult fiction. Coo is trying to cope with the hand that life has dealt her. At sixteen, she feels she’s too young to have lost her older brother, Sam, to alcoholism. She’s skipping school to avoid the sympathy and questions of her friends and teachers, and shunning her parents, angry that they failed to protect her, and desperate to avoid having to face the fact that, towards the end, she began to wish Sam would leave forever – even die. Then, one day, truanting by the Brighton seafront, Coo meets Banks, a homeless alcoholic and she’s surprised to discover that it is possible for her life to get more complicated. Despite warnings from her friends and family, Coo and Banks develop an unlikely friendship. Brought together through a series of unexpected events, strange midnight feasts, a near drowning and the unravelling of secrets, together they seek their chance for redemption. That is, until Coo’s feelings start getting dangerously out of hand.
Noughts and Crosses: A Short Story
Noughts and Crosses: A Short Story
Patrick O’Brian
¥18.65
A classic tale of nautical adventure from the author of the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, now published in eBook for the very first time to commemorate the Patrick O’Brian centenary. When Sullivan and Ross decide to go shark fishing among the atolls of the Great Barrier Reef little do they know what awaits them. With their schooner beached for cleaning they take a small whaler out to sea, but when the very devil of a storm turns the whole of the sea white, it drives them to the nearest atoll for shelter. It is only when they set out once again that they discover the seas are now filled with sharks, driven to a bloodlust by the smell of their butchered fellows that clings to the whaler. Becalmed and surrounded by the world's most fearsome predators, Sullivan and Ross discover that the hunters and become the hunted. First published under a pseudonym, this classic tale of nautical adventure will thrill every fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of Napoleonic sagas. Together with 'Two's Company' and 'No Pirates Nowadays', it is also a captivating companion to his novel, THE ROAD TO SAMARCAND, which also features Sullivan and Ross.
Two’s Company: A Short Story
Two’s Company: A Short Story
Patrick O’Brian
¥18.65
A classic tale of nautical adventure from the author of the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, now published in eBook for the very first time to commemorate the Patrick O’Brian centenary. The lighthouse was one of the most lonely in the world, guarding a dangerous reef in the cold northern seas. It therefore seemed a good idea to Sullivan and Ross that they both be its keepers; after all, two's company. But long months of isolation and boredom can test even the stoutest of friendships. So when a great storm deposits the carcass of a huge whale on the rocks, attracting to it flocks of hungry seabirds and packs of deadly sharks, and later the arrival of two unexpected guests, it provides the two friends with a welcome distraction from their tedium. Yet as the months drag on, they find that there is only so long that man can live in peace with his fellow. First published under a pseudonym, this classic tale of nautical adventure will thrill every fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of Napoleonic sagas. Together with 'Noughts and Crosses' and 'No Pirates Nowadays', it is also a captivating companion to his novel, THE ROAD TO SAMARCAND, which also features Sullivan and Ross.
It Girl Episode 3: Chapter 14-19 of 36: HarperImpulse RomCom
It Girl Episode 3: Chapter 14-19 of 36: HarperImpulse RomCom
Nic Tatano
¥18.65
NEXT ON “IT GIRL”… EPISODE 3 -Veronica discovers she’s definitely met her match in Dexter Bishop, and she’s ready to take him on: “Yes, it’s quite clear you’re not some fair damsel in distress. You’re more like a damsel who causes distress.” “Oooooh, I kinda like that, Dexter.” -Our heroine is paired up with her dance partner, and not at all happy about the revealing “costumes” she’ll have to wear. “He wants me to wear this?” Bradley shrugged as I held up the electric blue spandex outfit that would no doubt make me look like Catwoman had escaped from a seventies disco. “You’ve got the body for it.” “Thank you, but that’s beside the point.” Though it’s awfully nice that you noticed. -Is the object of Veronica’s affection attached, or not? His cell phone rang, interrupting my question. “Hang on a second,” he said, as he pulled the phone from his pocket. I stole a glance at the screen and saw the face of a spectacular blonde. “I gotta take this.” “Sure,” I said, quickly reassuring myself that a guy who looks like this surely has some beautiful women in his life. She’s probably one of the other dancers. Yeah, let’s go with that.
A Model World
A Model World
Michael Chabon
¥18.74
In this compelling collection of short stories, bestselling author Michael Chabon explores adolescent desire, love, friendship and fatherhood, moving subtly and incisively across this powerful emotional ground. Wry and whimsical, but also with intellectual depth, A MODEL WORLD is a collection of eleven wonderful stories about growing up and growing wise. In ‘S Angel’ a group of wedding guests is hijacked by a fast-talking real estate agent, but not before the bride herself disappears. ‘Smoke’ takes us to a baseball catcher’s funeral, where one of the mourners – a has-been pitcher – confronts the ruins of his career. In the hilarious title story, a graduate student plagiarizes a dissertation on the movement of clouds, only to find himself and his faculty advisor in a parlour game where each player must confess the worst thing he or she has ever done. The second part of the book, ‘The Lost World’, is a series of stories about a young boy, Nathan Shapiro, who must face the wrenching emotions caused by his parents’ bitter divorce. Serious, yet shot through with wit, humour and compassion, these are unforgettable stories from one of America’s most celebrated writers.
Blaster Squad #1 Terror on the Moon
Blaster Squad #1 Terror on the Moon
Russ Crossley
¥18.74
Blaster Squad #1 Terror on the Moon
Japanese Fairy Tales: Illustrated
Japanese Fairy Tales: Illustrated
Yei Theodora Ozaki
¥18.74
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS “THE ORIENT MAGIC” The Talking Bird, The Singing Tree, and the Golden WaterThe Story of the Fisherman and the GenieThe History of the Young King of the Black IslesThe Story of Gulnare of the SeaThe Story of Aladdin; Or, the Wonderful LampThe Story of Prince AgibThe Story of the City of BrassThe Story of Ali Baba and the Forty ThievesThe History of Codadad and His BrothersThe Story of Sinbad the Voyager The Talking Bird:It will be sufficient to break off a branch and carry it to plant in your gardenThe Fisherman and the GenieThe smoke ascended to the clouds, and extending itself along the sea and upon the shore formed a great mist The Young King of the Black IslesWhen he came to this part of his narrative the young king could not restrain his tearsGulnare of the SeaAnd she proceeded to burn perfume and repeat spells until the sea foamed and was agitatedAladdinAt the same time the earth, trembling, opened just before the magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middlePrince AgibAnd when the boat came to me I found in it a man of brass, with a tablet of lead upon his breast, engraven with names and talismans Prince AgibAt the approach of evening I opened the first closet and, entering it, found a mansion like paradiseThe City of BrassAnd when they had ascended that mountain they saw a city than which eyes had not beheld any greaterThe Story of Ali Baba and the Forty ThievesCassim ... was so alarmed at the danger he was in that the more he endeavoured to remember the word Sesame the more his memory was confoundedThe History of Codadad and His BrothersAs it drew near we saw ten or twelve armed pirates appear on the deckSecond Voyage of SinbadThe spot where she left me was encompassed on all sides by mountains that seemed to reach above the clouds, and so steep that there was no possibility of getting out of the valleyThird Voyage of SinbadHaving finished his repast, he returned to his porch, where he lay and fell asleep, snoring louder than thunder.. Little excuse is needed, perhaps, for any fresh selection from the famous "Tales of a Thousand and One Nights," provided it be representative enough, and worthy enough, to enlist a new army of youthful readers. Of the two hundred and sixty-four bewildering, unparalleled stories, the true lover can hardly spare one, yet there must always be favourites, even among these. We have chosen some of the most delightful, in our opinion; some, too, that chanced to appeal particularly to the genius of the artist. If, enticed by our choice and the beauty of the pictures, we manage to attract a few thousand more true lovers to the fountain-book, we shall have served our humble turn. The only real danger lies in neglecting it, in rearing a child who does not know it and has never fallen under its spell. You remember Maimoune, in the story of Prince Camaralzaman, and what she said to Danhasch, the genie who had just arrived from the farthest limits of China? "Be sure thou tellest me nothing but what is true or I shall clip thy wings!" This is what the modern child sometimes says to the genies of literature, and his own wings are too often clipped in consequence."The Empire of the Fairies is no more. Reason has banished them from ev'ry shore;Steam has outstripped their dragons and their cars,Gas has eclipsed their glow-worms and their stars."?douard Laboulaye says in his introduction to Nouveaux Contes Bleus: "Mothers who love your children, do not set them too soon to the study of history; let them dream while they are young.
Robinson Crusoe: Illustrated
Robinson Crusoe: Illustrated
Daniel Defoe
¥18.74
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "buccaneers and buried gold". First published as a book on 23 May 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881 and 1882 under the title Treasure Island or, the mutiny of the Hispaniola with Stevenson adopting the pseudonym Captain George North. Traditionally considered a coming-of-age story, Treasure Island is a tale known for its atmosphere, characters and action, and also as a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality — as seen in Long John Silver — unusual for children's literature now and then. It is one of the most frequently dramatized of all novels. The influence of Treasure Island on popular perceptions of pirates is enormous, including treasure maps marked with an "X", schooners, the Black Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen carrying parrots on their shoulders. Short Summary of the Book:The novel is divided into six parts and 34 chapters: The novel opens in the seaside village of Black Hill Cove in south-west England (to Stevenson, in his letters and in the related fictional play Admiral Guinea, near Barnstaple, Devon) in the mid-18th century. The narrator, James "Jim" Hawkins, is the young son of the owners of the Admiral Benbow Inn. An old drunken seaman named Billy Bones becomes a long-term lodger at the inn, only paying for about the first week of his stay. Jim quickly realizes that Bones is in hiding, and that he particularly dreads meeting an unidentified seafaring man with one leg. Some months later, Bones is visited by a mysterious sailor named Black Dog. Their meeting turns violent, Black Dog flees and Bones suffers a stroke. While Jim cares for him, Bones confesses that he was once the mate of a notorious late pirate, Captain Flint, and that his old crewmates want Bones' sea chest. Some time later, another of Bones' crew mates, a blind man named Pew, appears at the inn and forces Jim to lead him to Bones. Pew gives Bones a paper. After Pew leaves, Bones opens the paper to discover it is marked with the Black Spot, a pirate summons, with the warning that he has until ten o'clock to meet their demands. Bones drops dead of apoplexy (in this context, a stroke) on the spot. Jim and his mother open Bones' sea chest to collect the amount due to them for Bones' room and board, but before they can count out the money that they are owed, they hear pirates approaching the inn and are forced to flee and hide, Jim taking with him a mysterious oilskin packet from the chest. The pirates, led by Pew, find the sea chest and the money, but are frustrated that there is no sign of "Flint's fist". Customs men approach and the pirates escape to their vessel (all except for Pew, who is accidentally run down and killed by the agents' horses).
Persuasion
Persuasion
Jane Austen
¥18.74
Holmes decodes a warning from Porlock, an informant against arch-criminal Moriarty, for "Douglas" resident five years at "Birlstone". Scotland Yard's MacDonald asks them to investigate a corpse with the same look and circle-in-triangle brand on the forearm as Birlstone owner Douglas. The head was blown off by an American-style sawed-off shotgun. Apparently, an intruder dropped a card with VV341, and left across a shallow moat. Watson observes the bereaved English wife and best male friend in unusually good spirits. When Holmes pretends the moat will be drained, the conspirators retrieve a missing dumb-bell weighting down the visitor's clothes beneath the water. Douglas comes from hiding, to explain he killed the assassin Baldwin in self-defence; the plan was to save him from more attacks by criminal survivors of Vermissa Valley. He hands Dr. Watson the following account. Young McMurdo gains reputation as tough counterfeiter, Freemen Lodge member fleeing murder charges in Chicago. In the Vermissa coal mine area, McGinty rules Scowrers branded by a circle in square, the local Lodge 341 who extort, murder, and exchange vicious deeds with nearby Lodges. Pretty Ettie prefers McMurdo to nasty Baldwin, and wants to flee, but will wait some months. When word comes that Pinkerton sent Edwards, McMurdo gathers ringleaders in one room, and springs his trap on them, surrounded by the law. Although the worst were hanged, after ten years, villains were freed, and chased McMurdo-Edwards-Douglas, despite changes of name, location, and wife. He married Ettie, then she died in California, where he made a fortune. The Valley of Fear, notable for Professor Moriarty's involvement, is set before "The Final Problem", the short story in which Moriarty was introduced. This introduces a logical difficulty, as in "The Final Problem" Dr. Watson has never heard of Moriarty, whereas by the end of The Valley Of Fear he is, or should be, familiar with his name and character. The "Moriarty" element in the story is tied into the fate of the informer in the story. It ties the Molly Maguire background to another event of that period: the murder of James Carey, an informer who was shot on board a ship off the coast of Natal, South Africa in 1883 by Patrick O'Donnell, an Irish republican who had relatives in the Mollies and briefly visited the Pennsylvania coal mining district, supposedly looking for the suspected informer among them.
Little Women
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
¥18.74
In offering this study to a public accustomed only to the unquestioning acceptance of the home as something perfect, holy, quite above discussion, a word of explanation is needed. First, let it be clearly and definitely stated, the purpose of this book is to maintain and improve the home. Criticism there is, deep and thorough; but not with the intention of robbing us of one essential element of home life—rather of saving us from conditions not only unessential, but gravely detrimental to home life. Every human being should have a home; the single person his or her home; and the family their home. The home should offer to the individual rest, peace, quiet, comfort, health, and that degree of personal expression requisite; and these conditions should be maintained by the best methods of the time. The home should be to the child a place of happiness and true development; to the adult a place of happiness and that beautiful reinforcement of the spirit needed by the world's workers. We are here to perform our best service to society, and to find our best individual growth and expression; a right home is essential to both these uses. The place of childhood's glowing memories, of youth's ideals, of the calm satisfaction of mature life, of peaceful shelter for the aged; this is not attacked, this we shall not lose, but gain more universally. What is here asserted is that our real home life is clogged and injured by a number of conditions which are not necessary, which are directly inimical to the home; and that we shall do well to lay these aside. As to the element of sanctity—that which is really sacred can bear examination, no darkened room is needed for real miracles; mystery and shadow belong to jugglers, not to the truth. The home is a human institution. All human institutions are open to improvement. This specially dear and ancient one, however, we have successfully kept shut, and so it has not improved as have some others.
Timaeus
Timaeus
Plato Plato
¥18.74
Red Eve was written in the year 1911 by Henry Rider Haggard. This book is one of the most popular novels of Henry Rider Haggard, and has been translated into several other languages around the world.This book is published by Booklassic which brings young readers closer to classic literature globally.
Candide: Illustrated
Candide: Illustrated
Voltaire Voltaire
¥18.74
High into air are the great New York buildings lifted by a ray whose source no telescope can find.It seemed only fitting and proper that the greatest of all leaps into space should start from Roosevelt Field, where so many great flights had begun and ended. Fliers whose names had rung—for a space—around the world, had landed here and been received by New York with all the pomp of visiting kings. Fliers had departed here for the lands of kings, to be received by them when their journeys were ended. Of course Lucian Jeter and Tema Eyer were disappointed that Franz Kress had beaten them out in the race to be first into the stratosphere above fifty-five thousand feet. There was a chance that Kress would fail, when it would be the turn of Jeter and Eyer. They didn't wish for his failure, of course. They were sports-men as well as scientists; but they were just human enough to anticipate the plaudits of the world which would be showered without stint upon the fliers who succeeded. The warship simply vanished into the night sky. "At least, Tema," said Jeter quietly, "we can look his ship over and see if there is anything about it that will suggest something to us. Of course, whether he succeeds or fails, we shall make the attempt as soon as we are ready.""Indeed, yes," replied Eyer. "For no man will ever fly so high that another may not fly even higher. Once planes are constructed of unlimited flying radius ... well, the universe is large and there should be no end of space fights for a long time."
She
She
H. Rider Haggard
¥18.74
The War of the Worlds is a military science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. It first appeared in serialized form in 1897, published simultaneously in Pearson's Magazine in the UK and Cosmopolitan magazine in the US. The first appearance in book form was published by William Heinemann of London in 1898. It is the first-person narrative of the adventures of an unnamed protagonist and his brother in Surrey and London as Earth is invaded by Martians. Written between 1895 and 1897, it is one of the earliest stories that detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. The novel is one of the most commented-on works in the science fiction canon. The War of the Worlds has two parts, Book One: The Coming of the Martians and Book Two: The Earth under the Martians. The narrator, a philosophically-inclined author, struggles to return to his wife while seeing the Martians lay waste to southern England. Book One also imparts the experience of his brother, also unnamed, who describes events in the capital and escapes the Martians by boarding a ship near Tillingham, on the Essex coast. The plot has been related to invasion literature of the time. The novel has been variously interpreted as a commentary on evolutionary theory, British Imperialism, and generally Victorian superstitions, fears and prejudices. At the time of publication it was classified as a scientific romance, like his earlier novel The Time Machine. The War of the Worlds has been both popular (having never gone out of print) and influential, spawning half a dozen feature films, radio dramas, a record album, various comic book adaptations, a television series, and sequels or parallel stories by other authors. It has even influenced the work of scientists, notably Robert Hutchings Goddard. Plot SummaryYet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.— H. G. Wells (1898), The War of the Worlds The Coming of the MartiansThe narrative opens in an astronomical observatory at Ottershaw where explosions are seen on the surface of the planet Mars, creating much interest in the scientific community. Later a "meteor" lands on Horsell Common, near the narrator's home in Woking, Surrey. He is among the first to discover that the object is an artificial cylinder that opens, disgorging Martians who are "big" and "greyish" with "oily brown skin," "the size, perhaps, of a bear," with "two large dark-coloured eyes," and a lipless "V-shaped mouth" surrounded by "Gorgon groups of tentacles." The narrator finds them "at once vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and monstrous." They briefly emerge, have difficulty in coping with the Earth's atmosphere, and rapidly retreat into the cylinder. A human deputation (which includes the astronomer Ogilvy) approaches the cylinder with a white flag, but the Martians incinerate them and others nearby with a heat-ray before beginning to assemble their machinery. Military forces arrive that night to surround the common, including Maxim guns. The population of Woking and the surrounding villages are reassured by the presence of the military. A tense day begins, with much anticipation of military action by the narrator.