"Trevanian" was a pen name of Dr. Rodney William Whitaker, born June 12, 1931 in Granville, New York. He died December 14, 2005 in the English West Country.
Book description
Jonathan Hemlock lives in a renovated Gothic church on Long Island. He is an art professor, a mountain climber, and a mercenary, performing assassinations (i.e., sanctions) for money to augment his black-market art collection. Now Hemlock is being tricked into a hazardous assignment that involves an attempt to scale one of the most treacherous mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps, the Eiger.
In a breathtakingly suspenseful story that is part thriller and part satire, the author traces Hemlock’s spine-tingling adventures, introducing a cast of intriguing characters—villains, traitors, beautiful women—into the highly charged atmosphere of danger. The accumulating threads of suspicion, accusation, and evidence gradually knit themselves into a bizarre and death-defying climax in this exciting, entertaining novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the last absorbing page.
A Christian can almost be forgiven for not reading the Bible, but there's no salvation for a fantasy fan who hasn't read the gospel of the genre, J.R.R. Tolkien's definitive three-book epic, the Lord of the Rings (encompassing The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King), and its charming precursor, The Hobbit. That many (if not most) fantasy works are in some way derivative of Tolkien is understood, but the influence of the Lord of the Rings is so universal that everybody from George Lucas to Led Zeppelin has appropriated it for one purpose or another.
Not just revolutionary because it was groundbreaking, the Lord of the Rings is timeless because it's the product of a truly top-shelf mind. Tolkien was a distinguished linguist and Oxford scholar of dead languages, with strong ideas about the importance of myth and story and a deep appreciation of nature. His epic, 10 years in the making, recounts the Great War of the Ring and the closing of Middle-Earth's Third Age, a time when magic begins to fade from the world and men rise to dominance. Tolkien carefully details this transition with tremendous skill and love, creating in the Lord of the Rings a universal and all-embracing tale, a justly celebrated classic.
Michael Connelly's most famous character, Detective Harry Bosch, has been thrilling readers for a decade. Now available in one omnibus edition are the three books that brought him to life. First introduced in The Black Echo, Bosch hunts the brutal murderer of a Vietnam buddy. Then, in The Black Ice, a narcotics officers disappearance sends Bosch on a trail of murders leading from Hollywood Boulevard to Mexicos dusty back alleys. In The Concrete Blonde, Bosch must hunt down the Dollmaker, a macabre serial killer, before he strikes again. Together, these three novels are the perfect way to discover, or rediscover, one of our most fascinating and well-loved sleuths. A Darkness More Than Night, also featuring Harry Bosch, is a New York Times bestseller and a national bestseller. Connellys sales continue to rise. Since its January 2001 publication, A Darkness More Than Night has shipped more than 235,000 copies. The Black Echo won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Connelly has also won a Nero Wolfe prize, a Macavity Award, and an Anthony Award.
Angels Flight (Bosch 06) is a detective's nightmare scenario and is disturbingly relevant to the racially tense last decade of the 20th century. Amidst the twists and turns of his complex narrative, Connelly affirms his rightful place among the masters of contemporary mystery fiction.
In a break from his Harry Bosch novels, Edgar-winning novelist Michael Connelly creates a new hero who is a lot greener but no less believable. The Poet will keep readers holding their breath until the very end: the characters are multilayered, the plot compelling, and the denouement a true surprise. Connelly fans will not be disappointed.
The Poet won the 1997 Anthony Award for Best Mystery.
Henry Pierce is about to become very rich--as soon as his firm, Amedeo Technologies, gets an infusion of capital from a big backer. But the brilliant chemist's workaholic habits are disrupted when his lover, the former intelligence officer of his company, breaks up with him. Lonely and dispirited, he moves into a new apartment and gets a new phone number that attracts a lot of callers, but not for him. His new telephone number seems to have previously belonged to one Lilly Quinlan, an escort whose Internet photo arouses Henry's curiosity, especially when L.A. Darlings, whose Web page features the beautiful young woman, can't tell Henry how to find her. With the same single-mindedness that made him a high-tech superstar, Pierce pursues his search for the missing girl.
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown; 1st ed edition (October 15, 2002)
From the first sentence of Jeffrey Eugenides' MIDDLESEX, I was hooked by this complicated tale of a young girl who grows into a man. The story of Cal Stephanides begins generations before his birth, in a small Greek village, when his grandparents succumb to incestuous desires. Immigration to the United States keeps Desdemona and Lefty's secret intact - until their grandchild Cal reaches puberty. Told with both humor and earnestness, the story grows more engaging with every page.
The brilliance of this book emerges not from the superficial story of a hermaphrodite but from the context - historical, scientific, psychological, political, geographical - of Cal's birth and subsequent rebirth. MIDDLESEX is about much more than gender confusion. Cal's mixed gender can be taken as a metaphor for the experience of first- and second-generations born of immigrants.
Che Guevara's amazing life story has lifted him to almost legendary status. The larger-than-life hero of the 1959 revolutionary victory that overturned the Cuban dictatorship, Che believed that revolution would also topple the imperialist governments in Latin America.
His call to action, his proclamation of invincibility, the ultimate victory of revolutionary forces, continues to influence the course of Latin American history and international relations. This book will help readers gain a better understanding of Che's theoretical contribution to revolutionary literature and the inspiration that his life and Guerrilla Warfare have provided to revolutionaries since the 60s.
Philip Pullman: "His Dark Materials" - The Trilogy
Amazon.com
In an epic trilogy, Philip Pullman unlocks the door to a world parallel to our own, but with a mysterious slant all its own. Demons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the universes--if it isn't destroyed first. Here, the three paperback titles in Pullman's heroic fantasy series are united in one dazzling boxed set. Join Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and the rest as they embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventures of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands. (Ages 13 and older)
These books are what the very best of Children's literature does. They are entertaining and fanciful, yet they simultaneously challenge and educate both the mind and heart. Like hot soup when you are sick, they are "Good and Good for You."
"His Dark Materials" are a great counter-point to the mindless fun of Harry Potter and friends. Pullman's writing is educated and insightful, his characters are real and multi-faceted. The series is packed with adventure, ideas, beliefs, fantasy, talking armored bears, Texas Balloonists, animals, gypsies, and just about everything else. The tone of the series is serious, and as dark as the name implies.
