When lost inside a forbidden forest, Timothy Huntsinger encounters an unworldly creature. This creature convinces him to travel below Earth, where the boy finds himself surrounded by an endless number of books for him to choose from. On opening the chosen book, Timothy discovers that his decisions and actions alone affect the book’s content. And each decision starts a chain of events that could affect his world for all eternity. Soon, a world of much consequence, full of magic and quests, must be reckoned with for Timothy to progress through the book. Progress through this book Timothy must if he wants to finish it and hope to bring back what has been lost to him. At his side will be allies, each one faithful to every choice and action Timothy makes, each one willing to give their life to the boy and the finishing of the book.
An insightful, beautifully written study of how nature has influenced popular fairy tales like Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood—pairing 12 modern retellings with detailed histories of Northern European forests. Fairy tales are one of our earliest cultural forms, and forests one of our most ancient landscapes. Both evoke similar sensations: At times, they are beautiful and magical, at others—spooky and sometimes horrifying. Maitland argues that the terrain of these fairy tales are intimately connected to the mysterious secrets and silences, gifts, and perils. With each chapter focusing on a different story and a different forest visit, Maitland offers a complex history of forests and how they shape the themes of fairy tales we know best. She offers a unique analysis of famous stories including Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretal, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumplestiltskin, and Sleeping Beauty. Maitland uses fairy tales to explore how nature itself informs our imagination, and she guides the reader on a series of walks through northern Europe’s best forests to explore both the ecological history of forests and the roots of fairy tales. In addition to the twelve modern retellings of these traditional fairy tales, she includes beautiful landscape photographs taken by her son as he joined her on these long walks. Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Maitland has infused new life into tales we’ve always thought we've known.
A masterful, multifaceted story collection from one of American literature’s most influential writers and teachers As a creative writing teacher whose students included Raymond Carver, Joy Williams, and Andre Dubus, and as longtime editor of The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, R. V. Cassill profoundly impacted the development of the short story in America. The ten stunning tales in The Father and Other Stories exhibit his mastery of the form and the breathtaking scope of his vision. In “This Hand, These Talons,” a former combat pilot grapples with the dislocations of peacetime. “The Prize,” an O. Henry Award winner, is a tender yet clear-eyed portrait of the growing pains of a Depression-era adolescence. “And in My Heart” is a richly nuanced portrayal of a writing teacher’s obsessive involvement in the ill-fated romance of two of his students. The haunting title story, a widely anthologized masterpiece, illustrates a man’s descent into guilt and despair after he is forced to amputate his son’s hand to save the boy from dying in a farming accident. Across a broad range of characters, tones, and settings, Cassill finds beauty and insight wherever he looks. The Father and Other Stories is proof of his tremendous skill as a storyteller and his enduring influence on contemporary literature.
A divinity made of Millions of Lights appeared in the empty, infinite, dark, cold space. After millions of years of flying continuously, he created seven universes. The force entered a deep sleep, waiting for the perfect moment to wake up and act. He left behind a gray boiling living material that created the powerful Invictus. Cold, handsome, and without feelings, he dominated everything. Like a magician with amazing powers, he created galaxies, planets, and perfect Gray Soldiers who worked for him days and nights. One day, from the living substance in the burning huge forge, something new was born: a celestial. He was different from the rest and more powerful than anybody. He was born from blue light and was named Deus. Invictus hated Deus and tried to kill him, considering him the biggest mistake. They fought for many years. Deus had an extraordinary group of heroes who had powers, and they were loyal to him. Their adventures could be found on every page of this book and continued in the next book, Galaxy 2. Every chapter would take you to a world you could not imagine and to discover people with powers you have never heard of. I will stop here and let the reader start the adventure of their life.
When fifteen-year-old Wynne's father dies in eleventh-century Wales, she attends to her father's estate, dodges an arranged marriage, and falls in love with the dashing Prince Madoc