Sebastian Stuart is a complicated character: a Flashmanesque cad, an adventurer and a soldier who during his colourful life faces some tough moral questions - loyalty or betrayal. Self preservation or the courage to face the consequences of his acts for which he will eventuallly be judged. A sweeping history of England and Germany before and during World War II and the after-effects where the reader can perhaps easily imagine being placed in the uncomfortable position Stuart is placed. Is Sebastian Stuart a hero? That is for the reader to decide no matter the uncomfortable roller coaster ride the book takes them on.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER With her energies focused on a baffling, vicious gang slaying and her personal life in shambles, Hollywood homicide detective Petra Connor has a full plate. The last thing she needs is a whiz-kid grad student claiming to have stumbled upon a bizarre connection between several unsolved murders. “An elaborate, tangled web . . . With unsuspected turns at every chapter break . . . this addictive tale . . . is as intricately detailed as it is tantalizingly page-turning.”—Entertainment Weekly The victims had nothing in common, yet each died by the same method, on the same date—a date that’s rapidly approaching again. And that leaves Petra with little time to unravel the twisted logic of a cunning predator who’s evaded detection for years—and whose terrible hour is once more at hand.
Is music removed from politics? To what ends, beneficent or malevolent, can music and musicians be put? In short, when human rights are grossly abused and politics turned to fascist demagoguery, can art and artists be innocent? These questions and their implications are explored in Michael Kater's broad survey of musicians and the music they composed and performed during the Third Reich. Great and small--from Valentin Grimm, a struggling clarinetist, to Richard Strauss, renowned composer--are examined by Kater, sometimes in intimate detail, and the lives and decisions of Nazi Germany's professional musicians are laid out before the reader. Kater tackles the issue of whether the Nazi regime, because it held music in crassly utilitarian regard, acted on musicians in such a way as to consolidate or atomize the profession. Kater's examination of the value of music for the regime and the degree to which the regime attained a positive propaganda and palliative effect through the manner in which it manipulated its musicians, and by extension, German music, is of importance for understanding culture in totalitarian systems. This work, with its emphasis on the social and political nature of music and the political attitude of musicians during the Nazi regime, will be the first of its kind. It will be of interest to scholars and general readers eager to understand Nazi Germany, to music lovers, and to anyone interested in the interchange of music and politics, culture and ideology.
The prince who will conquer all the kingdoms of myth. The woman who must stop him. Not all myths are harmless. Yevliesza, formerly of earth and now of the Mythos, knows that one of the mythical realms is based in darkness. Volkia. This warlike kingdom has shattered the rules of magic, bringing all the realms into peril. When Yevliesza is sent to Volkia on a diplomatic mission, she arrives at a nest of vipers. The cunning ruler of Volkia, Prince Albrecht, appears to welcome her, but suspects that she is linked to a rare and world-altering power. One that he intends to harness for conquest. To preserve the Mythos, Yevliesza must never reveal that power. But she has left behind a trail of evidence, and worse, she possesses a damning arcane tracery--etched upon her very skin. Now she is in the hands of a ruler who is determined to bend her to his will, whether through a twisted courtship or outright coercion. Unless she can outwit him. The prince has formidable allies, but one is supreme: the twisted being who hovers over the realm, guiding the Volkish and seeking revenge on Yevliesza’s homeland. And especially on the girl with the Lost Power. Book two of a high fantasy quartet from acclaimed science fiction and fantasy world-builder Kay Kenyon. Watch for Servant of the Lost Power, Book 3 of The Arisen Worlds, coming February 20, 2024. KEYWORDS: high fantasy, portal fiction, coming of age, women's fantasy, chosen one, royal destiny, slow burn romance, forbidden love, fantasy romance action adventure, myths and legends, saga, sorcery, myth world, dark magic
When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods in this chilling novel that reads like The Blair Witch Project meets The Andy Griffith Show. When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be? Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself. Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale. From Hugo Award–winning author Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher, The Twisted Ones is a gripping, terrifying tale bound to keep you up all night—from both fear and anticipation of what happens next.
The Patriot Endeavor What would it look like if a third-party upstart tried to take back our government from lying thieves in Washington? Navigate the labyrinth of corrupt election year politics at their most heinous in The Patriot Endeavor. Unabashedly broaching hot buttons, like racism, illegal immigration, and homosexuality that includes Capitol Hill sex scandals and a beautiful transgender seductress, The Patriot Endeavor is teeming with political intrigue, dirty police, assassinations, and tragically lost love. It features a third-party upstart protected by an ex-CIA rogue who tangles with an elite black ops team of killers. Lies, betrayal, government-sanctioned bombings, shadowy characters, and poignant romantic interludes—The Patriot Endeavor has it all as it races to election day and its stunning conclusion.
Philip K. Dick was one of the most popular science fiction novelists of the 20th century, but the contradictory and wily writer has troubled critics who attempt encompassing explanations of his work. This book examines Dick's writing through the lens of ontological uncertainty, providing a comparative map of his oeuvre, tracing both the interior connections between books and his allusive intertextuality. Topics covered include time travel, alternate worlds, androids and simulacra, finite subjective realities and schizophrenia. Twenty novels are explored in detail, including titles that have received scant critical attention. Some of his most important short stories and two of his realist novels are also examined, providing a general introduction to Dick's body of work.
Inspired by certain true events The story now continues. Joey finds himself at the precipice of stardom, fame, and the unrelenting force of darkness following close behind him. Joeys team, the Patriots, are State Champions on their way to another year of battling to keep their title as the best 4A football team in the state, but Coach Knuckles has made a promise that even his team doesnt know if they can carry out. Through keeping his obligations to his team, to keeping his sanity from spiraling out of control. Joey finds himself at the top of his game with the assistance of his shadowy friend, but the events already set in motion threaten to destroy not only his team, but also the ones he loves the most.
