Smoked

Smoked
Author: Patrick Quinlan
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2007-04-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780312349356

Smoke Dugan is on the run. A bomb-maker by profession, he dropped out of sight because of a misunderstanding with his employers about an airplane crash and $2.5 million in cash. Unfortunately, they've found out where Smoke's living--a picturesque seaside city in Maine. And Denny Cruz, a highly paid assassin, is on his way from New York to collect him. Smoke's girlfriend, Lola Bell, is unaware of his past. Sexy, smart, and tough, Lola's a weed that grew up through the cracks in an inner-city housing project. Her big eyes belie her secret weapon: she's spent a decade studying the martial arts. The tattoo on her shoulder reads girls kick ass. When Cruz decides to use Lola to get to Smoke, he has no idea what he's taking on. A time bomb is ticking as Smoke, Lola, Cruz, and anyone unlucky enough to come into their orbit are caught up in a drama of abduction, car chases, and triple bluff, where escape or violent death look like the only options. But nothing turns out quite as anyone might expect . . . Patrick Quinlan's fast-paced, edgy, and brilliantly original first novel introduces a cast of characters worthy of Tarantino in their sophistication and resourcefulness, in a stylish thriller that marks the debut of a stunning new talent.

Welcome to Maravilla

Welcome to Maravilla
Author: R. Douglas Clark
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Total Pages: 185
Release:
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1645400638

The tiny hamlet of Maravilla, New Mexico is not immune to modern-day problems. But the citizens of Maravilla have their own special problems, as well: A developer wants to build a Christian-themed amusement park next to Maravilla’s historic church. The county line runs right through the town, splitting it in two. And the government is threatening to close their post office! Into this muddle steps Jake Epstein, a young writer from the big city. Jake is seeking peace and quiet to finish his current project: a science fiction story in which adventuress Tai-Keiko must deliver the secret formula for Zeton-9—with the evil Krossarians in hot pursuit. But then reality and science fiction converge—and Tai-Keiko finds herself in present-day Maravilla, face to face with a gobsmacked Jake. Join Jake on this comic run along the dusty roads of Maravilla, and find out who won the fight between Father Ignatius and the heathen pig farmer. How a basketball game changed the fate of the town. And was that white flash in the sky a UFO?

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and Mirrors
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2009-03-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0061795291

The astonishing and impressive first collection of short stories from New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman An elderly widow finds the Holy Grail beneath an old fur coat in a second-hand store . . . A stray cat fights and refights a nightly battle to protect his adoptive family from an unimagiable evil . . . A young couple receives a wedding gift that will reveal a chilling alternate history of their marriage . . . Beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks, a frightened little boy bargains for his life with a most persistent troll . . . Such miraculous inventions and more await within Neil Gaiman’s first collection of short fiction, a gift of wonder and delight from one of the most unique literary artists of our day. In his capable hands, magic is no mere illusion, but a powerful means to reveal the nature of our humanity obscured in the smoke of our fears and anxieties . . . and reflected in the funhouse mirrors of our dreams.

Siren's Fury

Siren's Fury
Author: Mary Weber
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: Adventure stories
ISBN: 9781401690373

Nym risked her life to save Faelen, her homeland, from a losing war, only to discover that the shapeshifter Draewulf has stolen everything she holds dear. But when the repulsive monster robs Nym of her storm-summoning abilities as well, the beautiful Elemental realizes her war is only just beginning.

Sirens & Muses

Sirens & Muses
Author: Antonia Angress
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2023-07-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593496450

Four artists are drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school and on the streets of New York in this “gripping, provocative, and supremely entertaining” (BuzzFeed) debut “Captures the ache-inducing quality of art and desire . . . a deeply relatable and profoundly enjoyable read, one drenched in prismatic color and light.”—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of With Teeth FINALIST FOR THE MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Glamour, PopSugar, Debutiful It’s 2011: America is in a deep recession and Occupy Wall Street is escalating. But at the elite Wrynn College of Art, students paint and sculpt in a rarefied bubble. Louisa Arceneaux is a thoughtful, observant nineteen-year-old when she transfers to Wrynn as a scholarship student, but she soon finds herself adrift in an environment that prizes novelty over beauty. Complicating matters is Louisa’s unexpected attraction to her charismatic roommate, Karina Piontek, the preternaturally gifted but mercurial daughter of wealthy art collectors. Gradually, Louisa and Karina are drawn into an intense sensual and artistic relationship, one that forces them to confront their deepest desires and fears. But Karina also can’t shake her fascination with Preston Utley, a senior and anti-capitalist Internet provocateur, who is publicly feuding with visiting professor and political painter Robert Berger—a once-controversial figurehead seeking to regain relevance. When Preston concocts an explosive hoax, the fates of all four artists are upended as each is unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat New York art world. Now all must struggle to find new identities in art, in society, and among each other. In the process, they must find either their most authentic terms of life—of success, failure, and joy—or risk losing themselves altogether. With a canny, critical eye, Sirens & Muses overturns notions of class, money, art, youth, and a generation’s fight to own their future.

Sirens

Sirens
Author: Michael Bull
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2020-02-06
Genre: Music
ISBN: 150130500X

Sirens are sounds that confront us in daily life, from the sounds of police cars and fire engines to, less often, tornado warnings. Ideologies of sirens embody the protective, the seductive and the dangerous elements of siren sounds – from the US Cold War public training exercises in the 1950s and 1960s to the seductive power of the sirens entrenched in popular culture: from Wagner to Dizzee Rascal, from Kafka to Kurt Vonnegut, from Hans Christian Andersen to Walt Disney. This book argues, using a wide array of theorists from Adorno to Bloch and Kittler, that we should understand 'siren sounds' in terms of their myth and materiality, and that sirens represent a sonic confluence of power, gender and destructiveness embedded in core Western ideologies to the present day. Bull poses the question of whether we can rely on sirens, both in their mythic meanings and in their material meanings in contemporary culture.

On His Watch

On His Watch
Author: Sharon Dunn
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2020-12-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1488078319

Two thrilling stories from the True Blue K-9 Unit series. Courage Under Fire by Sharon Dunn A deadly stalker has rookie K-9 officer Lani Branson in his crosshairs, and he won’t stop until she’s dead. Her boss, K-9 police chief Noah Jameson, won’t let that happen on his watch, especially since there’s a chance this is the same person who killed his brother. Can they unmask the murderer who’s been terrorizing the unit before he strikes again? Sworn to Protectby Shirlee McCoy Her husband’s murderer has his sights set on Katie Jameson. With the killer on the loose again, she’ll have to trust K-9 officer Tony Knight to protect her and her baby from the stalker who will stop at nothing to get his way. It will take all of Tony’s and his furry partner’s skills to find the killer before it’s too late. USA TODAY Bestselling Author Sharon Dunn New York Times Bestselling Author Shirlee McCoy

Storm Siren

Storm Siren
Author: Mary Weber
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2014-08-26
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 140169036X

The award-winning novel that started it all. “A riveting tale from start to finish. Between the simmering romance, the rich and inventive fantasy world, and one seriously jaw-dropping finale, readers will clamor for the next book—and I'll be at the front of the line!” —Marissa Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of the Lunar Chronicles In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled. “I raise my chin as the buyers stare. Yes. Look. You don’t want me. Because, eventually, accidentally, I will destroy you.” As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth—meaning, she shouldn’t even exist. Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war or be killed. Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons. But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for? Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win. “Intense and intriguing. Fans of high stakes fantasy won't be able to put it down.” —CJ Redwine, New York Times bestselling author of the Ravenspire series “Mary Weber has created a fascinating, twisted world. Storm Siren sucked me in from page one—I couldn’t stop reading! This is a definite must-read, the kind of book that kept me up late into the night turning the pages!” —Lindsay Cummings, author of the Androma Saga “A riveting read! Mary Weber's rich world and heartbreaking heroine had me from page one. You're going to fall in love with this love story.” —Josephine Angelini, internationally bestselling author of the Starcrossed trilogy “Elegant prose and intricate world-building twist into a breathless cyclone of a story that will constantly keep you guessing. More please!” —Shannon Messenger, author of the Sky Fall series

Smoke Eaters

Smoke Eaters
Author: Sean Grigsby
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2018-03-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0857667742

When dragons rise from the earth, firefighters are humanity’s last line of defence, in this wild near-future fantasy. Firefighter Cole Brannigan is on the verge of retirement after 30 years on the job, and a decade fighting dragons. But during his final fire call, he discovers he’s immune to dragon smoke. It’s such a rare power that he’s immediately conscripted into the elite dragon-fighting force known as the Smoke Eaters. Retirement cancelled, Brannigan is re-assigned as a lowly rookie, chafing under his superiors. So when he discovers a plot to take over the city’s government, he takes matters into his own hands. With hundreds of innocent civilians in the crosshairs, it’s up to Brannigan and his fellow Smoke Eaters to repel the dragon menace. File Under: Fantasy