The High Council

The High Council
Author: Victor Kloss
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2018-01-16
Genre: England
ISBN: 9781983896156

Tension is high at the Royal Institute of Magic, as the Directors of each of the Departments - Spellswords, Wardens, Traders, Scholars and Diplomats - work together with their allies to push back the dark elf invasion, led by King Suktar. But Ben Greenwood knows the truth: the only real way they are going to win is if he and the Guardians do the unthinkable and infiltrate the heart of the dark elf homeland - ending the evil king's rule once and for all. As if that wasn't enough, a new power has come into play. Queen Elizabeth was aware of it all those years ago, and she predicted it would continue to influence their mission to the bitter end: the High Council. As if that wasn't enough, a new power has come into play. Queen Elizabeth was aware of it all those years ago, and she predicted it would continue to influence their mission to the bitter end: the High Council.

Ella Minnow Pea

Ella Minnow Pea
Author: Mark Dunn
Publisher: MP Publishing
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2010-05-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1596929995

An epistolary novel set on a fictional island off the South Carolina coastline, 'Ella Minnow Pea' brings readers to the hometown of Nevin Nollop, inventor of the pangram 'The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog'. Deified for his achievement in life, Nevin has been honored in death with a monument featuring his famous phrase. One day, however, the letter 'Z' falls from the monument, and some of the islanders interpret the missing tile as a message from beyond the grave. The letter 'Z' is banned from use. On an island where the residents pride them-selves on their love of language, this is seen as a tragedy. They are still reeling from the shock when another tile falls. And then another... In his charming debut, first published in 2001, Mark Dunn took readers on a journey through the eyes of Ella Minnow Pea, a young woman forced to create another clever turn of phrase in order to save the islanders’ beloved language.

Vampire High Council

Vampire High Council
Author: Sam Shafer
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2001
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1552126080

A writer, Kelly Weatherford, has been looking into the past of Chance Noble and following him around L.A. when Chance unexpectedly confronts Kelly in a parking garage. Chance tells Kelly he knows who she is and what she is doing, but he can't figure out why any writer would be interested in him or his past. The meeting between Chance and Kelly is interrupted by a gun-wielding trio of punks with larceny on their mind, but a friend of Chance's, Miguel Sanchez, suddenly appears out of nowhere, and using just his bare hands, routs the punks and makes them fear for their lives. Miguel's arrival in L.A. causes Chance to invite Kelly to come with him and Miguel to Napa Valley, where he promises Kelly all her questions will be answered and the mystery cleared up. Kelly reluctantly agrees to the trip but is stunned when, instead of driving to Napa Valley, they go the Van Nuys airport and board a Gulfstream V jet owned and piloted by Chance. In Napa Valley, Kelly meets and becomes a friend with the Tiszan clan, a family that owns a huge mansion and runs a winery. Over a period of days Kelly learns the real story behind the vampire legends and finds out that Chance Noble is more than he appears to be. Kelly's eyes are further opened when she learns that the Tiszan clan is just one of the many pure-blood and half-blood vampire clans who live and work among mortal humans. And most importantly, Kelly witnesses a deadly sword duel that ill decide whether the vampire clans stay at peace or go to war.

Lost

Lost
Author: P. C. Cast
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2018-07-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1538440768

In Lost, we follow Zoey, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim to an alternative version of the House of Night, where dangers take the form of friends, and allies are found in the strangest places. The moment Other Kevin returns to his world trouble begins. Thankfully, he finds friends and allies—some expected, some unexpected—and soon discovers he, like his sister, can wield Old Magick. But without a mentor to help him, will Kevin be tempted to embrace Darkness? Back in our Tulsa, things have settled down since Zoey and the gang closed the tear between worlds. A new school year has begun, and Zoey’s exchange student program with public schools is really taking off. All is well. But if all is well, why is Zoey increasingly withdrawn and moody? Stark thinks he knows what’s wrong—and he is determined not to lose Zoey to the Other World and Heath, who is there and very much alive. Stevie Rae thinks she knows what’s wrong—Z just needs a break. Maybe a little vacay? And the rest of the Nerd Herd thinks their Z will be fine—just give her some time to stop missing (and worrying about) Other Kevin. But Zoey knows the truth. In the Other World her brother is using Old Magick, unaware of the dangers it holds. Without guidance, what will stop him from giving in to the potent pull of Old Magick? Without her guidance, Other Kevin could lose more than the war against Neferet—he could lose his soul. And Z knows she must help him—after all, he is her little brother ...

The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle
Author: Philip K. Dick
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2011
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0547572484

Slavery is back. America, 1962. Having lost a war, America finds itself under Nazi Germany and Japan occupation. A few Jews still live under assumed names. The 'I Ching' is prevalent in San Francisco. Science fiction meets serious ideas in this take on a possible alternate history.

Transformers: Exodus

Transformers: Exodus
Author: Alex Irvine
Publisher: Del Rey
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2014-06-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0804180539

For twenty-five years the colossal battle between Megatron and Optimus Prime has captivated Transformers fans around the world. Yet the full story of the conflict between the two most famous Transformers—everything that happened before Optimus and Megatron arrived on planet Earth—has always been a mystery . . . until now. Here, for the first time told in its entirety, is the thrilling saga of Optimus and Megatron before they were enemies, before they even knew each other. “Freedom is every Cybertronian’s right!” After Megatron utters these immortal words, the caste-bound planet of Cybertron is rocked to its foundations. Megatron, an undefeated gladiator thug, gives voice to the unspoken longings of the oppressed masses—and opens the mind of an insignificant data clerk to possibilities previously unthinkable. Long before becoming the honorable Optimus Prime, Orion Pax is a mere office underling, an unlikely candidate to answer an outlaw’s call to revolution. But Orion is determined to meet this defiant enemy of all that Cybertron stands for, no matter what he has to do, or how many laws he has to break. What happens between Orion Pax and Megatron forever changes the destiny of all Transformers. This gripping, action-packed novel reveals all the loyalties and treacheries, trust and betrayals, deadly violence and shining ideals, as well as the pivotal roles played by other characters, including Starscream, Sentinel Prime, Omega Supreme, and one of the thirteen original Primes, the last link to Cybertron’s glorious Golden Age. Discover how meek disciple Orion Pax becomes the fearless leader Optimus Prime; follow the tantalizing clues about the lost Matrix of Leadership and the lore surrounding it; find out why the two allies fighting a corrupt regime suddenly turn on each other, and what triggers their epic war. Transformers: Exodus provides everything fans ever wanted to know about one of the fiercest rivalries of all time.

Memories of Ash

Memories of Ash
Author: Intisar Khanani
Publisher: Purple Monkey Press
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2016-05-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 098566584X

In the year since she cast her sunbolt, Hitomi has recovered only a handful of memories. But the truths of the past have a tendency to come calling, and an isolated mountain fastness can offer only so much shelter. When the High Council of Mages summons Brigit Stormwind to stand trial for treason, Hitomi knows her mentor won’t return—not with Arch Mage Blackflame behind the charges. Armed only with her magic and her wits, Hitomi vows to free her mentor from unjust imprisonment. She must traverse spell-cursed lands and barren deserts, facing powerful ancient enchantments and navigating bitter enmities, as she races to reach the High Council. There, she reunites with old friends, planning a rescue equal parts magic and trickery. If she succeeds, Hitomi will be hunted the rest of her life. If she fails, she’ll face the ultimate punishment: enslavement to the High Council, her magic slowly drained until she dies. Memories of Ash is the highly anticipated sequel to Sunbolt, Book 1 of The Sunbolt Chronicles.

In the Country of Men

In the Country of Men
Author: Hisham Matar
Publisher: Dial Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2007-01-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0440336643

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Hisham Matar's Anatomy of a Disappearance. Libya, 1979. Nine-year-old Suleiman’s days are circumscribed by the narrow rituals of childhood: outings to the ruins surrounding Tripoli, games with friends played under the burning sun, exotic gifts from his father’s constant business trips abroad. But his nights have come to revolve around his mother’s increasingly disturbing bedside stories full of old family bitterness. And then one day Suleiman sees his father across the square of a busy marketplace, his face wrapped in a pair of dark sunglasses. Wasn’t he supposed to be away on business yet again? Why is he going into that strange building with the green shutters? Why did he lie? Suleiman is soon caught up in a world he cannot hope to understand—where the sound of the telephone ringing becomes a portent of grave danger; where his mother frantically burns his father’s cherished books; where a stranger full of sinister questions sits outside in a parked car all day; where his best friend’s father can disappear overnight, next to be seen publicly interrogated on state television. In the Country of Men is a stunning depiction of a child confronted with the private fallout of a public nightmare. But above all, it is a debut of rare insight and literary grace.