L.'s bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 27 Nov 2024 08:55:23 -0800 60 L.'s bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Mansfield Park 45032 488 Jane Austen L. 4 3.86 1814 Mansfield Park
author: Jane Austen
name: L.
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/11/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Wondering Sight (The Extraordinaries, #2)]]> 32978677
Humiliated, Sophia returns to London, but Lord Endicott follows her, intent on making her life increasingly miserable. Furious and desperate, Sophia takes the only course left to her: she sets out to discover Lord Endicott’s criminal enterprises, to expose him as the fraud he is and bring him to justice.

Sophia’s allies are few, but loyal. Cecy, her best friend, supports Sophia in her quest, while her cousin Lady Daphne, an irrepressible Extraordinary Bounder, is always ready for a challenge that will strike at Lord Endicott’s heart. And always watching her is the mysterious Mr. Rutledge, who claims to be interested in Sophia’s friendship—and possibly more than that—but who has an agenda of his own.

But as Sophia delves deeper into prophetic Dreams, Cecy and Daphne begin to fear for Sophia’s health and sanity. Driven to collapse by her frequent Dreaming, Sophia is forced to reevaluate her motives: does she want Lord Endicott brought to justice, or is it revenge she seeks? As Sophia draws closer to the secret of Lord Endicott’s criminal enterprise, a counterfeiting ring, his torment of Sophia increases, until the two are bound together by their respective obsessions. Though Sophia insists she is in control, her friends fear she is turning into the man she most hates.

Sophia’s Dreams and Visions are leading her to just one place: the destruction of Lord Endicott. But the cost of her vengeance may be too high—and may demand the sacrifice of her own life.]]> 392 Melissa McShane 1620076551 L. 5
She is a woman with a firm will, determined to clear the lies around her name spread by a long-time and elusive enemy. As she seeks to end his games, she discovers he is using her seeing powers against her, leading others to further discredit her name. I always enjoy a heroine who will not back down, even while risking her life, and Sophia does not disappoint.

The romance in the book was good, but I could have used a few more conversations building up the relationship between our mysterious love interest and Sophia before the end.
Overall, a great, well-crafted book for fans of Mary Robinette Kowal, Patricia C. Wrede, and any other light, romantic fantasy story tellers.


Merged review:

Wondering Sight is a fun read full of intrigue and magic in England’s post-Napoleonic war period. I loved the world of the book, where balls and social expectations of the era mix with magic as part of the class order. Our heroine, Sophia Westlake, is marked as a seer by her red gloves. These gloves both elevate her status and mark her apart from the rest of the room.

She is a woman with a firm will, determined to clear the lies around her name spread by a long-time and elusive enemy. As she seeks to end his games, she discovers he is using her seeing powers against her, leading others to further discredit her name. I always enjoy a heroine who will not back down, even while risking her life, and Sophia does not disappoint.

The romance in the book was good, but I could have used a few more conversations building up the relationship between our mysterious love interest and Sophia before the end.
Overall, a great, well-crafted book for fans of Mary Robinette Kowal, Patricia C. Wrede, and any other light, romantic fantasy story tellers.]]> 3.71 2017 Wondering Sight (The Extraordinaries, #2)
author: Melissa McShane
name: L.
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/02/25
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves:
review:
Wondering Sight is a fun read full of intrigue and magic in England’s post-Napoleonic war period. I loved the world of the book, where balls and social expectations of the era mix with magic as part of the class order. Our heroine, Sophia Westlake, is marked as a seer by her red gloves. These gloves both elevate her status and mark her apart from the rest of the room.

She is a woman with a firm will, determined to clear the lies around her name spread by a long-time and elusive enemy. As she seeks to end his games, she discovers he is using her seeing powers against her, leading others to further discredit her name. I always enjoy a heroine who will not back down, even while risking her life, and Sophia does not disappoint.

The romance in the book was good, but I could have used a few more conversations building up the relationship between our mysterious love interest and Sophia before the end.
Overall, a great, well-crafted book for fans of Mary Robinette Kowal, Patricia C. Wrede, and any other light, romantic fantasy story tellers.


Merged review:

Wondering Sight is a fun read full of intrigue and magic in England’s post-Napoleonic war period. I loved the world of the book, where balls and social expectations of the era mix with magic as part of the class order. Our heroine, Sophia Westlake, is marked as a seer by her red gloves. These gloves both elevate her status and mark her apart from the rest of the room.

She is a woman with a firm will, determined to clear the lies around her name spread by a long-time and elusive enemy. As she seeks to end his games, she discovers he is using her seeing powers against her, leading others to further discredit her name. I always enjoy a heroine who will not back down, even while risking her life, and Sophia does not disappoint.

The romance in the book was good, but I could have used a few more conversations building up the relationship between our mysterious love interest and Sophia before the end.
Overall, a great, well-crafted book for fans of Mary Robinette Kowal, Patricia C. Wrede, and any other light, romantic fantasy story tellers.
]]> Selected Poems 412070 here.

Features 104 of Blake's poems: "A Song of Liberty," "The Argument," "Proverbs of Hell," "The Mental Traveller," "The Land of Dreams," "To the Evening Star" and many more.]]> 96 William Blake 0486285170 L. 3 4.17 1994 Selected Poems
author: William Blake
name: L.
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1994
rating: 3
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date added: 2019/10/15
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]]> Thrice-Cursed, Thrice Blessed 36992599 Sixteen-year-old V’ren grew up with the bane of being Moon-Cursed, with monsters, beasts and dark magic-users constantly seeking his life. Learning that his father is an exiled king who was chased out of his kingdom, he travels to Kald to exact revenge on the usurper, blackmailing two wizards into helping him. Throughout their journey, not only does V’ren’s curse give them trouble, but a hidden force works against them.

The third blessing conflicted with the other two.

As a baby, Princess Jory of Kald was supposed to be blessed by three fairies. But a mysterious Faerie interrupted the ceremony, shocking her parents by bestowing upon her the gift of Independence, a quality that clashed with the world’s view of a proper princess. Now fifteen-years-old, suitors seek Jory’s hand in marriage by accepting a quest of three dangerous tasks. With a sense of duty to her kingdom coupled with her independent streak, Jory is determined to finish the tasks first, armed with only her wits and a disgruntled frog. This middle grade fantasy is comparable to Shannon Hale's Goose Girl and Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted in that it is full of magic, whimsy and courageous exploits.]]> 412 Els Curtis 1981306498 L. 4
This is a fun one to easily be swept away in.

And there are unicorns.]]> 4.00 2017 Thrice-Cursed, Thrice Blessed
author: Els Curtis
name: L.
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/09/07
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This is a sweet and magical book that is great for any Middle Grade reader who loves magic, a clever princess, adventure, and finding ways to do the right thing.

This is a fun one to easily be swept away in.

And there are unicorns.
]]> The Darkest Summer 34954017
Set in the stormy summer of 1816, this Regency romance is a retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone.]]> 294 Rebecca J. Greenwood 1462120946 L. 4
A good mix of sweet romance with mild adventure elements. I also enjoyed the minor cast of characters filling the balls and story, especially the valet and lady's maid who bring into view some of the greater challenges of society at the time. Which, also showed a great amount of research went into building historical events and facts into real consequences for the story.]]> 3.66 2017 The Darkest Summer
author: Rebecca J. Greenwood
name: L.
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/09/07
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This was a great retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth and a fun, sweet journey across England. Cora and Adam are interesting, unique characters who have an excellent chemistry and can see beyond the normal conventions to what truly matters.

A good mix of sweet romance with mild adventure elements. I also enjoyed the minor cast of characters filling the balls and story, especially the valet and lady's maid who bring into view some of the greater challenges of society at the time. Which, also showed a great amount of research went into building historical events and facts into real consequences for the story.
]]> <![CDATA[Lost Girl (Neverwood Chronicles, #1)]]> 32098198
A mysterious boy named Peter, his foul-mouthed sidekick, and a band of misfit boys intervene before Wendy faces a similar fate. But can they trust Wendy enough to take her to Neverwood Academy and reveal all of their hidden secrets when she's hiding a secret of her own, or will the dreaded Red Skulls find her and drag her back to Neverland?]]> 320 Chanda Hahn 0996104860 L. 0 to-read 3.99 2016 Lost Girl (Neverwood Chronicles, #1)
author: Chanda Hahn
name: L.
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/05/19
shelves: to-read
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]]> How We Decide 3860977
Since Plato, philosophers have described the decision-making process as either rational or emotional: we carefully deliberate, or we “blink� and go with our gut. But as scientists break open the mind’s black box with the latest tools of neuroscience, they’re discovering that this is not how the mind works. Our best decisions are a finely tuned blend of both feeling and reason—and the precise mix depends on the situation. When buying a house, for example, it’s best to let our unconscious mull over the many variables. But when we’re picking a stock, intuition often leads us astray. The trick is to determine when to use the different parts of the brain, and to do this, we need to think harder (and smarter) about how we think.

Jonah Lehrer arms us with the tools we need, drawing on cutting-edge research as well as the real-world experiences of a wide range of “deciders”—from airplane pilots and hedge fund investors to serial killers and poker players.

Lehrer shows how people are taking advantage of the new science to make better television shows, win more football games, and improve military intelligence. His goal is to answer two questions that are of interest to just about anyone, from CEOs to firefighters: How does the human mind make decisions? And how can we make those decisions better?]]> 259 Jonah Lehrer 0618620117 L. 0 to-read 3.84 2009 How We Decide
author: Jonah Lehrer
name: L.
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas]]> 110312 224 James L. Adams 0738205370 L. 0 to-read 3.82 1969 Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas
author: James L. Adams
name: L.
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1969
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> Lateral Thinking 829616 THE classic work about improving creativity from world-renowned writer and philosopher Edward de Bono.

In schools we are taught to meet problems head-on: what Edward de Bono calls 'vertical thinking'. This works well in simple situations - but we are at a loss when this approach fails. What then?

Lateral thinking is all about freeing up your imagination. Through a series of special techniques, in groups or working alone, Edward de Bono shows how to stimulate the mind in new and exciting ways.

Soon you will be looking at problems from a variety of angles and offering up solutions that are as ingenious as they are effective. You will become much more productive and a formidable thinker in your own right.]]> 272 Edward de Bono 0140137793 L. 0 to-read 3.81 Lateral Thinking
author: Edward de Bono
name: L.
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them]]> 40038 304 Edward Russo 0671726099 L. 0 to-read 3.87 1989 Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them
author: Edward Russo
name: L.
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1989
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
shelves: to-read
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]]> Thinking and Deciding 2466179 600 Jonathan Baron 0521680433 L. 0 to-read 4.05 1988 Thinking and Deciding
author: Jonathan Baron
name: L.
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1988
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions]]> 65229 338 Gary Klein 0262611465 L. 0 to-read 3.97 1998 Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions
author: Gary Klein
name: L.
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Naturalistic Decision Making (Expertise: Research and Applications Series)]]> 3789120
Put simply, NDM is the way people use their experience to make decisions in the context of a job or task. Of particular interest to NDM researchers are the effects of high-stake consequences, shifting goals, incomplete information, time pressure, uncertainty, and other conditions that are present in most of today's work places and that add to the complexity of decision making. Applications of NDM research findings target decision aids and training that help people in their decision-making processes.

This book reports the findings of top NDM researchers, as well as many of their current applications. In addition, the book offers a historical perspective on the emergence of this new paradigm, describes recent theoretical and methodological advancements, and points to future developments. It was written for people interested in decision making research and applications relative to a diverse array of work settings and products such as human-computer interfaces, decision support systems, individual and team training, product designs, and organizational development and planning.]]> 434 Caroline E. Zsambok 0805818731 L. 0 to-read 3.40 1996 Naturalistic Decision Making (Expertise: Research and Applications Series)
author: Caroline E. Zsambok
name: L.
average rating: 3.40
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work]]> 15798078 〶Ä
Research in psychology has revealed that our decisions are disrupted by an array of biases and irrationalities: We’re overconfident. We seek out information that supports us and downplay information that doesn’t. We get distracted by short-term emotions. When it comes to making choices, it seems, our brains are flawed instruments. Unfortunately, merely being aware of these shortcomings doesn’t fix the problem, any more than knowing that we are nearsighted helps us to see. The real question is: How can we do better?

In Decisive, the Heaths, based on an exhaustive study of the decision-making literature, introduce a four-step process designed to counteract these biases. Written in an engaging and compulsively readable style, Decisive takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from a rock star’s ingenious decision-making trick to a CEO’s disastrous acquisition, to a single question that can often resolve thorny personal decisions.

Along the way, we learn the answers to critical questions like these: How can we stop the cycle of agonizing over our decisions? How can we make group decisions without destructive politics? And how can we ensure that we don’t overlook precious opportunities to change our course?〶Ä

Decisive is the Heath brothers� most powerful—and important—book yet, offering fresh strategies and practical tools enabling us to make better choices. Because the right decision, at the right moment, can make all the difference.]]> 336 Chip Heath 0307956393 L. 0 to-read 3.94 2013 Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
author: Chip Heath
name: L.
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Judgement in Managerial Decision Making]]> 6653786 186 Max H. Bazerman 0471859710 L. 0 to-read 4.07 1986 Judgement in Managerial Decision Making
author: Max H. Bazerman
name: L.
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1986
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions]]> 226507 Is it time to switch careers?
What is the best course of action for me?

Decisions shape our experiences, from choosing which job offer to accept, to buying the right car, to selecting a good accountant. How do we know which choice is the smart one? How can we be consistent and confident in our decisions? In this book from the three leading authorities on decision-making, readers learn how to approach all types of decisions with a simple set of skills developed by professors from Harvard, MIT, and the University of Southern California.

Combining solid research with common sense and practical experience, this user-friendly guide shows readers how to assess deep-seated objectives, create a comprehensive set of alternatives, determine likely consequences, make tradeoffs, and grapple with uncertainty. Not only will readers learn how to make decisions, they will learn how to make the smartest decisions. For anyone caught at a confusing crossroad–whether you’re choosing between mutual funds or deciding where to retire–the Smart Choices program will improve your decision-making abilities immediately, and make your life more rewarding and fulfilling.]]> 256 John S. Hammond 0767908864 L. 0 to-read 4.03 1998 Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions
author: John S. Hammond
name: L.
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> The Art of Choosing 6648865

Whether mundane or life-altering, these choices define us and shape our lives. Sheena Iyengar asks the difficult questions about how and why we choose: Is the desire for choice innate or bound by culture? Why do we sometimes choose against our best interests? How much control do we really have over what we choose? Sheena Iyengar's award-winning research reveals that the answers are surprising and profound. In our world of shifting political and cultural forces, technological revolution, and interconnected commerce, our decisions have far-reaching consequences. Use THE ART OF CHOOSING as your companion and guide for the many challenges ahead.]]> 352 Sheena Iyengar 0446504106 L. 0 to-read 3.84 1989 The Art of Choosing
author: Sheena Iyengar
name: L.
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1989
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable]]> 242472
A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives.

Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to Taleb, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don’t know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate opportunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the “impossible.�

For years, Taleb has studied how we fool ourselves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We restrict our thinking to the irrelevant and inconsequential, while large events continue to surprise us and shape our world. In this revelatory book, Taleb will change the way you look at the world, and this second edition features a new philosophical and empirical essay, “On Robustness and Fragility,� which offers tools to navigate and exploit a Black Swan world.

Taleb is a vastly entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence, and unusual stories to tell. He has a polymathic command of subjects ranging from cognitive science to business to probability theory. Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications, The Black Swan is a landmark book—itself a black swan.]]> 480 Nassim Nicholas Taleb 1400063515 L. 0 to-read 3.96 2007 The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
name: L.
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior]]> 2118114 A fascinating journey into the hidden psychological influences that derail our decision-making, Sway will change the way you think about the way you think.

Why is it so difficult to sell a plummeting stock or end a doomed relationship? Why do we listen to advice just because it came from someone “important�? Why are we more likely to fall in love when there’s danger involved? In Sway, renowned organizational thinker Ori Brafman and his brother, psychologist Rom Brafman, answer all these questions and more.

Drawing on cutting-edge research from the fields of social psychology, behavioral economics, and organizational behavior, Sway reveals dynamic forces that influence every aspect of our personal and business lives, including loss aversion (our tendency to go to great lengths to avoid perceived losses), the diagnosis bias (our inability to reevaluate our initial diagnosis of a person or situation), and the “chameleon effect� (our tendency to take on characteristics that have been arbitrarily assigned to us).

Sway introduces us to the Harvard Business School professor who got his students to pay $204 for a $20 bill, the head of airline safety whose disregard for his years of training led to the transformation of an entire industry, and the football coach who turned conventional strategy on its head to lead his team to victory. We also learn the curse of the NBA draft, discover why interviews are a terrible way to gauge future job performance, and go inside a session with the Supreme Court to see how the world’s most powerful justices avoid the dangers of group dynamics.

Every once in a while, a book comes along that not only challenges our views of the world but changes the way we think. In Sway, Ori and Rom Brafman not only uncover rational explanations for a wide variety of irrational behaviors but also point readers toward ways to avoid succumbing to their pull.]]> 206 Ori Brafman 0385524382 L. 0 to-read 3.78 2008 Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
author: Ori Brafman
name: L.
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking]]> 40102 The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.

Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work - in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?

In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing" - filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.]]> 296 Malcolm Gladwell 0316010669 L. 0 to-read 3.97 2005 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: L.
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> <![CDATA[The Beast of Talesend (Beaumont and Beasley #1)]]> 33911876 An alternate cover edition for this book can be found here

Private eye Nick Beasley lives in a world where fairy tales ended a long time ago � where zeppelins now soar the skies instead of dragons, and where the first automobiles have taken the place of flying carpets. He’s made a name for himself across the Afterlands by debunking fake magicians and exposing fraudulent monsters. This is the modern age, after all. Magic and monsters are long gone.




At least, that’s what Nick believes. Until he gets magically transformed into a monster, that is.




The only person who may be able to help Nick is Lady Cordelia Beaumont, one of the last enchantresses in the Afterlands. But in order for her to cure him, they’ll have to retrieve a powerful artifact from a ruthless crime lord � who is also Cordelia’s father.




The fate of the Afterlands lies in the hands of a runaway enchantress and a monstrous ex-detective. What could possibly go wrong?




Perfect for fans of Doctor Who, Once Upon A Time, Indiana Jones, or The Dresden Files, the Beaumont and Beasley series features high adventure in a world where fairy tales are history.

]]> 182 Kyle Robert Shultz L. 0 4.28 2017 The Beast of Talesend (Beaumont and Beasley #1)
author: Kyle Robert Shultz
name: L.
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> Thinking, Fast and Slow 11468377 Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior. The impact of loss aversion and overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the challenges of properly framing risks at work and at home, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning the next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions.

Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Thinking, Fast and Slow will transform the way you think about thinking.]]> 499 Daniel Kahneman 0374275637 L. 0 to-read 4.17 2011 Thinking, Fast and Slow
author: Daniel Kahneman
name: L.
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/11
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]]> Napoleon: A Life 20821092 The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the New York Times bestselling author of The Storm of War—winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography and theĚýGrand Prix of the Fondation NapoleonĚýĚý

Austerlitz, Borodino, Waterloo: his battles are among the greatest in history, but Napoleon Bonaparte was far more than a military genius and astute leader of men. Like George Washington and his own hero Julius Caesar, he was one of the greatest soldier-statesmen of all times.

Andrew Roberts’s Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon’s thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine. Like Churchill, he understood the strategic importance of telling his own story, and his memoirs, dictated from exile on St. Helena, became the single bestselling book of the nineteenth century.

An award-winning historian, Roberts traveled to fifty-three of Napoleon’s sixty battle sites, discovered crucial new documents in archives, and even made the long trip by boat to St. Helena. He is as acute in his understanding of politics as he is of military history. Here at last is a biography worthy of its subject: magisterial, insightful, beautifully written, by one of our foremost historians.]]> 976 Andrew Roberts 0670025321 L. 0 4.19 2014 Napoleon: A Life
author: Andrew Roberts
name: L.
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/10/05
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]]> The Pickwick Papers 229432 The Pickwick Papers�-a comic masterpiece that catapulted its 24-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the lover Tupman, the sportsman Winkle &, above all, by that quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick, & his cockney Sancho Panza, Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election, via the Fleet debtor’s prison, characters & incidents sprang to life from Dickens’s pen, to form an enduringly popular work of ebullient humour & literary invention.]]> 801 Charles Dickens L. 0 3.83 1837 The Pickwick Papers
author: Charles Dickens
name: L.
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1837
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/09/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Hard Merchandise (The Bounty Hunter Wars, #3)]]> 420983
Feared and admired, respected and despised, Boba Fett enjoys a dubious reputation as the galaxy's most successful bounty hunter. Yet even a man like Boba Fett can have one too many enemies....

When Boba Fett stumbles across evidence implicating Prince Xizor in the murder of Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle, Fett makes himself an enemy even he fears: the unknown mastermind behind a monstrous deception, who will kill to hide his tracks. Fett also finds himself in possession of an amnesiac young woman named Neelah, who may be the key to the mystery--or a decoy leading Fett into a murderous ambush. Fett's last hope is to run through the list of Xizor's hidden enemies. And since Xizor's hidden enemies are almost as legion as Fett's, the chance of survival is slim--even for someone as skilled and relentless as Boba Fett.


(c) 1999 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.]]> 358 K.W. Jeter 055357891X L. 0 3.65 1999 Star Wars: Hard Merchandise (The Bounty Hunter Wars, #3)
author: K.W. Jeter
name: L.
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Slave Ship (The Bounty Hunter Wars, #2)]]> 222019 336 K.W. Jeter 055357888X L. 0 3.64 1998 Star Wars: Slave Ship (The Bounty Hunter Wars, #2)
author: K.W. Jeter
name: L.
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: The Mandalorian Armor (The Bounty Hunter Wars, #1)]]> 372828
As the Rebellion gathers force, Prince Xizor proposes a cunning plan to the Emperor and Darth Vader: smash the power of the Bounty Hunters Guild by turning its members against each other. Only the strongest and most ruthless will survive, and they can be used against the Rebellion. It's a job for the fiercely independent Boba Fett, who jumps at the chance to destroy his rivals. But Fett soon realizes the game is rigged, as he finds himself the target of murderous factions, criminal conspiracies, and the evil at the Empire's dark heart. Boba Fett has always finished first. And in this game, anything less is death.]]> 387 K.W. Jeter 0553578855 L. 0 3.63 1998 Star Wars: The Mandalorian Armor (The Bounty Hunter Wars, #1)
author: K.W. Jeter
name: L.
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Han Solo Adventures (Classic Star Wars)]]> 617085

From the Paperback edition.]]> 576 Brian Daley 0345394429 L. 0 3.77 1979 The Han Solo Adventures (Classic Star Wars)
author: Brian Daley
name: L.
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1979
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Rebel Dawn (The Han Solo Trilogy, #3)]]> 111019
Set before the Star Wars movie adventures (the second trilogy), these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler, and thief.

The Millennium Falcon is "the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy."ĚýĚýSo when Han Solo wins it in a game of sabacc, he and Chewbacca become kings of the smugglers—uncatchable, unstoppable.ĚýĚýBut with the Empire clamping down, Han knows his luck can't last.ĚýĚýStill, when an old girlfriend who is now the leader of an insurgent Rebel group offers him a shot at an incredible fortune, Han can't resist.ĚýThe plan seems a sure thing.ĚýThe resistance will be light and the take enormous.ĚýHan and his friends will divide it equally with the Rebels.ĚýĚý

Too bad for Han that the planet of Ylesia is far from a pushover, that the Rebels have an agenda of their own, and that smuggler friends can often turn into enemies...quicker than lightspeed.]]> 389 A.C. Crispin 0553574175 L. 0 3.94 1998 Star Wars: Rebel Dawn (The Han Solo Trilogy, #3)
author: A.C. Crispin
name: L.
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: The Hutt Gambit (The Han Solo Trilogy, #2)]]> 598938
Solo is now a fugitive from the Imperial Navy. But he has made a valuable friend in a former Wookiee slave named Chewbacca, who has sworn Han a life debt. Han will need all the help he can get. For the Ylesian Hutts have dispatched the dreaded bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the man who already outsmarted them once. But Han and Chewie find themselves in even bigger trouble when they agree to lend their services to the crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt. Suddenly the two smugglers are thrust into the middle of a battle between the might of the Empire and the treachery of their outlaw allies...a battle where even victory means death!

Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!]]> 357 A.C. Crispin 0553574167 L. 0 3.90 1997 Star Wars: The Hutt Gambit (The Han Solo Trilogy, #2)
author: A.C. Crispin
name: L.
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: The Paradise Snare (The Han Solo Trilogy, #1)]]> 617086
The first book in this exciting Han Solo series begins with a recounting of Han's late teen years and shows us how he escaped an unhappy adopted home situation to carve out an adventurous new life for himself as a pilot. Han Solo, the handsome rogue, is every girl's dream man, and every boy's hero.

Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!]]> 306 A.C. Crispin 0553574159 L. 0 3.90 1997 Star Wars: The Paradise Snare (The Han Solo Trilogy, #1)
author: A.C. Crispin
name: L.
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Tales from the Empire]]> 221993 Star Wars Adventure Journal, one of the most popular Star Wars magazines in the field today, comes this exciting new short-story collection.ĚýĚýHere are stories from such award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors as Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole and Kathy Tyers as well as exciting newcomers, including Erin Endom, Laurie Burns, and Patricia A. Jackson.ĚýĚýFrom the desperate flight of a civilian mail courier carrying vital Rebel intelligence through an Imperial blockade, to a suicidal commando raid on an impregnable Imperial prison, to a Corellian smuggler mysteriously hired by an actor turned Jedi Knight turned Imperial assassin for one final transformation, these tales capture all the high adventure, imaginative genius, and nonstop action that are the hallmarks of the Star Wars saga.

What's more, the centerpiece of this magnificent collection is the short novel Side Trip, the first-ever collaboration between Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole, in which a freighter smuggling arms for the Rebels is commandeered by an Imperial Star Destroyer led by a mysterious helmeted figure who claims to be the notorious bounty hunter Jodo Kast.ĚýĚýIt is all part of a devious plan that includes Hal and Corran Horn, who are working undercover to nail the infamous Corellian warlord Zekka Thyne. But one slip-up can get them all killed.

Collected for the first time, Star Wars(r): Tales from the Empire is one book no fan will want to be without.

(r), TM and (c) 1997 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.]]> 320 Peter Schweighofer 0553578766 L. 0 3.62 1997 Star Wars: Tales from the Empire
author: Peter Schweighofer
name: L.
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Ones (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #3)]]> 359915
However, a powerful being has seen his potential. Someone who knows about shame and jealousy—and how to make use of them. Someone who knows that the dark side of the Force is especially attractive when you've got nothing to lose…]]> 240 Kevin J. Anderson 0425169995 L. 0 3.55 1995 The Lost Ones (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #3)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.55
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Lightsabers (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #4)]]> 169017 240 Kevin J. Anderson 0425169510 L. 0 3.75 1996 Lightsabers (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #4)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Shadow Academy (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #2)]]> 169000 225 Kevin J. Anderson 0425171531 L. 0 3.62 1995 Shadow Academy (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #2)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Heirs of the Force (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #1)]]> 169002 240 Kevin J. Anderson 0425169499 L. 0 3.66 1995 Heirs of the Force (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, #1)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Tales from Jabba's Palace]]> 353476
Featuring original stories by: Kevin J. Anderson, M. Shayne Bell, John Gregory Betancourt, Mark Budz and Marina Fitch, A.C. Crispin, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, George Alec Effinger, Kenneth C. Flint, Esther Friesner, Barbara Hambly, Daryl F. Mallett, J.D. Montgomery, Judy and Gar Reeves-Stevens, Jennifer Roberson, Kathy Tyers, Deborah Wheeler, Dave Wolverton, William F. Wu, Timothy Zahn.]]> 448 Kevin J. Anderson 0553568159 L. 0 3.67 1996 Star Wars: Tales from Jabba's Palace
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Champions of the Force (The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #3)]]> 513207
Suspended helplessly between life and death, Luke Skywalker lies in state at the Jedi academy. But on the spirit plane, Luke fights desperately for survival, reaching out physically to the Jedi twins. At the same time, Leia is on a life-and-death mission of her own, a race against Imperial agents hoping to destroy a third Jedi child - Leia and Han's baby Anakin - hidden on the planet Anoth.

Meanwhile, Luke's former protégé Kyp Durron has pirated the deadly Sun Crusher on an apocalyptic mission of mass destruction, convinced he is fighting for a just cause. Hunting down the rogue warrior, Han must persuade Kyp to renounce his dark crusade and regain his lost honor. To do it, Kyp must take the Sun Crusher on a suicide mission against the awesome Death Star prototype - a battle Han knows they may be unable to win� even with Luke Skywalker at their side!]]> 373 Kevin J. Anderson 055329802X L. 0 3.67 1994 Star Wars: Champions of the Force (The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #3)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Apprentice (The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #2)]]> 760111
While the New Republic struggles to decide what to do with the deadly Sun Crusher—a new doomsday weapon stolen from the Empire by Han Solo—the renegade Imperial Admiral Daala uses her fleet of Star Destroyers to conduct guerrilla warfare on peaceful planets. And now she threatens the watery homeworld of Admiral Ackbar.

But as the battle for a planet rages, an even greater danger emerges at Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy. A brilliant student delves dangerously into the dark side of the Force and unleashes the spirit of an ancient master of the evil order that warped Darth Vader himself. Working together, they may become an enemy greater than any the New Republic has ever fought� more powerful than even a Jedi Master can face.]]> 368 Kevin J. Anderson 0553297996 L. 0 3.64 1994 Star Wars: Dark Apprentice (The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #2)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Jedi Search (The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #1)]]> 760110
While Luke Skywalker takes the first step toward setting up an academy to train a new order of Jedi Knights, Han Solo and Chewbacca are taken prisoner on the planet Kessel and forced to work in the fathomless depths of a spice mine. But when Han and Chewie break away, they flee desperately to a secret Imperial research laboratory surrounded by a cluster of black holes - and go from one danger to a far greater one�.

On Kessel, Luke picks up the trail of his two friends, only to come face-to-face with a weapon so awesome, it can wipe out an entire solar system. It is a death ship called the Sun Crusher, invented by a reclusive genius and piloted by none other than Han himself�.]]> 355 Kevin J. Anderson 0553297988 L. 0 3.68 1994 Star Wars: Jedi Search (The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #1)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina]]> 353479
In a far corner of the universe, on the small desert planet of Tatooine, there is a dark, nic-i-tain-filled cantina where you can down your favorite intoxicant while listening to the best jizz riffs in the universe.ĚýĚýBut beware your fellow denizens of this pangalactic watering hole, for they are cutthroats and cutpurses, assassins and troopers, humans and aliens, gangsters and thieves....

Featuring original stories by:

Kevin J. Anderson * Doug Beason * M. Shayne Bell * David Bischoff * A.C.
Crispin * Kenneth C. Flint * Barbara Hambly * Rebecca Moesta * Daniel Keys
Moran * Jerry Oltion * Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens * Jennifer Roberson
* Kathy Tyers * Tom Veitch & Martha Veitch * Dave Wolverton * Timothy
Zahn]]> 380 Kevin J. Anderson 0553564684 L. 0 3.63 1995 Star Wars: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Assault at Selonia (The Corellian Trilogy, #2)]]> 513158 Meanwhile other questions threaten the New Republic -- and the lives of millions. Who is behind the deadly Starbuster plot? Why is someone attempting to take possession of Corellia's powerful planetary repulsors? And what is the secret behind the mysterious Centerpoint Station, and ancient, artificial world o unknown origin that has suddenly -- and inexplicably -- come alive?

]]> 289 Roger MacBride Allen 0553298054 L. 0 3.56 1995 Star Wars: Assault at Selonia (The Corellian Trilogy, #2)
author: Roger MacBride Allen
name: L.
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Showdown at Centerpoint (The Corellian Trilogy, #3)]]> 424587 301 Roger MacBride Allen 0553298062 L. 0 3.60 1995 Star Wars: Showdown at Centerpoint (The Corellian Trilogy, #3)
author: Roger MacBride Allen
name: L.
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia (The Corellian Trilogy, #1)]]> 513173
Arriving on the distant planet with Leia, their children and Chewbacca, Han finds Corellia overrun with agents of the New Republic Intelligence and finds himself part of a deceptive plan whose aim not even he understands.

One thing is clear: the five inhabited worlds of the sector are on the brink of civil war and the once peaceful coexistence of the three leading races - human, Selonian, and Drallan -ĚýĚýhas come to an end.]]> 308 Roger MacBride Allen 0553298038 L. 0 3.59 1995 Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia (The Corellian Trilogy, #1)
author: Roger MacBride Allen
name: L.
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Starfighters of Adumar: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron #4)]]> 773544 The aces of Wraith Squadron return in another thrilling adventure!

The X-wing fighter pilots of Wraith Squadron have earned their reputation as the Rebel Alliance’s ultimate strike force by overwhelming enemies with their rapid-fire assaults. But now they are about to embark on a diplomatic mission that will prove to be even more hazardous than all-out combat. . . .

The neutral world of Adumar has decided to pick a side in the war to control the galaxy. Delegates from both the New Republic and the Empire have been invited to Adumar, and each camp will be given a chance to plead its government’s case. But there is one small catch: since the Adumari prize military skill above all else, they insist that both delegations be composed exclusively of fighter pilots.

For pilot Wedge Antilles and his company, it’s an unfamiliar exercise in diplomacy—and one that’s filled with unexpected peril. For once they arrive, the squad is challenged by Adumar’s fierce warriors and attacked by Imperial assassins bent on eliminating all competition. But these challenges pale in comparison to the threat posed by a rogue Republic agent . . . one who is determined to win Adumar’s allegiance once and for all—even if it costs the X-wing pilots their lives.]]> 304 Aaron Allston 0553574183 L. 0 4.03 1999 Starfighters of Adumar: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron #4)
author: Aaron Allston
name: L.
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Solo Command: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron, #3)]]> 773547 The Rebel Alliance’s elite strike force must join together with Han Solo to take down their old foe, the warlord Zsinj.

Wraith Squadron: they are the Rebel Alliance’s ultimate strike force. Sleek, swift, and deadly, they are the first in battle, the last line of defense. Now they must find and destroy a wily enemy more powerful than the Empire itself.

Their covert mission has been a success. The enemy has been vanquished. Or so they thought. The Super Star Destroyer Iron Fist somehow escaped destruction and with it the New Republic’s greatest threat, the infamous warlord Zsinj. To defeat him, Wraith Squadron must join a combat task force led by the only man crafty enough to beat Zsinj at his own game: Han Solo.

But Zsinj knows the X-wing fighters� indomitable courage is both their greatest strength–and their greatest weakness. For even against the most overwhelming odds, the Rebels will fight to the death. And that will leave Zsinj the galaxy’s unchallenged master!]]> 341 Aaron Allston 0553579002 L. 0 4.05 1999 Solo Command: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron, #3)
author: Aaron Allston
name: L.
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Iron Fist: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron)]]> 35449 The Rebel Alliance’s elite strike force must double-cross an infamous warlord in the second book of the Wraith Squadron series, the companion to the hit Rogue Squadron series.

Against all odds, the controversial Wraith Squadron has survived its first covert mission. But now they are called upon to cheat death twice. This time, Wedge Antilles sends them in to stop the warlord Zsinj and his Super Star Destroyer, Iron Fist. If Zsinj joins the Empire, it could turn the tide of war against the Rebels.

The Wraith Squadron’s mission: infiltrate the warlord’s fleet and uncover his carefully guarded plans. To do so, they must pose as ruthless pirates seeking to join Zsinj’s forces. And that means first becoming pirates in space lanes teeming with Imperial navy patrols. If that isn’t enough to get them killed, they’ll have to pass one last test—a suicide mission for Zsinj.

Can they survive the test and turn the tables on Zsinj?

Or is this the end for Wraith Squadron?]]> 320 Aaron Allston 0553578979 L. 0 4.06 1998 Iron Fist: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron)
author: Aaron Allston
name: L.
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Wraith Squadron: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron, #1)]]> 773545 As the battle against the Empire rages, a new crew of X-wing fighters risk life and machine on a daring undercover mission and emerge as the Rebel Alliance’s elite strike force.

It is Wedge Antilles’s boldest creation: a covert-action unit of X-wing fighters, its pilots drawn from the dregs of other units, castoffs and rejects being given one last chance. But before the new pilots can complete their training, the squadron’s base is attacked by former Imperial admiral Trigit and Wraith Squadron is forced to swing into action—taking over an Imperial warship and impersonating its crew.

The mission: to gain vital intelligence about Trigit’s secret weapons, to sabotage the admiral’s plans, and to lure him into an Alliance trap. However, the high-stakes gamble pits Wraith Squadron’s ragtag renegades against the Empire’s most brilliant master of guile and deception.

Are they up to the challenge?

If not, the penalty is instant death.]]> 416 Aaron Allston 0553578944 L. 0 4.13 1998 Wraith Squadron: Star Wars Legends (Wraith Squadron, #1)
author: Aaron Allston
name: L.
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[A Hero Born (Realms of Chaos, #1)]]> 501362 421 Michael A. Stackpole 0061056804 L. 0 3.81 1997 A Hero Born (Realms of Chaos, #1)
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> Once a Hero 501361
A LEGEND COME TO LIFE

Half a millennium ago Neal Elfward, a legendary human warrior, fought alongside his Elven friend Aarundel for the freedom of mankind against the tyranny of the sorceress Reithrese’s empire. But Neal’s victory began a genocidal war that cost him dearly. Now the future he hoped for is unraveling. Count Berengar has invited the lovely Genevera, Aarundel’s granddaughter, to join in a quest to bring stability to the land. Pressed to accomplish the impossible, Genevera suggests the unthinkable—raising Neal from the dead. But what is true in legend is not always true in reality. A hero from yesteryear may be a hero still, but is Neal the hero they want?

Praise for Once a Hero

“Magic, action, adventure, romance . . . This book has it all!� —Jennifer Roberson

“A magnificent tale! A page turner.� —Dennis L. McKiernan]]> 528 Michael A. Stackpole 0553762796 L. 0 4.00 1994 Once a Hero
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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]]> Talion: Revenant 89553
Justices—the select of the Talion, endowed with fearsome magick and lethal martial skills—roam the Shattered Empire, crushing the lawless and championing the oppressed. Their word is law and their judgement binding on highborn and low.Ěý

Nolan is a Justice born in what once was the free nation of Sinjaria. Orphaned in the war of conquest with the nation of Hamis, he traveled to far Talianna and secured the right to become a Justice. Now, years later, the Master of all Talions has a dangerous assignment for He is to guard the life of the king who destroyed Sinjaria and slaughtered his family. Alone, Nolan ventures into the political maelstrom that is the court of Hamis to stop an assassin even his Masters think cannot be slain. . . .]]> 467 Michael A. Stackpole 0553576569 L. 0 4.17 1997 Talion: Revenant
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Isard's Revenge (Star Wars: X-Wing, #8)]]> 422569
It's the kind of mission only Wedge Antilles and the Rogue Squadron would dare to undertake.ĚýĚýAgainst impossible odds they will stage a daring raid into an enemy stronghold--only to be rescued from certain destruction by an unexpected ally.

Ysanne Isard, the ruthless Imperial commander, has appeared on the scene seemingly from out of nowhere.ĚýĚýNow she proposes a most unusual alliance, offering to help Wedge rescue his captured comrades from Imperial Warlord Admiral Krennel's sadistic prison camp.

But her offer is not without a price.ĚýĚýWedge must lead Rogue Squadron in Isard's deadly struggle against an enemy made in her own image.ĚýĚýIt's an offer Wedge would love to refuse, for Isard is certain to betray them.ĚýĚýBut how can they leave their comrades at Krennel's mercy?ĚýĚýThe answer is: they can't--even if it means being caught between Krennel's ruthlessness and Isard's treachery.

Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!]]> 352 Michael A. Stackpole 0553506889 L. 0 3.96 1999 Isard's Revenge (Star Wars: X-Wing, #8)
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Krytos Trap (Star Wars: X-Wing, #3)]]> 513200
The Rebels have taken Coruscant. But their problems are far from over. A killer virus called Krytos is wiping out the indigenous population, and a counterrevolution is exploding. At the center of the storm is the highly charged treason trial of Rebel hero Tycho Celchu. While agents provacateurs carry out their acts of terrorism, the fledging state can be defended only by the blood and courage of the Rogue Squadron. As the X-wing fighters scramble to save the Rebellion, Corran Horn, given up for dead in Ysanne Isard's inescapable prison, discovers he alone holds the key to freeing Coruscant from the Empire!]]> 355 Michael A. Stackpole 0553568035 L. 0 3.99 1996 The Krytos Trap (Star Wars: X-Wing, #3)
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing, #2)]]> 513198
It is the evil heart of a battered and reeling Empire: Coruscant, the giant city-world from whose massive towers the Imperial High Command directs the war. The Rebels will invade this mighty citadel in a daring move to bring the Empire to its knees. But first Wedge Antilles and his X-wing pilots must infiltrate Coruscant to gain vital intelligence information. Capture means death, or worse—enslavement by the vicious leader known as "Iceheart," Ysanne Isard, now Emperor in all but name. And one of Rogue Squadron's own is already her slave, a traitor hidden behind a mask of innocence, working to betray both colleagues and the Rebellion itself.]]> 357 Michael A. Stackpole 0553568027 L. 0 3.98 1996 Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing, #2)
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Bacta War (Star Wars: X-Wing, #4)]]> 513201 368 Michael A. Stackpole 0553568043 L. 0 4.04 1997 The Bacta War (Star Wars: X-Wing, #4)
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Rogue Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing, #1)]]> 513176
Its very name strikes fear into enemy hearts. So when Rebel hero Wedge Antilles rebuilds the legendary Rogue Squadron, he seeks out only the best—the most skilled, the most daring X-wing pilots. Through arduous training and dangerous missions, he weeds out the weak from the strong, assembling a group of hard-bitten warriors willing to fight, ready to die. Antilles knows the grim truth: that even with the best X-wing jockeys in the galaxy, many will not survive their near-suicidal missions. But when Rogue Squadron is ordered to assist in the assault on the heavily fortified Imperial stronghold of Black Moon, even the bravest must wonder if any at all will survive. . . .Ěý]]> 388 Michael A. Stackpole 0553568019 L. 0 4.05 1996 Rogue Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing, #1)
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Tales of the Bounty Hunters]]> 131776 Millennium Falcon, he calls upon six of the most successful---and feared---hunters, including the merciless Boba Fett. They all have two things in common: lust for profit and contempt for life....

Featuring original stories by Kevin J. Anderson, M. Shayne Bell, Daniel Keys Moran, Kathy Tyers, Dave Wolverton.]]> 339 Kevin J. Anderson 0553568167 L. 0 3.78 1996 Star Wars: Tales of the Bounty Hunters
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Vision of the Future (The Hand of Thrawn Duology, #2)]]> 77786 520 Timothy Zahn 0553100351 L. 0 4.10 1997 Star Wars: Vision of the Future (The Hand of Thrawn Duology, #2)
author: Timothy Zahn
name: L.
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (The Thrawn Trilogy, #2)]]> 216442
Yet most dangerous of all is a new Dark Jedi, risen from the ashes of a shrouded past, consumed by bitterness� and scheming to corrupt Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side.]]> 439 Timothy Zahn 0553560719 L. 0 4.19 1992 Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (The Thrawn Trilogy, #2)
author: Timothy Zahn
name: L.
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1992
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Specter of the Past (The Hand of Thrawn Duology, #1)]]> 77787
The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse. But they have saved their most heinous plan for last. First a plot is hatched that could destroy the New Republic in a bloodbath of genocide and civil war. Then comes the shocking news that Grand Admiral Thrawn--the most cunning and ruthless warlord in history--has apparently returned from the dead to lead the Empire to a long-prophesied victory. Facing incredible odds, Han and Leia begin a desperate race against time to prevent the New Republic from unraveling in the face of two inexplicable threats--one from within and one from without. Meanwhile, Luke teams up with Mara Jade, using the Force to track down a mysterious pirate ship with a crew of clones. Yet, perhaps most dangerous of all, are those who lurk in the shadows, orchestrating a dark plan that will turn the New Republic and the Empire into their playthings.]]> 386 Timothy Zahn 0553298046 L. 0 4.02 1997 Star Wars: Specter of the Past (The Hand of Thrawn Duology, #1)
author: Timothy Zahn
name: L.
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye]]> 35204 297 Alan Dean Foster L. 0 3.28 1978 Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye
author: Alan Dean Foster
name: L.
average rating: 3.28
book published: 1978
rating: 0
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]]> Star Wars: The New Rebellion 700095
As Leia works desperately to clear Han's name, Han and Chewbacca journey to the lawless asteroids of Smuggler's Run to track down rumors of a secret plot against the New Republic. And Luke goes in search of Brakiss, a former Jedi student who has turned his considerable talents to the dark side of the Force and might well have been involved in the unexplained deaths of millions that so disturbed Luke and Leia.

But Brakiss is only a small part of the carnage taking place on Coruscant and elsewhere. Luke is being stalked by a master of the dark side who is determined to rule as the next Emperor. Luke, Leia, and Leia's Jedi children are targeted to die. Then billions will follow, in a holocaust unequaled in galactic history.]]> 532 Kristine Kathryn Rusch 0553574140 L. 0 3.47 1996 Star Wars: The New Rebellion
author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
name: L.
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia]]> 161540
Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!]]> 374 Dave Wolverton L. 0 3.62 1994 Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia
author: Dave Wolverton
name: L.
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Far West (Frontier Magic, #3)]]> 12291646
When spring comes, the explorers realize how tenuous life near the Great Barrier Spell must stop a magical flood in a hurry. Eff's unique way of viewing magic has saved the settlers time and again, now all of Columbia is at risk.]]> 343 Patricia C. Wrede 0545512697 L. 0 4.12 2012 The Far West (Frontier Magic, #3)
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: L.
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Mislaid Magician; or, Ten Years After (Cecelia and Kate, #3)]]> 169872
The railway lines are wreaking havoc with ancient underground magical ley lines, which could endanger the very unity of England. Meanwhile, Kate has her hands full taking care of all their children, not to mention the mysterious muteĚýgirl Drina, rescued from a kidnapper! The letters between Kate and Cecy, and between their husbands, blend magic, mystery, adventure, humor, and romance.]]> 328 Patricia C. Wrede 0152055487 L. 0 3.71 2006 The Mislaid Magician; or, Ten Years After (Cecelia and Kate, #3)
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: L.
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2)]]> 6965998 339 Patricia C. Wrede 0545033438 L. 0 3.94 2011 Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2)
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: L.
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Grand Tour (Cecelia and Kate, #2)]]> 169878 469 Patricia C. Wrede 0152055568 L. 0 3.67 2004 The Grand Tour (Cecelia and Kate, #2)
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: L.
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2004
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic, #1)]]> 5797595 344 Patricia C. Wrede 054503342X L. 0 3.82 2009 Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic, #1)
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: L.
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)]]> 150739 not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

Cover illustrator: Peter de Sève]]> 240 Patricia C. Wrede 015204566X L. 0 4.16 1990 Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: L.
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1990
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Cecelia and Kate, #1)]]> 64207
For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. There's also the man who seems to be spying on Cecelia. (Though he's not doing a very good job of it--so just what are his intentions?) And then there's Oliver. Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he is.

Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And the girls might be in fear for their lives . . . if only they weren't having so much fun!]]> 326 Patricia C. Wrede 015205300X L. 0 4.02 1988 Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Cecelia and Kate, #1)
author: Patricia C. Wrede
name: L.
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1988
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen]]> 111626 273 Lloyd Alexander 0142402257 L. 0 3.93 1991 The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen
author: Lloyd Alexander
name: L.
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1991
rating: 0
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]]> The Chronicles of Prydain 463063 1104 Lloyd Alexander 0805082743 L. 0 4.41 1989 The Chronicles of Prydain
author: Lloyd Alexander
name: L.
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1989
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Castle of Llyr (The Chronicles of Prydain, #3)]]> 24779 174 Lloyd Alexander 0805080503 L. 0 4.07 1966 The Castle of Llyr (The Chronicles of Prydain, #3)
author: Lloyd Alexander
name: L.
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1966
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Taran Wanderer (The Chronicles of Prydain, #4)]]> 24782
After many hard lessons, Taran learns the secret of the Mirror Llunet and of the past--and finds not an ending but a beginning.]]> 222 Lloyd Alexander 0805080511 L. 0 4.14 1967 Taran Wanderer (The Chronicles of Prydain, #4)
author: Lloyd Alexander
name: L.
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1967
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain, #1)]]> 24780 190 Lloyd Alexander 0805080481 L. 0 3.98 1964 The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain, #1)
author: Lloyd Alexander
name: L.
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1964
rating: 0
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]]> Star Wars: Survivor's Quest 46623
Embarking on the strange and solemn journey, Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker are unaware that the gravest danger lies within the derelict walls of Outbound Flight itself. As the marooned hulk yields up stunning revelations and unexpected terrors, Luke and Mara find all they stand for—and their very existence—brutally challenged. The ultimate test will be surviving the deathtrap carefully laid by foes who are legendary for their ruthlessness…and determined to complete the job Thrawn began: exterminating the Jedi.]]> 480 Timothy Zahn 0099472635 L. 0 3.99 2004 Star Wars: Survivor's Quest
author: Timothy Zahn
name: L.
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2004
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Children of the Jedi (The Callista Trilogy, #1)]]> 555313
Halfway across the galaxy, Luke Skywalker has undertaken an equally dangerous expedition that, if it fails, could have fatal consequences for Leia, Han, and Chewbacca. Haunted by ominous dreams and guided by a force he cannot identify, Luke journeys to a remote asteroid field over the planet Pzob. There he discovers the automated dreadnought Eye of Palpatine - from the days of all-out war.

Camouflaged deep within a nebulous gas cloud and dormant for thirty years, Eye of Palpatine is governed by a super-sophisticated artificial intelligence system known as The Will. Taken aboard the dreadnought, Luke is counselled by the spirit of Callista, a Jedi Knight who gave her life to stop the ship once before. Now Luke must learn from her how to destroy it once and for all. The Will has awakened. The Eye of Palpatine is on the move. Its mission: the total annihilation of Belsavis.]]> 416 Barbara Hambly 0553572938 L. 0 3.27 1995 Star Wars: Children of the Jedi (The Callista Trilogy, #1)
author: Barbara Hambly
name: L.
average rating: 3.27
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Darksaber (The Callista Trilogy, #2)]]> 513210 448 Kevin J. Anderson 0553576119 L. 0 3.43 1995 Star Wars: Darksaber (The Callista Trilogy, #2)
author: Kevin J. Anderson
name: L.
average rating: 3.43
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: The Last Command (The Thrawn Trilogy, #3)]]> 216422
Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!]]> 467 Timothy Zahn 0553564927 L. 0 4.26 1993 Star Wars: The Last Command (The Thrawn Trilogy, #3)
author: Timothy Zahn
name: L.
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1993
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura]]> 302618
Even as the Alliance arrives, the aliens have almost overcome the Bakura Imperial garrison, whose desperate commander will accept help from any quarter—even Rebel—against an insidious foe that enslaves Human minds to pilot their invincible machines of war and destruction.

While marshalling the tattered Imperial forces, Luke, Han Solo, and Princess Leia must win the trust and cooperation of the Bakurans. For although Imperial Governor Nereus has granted the Rebels temporary amnesty there is the possibility of treachery among those whose first allegiance lies with the Empire.

On the eve of the final explosive onslaught, Rebel and Imperial forces must finally come to terms with each other…or lose the entire galaxy to the hideous servitude promised by a victorious alien enemy.

Capturing the sweep and excitement of the original Star Wars saga, The Truce at Bakura plants a seed of hope for peace, sees the formation of a timeless love, and stands witness to a Jedi's undying sacrifice to defend Humanity against an alien nemesis.]]> 341 Kathy Tyers 0553568728 L. 0 3.46 1994 Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura
author: Kathy Tyers
name: L.
average rating: 3.46
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Seabiscuit: An American Legend]]> 110737 There's an alternate cover edition here

Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes:

Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon.

Author Laura Hillenbrand brilliantly re-creates a universal underdog story, one that proves life is a horse race.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 457 Laura Hillenbrand 0345465083 L. 0 4.22 1999 Seabiscuit: An American Legend
author: Laura Hillenbrand
name: L.
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1999
rating: 0
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]]> A Christmas Carol 5326
Introduction and Afterword by Joe Wheeler
To bitter, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas is just another day. But all that changes when the ghost of his long-dead business partner appears, warning Scrooge to change his ways before it's too late.

Part of the Focus on the Family Great Stories collection, this abridged edition features an in-depth introduction and discussion questions by Joe Wheeler to provide greater understanding for today's reader. "A Christmas Carol" captures the heart of the holidays like no other novel.]]> 184 Charles Dickens 1561797464 L. 0 4.06 1843 A Christmas Carol
author: Charles Dickens
name: L.
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1843
rating: 0
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]]> Star Wars: I, Jedi 758654 464 Michael A. Stackpole 0553506021 L. 0 3.99 1998 Star Wars: I, Jedi
author: Michael A. Stackpole
name: L.
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1998
rating: 0
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]]> Star Wars: The Crystal Star 263012 Star Wars saga as the ultimate space adventure unfolds in The Crystal Star.

Princess Leia's children have been kidnapped. Along with Chewbacca and Artoo-Detoo, she follows the kidnappers' trail to a disabled refugee ship, from which children are also missing. Here she learns of a powerful Imperial officer with a twisted plan to restore the Empire. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are cut off from Leia by the death of a nearby star, which has caused a disruption in the Force. They have gone to the planet Crseih to investigate a report of a lost group of Jedi. Instead they find a charismatic alien named Waru whose miraculous healing powers have attracted a fanatic following. As Leia follows the path of her children across space, Luke and Han draw closer to the truth behind Waru's sinister cult. Together they will face an explosive showdown that will decide the survival of the New Republic . . . and the universe itself!]]> 413 Vonda N. McIntyre 0553571745 L. 0 3.10 1994 Star Wars: The Crystal Star
author: Vonda N. McIntyre
name: L.
average rating: 3.10
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]> 9549 The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi: a novel in which Darth Vader still lives--and battles a villain as powerful and evil as himself.

SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE

It is a time of crisis. Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, is being taken to the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. As Princess Leia mounts a rescue mission including Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, and a brilliant young pilot, Darth Vader pits himself against a cunning and ruthless rival. Xizor is the leader of a powerful crime syndicate who seeks to supplant Vader for the favor of their mutual master, the dreaded Emperor. Their target: Luke Skywalker. Suddenly Luke finds himself the potential prize of the two most evil entities in the galaxy--one who wants him alive...and one who wants him dead.]]> 385 Steve Perry L. 0 3.83 1996 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
author: Steve Perry
name: L.
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1996
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Star Wars Novelizations, #7)]]> 25387202 Star Wars burst onto the big screen and became a cultural phenomenon. Now the next adventures in this blockbuster saga are poised to captivate old and new fans alike � beginning with the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And alongside the cinematic debut comes the thrilling novel adaptation by New York Times bestselling science fiction master Alan Dean Foster.

Set years after Return of the Jedi, this stunning new action-packed adventure rockets us back into the world of Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Luke Skywalker, while introducing a host of exciting new characters. Darth Vader may have been redeemed and the Emperor vanquished, but peace can be fleeting, and evil does not easily relent. Yet the simple belief in good can still empower ordinary individuals to rise and meet the greatest challenges.

So return to that galaxy far, far away, and prepare yourself for what happens when the Force awakens…]]> 272 Alan Dean Foster 1101965509 L. 0 3.67 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Star Wars Novelizations, #7)
author: Alan Dean Foster
name: L.
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, #1)]]> 216443 Alternate Cover Edition can be found here.

It is a time of renewal, five years after the destruction of the Death Star and the defeat of Darth Vader and the Empire.

But with the war seemingly won, strains are beginning to show in the Rebel Alliance. New challenges to galactic peace have arisen. And Luke Skywalker hears a voice from his past. A voice with a warning. Beware the dark side�.

The Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and driven the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet back into barely a quarter of the territory that they once controlled. Leia and Han are married, are expecting Jedi twins, and have shouldered heavy burdens in the government of the new Republic. And Luke Skywalker is the first in a hoped-for new line of Jedi Knights.

But thousands of light years away, where a few skirmishes are still taking place, the last of the Emperor's warlords has taken command of the remains of the Imperial fleet. He has made two vital discoveries that could destroy the fragile new Republic—built with such cost to the Rebel Alliance. The tale that emerges is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale—in short, a story that is worthy of the name Star Wars.]]> 404 Timothy Zahn 0553296124 L. 0 4.13 1991 Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, #1)
author: Timothy Zahn
name: L.
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1991
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)]]> 9647295
In the end, not war but victory proved the greater test. Did our foes see that the harder they fought, the fiercer our resistance? Fire and hammer forge a sword; time and neglect rust it away. So we won the world, yet lost it.

Now there are four whom we watch: the surgeon, forced to forsake healing and fight in the most brutal war of our time; the assassin, who weeps as he kills; the liar, who wears her scholar's mantle over a thief's heart; and the prince, whose eyes open to the ancient past as his thirst for battle wanes.

One of them may redeem us. One of them will destroy us.

From Brandon Sanderson—the author completing Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series—comes The Stormlight Archive, a richly imagined epic set in a world relentlessly blasted by awesome tempests, where emotions take on physical form, and terrible secrets hide deep within the rocky landscape.]]> 1258 Brandon Sanderson 0765365278 L. 0 4.67 2010 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: L.
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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]]> The Wright Brothers 22609391 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright.

On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot.

Who were these men and how was it that they achieved what they did?

David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the surprising, profoundly American story of Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success, they were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity, much of which they attributed to their upbringing. The house they lived in had no electricity or indoor plumbing, but there were books aplenty, supplied mainly by their preacher father, and they never stopped reading.

When they worked together, no problem seemed to be insurmountable. Wilbur was unquestionably a genius. Orville had such mechanical ingenuity as few had ever seen. That they had no more than a public high school education, little money and no contacts in high places, never stopped them in their mission to take to the air. Nothing did, not even the self-evident reality that every time they took off in one of their contrivances, they risked being killed.

In this thrilling book, master historian David McCullough draws on the immense riches of the Wright Papers, including private diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and more than a thousand letters from private family correspondence to tell the human side of the Wright Brothers' story, including the little-known contributions of their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them.]]> 320 David McCullough L. 0 4.14 2015 The Wright Brothers
author: David McCullough
name: L.
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)]]> 9460487 9781594744761

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.]]> 352 Ransom Riggs 1594744769 L. 4 3.92 2011 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)
author: Ransom Riggs
name: L.
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2016/11/09
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]]> <![CDATA[Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction]]> 23995360 Ěý
In Superforecasting, Tetlock and coauthor Dan Gardner offer a masterwork on prediction, drawing on decades of research and the results of a massive, government-funded forecasting tournament. The Good Judgment Project involves tens of thousands of ordinary people—including a Brooklyn filmmaker, a retired pipe installer, and a former ballroom dancer—who set out to forecast global events. Some of the volunteers have turned out to be astonishingly good. They’ve beaten other benchmarks, competitors, and prediction markets. They’ve even beaten the collective judgment of intelligence analysts with access to classified information. They are "superforecasters."
Ěý
In this groundbreaking and accessible book, Tetlock and Gardner show us how we can learn from this elite group. Weaving together stories of forecasting successes (the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound) and failures (the Bay of Pigs) and interviews with a range of high-level decision makers, from David Petraeus to Robert Rubin, they show that good forecasting doesn’t require powerful computers or arcane methods. It involves gathering evidence from a variety of sources, thinking probabilistically, working in teams, keeping score, and being willing to admit error and change course. Superforecasting offers the first demonstrably effective way to improve our ability to predict the future—whether in business, finance, politics, international affairs, or daily life—and is destined to become a modern classic.]]> 352 Philip E. Tetlock 0804136696 L. 5 4.06 2015 Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
author: Philip E. Tetlock
name: L.
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2015
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Capital Dames: the Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868]]> 22826103 Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War by offering a riveting look at Washington, D.C. and the experiences, influence, and contributions of its women during this momentous period of American history.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social Southern town of Washington, D.C. found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States.

After the declaration of secession, many fascinating Southern women left the city, leaving their friends—such as Adele Cutts Douglas and Elizabeth Blair Lee—to grapple with questions of safety and sanitation as the capital was transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospital. With their husbands, brothers, and fathers marching off to war, either on the battlefield or in the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well. And more women went to the Capital City to enlist as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Many risked their lives making munitions in a highly flammable arsenal, toiled at the Treasury Department printing greenbacks to finance the war, and plied their needlework skills at The Navy Yard—once the sole province of men—to sew canvas gunpowder bags for the troops.

Cokie Roberts chronicles these women's increasing independence, their political empowerment, their indispensable role in keeping the Union unified through the war, and in helping heal it once the fighting was done. She concludes that the war not only changed Washington, it also forever changed the place of women.

Sifting through newspaper articles, government records, and private letters and diaries—many never before published—Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of its formidable women.]]> 494 Cokie Roberts 0062002767 L. 4 3.81 2015 Capital Dames: the Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868
author: Cokie Roberts
name: L.
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2016/11/09
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom]]> 561909
Corrie ten Boom and her family became leaders in the Dutch Underground, hiding Jewish people in their home in a specially built room and aiding their escape from the Nazis. For their help, all but Corrie found death in a concentration camp. The Hiding Place is their story.]]> 242 Corrie ten Boom 0553256696 L. 5 4.46 1971 The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
author: Corrie ten Boom
name: L.
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1971
rating: 5
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date added: 2016/11/09
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]]> The Frog Prince, Continued 820075 32 Jon Scieszka 014054285X L. 5 4.17 1991 The Frog Prince, Continued
author: Jon Scieszka
name: L.
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1991
rating: 5
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date added: 2016/11/09
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]]> <![CDATA[A Guerra dos Tronos (As Crónicas de Gelo e Fogo, #1)]]> 5739442 Mão do Rei. Este aceita, mas apenas porque desconfia que o anterior detentor desse título foi envenenado pela própria rainha: uma cruel manipuladora do clã Lannister. Assim, perto do rei, Eddard tem esperança de o proteger da rainha. Mas ter os Lannister como inimigos é fatal: a ambição dessa família não tem limites e o rei corre um perigo muito maior do que Eddard temia! Sozinho na corte, Eddard também se apercebe que a sua vida nada vale. E até a sua família, longe no norte, pode estar em perigo.

Uma galeria de personagens brilhantes dá vida a esta saga. Entre eles estão o anão Tyrion, a ovelha negra do clã Lannister; John Snow, um bastardo de Eddard Stark que, ao ser rejeitado pela madrasta, decide juntar-se à Patrulha da Noite, uma legião encarregue de guardar uma imensa muralha de gelo a norte, para lá da qual cresce uma assustadora ameaça sobrenatural ao reino. E ainda a princesa Daenerys Targaryen, da dinastia que reinou antes de Robert Baratheon, que pretende ressuscitar os dragões do passado e, com eles, recuperar o trono, custe o que custar.]]> 400 George R.R. Martin 9896370109 L. 1 4.34 1996 A Guerra dos Tronos (As Crónicas de Gelo e Fogo, #1)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: L.
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1996
rating: 1
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date added: 2016/08/29
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]]> Life of Pi 170453
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea.]]> 326 Yann Martel 0156027321 L. 0 3.88 2001 Life of Pi
author: Yann Martel
name: L.
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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date added: 2015/06/06
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]]> John Donne's Poetry 134017
Criticism is divided into four sections and represents the best criticism and interpretation of Donne s writing: Donne and Metaphysical Poetry includes seven seventeenth-century views by contemporaries of Donne such as Ben Jonson, Thomas Carew, and John Dryden, among others; Satires, Elegies, and Verse Letters includes seven selections that offer social and literary context for and insights into Donne s frequently overlooked early poems; Songs and Sonnets features six analyses of Donne s love poetry; and Holy Sonnets/Divine Poems explores Donne s struggles as a Christian through four authoritative essays.

A Chronology of Donne s life and work, a Selected Bibliography, and an Index of Titles and First Lines are also included.]]> 456 John Donne 0393926486 L. 4 4.11 1631 John Donne's Poetry
author: John Donne
name: L.
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1631
rating: 4
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date added: 2015/05/21
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]]> Middlemarch 19089 "People are almost always better than their neighbours think they are"

George Eliot’s most ambitious novel is a masterly evocation of diverse lives and changing fortunes in a provincial community. Peopling its landscape are Dorothea Brooke, a young idealist whose search for intellectual fulfillment leads her into a disastrous marriage to the pedantic scholar Casaubon; the charming but tactless Dr Lydgate, whose pioneering medical methods, combined with an imprudent marriage to the spendthrift beauty Rosamond, threaten to undermine his career; and the religious hypocrite Bulstrode, hiding scandalous crimes from his past. As their stories interweave, George Eliot creates a richly nuanced and moving drama, hailed by Virginia Woolf as "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people".]]> 912 George Eliot 0451529170 L. 5 4.00 1872 Middlemarch
author: George Eliot
name: L.
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1872
rating: 5
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date added: 2015/03/28
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]]> Gospel Principles 12051147 Gospel Principles was written both as a personal study guide and as a teacher's manual. You can grow in your understanding and testimony of God the Father, Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and the Restoration of the gospel. You can find answers to life's questions, gain an assurance of your purpose and self-worth, and face personal and family challenges with faith.]]> 362 0877477167 L. 5 4.48 1978 Gospel Principles
author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
name: L.
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/02/03
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ranger Martin and the Alien Invasion (Ranger Martin, #2)]]> 23148370
They came from the sky. No one knew what to call them. By that time, it was too late. The dreaded lights from their ships plunged the world into darkness and everyone from Oregon to Virginia had disappeared. Now, with the towns and cities empty, no one will be able to stop the invaders� brutal assault on the survivors. That is, no one except for Ranger Martin and a group of young tagalongs eager to once again reclaim the globe as their home. Together, they fight the elements, kill alien and zombie alike, and liberate the weak from their military oppressors. But will Ranger have enough time to defeat another wave of silver ships screaming toward Earth before it delivers its fatal payload? Or will he succumb to the whims of a sadistic, power-hungry general obsessed with eliminating anyone threatening his plans?]]> 338 Jack Flacco L. 4
In the midst of gun battles, splattering zombie brains, and alien attacks is a story of the make-shift family Ranger Martin has gathered in the post-zombie world. Two teens - Matty and Randy - and a kid - Jon - join Ranger Martin in the adventure, and build the heart of the story. Matty is the most interesting of the three - a world-weary young woman, just as stubborn as Ranger Martin himself. It's always great to see a strong female character mixing in with the boys. Ranger Martin himself is a tough-guy hero, a former everyman now seeking to rid the world of these blasted "maggot-brains". Together, the kids and Ranger Martin form a team able to face impossible odds - the horrid combination of a zombie apocalypse, and a military now under the command of an alien invasion.

Any good adventure also needs a great central villain. While the zombie is a unified hoard of un-death, General Grayson is a twisted, cold psychopath in search of only his own survival in this invasion. His cruelty and intelligence combine to make him a formidable enemy, and one who pushes Ranger Martin to his limits.

I also loved the many ways the zombies were described - maggot brains, decaying flesh rippers, and so on. The author, Jack Flacco, seems to have had fun while writing the book, and that comes across in the descriptions of zombie battles and explosions.

The only issue I had in the book was the break in perspectives throughout. The narration changes perspective within a single scene - one paragraph will be from Martin's perspective, and the next from Matty's. As I got deeper into the book, I got into the rhythm and it was less disconcerting. However, it would be a stronger book if there were a clearer divide when the reader is moved between character perspectives.

On the other hand, I appreciated the novel staying at a PG-13 - or less - level of violence. It's a zombie story, so there's going to be plenty of splattering guts,and a few gross-out moments, but nothing crossed over into the repulsive. It's a fine line of grotesque to walk, and Flacco was able to make it work with panache. Flacco clearly knows both the zombie and alien invasion genres, and cleverly mixes the tropes of both to blend together into a fun, fast-paced hybrid.

Overall, I give it four stars, docking one-star for the mixed character perspectives. If you love zombies, and are looking for a fun zombie story to read as you prepare for Halloween, this is one to pick up.]]> 4.75 2014 Ranger Martin and the Alien Invasion (Ranger Martin, #2)
author: Jack Flacco
name: L.
average rating: 4.75
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/10/16
date added: 2014/10/19
shelves:
review:
Ranger Martin and the Alien Invasion is a fun, rollicking adventure, a pulp fiction medley of zombies, aliens, and action.

In the midst of gun battles, splattering zombie brains, and alien attacks is a story of the make-shift family Ranger Martin has gathered in the post-zombie world. Two teens - Matty and Randy - and a kid - Jon - join Ranger Martin in the adventure, and build the heart of the story. Matty is the most interesting of the three - a world-weary young woman, just as stubborn as Ranger Martin himself. It's always great to see a strong female character mixing in with the boys. Ranger Martin himself is a tough-guy hero, a former everyman now seeking to rid the world of these blasted "maggot-brains". Together, the kids and Ranger Martin form a team able to face impossible odds - the horrid combination of a zombie apocalypse, and a military now under the command of an alien invasion.

Any good adventure also needs a great central villain. While the zombie is a unified hoard of un-death, General Grayson is a twisted, cold psychopath in search of only his own survival in this invasion. His cruelty and intelligence combine to make him a formidable enemy, and one who pushes Ranger Martin to his limits.

I also loved the many ways the zombies were described - maggot brains, decaying flesh rippers, and so on. The author, Jack Flacco, seems to have had fun while writing the book, and that comes across in the descriptions of zombie battles and explosions.

The only issue I had in the book was the break in perspectives throughout. The narration changes perspective within a single scene - one paragraph will be from Martin's perspective, and the next from Matty's. As I got deeper into the book, I got into the rhythm and it was less disconcerting. However, it would be a stronger book if there were a clearer divide when the reader is moved between character perspectives.

On the other hand, I appreciated the novel staying at a PG-13 - or less - level of violence. It's a zombie story, so there's going to be plenty of splattering guts,and a few gross-out moments, but nothing crossed over into the repulsive. It's a fine line of grotesque to walk, and Flacco was able to make it work with panache. Flacco clearly knows both the zombie and alien invasion genres, and cleverly mixes the tropes of both to blend together into a fun, fast-paced hybrid.

Overall, I give it four stars, docking one-star for the mixed character perspectives. If you love zombies, and are looking for a fun zombie story to read as you prepare for Halloween, this is one to pick up.
]]>