en-US Mon, 13 May 2024 17:54:07 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 61209468 'Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go.'

When the Knight Bus crashes through the darkness and screeches to a halt in front of him, it's the start of another far from ordinary year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Sirius Black, escaped mass-murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort, is on the run - and they say he is coming after Harry. In his first ever Divination class, Professor Trelawney sees an omen of death in Harry's tea leaves... But perhaps most terrifying of all are the Dementors patrolling the school grounds, with their soul-sucking kiss...]]> 437 J.K. Rowling Brand 0 currently-reading 4.75 1999
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Brand
average rating: 4.75
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 10817250 304 Brand Gamblin 1460968867 Brand 5 4.20 2011
author: Brand Gamblin
name: Brand
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/08/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 35215199
Greg Lupinski is an ex-Google employee returning from vacation, & the new system has made him interesting to immigration security:

"I see a heavy spike in ads for rocketry supplies showing up alongside your search results and Google mail."
"But the ads don't mean anything... I get ads for Ann Coulter ring tones whenever I get e-mail from my friend in Coulter, Iowa!"
"I understand, sir... Why do you suppose model rocket ads show up so frequently?"
"Search for 'coffee fanatics.'" He'd been very active in the group, helping them build out the site for their coffee-of-the-month subscription service. The blend they were going to launch with was called Jet Fuel. "Jet Fuel" and "Launch"—that would probably make Google barf up some model rocket ads.

Anyway, it takes him a lot of time getting out of airport. Later, he talks to Maya, a Google colleague, & gets some dark insights. We also learn that Google security cameras at public places are used by security agencies to track suspects. Including suspects tagged on flimsy criteria like above airport dialog.

But Maya can help. She has built a kind of underground program (Googlecleaner) within Google. It normalizes the profile of an individual in various Google databases - basically tinkers data Google has been collecting about you over the years from your searches, visits to sites that show Google Ads, Orkut activity, & other Google properties. When done, you look like an angel of virtue!

Some days later, a very worried Maya visits Greg. She is leaving the country & wants Greg to come. Looks like someone has found her underground program, has cleaned profiles of some elected officials in Washington, & she is now a marked woman. Greg wishes her luck; he himself will stay.

Some days later, he gets visitors late at night - threatening him. Turns out they are not cops, but from Google's lobby firm. He has options - either go to jail for 10 years for tinkering with Google's data! Or cooperate & again become & employee of Google, & help turn Googlecleaner into something security people will be using more often!]]> 46 Cory Doctorow Brand 4 3.64 2007
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/06/14
shelves:
review:

]]> 22630778
At the core of this tale is a love story that spans a lifetime, wrapped in a gritty, epic, real man's fantasy that anyone can sink his or her teeth into. It is a beacon of truth in an enslaved world suffering from moral relativism and willful ignorance in the presence of Knowledge.

For the mature fans of Harry Potter, A Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Elder Scrolls, Legend of Zelda, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, Fable, and Dragon Age, The Tale of Onora follows the journey of a young orphan after his village is destroyed and he is forced to grow up in a dangerous world. As he navigates through different walks of life, he begins to uncover a conspiracy as to why his village was destroyed. Before he can put the pieces together, his fate is sealed by a terrible war. In the storm of chaos that follows, his actions turn him into a legendary hero. The more renowned he gets, the closer the source of evil is drawn to him. The more he fights for the truth, the more of an outlaw he becomes. In Book One, a boy at the brink of adulthood travels beyond the ruins of an ancient elven city, to The Crown of The World in the far north. It is there where he meets his father for the first time, in search of the answers and reasons his mother refuses to discuss. At the risk of his life, he learns that finding the truth requires knowing The Tale of Onora.]]> 107 Dylan Saccoccio 1500282847 Brand 1
I first found out about this book when the author turned a single review into a damning train wreck. Once I saw the wreckage, I decided to take his advice and read the sample. I'm so glad I did. It's almost worth buying the thing, just so I can look it up every time I'm feeling bad about myself.

I'm not going to go deep into what's wrong with it. You've seen the same thing everywhere else. It's long-winded, dull, and pretentious. The very fact that he rips off Shakespeare for his own book description gives you an idea of what you're dealing with. . .

I actually think this guy's a troll, who doesn't care about the book, he just wants to have fun inflaming a review thread. It might be that he did one of those computer-generated story builders to get the first sixty thousand words, then threw it out there just so he could enrage people.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad I got out when I could.]]> 1.31 2014
author: Dylan Saccoccio
name: Brand
average rating: 1.31
book published: 2014
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2015/06/07
shelves:
review:
This book makes me feel better about myself as an author. No matter how bad my writing is, I know I'll never be THIS bad.

I first found out about this book when the author turned a single review into a damning train wreck. Once I saw the wreckage, I decided to take his advice and read the sample. I'm so glad I did. It's almost worth buying the thing, just so I can look it up every time I'm feeling bad about myself.

I'm not going to go deep into what's wrong with it. You've seen the same thing everywhere else. It's long-winded, dull, and pretentious. The very fact that he rips off Shakespeare for his own book description gives you an idea of what you're dealing with. . .

I actually think this guy's a troll, who doesn't care about the book, he just wants to have fun inflaming a review thread. It might be that he did one of those computer-generated story builders to get the first sixty thousand words, then threw it out there just so he could enrage people.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad I got out when I could.
]]> 10979852 293 A. Lee Martinez 0316093521 Brand 0 to-read 3.80 2012
author: A. Lee Martinez
name: Brand
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 18667112
Some say the mages left their most dangerous secrets hidden there; others, that great riches are hidden there; even that gods have been imprisoned in its darkest depths.

For Lord Frith, the caverns hold the key to his vengeance. Against all the odds, he has survived torture and lived to see his home and his family taken from him �� and now someone is going to pay. For Wydrin of Crosshaven and her faithful companion, Sir Sebastian Caverson, a quest to the Citadel looks like just another job. There’s the promise of gold and adventure. Who knows, they might even have a decent tale or two once they’re done.

But sometimes there is truth in rumour.

Soon this reckless trio will be the last line of defence against a hungry, restless terror that wants to tear the world apart. And they’re not even getting paid.]]> 535 Jen Williams 1472211111 Brand 0 to-read 3.61 2014
author: Jen Williams
name: Brand
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 4699575
Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer—the architect behind half-a-dozen popular online games. His premature death depressed both gamers and his company's stock price. But Sobol's fans aren't the only ones to note his passing. When his obituary is posted online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events intended to unravel the fabric of our hyper-efficient, interconnected world. With Sobol's secrets buried along with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed at every turn, it's up to an unlikely alliance to decipher his intricate plans and wrest the world from the grasp of a nameless, faceless enemy—or learn to live in a society in which we are no longer in control. . . .

Computer technology expert Daniel Suarez blends haunting high-tech realism with gripping suspense in an authentic, complex thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson.]]> 432 Daniel Suarez 0525951113 Brand 5
One thing I loved about this story was the way it shifts gears at different points. We start with the basic murder mystery, about a dead billionaire, and his murdered employees. But soon the story makes a twist, and turns into a WarGames kind of tale, where a rogue AI is trying to destroy whole companies. Then, near the end, we see that it is far worse than that, with a Jason Bourne type of story about governments struggling to stop a computer juggernaut, bent on world destruction.

The gradual escalation is handled extremely well, with good characters and great action. It's an all-around, great story.]]> 4.17 2006
author: Daniel Suarez
name: Brand
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2013/02/01
date added: 2013/03/22
shelves:
review:
This book is absolutely brilliant. Using technology that already exists, or is just a decade away, this story builds an argument for scripted systems that can bring down society as we know it, or even build a new one.

One thing I loved about this story was the way it shifts gears at different points. We start with the basic murder mystery, about a dead billionaire, and his murdered employees. But soon the story makes a twist, and turns into a WarGames kind of tale, where a rogue AI is trying to destroy whole companies. Then, near the end, we see that it is far worse than that, with a Jason Bourne type of story about governments struggling to stop a computer juggernaut, bent on world destruction.

The gradual escalation is handled extremely well, with good characters and great action. It's an all-around, great story.
]]> 1194659
ScreamFree Parenting is not just about lowering your voice. It’s about learning to calm your emotional reactions and learning to focus on your own behavior more than your kids�� behavior . . . for their benefit. Our biggest enemy as parents is not the TV, the Internet, or even drugs. Our biggest enemy is our own emotional reactivity . When we say we “lost it�� with our kids, the “it�� in that sentence is our own adulthood . And then we wonder why our kids have so little respect for us, why our kids seem to have all the power in the family.

It’s time to do it differently. And you can. You can start to create and enjoy the types of calm, mutually respectful, and loving relationships with your kids that you’ve always craved. You can begin to revolutionize your family, starting tonight. Parenting is not about kids, it’s about parents.
If you’re not in control, then you cannot be in charge.
What every kid really needs are parents who are able to keep their cool no matter what.

Easier said than done? Not anymore, thanks to ScreamFree Parenting, the principle-based approach that’s inspiring parents everywhere to truly revolutionize their family dynamics. Moving beyond the child-centered, technique-based approaches that ultimately fail, the ScreamFree way compels you

focus on yourself
calm yourself down, and
grow yourself up

By staying calm and connected with your kids, you begin to operate less out of your deepest fears and more out of your highest principles, revolutionizing your relationships in the process.

ScreamFree Parenting is not just another parenting book. It’s the first parenting
book that maintains—from beginning to end—that parenting is NOT about kids . . . it’s about parents . As parents pay more attention to controlling their own behavior instead of their kids�� behavior, the result is stronger, more rewarding, and more fulfilling family relationships.

For those of you reading who are parents, know parents, or have had parents, the notion that the greatest thing you can do for your children is to learn to focus on yourself may sound strange, even heretical. It’s not. Here’s we are the only ones we can control. We cannot control our kids—we cannot control the behavior of any other human being. And yet, so many “experts�� keep giving us more tools (“techniques��) to help us try to do just that. And, of course, the more we try to control, the more out of control our children become.

“Don’t make me come up there.�� “Don’t make me pull this car over.�� “How many times do I have to tell you?�� Even our language suggests that our kids have control over us.
It’s no wonder that we end up screaming. Or shutting down. Or simply giving up. And the charts, refrigerator magnets, family meetings, and other techniques in most typical parenting books just don’t work. They end up making us feel more frustrated and more powerless in this whole parenting thing.

This practical, effective guide for parents of all ages with kids of all ages introduces proven principles for overcoming the anxieties and stresses of parenting and setting new patterns of connection and cooperation. Well-written in an engaging, conversational tone, the book is sensible, straightforward, and based on the experiences of hundreds of actual families. It will help all parents become calming authorities in their homes, bring peace to their families today, and give kids what they need to grow into caring, self-directed adults tomorrow.]]> 240 Hal Edward Runkel 0767927427 Brand 3 currently-reading 3.95 2004
author: Hal Edward Runkel
name: Brand
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/29
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 14058675
Discount Miracles is a slipstream story of sci-fi and fantasy that lightly treads the edges of Clarke's Third Law. Hoverbikes and giant monsters come together in a story that is a little comedy, a little romance, and a lot of adventure.]]> 206 Brand Gamblin 1477495908 Brand 0 3.53 2012
author: Brand Gamblin
name: Brand
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/29
shelves:
review:

]]> 12188858 10 Cory Doctorow 3655161603 Brand 3 3.68 1998
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/08/14
shelves:
review:

]]> 10832786 300 Paulette Jaxton 1897492243 Brand 5 currently-reading 4.00 2011
author: Paulette Jaxton
name: Brand
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/04/22
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 5617966 A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine plumbs the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, one of the most popular and successful schools of thought in ancient Rome, and shows how its insight and advice are still remarkably applicable to modern lives.
In A Guide to the Good Life, Irvine offers a refreshing presentation of Stoicism, showing how this ancient philosophy can still direct us toward a better life. Using the psychological insights and the practical techniques of the Stoics, Irvine offers a roadmap for anyone seeking to avoid the feelings of chronic dissatisfaction that plague so many of us. Irvine looks at various Stoic techniques for attaining tranquility and shows how to put these techniques to work in our own life. As he does so, he describes his own experiences practicing Stoicism and offers valuable first-hand advice for anyone wishing to live better by following in the footsteps of these ancient philosophers. Readers learn how to minimize worry, how to let go of the past and focus our efforts on the things we can control, and how to deal with insults, grief, old age, and the distracting temptations of fame and fortune. We learn from Marcus Aurelius the importance of prizing only things of true value, and from Epictetus we learn how to be more content with what we have.
Finally, A Guide to the Good Life shows readers how to become thoughtful observers of their own life. If we watch ourselves as we go about our daily business and later reflect on what we saw, we can better identify the sources of distress and eventually avoid that pain in our life. By doing this, the Stoics thought, we can hope to attain a truly joyful life.]]> 326 William B. Irvine 0195374614 Brand 4 4.18 2008
author: William B. Irvine
name: Brand
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2011/04/20
date added: 2011/04/21
shelves:
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]]> 11034197
The Danny is a collection of seven short stories, some previously published in Flagship magazine. Others have never been seen before. There are stories of high fantasy and low, as well as hardcore and contemporary sci-fi. The perfect book for short shots of intense storytelling.]]> 133 Brand Gamblin Brand 5 4.07 2011
author: Brand Gamblin
name: Brand
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/04/12
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]]> 21776 Los gondoleros silenciosos es el resultado de la investigación de Morgenstern sobre por qué los gondoleros de Venecia, que eran los mejores cantantes del mundo, un día, de repente, empezaron a cantar tan horriblemente que desde entonces los clientes les piden que remen en silencio. La respuesta a ese enigma está en la historia de Luigi, un joven de sonrisa bonachona que toda su vida soñó con ser gondolero. Goldman, a través de su narrador ficticio, nos lleva a la taberna secreta de los gondoleros, a la Iglesia de las almas de los que murieron por el Mar y a otros muchos lugares mágicos, dibujando una Venecia a medio camino entre la realidad y la fantasía en la que Luigi, a pesar de todas las frustraciones, sinsabores y derrotas, jamás renunciará a su sueño.

La edición de Ático de los Libros incluye las ilustraciones que el pintor Paul Giovanopoulos realizó para la edición original.]]> 128 William Goldman 0345442636 Brand 3 3.86 1983
author: William Goldman
name: Brand
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1983
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/02/05
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]]> 7857195 if mice kept pets and toads could cuss,
if dogs had wives and chipmunks dated,
sheep sat still and meditated,
then in the forest, field and dairy
you might find this bestiary,
read by storks, by rats and kitties,
skimmed by cows with milk-stained titties.
"I found the book to be most droll,"
might quip the bear, the owl, the mole.
Others, though, would be more coarse,
"Bull," could say the pig and horse.
As to the scribe, they'd quote the hen:
"Trust me, he's no La Fontaine."

(flap copy)]]> 163 David Sedaris 0316038393 Brand 5 3.38 2010
author: David Sedaris
name: Brand
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/02/05
shelves:
review:

]]> 1335568 209 John Crowley 0553131990 Brand 0 to-read 4.10 1979
author: John Crowley
name: Brand
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/01/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 8818286
The Pirate by H. E. Roulo
The namegivers prophesied that he would be a pirate. But he lived on a world with no crime, and no open bodies of water...

Affinity by Mary Merrell
The crows followed him wherever he went. But when a neighbor starts to notice, Talon's life is about to change...

Ruby's Child by Philip Carroll
A dwarf maiden finds herself orphaned, alone, and with child when she returns to her ancestral home. Can the dwarves overcome their prejudice? Set in P.G. Holyfield's word of Caern, by his permission...

Inciting Incident by Blake M. Petit
He was studying the superheroes to understand how their powers worked. At least, that's what he told them...

Apprentice by Mike Plested
Charlie was apprenticed to the wizard, and thought he'd learn magic, but when all he learns is cleaning and cooking. When his complaints threaten to get him kicked out, what can he do to convince his master to let him stay?

AND

Snake Skin by Brand Gamblin, author of Tumbler.
Todd and Simon had worked together to develop the bionic "skins" that enhanced people's reflexes, strength, and speed. But when they reach the limits of human potential, how do they bring out the true potential of the 'skins? And what does it mean for humanity?]]> 130 Brand Gamblin 0982911602 Brand 5 4.45 2010
author: Brand Gamblin
name: Brand
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/10/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 8479340 170 Brand Gamblin Brand 5 3.86 2009
author: Brand Gamblin
name: Brand
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/10/12
shelves:
review:

]]> 9206637 168 Brand Gamblin 1449968686 Brand 5 4.40 2009
author: Brand Gamblin
name: Brand
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2010/10/12
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]]> 6753112 1 Craphound
2 A place so foreign
3 All day sucker
4 To market, to market
5 Return to Pleasure Island
6 Shadow of the mothaship
7 Home again, home again
8 The super man and the bugout
9 Ownz0red]]> 150 Cory Doctorow 1433097850 Brand 3 3.29 2000
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2010/09/01
shelves:
review:

]]> 130528
In Fury Born is a greatly expanded new version of David Weber's popular novel Path of the Fury, which has gone through six large printings in its original mass market edition. David Weber has added considerable new material, revealing the earlier life of Alicia DeVries before she embarked on her mission of vengeance, and illuminating the universe of the original story. The result is a novel with almost twice the wordage of the original, and a must-buy for all David Weber fans.]]> 864 David Weber 1416520546 Brand 0 to-read 4.24 1992
author: David Weber
name: Brand
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2010/07/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 50091
In these stories, Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age: when Earth is ruled by master-machines and when robots are more human than mankind.
Contents

9 �� Introduction (The Complete Robot) �� (1982) �� essay by Isaac Asimov
15 �� A Boy's Best Friend �� (1975) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
19 �� Sally �� (1953) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
41 �� Someday �� (1956) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
55 �� Point of View �� [Multivac] �� (1975) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
59 �� Think! �� (1977) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
70 �� True Love �� (1977) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
77 �� Robot AL-76 Goes Astray �� (1942) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
93 �� Victory Unintentional �� (1942) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
117 �� Stranger in Paradise �� (1974) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
151 �� Light Verse �� (1973) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
157 �� Segregationist �� (1967) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
164 �� Robbie �� (1940) �� short story by Isaac Asimov (variant of Strange Playfellow)
191 �� Let's Get Together �� (1957) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
211 �� Mirror Image �� [Elijah Bailey / R. Daneel Olivaw] �� (1972) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
231 �� The Tercentenary Incident �� (1976) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
253 �� First Law �� [Mike Donovan] �� (1956) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
257 �� Runaround �� [Mike Donovan] �� (1942) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
280 �� Reason �� [Mike Donovan] �� (1941) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
302 �� Catch That Rabbit �� [Mike Donovan] �� (1944) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
329 �� Liar! �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1941) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
350 �� Satisfaction Guaranteed �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1951) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
368 �� Lenny �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1958) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
385 �� Galley Slave �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1957) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
427 �� Little Lost Robot �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1947) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
459 �� Risk �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1955) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
490 �� Escape! �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1945) �� short story by Isaac Asimov
518 �� Evidence �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1946) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
546 �� The Evitable Conflict �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1950) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
575 �� Feminine Intuition �� [Susan Calvin] �� (1969) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
605 �� ... That Thou Art Mindful of Him �� (1974) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov (variant of —That Thou Art Mindful of Him!)
635 �� The Bicentennial Man �� (1976) �� novelette by Isaac Asimov
683 �� A Last Word �� (1982) �� essay by Isaac Asimov

THE COMPLETE ROBOT is the ultimate collection of timeless, amazing and amusing robot stories from the greatest science fiction writer of all time, offering golden insights into robot thought processes. Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics were programmed into real computers thirty years ago at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - with surprising results. Readers of today still have many surprises in store...]]> 688 Isaac Asimov 0586057242 Brand 4 4.33 1982
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Brand
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2010/06/02
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]]> 70787
In the Bicentennial Man, Isaac Asimov returns to his first and most enduring love �� robotics. The result is a brilliant book of first-class entertainment and mind-spinning ideas which confirm Asimov's supreme status as Grand Master of science fiction.

Content

"Feminine Intuition" (1969)
"Waterclap" (1970)
"That Thou Art Mindful of Him" (1974)
"Stranger in Paradise" (1974)
"The Life and Times of Multivac" (1975)
"The Winnowing" (1976)
"The Bicentennial Man" (1976)
"Marching In" (1976)
"Old-Fashioned" (1976)
"The Tercentenary Incident" (1976)
"Birth of a Notion" (1976)

Cover Illustration: Don Dixon]]> 211 Isaac Asimov 1857989325 Brand 4 4.12 1976
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Brand
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1976
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2010/06/02
shelves:
review:

]]> 99245
Imagine living on a planet with six suns that never experiences Darkness. Imagine never having seen the Stars. Then, one by one the suns start to set, gradually leading into Darkness for the first time ever. Kalgash is a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the unyielding rationalism of scientists. Lurking beneath it all is a collective, instinctual fear of the Darkness. For Kalgash knows only the perpetual light of day; to its inhabitants, a gathering twilight portends unspeakable horror. And only a handful of people on the planet are prepared to face the truth, their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in over two thousand years, signaling the end of civilization as it explodes in the awesome splendor of Nightfall.

Encompassing the psychology of disaster, the tenacity of the human spirit, and, ultimately, the regenerative power of hope, Nightfall is a tale rich in character and suspense that only the unique collaboration of Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg could create.]]> 339 Isaac Asimov 0553290991 Brand 3 4.06 1990
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Brand
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2010/06/02
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]]> 30016 This is an alternative cover edition for ISBN 9780586010167

Like all Earthmen, detective Elijah Baley has a terror of open landscape., of the naked sun.

Reacting in fear of the technological superiority of the Outer Worlds, the people of Earth have hidden themselves in vast underground cities, nursing a hatred for Spacers. The fifty Outer Worlds of the Spacers together are home to fewer people than planet Earth. And home to many, many more robots. Earthmen hate Spacer robots, too...

But Baley doesn't. He once had a robot partner, R. Daneel �� and when the authorities of the planet Solaria request terrestrial assistance in investigating a murder, Baley is once again teamed with Daneel. He is the first Earthmen in a millennium to travel to the Outer Worlds... and he must endure the glare of a sun far more deadly than Earth's.]]> 204 Isaac Asimov Brand 4 4.17 1958
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Brand
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1958
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2010/06/02
shelves:
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]]> 433567 [sic �� ed.], a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women-thin, straight lines-are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status.
Through strange occurrences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms, Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions—a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world. Charmingly illustrated by the author, Flatland is not only fascinating reading, it is still a first-rate fictional introduction to the concept of the multiple dimensions of space. "Instructive, entertaining, and stimulating to the imagination." �� Mathematics Teacher.]]> 96 Edwin A. Abbott 048627263X Brand 4 3.82 1884
author: Edwin A. Abbott
name: Brand
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
rating: 4
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]]> 41811 206 Isaac Asimov Brand 4 4.19 1953
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Brand
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1953
rating: 4
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]]> 8909
Inspiring films, radio dramas, comic-book adaptations, television series and sequels,The War of the Worlds is a prototypical work of science fiction which has influenced every alien story that has come since, and is unsurpassed in its ability to thrill, well over a century since it was first published.]]> 192 H.G. Wells 0375759239 Brand 4 3.84 1898
author: H.G. Wells
name: Brand
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1898
rating: 4
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]]> 41804
I, ROBOT

They mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on perhaps its greatest adventure: the invention of the first positronic man. It was a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities—and unforeseen risks. For the scientists who invented the earliest robots weren't content that their creations should ' remain programmed helpers, companions, and semisentient worker-machines. And soon the robots themselves; aware of their own intelligence, power, and humanity, aren't either.

As humans and robots struggle to survive together—and sometimes against each other—on earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. Human men and women confront robots gone mad, telepathic robots, robot politicians, and vast robotic intelligences that may already secretly control the world. And both are asking the same questions: What is human? And is humanity obsolete?

In l, Robot Isaac Asimov changes forever our perception of robots, and human beings and updates the timeless myth of man's dream to play god. with all its rewards—and terrors.
--front flap]]> 224 Isaac Asimov 0553803700 Brand 4 4.22 1950
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Brand
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1950
rating: 4
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]]> 7757825 1 Brand Gamblin Brand 5 4.00 2009
author: Brand Gamblin
name: Brand
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2009
rating: 5
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]]> 64123
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--Arthur Dent, mild-mannered, out-to-lunch kind of guy, is plucked from Earth just before it is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Towel in hand, he begins his journey through space and time with his rescuer Ford Prefect, a traveling research for the Guide.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe--where the floor show is Doomsday and Arthur and Ford dine with Zaphod Beeblebrox, well-appendaged, ex-head honcho of the universe, and Trillian, his human girlfriend. The four friends begin their quest for answers to some of the most confounding questions challenging mankind. When will they finish eating? What is the question to the ultimate answer? (which happens to be 42).

Life, the Universe and Everything--Everything important and then some is examined in this third book, when Arthur Dent and his companions find they must avert Armageddon and save the Universe for life as we know it (or think we know it!).

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish--Galaxy-weary space traveler Arthur Dent returns to Earth With his new voidoid gang to discover that it has been mysteriously reinstated. But more pertinent questions remain: Why did all the dolphins disappear? What is God's Final Message to His Creation? What really happened the day the Earth was demolished?

And finally, in Young Zaphod Plays it Safe--the two-headed hero travels to the depths of the ocean floor to investigate the mysterious destruction of the ship that "could one hundred percent positively never crash." with the annoying assistance of the Safety and Civil Reassurance Administration, Zaphod learns some disturbing secrets...

If you're just discovering Douglas Adams's galactic gangbuster of a series, don't panic--The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide is your chance to have it all! (Towel not included.)
--jacket]]> 624 Douglas Adams 0517693119 Brand 4 4.58 1989
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 4.58
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]]> 8704 189 Terry Jones 2290053651 Brand 2 3.64 1997
author: Terry Jones
name: Brand
average rating: 3.64
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rating: 2
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]]> 359 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and its classic sequels. Sadly for his countless admirers, he hitched his own ride to the great beyond much too soon. Culled posthumously from Adams’s fleet of beloved Macintosh computers, this selection of essays, articles, anecdotes, and stories offers a fascinating and intimate portrait of the multifaceted artist and absurdist wordsmith.

Join Adams on an excursion to climb Kilimanjaro…dressed in a rhino costume; peek into the private life of Genghis Khan—warrior and world-class neurotic; root for the harried author’s efforts to get a Hitchhiker movie off the ground in Hollywood; thrill to the further exploits of private eye Dirk Gently and two-headed alien Zaphod Beeblebrox. Though Douglas Adams is gone, he’s left us something very special to remember him by. Without a doubt.]]> 298 Douglas Adams 0345455290 Brand 3 3.93 2002
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2002
rating: 3
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]]> 357 307 Douglas Adams 0671742515 Brand 3 4.05 1988
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 4.05
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rating: 3
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]]> 365
Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza �� not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge).

To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) �� or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic.�� The author]]> 306 Douglas Adams Brand 4 3.98 1987
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 3.98
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rating: 4
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]]> 360
Hell takes a number of forms: there’s the usual Ford Prefect form of hell, fresh hell in the form of an all-new version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a totally unexpected hell in the form of a teenage girl who startles Arthur Dent by being his daughter when he didn’t even know he had one.

Can Arthur save the Earth from total multidimensional obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter, Random, from herself?

Of course not. He never works out what is going on, exactly. Will you?]]> 240 Douglas Adams Brand 3 3.98 1992
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 3.98
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rating: 3
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]]> 8698
"HE LOST ALL FAITH IN THE STRAIGHTFORWARD OPERATION OF CAUSE AND EFFECT THE DAY HE GOT UP INTENDING TO CATCH UP WITH SOME READING AND ENDED UP ON A PREHISTORIC EARTH WITH A MAN FROM BETELGEUSE AND A SPACESHIP-LOAD OF ALIEN TELEPHONE SANITISERS...".

Left at the end of LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING with the address for God's Final Message To His Creation, Arthur Dent let this crucial information slip his mind. He tries everything to jog his memory - meditation, mind-reading, hitting himself about the head with blunt objects. But none of it works. Of course, as everyone knows, the answer lies in making life flash before your eyes...
Source: douglasadams.com]]> 167 Douglas Adams 0330491237 Brand 3 4.09 1984
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1984
rating: 3
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]]> 8694
“Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.”�� Chicago Tribune

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads—so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.

They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.

How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert “universal�� Armageddon and save life as we know it—and don’t know it!

“Adams is one of those rare an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.”�� Arizona Daily Star]]> 224 Douglas Adams 0345418905 Brand 3 4.20 1982
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
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]]> 8695 alternate edition for ISBN 0345418921/9780345418920

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle through space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat. Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a long-time friend and contributor to the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMilan, a fellow Earth refuge who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, who suffers nothing and no one gladly.

Source: douglasadams.com]]> 250 Douglas Adams Brand 4 4.22 1980
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 4.22
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rating: 4
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]]> 7154200 81 Cory Doctorow Brand 3 3.84 2006
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2006
rating: 3
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]]> 6147406 50 Cory Doctorow Brand 4 3.54 2005
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2005
rating: 4
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]]> 29593 1 Craphound
2 A place so foreign
3 All day sucker
4 To market, to market
5 Return to Pleasure Island
6 Shadow of the mothaship
7 Home again, home again
8 The super man and the bugout
9 Ownz0red]]> 243 Cory Doctorow 1568582862 Brand 4 3.73 2000
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2000
rating: 4
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]]> 29588
Alan understands. He himself has a secret or two. His father is a mountain; his mother is a washing machine; and among his brothers are a set of Russian nesting dolls.

Now two of the three nesting dolls, Edward and Frederick, are on his doorstep--well on their way to starvation, because their innermost member, George, has vanished. It appears that yet another brother, Davey, who Alan and his other siblings killed years ago, may have returned...bent on revenge.

Under such circumstances it seems only reasonable for Alan to involve himself with a visionary scheme to blanket Toronto with free wireless Internet connectivity, a conspiracy spearheaded by a brilliant technopunk who builds miracles of hardware from parts scavenged from the city's dumpsters. But Alan's past won't leave him alone--and Davey is only one of the powers gunning for him and all his friends.
]]> 315 Cory Doctorow 0765312808 Brand 3 3.50 2005
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.50
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rating: 3
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]]> 29589 A comedy of loyalty, betrayal, sex, madness, and music-swapping

Art is an up-and-coming interface designer, working on the management of data flow along the Massachusetts Turnpike. He's doing the best work of his career and can guarantee that the system will be, without a question, the most counterintuitive, user-hostile piece of software ever pushed forth onto the world.

Why? Because Art is an industrial saboteur. He may live in London and work for an EU telecommunications megacorp, but Art's real home is the Eastern Standard Tribe.

Instant wireless communication puts everyone in touch with everyone else, twenty-four hours a day. But one thing hasn't changed: the need for sleep. The world is slowly splintering into Tribes held together by a common time zone, less than family and more than nations. Art is working to humiliate the Greenwich Mean Tribe to the benefit of his own people. But in a world without boundaries, nothing can be taken for granted-not happiness, not money, and most certainly not love.

Which might explain why Art finds himself stranded on the roof of an insane asylum outside Boston, debating whether to push a pencil into his brain....]]> 232 Cory Doctorow 0765310457 Brand 3 3.48 2004
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.48
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rating: 3
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]]> 29587 On The Skids In The Transhuman Future

Jules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.

Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the keeping of a network of "ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.

Now, though, the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents, and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself.

Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war....]]> 208 Cory Doctorow 076530953X Brand 4 3.57 2003
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
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rating: 4
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]]> 954674
But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days.

When the DHS finally releases them, his injured best friend Darryl does not come out. The city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: "M1k3y" will take down the DHS himself.]]> 382 Cory Doctorow 0765319853 Brand 4 3.92 2008
author: Cory Doctorow
name: Brand
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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]]> 828 Snow Crash to the stunning success of his latest novel, Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson has quickly become the voice of a generation. In this now-classic thriller, he and fellow author J. Frederick George tell a shocking tale with an all-too plausible premise.

There's no way William A. Cozzano can lose the upcoming presidential election. He's a likable midwestern governor with one insidious advantage - an advantage provided by a shadowy group of backers. A biochip implanted in his head hardwires him to a computerized polling system. The mood of the electorate is channeled directly into his brain. Forget issues. Forget policy. Cozzano is more than the perfect candidate. He's a special effect.



"Complex, entertaining, frequently funny." - Publishers Weekly



"Qualifies as the sleeper of the year, the rare kind of science-fiction thriller that evokes genuine laughter while simultaneously keeping the level of suspense cranked to the max." - San Diego Union-Tribune


"Manchurian Candidate for the computer age." - Seattle Weekly
]]> 618 Neal Stephenson 0553383434 Brand 4 3.70 1994
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Brand
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1994
rating: 4
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]]> 826 The New York Times Book Review called Neal Stephenson's most recent novel "electrifying" and "hilarious".  but if you want to know Stephenson was doing twenty years before he wrote the epic Cryptonomicon, it's back-to-school time. Back to The Big U, that is, a hilarious send-up of American college life starring after years out of print, The Big U is required reading for anyone interested in the early work of this singular writer.]]> 308 Neal Stephenson 0380816032 Brand 3 3.26 1984
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Brand
average rating: 3.26
book published: 1984
rating: 3
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]]> 18937 151 Neal Stephenson 0380815931 Brand 3 3.80 1999
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Brand
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1999
rating: 3
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]]> 825 308 Neal Stephenson 0553573861 Brand 4 3.72 1988
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Brand
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1988
rating: 4
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]]> 827 The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.]]> 499 Neal Stephenson 0553380966 Brand 4 4.17 1995
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Brand
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1995
rating: 4
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]]> 816 Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods—World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, crypt analyst extraordinaire, and gung-ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty—we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious."

All of this secrecy resonates in the present-day story line, in which the grandchildren of the WWII heroes—inimitable programming geek Randy Waterhouse and the lovely and powerful Amy Shaftoe—team up to help create an offshore data haven in Southeast Asia and maybe uncover some gold once destined for Nazi coffers. To top off the paranoiac tone of the book, the mysterious Enoch Root, key member of Detachment 2702 and the Societas Eruditorum, pops up with an unbreakable encryption scheme left over from WWII to befuddle the 1990s protagonists with conspiratorial ties.]]> 1152 Neal Stephenson Brand 4 4.24 1999
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Brand
average rating: 4.24
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]]> 234225 Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the "spice" melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.]]> 604 Frank Herbert 0340839937 Brand 4 4.21 1965
author: Frank Herbert
name: Brand
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1965
rating: 4
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]]> 4381 158 Ray Bradbury 0307347974 Brand 5 3.96 1953
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Brand
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1953
rating: 5
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]]> 5129 Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine�� (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune]]> 268 Aldous Huxley 0060929871 Brand 3 3.99 1932
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Brand
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1932
rating: 3
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]]> 14050 537 Audrey Niffenegger 0965818675 Brand 1 3.90 2003
author: Audrey Niffenegger
name: Brand
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2003
rating: 1
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]]> 1885 Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679783268]]> 279 Jane Austen 1441341706 Brand 2 4.28 1813
author: Jane Austen
name: Brand
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1813
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]]> 34
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
--back cover]]> 398 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618346252 Brand 3 4.36 1954
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Brand
average rating: 4.36
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]]> 5907 Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).]]> 366 J.R.R. Tolkien Brand 4 4.29 1937
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Brand
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1937
rating: 4
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]]> 3 309 J.K. Rowling 0439554934 Brand 4 4.47 1997
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Brand
average rating: 4.47
book published: 1997
rating: 4
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]]> 1202
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.

Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.

What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.

Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
(front flap)]]> 268 Steven D. Levitt 0061234001 Brand 0 to-read 4.01 2005
author: Steven D. Levitt
name: Brand
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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]]> 7677
Parque jurásico, la novela más célebre de Michael Crichton y una de las más leídas en los últimos años, fue adaptada al cine por Steven Spielberg en una película que se convirtió en el gran acontecimiento cinematográfico de 1993 y en el origen del fenómeno de masas llamado «dinomanía».]]> 467 Michael Crichton 030734813X Brand 3 3.90 1990
author: Michael Crichton
name: Brand
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1990
rating: 3
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]]> 23807
Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history, unusual tastes, and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of "The Silence of the Lambs"—an ingenious, masterfully written book and an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.]]> 421 Thomas Harris Brand 4 4.25 1988
author: Thomas Harris
name: Brand
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1988
rating: 4
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]]> 32542 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780385338608

Before The Firm and The Pelican Brief made him a superstar, John Grisham wrote this riveting story of retribution and justice. In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence, as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town, Clanton, Mississippi.

The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. That is, until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes matters into his hands.

For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life, and then his own.]]> 738 John Grisham Brand 4 4.11 1989
author: John Grisham
name: Brand
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1989
rating: 4
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]]> 11588 497 Stephen King 0450040186 Brand 3 4.28 1977
author: Stephen King
name: Brand
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1977
rating: 3
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]> 18490 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780141439471

'Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart ...'

Obsessed with creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.

Based on the third edition of 1831, this volume contains all the revisions Mary Shelley made to her story, as well as her 1831 introduction and Percy Bysshe Shelley's preface to the first edition. This revised edition includes as appendices a select collation of the texts of 1818 and 1831 together with 'A Fragment' by Lord Byron and Dr John Polidori's 'The Vampyre: A Tale'.]]> 288 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Brand 2 3.77 1818
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
name: Brand
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1818
rating: 2
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]]> 2956 327 Mark Twain 0142437174 Brand 3 3.82 1884
author: Mark Twain
name: Brand
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
rating: 3
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]]> 18135 Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.

In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers�� final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.]]> 281 William Shakespeare 0743477111 Brand 3 3.74 1597
author: William Shakespeare
name: Brand
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1597
rating: 3
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]]> 7624 182 William Golding 0140283331 Brand 0 to-read 3.70 1954
author: William Golding
name: Brand
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1954
rating: 0
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date added: 2009/07/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> 7613
When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.]]> 129 George Orwell Brand 4 3.90 1945
author: George Orwell
name: Brand
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]> 30119 Come in... for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins.

Shel Silverstein, the New York Times bestselling author of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, has created a poetry collection that is outrageously funny and deeply profound.

You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.

Shel Silverstein's masterful collection of poems and drawings stretches the bounds of imagination and will be cherished by readers of all ages.]]> 176 Shel Silverstein 0060513039 Brand 4 4.34 1974
author: Shel Silverstein
name: Brand
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1974
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]> 21787
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.]]> 429 William Goldman 0345418263 Brand 4 4.27 1973
author: William Goldman
name: Brand
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1973
rating: 4
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]]> 5470 328 George Orwell Brand 4 4.15 1949
author: George Orwell
name: Brand
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1949
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]> 375802
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.]]> 324 Orson Scott Card 0812550706 Brand 5 4.31 1985
author: Orson Scott Card
name: Brand
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1985
rating: 5
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]]> 11
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!]]> 216 Douglas Adams Brand 5 4.21 1979
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brand
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1979
rating: 5
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]]> 350 NAME: Valentine Michael Smith
ANCESTRY: Human
ORIGIN: Mars

Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love.]]> 525 Robert A. Heinlein Brand 5 3.93 1961
author: Robert A. Heinlein
name: Brand
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1961
rating: 5
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]]> 830 Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous�� you'll recognize it immediately.]]> 438 Neal Stephenson 0553380958 Brand 5 4.02 1992
author: Neal Stephenson
name: Brand
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1992
rating: 5
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]]> 29579 The first novel in Isaac Asimov's classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.]]> 244 Isaac Asimov 0553803719 Brand 4 4.18 1951
author: Isaac Asimov
name: Brand
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1951
rating: 4
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]]> 423332 6 J.C. Hutchins Brand 3 4.06 2006
author: J.C. Hutchins
name: Brand
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2006
rating: 3
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]> 2367020
At every turn, the global terrorist has been triumphant. The world is reeling from a nuclear attack. An unprecedented energy crisis is upon us. Alpha himself has exclusive access to the White House, and secret weapons primed to propel his conspiracy into the endgame. The planetary chaos.

Amidst this turmoil, the 7th Son's four surviving Beta Clones -- John, Father Thomas, Kilroy2.0 and Jack -- must defy their creators and hunt Alpha on their terms. Their to stop the greatest assassination plot in history. The secrets John and his brothers discover will press them toward a final battle with their progenitor ... a battle in which the clones are outgunned, outnumbered and out of time.

Alliances will be made. Heroes will die. The end is nigh.

Destruction is the final novel in the J.C. Hutchins' 7th Son thriller trilogy.]]> 6 J.C. Hutchins Brand 2 4.28 2007
author: J.C. Hutchins
name: Brand
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2007
rating: 2
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]]> 2367009
The clones were successful in their mission, but victory was not without its price.

As 7th Son: Book Two - Deceit begins, the Beta clones are demoralized, reeling from their loss ... and about to learn that John Alpha's plans are far from over.

To prevent the next phase of Alpha's plan, John, Kilroy2.0, and the others must unearth more dark secrets about the government project from which they were spawned. They will experience the horrors of betrayal, and race cross-country to track John Alpha.

And they will finally realize the scope of Alpha's wrath -- the bloodshed the clones have witnessed is merely a prelude to the world-rending destruction to come. Unless they can stop it first.

Deceit is the second novel in J.C. Hutchins' 7th Son thriller trilogy.]]> 6 J.C. Hutchins Brand 2 4.25 2006
author: J.C. Hutchins
name: Brand
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2006
rating: 2
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]]> 2334538 THE GOLDEN AGE OF SAIL HAS RETURNED -- IN THE YEAR 2351

When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system--and NerisCo isn't hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope...to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars.

Join the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, a Manchester built clipper as she sets solar sails in search of profit for her company and a crew each entitled to a share equal to their rating.]]> 250 Nathan Lowell Brand 4 4.12 2007
author: Nathan Lowell
name: Brand
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2007
rating: 4
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]]> 3766428 AN INEXPERIENCED OFFICER. A DYSFUNCTIONAL SHIP. LIFE IN THE DEEP DARK JUST GOT A LOT HARDER.
In his first assignment as an officer, Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself fresh out of school, wet behind the ears, and way out of his depth. Aboard the William Tinker the senior officers are derelict and abusive, the crew demoralized and undisciplined, and change unwelcomed and dangerous. Can Ishmael use what he learned aboard the Lois McKendrick to help the crew find the ship’s heart? Or will he discover that bucking the system may come at too high a price? Return to the Deep Dark with Ish in this fourth installment of the award winning Solar Clipper Series as he makes the transition from crew to officer.]]> 308 Nathan Lowell Brand 5 4.27 2008
author: Nathan Lowell
name: Brand
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2008
rating: 5
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]]> 2906048 It's a time of change on the Lois McKendrick. Sarah Krugg joins the mess deck and Ishmael Wang moves to the environmental section. Just after getting accustomed to life aboard a solar clipper, Ishmael must learn a whole new set of skills, face his own fears and doubts, and try to balance love and loss in the depths of space.

Both Ish and Sarah must learn to live by the mantra, "Trust Lois." For Sarah, there is the hope of escaping a horrifying past. For Ish, he must discover what type of man he wants to become and learn the consequences of his choices.

Return with the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, as you set sail in the next installment of the Trader Tales of the Solar Clipper Series. All your favorites Ish, Pip, Cookie, Brill, Diane, and Big Bad Bev. You might even discover some new friends as you travel among the stars.

TRADER TALE BOOKS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE SOLAR CLIPPER
Quarter Share
Half Share
Full Share
Double Share
Captain's Share
Owner's Share

SHAMAN TALE BOOKS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE SOLAR CLIPPER
South Coast
Cape Grace*

*Forthcoming

REVIEWS
"This is a thoroughly enjoyable coming of age story that had me deciding, three-quarters of the way through, to buy the second book in the series, as I wished to follow Ishmael's journey to becoming a full share (and beyond) crew member aboard a space trader."

"This story has no major conflict, no vilian, no drama, no surprises...I couldn't put it down. Story of life on a deep space freighter with good characters."

"For me this book brought up shades of Robert Heinlein to me. The scrappy characters fighting to get ahead make you want to root for them. This is not your typical space aliens conquer the universe book. Nathan Lowell takes a seemingly mundane thing (trade and business) and makes it into something you want to learn about."

"I'm not the first to say there's a connection here to the works of Robert Heinlein, but the shoe fits. Lowell's writing is crisp and his future is vivid; it's a place you'd like to live."

"The story just flows well...I couldn't put the book down until I finished. And then right when I finished (at 1 AM in the morning) I was back on Amazon's site looking for the next book in the series."

"I just want to add to all the praise for Lowell, this book was an excellent read, and if you are a fan of SciFi, definitely recommended."]]> 252 Nathan Lowell Brand 4 4.09 2007
author: Nathan Lowell
name: Brand
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2007
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]> 4266110
The Lois McKendrick runs headlong into trouble when a routine in-system transit goes bad. Ishmael and the rest of the crew must scramble to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it in order to keep the ship alive. Learn more about the officers and crew of the Lois McKendrick as they struggle to keep their ship and discover how Ishmael finds out how wrong he's been about what it means to be a spacer in this latest Trader's Tale.]]> 300 Nathan Lowell Brand 4 4.25 2008
author: Nathan Lowell
name: Brand
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]> 3532264
Otto is Richard Krugg's only son and heir to the Shaman's gift. The only problem is Otto doesn't want it. He wants to be a fisherman. When company policies force unwelcome changes onto his life and threaten even the security of the village, Otto discovers that being a shaman isn't optional.

Jimmy Pirano is caught between the devil and the deep green sea when new production quotas are handed down from corporate headquarters. Locked into a century of existing practice, Jimmy is forced to find new ways to fish and new places to do it in or face the very real possibility that Pirano Fisheries will lose the St. Cloud franchise.

Join Otto, Richard, and Rachel Krugg as they struggle with what it means to be the son of a shaman. Cast off with Jimmy, Tony, and Casey as they navigate the shoals and shallows of corporate fishery along the South Coast.]]> Nathan Lowell Brand 3 4.16 2007
author: Nathan Lowell
name: Brand
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2007
rating: 3
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date added: 2009/07/24
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]]>