DescriptionAlthough known as one of the most scrupulously accurate of the "hard science" writers, someone careful to always get the scientific details right, Hal Clement also has a rich and lively imagination, especially when it comes to alien lifeforms, and he has created some of the most memorable alien characters in science fiction. Clement's outdone even himself in the suspenseful novella, Exchange Rate, in which harried human explorers (under pressure in more ways than one!) must try to figure out the lifeways and motivations of some extremely strange and enigmatic alien creatures on one of the strangest planets ever portrayed in science fiction - and do it all before the clock runs out. Exchange Rate was chosen for inclusion in the Seventeenth Annual Collection of The Year's Best Science Fiction .
DescriptionThe spellbinding Julie Harris takes us on a magic carpet into the beautiful and haunting world of writer Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen), romantic author and heroine of Out of Africa . Through her fanciful pact with Lucifer, Dinesen becomes a defiant spirit, an eccentric storytelling sorceress - passionate and wickedly witty. Act I opens on New Year's Eve, 1958, as Karen Blixen prepares for a three-month visit to the United States. Addressing the audience as an unseen ghost, she weaves together stories of her fascinating, complex, and courageous life. In Act II, the writer has returned to Denmark and is dying - yet her life-affirming spirit continues to shine through the brilliant performance of Julie Harris.
DescriptionAs a young doctor with a beautiful family and a promising medical career, Dr. McCoy thought he had it all. But when his beloved wife suddenly broke off their marriage, McCoy fled to Starfleet intent on burying his pain in the depths of space. Now, some 40 years later, the U.S.S. Enterprise is ordered to transport a group of mediators to the planet Ssan, a world where assassination is a long, time-honored tradition. Dr. McCoy is suprised to learn that his ex-wife, now remarried, is one of the mediators. But before he can begin to face his feelings, she and Captain Kirk are trapped by a band of deadly assassins. Suddenly, McCoy is at the center of an explosive civil war, where he is the only one with the power to save the woman who once broke his heart. For more Trek titles, browse our special Star Trek section!
DescriptionPeace reigns in Caer Dallben, where Taran works as Assistant Pig-Keeper, but evil threatens the rest of Prydain. The diabolical Arawn's army grows every day, and his terrible warriors never die. They are born in the Black Cauldron from the stolen bodies of slain soldiers. If evil is to be defeated, the cauldron must be destroyed. Taran volunteers to travel to Arawn's stronghold and assist in the destruction of the dreaded cauldron. With his faithful friends reassembled, Taran marches off to face great danger with a courageous heart.
DescriptionConsidered to be the first autobiographical work in history, this timeless book is completely applicable to everyone who has experienced the struggle between good and evil in his own soul. Saint Augustine, born in Constantine in 354 C.E., was raised by a devout Christian mother. He abandoned the Christianity of his upbringing and had an illegitimate son. After hearing the sermons of Ambrose, he began his great internal struggle which led to his conversion in 387 C.E. The Confessions describe his conversion, shedding light on the questions that had troubled him on his way to the Cross. Outside Scripture it is the most famous - and perhaps the most important - of all spiritual books.
