The setting is feudal Sussex in the thirteenth century, a landscape and society that have changed almost beyond recognition.
The power of the Church is at its zenith, and the bishop of Alincester is one of the richest men in England. He derives income from the watermills in his diocese: the forces of wind and rain are held to be divine.
Ralf Grigg is the only son of a master carpenter whose business fails when Ralf is small. The family go to live in the seaside village of Mape, where Ralf’s mother was born.
Its lord, Baron Gervase de Maepe, is in debt. He hopes to make a strategic match for his elegant young daughter, Eloise - a match of great importance to the pacific faction at court, lessening the danger of war with France. An exorbitant dowry must be found.
Despite his lowly rank, Ralf makes a close friend of the Baron’s youngest boy. Ralf regards Eloise as haughty; but her attraction to the good-looking carpenter’s son is as strong as it is turbulent, and she must keep her feelings hidden.
At seventeen, still imagining that she despises him, Ralf falls headlong for his best friend’s sister. By now she also is seventeen. Her marriage, sanctioned by the King, has been contracted. The wedding will take place in the autumn of the following year.
Learning of the Baron’s forlorn wish that he could afford a mill, Ralf’s father has the novel idea of a wheel driven not by the wind or rain, but by the tide. Dismissive at first, Gervase changes his mind when he finds that the Church apparently has no call upon such a mill. Here is the answer to his woes. He commissions Master Grigg to build it, and Ralf discovers his vocation: engineering.
The King rules by divine right. His sanction is likewise divine. To violate it is treasonable. The mill forms the focus not only of an intense and dangerous love-affair between Eloise and Ralf, but a legal dispute between baron and bishop which, spiralling out of control, turns into a ruthless power-struggle between Westminster and Rome.
Offered as shareware: free to download
(1 votes, average: 10 out of 10)
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The Raven have fought together for years, six men carving out a living as swords for hire in the war that have torn Balaia apart, loyal only to themselves and their code. But when they agree to escort a Xesteskian mage on a secret mission they are pulled into a world of politics and ancients secrets. For the first time the Raven cannot even trust their own strength and prowess, for the first time their code is in doubt. How is it that they are fighting for one of the most evil colleges of magic known? Searching for the secret location of Dawnthief; a spell that could end the world? Aiming not to destroy it but to cast it.
Dawnthief is a fast paced epic about a band of all too human heroes.
‘A greathearted book written on a grand scale. An enthralling novel: gritty, down-to-earth and delightful, invoking tears and laughter by turn. This is the best new fantasy I’ve read in years’
- Maggie Furey
‘Truly excellent fantasy is rare. Truly excellent heroic fantasy is rarer still. Discovering a new author who writes truly excellent heroic fantasy is perhaps the rarest gem of all. James Barclay is such a find’
- SFsite.com
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The Book Depository is an online bookseller with a difference, well several differences actually. Their stated aim is to make ‘All books available to All’ and they go to extraordinary lengths to achieve this, namely:
- They can ship 1.8 million unique titles from their fulfillment centre in the UK.
- They’re not afraid to list titles from other book retailers.
- If they don’t have a title in stock they provide a direct link to amazon uk so customers are never kept waiting.
- They republish out of print books in the public domain at the rate of 50 titles a week.
- They provide free delivery to many countries (Australia and NZ included).
If you’re looking for a rare or hard to find book, The Book Depository is a great place to start.
The Book Depository first came to my attention when I heard they were offering a free ebook every month. Today’s announcement In Stitches is the first of such ebooks. Managing editor, Mark Thwaite has a great interview with the author Dr Nick Edwards on the site. Mark is also the founder of the critically aclaimed literary site ReadySteadyBook.com. Both sites contain a wealth of news, articles, interviews and reviews. Well worth checking out!
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“Despite the headlines, actually the NHS has just had its best year ever.” Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of Sate for Health, eulogising to the BBC, 22nd April 2006.
“Despite what the politicians say, things seem to have gone a bit tits-up recently.” Dr Nick Edwards, A&E doctor, ranting to his mates down the pub, 22nd April 2006.
Dr Nick Edwards is an Accident and Emergency (A&E) doctor working in the UK and a passionate believer in the NHS. However the reforms, political correctness and the Anglo-Saxon culture of binge drinking and fighting and the resulting A&E visits are a strain on his sanity. So to keep up his morale, he began writing down his feelings — a form of literary cathartic therapy — the results of which make up this book.
From dealing with cardiac arrests and car accidents, to people with “Arrest Avoidance Syndrome” and others who haven’t quite read the big red sign above their heads as they walk into A&E, In Stitches paints a vivid picture of what it’s really like working at the sharp end of the NHS today. It’s funny, it’s heartbreaking and it’s infuriating. It’s also more informative than any government press release.
So join Dr Nick Edwards as he describes the frustrations and joys of working in the NHS. The traumas and tragedies, the patients and colleagues and most of all the successes and humour that make up life at the frontline of medical care: Accident and Emergency.
Note to reader: ever-conscious of meaningless targets, the author would like it to be known that 98% of the stories contained in this book were written in under 4 hours.
(2 votes, average: 6.5 out of 10)
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Knox Hilliard’s uncle killed his father to marry his mother and gain control of the family’s Fortune 100 company. Knox is set to inherit the company on his 40th birthday, provided he has a wife and an heir, but he never really wanted it in the first place.
Now, after his bride is murdered on their wedding day and his backup bride poses such a threat to their uncle that he’s tried to kill her-twice-Knox refuses to fulfill The Proviso at all. Then he meets a woman he may not be able to resist long enough to keep her safe.
His cousin, notorious and eccentric financier Sebastian Taight, would have raided the company long ago simply to destroy his despised uncle. For Knox’s sake, he did nothing-until their cousin Giselle barely escaped assassination. The gloves come off, but Sebastian may have jumped in too deep, as the SEC steps in, then Congress threatens to get involved.
Giselle Cox struggles under the weight of having exposed the affair that set her uncle’s plot in motion-twenty years ago. As Knox’s childhood sweetheart, she’s also the most convenient way for Knox to inherit. Their uncle has twice tried to eliminate her, leaving her bankrupt and hoping to get through Knox’s 40th birthday alive.
None of them want the company, but two people have been murdered for it and Giselle is under constant threat because of it. What they want now is justice, but as embroiled as they are in their war, the last thing they expect to find on the battlefield is love.
I had never read a romance book like this one before; one that mixed Mormonism, Libertarianism, politics, Wall Street, and love, with a hot, at times blunt, dash of sex. It deals with pretty weighty themes and moral tightropes, yet never in a preachy way. The author has fairly intelligent characters and expects her reader to be at least as intelligent. That’s refreshing too. The meandering into theories and philosophies is also fascinating and is a pleasurable stimulation for the synapses. … And don’t be daunted by the length. This is definitely a book to be read slowly, enjoying all the little gem-like details peppered throughout.
–Samantha Quant, blogger
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He supposed there was a remote chance that Muriel could yet survive. What she needed was a diversion.
“You’re first, Mr Kalashnikov,” he silently informed the face in the graticule.
The bullet entered the youth’s head below the left eye, a couple of centimetres from the nose. Suter’s retina just had time to register there a small, dark hole. The target may have moved slightly, in the quarter of a second it had taken the match-grade, mercury-charged 7.62 millimetre round to travel the two hundred metres from the muzzle of Suter’s rifle.
Instantaneously, the head exploded backwards in a shower of pulp.
Thanks to the built-in flash hider, there was nothing but the noise of the report to reveal his position. He cocked the bolt again.
“You next.”
The group had not yet had time to react with anything but incredulity. Suter took aim at the one with his boot on Muriel’s neck, the graticule centred now on his chest, since a head shot would no longer be reliable. He compressed the trigger.
Arms and legs wide, the victim was flung backwards into the water, a huge pit blown in the front of his T-shirt.
By now a number of the group had realized what was happening. Suter heard desperate shouting and saw some of them dropping to the ground, slithering down the bank to gain what cover they could.
He had eight rounds left, one in the chamber and seven in the magazine. Were it not for the weapons they were carrying, he could easily have killed the lot of them. As things stood, Suter had only a very short time in hand. The two L85s were equipped with telescopic sights, probably the infantry’s standard four-power SUSATs.
“One more. You. You with the earrings.”
It is twelve years on from a global plague. John Suter believes himself the sole survivor. He has gradually come to terms with his fate and has settled into a steady and self-reliant daily routine.
One morning he finds a mutilated body in the river near his house. In his terror, Suter knows he has no choice but to investigate.
What he discovers upstream stretches his endurance to its limits and forces him to reassess not only his own humanity, but also his place within the human family he had once believed extinct.
Offered as shareware: free to download
(2 votes, average: 9.5 out of 10)
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The story is set in a sparsely populated tract of the heavily forested foothills of the Himalayas: an area that lies roughly between India and Nepal and in places is virtually untouched. The ‘Forest People’ of this area have minimal contact with the outside world and dwell all their lives in the forest living off its produce .These are the ‘Wild Honey Gatherers’ – a race almost extinct – they have strange ways and are rumoured to possess the ability to communicate with birds and beasts. When encountered they fade into the forest shadows. Village people give them a wide berth fearing the strange occult or shaman powers they possess. ‘The forest Spirits protect them’ is a widely held belief. This story is about one such family…its secrets, its mystical powers, and its accord with nature.
(1 votes, average: 10 out of 10)
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Fame is a power many dream of possessing.
It is a power Luis Conrado is very familiar with, especially when he assumes his super-powered alter ego Habagat.
Having the power to fly with the eagles, the strength of a hundred men, and the ability to withstand pain and injury can sometimes pale in comparison to the shining, blinding power of fame.
Standing in that blazing spotlight for too long, Conrado does not notice the ones standing in the shadows. The architects of his fame.
The ones who hold the true power.
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1906 - Something is discovered by workers digging the Panama Canal. Something dormant. Sinister. Very much alive.
2006 - Project Samhain. A secret underground government installation begun 100 years ago in New Mexico. The best minds in the world have been recruited to study the most amazing discovery in the history of mankind. But the century of peaceful research is about to end.
BECAUSE IT JUST WOKE UP.
Hell is about to break loose… for real.
In reality, Satan is not a handsome gentleman as portrayed by a Hollywood leading man. Viewing him through the Plexiglas, he’s a frightening beast, massively muscled, with hoofs the size of washtubs and the serrated teeth of a carnivore. The demon can be pleasant, even chatty, and delights in showing off his power of resurrecting the dead sheep he dines upon. To some of the staff studying him at the secret government compound, he’s even likable.
That is, until he breaks out…
ORIGIN is a mainstream thriller combining the techno-science of Jurassic Park with the theological horror of The Exorcist.
Billions around the world fear the concept of the devil.
Now they’ll have a chance to fear him in person.
(2 votes, average: 9 out of 10)
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I’ve just finished reading Simon Haynes’ hilarious sci-fi, comedy adventure Hal Spacejock and enjoyed it so much that I’ve decided to run a competition to give one lucky reader the chance to win signed copies of the entire 4-book series (print edition). Here’s the deal –
- Download and read book 1 of the Hal Spacejock series. It’s free, yes, completely free!
- Return to the Hal Spacejock announcement on this site, rate it out of ten and use the comments facility to leave a review, etc.
Entries will be judged on their originality, creativity and humour. Don’t feel you have to limit yourself to a review. Other possibilities include writing an extra or alternative scene, some witty dialog between the main characters, a back story, critiquing a particular passage, etc, etc. Believe me, once you’ve read the book, plenty of ideas will flow.
Simon Haynes, author of the Hal Spacejock series has very kindly agreed to judge the entries. His decision will be final, no correspondence will be entered into… and all that jazz.
The competition is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, as long as you have an address I can ship the books to.
Entries close 5pm on 21st December (Australian Daylight Saving time). The winner will be announced on the 23rd December. Please use a valid email address so you can be contacted and rest assured your email address will not be given out to any third parties.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy Hal Spacejock as much as I did!
(6 votes, average: 9.17 out of 10)
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Donovan Candle is an average guy living a painfully normal life with his wife Donna and their house cat Mr. Precious Paws. By day he toils as a telemarketer while clinging to a dying hope of becoming a successful author. But that changes one morning when Donovan awakens to find he is afflicted with a bizarre transparency and visions of a monochromatic world. No one notices his fading self-not even his wife-and by the end of the week, Donovan is at his wits’ end. During a telemarketing call, he confesses to a stranger, “If something doesn’t happen to me soon, I’m just going to disappear for good.” That evening he arrives home to discover his wife is missing. The phone rings, and on the line is a man who refers to himself as Aleister Dullington-the same man to whom Donovan made his confession. It is with his introduction that Donovan begins an endeavor to save not just his wife but his own existence, and in doing so he will learn the meaning-and danger-of a life transparent.
A Life Transparent is at once inspirational and concrete. Rich in details, rife with witty
dialogue and surreal, chilling events, this novel is a fast-paced, quick, enjoyable read
which poses philosophical quandaries about the root of one’s very existence. But for all
that, the story reads like a thriller and keeps you on your toes - a must-have on the
bookshelves of anyone who enjoys modern fantasy or suspense thrillers.
- Gracie Rafferty Creative Staff, deviantART.com
Todd’s book is an amazing piece of literature that defies all bounds of genre. It is horror, sci-fi, romance, self-help, and more all wrapped up in the covers of a psychological thriller. The characters, both good and evil, are fresh and the plot drives with such forward momentum and exacting execution that every chapter literally ended with me saying, “Wtf!?!” and then continuing. I couldn’t put it down to save my life.
- Andrew Blemings
A Life Transparent is one part horror, one part speculation, and all compelling. It attaches a mythology of consequence to spontaneity and boredom, and throws the reader in with Mr. Candle’s struggle to become interesting without allowing all he loves to be destroyed […] It lacks the polish associated with a career in full swing, but gives us a glimpse into what will soon be just that. Keisling is a dedicated, insatiable writer: A Life Transparent is the preface to a formidable body of work.
- Jon August McRae, author of Io: First Book of Lost and Found Souls
Powerfully cinematic, Keisling’s A Life Transparent evokes a seldom-explored anxiety of contemporary living in spectacular fashion. You will find the violent upheaval of Donovan Candle’s banal existence riveting.
- James Midgley, Mimesis
Fast moving, well written - an excellent read. Do yourself a favor and order a copy. You’ll be glad you did, and you’ll be supporting an up and coming author in the process.
- Stephen R. Smith, 365tomorrows.com
(3 votes, average: 9 out of 10)
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Greg Tenorly lives a quiet and lonely life in a small East Texas town, until he is selected as a juror for a murder trial. A beautiful, mysterious redhead befriends him, and seems to have a romantic interest. But is she merely using him to influence the outcome of the trial?
By the end of the first week, three people connected with the case are dead, and Greg is beginning to fear for his own life. He is now convinced that a powerful Dallas attorney is directing the murder spree in his little town.
But why? He is determined to find out. But his investigation just might earn him a spot at the top of the hit list.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 10)
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Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.
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, Marcus discovers that his 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: to take down the DHS himself.
A worthy younger sibling to Orwell’s 1984, Cory Doctorow’s LITTLE BROTHER is lively, precocious, and most importantly, a little scary.
Brian K Vaughn, author of Y: The Last Man
Cory Doctorow is a fast and furious storyteller who gets all the details of alternate reality gaming right, while offering a startling, new vision of how these games might play out in the high-stakes context of a terrorist attack. Little Brother is a brilliant novel with a bold argument: hackers and gamers might just be our country’s best hope for the future.
Jane McGonical, Designer, I Love Bees
(6 votes, average: 7.67 out of 10)
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It’s fate. It’s magic. It’s life, in all of its wonderful tragedy, in all of its horrible comedy. It’s better than a book or a movie, because it’s real. For the most part, books and movies only try to show one aspect of life, as if life was always horrible, or life was always a comedy. Life is everything, funny, and terrifying, and ever-changing. And when the doors start opening, that means that changes are coming. Good or bad, I don’t know, but they’re coming and even sitting around and refusing to move won’t stop them.
This is the kind of book that you get involved in and can’t put down. It’s funny, sad, sweet, and an all-around good read. Half of the wonderfully real characters remind you of people you know, and the other half remind you of yourself. If you’re the kind of person who’s sick of the fluffy sitcom-esque coming-of-age stories and wants something with real substance, this is the book for you.
By Stacy
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Forward from Tribes Q&A
How do you learn?
Do you need a step by step playbook, or do you do better with stories?
Perhaps you prefer a detailed analysis to a sketchy do-it-yourself overview…
Multiple learning styles are a given. What’s not is the way authors respond to this biological diversity. Usually, we write one book, our way, and leave it at that. If you don’t learn that way, tough.
I had this in mind when I asked the thousands of members of the Triiibe to write their own book, this book, based on my book, Tribes. It’s not the same as my book… in fact, it’s very different. It’s a book I could never have written, though perhaps (maybe) it’s a book you’d like to read.
My suggestion is that you take a look at the printed book first. Or just dive in. This PDF is free. Free to read, free to print, free to share. You just can’t re-sell it. If you like what you’re hearing, feel free to contact any of the authors within. They’ll probably be thrilled to hear from you.
To anyone reading this: enjoy. And to the tireless team that wrote it: you’re amazing. Thank you.
- Seth Godin
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Today during my regular search for ebooks to announce, I was delighted to stumble upon bookbook blog, a local Australian blog that offers news, reviews and opinion pieces on ebooks and related technology.
Bookbook blog author Charlie started his blog at the begining of this year when he bought a Sony PRS 505 ebook reader from a US ebay seller. It was nice to read an Australian perspective on ebooks in a non-Kindle country. Well worth checking out, especially if you live in Australia.
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