The Torn Wing

Book Two in the Faerie Ring series picks up where the previous book ended and continues the tale. Newcomers to the series will have no trouble catching up with the goings-on of Tiki, Rieker and their gang of ex-pickpockets in Hamilton's latest. The issue of the queen's stolen ring has been mostly resolved; now it's time for Tiki to understand who she is and the meaning of the birthmark on her wrist.

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

About the Book If you like to read tom Clancy’s novels with tons of details in them, then you will surely enjoy “High Arctic Odyssey”. It is crammed with glorious details about plane crashes, under-ice submarine maneuvers, flying hovercraft, and helicopters. If you enjoy an Ian Flemming book about the exploits of James Bond with his license to kill, you will be thrilled by the skills and abilities of Major Shawn Phillips of the RCAF. He is a proficient pilot and a Search and Rescue Specialist. He shoots to kill when in the line-of-duty. Whether it is saving a Russian chopper or using a rocket launcher to attack enemies, you can count on the Major. Mari Leech is a beautiful love interest of the airman and also a skillful RCAF pilot. If you are motivated by a captivating plot involving unbounded greed, uncontrolled selfishness, espionage and political intrigue, you will be galvanized by the well-defined characters in this book. There are two Naval Admirals. Both want power. One would stage an election while the other overthrows a government in order to steal land and resources. Major Phillips retaliates, with forces consisting of friends and foes, to over-turn the actions of the Admirals. Talk about evil foes! You will not be disappointed in the cruelty and scheming ways of both Admirals. Each of them are pure evil and will do anything to achieve their private goals. Their bags of tricks include a military coup, sabotage, blackmail and cut-throat operations. It is up to Major Phillips to defeat them and their followers. There is a likable Russian Colonel, with his commandos, in the arctic to retrieve precious equipment and loads of strategic data. The Colonel is an aggressive goal-oriented leader, and it takes all of Phillips’ rational skills to control him. A naive Naval submarine commander gets duped into acts against other countries’ authorities and needs to find revenge. If you enjoy reading unique tales, you will be enticed to follow the twists and turns of this story as it demonstrates how small mistakes can turn out to be major disasters.

Multi-award winning author Aliette de Bodard, brings her story of the War in Heaven to Paris, igniting the City of Light in a fantasy of divine power and deep conspiracy… In the late twentieth century, the streets of Paris are lined with haunted ruins, the aftermath of a Great War between arcane powers. The Grand Magasins have been reduced to piles of debris, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine has turned black with ashes and rubble and the remnants of the spells that tore the city apart. But those that survived still retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital. Once the most powerful and formidable, House Silverspires now lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls. Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen angel; an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction; and a resentful young man wielding spells of unknown origin. They may be Silverspires’ salvation—or the architects of its last, irreversible fall. And if Silverspires falls, so may the city itself.

Mario Su‡rez will tell you: GarzaÕs Barber Shop is more than razors, scissors, and hair. It is where men, disgruntled at the vice of the rest of the world, come to get things off their chests. The lawbreakers come in to rub elbows with the sheriffÕs deputies. And when zoot-suiters come in for a trim, Garza puts on a bit of zoot talk and "hep-cats with the zootiest of them." A key figure in the foundation of Chicano literature, Mario Su‡rez (1923-1998) was among the first writers to focus not only on Chicano characters but also on the multicultural space in which they live, whether a Tucson barbershop or a Manhattan boxing ring. Many of his stories have received wide acclaim through publication in periodicals and anthologies; this book presents those eleven previously published stories along with eight others from the archive of his unpublished work. It also includes a biographical introduction and a critical analysis of the stories that will broaden readersÕ appreciation for his place in Chicano literature. In most of his stories, Su‡rez sought to portray people he knew from TucsonÕs El Hoyo barrio, a place usually thought of as urban wasteland when it is thought of at all. Su‡rez set out to fictionalize this place of ignored men and women because he believed their human stories were worth telling, and he hoped that through his depictions American literature would recognize their existence. By seeking to record the so-called underside of America, Su‡rez was inspired to pay close attention to peopleÕs mannerisms, language, and aspirations. And by focusing on these barrio characters he also crafted a unique, mild-mannered realism overflowing with humor and pathos. Along with Fray AngŽlico Ch‡vez, Su‡rez stands as arguably the mid-twentieth centuryÕs most important short story writer of Mexican descent. Chicano Sketches reclaims Su‡rez as a major figure of the genre and offers lovers of fine fiction a chance to rediscover this major talent.