Download or read book The Extraordinaires 1 The Extinction Gambit written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2011-11-30 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The intriguing beginning of a brilliant new fantasy trilogy from the master of magic, Michael Pryor. Kingsley Ward is in dire trouble. Instead of thrilling the audience with his death-defying escapology, his first performance ends in disaster when his hidden wolfish nature bursts free. That same night, his father is abducted and his home ransacked. To find Dr Ward and redeem himself, Kingsley braves the Demimonde, the mysterious world that exists alongside our own. He is soon the target of two warring factions: immortal magicians whose diabolical plans will create mayhem at the 1908 Olympics, and the last Neanderthals, whose vengeance will wipe out humankind. Kingsley needs help. The famous author Rudyard Kipling will assist, but why is he so interested in Kingsley? Evadne Stephens, juggler and weaponsmith, is a Demimonde expert - but what does her mercurial nature conceal? Bizarre plots. Sinister magic. The extraordinary is about to happen . . .

Download or read book The Extinction Gambit written by Michael Pryor and published by Children's. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magician Kingsley Ward travels to the mysterious world called Demimonde in an effort to redeem himself after his first performance ends in disaster and his father is abducted, and he soon finds himself the target of two warring factions.

Download or read book Machine Wars written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2014 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bourne Identity meets The Terminator in this fast-paced technothriller for boys aged 10 to 14. Unknown to the world, a superintelligence has emerged and it wants to eliminate fifteen-year-old Bram Argent ...The superintelligence can control any machine connected to the net, and it uses them as its unstoppable agents to achieve its ends. And the superintelligence is paranoid. Controlling the entire world is its only way to ensure its own existence. Bram's mother is a high-level computer scientist. She's been investigating the possibility of the emergence of a superintelligence and she has evidence copies of which she has given to her son and husband for safekeeping. But the superintelligence has become aware of her and decided she needs to be eliminated. Bram's mother escapes, warning her son and husband to do the same. Now Bram must flee and find his parents while being hunted by every machine on the planet. His friend Stella is caught up in the pursuit and becomes a target because of their friendship. Together, they must survive in an interconnected world where any machine might instantly become a lethal predator ...

Download or read book The Extraordinaires 2 The Subterranean Stratagem written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2013-04-01 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The theatre can wait. First there's a mystery to solve, not to mention a world to save . . . Kingsley Ward and Evadne Stephens are the Extraordinaires and they should be the toast of the town – but their juggling and escapology act is failing, and Kingsley is to blame. His wolfish side is breaking free, ruining performances and endangering those around him. The secret to controlling this wildness lies in his mysterious past. Was he really raised by wolves? Who were his parents? What happened to them? The discovery of Kingsley’s father’s journal promises answers, but when it is stolen the Extraordinaires uncover ancient magic, a malign conspiracy, and a macabre plot to enslave all humanity. What begins as a quest to restore Kingsley’s past becomes an adventure that pits the Extraordinaires against forces that could shatter the minds and souls of millions.

Download or read book Sliver of Doubt written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magic, manners, conspiracy and intrigue - yes, it's a Laws of Magic story! Judging a flower arranging competition because your father, the Prime Minister, is busy almost seems like a punishment. But when you’re Aubrey Fitzwilliam, magical genius, things rarely go to plan, and the day takes a decidely non-floral turn when Aubrey is asked for help in a suspected case of magical blackmail. Secret societies, spies, a basement laboratory? Aubrey won’t let a barred window – and the possibility of mortal danger – stand in his way. Sliver of Doubt is a story in the Laws of Magic world. Set in a world similar to Edwardian Britain, just before World War I, The Laws of Magic stars Aubrey Fitzwilliam, the son of a prominent ex-prime minister, who's brilliant at magic - and just as good at finding trouble.

Download or read book Laws Of Magic Sampler 1 6 written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There's a magical and political storm brewing - and Aubrey Fitzwilliam is making sure he's right in the centre of it. Set in a world similar to Edwardian Britain, just before World War I, this fantasy series is full of magic, manners, conspiracy and intrigue, politics and personal trial - not to mention good old-fashioned fun. The Laws of Magic stars Aubrey Fitzwilliam, the son of a prominent ex-prime minister. He's brilliant at magic, but he's still stuck at school. At least he has his best friend, George, there to back him up. George would follow Aubrey anywhere - and with Aubrey's talent for thinking up impulsive and daring schemes that will get them both in trouble, that's no easy thing to do. From golems to top-secret submersibles, soul stealers to ghosts, The Laws of Magic is a cracking good read. Discover the magic in this free sampler that gives you chapters from each of the six books, so no matter where you're up to in the series, you can find out what's coming next for Aubrey and his friends.

Download or read book The Affair of the Mysterious Letter written by Alexis Hall and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-06-18 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters. Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation. When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham is drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called upon to punch a shark. But the further the companions go in pursuit of the elusive blackmailer, the more impossible the case appears. Then again, in Khelathra-Ven reality is flexible, and the impossible is Ms. Haas' stock-in-trade.

Download or read book Crescendo of the Virtuoso written by Paul Metzner and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-07-26 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Age of Revolution, Paris came alive with wildly popular virtuoso performances. Whether the performers were musicians or chefs, chess players or detectives, these virtuosos transformed their technical skills into dramatic spectacles, presenting the marvelous and the outré for spellbound audiences. Who these characters were, how they attained their fame, and why Paris became the focal point of their activities is the subject of Paul Metzner's absorbing study. Covering the years 1775 to 1850, Metzner describes the careers of a handful of virtuosos: chess masters who played several games at once; a chef who sculpted hundreds of four-foot-tall architectural fantasies in sugar; the first police detective, whose memoirs inspired the invention of the detective story; a violinist who played whole pieces on a single string. He examines these virtuosos as a group in the context of the society that was then the capital of Western civilization. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1999.

Download or read book 10 Futures written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2012-04-02 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten possible futures. Two lives. One enduring friendship. Sam and Tara. Best friends in a future when artificial intelligence organises our lives, and micropets are the latest craze. Best friends when rationing means cold showers and no internet. Best friends when genetic matching makes asking a girl on a date a minefield of epic proportions. But will they still be best friends in a future when plague wipes out most of humanity? Or a future when the Inquisitor asks Sam to choose one betrayal over another? Michael Pryor, one of Australia's best authors of speculative fiction, imagines what our next 100 years might be like. Utopia or dystopia? Miracle or catastrophe? Whatever might happen, it's just around the corner. Which future will be yours?

Download or read book Time of Trial written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2010 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aubrey confronts his nemesis, Dr Tremaine, with George and Caroline at his side.

Download or read book The Shrieking Pit written by Arthur J. Rees and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Shrieking Pit" by Arthur J. Rees. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Download or read book Fire Star The written by A.L. Tait and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A maid with a plan. A squire with a secret. A missing jewel. A kingdom in turmoil. Maven and Reeve have three days to solve the mystery of the Fire Star. If they don't, they'll lose everything. This could be a complete disaster or the beginning of a friendship.

Download or read book Murder for Pleasure written by Howard Haycraft and published by Dover Publications. This book was released on 2019-02-13 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Genuinely fascinating reading."—The New York Times Book Review "Diverting and patently authoritative."—The New Yorker "Grand and fascinating … a history, a compendium and a critical study all in one, and all first rate."—Rex Stout "A landmark … a brilliant study written with charm and authority."—Ellery Queen "This book is of permanent value. It should be on the shelf of every reader of detective stories."—Erle Stanley Gardner Author Howard Haycraft, an expert in detective fiction, traces the genre's development from the 1840s through the 1940s. Along the way, he charts the innovations of Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the modern influence of George Simenon, Josephine Tey, and others. Additional topics include a survey of the critical literature, a detective story quiz, and a Who's Who in Detection.

Download or read book Laws Of Magic 4 Time Of Trial written by Michael Pryor and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the fourth book of the utterly addictive Laws of Magic series, magical genius Aubrey Fitzwilliam is heading into the heart of enemy territory. It’s lucky that he has his friends by his side. The mysterious Beccaria Cage could be the cure for Aubrey's condition: a way to reunite his body and soul. But could its usefulness hide something more sinister? After Aubrey narrowly escapes the worst fate he can imagine, he realises there is only one thing to do: he must confront his nemesis. With George and Caroline at his side, he travels to Holmland - the home of Dr Tremaine and the heart of hostile territory - only to face magical conundrums, near-death experiences, ghosts, brigands and enemies on their own ground. Fisherberg is a city on a knife edge. Can Aubrey solve its mysteries before Dr Tremaine's warmongering machinations tip the world into chaos?

Download or read book The Horror Reader written by Ken Gelder and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study brings together writings on this controversial genre, spanning the history of horror in literature and film. It discusses texts from the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and Hong Kong.

Download or read book The Midnight Zoo written by Sonya Hartnett and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master storyteller Sonya Hartnett crafts a magical and moving fable about war and redemption . . . and what it means to be free. When the Germans attack their Romany encampment during World War II, Andrej and his younger brother, Tomas, flee through a ravaged countryside under cover of darkness, guarding a secret bundle. Their journey leads to a bombed-out town, where the boys discover a hidden wonder: a zoo filled with creatures in need of hope. Like Andrej and Tomas, the animals--wolf and eagle, monkey and bear, lioness and seal, kangaroo and llama-- have stories to share and a mission to reclaim their lives.

Download or read book Blaze of Glory written by Michael Pryor and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2009-04-02 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aubrey Fitzwilliam is the son of a prominent ex-prime minister. He's also brilliant at magic, but he's stuck at military school. At least he has his best friend, George, there to back him up. George would follow Aubrey anywhere - and with Aubrey's talent for thinking up impulsive and daring schemes that will get them both in trouble, that's no easy thing to do. At a royal hunting party, the boys discover a golem, a magical creature built to perform one task: to kill Prince Albert. Aubrey and George are hailed as heroes for foiling the murder attempt - but who sent the golem, and why? Aubrey is far too curious to let the authorities handle this one, and he and George start investigating€¦