In this conclusion to The Star Shards Chronicles, powerful and terrifying invaders have arrived from a parallel dimension, and only the Star Shards can prevent the destruction of the human race. Six children were conceived at the exact moment that the star Mentaras-H went supernova, and the explosion transformed their souls into living star fragments. Now the Star Shards face the ultimate battle—and the true purpose of their gifts be revealed, for it is no accident they have these powers. Once despised for their “deformities,” the Star Shards are now worshiped and feared as gods. Their power is unlimited, as is the temptation to abuse it. But a new and terrifying force has torn a wound in the universe, infecting it like a deadly, intelligent virus. Only one power exists that could conceivably prevent the extermination of the human race: the Star Shards. But only if they can put aside their titanic egos and join forces one final time. Acclaimed author Neal Shusterman’s “talent for depicting superhuman characters with human strengths and weaknesses lends depth and immediacy to a tale of cosmic proportions” (School Library Journal) in this stunning conclusion to a visionary trilogy. *Originally published by Tor Fantasy in 2002. *

On a midnight visit to a Scottish cemetery, Peter and Jennifer get caught up in a drama three hundred years dead--a tale of two star-crossed lovers and the man who betrayed them. Their bitter ghosts still haunt the graveyard, too angry to leave the world of the living . . . but all too willing to drag Peter and Jennifer into the world of the dead.

Longarm’s in for a cauldron of trouble with these ladies!Lawman Custis Long is in town on the trail of some no-good owlhoots. An easy enough chase, he reckons, but after a visit with the town’s most infamous lady of the night, Longarm realizes there are other things he’d rather be doing than tracking small-time crooks…   But the job turns interesting. According to local rancheros, the hooligans Longarm’s after have been hiding out in a valley haunted by witches—women posing by day as the pretty Crawfords. And no God-fearing man has been known to come out of there alive…   So if Longarm wants to make it through the valley unscathed, he must first play nice with the bewitching Crawfords…

Lillian Byrd is a small-time reporter with a flair for making big-time mistakes--so her investigation into the disappearances of women around the Detroit area might not be the best idea. But when one of the victims turns up dead and Lillian recognizes the curiously mutilated corpse, she is in too deep to get out. After simultaneously blowing the case for the police and revealing herself to the killers, she is completely on her own. Can she catch the murderers before they catch up with her?

A simple day at the beach for Evie and her friends quickly spirals into chaos, filled with ice cream, film crews, magical disguises, dogs of all shapes and sizes, and a surprisingly secretive fairy tale figure in The Princess and the Pup, Sam Hay's third Agents of H.E.A.R.T. chapter book adventure, illustrated by Genevieve Kote. Evie's happily ever after is almost here. Her parents are allowing her to help out around the diner, she's made a couple of fantastic friends, and Fudge, the adorable stray puppy she found, only has a few days left in his trial period, before they can officially adopt him. Sure, there's been a few crashes and mishaps along the way, but Evie the Wonder Waitress has become a pro at dealing with dog related chaos. Or so she thought...right up until Fudge crashes into a film set on the beach! Not only does he befriend Princess, the adorable puppy star of the show, he also gains the attention of the show's animal...

People magazine named Eloisa James' novel Midnight Pleasures “Page Turner of the Week” and raved “Romance writing does not get much better than this.” Now the acclaimed author returns with another sumptuous tale of passion and misadventure in Regency England.... Gabrielle Jerningham cherishes the portrait of her betrothed, the perfect Peter Dewland...until she meets his commanding older brother Quill. But it is Peter to whom she has been promised. And how can she possibly transform her voluptuous, outspoken self into the poised gentlewoman Peter requires? When Gabby’s shocking décolletage plunges to her waist at her first ball, Peter is humiliated. But Quill comes to the rescue, to the peril of his heart. An accident years before has left Quill plagued by headaches--the kind that grows more excruciating with strenuous exercise. Needless to say, this hardly bodes well for siring progeny. But the very sight of Gabby leaves Quill breathless. One forbidden kiss and Quill vows to have her, headaches--and Peter--be damned! But it will take a clever man--and a cleverer woman--to turn the tables on propriety and find their way to true love.... BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Eloisa James's Paris in Love.

Vengeance...or a second chance?Years ago, Laura Jackson was shocked by Gabriel Greppi's proposal of marriage—but she turned him down. She wasn't ready for a walk down the aisle...Gabriel has never forgiven Laura. Now he's a multimillionaire—and Laura is on the verge of bankruptcy. He plans to seduce her again and then reject her, as she rejected him all those years ago. The first part is easy—the passion still burns strong between them. But, as Gabriel discovers, the second part is not so easy...

Award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson delivers a thoughtful and powerful examination of cultures and the people who shape them. How might human history be different if 14th-century Europe was utterly wiped out by plague, and Islamic and Buddhist societies emerged as the world's dominant religious and political forces? The Years of Rice and Salt considers this question through the stories of individuals who experience and influence various crucial periods in the seven centuries that follow. The credible alternate history that Robinson constructs becomes the framework for a tapestry of ideas about philosophy, science, theology, and politics. At the heart of the story are fundamental questions: what is the purpose of life and death? Are we eternal? Do our choices matter? The particular achievement of this book is that it weaves these threads into a story that is both intellectually and emotionally engaging. This is a highly recommended, challenging, and ambitious work. --Roz Genessee

PAT CONROY—AMERICA’S MOST BELOVED STORYTELLER—IS BACK! *“I was born to be a point guard, but not a very good one. . . .There was a time in my life when I walked through the world known to myself and others as an athlete. It was part of my own definition of who I was and certainly the part I most respected. When I was a young man, I was well-built and agile and ready for the rough and tumble of games, and athletics provided the single outlet for a repressed and preternaturally shy boy to express himself in public....I lost myself in the beauty of sport and made my family proud while passing through the silent eye of the storm that was my childhood.” * So begins Pat Conroy’s journey back to 1967 and his startling realization “that this season had been seminal and easily the most consequential of my life.” The place is the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, that now famous military college, and in memory Conroy gathers around him his team to relive their few triumphs and humiliating defeats. In a narrative that moves seamlessly between the action of the season and flashbacks into his childhood, we see the author’s love of basketball and how crucial the role of athlete is to all these young men who are struggling to find their own identity and their place in the world. In fast-paced exhilarating games, readers will laugh in delight and cry in disappointment. But as the story continues, we gradually see the self-professed “mediocre” athlete merge into the point guard whose spirit drives the team. He rallies them to play their best while closing off the shouts of “Don’ t shoot, Conroy” that come from the coach on the sidelines. For Coach Mel Thompson is to Conroy the undermining presence that his father had been throughout his childhood. And in these pages finally, heartbreakingly, we learn the truth about the Great Santini. In My Losing Season Pat Conroy has written an American classic about young men and the bonds they form, about losing and the lessons it imparts, about finding one’s voice and one’s self in the midst of defeat. And in his trademark language, we see the young Conroy walk from his life as an athlete to the writer the world knows him to be. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Pat Conroy's The Death of Santini.

With Fight Club and Choke, Chuck Palahniuk established his reputation as a tricky, unpredictable writer with enormous gifts and a highly individual vision. Lullaby -- an odd, unsettling, memorable, yet uncategorizable novel -- builds squarely on that foundation. Researching a series of articles on sudden infant death syndrome, reporter Carl Streator uncovers a curious coincidence: At each crib-death site, he finds the very same book, Poems and Rhymes Around the World, always open to the same African lullaby. By way of experiment, he recites the lullaby to his editor, who dies the following evening. Convinced that he's stumbled onto a piece of dark, murderous magic, Streator hits the road on a mission to destroy all existing copies of Poems and Rhymes, accompanied by an eccentric team that includes two members of a local coven and a real estate agent who specializes in haunted houses. What follows is a charmingly demented road novel that moves from California to New York to New Mexico to Florida and encompasses witchcraft, militant vegetarianism, serial murder, political assassination, and ecological disaster. Beneath its lurid, supernatural surface, Lullaby is a deeply serious work that has much to say about the pressures and problems of a frantic, overstimulated society. Magic, as Palahniuk describes it, is a potent metaphor for the endless distractions of seductive, predatory media, for the forces that invade -- and control -- our every waking moment, bombarding us endlessly with sensory input and mostly useless information. By turns funny, outrageous, and frightening, Lullaby is the work of a writer deeply attuned to the traumas and distortions of contemporary life.

As the rebellion grows against High King Jakoven, Ward, ruler of Hurog, realizes he must join with the rebels. However, Jakoven can crush his enemies with dragon?s blood. The very blood that courses through Ward?s veins. The Hurog duology concludes with this fantastical adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs.Ward, ruler of Hurog, is striving to restore his lands and people to prosperity, wanting nothing more than a quiet life. But when an old friend, escaping from High King Jakoven’s torturers, seeks refuge in his keep, Ward can no longer ignore the growing rebellion against the tyrannical High King. He realizes that he cannot stand aside—he must join with the rebels.However, Jakoven has a secret weapon with which he intends to crush the rebellion: Farsonsbane, a magical artifact that has destroyed entire cities. But first, Jakoven needs blood to awaken it. Dragon’s blood. The very blood that courses through Ward’s veins…

In the aptly titled Offbeat, Richard Matheson, a modern master of strange fiction, offers thirteen excursions into the unsettling and bizarre. In these stories you will encounter a major league pitcher with a horrific secret for his astonishing success; an ordinary man who wakes to find himself in a silent, empty world; a death row prisoner with an extraordinary explanation for his innocence; and a novelist whose fictional creations transcend the printed page. Originally published as a limited edition hardcover, now long out of print, the remarkable and rare tales offered in Offbeat display the brilliant imagination that gave birth to such classics as I Am Legend and Hell House. This edition also features an afterword by the author and a new introduction by David J. Schow. REVIEWS Perhaps no author living is as responsible for chilling a generation with tantalizing nightmare visions.” - The New York Times “The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.” - Stephen King “Matheson is one of the great names in American terror fiction.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer