Brian's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 21 Aug 2024 12:44:29 -0700 60 Brian's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)]]> 15810910
Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.

The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.]]> 513 Django Wexler 0451465105 Brian 4 4.03 2013 The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)
author: Django Wexler
name: Brian
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/11/07
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)]]> 55401
Set in a brilliantly realized world ravaged by dark, uncontrollable magic, Deadhouse Gates is a novel of war, intrigue and betrayal confirms Steven Eirkson as a storyteller of breathtaking skill, imagination and originality--a new master of epic fantasy.]]> 604 Steven Erikson 0765310023 Brian 5 4.27 2000 Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)
author: Steven Erikson
name: Brian
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood of Empire (Gods of Blood and Powder, #3)]]> 28811019 As the final battle approaches a sellsword, a spy, and a general must find unlikely and dangerous allies in order to turn the tides of war in this epic fantasy tale of magic and gunpowder by acclaimed author Brian McClellan.

The Dynize have unlocked the Landfall Godstone, and Michel Bravis is tasked with returning to Greenfire Depths to do whatever he can to prevent them from using its power; from sewing dissension among the enemy ranks to rallying the Palo population.

Ben Styke's invasion of Dynize is curtailed when a storm scatters his fleet. Coming ashore with just twenty lancers, he is forced to rely on brains rather than brawn - gaining new allies in a strange land on the cusp of its own internal violence.

Bereft of her sorcery and physically and emotionally broken, Lady Vlora Flint now marches on Landfall at the head of an Adran army seeking vengeance against those who have conspired against her. While allied politicians seek to undo her from within, she faces insurmountable odds and Dynize's greatest general.]]> 592 Brian McClellan Brian 5 4.40 2019 Blood of Empire (Gods of Blood and Powder, #3)
author: Brian McClellan
name: Brian
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/11/21
shelves:
review:
I mean, *I* certainly liked it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic]]> 34184069
But the very success of the Republic proved to be its undoing. The republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome ruled. Bankrolled by mountains of imperial wealth and without a foreign enemy to keep them united, ambitious Roman leaders began to stray from the republican austerity of their ancestors. Almost as soon as they had conquered the Mediterranean, Rome would become engulfed in violent political conflicts and civil wars that would destroy the Republic less than a century later.

The Storm Before the Storm tells the story of the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic--the story of the first generation that had to cope with the dangerous new political environment made possible by Rome's unrivaled domination over the known world. The tumultuous years from 133-80 BCE set the stage for the fall of the Republic.

The Republic faced issues like rising economic inequality, increasing political polarization, the privatization of the military, endemic social and ethnic prejudice, rampant corruption, ongoing military quagmires, and the ruthless ambition and unwillingness of elites to do anything to reform the system in time to save it--a situation that draws many parallels to present-day America. These issues are among the reasons why the Roman Republic would fall. And as we all know, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.]]> 327 Mike Duncan 1610397215 Brian 5 4.23 2017 The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic
author: Mike Duncan
name: Brian
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/11/30
date added: 2018/03/16
shelves:
review:
Listened to the audiobook. Engaging and interesting, and explored a bit of Rome that's not normally focused on.
]]> <![CDATA[Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles]]> 22007249
Bestselling author Bernard Cornwell is celebrated for his ability to bring history to life. Here, in his first work of non-fiction, he has written the true story of the epic battle of Waterloo – a momentous turning point in European history – a tale of one campaign, four days and three armies.

He focuses on what it was like to be fighting in that long battle, whether officer or private, whether British, Prussian or French; he makes you feel you are present at the scene. The combination of his vivid, gripping style and detailed historical research make this, his first non-fiction book, the number one book for the upcoming 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

It is a magnificent story. There was heroism on both sides, tragedy too and much misery. Bernard Cornwell brings those combatants back to life, using their memories to recreate what it must have been like to fight in one of the most ghastly battles of history. It was given extra piquancy because all of Europe reckoned that the two greatest soldiers of the age were Napoleon and Wellington, yet the two had never faced each other in battle. Both were acutely aware of that, and aware that history would judge them by the result. In the end it was a victory for Wellington, but when he saw the casualty lists he wept openly. ‘I pray to God,’ he said, ‘I have fought my last battle.’ He had, and it is a story for the ages.]]> 352 Bernard Cornwell 000753938X Brian 5 Really good. 4.21 2014 Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Brian
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2017/08/03
date added: 2017/08/03
shelves:
review:
Really good.
]]> <![CDATA[Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3)]]> 15804760
To reach the throne requires that a man journey. Even a path paved with good intentions can lead to hell, and my intentions were never good.

The Hundred converge for Congression to politic upon the corpse of Empire, and while they talk the Dead King makes his move, and I make mine. The world is cracked, time has run through, leaving us clutching at the end days, the future so bright that those who see it are the first to burn. These are the days that have waited for us all our lives. These are my days. I will stand before the Hundred and they will listen. I will take the throne whoever seeks to thwart me, living or dead, and if I must be the last emperor then I will make of it such an ending.

This is where the wise man turns away. This is where the holy kneel and call on God. These are the last miles, my brothers. Don't look to me to save you. Don't think I will not spend you. Run if you have the wit. Pray if you have the soul. Stand your ground if courage is yours. But don't follow me.

Follow me, and I will break your heart.]]> 592 Mark Lawrence 0007439067 Brian 5 4.29 2013 Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3)
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Brian
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/08/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Time Salvager (Time Salvager, #1)]]> 23168818
James is a chronman, undertaking missions into Earth's past to recover resources and treasure without altering the timeline. The laws governing use of time travel are absolute; break any one of them and, one way or another, your life is over. Most chronmen never reach old age; the stress of each jump through time, compounded by the risk to themselves and to the future, means that many chronmen rapidly reach their breaking point, and James Griffin-Mars is nearing his.

On a final mission that is to secure his retirement, James meets Elise Kim, an intriguing scientist from a previous century, who is fated to die during the destruction of an oceanic rig. Against his training and his common sense, and in violation of the chronmen’s highest law, James brings Elise back to the future with him, saving her life, but turning them both into fugitives. Remaining free means losing themselves in the wild and poisonous wastes of Earth, somehow finding allies, and perhaps discovering what hope may yet remain for humanity's home world.]]> 380 Wesley Chu 0765377187 Brian 4 3.70 2015 Time Salvager (Time Salvager, #1)
author: Wesley Chu
name: Brian
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/08/20
shelves:
review:
Hugely entertaining read, way outside my normal genre comfort zone. The pacing lags a little at times, but for the most part is lightning quick. It has distinct characters and a really cool, unique premise.
]]> Bossypants 9418327
She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.]]> 283 Tina Fey Brian 5 3.97 2011 Bossypants
author: Tina Fey
name: Brian
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/08/20
shelves:
review:
Listened to this on audiobook. It's fast, clever, and I love the behind-the-scenes look at making comedy. It felt engaging in a way that, say, Jim Gaffigan's audiobook did not (it listens like sitting through one of his shows, which is plenty entertaining in it's own way). Tina Fey did a great job narrating it as well.
]]> <![CDATA[City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)]]> 20174424
Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov’s oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country’s most accomplished spies, dispatched — along with her terrifying “secretary”, Sigrud — to solve a murder.

But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem, and that Bulikov’s cruel reign may not yet be over.

A tale of vast conspiracies, dead gods, and buried histories, City of Stairs is at once a gripping spy novel and a stunningly original work of fantasy.

]]> 452 Robert Jackson Bennett 080413717X Brian 5 4.07 2014 City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)
author: Robert Jackson Bennett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/08/20
shelves:
review:
Probably my favorite book I read last year. Awesome characters, quality pacing, with a good mix of fun and action that was only given a bump by the fact that Robert is, all other things aside, very good at prose.
]]> <![CDATA[The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)]]> 20518872 472 Liu Cixin Brian 2
The problem I had with this book is that I could tell it was deep and interesting and written for people way smarter than me. The storytelling technique is not anything I'm used to - every time I thought it was gearing up to something good, the characters and time period would all change suddenly. I finally gave up about a third of the way through.]]> 4.07 2006 The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)
author: Liu Cixin
name: Brian
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2015/08/20
shelves:
review:
Warning: this is not a science fiction novel about a person who has to dispose of three bodies.

The problem I had with this book is that I could tell it was deep and interesting and written for people way smarter than me. The storytelling technique is not anything I'm used to - every time I thought it was gearing up to something good, the characters and time period would all change suddenly. I finally gave up about a third of the way through.
]]> <![CDATA[Fortress Frontier (Shadow Ops, #2)]]> 14759319
Colonel Alan Bookbinder is an army bureaucrat whose worst war wound is a paper-cut. But after he develops magical powers, he is torn from everything he knows and thrown onto the front-lines.

Drafted into the Supernatural Operations Corps in a new and dangerous world, Bookbinder finds himself in command of Forward Operating Base Frontier—cut off, surrounded by monsters, and on the brink of being overrun.

Now, he must find the will to lead the people of FOB Frontier out of hell, even if the one hope of salvation lies in teaming up with the man whose own magical powers put the base in such grave danger in the first place—Oscar Britton, public enemy number one...]]> 344 Myke Cole 0425256367 Brian 0 to-read 3.93 2013 Fortress Frontier (Shadow Ops, #2)
author: Myke Cole
name: Brian
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Breach Zone (Shadow Ops, #3) 17888311
In the wake of a bloody battle at Forward Operating Base Frontier and a scandalous presidential impeachment, Lieutenant Colonel Jan Thorsson, call sign “Harlequin,” becomes a national hero and a pariah to the military that is the only family he’s ever known.

In the fight for Latent equality, Oscar Britton is positioned to lead a rebellion in exile, but a powerful rival beats him to the Scylla, a walking weapon who will stop at nothing to end the human-sanctioned apartheid against her kind.

When Scylla’s inhuman forces invade New York City, the Supernatural Operations Corps are the only soldiers equipped to prevent a massacre. In order to redeem himself with the military, Harlequin will be forced to face off with this havoc-wreaking woman from his past, warped by her power into something evil
]]> 384 Myke Cole 0698143272 Brian 0 to-read 3.97 2014 Breach Zone (Shadow Ops, #3)
author: Myke Cole
name: Brian
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Fantine (Les Misérables, #1) 1572079
BouleversĂ©, Jean Valjean cĂšde Ă  une derniĂšre tentation en dĂ©troussant un petit Savoyard puis devient honnĂȘte homme. En 1817 Ă  Paris, Fantine a Ă©tĂ© sĂ©duite par un Ă©tudiant puis abandonnĂ©e avec sa petite Cosette, qu'elle a confiĂ©e Ă  un couple de sordides aubergistes de Montfermeil, les ThĂ©nardier. Elle est contrainte de se prostituer...]]> 992 Victor Hugo 2253096334 Brian 5 4.38 1862 Fantine (Les MisĂ©rables, #1)
author: Victor Hugo
name: Brian
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1862
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Broken Souls (Eric Carter, #2)]]> 20579053
And things are just getting worse.

His link to the Aztec death goddess is changing his powers, changing him, and he’s not sure how far it will go. He’s starting to question his own sanity, wonder if he’s losing his mind. No mean feat for a guy who talks to the dead on a regular basis.

While searching for a way to break Santa Muerte’s hold over him, Carter finds himself the target of a psychopath who can steal anyone’s form, powers and memories. Identity theft is one thing, but the guy does it by killing his victims and wearing their skins like a suit. He can be anyone. He can be anywhere.

Now Carter has to change the game, go from hunted to hunter. All he has for help is a Skid Row Bruja and a ghost who’s either his dead friend Alex or Carter’s own guilt-fueled psychotic break.

If things go right, he just might survive a week where everything is trying to kill him and nothing is as it seems.]]> 264 Stephen Blackmoore 075640942X Brian 5 3.98 2014 Broken Souls (Eric Carter, #2)
author: Stephen Blackmoore
name: Brian
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/08/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Dead Things (Eric Carter, #1) 15784263
He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He’s turned it into a lucrative career putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course.

When he left L.A. fifteen years ago he thought he’d never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him.

But now his sister’s been brutally murdered and Carter wants to find out why.

Was it the gangster looking to settle a score? The ghost of a mage he killed the night he left town? Maybe it’s the patron saint of violent death herself, Santa Muerte, who’s taken an unusually keen interest in him.

Carter’s going to find out who did it and he’s going to make them pay.

As long as they don’t kill him first.]]> 295 Stephen Blackmoore 0756407745 Brian 4 3.73 2013 Dead Things (Eric Carter, #1)
author: Stephen Blackmoore
name: Brian
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/07/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Darwin Elevator (Dire Earth Cycle, #1)]]> 16127235
Skyler Luiken has a rare immunity to the plague. Backed by an international crew of fellow “immunes,” he leads missions into the dangerous wasteland beyond the aura’s edge to find the resources Darwin needs to stave off collapse. But when the Elevator starts to malfunction, Skyler is tapped—along with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Tania Sharma—to solve the mystery of the failing alien technology and save the ragged remnants of humanity.]]> 472 Jason M. Hough 0345537122 Brian 4 3.68 2013 The Darwin Elevator (Dire Earth Cycle, #1)
author: Jason M. Hough
name: Brian
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2014/07/14
date added: 2014/07/14
shelves:
review:
Really fantastic book. Looking forward to getting to the sequels.
]]> Dudley Bakes a Cake 4257464 26 Judy Taylor 039921450X Brian 5 4.43 1988 Dudley Bakes a Cake
author: Judy Taylor
name: Brian
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/02/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sworn in Steel (Tales of the Kin, #2)]]> 12395241
With barely the beginnings of an organization to his name, Drothe is already being called out by other Gray Princes. And to make matters worse, when one dies, all signs point to Drothe as wielding the knife. As members of the Kin begin choosing sides – mostly against him – for what looks to be another impending war, Drothe is approached by a man who not only has the solution to Drothe’s most pressing problem, but an offer of redemption. The only problem is the offer isn’t for him.

Now Drothe finds himself on the way to the Despotate of Djan, the empire’s long-standing enemy, with an offer to make and a price on his head. And the grains of sand in the hour glass are running out, fast...]]> 499 Douglas Hulick 0451464478 Brian 0 to-read 4.20 2014 Sworn in Steel (Tales of the Kin, #2)
author: Douglas Hulick
name: Brian
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1)]]> 17910124
The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy.

His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. He expected a challenge, but after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can take action, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation.

Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital itself. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. And Kaden, heir to an empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways – which Kaden must master to unlock their ancient powers. When an imperial delegation arrives, he’s learnt enough to perceive evil intent. But will this keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?]]> 480 Brian Staveley 0765336405 Brian 0 to-read 4.08 2014 The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1)
author: Brian Staveley
name: Brian
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow Throne (The Shadow Campaigns, #2)]]> 18657632
The ailing King of the Vordan lies on his deathbed. When he dies, his daughter, Raesinia Orboan, will become the first Queen Regnant in centuries—and a ripe target for the ambitious men who seek to control her. The most dangerous of these is Duke Orlanko, Minister of Information and master of the secret police. Having meticulously silenced his adversaries through intimidation, imprisonment, and execution, Orlanko is the most feared man in the kingdom.

And he knows an arcane secret that puts Raesinia completely at his mercy.

Exposure would mean ruin, but Raesinia is determined to find a way to break herself—and her country—out of Orlanko’s iron grip. She finds unlikely allies in the returning war hero Janus bet Vhalnich, fresh from a brilliant campaign in the colony of Khandar, and his loyal deputies, Captain Marcus d’Ivoire and Lieutenant Winter Ihernglass.

As Marcus and Winter struggle to find their places in the home they never thought they would see again, they help Janus and Raesinia set in motion events that could free Vordan from Orlanko’s influence—at the price of throwing the nation into chaos. But with the people suffering under the Duke’s tyranny, they intend to protect the kingdom with every power they can command, earthly or otherwise]]> 512 Django Wexler 0091950589 Brian 0 to-read 4.11 2014 The Shadow Throne (The Shadow Campaigns, #2)
author: Django Wexler
name: Brian
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Broken Eye (Lightbringer, #3)]]> 12652457 New York Times bestseller
The Broken Eye continues the spectacular Lightbringer series from the New York Times bestselling author of The Black Prism and The Blinding Knife.

As the old gods awaken and satrapies splinter, the Chromeria races to find the only man who can still end a civil war before it engulfs the known world. But Gavin Guile has been captured by an old enemy and enslaved on a pirate galley. Worse still, Gavin has lost more than his powers as Prism--he can't use magic at all.

Without the protection of his father, Kip Guile will face a master of shadows as his grandfather moves to choose a new Prism and put himself in power. With Teia and Karris, Kip will have to use all his wits to survive a secret war between noble houses, religious factions, rebels, and an ascendant order of hidden assassins called The Broken Eye.


Lightbringer
The Black Prism
The Blinding Knife
The Broken Eye
The Blood Mirror

For more from Brent Weeks, check
Night Angel
The Way of Shadows
Shadow's Edge
Beyond the Shadows

Night The Complete Trilogy (omnibus)
Perfect A Night Angel Novella (e-only)
The Way of The Graphic Novel]]> 688 Brent Weeks 0316235555 Brian 0 to-read 4.45 2014 The Broken Eye (Lightbringer, #3)
author: Brent Weeks
name: Brian
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1)]]> 18191460 First in a brand new series from the author of The Broken Empire Trilogy.

The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire dread her like no other. For all her reign she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all.

The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Tenth in line for the throne and content with his role as a minor royal, he pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war is coming. Witnesses claim an undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks it’s all a rumor—nothing that will affect him.

But he is wrong
]]> 367 Mark Lawrence 1101630930 Brian 0 to-read 4.13 2014 Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1)
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Brian
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)]]> 18666047
But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself - all with only one good hand. Born a weakling in the eyes of a hard, cold world, he cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he has sharpened his mind to a deadly edge.

Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast, he finds they can help him more than any noble could. Even so, Yarvi's path may end as it began - in twists, traps and tragedy...]]> 336 Joe Abercrombie 0804178321 Brian 0 to-read 3.96 2014 Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Brian
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)]]> 11543195 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.]]> 1088 Brandon Sanderson 0575097396 Brian 0 to-read 4.77 2014 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brian
average rating: 4.77
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni, #1)]]> 15819028
Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free.

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.]]> 486 Helene Wecker 0062110837 Brian 0 to-read 4.11 2013 The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni, #1)
author: Helene Wecker
name: Brian
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/12/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)]]> 13569581 “The Sixth Order wields the sword of justice and smites the enemies of the Faith and the Realm.”

Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order. The Brothers of the Sixth Order are devoted to battle, and Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate, and dangerous life of a Warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.

Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the unified realm. Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright and dropped at the doorstep of the Sixth Order like a foundling knows no bounds. He cherishes the memory of his mother, and what he will come to learn of her at the Order will confound him. His father, too, has motives that Vaelin will come to understand. But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the realm, but the world.]]> 591 Anthony Ryan 1466085665 Brian 0 to-read 4.42 2011 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)
author: Anthony Ryan
name: Brian
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/12/29
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]]> NOS4A2 15729539 NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.

Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”

Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.]]> 692 Joe Hill 0062200577 Brian 0 to-read 4.06 2013 NOS4A2
author: Joe Hill
name: Brian
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/12/29
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]]> The Lives of Tao (Tao, #1) 15981711 460 Wesley Chu 0857663291 Brian 0 to-read 3.75 2013 The Lives of Tao (Tao, #1)
author: Wesley Chu
name: Brian
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Daylight War (Demon Cycle, #3)]]> 9268487
Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more—the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. Arlen denies he is the Deliverer at every turn, but the more he tries to be one with the common folk, the more fervently they believe. Many would follow him, but Arlen’s path threatens to lead him to a dark place he alone can travel to, and from which there may be no returning.

The only one with hope of keeping Arlen in the world of men, or joining him in his descent into the world of demons, is Renna Tanner, a fierce young woman in danger of losing herself to the power of demon magic.

Ahmann Jardir has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army and proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer. He carries ancient weapons--a spear and a crown--that give credence to his claim, and already vast swaths of the green lands bow to his control.

But Jardir did not come to power on his own. His rise was engineered by his First Wife, Inevera, a cunning and powerful priestess whose formidable demon bone magic gives her the ability to glimpse the future. Inevera’s motives and past are shrouded in mystery, and even Jardir does not entirely trust her.

Once Arlen and Jardir were as close as brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity’s enemies rise, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all--those lurking in the human heart.]]> 639 Peter V. Brett 0345503821 Brian 0 to-read 4.20 2013 The Daylight War (Demon Cycle, #3)
author: Peter V. Brett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/12/29
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]]> Redshirts 13055592 Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory.

Life couldn’t be better
until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that:
(1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces
(2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations
(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is
and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.]]> 320 John Scalzi 0765316994 Brian 3 3.85 2012 Redshirts
author: John Scalzi
name: Brian
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/12/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Dragon's Path (The Dagger and the Coin, #1)]]> 8752885
Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps.

Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords.

Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay. A poor excuse for a soldier, he is a pawn in these games. No one can predict what he will become.

Falling pebbles can start a landslide. A spat between the Free Cities and the Severed Throne is spiraling out of control. A new player rises from the depths of history, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon's Path-the path to war.
]]> 555 Daniel Abraham 1841498874 Brian 4 3.79 2011 The Dragon's Path (The Dagger and the Coin, #1)
author: Daniel Abraham
name: Brian
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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]]> Caliban's War (Expanse, #2) 12964289 ASIN B007PR3238 moved to the more recent edition

For someone who didn't intend to wreck the solar system's fragile balance of power, Jim Holden did a pretty good job of it.

While Earth and Mars have stopped shooting each other, the core alliance is shattered. The outer planets and the Belt are uncertain in their new - possibly temporary - autonomy.

Then, on one of Jupiter's moons, a single super-soldier attacks, slaughtering soldiers of Earth and Mars indiscriminately and reigniting the war. The race is on to discover whether this is the vanguard of an alien army, or if the danger lies closer to home.]]> 608 James S.A. Corey Brian 5 4.46 2012 Caliban's War (Expanse, #2)
author: James S.A. Corey
name: Brian
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/12/29
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]]> <![CDATA[I Don't Want to Kill You (John Cleaver, #3)]]> 8872180
In I Am Not a Serial Killer we watched a budding sociopath break every rule he had to save his town from evil. In Mr. Monster we held our breath as he fought madly with himself, struggling to stay in control. Now John Cleaver has mastered his twisted talents and embraced his role as a killer of killers. I Don’t Want to Kill You brings his story to a thundering climax of suspicion, mayhem, and death.

It’s time to punish the guilty.

And in a town full of secrets, everyone is guilty of something.]]> 320 Dan Wells 0765322498 Brian 4 4.23 2011 I Don't Want to Kill You (John Cleaver, #3)
author: Dan Wells
name: Brian
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2013/12/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3)]]> 15985373
Jorg would be emperor. It is a position not to be gained by the sword but rather by vote. And never in living memory has anyone secured a majority of the vote, leaving the Broken Empire long without a leader. Jorg plans to change that. He’s uncovered the lost technology of the land, and he won’t hesitate to use it.

But he soon finds an adversary standing in his way, a necromancer unlike any he has ever faced—a figure hated and feared even more than himself: the Dead King.]]> 434 Mark Lawrence 0425256855 Brian 5 4.21 2013 Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3)
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Brian
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2013
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/11/06
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]]> The River Why 23196 293 David James Duncan 0553344862 Brian 5 4.23 1983 The River Why
author: David James Duncan
name: Brian
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/10/27
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]]> Abaddon's Gate (Expanse, #3) 12591719
For generations, the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt - was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artefact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has emerged to build a massive structure outside the orbit of Uranus: a gate that leads into a starless dark.

Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artefact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them.]]> 539 James S.A. Corey 1841499927 Brian 5 4.15 2013 Abaddon's Gate (Expanse, #3)
author: James S.A. Corey
name: Brian
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2013/10/27
date added: 2013/10/27
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]]> The Troll's Grindstone 2580352
Fridmarr, he soon discovered, was hated by everyone. Forty years before, he had betrayed his people by helping the evil, powerful wizard Sorkvir despoil their land and destroy their weapons with a spell. Not content with that, Fridmarr had then betrayed Sorkvir, and Sorkvir had vowed to torture him to death if he ever appeared again in the Alfar realm.

To save himself, Leifr needed only to get his hands on a certain magic sword and then find the troll's grindstone to sharpen it. But Sorkvir had hidden the grindstone. And the magic sword was hanging on the wall of Sorkvir's throne room!]]> 342 Elizabeth H. Boyer 0345321820 Brian 5 3.74 1986 The Troll's Grindstone
author: Elizabeth H. Boyer
name: Brian
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/04/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Fade to Black (Rojan Dizon, #1)]]> 15788822 From the depths of a valley rises the city of Mahala.

It’s a city built upwards, not across—where streets are built upon streets, buildings upon buildings. A city that the Ministry rules from the sunlit summit, and where the forsaken lurk in the darkness of Under.

Rojan Dizon doesn’t mind staying in the shadows, because he’s got things to hide. Things like being a pain-mage, with the forbidden power to draw magic from pain. But he can’t hide for ever.

Because when Rojan stumbles upon the secrets lurking in the depths of the Pit, the fate of Mahala will depend on him using his magic. And unlucky for Rojan—this is going to hurt.]]> 384 Francis Knight 0316217689 Brian 0 to-read 3.36 2013 Fade to Black (Rojan Dizon, #1)
author: Francis Knight
name: Brian
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2013/04/09
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]]> <![CDATA[King of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #2)]]> 12891107 The second book in the Broken Empire series, Lawrence takes his young anti-hero one step closer to his grand ambition.

To reach greatness you must step on bodies, and many brothers lie trodden in my wake. I’ve walked from pawn to player and I’ll win this game of ours, though the cost of it may drown the world in blood


The land burns with the fires of a hundred battles as lords and petty kings fight for the Broken Empire. The long road to avenge the slaughter of his mother and brother has shown Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath the hidden hands behind this endless war. He saw the game and vowed to sweep the board. First though he must gather his own pieces, learn the rules of play, and discover how to break them.

A six nation army, twenty thousand strong, marches toward Jorg's gates, led by a champion beloved of the people. Every decent man prays this shining hero will unite the empire and heal its wounds. Every omen says he will. Every good king knows to bend the knee in the face of overwhelming odds, if only to save their people and their lands. But King Jorg is not a good king.

Faced by an enemy many times his strength Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. But playing fair was never part of Jorg’s game plan.]]> 449 Mark Lawrence 1937007472 Brian 5 4.18 2012 King of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #2)
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Brian
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/02/02
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]]> <![CDATA[Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire, #1)]]> 9579634
From being a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg has the ability to master the living and the dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

Mark Lawrence's debut novel tells a tale of blood and treachery, magic and brotherhood and paints a compelling and brutal, and sometimes beautiful, picture of an exceptional boy on his journey toward manhood and the throne.]]> 373 Mark Lawrence 0007423292 Brian 4 3.83 2011 Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire, #1)
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Brian
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, #5)]]> 140975
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.]]> 989 Robert Jordan 0812550307 Brian 3 4.03 1993 The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, #5)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Brian
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/11/05
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]]> Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) 13453029
The first Wool story was released as a standalone short in July of 2011. Due to reviewer demand, the rest of the story was released over the next six months.

This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.

Alternate cover for B0071XO8RA]]> 509 Hugh Howey Brian 0 to-read 4.22 2012 Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Brian
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/10/30
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]]> <![CDATA[The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer, #2)]]> 12499290
He’d thought he had five years left—now he has less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiancĂ©e who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies.

Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole sixteen years ago.]]> 671 Brent Weeks 031607991X Brian 5 4.41 2012 The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer, #2)
author: Brent Weeks
name: Brian
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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]]> Red Country 13521459 They stole her brother and sister.
But vengeance is following.

Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she'll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she's not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old step father Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb's buried a bloody past of his own. And out in the lawless Far Country the past never stays buried.

Their journey will take them across the barren plains to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feud, duel and massacre, high into the unmapped mountains to a reckoning with the Ghosts. Even worse, it will force them into an alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, and his feckless lawyer Temple, two men no one should ever have to trust . . .
RED COUNTRY takes place in the same world as the First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold, and The Heroes. This novel also sees the return of one of Abercrombie's most beloved characters.]]> 469 Joe Abercrombie 0316214442 Brian 5 4.31 2012 Red Country
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Brian
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/10/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Caliban’s War (The Expanse, #2)]]> 12591698
In the vast wilderness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been keeping the peace for the Outer Planets Alliance. When they agree to help a scientist search war-torn Ganymede for a missing child, the future of humanity rests on whether a single ship can prevent an alien invasion that may have already begun . . .]]> 624 James S.A. Corey 1841499900 Brian 5 4.36 2012 Caliban’s War (The Expanse, #2)
author: James S.A. Corey
name: Brian
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/10/02
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]]> <![CDATA[The King's Blood (The Dagger and the Coin, #2)]]> 12759057
War casts its shadow over the lands that the dragons once ruled. Only the courage of a young woman with the mind of a gambler and loyalty to no one stands between hope and universal darkness.

The high and powerful will fall, the despised and broken shall rise up, and everything will be remade. And quietly, almost beneath the notice of anyone, an old, broken-hearted warrior and an apostate priest will begin a terrible journey with an impossible goal: destroy a Goddess before she eats the world.]]> 501 Daniel Abraham 1841498890 Brian 0 to-read 4.01 2012 The King's Blood (The Dagger and the Coin, #2)
author: Daniel Abraham
name: Brian
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/10/02
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]]> <![CDATA[Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2)]]> 10790290
Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires?

And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.

When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.]]> 691 Michael J. Sullivan 0316187747 Brian 0 to-read 4.23 2011 Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Brian
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2012/09/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Among Thieves (Tales of the Kin, #1)]]> 8801543 414 Douglas Hulick 0451463900 Brian 5 3.94 2011 Among Thieves (Tales of the Kin, #1)
author: Douglas Hulick
name: Brian
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/09/18
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]]> <![CDATA[The Warded Man (The Demon Cycle, #1)]]> 3428935 416 Peter V. Brett 0345503805 Brian 5 4.25 2008 The Warded Man (The Demon Cycle, #1)
author: Peter V. Brett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2008
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/09/18
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]]> <![CDATA[Throne of the Crescent Moon (The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, #1)]]> 11487807
Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, “the last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat,” just wants a quiet cup of tea. Three score and more years old, he has grown weary of hunting monsters and saving lives, and is more than ready to retire from his dangerous and demanding vocation. But when an old flame’s family is murdered, Adoulla is drawn back to the hunter’s path.

Raseed bas Raseed, Adoulla’s young assistant, is a hidebound holy warrior whose prowess is matched only by his piety. But even as Raseed’s sword is tested by ghuls and manjackals, his soul is tested when he and Adoulla cross paths with the tribeswoman Zamia.

Zamia Badawi, Protector of the Band, has been gifted with the near-mythical power of the lion-shape, but shunned by her people for daring to take up a man’s title. She lives only to avenge her father’s death. Until she learns that Adoulla and his allies also hunt her father’s killer. Until she meets Raseed.

When they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince’s brewing revolution are connected, the companions must race against time—and struggle against their own misgivings—to save the life of a vicious despot. In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.]]> 274 Saladin Ahmed 0756407117 Brian 4 3.62 2012 Throne of the Crescent Moon (The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, #1)
author: Saladin Ahmed
name: Brian
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2012
rating: 4
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date added: 2012/09/09
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]]> <![CDATA[The Desert Spear (Demon Cycle, #2)]]> 6736971
Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not.

Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons--a spear and a crown--that give credence to his claim.

But the Northerners claim their own Deliverer: the Warded Man, a dark, forbidding figure.

Once, the Shar'Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends. Now they are fierce adversaries. Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.]]> 579 Peter V. Brett 0345503813 Brian 4 4.21 2010 The Desert Spear (Demon Cycle, #2)
author: Peter V. Brett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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date added: 2012/09/09
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]]> <![CDATA[Unseen Academicals (Discworld, #37; Rincewind, #8)]]> 6250169
The Big Match draws in an urchin with a gift for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a dim but beautiful young woman, who might turn out to be the greatest fashion model ever, and the mysterious Mr Nutt. (No one knows much about Mr Nutt, not even Mr Nutt).

As the match approaches, four lives are changed forever. Because the thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football.

Here we go! Here we go! Here we go!]]> 417 Terry Pratchett 0061161705 Brian 4 3.99 2009 Unseen Academicals (Discworld, #37; Rincewind, #8)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2009
rating: 4
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date added: 2012/06/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Making Money (Discworld, #36; Moist Von Lipwig, #2)]]> 116296
Who would not to wish to be the man in charge of Ankh-Morpork's Royal Mint and the bank next door?

It's a job for life. But, as former con-man Moist von Lipwig is learning, the life is not necessarily for long.

The Chief Cashier is almost certainly a vampire. There's something nameless in the cellar (and the cellar itself is pretty nameless), it turns out that the Royal Mint runs at a loss. A 300 year old wizard is after his girlfriend, he's about to be exposed as a fraud, but the Assassins Guild might get him first. In fact lot of people want him dead

Oh. And every day he has to take the Chairman for walkies.

Everywhere he looks he's making enemies.

What he should be doing is . . . Making Money!]]> 394 Terry Pratchett 0061161640 Brian 5 4.26 2007 Making Money (Discworld, #36; Moist Von Lipwig, #2)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/06/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Thud! (Discworld, #34; City Watch, #7)]]> 62530
But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to see it fought again, right outside his office.

With his beloved Watch crumbling around him and war-drums sounding, he must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin and brave any darkness to find the solution. And darkness is following him.

Oh... and at six o'clock every day, without fail, with no excuses, he must go home to read "Where's My Cow?," with all the right farmyard noises, to his little boy.

There are some things you HAVE to do!]]> 439 Terry Pratchett Brian 5 4.34 2005 Thud! (Discworld, #34; City Watch, #7)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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date added: 2012/06/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Men at Arms (Discworld, #15; City Watch, #2)]]> 400354
But what it's got includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a dwarf), Lance constable Detritus (a troll), Lance constable Angua (a woman... most of the time), and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving).

And they need all the help they can get. Because they've only got twenty-four hours to clean up the town and this is Ankh-Morpork we're talking about...]]> 377 Terry Pratchett 0061092193 Brian 4 4.39 1993 Men at Arms (Discworld, #15; City Watch, #2)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1993
rating: 4
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date added: 2012/06/30
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]]> <![CDATA[The Light Fantastic (Discworld, #2; Rincewind, #2)]]> 34506 277 Terry Pratchett 0061020702 Brian 4 3.98 1986 The Light Fantastic (Discworld, #2; Rincewind, #2)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1986
rating: 4
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date added: 2012/06/30
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]]> Small Gods (Discworld, #13) 34484
And the Word was: "Hey, you!"

For Brutha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love.

He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please...]]> 389 Terry Pratchett 0552152978 Brian 4 4.32 1992 Small Gods (Discworld, #13)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/06/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)]]> 64222
It was a tough decision.

But he has to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers' Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer.

Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too.

Maybe it'll take a criminal to succeed where honest men have failed, or maybe it's a death sentence either way.

Or perhaps there's a shot at redemption in the mad world of the mail, waiting for a man who's prepared to push the envelope...]]> 394 Terry Pratchett 0060502932 Brian 5 4.40 2004 Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2004
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6)]]> 47989
Living in the past is hard. Dying in the past is incredibly easy. But he must survive, because he has a job to do. He must track down a murderer, teach his younger self how to be a good copper, and change the outcome of a bloody rebellion. There's a problem: if he wins, he's got no wife, no child, no future.

A Discworld Tale of One City, with a full chorus of street urchins, ladies of negotiable affection, rebels, secret policemen, and other children of the revolution.

Truth! Justice! Freedom!
And a Hard-boiled Egg!]]> 480 Terry Pratchett 055215430X Brian 5 4.49 2002 Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2002
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch, #1)]]> 64216 376 Terry Pratchett 0061020648 Brian 4 4.33 1989 Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1989
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind, #1)]]> 34497 228 Terry Pratchett 0060855924 Brian 4 4.04 1983 The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1983
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Mort (Discworld, #4; Death, #1)]]> 386372
Death is the Grim Reaper of the Discworld, a black-robed skeleton with a scythe who ushers souls into the next world. He is also fond of cats and endlessly baffled by humanity. Soon Death is yearning to experience what humanity really has to offer, but to do that, he'll need to hire some help.

It's an offer Mort can't refuse. As Death's apprentice he'll have free board, use of the company horse—and being dead isn't compulsory. It's a dream job—until Mort falls in love with Death's daughter, Ysabell, and discovers that your boss can be a killer on your love life
]]> 243 Terry Pratchett 0061020680 Brian 5 4.24 1987 Mort (Discworld, #4; Death, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1987
rating: 5
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]]> Great Expectations 2623
Pip must discover his true self, and his own set of values and priorities. Whether such values allow one to prosper in the complex world of early Victorian England is the major question posed by Great Expectations, one of Dickens's most fascinating, and disturbing, novels.

This edition includes the original, discarded ending, Dickens's brief working notes, and the serial instalments and chapter divisions in different editions. It also uses the definitive Clarendon text.]]> 544 Charles Dickens 0192833596 Brian 4 3.78 1861 Great Expectations
author: Charles Dickens
name: Brian
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1861
rating: 4
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]]> Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell 14201
Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange.

Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.]]> 1006 Susanna Clarke Brian 3 3.84 2004 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
author: Susanna Clarke
name: Brian
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2004
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War]]> 8908
Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, "By excluding the human factor, aren't we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn't the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as 'the living dead'?"

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.]]> 342 Max Brooks 0307346609 Brian 5 4.02 2006 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
author: Max Brooks
name: Brian
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2006
rating: 5
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]]> The Brothers Karamazov 4934
This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel.]]> 796 Fyodor Dostoevsky 0374528373 Brian 5 4.36 1880 The Brothers Karamazov
author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
name: Brian
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1880
rating: 5
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]]> Where the Wild Things Are 19543 38 Maurice Sendak 0099408392 Brian 5 4.25 1963 Where the Wild Things Are
author: Maurice Sendak
name: Brian
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1963
rating: 5
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]]> Charlotte’s Web 24178 Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a classic of children's literature that is "just about perfect." This high-quality paperback features vibrant illustrations colorized by Rosemary Wells!

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter.

E. B. White's Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come. This edition contains newly color illustrations by Garth Williams, the acclaimed illustrator of E. B. White's Stuart Little and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, among many other books.]]> 184 E.B. White 0064410935 Brian 4 4.20 1952 Charlotte’s Web
author: E.B. White
name: Brian
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1952
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]> 2956 327 Mark Twain 0142437174 Brian 4 3.82 1884 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
author: Mark Twain
name: Brian
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)]]> 13
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.

"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"

Facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat.

"Life, the Universe and Everything"

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky- so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew.

"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish"

Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription conspires to thrust him back to reality. So to speak.

"Mostly Harmless"

Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself?

Also includes the short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe".]]> 815 Douglas Adams 0345453743 Brian 5 4.38 1996 The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Brian
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1996
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)]]> 43763
Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.
source: annerice.com]]> 346 Anne Rice 0345476875 Brian 4 4.04 1976 Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)
author: Anne Rice
name: Brian
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1976
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)]]> 37442 Alternative cover edition of ISBN 9780060987107

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

]]> 406 Gregory Maguire Brian 4 3.52 1995 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)
author: Gregory Maguire
name: Brian
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1995
rating: 4
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]]> Romeo and Juliet 18135 Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.

In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.]]> 281 William Shakespeare 0743477111 Brian 3 3.74 1597 Romeo and Juliet
author: William Shakespeare
name: Brian
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1597
rating: 3
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]]> The Grapes of Wrath 4395 The Grapes of Wrath is a landmark of American literature. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the transformation of an entire nation, The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one Oklahoma family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.

First published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath summed up its era in the way that Uncle Tom's Cabin summed up the years of slavery before the Civil War. Sensitive to fascist and communist criticism, Steinbeck insisted that "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" be printed in its entirety in the first edition of the book—which takes its title from the first verse: "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored." At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s fictional chronicle of the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s is perhaps the most American of American Classics.]]> 455 John Steinbeck Brian 1 3.88 1939 The Grapes of Wrath
author: John Steinbeck
name: Brian
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1939
rating: 1
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]]> A Clockwork Orange 227463 A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. And when the state undertakes to reform Alex to "redeem" him, the novel asks, "At what cost?"

This edition includes the controversial last chapter not published in the first edition and Burgess's introduction "A Clockwork Orange Resucked."]]> 192 Anthony Burgess Brian 2 3.98 1962 A Clockwork Orange
author: Anthony Burgess
name: Brian
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1962
rating: 2
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]]> The Diary of a Young Girl 48855
In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
--back cover]]> 283 Anne Frank Brian 2 4.19 1947 The Diary of a Young Girl
author: Anne Frank
name: Brian
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1947
rating: 2
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]]> Frankenstein 18490 This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780141439471

'Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart ...'

Obsessed with creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.

Based on the third edition of 1831, this volume contains all the revisions Mary Shelley made to her story, as well as her 1831 introduction and Percy Bysshe Shelley's preface to the first edition. This revised edition includes as appendices a select collation of the texts of 1818 and 1831 together with 'A Fragment' by Lord Byron and Dr John Polidori's 'The Vampyre: A Tale'.]]> 288 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Brian 4 3.77 1818 Frankenstein
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
name: Brian
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1818
rating: 4
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]]> Dracula 17245 You can find an alternative cover edition for this ISBN here and here.

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.

In Dracula, Bram Stoker created one of the great masterpieces of the horror genre, brilliantly evoking a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and also illuminating the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

This Norton Critical Edition includes a rich selection of background and source materials in three areas: Contexts includes probable inspirations for Dracula in the earlier works of James Malcolm Rymer and Emily Gerard. Also included are a discussion of Stoker's working notes for the novel and "Dracula's Guest," the original opening chapter to Dracula. Reviews and Reactions reprints five early reviews of the novel. "Dramatic and Film Variations" focuses on theater and film adaptations of Dracula, two indications of the novel's unwavering appeal. David J. Skal, Gregory A. Waller, and Nina Auerbach offer their varied perspectives. Checklists of both dramatic and film adaptations are included.

Criticism collects seven theoretical interpretations of Dracula by Phyllis A. Roth, Carol A. Senf, Franco Moretti, Christopher Craft, Bram Dijkstra, Stephen D. Arata, and Talia Schaffer.

A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.]]> 488 Bram Stoker 0393970124 Brian 5 4.02 1897 Dracula
author: Bram Stoker
name: Brian
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1897
rating: 5
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]]> Where the Sidewalk Ends 30119 Come in... for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins.

Shel Silverstein, the New York Times bestselling author of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, has created a poetry collection that is outrageously funny and deeply profound.

You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.

Shel Silverstein's masterful collection of poems and drawings stretches the bounds of imagination and will be cherished by readers of all ages.]]> 176 Shel Silverstein 0060513039 Brian 5 4.34 1974 Where the Sidewalk Ends
author: Shel Silverstein
name: Brian
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1974
rating: 5
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]]> Fight Club 5759 218 Chuck Palahniuk 0393327345 Brian 5 4.19 1996 Fight Club
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Brian
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1996
rating: 5
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]]> Of Mice and Men 890 “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.”

They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. But George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own.

While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck's work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men, creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual's existence meaningful.

A unique perspective on life's hardships, this story has achieved the status of timeless classic due to its remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.]]> 107 John Steinbeck 0142000671 Brian 2 3.88 1937 Of Mice and Men
author: John Steinbeck
name: Brian
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1937
rating: 2
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]]> <![CDATA[Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)]]> 6294 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.]]> 329 Diana Wynne Jones 006441034X Brian 5 4.30 1986 Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)
author: Diana Wynne Jones
name: Brian
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1986
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)]]> 10572
It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Here is the second volume in George R.R. Martin magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R.R. Martin stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.]]> 1009 George R.R. Martin 0553381695 Brian 5 4.42 1998 A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Brian
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 5
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]]> Les Misérables 24280 1463 Victor Hugo 0451525264 Brian 5 4.19 1862 Les Misérables
author: Victor Hugo
name: Brian
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1862
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass]]> 24213
When Alice sees a white rabbit take a watch out of its waistcoat pocket she decides to follow it, and a sequence of most unusual events is set in motion. This mini book contains the entire topsy-turvy stories of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, accompanied by practical notes and Martina Pelouso's memorable full-colour illustrations.]]> 239 Lewis Carroll Brian 4 4.07 1871 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
author: Lewis Carroll
name: Brian
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1871
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)]]> 62291 An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces manoeuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...]]> 1177 George R.R. Martin 055357342X Brian 5 4.54 2000 A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Brian
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2000
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)]]> 960
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.]]> 736 Dan Brown 1416524797 Brian 3 3.95 2000 Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)
author: Dan Brown
name: Brian
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2000
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1)]]> 113436 An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780375826696 can be found here.

One boy...
One dragon...
A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.]]> 503 Christopher Paolini 0375826696 Brian 1 3.96 2002 Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Brian
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2002
rating: 1
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]]> <![CDATA[The Chronicles of Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia, #1-7)]]> 11127 Librarian note: An alternate cover for this edition can be found here: 2005.

Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Staples Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and together they became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.

For the past fifty years, The Chronicles of Narnia have transcended the fantasy genre to become part of the canon of classic literature. Each of the seven books is a masterpiece, drawing the reader into a land where magic meets reality, and the result is a fictional world whose scope has fascinated generations.

This edition presents all seven books—unabridged—in one impressive volume. The books are presented here in chronlogical order, each chapter graced with an illustration by the original artist, Pauline Baynes. Deceptively simple and direct, The Chronicles of Narnia continue to captivate fans with adventures, characters, and truths that speak to readers of all ages, even fifty years after they were first published.]]> 767 C.S. Lewis 0066238501 Brian 5 4.27 1956 The Chronicles of Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia, #1-7)
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Brian
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1956
rating: 5
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]]> Lord of the Flies 7624 182 William Golding 0140283331 Brian 1 3.70 1954 Lord of the Flies
author: William Golding
name: Brian
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1954
rating: 1
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]]> Dune (Dune, #1) 234225 Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the "spice" melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.]]> 604 Frank Herbert 0340839937 Brian 5 4.21 1965 Dune (Dune, #1)
author: Frank Herbert
name: Brian
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1965
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)]]> 968 The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, and The da Vinci Code

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever.

The Da Vinci Code heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.]]> 489 Dan Brown Brian 3 3.92 2003 The da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)
author: Dan Brown
name: Brian
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2003
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch]]> 12067
People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons – well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel – would quite like the Rapture not to happen.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist
]]> 491 Terry Pratchett Brian 4 4.27 1990 Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Brian
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1990
rating: 4
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]]> Animal Farm 7613
When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.]]> 129 George Orwell Brian 2 3.90 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: Brian
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 2
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]]> Brave New World 5129 Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune]]> 268 Aldous Huxley 0060929871 Brian 3 3.99 1932 Brave New World
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Brian
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1932
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)]]> 100915
Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Lion Aslan, they realize they've been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell.]]> 206 C.S. Lewis Brian 5 4.24 1950 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Brian
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1950
rating: 5
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]]> The Road 6288
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.]]> 241 Cormac McCarthy 0307265439 Brian 3 3.99 2006 The Road
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Brian
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2006
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1)]]> 18131
It was a dark and stormy night.

Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe.

A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet.]]> 211 Madeleine L'Engle 0440498058 Brian 5 4.04 1962 A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1)
author: Madeleine L'Engle
name: Brian
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1962
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)]]> 15241
Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs.

Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin -- alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.]]> 322 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618346260 Brian 5 4.45 1954 The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Brian
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1954
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)]]> 119322
Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.]]> 399 Philip Pullman 0679879242 Brian 4 4.02 1995 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)
author: Philip Pullman
name: Brian
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 4
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]]>