Adult

For centuries, the five greatest kingdoms of North and South Tembria, twin continents on the world of Garn, have coexisted in peace. But the balance of power is destroyed when four of the kingdoms violate an ancient covenant and betray the fifth: Ithrace, the Kingdom of Flames, ruled by Steveren Langene, known as "the Firemane" for his brilliant red hair. As war engulfs the world, Ithrace is destroyed and the Greater Realms of Tembria are thrust into a dangerous struggle for supremacy. As a Free Lord, Baron Daylon Dumarch owes allegiance to no king. When an abandoned infant is found hidden in Daylon’s pavilion, he realizes that the child must be the missing heir of the slain Steveren.

Give-a-Damn Jones, a free-spirited itinerant typographer, hates his nickname almost as much as the rumors spread about him. He’s a kind soul who keeps finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s what happened in Box Elder, a small Montana town. Tensions are running high, and anything (or anyone) could be the fuse to ignite them: a recently released convict trying to prove his innocence, a prominent cattleman who craves respect at any cost, a wily traveling dentist at odds with a violent local blacksmith, or a firebrand of an editor who is determined to unlock the town’s secrets. Jones walks into the middle of it all, and this time, he may be the hero that this town needs.

McKenna Rhodes has never been able to get the sight of her father's death out of her mind. A freak maritime accident has made her the captain of the salvage boat Gale Force, but it's also made her cautious, sticking closer to the Alaska coastline. She and her crew are just scraping by, when the freighter Pacific Lion founders 200 miles out in a storm. This job is their last chance --- but there is even more at stake than they know. Unlisted on any manifest, the Lion's crew includes a man on the run carrying 50 million dollars in stolen Yakuza bearer bonds. The Japanese gangsters and the thief's associates want the money. Another salvage ship, far bigger and more powerful than Gale Force, is racing to the rendezvous as well.

Martin Sivok finds himself tied to a chair inside a deserted warehouse. For now his best hope is figuring out who put him here --- and staying conscious long enough to confront them. To stay awake, he reviews the past year of his life: evading the law in the Czech Republic by running to Glasgow, settling into a borderline respectable relationship with his landlady, and getting back into the life at the very bottom of the criminal ladder, alongside Usman Kassar, a cocky, goofy kid anxious to prove himself. The job should be simple: smash heads, grab cash, run. The trouble with being two outsiders is, you don't always know whose heads are too dangerous to crack, or whose cash is too hot to handle.

Paul Theroux’s latest collection of essays leads the reader through a dazzling array of sights, characters and experiences, as Theroux applies his signature searching curiosity to a life lived as much in reading as on the road. Travel essays take us to Ecuador, Zimbabwe and Hawaii, to name a few. Gems of literary criticism reveal fascinating depth in the work of Henry David Thoreau, Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad and Hunter Thompson. And in a series of breathtakingly personal profiles, we take a helicopter ride with Elizabeth Taylor, go surfing with Oliver Sacks, eavesdrop on the day-to-day life of a Manhattan dominatrix, and explore New York with Robin Williams.

In each of the 11 pieces collected here, Richard Russo considers the unexpected turns of the creative life. From his grandfather’s years cutting gloves to his own teenage dreams of rock stardom; from his first college teaching jobs to his dazzling reads of Dickens and Twain; from the roots of his famous novels to his journey accompanying a dear friend --- the writer Jennifer Finney Boylan --- as she pursued gender reassignment surgery, THE DESTINY THIEF powerfully reveals the inner workings of one of America’s most beloved authors.

Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane Hawk’s husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive. Jane’s ruthless pursuers can’t stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born.

Startling new evidence in a cold case that has haunted Pete Fernandez drags the exiled PI back to his hometown of Miami. But as Pete and his partner, Kathy Bentley, delve deeper into the unsolved murder, they become entangled in Miami’s obsession with a charismatic and dangerous cult leader and his even more menacing followers. At the same time, the detectives find themselves at odds with a Florida politician’s fixation on wealth, fame and power. It all converges in the heart of the Magic City, and Pete is left scrambling to pick up the pieces --- or die trying.

An 11-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens: Terry Maitland, a Little League coach, an English teacher, a husband, and the father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, THE OUTSIDER kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face?

An 11-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens: Terry Maitland, a Little League coach, an English teacher, a husband, and the father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, THE OUTSIDER kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face?