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Amazon.com Review "There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden," announces six-year-old Charles Wallace Murry in the opening sentence of The Wind in the Door. His older sister, Meg, doubts it. She figures he's seen something strange, but dragons--a "dollop of dragons," a "drove of dragons," even a "drive of dragons"--seem highly unlikely. As it turns out, Charles Wallace is right about the dragons--though the sea of eyes (merry eyes, wise eyes, ferocious eyes, kitten eyes, dragon eyes, opening and closing) and wings (in constant motion) is actually a benevolent cherubim (of a singularly plural sort) named Proginoskes who has come to help save Charles Wallace from a serious illness. In her usual masterful way, Madeleine L'Engle jumps seamlessly from a child's world of liverwurst and cream cheese sandwiches to deeply sinister, cosmic battles between good and evil. Children will revel in the delectably chilling details--including hideous scenes in which a school principal named Mr. Jenkins is impersonated by the Echthroi (the evil forces that tear skies, snuff out light, and darken planets). When it becomes clear that the Echthroi are putting Charles Wallace in danger, the only logical course of action is for Meg and her dear friend Calvin O'Keefe to become small enough to go inside Charles Wallace's body--into one of his mitochondria--to see what's going wrong with his farandolae. In an illuminating flash on the interconnectedness of all things and the relativity of size, we realize that the tiniest problem can have mammoth, even intergalactic ramifications. Can this intrepid group voyage through time and space and muster all their strength of character to save Charles Wallace? It's an exhilarating, enlightening, suspenseful journey that no child should miss. The other books of the Time quartet, continuing the adventures of the Murry family, are ; , which won the American Book Award; and . (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Review "The chief characters of A Wrinkle in Time return in a complex sci-fi / fantasy adventure that is both similar and superior . . . The action is precipitated by Charles Wallace's failing health and his difficulties in being accepted by other children now that he's started school. Meg and O'Keefe are enlisted again to fight evil, this time in the shapre of Echthroi ('Light snuffers. Planet darkeners. The dragons. The worms. Those who hate.'), which are spreading through the universe. Guided by their mysterious teacher Blajeny and accompanied by a myriad-eyed, multiwinged cherubim named Proginoskes, Meg, Calivn and Mr. Jenkins (the crusty, unimaginitive school principal with whom Meg ha shad difficulty in the past) must pass three ordeals in order to save Charles Wallace from the Echthroi. Once again it is love that enables Meg to overcome evil, and L'Engle reaches mystical ecstasy in describing Meg's apprehension of the beauty and unity of the universe. Complex concepts of space and time are handled well for youn greaders, and the author creates a suspensful, life-and-death drama that is believably of cosmic significance. Complex and rich in mystical religious insights, this is breathtaking entertainment." --Starred, School Library Journal --This text refers to the edition.

About the Author A legendary creator of space opera and military science fiction adventures, Keith Laumer was a captain in the U.S. Air Force and later an officer in the U.S. diplomatic corps, serving throughout the world—all of which activity provides a solid background for his crackling adventure tales as well as his justly famous epic satirical comedies featuring Retief, the galaxy’s canny, two-fisted diplomat. Also among Laumer’s best-loved creations are the Bolos, gigantic tanks controlled by artificial intelligences who fight to protect mankind against both alien and human enemies.  --This text refers to the edition.

Review "Patti O'Shea is a voice and talent to be reckoned with. In the Midnight Hour is gripping and wonderful, everything a paranormal should be." -- Sherrilyn Kenyon "Through a Crimson Veil is a thrilling and imaginative paranormal fantasy."-- ParaNormal Romance Writers  "Fabulous action sequences, an engaging and believable romance, and some of the most well-written lovemaking scenes of the year make [this book] terrific escapist reading."-- Booklist on The Power of Two "Make sure to fasten your seatbelt for this wild ride!"-- Romantic Times BOOKReviews on The Power of Two "Suzanne Brockmann crossed with Lois McMaster Bujold….  Ravyn's Flight raises the ante."-- New York Times bestselling author Susan Grant About the Author Born with a need to see everything, Patti O'Shea has traveled to far off and exotic places like Papua New Guinea, Fanning Island, and the Yukon Territory in Canada.  She currently lives in Minnesota, where she works for Northwest Airlines.

From In this sequel to The Opal Deception (2005), 14-year-old Artemis discovers an unraveling time tunnel connecting demons with the earth. These imps have sworn revenge on humans, and their unpredictable appearances threaten to expose the entire fairy world. As always, Colfer delivers not only continuous action but also witty wordplay and dialogue, understated humor, and plenty of magical technology and gadgetry. A must for kids who have enjoyed Artemis' previous escapades. Kay WeismanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review Fast, funny and very exciting --This text refers to the edition.

About the Author Maggie Shayne is a national bestselling author who has appeared on the USA Today and Waldenbooks bestseller lists. When she's not writing, she spends her time exploring the mysteries of the cosmos, reading Tarot, collecting crystals, and studying the customs and rituals of long-forgotten civilizations. She lives in upstate New York.Marjorie M. Liu is an attorney who has lived and worked throughout Asia. She hails from both coasts, but currently resides in the Midwest, where she writes full-time. When not writing, she enjoys listening to music, painting, designing websites, and returning to old movie favorites, some of which involve light sabers, various applications of the Force, and small green men with pointy ears. She is also, occasionally, commandeered by poodles.Alyssa Day is the pen name (and dark and tortured alter ego) of Alesia Holliday, winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award for excellence in romance fiction. Alyssa is a graduate of The Ohio State University and summa cum laude graduate of Capital Law School. She lives with her family and children somewhere near the ocean (they move a lot!).Meljean was raised in the middle of the woods, and hid under her blankets at night with fairy tales, comic books, and romances. She left the forest and went on a misguided tour through the world of accounting, banking, and a (very) brief teaching career before focusing on her first loves, reading and writing--and she realized that monsters, superheroes, and happily-ever-afters are easily found between the covers, as well as under them, so she set out to make her own. Meljean lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter.

Review "Angela Knight is a spectacular writer." -ROMANCE REVIEW "Lora Leigh takes [readers] on a sensual roller coaster." -LOVE ROMANCES "Alyssa Day roars onto the paranormal scene." -ROMANCE JUNKIES "Virginia Kantra is an up-and-coming star." -NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR KAREN ROBARDS

From Publishers Weekly Since it was first published in 1968, Beagle's beloved fantasy novel has been made into a stage play and a film—and now this gorgeous, emotive graphic novel adaptation. Set in a fully realized but slightly tongue-in-cheek fantasy world that has inspired everything from The Princess Bride to Stardust, Beagle's story is a romantic fable about a regal unicorn who leaves the forest she has protected since time immemorial to find more of her kin. After a short spell of imprisonment by a witch's traveling circus, she journeys onward with an accident-prone magician, hoping to find the answer to her quest in the land of a coldhearted king and a monstrously fearsome red bull. Along the way, the unicorn and her good-hearted but hapless companion have many encounters, including one with a Robin Hood–esque group of bandits who seem dropped in from a Monty Python skit. Beagle's sumptuously descriptive writing, adapted ably by Gillis, casts a spell throughout, while De Liz's glowing, painterly artwork meshes perfectly with the haunting otherworldly beauty of the story. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Amazon.com Review From the very start of its very first scene, The Amber Spyglass will set hearts fluttering and minds racing. All we'll say here is that we immediately discover who captured Lyra at the end of The Subtle Knife, though we've yet to discern whether this individual's intent is good, evil, or somewhere in between. We also learn that Will still possesses the blade that allows him to cut between worlds, and has been joined by two winged companions who are determined to escort him to Lord Asriel's mountain redoubt. The boy, however, has only one goal in mind--to rescue his friend and return to her the alethiometer, an instrument that has revealed so much to her and to readers of and its . Within a short time, too, we get to experience the "tingle of the starlight" on Serafina Pekkala's skin as she seeks out a famished Iorek Byrnison and enlists him in Lord Asriel's crusade: A complex web of thoughts was weaving itself in the bear king's mind, with more strands in it than hunger and satisfaction. There was the memory of the little girl Lyra, whom he had named Silvertongue, and whom he had last seen crossing the fragile snow bridge across a crevasse in his own island of Svalbard. Then there was the agitation among the witches, the rumors of pacts and alliances and war; and then there was the surpassingly strange fact of this new world itself, and the witch's insistence that there were many more such worlds, and that the fate of them all hung somehow on the fate of the child. Meanwhile, two factions of the Church are vying to reach Lyra first. One is even prepared to give a priest "preemptive absolution" should he succeed in committing mortal sin. For these tyrants, killing this girl is no less than "a sacred task." In the final installment of his trilogy, Philip Pullman has set himself the highest hurdles. He must match its predecessors in terms of sheer action and originality and resolve the enigmas he already created. The good news is that there is no critical bad news--not that The Amber Spyglass doesn't contain standoffs and close calls galore. (Who would have it otherwise?) But Pullman brings his audacious revision of Paradise Lost to a conclusion that is both serene and devastating. In prose that is transparent yet lyrical and 3-D, the author weaves in and out of his principals' thoughts. He also offers up several additional worlds. In one, Dr. Mary Malone is welcomed into an apparently simple society. The environment of the mulefa (again, we'll reveal nothing more) makes them rich in consciousness while their lives possess a slow and stately rhythm. These strange creatures can, however, be very fast on their feet (or on other things entirely) when necessary. Alas, they are on the verge of dying as Dust streams out of their idyllic landscape. Will the Oxford dark-matter researcher see her way to saving them, or does this require our young heroes? And while Mary is puzzling out a cure, Will and Lyra undertake a pilgrimage to a realm devoid of all light and hope, after having been forced into the cruelest of sacrifices--or betrayals. Throughout his galvanizing epic, Pullman sustains scenes of fierce beauty and tenderness. He also allows us a moment or two of comic respite. At one point, for instance, Lyra's mother bullies a series of ecclesiastical underlings: "The man bowed helplessly and led her away. The guard behind her blew out his cheeks with relief." Needless to say, Mrs. Coulter is as intoxicating and fluid as ever. And can it be that we will come to admire her as she plays out her desperate endgame? In this respect, as in many others, The Amber Spyglass is truly a book of revelations, moving from darkness visible to radiant truth. --Kerry Fried --This text refers to the edition. From Publishers Weekly In concluding the spellbinding His Dark Materials trilogy, Pullman produces what may well be the most controversial children's book of recent years. The witch Serafina Pekkala, quoting an angel, sums up the central theme: "All the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity. The rebel angels, the followers of wisdom, have always tried to open minds; the Authority and his churches have always tried to keep them closed." Early on, this "Authority" is explicitly identified as the Judeo-Christian God, and he is far from omnipotent: his Kingdom is ruled by a regent. The cosmic battle to overthrow the Kingdom is only one of the many epic sequences in this novelAso much happens, and the action is split among so many different imagined worlds, that readers will have to work hard to keep up with Pullman. In the opening, for example, Lyra is being hidden and kept in a drugged sleep in a Himalayan cave by her mother, the beautiful and treacherous Mrs. Coulter. Will is guided by two angels across different worlds to find Lyra. The physicist and former nun, Mary Malone, sojourns in an alternatively evolved world. In yet another universe, Lord Asriel has assembled a great horde of otherworldly beings-including the vividly imagined race of haughty, hand-high warriors called GallivespiansAto bring down the Kingdom. Along the way, Pullman riffs on the elemental chords of classical myth and fairy tale. While some sections seem rushed and the prose is not always as brightly polished as fans might expect, Pullman's exuberant work stays rigorously true to its own internal structure. Stirring and highly provocative. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the edition.

From Library Journal Foster's Cachalot is a "well-written story of a women biologist and her spoiled daughter who find love, adventure, and self-realization" (LJ 4/15/80). Severn House's version is the only hardcover edition available.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Amazon.com Review The success of Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye's fast-paced apocalyptic Left Behind thrillers is built on a straightforward Christian message and a blend of dialogue and action; the 10th installment of the series, The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon, sticks to the same proven formula that has captivated legions of fans. It's one month into the Great Tribulation, and a million people gather in the ancient city of Petra to await the foretold "Glorious Appearing." The Global Community loses no time in bombing the city, which is completely engulfed in flames, guaranteeing certain doom for those assembled unless a miracle occurs. In other parts of the world, martyrdom continues for the remnant of believers as Global Community potentate Nicolae Carpathia's thirst for blood escalates. There are lots of slick escapes, plenty of intrigue, some genuinely gory moments, and enough gruesome plagues straight out of the biblical Book of Revelation to keep readers turning the pages. When the Chicago believers are forced to scatter and discord breaks out among those gathered at Petra, changes accelerate for the Tribulation Force and other series characters, leaving an ample number of loose ends to be picked up in the next episode. --Cindy Crosby --This text refers to an alternate edition. From the Back Cover Lakes and rivers turn to blood. Global life endangered by scorching sun. Darkness blankets Middle East; astronomers baffled.Hordes of Christ-followers seeking refuge in Petra are slated for massacre by Supreme Potentate Nicolae Carpathia’s armies. With key members dead or missing, the Tribulation Force frantically prepares to fight the ultimate battle between good and evil—until their safe house is compromised and they flee for their lives. Will they escape before Carpathia obliterates the city? Most important, will they fulfill their mission as the world hurtles toward Armageddon?The Remnant is #10 in the phenomenal New York Times best-selling Left Behind series that rocked the publishing world and made millions think seriously about the future and their places in it.With special features relating to current events and end-times prophecy. --This text refers to the edition.