Blue Books

Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)

Product Review
This Hugo and Nebula Award winner tells the sweeping tale of a desert planet called Arrakis, the focus of an intricate power struggle in a byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices." Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence.

The troubles begin when stewardship of Arrakis is transferred by the Emperor from the Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides. The Harkonnens don't want to give up their privilege, though, and through sabotage and treachery they cast young Duke Paul Atreides out into the planet's harsh environment to die. There he falls in with the Fremen, a tribe of desert dwellers who become the basis of the army with which he will reclaim what's rightfully his. Paul Atreides, though, is far more than just a usurped duke. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a super human; he might be a messiah. His struggle is at the center of a nexus of powerful people and events, and the repercussions will be felt throughout the Imperium.

Dune is one of the most famous science fiction novels ever written, and deservedly so. The setting is elaborate and ornate, the plot labyrinthine, the adventures exciting. Five sequels follow. --Brooks Peck --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Dune is to science fiction what The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy. Though fans believed they had bid a sad farewell to the sand planet of Arrakis upon Herbert's death in 1986, his son Brian has assumed writing the Nebula and Hugo award-winning series with the help of Kevin J. Anderson. But the original is always the most popular, and Ace here offers a good-quality hardcover complete with maps, a glossary, and appendixes. The book's huge fan base should expand even more thanks to a six-hour miniseries premiering on the Sci-Fi Channel later this year that is said to be more faithful to the book than David Lynch's truly awful 1984 feature film.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles, Book 2)

From Publishers Weekly
In 1965 Frank Herbert published Dune. After it was heralded as a masterpiece of science fiction, he wrote the briefer Dune Messiah in 1969, concentrating eponymously on Paul Atreides, and then, sensing the sales potential, added sequels. They were continued by his son, culminating in the just published finale, Sandworms of Dune. Now, 38 years after its publication, four narrators capture Dune Messiah on discs, while listeners, with no glossary, try to recall the meaning of its esoteric nomenclature. The audio gets off to a lively start as the book opens with nearly all conversation, playing up the camaraderie between the narrators who have partnered on several other readings of classic sci-fi novels. While the cast works well together, some of the male narrators emphasize a stately dullness. Kellgren, the sole feminine voice, supplies real emotion and a true sense of awe. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From AudioFile
Fans will be overjoyed by this stellar production of Frank Herberts second installment in the Dune series. Picking up the plot with the rise to power of MaudDib, listeners will be entranced by the drama on the planet Arrakis. Will the quest for a super being that can reign over men be realized, or will the lust for power turn deadly? DUNE MESSIAH answers these questions and more through an expert full-cast narration that makes listeners feel as if theyre on Arrakis themselves. The production features some of the best audiobook narrators in the business. Nine actors perfectly flesh out this epic, including the celebrated Simon Vance and Scott Brick. J.T. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)

From AudioFile
High school graduation looms for Bella, and conventional worries over college applications vie with her plans for immortality and marriage to a vampire classmate, Edward Cullen. In this sequel to Meyers TWILIGHT and NEW MOON, Ilyana Kadushins elegant voice again moves from scenes of typical teen angst to moments of horror, including an attack by newborn vampires on the Cullen family (who have forsaken traditional vampire fodder for big game). Kadushins growling tones and pace are terrific as she differentiates the star-crossed lovers, immersing listeners in the clandestine world that exists around us. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Description
Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

Elder Home: Book 1Of the Ten Rivers war

Product Description
Enter into the world of Searrus: a lush green planet filled with good and evil creatures that must fight a war for control of the world. Join with Empress Petra and her companions as they blaze a trail of glory across the world to secure it for the forces of good led by her husband, Emperor Eldric. The forces of good must use all their skills and powers to save themselves and their home, Elder Island, in the coming war.

About The Author
A lover of fantasy writing from a young age, M. L. Noffsinger has a keen love for the outdoors in the Pacific Northwest and all that it has to offer. Living in Springfield, Oregon, for the past fifteen years, he greatly enjoys video and computer games.

Eldritch Blue: Love and Sex In The Cthulhu Mythos

Download Description
Love and sex have been an integral part of the Cthulhu Mythos since its inception, and even before. In the vast majority of cases, however, they remain largely in the background, even though they often are a vital plot device, if only by implication. And in those few cases where love or sex is prominently displayed, its purpose is largely to titillate rather than advance the plot. In this anthology are stories that explore various aspects of the relationship between love and sex and the Mythos in a more intimate and open fashion. Their purpose is to show how these ideas, regardless of whether they are used explicitly or implicitly, can be used to present a new spin on classical Mythos story ideas. Warning: these stories deal frankly with sex and sexual relationships. As such they are meant for mature readers. Parental discretion is advised. With stories by James Ambuehl, EP Berglund, Ramsey Campbell, Pierre Comtois, Walter C. DeBill, Jr., Charles Garofalo, CJ Henderson, Randall Larson, HP Lovecraft, Michael Minnis, Robert M. Price, Stephen Mark Rainey, Stanley C. Sargent, Ann K. Schwader, Ron Shiflet, Peter A. Worthy, and more. Selected and formatted by Kevin L. O'Brien, with an introduced by Robert M. Price and artwork by Susan McAdam.

Elegies in Blue: A Book of Poems (Working Classics)

From Library Journal
To date, S enz (English, Univ. of Texas, El Paso; Dark and Perfect Angels) has split his literary career almost in half between prose and poetry. The latest addition to his corpus melds the two genres into two dozen poems largely composed in prose. Liberally expanding the application of the term elegy, S enz casts a tone of lament, sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly, over most of the subject matter childhood, innocence, family, life, death. This mood culminates in the ubi sunt ("where are") motif in the poem "At the Grave of the Twentieth Century," which pays homage at the graves of the likes of Karl Marx, JFK, the poet's father-in-law, and his grandfather. Thematically perpetuating his preoccupation with politics and ardently defending the Mexican American border community of which he is an integral part, these poems are drenched in much firmer reality and overlaid with more indignation than his recent novel Carry Me Like Water. Recommended especially for public libraries serving Mexican American populations, who will relate to the themes of restlessness and alienation. Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
To write well about your life, you need to have a life worth writing about. On that score, Saenz, a son of the Rio Grande border, hits pay dirt. At that border, poverty meets wealth more starkly than anywhere else except, perhaps, at Israel's fences between Jews and Palestinians. When a writer there speaks of himself, he can speak of his people and how the border defines them. That Saenz does in verse and prose poems distinguished by simple mellifluousness, clear imagery, and effortless balancing of the oracular and the personal voices. He writes of a boy asking important questions, loving the names in books, and figuring out why his father quit drinking (for love, though "love makes nothing easy"), and that boy is more imaginably him than the first-person speaker in other poems, an "I" that includes every border native who knows why the subjects of the book's many elegies--figures ranging from Denise Levertov to Cesar Chavez to Maria de Guadalupe Cenizeros, "citizen of Smeltertown"--are important to their identity. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Embrace The Darkness (Guardians of Eternity, Book 2)

From Publishers Weekly
Part human, part Shalott demon—the feared assassins of the demon race—bronze-skinned, golden-eyed beauty Lady Shay has blood that's a potent mix of vampire aphrodisiac and cure-all. Bound by a curse to the guardianship of a greedy troll, Shay soon finds herself being sold to a stunning, silver-haired vampire whose life she saved only weeks earlier. Named Viper, the vampire is determined to win her for his own—without the aid of enchantment—but Shay finds it hard to believe that Viper wants anything but to drain her dry. Fueling Shay's mistrust is the memory of her father, lost to a vampire clan when Shay was just a child. As it turns out, that same clan is now in pursuit of Shay, planning to use her blood to cure their leader's mysterious illness. Viper and Shay spend most of the book outrunning the clan's dark forces—all manner of monsters and hellhounds—occasionally losing themselves in their spiraling emotions. Though black satin sheets, gothic candelabra and the demonic beasts feel stock, the second book in Ivy's Guardians of Eternity trilogy delivers plenty of atmosphere and hot-blooded seduction. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Encyclopedia of World History (Market House Books)

From Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-More than 4000 concise alphabetical entries, ranging from a paragraph to a half page in length, offer definitions, biographical information, country profiles (including statistical information), and discussions of world events and ideas from prehistory to today. Entry words in blue and cross-references in boldface type are easily identifiable. The chronology at the end of the book is especially valuable, offering brief descriptions of events in "Europe and the Mediterranean" and the "Rest of the World," and concurrent technological and cultural advances. The average-quality maps, illustrations, and reproductions are done in black and white or shades of blue a
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This reference source was drawn from the two world history volumes of the multivolume Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia (Oxford, 1988). Articles were enlarged and updated, and new ones were added. The volume has approximately 4,000 brief entries arranged in an alphabetical format, covering prehistory to current events. There are many biographies of world leaders, such as Winston Churchill, and others important to the development of ideas, inventions, and discoveries, such as Aristotle, Einstein, and Magellan. There are histories of each country and a short table giving the country's capital, area in kilometers and square miles, population, currency, religions, ethnic groups, languages, and international organizations. These country profiles are generally quite current. Northern Ireland mentions the 1998 Good Friday agreement, and Cambodia mentions the 1998 death of Pol Pot. Appropriately placed throughout the text are 50 maps and 50 portraits, engravings, and tables. Rounding out the volume is a 27-page chronology of world events.

There are numerous single-volume works similar to Oxford Encyclopedia of World History. Three of the more recent are The Hutchinson Dictionary of World History (ABC-CLIO, 1993), Larousse Dictionary of World History [RBB N 1 94], and Macmillan Concise Dictionary of World History (Macmillan, 1983). The first work has 5,000 entries; 70 maps; many appendixes of leaders, organizations, and disasters; plus a world chronology. The second has 7,500 entries, 36 maps, 40 tables, and no illustrations. The last has 10,000 entries and no maps or illustrations. The Oxford volume has the advantage of containing current information, useful country facts, and illustrations. This well-organized and up-to-date book will be useful for ready reference in high-school, public, and academic libraries.

Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1)

New York Times
Intense is the word for Ender's Game. Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses -- and then training them in the arts of war The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games' Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games He is smart enough to know that time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet?

From Publishers Weekly
For the 20th anniversary of Card's Hugo and Nebula Award–winning novel, Audio Renaissance brings to life the story of child genius Ender Wiggin, who must save the world from malevolent alien "buggers." In his afterword, Card declares, "The ideal presentation of any book of mine is to have excellent actors perform it in audio-only format," and he gets his wish. Much of the story is internal dialogue, and each narrator reads the sections told from the point of view of a particular character, rather than taking on a part as if it were a play. Card's phenomenal emotional depth comes through in the quiet, carefully paced speech of each performer. No narrator tries overmuch to create separate character voices, though each is clearly discernible, and the understated delivery will draw in listeners. In particular, Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take. This is a wonderful way to experience Card's best-known and most celebrated work, both for longtime fans and for newcomers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 11)

Product Description
As the Yuuzhan Vong’s spectacular conquests continue unchecked, Luke Skywalker, Han and Leia Solo , and Wedge Antilles are forced to destroy what they have risked their lives to create. . . .

Scattering like rats before the Yuuzhan Vong’s invasion of Coruscant, the panic-stricken members of the New Republic Advisory’s Council pause just long enough to set up a mock defense on nearby Borleias—a transparent attempt to buy time that fools no one, least of all the Jedi.

Leia and Han Solo trek from world to world to foment rebellion against the New Republic’s disastrous appeasement policies. But Luke Skywalker has chosen the most dangerous assignment of all: to sneak into the Yuuzhan Vong’s stronghold on Coruscant. His outrageous scheme to gain entry is either brilliant or suicidal, depending on the outcome. And bearing down swiftly on Borleias is a Vong invasion fleet, determined to destroy the galaxy’s remaining defenders. . . .

About The Author
Elaine Cunningham is a former music teacher who has written over a dozen fantasy novels and many short stories. She's best known for the Songs & Swords books, particularly Elfshadow, a mystery in a fantasy setting. Her lifelong fascination with mythology and belief systems made her a Star Wars fan from the start. She lives with her family in a seacoast New England town. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Enser's Filmed Books and Plays: A List of Books and Plays from Which Films Have Been Made...

From Booklist
This reference source listing motion picture and television adaptations of books and plays has been around since 1968. The latest edition adds coverage for the years 1992-2001. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Erotic Book: Erotica Secrets of Sexy Female Bodies For Men and Women

Product Description
Uplifting eroticism while demolishing myths, "Erotic Book" offers a fresh and exhilarating perspective on the sensuality and beauty of the female body. The author provides readers of "Erotic Book" with insights on what aspects of the female body actually arouse men, and why almost every woman potentially possesses an intensely erotic body. "Erotic Book" rebels against the objectification of women, and presents an understanding of female sensuality that integrates the feminine mind with the feminine body, creating a transcending erotic presence.

About The Author
Sheldon Filger, novelist and fine art photographer, has created thousands of nude images celebrating the beauty of women,many of them featured on the online gallery, FinestArt-Photography.com. "Erotic Book" is based on Sheldon Filger's observations of the erotic beauty of the female body derived from his photography. Mr. Filger's previous book was the adventure and nuclear terrorism thriller, "King of Bombs."