Introduction: The Fifth Elephant (Discworld #24) They say that diplomacy is a gentle art. That its finest practitioners are subtle, sophisticated individuals for whom nuance and subtext are meat and drink. And that mastering it is a lifetime's work. But you do need a certain inclination in that direction. It's not something you can just pick up on the job. Which is a shame if you find yourself dropped unaccountably into a position of some significant diplomatic responsibility. If you don't realView Details>

Introduction: Carpe Jugulum (Discworld #23) In a fit of enlightenment democracy and ebullient goodwill, King Verence invites Uberwald's undead, the Magpyrs, into Lancre to celebrate the birth of his daughter. But once ensconced within the castle, these wine-drinking, garlic-eating, sun-loving modern vampires have no intention of leaving. Ever. Only an uneasy alliance between a nervous young priest and the argumentative local witches can save the country from being taken over by people with a cultivatView Details>

Introduction: Feet of Clay (Discworld #19) 'Sorry?' said Carrot. If it's just a thing, how can it commit murder? A sword is a thing' - he drew his own sword it made an almost silken sound - 'and of course you can't blame a sword if someone thrust it at you, sir.' For members of the City Watch, life consists of troubling times, linked together by periods of torpid inactivity. Now is one such troubling time. People are being murdered, but there's no trace of anything alive having bView Details>

Introduction: Reaper Man (Discworld #11) 'Death has to happen. Tha'ts what bein' alive is all about. You're alive, and then you're dead. It can't just stop happening.' But it can. And it has. So what happens after death is now less of a philosophical question than a question of actual reality. On the disc, as here, they need Death. If Death doesn't come for you, then what are you supposed to do in the meantime? You can't have the undead wandering about like lost souls. There&#View Details>

Introduction: One of the most progressive writers at work today, Victor Pelevin?s comic inventiveness has won him comparisons to Kafka, Calvino, and Gogol, and Time has described him as a ?psychedelic Nabokov for the cyberage.? In The Sacred Book of the Werewolf, a smash success in Russia and Pelevin?s first novel in six years, paranormal meets transcendental with a splash of satire as A Hu-Li, a two-thousand-year-old shape-shifting werefox from ancient China meets her match in Alexander, a Wagner-addicted weView Details>

Introduction: Victor Pelevin, the iconoclastic and wildly interesting contemporary Russian novelist who The New Yorker named one of the Best European Writers Under 35, upends any conventional notions of what mythology must be with his unique take on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. By creating a mesmerizing world where the surreal and the hyperreal collide, The Helmet of Horror is a radical retelling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur set in an Internet chat room. They have never met, they have beenView Details>

Introduction: Undead and Unwed (Undead #1) It'a been a helluva week for Betsy Taylor. First, she loses her job. Then, to top things off, she's killed in a car accident. But what really bites (besides waking up in the morgue dressed in a pink suit and cheap shoes courtesy of her stepmother) is that she can't seem to stay dead. Every night she rises with a horrible craving for blood. She's not taking too well to a liquid diet. Worst of all, her new friends have the ridiculous idea that BView Details>

Introduction: Unspoken (The Vampire Diaries: The Salvation #2) An epic battle looms - one that will not only determine Elena's own fate, but that of her entire world. Since her true love Stefan was staked through the heart, everything has changed for Elena. Stefan was hunted down by a scientist who has created a new race of genetically-engineered vampires to take over the paranormal world. Intent on eliminating all the natural vampires left on earth, Damon is the scientist's next target. It's aView Details>

Introduction: Unseen (The Vampire Diaries: The Salvation #1) The greatest threats are the ones unseen…. For what seems like the first time, Elena and her friends are happy. Elena and Stefan have built a home for themselves in Dalcrest, and all of Elena’s friends are as in love as she and Stefan are. Even Damon is enjoying visiting his favorite old haunts in Europe, and is more surprised than anyone that he’s traveling with Katherine. But lately, Elena’s Guardian senses are on edge, and she can’t ignore View Details>

Introduction: On a world far far away, where cute things eat computers and the sky is emerald green, a small team of scientists struggles to save the planet and their own careers by mixing genetic engineering and Arthurian legend. Too bad they had forgotten the first rule of planet exploration: Nature always has the last laugh.View Details>