Planet X - Star Trek: The Next Generation and X-Men (Michael Jan Friedman)

Planet X - Star Trek: The Next Generation and X-Men

Michael Jan Friedman

Blurb: On the planet Xhaldia, ordinary men and women are mutating into bizarre creatures with extraordinary powers. But is this a momentous evolutionary leap or an unparalleled catastrophe? The very fabric of Xhaldian society is threatened as fear and prejudice divide the transformed from their own kin.

Dispatched to cope with the growing crisis, Captain Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise receive some unexpected visitors from another reality, in the form of a group of mutant heroes known as the uncanny X-Men. Storm, leader of the team, offers her help in resolving a situation that is agonisingly similar to the human/mutant conflicts of their own time and space.

But when hostile aliens appear in orbit around Xhaldia to try and abduct the transformed for use as superpowered weapons in an attack on the Federation, even the combined forces of the crew of Starfleet and the X-Men may be unable to prevent an inferno of death and destruction.

Starfleet's finest crew and Earth's greatest mutant heroes will need all their powers and abilities to save Xhaldian people and stop a deadly threat to the Federation.

ISBN: 9780671019167 (Paperback)

Year: 1998

Publisher: Pocket Books

Pages: 265 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Author's Wikipedia page

3. Goodreads page for the book

4. Review of the book

5. Fiction db page

Amsterdam (Ian McEwan)

Amsterdam

Ian McEwan

Blurb: Old friends Clive Linley and Vernon Haliday meet outside a crematorium to pay their last respects to Molly Lane. Both had been her lovers before they reached their current eminence - as had Julian Garmony, Foreign Secretary, a man tipped to be the next prime minister. In the days that follow, the two friends will make a disastrous pact, the consequences of which nether could ever have foreseen.

ISBN: 9780099535133(Paperback)

Year: 1998

Publisher: Vintage Books

Pages: 178 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the book

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Study guide for the book

4. Author's official page for the book

5. Review of the book

Survivor: Alone #2 (James Phelan)

Survivor: Alone #2

James Phelan

Blurb: Twelve days later chaos reigns in New York.

Pursued by the predatory Chasers, Jesse finds unexpected friendship in three other survivors:

Felicity - a girl he meets via a home video. Finding her is the key to escape.

Rachel - more concerned with animals than people. Can Jesse persuade her to put her own safety first?

And Caleb - disillusioned, angry, and maybe dangerous.

Friendship comes at a price in a world where nothing can be relied upon. Will Jesse's new mates help him flee or is he...destined always to be ALONE?

ISBN: 9780733624803 (Paperback)

Year: 2011

Publisher: Lothian

Pages: 262 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Books Direct

2. Goodreads page

3. Official site of the series

4. Official website of the author

5. Google books page for the novel

The Wolfman (Jonathan Maberry)

The Wolfman

Jonathan Maberry

Blurb: Lawrence Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancee begs him to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. Something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector has come to investigate.

As Talbot pieces together the gory puzzle, he hears of an ancient curse that turns the afflicted into werewolves when the moon is full. Now, if he is to end the slaughter and protect the woman he has grown to love, Talbot must destroy the vicious creature that stalks the woods surrounding Blackmoor. But when he himself is bitten by the beast, he is torn between his love who desperately tries to save him and coping with the horror of what he has become.

ISBN: 9780765365163 (Paperback)

Year: 2010

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Pages: 342 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Blog on the book

3. Author's Wikipedia page

4. Macmillan page for the book including trailers for the film of the same name

5. Goodreads page for the book

The Watcher (Grace Monroe)

The Watcher

Grace Monroe

Blurb: When you see him - it's already too late...

A Young woman's corpse is found within the groups of Edinburgh Castle with the message 'More Will Die' written on her body in blood. Soon, the prophecy is fulfilled as the death toll rises and more young women disappear - all redheads - their bodies found bludgeoned to death, their feet severed.

Quickly dubbed 'The Edinburgh Ripper' by the media baying for the killer's blood, the murders bring the city to its knees.

Headstrong lawyer Brodie McLennan teams up with DI Duncan Bancho in an effort to discover the identity of this warped killer. Soon, their investigations uncover an Eastern European ring of human traffickers and a depraved internet chat room.

Unbeknownst to Brodie, the killer's web is spinning ever closer to her teenaged sister Connie, recently back in her life. When Connie is reported missing, Brodie must uncover the Ripper's identity - before her own flesh and blood becomes the latest victim.

ISBN: 9781847560421 (Paperback)

Year: 2008

Publisher: AVON

Pages: 390 (Fiction)

Links

1. Author's Wikipedia page

2. Goodreads page for the book

3. Buy from Amazon

4. Get the ebook for Kobo

5. A look at the book

Disgrace (J.M. Coetzee)

Disgrace

J.M. Coetzee

Blurb: After an impulsive affair with a student, David Lurie is forced to resign from the University where he teaches poetry. He retreats to his daughter's isolated smallholding in the South African bush, where, for a time, the natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life. But the balance of power in the country is shifting, and a savage attack is to bring into relief all the fault lines in his life.

ISBN: 9780099535140 (Paperback)

Year: 1999

Publisher: Vintage Books

Pages: 220 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the novel

2. Wikipedia page for the film based on the novel

3. Review of the book

4. Reading guide for the book

5. Buy from Amazon

Sydney Bridge Upside Down (David Ballantyne)

Sydney Bridge Upside Down

David Ballantyne

Blurb: 'There was an old man who lived on the edge of the world and he had a horse called Sydney Bridge Upside Down. He was a scar-faced old man and his horse was a slow-moving bag of bones, and I start with this man and his horse because they were there for all the terrible happenings up the coast that summer, always somewhere around.'

Harry lives in Calliope Bay, on the edge of the world. His mother has gone to the city, perhaps just for the summer, perhaps longer. But while Harry wonders when she'll be back he is free to explore the forbidden and dangerous meatworks, a place where the cries of animals long ago slaughtered can be heard in the wind.

When his beautiful older cousin Caroline arrives, Harry is torn between childish games and his desire to protect her from the attentions of Wiggins the butcher. With terrible consequences.

A great, untamed New Zealand classic, Sydney Bridge Upside Down is a coming-of-age story, a disquieting family tragedy and a sinister gothic thriller.

ISBN: 9781921520020 (Paperback)

Year: 1968

Publisher: Text Publishing

Pages: 278 (Fiction)

Links

1. Publisher's page of the book

2. Goodreads page of the book

3. Google books page for the book

4. Blog on the book

5. Youtube clip on how important the book is to one person

Theodore Boone: The Abduction (John Grisham)

Theodore Boone: The Abduction

John Grisham

Blurb: Theodore Boone is back in a new adventure, and the stakes are higher than ever.

When his best friend, April, disappears from her bedroom in the middle of the night, no one, not even Theo Boone - who knows April better than anyone - has answers.

As fear ripples through his small hometown and the police hit dead ends, it's up to Theo to use his legal knowledge and investigative skills to chase down the truth and save April.

Filled with the page-turning suspense that makes John Grisham a number one international bestseller and the undisputed master of the legal thriller, Theodore Boone's trials and triumphs will keep readers guessing until the very end.

ISBN: 9781444714531 (Paperback)

Year: 2011

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Pages: 217 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from the Book Depository

2. Review of the book

3. Wikipedia page for the book

4. Buy from Amazon

5. Author's official site

The Trial of James T. Kirk: Star Trek (Peter David, James W. Fry and Gordon Purcell)

The Trial of James T. Kirk: Star Trek

Peter David, James W. Fry and Gordon Purcell

Blurb: These are the continuing comics adventures of Kirk, Spock, Scotty and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, as the classic Star Trek team warp into thrilling new worlds!

As the Klingons and Nasguls pursue their vendetta against Captain Kirk, a deadly bounty hunter is eyeing the price they've placed on his head. But if the Captain is fortunate enough to survive the encounter, will he survive the attentions of his own Federation, eagerly looking for a scapegoat to preserve universal peace - even if it costs Kirk's life?

Written by acclaimed Star Trek novelist and comics legend Peter David (Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man) with pencillers James W. Fry (Inhumanoids) and Gordon Purcell (New Teen Titans), and featuring rare interviews with Nichelle Nichols (Lt Uhura) and Walter Koenig (Mr Chekov), these never-before-collected tales will take you where no man has gone before - and beyond!

ISBN: 9781845763152 (Paperback)

Year: 2006

Publisher: Titan Books

Pages: 160 (Fiction)

Links

1. Star Trek Wiki of the book

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Good reads page for the book

4. James Kirk's Wikipedia page

5. Buy from the Official Star Trek Shop

One in a Hundred - The AFL Centenary Diaries of Gavin Brown, Wayne Carey, James Hird, Glen Jakovich and Tony Modra (Various)

One in a Hundred - The AFL Centenary Diaries of Gavin Brown, Wayne Carey, James Hird, Glen Jakovich and Tony Modra

Various

Blurb: For anyone who's missed the hype, 1996 represents one hundred years of Australian Rules football. In this centenary season, five of the AFL's greatest stars give us a complete and personal record of their very different seasons - Collingwood's Gavin Brown, North Melbourne's Wayne Carey, Essendon's James Hird, West Coast's Glen Jakovich and Adelaide's Tony Modra.

Week by week they take us through the football year, from pre-season training to the Grand Final itself. Along the way we see through their eyes the dramas and controversies, triumphs and disasters that made up football's centenary, from club mergers and devastating injury to winning the AFL's greatest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal, and the ultimate achievement of all, captaining a team to premiership victory. Their views and insights - always forthright, fascinating and often very funny - make One in a Hundred reading for anyone interested in how it feels to play AFL at the highest level.

ISBN: 033035860 (Paperback)

Year: 1996

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Pages: 240 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Abebooks

2. Official Website of the AFL

3. Info on Australian Rules Footy books

4. Buy from Amazon

5. Football Stamps from the 1996 Centenary Celebration

Stieg & Me (Eva Gabrielsson with Marie-Francoise Colombani)

Stieg & Me

Eva Gabrielsson with Marie-Francoise Colombani

Blurb: There is only one person who can tell the real Stieg Larsson story, and that is his lifelong companion Eva Gabrielsson. This is her book.

The keys to the 'Stieg Larsson phenomenon' all lie with Stieg Larsson, the man, and no one knew him like Eva. Here she tells the story of their 30-year romance, of Stieg's passionate struggle to expose Sweden's neo-Nazis, of his fight to keep the magazine he founded, Expo, alive and his difficult relationships with his immediate family. She talks of the genesis of The Millennium Trilogy, the sources for characters and places in each book, the mystery of the fourth volume, and the saga of Larsson's death and his legacy.

Poignant in its account of two soul mates and the life they shared, this is a story told with candour and dignity. It reflects a deep insight into a man everyone wants to know better, about whom so little is known.

ISBN: 9781742377445 (Paperback)

Year: 2011

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Pages: 227 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Blog on the book

2. Publisher's page on the book

3. ABC News Article and Videos on the couple

4. New York Times Article

5. Buy the ebook from Borders

Searching for Schindler (Tom Keneally)

Searching for Schindler

Tom Keneally

Blurb: A memoir of Tom's journey around the world to discover the complete story of Oskar Schindler and those on his now-famous list.

In 1980, Tom Keneally walked into a store in Beverly Hills owned by Polish Jew Leopold Pfefferberg Page to buy a new briefcase. For the next few years, Tom's life was taken over by this charismatic and driven man, known as Poldek, and the story of his saviour, the ambiguous hero Oskar Schindler.

Inspired by Poldek's vision, Tom's 1982 novel, Schindler's Ark, won the Booker Prize and ultimately became the Oscar-award-winning film Schindler's List.

Tom and Poldek travelled across the US, Germany, Israel, Austria and Poland, interviewing survivors and discovering their extraordinary stories. Searching for Schindler is very much Tom's journey; he reflects on his early days as a successful but less than confident writer, and how this book, the film it became and the people he met, changed his and his family's lives forever.

Filled with stories of Poldek, Steven Spielberg, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and many other fascinating characters, Searching for Schindler gives us a unique insight into the wonderful, warm, thinking, compassionate and very funny man that is Tom Keneally.

ISBN: 9781741666151 (Paperback)

Year: 2007

Publisher: Vintage Books

Pages: 304 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Review from The Independent

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Google books page

4. Author's Wikipedia page

5. Review from The Times

The Widow of the South (Robert Hicks)

The Widow of the South

Robert Hicks

Blurb: If God was watching that Indian summer afternoon of 30 November 1864, some say he would have been looking at the continent of America, in the central part of a state called Tennessee, at a little town called Franklin - where a terrible battle was about to begin.

Within a few short hours nearly ten thousand men would be dead, and the lives of many others changed utterly; none more so than that of Carrie McGavock, who would find her home taken over by the Confederate Army and turned into a field hospital. On the field of battle, a seasoned Southern soldier, Zachariah Cashwell, would drop his gun and charge forward into Yankee territory holding only the flag of his company's colours.

In the pain-filled days and weeks that followed, both would find a form of mutual healing that neither thought possible.

In an extraordinary debut novel, based on a true story, Robert Hicks paints an unforgettable portrait of a woman who, through love and loss, found a cause. Known throughout the century as the Widow of the South, Carrie McGavock gave her heart first to a stranger, then to a piece of hallowed ground, becoming in the process a symbol of a nation's soul.

ISBN: 059305590 (Paperback)

Year: 2005

Publisher: Bantam Press

Pages: 432 (Fiction)

Links

1. Review of the book

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Goodreads page

4. Author's Wikipedia page

5. Official site of the book and author

Rise of the Wolf: Wereworld (Curtis Jobling)

Rise of the Wolf: Wereworld

Curtis Jobling

Blurb: 'You are the last of the werewolves. Don't fight it, son; embrace it. Conquer it.'

When the air is clear, sixteen-year-old Drew Ferran can pick up the scent of a predator.

When the moon breaks through the clouds, a terrifying fever grips him.

And when a vicious beast invades his home, his flesh tears, his fingers become claws and Drew transforms...

Forced to flee the family he loves, Drew seeks refuge in the most godforsaken parts of Lyssia. But when he is captured by Duke Bergan's men, Drew must prove he is not the enemy.

Can Drew battle the werecreatures determined to destroy him - and master the animal within?

ISBN: 9780141333397 (Paperback)

Year: 2011

Publisher: Puffin Books

Pages: 418 (Fiction)

Links

1. Blog on the book

2. Publisher's page on the book

3. Goodreads page for the book

4. Youtube trailer for the book

5. Another blog on the book

La Prisonniere (Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi)

La Prisonniere

Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi

Blurb: Malika Oufkir has been a prisoner for most of her life. Born in 1953, the eldest daughter of the King of Morocco's closest aide, she was adopted by the king to be a companion to his little daughter. Malika grew up at the royal court of Rabat, locked away in a holden cage, among the royal wives and concubines.

But in 1972, her father was arrested and executed after an attempt to assassinate the king. Nineteen-year-old Malika, her mother and her five younger brothers and sisters were thrown into an isolated desert gaol. Innocent of any crime, they were locked away in increasingly barbaric conditions for fifteen endless years.

Like a modern Scheherazade, Malika kept up their spirits by telling them stories every night. Finally, the Oufkir children managed to dig a tunnel with their bare hands and made a daring escape. Recaptured after five days, the ensuing public hue and cry resulted in house arrest rather than a return to prison. But it was only in 1996 that Malika was finally permitted to leave Morocco to begin a new life in France.

ISBN: 9780553813029 (Paperback)

Year: 1999

Publisher: Bantam Books

Pages: 397 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Author's wikipedia page

2. Buy from Amazon

3. Review of the book

4. Buy from Fishpond

5. Google books page

Full Dark, No Stars (Stephen King)

Full Dark, No Stars

Stephen King

Blurb: What tips someone over the edge to commit a crime?

For a Nebraska farmer, the turning point comes when his wife threatens to sell off the family homestead.

A cozy mystery writer plots a savage revenge after a brutal encounter with a stranger.

Harry Streeter gets the chance to cure himself from illness - if he agrees to impose misery on an old rival.

And Darcy Anderson discovers a box containing her husband's dark and terrifying secrets - he's not just the man who keeps his nails short and collects coins. And now he's heading home...

ISBN: 9781444712568 (Paperback)

Year: 2011

Publisher: Hodder

Pages: 453 (Fiction)

Links

1. Wikipedia page for the book

2. Stephen King's Official Page for the book

3. Buy at Amazon

4. Review of the book from the Guardian

5. Review from The Independent

Step into the World of Ancient Egypt (Robert Frederick)

Step into the World of Ancient Egypt

Robert Frederick

Blurb: Mummies, tombs, treasures, kings and queens - enter the fascinating kingdom of ancient Egypt! Travel back in time to learn about the many bizarre beliefs and the interesting innovations of the ancient Egyptians. Witness their art, crafts and healing practices. This illustrated book takes you on a virtual tour of the great pyramid-tombs and temples, the process of mummification, and daily life in ancient Egypt. From all-important priests and pharaohs to sports and school life, this volume has interesting write-ups as well as informative questions and answers, to unearth the age-old secrets of the Egyptians. So turn the pages of history and bring the past alive like never before!

ISBN: 0755433890 (Hardback)

Year: 2006

Publisher: Robert Frederick

Pages: 44 (Non-Fiction)

Links

1. Buy from Amazon

2. Publisher's page

3. British Museum page on Ancient Egypt

4. Wikipedia page on Ancient Egypt

5. BBC Page on Ancient Egypt

Shrek 2: The Movie Storybook (Tom Mason and Dan Danko)

Shrek 2: The Movie Storybook

Tom Mason and Dan Danko

Blurb: Once upon another time...

The fairy tale continues as everyone's favourite ogre faces his greatest challenge of all - the in-laws! Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon to find an invitation to visit Princess Fiona's parents, the King and Queen of the kingdom of Far Far Away. With Donkey along for the ride, the happy couple is off on a brand-new adventure where they'll meet a host of other fairy tale characters who will help and hinder them along the way.

ISBN: 0439538491 (Hardback)

Year: 2004

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 50 (Fiction)

Links

1. Good reads page

2. Buy at Amazon

3. IMDB page for the film

4. Wikipedia page for the film

5. Official site of the film

The Wizard of Ooze: Goosebumps HorrorLand #17 (R.L. Stine)

The Wizard of Ooze: Goosebumps HorrorLand #17

R.L. Stine

Blurb: Marco is a diehard fan of The Ooze, a comic book villain with the power to sludge his enemies. When when he finds a super-rare edition of one of The Ooze's comics at the Chiller House gift shop, Marco is sure he has found something special for his collection.

Outside of HorrorLand there are a few other people interested in the comic book. The kinds of people you don't want to mess with. Like a muscular monster of a man dressed as The Ooze. But if he's only wearing a costume, why does he leave an oily mess everywhere he goes? And why is he following Marco?

ISBN: 9780545161985 (Paperback)

Year: 2010

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 142 (Fiction)

Links

1. Scholastic page for the book

2. Buy at Amazon

3. Wiki for the series

4. Good reads page for the book

5. Google books page for the book

December: Conspiracy 365 (Gabrielle Lord)

December: Conspiracy 365

Gabrielle Lord

Blurb: It's December, the final month the the deadly 365-day countdown. Cal desperately needs to get to Ireland - where he's counting on all the clues falling into place - but with airport security at an all time high, escaping the country seems impossible.

Wil Cal find out what really happened to his dad? Will he reach the Ormond Singularity before the stroke of midnight? Only time will tell... One thing's for sure, people will lose their lives in the fight to the end... and Cal's hoping he won't be one of them...

The clock is ticking. Any second could be his last.

ISBN: 9781741693249 (Paperback)

Year: 2010

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 239 (Fiction)

Links

1. Buy at Amazon

2. Google books page

3. Review of the book

4. Facebook page for the series

5. Official Series Page