Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasin...more
In the final volume of the "Alexandrian Quartet", Darley returns to Alexandria now caught by war-fever. The conflagration has its effect on his circle - on Nessim and Justine, Balthazar and Clea, Mountolive and Pombal. The story is supplemented by music from Debussy, Ravel, Britten and Piazzola.
In Cormac McCarthy's ninth novel, his first in seven years, Llewellyn Moss, a hunter in McCarthy's Texas border country, happens upon $2 million in cash and a small fortune in heroin (as well as a heap of dead bodies), takes the money and drugs, and goes into hiding. This sets in motion a chain of events revolving around Sheriff Bell, the book's tr...more
What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992. Described by friends and relatives as smar...more
Master of horror Stephen King preys upon our fears of technology with the plot hook driving this chiller: a mysterious signal known as "The Pulse," sent via cell phone, turns everyone talking on one into a mindless, murderous beast. The "normies"--those fortunate enough to be away from their phones--must band together in order to defend themselves ...more
The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, arguably over-hyped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived, and the question on the minds of kids, adults, fans, and skeptics alike is, "Is it worth the hype?" The answer, luckily, is simple: yep. A magnificent spectacle more than worth the price of admission, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...more
Set amid the corrupt glamour and multiplying intrigues of Alexandria in the 1930s and 1940s, the novels of Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet" (of which this is the first) follow the shifting alliances - sexual, cultural and political - of a group of quite varied characters.
[FYI: This novel was named as one of the 100 Best Novels by the editors of the "Modern Library"; 7/20/98 "New York Times", p. B1] "Booth Tarkington's "The Magnificent Ambersons" is a delightful novel. In addition, it is a view of Indianapolis' evolution from a major marketing center to a great industrial city. It adds a new dimension to one's under...more