Arkady Kirsanov has just graduated from the University of Petersburg and returns with a friend, Bazarov, to his father''s modest estate in an outlying province of Russia. The father, Nikolai, gladly receives the two young men at his estate, called Marino, but Nikolai''s brother, Pavel, soon becomes upset by the strange new philosophy called "nihilism" which the young men advocate. Nikolai feels awkward with his son at home, partially because Arkady''s views have dated his own beliefs, and partially because he has taken a servant, Fenichka, into his house to live with him and has already had a son by her. The two young men remain at Marino for a short time, then decide to visit a relative of Arkady''s in a neighboring province. There they observe the local gentry and meet Madame Odintsova, an elegant woman of independent means who invites them to spend a few days at her estate, Nikolskoe. At Nikolskoe, they also meet Katya, Madame Odintsova''s sister. They remain for a short period over the course of which they both change a lot, especially their relationship for each other, because they both find themselves drawn to Madame Odintsova. Bazarov in particular, finding this distressing because falling in love goes against his beliefs. Eventually, he announces that he loves her. She does not respond to his declaration, and soon after, Arkady and Bazarov leave for Bazarov''s home. At Bazarov''s home, they are received enthusiastically by his parents. Bazarov is still disturbed by his rejection, and is difficult to get along with. He almost comes to blows with his friend Arkady. After a brief stay, they decide to return to Marino, and circle by to see Madame Odintsova, who receives them coolly. They leave almost immediately and return to Arkady''s home. Arkady remains for only a few days, and makes an excuse to leave in order to go to Nikolskoe. Once there, he realizes he no longer is in love with Odintsova, but instead her sister Katya. Bazarov stays at Marino to do some scientific research, and tension between him and Pavel increases. Bazarov enjoys talking with Fenichka and playing with her child, and one day he gives her a quick, harmless kiss which is observed by Pavel. He, secretly being in love with Fenichka himself, challenges Bazarov to a duel. Pavel is wounded slightly, and Bazarov must leave Marino. He stops for an hour or so at Madame Odintsova''s, then continues on to his parents'' home. Meanwhile, Arkady and Katya have fallen in love and have become engaged. At home, Bazarov cannot keep his mind on his work and while performing an autopsy fails to take the proper precautions. He contracts typhus, and on his deathbed, sends for Madame Odintsova, who arrives in time to hear Bazarov tell her how beautiful she is. Arkady marries Katya and takes over the management of his father''s estate. His father marries Fenichka and is delighted to have his son home with him. Pavel leaves the country and lives the rest of his life as a "noble" in Dresden, Germany.

Fathers and Sons

It is Christmas Eve and everyone in the house hears the crashing of furniture, followed by a wailing and hideous scream. When they get to Simeon Lee''s room, they find it locked and they have to break the door down. When they finally get through the door, they find heavy furniture overturned and Simeon Lee dead, his throat slit, in a great pool of blood. Superintendent Sugden notices Pilar Estravados pick up something from the floor. She tries to conceal what she picked up, but when pressed, opens her hand to show a small bit of rubber and a small object made of wood. Superintendent Sugden explains that he is in the house by prior arrangement with the victim, who confided to him the theft of a substantial quantity of uncut diamonds from his safe. When Poirot is called in to investigate, there are therefore several main problems: who killed the victim? How was the victim killed inside a locked room? Was the murder connected to the theft of the diamonds? And what is the significance of the small triangle of rubber and the peg that Sugden is able to provide when reminded by Poirot of the clue that had been picked up by Pilar? Poirot’s investigation explores the nature of the victim – a methodical and vengeful man – and the way that these characteristics come out in his children. He seems focused on the idea that one of the immediate family is the murderer. When the butler mentions his confusion about the identities of the house guests, Poirot realizes that the four legitimate sons may not be the only heirs of Simeon’s temperament. The final major clue is dropped by Pilar, who while playing with balloons and one bursts, lets slip that what she found on the floor must also have been a balloon. She knows more than she realizes. Poirot warns her to be careful.

Hercule Poirot''s Christmas

The sole survivor of a massacre, Caladrius, nicknamed Rook, has been living with the bards of Luly since the day he was rescued from the smoldering remains of his home. Despite falling in love and having a son, Caladrius is unable to make peace with his memories, and so ventures into the world to discover how his family was destroyed - and why. He learns his true name: he is Raven Tourmalyne from the house of Griffin, which was crushed by Arioso Pellior, the patriarch of the house of Basilisk and tyrant of the city of Berylon. In Berylon, Caladrius, who takes the name of Griffin, enters Pellior''s house as a music teacher for Pellior''s decidedly un-musical daughter. As Griffin tutors Damiet Pellior for an upcoming opera, the city''s musicians hatch their own plots. Armed with his picochet, a single-stringed instrument played by peasants, and a small bone pipe, Griffin challenges the Basilisk and exacts his revenge. But his revenge is not complete. Arioso Pellior is stricken, but not dead. Pellior names his other daughter, Luna, a powerful magician who has been his apprentice all her life, as his heir. Unexpectedly, Luna declares that thirty-seven years of torturing Tourmalyne House are enough. Hearing this, her father dies of anger. Luna begins to help Caladrius restore Tourmalyne House.

Song for the Basilisk

Watson visits his friend Holmes at Christmas time and finds him contemplating a battered old hat, brought to him by the commissionaire Peterson after it and a Christmas goose had been dropped by a man in a scuffle with some street ruffians. Peterson takes the goose home to eat it, but comes back later with a carbuncle. His wife has found it in the bird''s crop (throat). Holmes makes some interesting deductions concerning the owner of the hat from simple observations of its condition, conclusions amply confirmed when an advertisement for the owner produces the man himself: Henry Baker. Holmes cannot resist such an intriguing mystery, and he and Watson set out across the city to determine exactly how the jewel, stolen from the Countess of Morcar during her stay at a hotel, wound up in a goose''s crop. The man who dropped the goose, Mr. Henry Baker, clearly has no knowledge of the crime, but he gives Holmes valuable information, eventually leading him to the conclusive stage of his investigation, at Covent Garden. There, a salesman named Breckinridge gets angry with Holmes, complaining about all the people who have pestered him about geese sold recently to the landlord of the Alpha Inn. Clearly, someone else knows that the carbuncle was in a goose and is looking for the bird. Holmes expects that he will have to visit the goose supplier in Brixton, but it proves unnecessary: the other "pesterer" that the salesman mentioned shows up right then, a cringing little man named James Ryder whom Holmes prevails upon to tell the whole sordid story, by first mentioning that Ryder is probably looking for a goose with a black bar on its tail, a remarkable bird that "[laid] an egg after it was dead". Of course, Holmes has already deduced most of it. Ryder, believing he was being pursued for the theft, fed the carbuncle to a goose being bred by his sister Maggie Oakshott. He was to have that goose as a gift, but lost track of which one it was. Thus, when Ryder cut open the goose and found no gem, he went back to his sister, who had provided the Alpha Inn geese, and asked if there was more than one goose that had a black bar on its tail. She said there were two, but he was too late: she had sold them all to Breckinridge at Covent Garden. Breckinridge already sold the geese to the Alpha Inn, and the other goose with a black bar on its tail found its way to Henry Baker as his Christmas fowl. Ryder and his accomplice — the countess''s maid, Catherine Cusack — contrived to disguise the crime to frame John Horner, a plumber who worked at the same hotel as Ryder and had previously been imprisoned for robbery. Holmes, however, does not take the standard action against the man, it being Christmas, and concluding that arresting the clearly anguished Ryder will only make him into a more hardened criminal later. Ryder flees to the continent and Horner will be freed as the case against him will collapse without Ryder''s perjured testimony. Holmes remarks that he is not retained by the police to remedy their deficiencies.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

In the first part, entitled First Encounters (1939-1967), Kapuściński writes about the 1939 entry of the Red Army into Pińsk, his home town in the Polesie area, and about the poverty and terror he experienced during the ensuing Soviet rule. He continues to describe his postwar experiences in the Soviet Union, including his travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and his trips to exotic Central Asian and Transcaucasian republics of the Soviet Union, today Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The second part of the book, From a Bird''s-eye View (1989-1991), makes up over one half of the book, and is a travelogue from his lone trips around the Soviet Union during its collapse. In the European part of the USSR Kapuściński visited, among others, Brest, Moscow and Donetsk, in the Far North - Magadan and Vorkuta, in the South - Tbilisi and Yerevan. During these voyages he traveled over 60,000 km, mostly by plane. The last, shortest part, The Sequel Continues (1992-1993), is a summary. It is also an attempt to analyze the changes in the countries that arose from the disintegration of the USSR. According to the author himself, the whole work does not end with a higher and final synthesis, but with the reverse, because during its writing the subject and theme of the book, the great Soviet Empire, has disappeared. no:Imperiet (polsk bok) pl:Imperium (reportaż)

Imperium

From Jasper County, Illinois, Jethro Creightonn lives on a farm just before the Civil War. The youngest child, he is busily helping tend his family''s farm. However, when his schoolmaster and good friend, Shadrach Yale, returns from Newton with the news that the war has begun, Jethro’s world is turned upside-down. Jethro has three brothers, Bill, John and Tom, and his cousin Eb, most of them eager to join the fight. Jethro must struggle with the split between them, as three join the Union Army but Bill joins the Confederacy. Later on, Jethro''s good friend and sister Jenny''s boyfriend, Shad also joins the Union Army. John''s wife Nancy and their two young sons live with the Creighton''s during the war. Jenny is in love with Shad, but her father will not approve of the marriage because he thinks she is too young. As the war heats up, so do the tensions among the townspeople around Jethro. A gang of men led by Guy Wortman are angered by the fact that one of Jethro’s brothers, Bill, joined the Confederate cause. Eventually, Jethro''s father suffers from a heart attack, leaving Jethro with the task of becoming the head of the house. The spotlight is set on the hardships of war on a family. One day Jethro travels to Newton, and, while shopping, overhears the men talking about how evil his brother is. While Jethro is riding back; however, he is warned that the men are up to no good. Dave Burdow, father of the young man responsible for Jethro''s sister Mary''s death prior to the events of the story, ends up saving Jethro''s life and driving the troublemakers off. However, the trouble is far from over. After a few months, the men are at it again. They sabotage the family’s property by burning down the family''s barn and contaminating the water in the well. Jethro is given little time to concentrate on this when he finds out that his brother Tom was killed and that cousin Eb left the Union Army. He now must face the hard decision of whether or not he should help his deserter cousin. He writes a letter to President Lincoln for help and begins to look up to him as a father during the crisis. President Lincoln replies, telling him that he is already working on a program to accept all willing deserters back into the Union with little punishment. Soon after, the family learns that Shad has been wounded and is staying in a hospital, being taken care of by his aunt. Jenny goes to take care of him, and after finally receiving her father''s blessing, she and Shad get married. Shad gets better, the war ends, and he, Jenny, John, and Eb return to the Mossing farm. However, at the end of the war, just when the family is reunited safely, Jethro learns that the president has been shot. He runs off but is found by Shad who tells him that he and Jenny are going to college, and that they will take Jethro with them. It is in these turbulent times that Jethro has grown from an innocent boy into a young man.

Across Five Aprils

Vanyel Ashkevron, age sixteen, is the heir to a great estate, Forst Reach, though he does not measure up to what his father, Lord Withen, deems to be a "proper" man. He is devoted to music and cultivating an elegant appearance. Withen sends Vanyel to school in Haven, the capital of Valdemar, under the supervision of Vanyel''s aunt Savil. Savil has little interest in Vanyel because he has no psychic or magic powers, but realizes he is not as arrogant as Withen described. Vanyel finds schooling at Haven more suited to his nature, but is told he does not have the Bardic gift, and cannot become a true Bard. Feeling he has lost his dream, he becomes depressed. Vanyel develops feelings for Tylendel Frelennye, one of Savil''s protégés. He learns that Tylendel is shay''a''chern, or homosexual. They become lovers and later find they are lifebonded, that is, soulmates. For the first time, Vanyel is truly happy. Tylendel introduces Vanyel to Gala, his Companion; one of the intelligent horse-like creatures that bond with Heralds. Staven, Tylendel''s twin brother, is assassinated by a family enemy. Tylendel senses his brother''s death and goes mad with grief. Not understanding Tylendel''s trauma, Vanyel continues supporting him as he seeks revenge. Using Vanyel''s dormant energies Tylendel ''Gates'' them to the enemy family. Tylendel casts a complicated spell summoning deadly wyrsa to kill members of the enemy family. Gala repudiates Tylendel and dies sacrificing herself to give time for Heralds to arrive to stop the massacre. Tylendel commits suicide, and the backlash from the ''Gate'' spell tears open Vanyel''s dormant magic potential. Suffering from psychic and emotional damage, Vanyel is "chosen" by a Companion, Yfandes, who reassures him of her love and friendship and his worth. Vanyel begins recovering, but is unable to control his newly "opened" powers. He telepathically overhears thoughts blaming him for Tylendel''s death. Vanyel attempts suicide, but is rescued, and the Heralds see that his love for Tylendel was real. Savil, realizing Vanyel needs special assistance, takes him to the Tayledras, human beings who live in K''Treva, an environment immersed in magic. They teach him how to control his abilities, and convince him that being gay is not wrong or sinful. Vanyel does not want to be a Herald or a Mage, and suspects the people around him value his powers, not himself. He runs away, but as he thinks things over he realizes that Savil and the others have shown that they care about him. Just when he realizes that and moves to return he discovers a village being terrorized by a colddrake, a type of dragon. Before he can even think to do anything, he witnesses the dragon killing an elderly man. He pulls himself together and kills the dragon, but the unfortunate timing gives Vanyel the impression that he is a coward. The Tayledras later explain that he is not at all cowardly and that his reactions were normal. Vanyel is about to return to the Tayledras when he receives a telepathic cry for help. He ends up assisting a village in overcoming a mad wizard along with his aunt and teachers. With a combination of strategy and half-learned magic, he defeats the wizard. He believes he will die as well, but is comforted by the thought that he will be with Tylendel. Vanyel wakes to find himself with his aunt in K''Treva as she presents him with the white robes of a full-fledged Herald-Mage.

Magic''s Pawn

The series revolves around Seregil, a spy, and Alec, his apprentice and soon-to-be partner. The series takes place in a fictional country, Skala, described similarly to medieval Europe. Seregil stumbles into the rescue of Alec, a poor, orphaned hunter. After hiring Alec to guide him through the Northern Lands, Seregil notes Alec’s quick learning ability and fast hands, and offers him a job as his apprentice. Alec, though wary of Seregil at first due to a distressing amount of secrecy and suspicion that he’s becoming a thief or spy, accepts the offer. They fall into a mystery that involves the fast deterioration of Seregil’s mind and sanity, and Alec must find a way to save his new teacher and friend. Alec manages to deliver Seregil into the hands of Nysander, a wizard of Skala, but the mystery seems to only deepen. At the same time, a traitorous plot against the Queen seems to be unfolding, and Seregil must solve it quickly; before he is found guilty of treason himself. The seemingly harmless wooden disc that nearly caused Seregil’s death and loss of sanity in Luck in the Shadows is revealed to be part of a broken, evil, helm belonging to the ‘Eater of Death’, a forsaken god named Seriamaius. A plan to retrieve all the pieces of the helm is attempted by a Plenimarine, Mardus, who wishes to use it to conquer Skala and Mycena and rule over the three lands. A prophecy long foretold takes place, and Seregil has to kill his mentor, Nysander, in order to destroy the helm. In the last paragraphs of the book, Seregil and Alec admit their feelings for one another. Seregil and Alec are sent to Aurënen, Seregil’s homeland, with Princess Klia, in a Skalan delegation to ask for open ports, warriors and supplies in the deepening war between Skala and Plenimar, but the attempted murder of the Princess means trouble. Seregil and Alec must unravel the mystery before all chance of a treaty is ruined. At the same time, Seregil must readjust himself to the country he was exiled from more than thirty years previously. A collection of short stories including the story of how Seregil, Nysander, and Micum all meet. Seregil and Alec are kidnapped by Zengati slavetraders, and bought by a Plenimarine alchemist. Using Alec’s unique blood as a half-northerner, half-hâzadriëlfaie, the alchemist intends to create a creature called a rhekaro, who appears to be a young child, and yet is most definitely not human at all. Seregil eventually helps Alec and Sebrahn escape, coming to terms with his own past as he reunites with an old lover and enemy. Having escaped death and slavery in Plenimar, Seregil and Alec want nothing more than to go back to their nightrunning life in Rhíminee. Instead they find themselves saddled with Sebrahn, a strange, alchemically created creature - the prophesied "child of no woman." It''s moon-white skin and frightening powers make it a danger to all whom Seregil and Alec come into contact with, leaving them no choice but to learn more about Sebrahn''s true nature. But what then? With the help of old friends and Seregil''s clan, the pair sets out to discover the truth about this living homunculus - a journey that can lead only to danger... or death. For Seregil''s old nemesis Ulan í Sathil of Virèsse and Alec''s own long-lost kin (Hâzadrielfaie) are after them, intent on possessing both Sebrahn and Alec. On the run and hunted, Alec and his friends must fight against time to accomplish their most personal mission ever. More than the dissolute noblemen they appear to be, Alec and Seregil are skillful spies, dedicated to serving queen and country. But when they stumble across evidence of a plot pitting Queen Phoria against Princess Klia, the two Nightrunners will find their loyalties torn as never before. Even at the best of times, the royal court at Rhíminee is a serpents'' nest of intrigue, but with the war against Plenimar going badly, treason simmers just below the surface. And that''s not all that poses a threat: A mysterious plague is spreading through the crowded streets of the city, striking young and old alike. Now, as panic mounts and the body count rises, hidden secrets emerge. And as Seregil and Alec are about to learn, conspiracies and plagues have one thing in common: The cure can be as deadly as the disease.

The Nightrunner Series and The Tamír Triad

Adeline''s family considers her as bad luck and they don''t pay attention to her throughout her early childhood. This is the story of her struggle for acceptance and how she overcomes the odds to prove her worth. Born the fifth child to a wealthy Chinese family, Adeline''s life begins tragically. Adeline''s mother died three days after her birth due to complications bought on by the delivery, and in Chinese culture she is considered as bad luck. This situation is compounded by her father''s new marriage to a lady who has little affection for her husband''s five children. She displays overt antagonism and distrust towards all of the children, particularly Adeline, while favoring her own younger son and daughter born soon after the marriage. The book outlines Adeline''s struggle to find a place where she feels she belongs. Denied love from her parents, she finds some solace in relationships with her grandfather (Ye Ye) and her Aunt Baba, but they are taken from her. Adeline immerses herself in striving for academic achievement in the hope of winning favour, but also for its own rewards as she finds great pleasure in words and scholarly success. Adeline progresses through various situations in life, from boarding school to studies abroad.

Chinese Cinderella

Lyman Ward narrates a century after the fact. Lyman interprets the story at times and leaves gaps that he points out at other times. Some of the disappointments of his life, including his divorce, color his interpretation of his grandparents'' story. Toward the end of the novel, he gives up on his original ambition of writing a complete biography of his grandmother. Stegner''s use of Mary Hallock Foote''s historical letters gives the novel''s locations—Leadville, New Almaden, Idaho, and Mexico—an authentic feel; the letters also add vividness to the Wards'' struggles with the environment, shady businessmen, and politicians. Lyman''s position in the contemporary culture of the late sixties provides another historical dimension to the story. Foils for this plot line include Lyman''s adult son, a Berkeley-trained sociologist who sees little value in history, and a neighbor''s daughter who helps transcribe Lyman''s tape-recorded notes while she is home on summer break from UC Berkeley, where she has been active in the "hippie" counterculture movement.

Angle of Repose

Haruka Mizuhara, whose name was misspelled in the translation of the chapter title, is the player behind the wavemaster Hokuto. All the naiveness is a guise so she could find out more about the mysterious Divine Spear of Wotan. Hokuto is really a poor, 30 year-old translator who is interested in Celtic mythology. She lives in a two bedroom apartment, alone. She is depressed because Celtic mythology is first translated into English and then into Japanese. Haruka is haunted by her deadlines which scare her because of her procrastination. Her first avatar in The World, created when Haruka was one of the beta testers, is W.B. Yates, a Wavemaster of unknown level. Hokuto is Haruka''s second character that she uses to avoid work and escape from reality. Hokuto was only made to play freely in The World, so Haruka''s boss wouldn''t find out she was procrastinating. Haruka Muzuhara''s Situation is the first .hack//AI buster novel told from Haruka''s perspective. It also is used to explain the way that Haruka lives and her feelings for Albireo. This is the sequel to .hack//AI buster and takes place during the first four episodes of .hack//Sign. A few months after the Lycoris event, Albireo, Saki Shibiyama, and the Cobalt Knight Brigade are assigned a case to find and deal with Macha, a catlike NPC; and to monitor Tsukasa, a Wavemaster who is attacking players with a mysterious dumb-bell shaped monster. He meets up again with his partner from .hack//AI buster who he pumps for information: Hokuto, who he now knows is the mysterious web poet W.B. Yeats. During this case, Albireo has begun to suffer a mental breakdown since meeting Lycoris, questioning what he knows about the system and reality itself. He eventually tries to confront Tsukasa when his Guardian attacks four female players (episode 4 of .hack//Sign). The four PKK (Player Killer Killers) that were hunting Tsukasa are Long Arm, but were mistranslated as Heavy Axes in the novel. Their names are taken from the suits in a deck of playing cards and are Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, and Clubs. The names were given by Decipher in the .hack//Enemy trading card game. The subtitles shown while the language is set to Japanese from the English release of .hack//Sign has one of the girls'' name as Yossan. Macha stops and warns him to stay away from Tsukasa, but Albireo attacks Macha to get to Tsukasa. Macha calls on another creature and destroys Albireo''s Spear of Wotan before Data Draining him, causing his real self to get hospitalized. After the Twilight Incident, Watarai is forced to take blame for it, and retires from CC Corp much to the sorrow of Saki, who cannot understand why he left. At the end of the story, he meets with Hokuto''s real-life player after he recovers. He accepts the results of his breakdown as the road that led to Haruka and decides to begin a relationship with her; one that she is equally pleased to pursue. Four years after the Twilight Incident, Saki is the new head of the Cobalt Knights. She has to deal with a vagrant AI that one of her direct subordinates has interacted with. The AI, Lin, tries to defend himself using the philosophy that everything in The World has been granted a chance to live, AI and player character. In the end, Kamui deletes Lin and fires the knight that was playing with him. Rena is using her first avatar, Brigit, who has been fooled by a twin blade who failed to revive her, causing her friend to leave The World for good. Brigit then began to play solo until she is saved by a Wavemaster who talks about the rumors of the .hackers. The story then zooms to approximately the middle of Volume 1 of the .hack//Legend of the Twilight manga, when Rena is meeting with Ouka and Mirelle. Shugo logs on and they head for their new adventures. "Firefly" takes place prior to .hack//Legend of the Twilight and focuses on Hotaru''s character. It is the story of how she met the .hacker Sanjuro and how they became friends. With her parents out for the night, a young half-Irish, half-Japanese girl sets up a character on the Japanese server of The World. This character is Hotaru. She enters the game and becomes involved with a fairy NPC that won''t leave Hotaru alone until she gives a correct answer to her riddle. She cries for help and meets Sanjuro, who offers to help her on the event. This leads the pair to a new area where they encounter a group of Player Killers which Sanjuro dispatches easily. Hotaru, Sanjuro and two players they saved are treated to a magical firefly display where Hotaru solves her riddle and the fairy NPC flies off to join in the display. Sanjuro and Hotaru exchange member addresses before Sanjuro heads off, wishing that Hotaru''s future adventures will be "one of a kind". fr:.hack//AI buster 2

.hack//AI buster 2

The events in the story occur a day after the events of the first book. It introduces us to Ando Mitsuo who is assigned to do the autopsy of Ryuji. He and his colleague, Miyashita, find a benign tumor in Ryuji''s throat which is believed to be his cause of death. They are puzzled because the tumor they found appeared much like a tumor with smallpox, which was eradicated 30 years prior to the story. Ando, with his colleague, Miyashita, find out that an organism called "Ring Virus" caused this tumor. The virus is transferred to the body via the tape and begins to grow a tumor in the viewer''s throat. When the charm is not performed, the tumor grows to block the airways and kills the person. To stop this, the tape must be copied and shown to another person. They also found a cryptic message inside his stomach with the word RING and a series of other cryptic messages. This discovery further perplexes Ando. In search for the message''s meaning he came to meet Ryuji''s assistant and lover, Mai Takano. Mai seems to know something about the videotape and tells Ando the curse, but does not know how Ryuji died. As a scientist, Ando laughed at Mai''s explanation. He also went to talk to Kazuyuki, but found that he and his family were involved in a car accident. It is discovered that Kazuyuki''s wife and child were dead before the crash. Kazuyuki is in critical condition and unable to talk, and at the accident''s site lies a crushed videotape. When Mai was suddenly lost which further motivates Ando to investigate until he stumbles upon Kazuyuki''s files with the title THE RING. He is uncertain because it contains supernatural events and contradicts scientific explanations. After reading the report, Ando and Miyashita visited the well where Sadako died. They discovered that the virus has mutated and now uses the report as a medium. Ando also found out that Kazuyuki''s older brother, Junichiro Asakawa is planning to publish his brother''s report as his own horror novel. Days after Mai''s disappearance, he met a beautiful woman named Masako who introduced herself as Mai''s older sister. He fell in love with her. They made love one night. The day after that he discovers Masako and Sadako are one and the same. Later he receives a parchment from Sadako/Masako explaining how Mai Takano gave birth to her as well as warning Ando not to interfere with the publication of Kazuyuki''s files, which now contain the deadly virus. In exchange for his co-operation, Sadako offered to resurrect Ando''s son, whose death through drowning two years previously cast a shadow over his life. Ando realized that Ryuji was the master-mind behind the resurrection of Sadako as he lured Mai Takano into watching the video tape, as well as giving out clues to Ando, hoping he would discover the Ring Report and therefore distribute the virus. Ryuji is then brought back to life by Sadako. The epilogue shows Ando playing with his son on the beach, planning to reintroduce him to his wife. Unlike the first book where the focus was mainly on the supernatural and revealing more about the past of the origins of the virus, here we see the virus less as a supernatural event and more as a scientifically explainable one.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Fathers and Sons

By Ivan Turgenev

Hercule Poirot's Christmas

By Agatha Christie

Song for the Basilisk

By Patricia A. McKillip

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Imperium

No Author Listed

Across Five Aprils

By Irene Hunt

Magic's Pawn

By Mercedes Lackey

The Nightrunner Series and The Tamír Triad

No Author Listed

Chinese Cinderella

By Adeline Yen Mah

Angle of Repose

By Wallace Stegner

.hack//AI buster 2

No Author Listed

Spiral

By Koji Suzuki