A Lick of Frost begins one month after the events of Mistral''s Kiss. The opening chapters show Merry and her guards Rhys, Galen, Doyle, Frost, and Abeloec in a conference room, being questioned about the charges of rape against Rhys, Galen, and Abeloec. King Taranis has brought the charges on behalf of the woman allegedly raped by the aforementioned fey. The meeting ends badly, with Taranis losing what little control he had on his sanity, and one of the officers of Taranis'' guard, Sir Hugh, telling Merry that he is going to force a vote among the nobles of the Seelie court to choose a new king, and he wants Merry to take Taranis'' place. When Merry and her guards get home after taking a trip to the hospital (as Doyle and Abe got badly hurt from Taranis'' attack), they call Aunt Andais to tell her of all that has happened- specifically the offer to rule the Seelie Court. Andais believes Merry already agreed to rule and abuses one of her guards (Crystall) in a sadistic rage. Eventually, Merry and her men convince Andais otherwise, but she still continues to abuse the guard in reaction to many of them leaving to join Merry. The series of mirror-calls end, and Merry finalises the coming together of her, Ash, and Holly for later that night. Night comes and Holly and Ash arrive, along with all of the Red Caps in tow. Jonty, a Red Cap that helped Merry fight in Mistral''s Kiss, sheds a tear as Merry tells him she would bring the Red Caps into their power. She catches the tear on her finger and consumes it. This brings on the remaking of Maeve Reed''s house into a sithen. Those of faerie who stand in that room with no faerie dog to keep them grounded, crumple to the floor. Some of the crumpled men are revived by one of the dogs, but Frost stays down. The creation of the sithen (faerie land) allows the ring of fertility on her finger to flare to life and Merry realises that she is pregnant with twins. Each twin has three fathers like in the story of Ceridwen. A phantom image of Merry''s children appear by their respective fathers, Rhys, Frost, Galen, Doyle, Mistral, and Sholto. There is also a dimmer phantom image of a 3rd child (that has the potential to be born after the twins). Frost turns out to be the sacrificial king for the creation of the new sithen. Merry prays for him not to die, and he turns into a white stag and runs off. Merry runs to one of the gardens of her sithen to be alone and grieve the loss of Frost. While out there, Taranis (using illusion to appear as one of her guards) knocks her out and takes her to his bedroom back at the Seelie Court. It is assumed that he rapes her, and then believes he fathers her children. Hugh, some others at the Seelie Court, and Doyle (in dog form) sneak her out of the bedroom and into a press conference where she tells the press that Taranis made the Seelie woman (Lady Catarin) believe that it was Rhys, Galen, and Abe who raped her. However, it was all just an illusion of Taranis'' making and the woman was in fact raped by other Seelie nobles working with him. Merry also tells them that she is pregnant, and that Taranis kidnapped and raped her. The book ends with Merry in an ambulance with Doyle, continuing to mourn Frost and her current situation. She is on her way to the hospital to treat the concussion she received from Taranis and to take a rape test.

A Lick of Frost

Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he''ll be selected as apprentice to a dragoneye. Dragoneyes are the human links to the twelve dragons of good fortune, who provide energy to the earth. However, circumstance does not favour Eon; he is a cripple and despised by the trainers and other candidates for the ceremony. They believe his disability embodies bad luck and try to distance themselves, all except a boy named Dillon who is also bullied for his small size. Eon''s master, Heuris Brannon, places all his hope and dwindling wealth into his pupil, who is able to see all twelve dragons in minds'' sight. This feat is almost unheard of and they pray that the ascending dragon this cycle, who is the keeper of ambition, will be drawn by the enormous power demonstrated. However, Eon has a dark secret unbeknownst to all but himself and his master; he is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a lie in order for the chance to become a Dragoneye. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic; this is due to common belief that the female eye, so practised in looking at itself, cannot see other things in life with true clarity. If discovered, ''Eon'' faces a terrible death. The choosing day comes all too quickly and the corrupted Rat Dragoneye, Lord Ido, has seized dominance over the council. He revokes the current practise of ceremonial performances and instead brings back the combat of old. The bloodthirsty crowds approve, but this just adds to the mounting misfortune Eona has to bear. Not only is she given the unlucky number of death, 4, but she has to face off with the one trainer of the two that bears a grudge against her. Against the odds, the Rat Dragon chooses her friend Dillon, the smallest of the bunch. Here, it appears as though the protagonist has failed and her master''s wealth is all lost; however, as the remaining candidates proceed to the arena to bow to the Emperor, the Mirror Dragon, which has been lost for five hundred years, returns. It chooses Eona, who becomes a Lord due to the absence of a current Mirror Dragoneye. Much to the fury of Lord Ido, all the dragons bow to the Mirror Dragon, including his. This is impossible because his is the ascendant dragon, but the message is clear; the Mirror Dragon, the Keeper of Truth, holds power over all other dragons. To discourage those who oppose him, Ido poisons Heuris Brannon, Eona''s appointed proxy. Meanwhile, the country grows increasingly restless. A battle is about the break out between the Emperor and one of his brothers, High Lord Sethon, who wishes to make a claim for the throne. Lord Ido has allied himself with Sethon and as the Emperor ages, it is clear that the empire will soon be under civil war. The Emperor and his heir, Prince Kygo, attempt to use the return of the Mirror Dragon as a good omen for their reign. This throws Eona into the midst of their struggle for power. She panics, without knowledge as for who to trust except her close friend Lady Dela (born a man but who is a woman in spirit) and Dela''s bodyguard, the islander Ryko. Tension mounts and soon the battle begins. Eona finds herself in trouble; Ido discovers her true gender and her dragon fades and then disappears altogether. When talking to Dillon she realises that she does not have her dragon''s name and thus cannot communicate properly. She consults the palace professor/librarian, who cannot find the red folio of the Mirror Dragon. Eona suspects Lord Ido and realises he has masterminded his own plan, killing all other Dragoneyes and apprentices in a bid for more power. In his library she meets an almost insane Dillon who finds both the red folio and another black folio, detailing how it is possible to create a ''String of Pearls'', with 2 Dragoneyes harnessing the power of the normal 12. She puts the pieces together and is horrified to find that Ido wishes for the two of them to be the only two left alive. However, Dillon takes off with the black folio as Eona saves Ryko from the pain a dragon-powered hallucination. Prince Kygo flees and his baby brother, the Emperor''s only other heir, is killed by Sethon. In desperation the wounded Dela, limping Eona and injured Ryko try to escape but Ido orders his men to find them. Dela continues decoding the red folio, which is written in Women''s Script, for Eona''s dragon''s name. As the warfare escalates and all seems to be lost in this final confrontation, Dela screams out that the dragon''s name is her name; Eona. She summons her dragon, the Queen of the Heavens, and they are united at last, with Eona''s crippled leg healing in the process. Together the Dragon and the Dragoneye force compassion upon Ido and the trio make their escape to the river.

The Two Pearls of Wisdom

Matthew Fuller, a research assistant at MIT, accidentally invents a time machine while attempting to construct a calibrator to measure the relationships between gravity and light. Unfortunately, it will only travel forward, to the future, in ever-increasing intervals of 12x. On the fifth jump, which sends him forward a few months, he gets arrested for the perceived murder of a drug dealer who actually had a heart attack when he witnessed Matt disappear in his time machine. He is shortly bailed out by someone who can only be from the future and is left a note urging him to depart in the time machine quickly. He continues forward in time 15 years and upon re-materializing finds that Professor Marsh, his tutor, has taken credit for the time travel invention and subsequently won the Nobel Prize. Finding no place in this new time, Matt jumps once again into the future and finds himself in a 23rd century theocracy. Upon arriving, Matt meets a woman named Martha who is assigned to be his servant in the future MIT. This theocracy is dominated by religious fervour and. Matt is discovered as being uncircumcised (something that is mandatory in this new and strictly Christian-like society - and ironically, Matt who is an assimilated Jew did not undergo it). He must flee with into the future once again, accompanied by the loyal Martha. Matt and Martha arrive several thousand years in the future, just outside of California, in a society where all of humanity is wealthy and satisfied to a point of complete apathy. It is here that they encounter an artificial intelligence that controls Los Angeles, called La. La is curious about her own mortality, and having learned about Matt’s time machine from historical records, wishes to join him on a journey to the end of time (heat death of the universe) to discover if she can die. At this point, Matt and Martha begin to receive subliminal messages from a being referring to itself as Jesus, but appearing as an alien being. He warns them of La’s willingness to sacrifice their lives in pursuit of her goal, and advises them to stall for time to allow Jesus and his group to catch up. Matt and Martha, accompanied by La in a spacecraft, begin to travel further and further into the future, discovering radically altered futures and entirely new species of intelligent life, including androgynous evolutions of humanity and a race of intelligent bears. After a confrontation where they narrowly avoid being killed by La, they eventually they reach a time when they meet the people who have been sending them subliminal messages, and these beings send Matt and Martha back in time, while allowing La to continue jumping forward in time. The beings can specify either the exact time or the exact location to which Matt and Martha will be sent, but not both. Worried about the couple materializing in the middle of the ocean or inside of a mountain, they opt to be specific about location and send them to MIT. When they arrive, they find that it is the late 19th century and the main MIT campus has not yet been built. Having no other option, they live in this society, where Matt studies and teaches physics, aided significantly by his advanced knowledge both of physics and historical events. Matt and Marta have several children, and the end of the book reveals that Professor Marsh (Matt''s MIT professor in the mid-21st century) is actually Matt''s own grandchild.

The Accidental Time Machine

The novel begins with Suttree observing police as they pull a suicide from the river. Suttree is living alone in a houseboat, on the fringes of society on the Tennessee River, earning money by fishing for the occasional catfish. He has left a life of luxury, rejecting his father and family, and abandoning his wife and son. A large cast of characters, largely misfits and grotesques, is introduced, one of which is Gene Harrogate, whom Suttree meets in a work camp. Harrogate was sent to the work camp for having sex with a farmer''s watermelons. (Harrogate is referred to as the "moonlight melonmounter.") Suttree attempts to help Harrogate once he is released from the work camp, but this task proves to be in vain as Harrogate sets off on a series of misadventures, including using poisoned meat and a slingshot to kill bats ("flitter-mice" as Harrogate calls them) to earn a bounty on them, and using dynamite to attempt to tunnel underneath the city. Other prominent characters are prostitutes, hermits, and an aged Geechee witch. His relationships with women all come to bad ends. One prostitute-girlfriend terminates the relationship in a moment of madness, smashing up the inside of their new car. The other woman with whom he becomes involved is killed by a landslide on the river bank. Suttree is also married before the book begins with a woman he apparently met during college. He left his wife with a son, who dies early on in the book. Towards the novel''s end, Suttree falls ill with typhoid fever and suffers a lengthy hallucination. This occurs after a black friend of Suttree''s is killed in a fight with the police and his other friend Harrogate is arrested for robbing a store, so Suttree decides to leave town. In the end, he feels his identity is reaffirmed, and he leaves Knoxville, possibly for good.

Suttree

Luna follows the life of sixteen year old Regan as she keeps the secret of her older brother Liam''s transgender identity. During the day, Liam is an average senior student with a job making, programming and fixing computers alongside his best friend Aly. But at night, Liam ''transforms'' into Lia Marie, a girl. Later, he changes his female name to Luna, which means "moon", to reflect that his true identity could only be seen at night. After years of ‘transforming’ only at night, Liam confides in his sister that he wants to transition into a real female. Liam asks Regan to help him with his transitioning and, although she agrees, she finds herself worried about Liam and his safety. The novel follows Regan as she makes sense of her bother’s decision, replaying memories of moments where Liam ‘let Luna out’ and fearing the worst for Liam’s transitioning. Other problems arise for Regan as she is attending high school. She spends most of her life avoiding other students, in fear of letting the secret slip. But a new boy at school, Chris, becomes interested in her. Although Regan enjoys attention from Chris, she draws away from him, choosing to stay focused on Luna. As Luna is coming out more, her father starts to notice differences in his son and tries to push a more masculine role onto Liam. Regan’s father confides in her that he believes Liam is homosexual. Meanwhile, their mother remains oblivious to the rising tension in the household. Consumed by the workload of her wedding planning business, the mother is constantly out of the house and distant from her family. Despite the tensions and the negativity weighing on her choice, Luna fights for her right to be the person she feels that she was meant to be. Alongside her, Regan learns to stand her ground, to think more of herself, and discovers the person she wants to be.

Luna

The novel centers on a wealthy white family group living in New Rochelle, New York, simply called "Father," "Mother," "Mother''s Younger Brother," and "Grandfather." Their young son is not named at all. The family business is the manufacture of flags and fireworks, evidently an easy source of wealth due to the national enthusiasm for patriotic displays. Father joins the first expedition to the North Pole, and his return sees a change in the sexual politics of his relationship with his wife. Younger Brother is an insecure, unhappy character who chases after love and excitement. Into this secure setup comes first an abandoned black child, then her severely depressed mother Sarah. Coalhouse Walker, apparently the child''s father, visits regularly until he wins back Sarah''s affections. A professional musician, well dressed and well spoken, gains the family''s respect and overcomes their racial prejudice initially by his skill playing ragtime music on their badly-tuned piano. Things go well until he is humiliated by a racist fire chief, and his inflexible pride brings him to seek restitution, violent revenge eventually, rather than pursue the course of love and happiness. Mother unofficially adopts the neglected child after Sarah dies as result of police brutality. Younger Brother becomes drawn into the escalating conflict, as a protagonist, and so does Father as a mediator. In the slums of New York city, unhappy Jewish single father Tateh struggles to support himself and his daughter, Little Girl. The girl''s beauty attracts the attention of rich socialite Evelyn Nesbit, who provides support but ultimately drives him to take his daughter away from the city. He appears later in the story, having progressed from the unprofitable business of cutting paper silhouettes on the street, becoming a wealthy pioneer of the moving picture industry. By the end of the novel, surviving members of the three family groups have merged into one in an allegorical representation of the American melting pot, leaving Father financially successful but abandoned and unhappy.

Ragtime

The narrative is presented as the author''s compilation of various histories of Bellarion''s life, in particular that of one Fra Serafino of Imola. Bellarion, abandoned as a child and raised in an abbey, departs as a young man with a letter of introduction from the respected abbot, intending to study in Pavia. He meets and travels with a Franciscan friar, but discovers that someone has robbed him of his money and letter. Upon arriving in Casale, the capital of Montferrat, he finds himself pursued by the authorities, who suspect him of complicity with the false friar, actually a well-known scoundrel named Lorenzaccio da Trino. He flees until he reaches a palace and enters by a garden door which he is surprised to find unlocked. A beautiful lady admits him, bolts the door, and takes pains to hide him from his pursuers. They arrive, and Bellarion listens to her rebuff them, discovering that she is the Princess Valeria of Montferrat. When the Guard depart, Valeria quizzes Bellarion, mistaking him for a messenger she had been expecting, asking after Giufreddo and Lord Barbaresco. He corrects her misapprehension, but, sensing an intrigue and anxious to impress her, offers in return for her kindness to carry a message to Lord Barbaresco. She distrusts him, but charges him simply to ask what has become of Giufreddo, who Bellarion assumes is the previous messenger, and how Barbaresco''s plan is progressing. He discovers that Barbaresco and a group of friends, including Valeria''s trusted confidante Enzo Spigno, are plotting the murder of Theodore, Valeria''s uncle, who is serving Regent of Montferrat until Valeria''s brother, the rightful Marquis, reaches majority. Theodore is plotting to keep the throne for himself, and is doing so by corrupting his nephew and rendering him unable to rule. Bellarion continues to investigate the matter, despite Valeria''s wishing that he would leave her alone; he discovers that Spigno is a traitor to the group and is in the employ of Theodore, and consequently stabs him. As he escapes, the Guard captures him, and its captain recognizes him as the same companion of da Trino who had escaped a week before. He goes before the local high court, over which the Podestà presides, for the murder of Spigno. He tells the court that Spigno was murdered in a fight in the house at which Bellarion was not present, and claims to be the adoptive son of Facino Cane, a condottiere in Milan, as a delaying tactic. The Podestà holds the case for the time being, intending to contact Facino to verify whether Bellarion is truly his adoptive son; meanwhile, Theodore enters his prison cell, believing that he was a traitor to Valeria and loyal to himself, and affords him means to escape, unaware that he did in fact murder Spigno. Bellarion travels thence to Milan. Upon nearing Milan, he is attacked by dogs commanded by Gian Maria Visconti, the despotic and cruel Duke of Milan and the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. He kills one, becoming soaked in dog''s blood, and the rest become pacified, unwilling to attack someone who smells like one of them. Gian Maria believes this is some manner of witchcraft and takes Bellarion to Milan to interrogate him, whereupon Facino Cane, who has heard that his supposed adoptive son has arrived, takes possession of him. Bellarion explains his past to Facino, who thinks it highly amusing, and shortly sets about formalizing the adoption. The story continues to follow the career of Bellarion, who becomes a true and loyal son to Facino Cane, then pledges loyalty to Cane''s widow after Facino dies. There are numerous twists and turns to the plot as Bellarion rises in rank to become an important mercenary captain. He serves Valeria in many ways, and that story takes over the plot.

Bellarion the Fortunate

Going Home was divided into three sections. "Sudden Moves" and "Fall and the River" were collected in the Going Home "phonebook" collection, and "Form & Void" was collected as Form & Void. (Cerebus #232–239) Cerebus and Jaka are together and deeply in love. On their way to Cerebus'' childhood home of Sand Hills Creek they stop at taverns along the way. Jaka''s aristocratic status has afforded them protectionCirinists (including a caricature of Janet Reno) move along to the taverns ahead of the couple to ensure that they have a wonderful time wherever they go. They go shopping for Jaka''s outfits each morning and move on by afternoon, never spending more than a day at any location. The come across pubs run by caricatures of personalities in the comics world such as Greg Hyland, Rick Veitch and Alan Moore. Jaka insists on seeing shopping and seeing the important sites along the way, and Cerebus gets worried as Sand Hills Creek lies on the other side of the Conniptin mountainsthey could get caught in the first snowfall and get snowed in. (Cerebus #240–250) Cerebus and Jaka take a riverboat ride, and onboard come across F. Stop Kennedy, a caricature of F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Cerebus #251–265) Cerebus and Jaka find a hunting lodge in which to spend the winter. They are surprised to find out that the famous writer Hamilton Earnestway (a parody of Ernest Hemingway) and his wife, Mary, are lodging there as well. Cerebus, a fan of Earnestway''s, is unabashedly starstruck. Earnestway, however, is in his twilight years, and stricken with depression and writer''s block. Cerebus is initially oblivious to Ham''s state, but can''t help noticing how down and quiet he has become. He is dominated by his boisterous wife. Her speech balloons dramatic, while his are shaky and small.

Going Home

An unnamed narrator listens to a male friend reading a manuscript written by a former governess whom the friend claims to have known and who is now dead. The manuscript tells the story of how the young governess is hired by a man who has become responsible for his young nephew and niece after the death of their parents. He lives mainly in London and is not interested in raising the children himself. The boy, Miles, is attending a boarding school, while his younger sister, Flora, is living at a country estate in Essex. She is currently being cared for by the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose. The governess''s new employer, the uncle of Miles and Flora, gives her full charge of the children and explicitly states that she is not to bother him with communications of any sort. The governess travels to her new employer''s country house and begins her duties. Miles soon returns from school for the summer just after a letter arrives from the headmaster stating that he has been expelled. Miles never speaks of the matter, and the governess is hesitant to raise the issue. She fears that there is some horrid secret behind the expulsion, but is too charmed by the adorable young boy to want to press the issue. Soon thereafter, the governess begins to see around the grounds of the estate the figures of a man and woman whom she does not recognize. These figures come and go at will without ever being seen or challenged by other members of the household, and they seem to the governess to be supernatural. She learns from Mrs. Grose that her predecessor, Miss Jessel, and another employee, Peter Quint, had a sexual relationship with each other and have both died. It is also implied that Quint sexually molested Miles and the other members of the household. Prior to their deaths, they spent much of their time with Flora and Miles, and this fact has grim significance for the governess when she becomes convinced that the two children are secretly aware of the presence of the ghosts. Later, Flora leaves the house while Miles plays music for the governess. They notice Flora''s absence and go to look for her. The governess and Mrs. Grose find her in a clearing in the wood, and the governess is convinced that she has been talking to Miss Jessel. When she finally confronts Flora, Flora denies seeing Miss Jessel, and demands never to see the governess again. Mrs. Grose takes Flora away to her uncle, leaving the governess with Miles. That night, they are finally talking of Miles'' expulsion when the ghost of Quint appears to the governess at the window. The governess shields Miles, who attempts to see the ghost. The governess tells him that he is no longer controlled by the ghost, and then finds that Miles has died in her arms.

The Turn of the Screw

The first section, titled "Spring" and told in first person, chronicles the entanglement of Columbia University student Adam Walker with French political science professor Rudolf Born, who meet in New York City in the spring of 1967 and who form an alliance to publish a literary magazine. Their friendship splinters as a result of a tense love triangle with Born''s girlfriend Margot and as a result of a late night mugging that ends in violence. The second section, "Summer" describes the events in Adam''s life later that summer in New York sharing an apartment with his older sister, Gwyn. This section of the story is told in second person. Adam''s story of the summer of 1967 is also framed by his having sent his manuscript, written in 2007, to a new character, James, who we are told is a famous author. In the framing story, James tells us how he receives the manuscript from a dying Adam and they arrange to meet. In the third section, "Fall" we learn that Adam, in 2007, has died before he and James could meet, and has completed only notes of the third and final section of his memoir of 1967. James fleshes out the notes Adam has left in a third person account. "Fall" tells the story of Adam''s trip to Paris, where he encounters Born and Margot, as well as other friends of Born''s, a woman named Hélène and her daughter Cécile. Adam inserts himself into the lives of these women and contrives a scheme to atone for guilt he carries stemming from his actions following the mugging in New York. At the close of this section James contacts Gwyn, and it is revealed that James has changed every name and setting in the book in order to protect the identity of the author, "Adam." The final section takes place in 2007. James has been told by Gwyn that the major events of the second section of the book are entirely made-up, and James wonders whether any of the purported memoir is true. In searching for corroboration, James tracks down Cécile, now a distinguished literary scholar. She concludes the story by describing in her diary how she, in 2007, has a final strange contact with Rudolf Born, at his remote island home in the Caribbean.

Invisible

The themes of the book are nostalgia, the folly of trying to go back and recapture past glories and the easy way the dreams and aspirations of one''s youth can be smothered by the humdrum routine of work, marriage and getting old. It is written in the first person, with George Bowling, the forty-five-year-old protagonist, who reveals his life and experiences while undertaking a trip back to his boyhood home as an adult. At the opening of the book, Bowling has a day off work to go to London to collect a new set of false teeth. A news-poster about the contemporary King Zog of Albania sets off thoughts of a biblical character Og, King of Bashan that he recalls from Sunday church as a child. Along with ''some sound in the traffic or the smell of horse dung or something'' these thoughts trigger Bowling''s memory of his childhood as the son of an unambitious seed merchant in "Lower Binfield" near the River Thames. Bowling relates his life history, dwelling on how a lucky break during the First World War landed him in a comfortable job away from any action and provided contacts that helped him become a successful salesman. Bowling is wondering what to do with a small sum of money that he has won on a horserace and which he has concealed from his wife and family. He and his wife attend a Left Book Club meeting where he is horrified by the hate shown by the anti-fascist speaker, and bemused by the Marxist ramblings of the communists who have attended the meeting. Fed up with this, he seeks his friend Old Porteous, the retired schoolmaster. He usually finds Porteous entertaining, but on this occasion his dry dead classics makes Bowling even more depressed. Bowling decides to use the money on a ''trip down memory lane'', to revisit the places of his childhood. He recalls a particular pond with huge fish in it which he had missed the chance to try and catch thirty years previously. He therefore plans to return to Lower Binfield but when he arrives, he finds the place unrecognisable. Eventually he locates the old pub where he is to stay, finding it much changed. His home has become a tea shop. Only the church and vicar appear the same but he has a shock when he discovers an old girlfriend, for in his eyes she has been so ravaged by time that she is almost unrecognizable and is utterly devoid of the qualities he once adored. She fails to recognize him at all. Bowling remembers the slow and painful decline of his father''s seed business—resulting from the nearby establishment of corporate competition. This painful memory seems to have sensitized him to - and given him a repugnance for - what he sees as the marching ravages of "Progress". The final disappointment is to find that the estate where he used to fish has been built over, and the secluded and once hidden pond that contained the huge Carp he always intended to take on with his fishing rod, but never got around to, has become a rubbish dump. The social and material changes experienced by Bowling since childhood make his past seem distant. The concept of "you can''t go home again" hangs heavily over Bowling''s journey, as he realizes that many of his old haunts are gone or considerably changed from his younger years. Throughout the adventure he receives reminders of impending war, and the threat of bombs becomes real when one lands accidentally on the town.

Coming Up for Air

The book is told from no less than 11 points of view, respectively Zoey, Stevie Rae, Rephaim, Kalona, Stark, Aurox, Neferet, Shaunee, Lenobia, Dragon, and Erik. In the prologue, Zoey is seen with Stark. She notices Darkness on him and commands Spirit to send the Darkness away. Zoey is unsure about the death of her mother. Meanwhile, Aurox kills a human person. The white bull comes and tells Aurox and Neferet that he can create chaos. Neferet plans to use Aurox to kill and the white bull and rule the world as the Goddess of Vampyres. Zoey and her friends return to school where she blindsides Neferet by initiating a Skype meeting with Duantia, the leader of the High Council. She gives her version of the events in Awakened and puts Neferet in the uncomfortable position of having to accept Rephaim at the House of Night. Next, she asks for a second House of Night under the Tulsa depot, but although Stevie Rae is accepted as the High Priestess of all the red fledglings by the Council, Duantia doesn''t give a full answer regarding the request. In the garden, Rephaim is visited by three of his Raven Mocker brothers, sent to him by Kalona to use his supposed misery and consequent bitterness to spy for him and even turn to Darkness. They are stunned to see him in his human form. Their meeting is interrupted by Aurox who kills one of them and proceeds to attack Rephaim. He is stopped by Stevie Rae, but not before she, Rephaim and Zoey see him half-shift into a bull. Neferet appears and diffuses the conflict, calling Aurox her gift from the Goddess. Erik hears the commotion, but he falls under the Tracker compulsion before he can actually intervene. He finds Shaylin, a blind girl, and she makes him stumble over the traditional lines, so that when he finally marks her and she reveals a red Mark he blames himself. Shaylin recovers her eyesight and gains her first gift, the very rare True Sight, which allows a person to ''see'' others in colors. Confused, Erik decides to take her to Stevie Rae. At the school, Zoey receives a visit from her grandmother, who confirms Linda''s death and leaves for a seven-day period of mourning. Zoey runs off to mourn and Aurox finds her. He offers her a Kleenex, just like Heath used to. At the bus, Erik presents them with the girl. Neferet appears and Shaylin pretends to faint, later telling them she had the general color of dead fish eyes. The next day at school, Rephaim feels the call of his father and calls Zoey to stand witness to the meeting. Kalona appears on the wall and offers them a truce against Neferet, which Zoey reluctantly accepts. As the discussion takes place during her first class, with Neferet, she skips it altogether. When she returns to the school building for her second period she finds out that the Council has sent Thanatos, a vampyre Priestess with an affinity for Death, to report on the situation at the House of Night, much to Neferet''s displeasure. As Thanatos too can see the threads of Darkness, Zoey finds her sympathetic and eventually reveals her concerns about Neferet and her mother''s death. Thanatos offers to perform a reveal ritual at the place of Linda''s death on the fifth day of mourning. Back at the depot, Zoey and her friends sit down to discuss the events. Rephaim finds unexpected support in Shaunee, who empathizes with him because of her father, but this leads to a break between the Twins, as Erin doesn''t understand why Shaunee feels so strongly about this. Two more prophecies, one from Kramisha and one from Aphrodite, warn of Rephaim''s death at the reveal ritual, probably at the hand of Dragon, so Thanatos asks him to remain at the House of Night, which he doesn''t obey. While wondering in the tunnels, Shaunee spots Kalona, waiting for his son. Shaunee gives him her iPhone so that he can contact him until she can get him another phone. Neferet finds out about the reveal ritual and sends Aurox to intervene. During the ritual, he charges out in his bull form but is stopped by Dragon, who sacrifices himself to save Rephaim. The ritual continues anyway; Zoey and her grandmother discover the real circumstances of Linda''s murder. Dragon''s death is what closes up the ritual, but Rephaim is seriously injured as well. Kalona arrives on the scene - having been called by Stevie Rae - and he expresses regret, asking Nyx not to kill Rephaim for his own mistakes. The request is granted, Rephaim regains consciousness. Thanatos then proceeds to Dragon and guides him to the Otherworld. A gateway is opened and everybody can see him happily reunited with Anastasia. Thanatos decides to become the new High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night. Much to everybody''s surprise, Kalona pledges himself as Thanatos''s Warrior. As they leave the scene, Zoey and her friends see a vision of Nyx, who reminds them that the fight will continue.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

A Lick of Frost

By Laurell K. Hamilton

The Two Pearls of Wisdom

By Alison Goodman

The Accidental Time Machine

By Joe Haldeman

Suttree

By Cormac McCarthy

Luna

By Julie Anne Peters

Ragtime

By E. L. Doctorow

Bellarion the Fortunate

By Rafael Sabatini

Going Home

No Author Listed

The Turn of the Screw

By Henry James

Invisible

By Paul Auster

Coming Up for Air

By George Orwell

Destined

By Kristin Cast