Seventy-three-year-old Admiral William Riker is a bitter, lonely man in a slow downward spiral following the death forty years earlier of Deanna Troi, who died of undetermined causes during a peacekeeping conference with an enemy race, the Sindareen. Riker, now the commander of an unimportant starbase, is summoned to Betazed as Deanna''s mother, Lwaxana Troi, lies dying. While going through Lwaxana''s possessions after her death, Riker is reminded of how he and Deanna originally met and began their relationship on Betazed. In a lengthy flashback, it is revealed that Will and Deanna met when Will was stationed on Betazed between assignments, and while there attended a wedding at which Deanna was maid of honor. Will was instantly attracted to her and began to pursue her, though she initially rebuffed his advances, feeling that he was only interested in her physical attributes, and that he preferred quick, thrilling encounters over meaningful emotional intimacy. Over a series of meetings, however, they began to grow closer, as Will encouraged Deanna to embrace impulsive feelings and Deanna encouraged Will to explore his more spiritual side. While visiting her favorite museum, Deanna was kidnapped by a Sindareen raiding party, and Riker''s Starfleet security force shot down their small craft in the jungle. Riker tracked them down and killed the only surviving captor, leaving Deanna and him alone together. In the jungle, they consummated their relationship, and Deanna told Will for the first time that they are "Imzadi." However, after their return from the jungle, Lwaxana''s violent objections to their relationship and Deanna''s seeming compliance led Riker to drunkenly fall into bed with another woman. Deanna discovered them together when she appeared at his living quarters, having planned to tell him she had decided to defy her mother''s wishes. Deanna and Will decided not to pursue a relationship and Riker left the planet shortly thereafter, not to meet Deanna again until they were both assigned to the Enterprise-D. In the future timeline, Commodore Data, now in command of the Enterprise-F, tells Riker that scientists studying the Guardian of Forever have discovered that Deanna''s death was a focal point in time, causing the creation of a parallel timeline; his intention is to comfort Riker with the idea that Deanna lives on in another universe. Struck with a new suspicion, Admiral Riker has an autopsy performed on Deanna''s corpse and discovers that she had been murdered via a poison that did not exist at the time she died. Deducing that someone had gone back in time to murder her and deliberately alter the timeline, Admiral Riker travels to the Guardian of Forever and goes back to the time of the Sindareen peace conference on the Enterprise-D, a short while before Deanna''s death. He gives Commander Riker the antidote to the poison, and Riker administers it to Deanna. Her death is thus prevented, but Admiral Riker does not immediately return to his timeline, indicating that the danger to her is not yet past. Commodore Data has also pursued Admiral Riker through the Guardian, feeling it is his duty to preserve the timeline by any means. He disables Commander Data and impersonates him, taking Deanna away from the peace conference with the intention of killing her. Admiral Riker realizes Data may try this, so he locates Commander Data and with him confronts Commodore Data, and they fight. As the peace conference attendees look on, Deanna finally becomes familiar enough with the representatives from the Sindareen (a race difficult to read empathically without sufficient exposure) to determine that they are deceiving everyone, and have no real peaceful intentions; the peace conference is only an attempt to stall for time so that their race can become more powerful. One of the Sindareen delegates is actually from the future, and had decided to go back in time and kill Deanna to prevent this discovery. When Deanna announces that the Sindareen are behaving duplicitously, everyone from the future returns to the proper timeline, and the Guardian of Forever intones that "All is as it was." Data is chagrined that no one thought to ask whether Admiral Riker was correct about the timeline being altered. Now that the timeline has been restored, Admiral Riker has no way of knowing what awaits him in the restored future, but it is implied that his Imzadi is alive and waiting for him.

Imzadi

The book begins with a frame story which recounts a train journey from Kanpur to Delhi. During the journey, the narrating author meets a beautiful girl. The girl offers to tell the author a story on the condition that he has to make it his second book. After a lot of hesitation, the author agrees. The story within the story, which comprises the bulk of the book, relates the events that happen one night at a call center. Told through the eyes of the protagonist, Shyam, it is a story of almost lost love, thwarted ambitions, absence of family affection, pressures of a patriarchal set up, and the work environment of a globalized office. Shyam loves but has lost Priyanka, who is now planning an arranged marriage with another; Vroom loves Esha. Esha wants to be a model, Radhika is in an unhappy marriage with a demanding mother-in-law, and military uncle wants to talk to his grandson; they all hate Bakshi, their cruel boss. Claimed to be based on a true story, the author chooses Shyam Mehra (alias Sam Marcy) as the narrator and protagonist, who is one among the six call center employees featured.

One Night @ the Call Center

Near their residence, Branksome, is The Cloomber Hall, for many years untenanted. After a little while it is settled in by John Berthier Heatherstone, late of the Indian Army. General Heatherstone is nervous to the point of being paranoid. As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that his fears are connected with some people in India whom he has offended somehow. People hear a strange sound, like the tolling of a bell, in his presence, which seems to cause the general great discomfort. Every year his paranoia reaches its climax around the fifth of October, after which date his fears subside for a while. After some time there is a shipwreck in the bay and among the survivors are three Buddhist priests who had boarded the ship from Kurrachee. When John Fothergill West tells the general (to whose daughter Gabriel he is engaged) about the priests, he resigns himself to his fate and refuses any help from West. One night the three Buddhist priests summon General Heatherstone and Colonel Rufus Smith (who had been together with the general in India and apparently was under the same threat that was faced by the general) out of The Cloomber Hall. With their psychic powers, they have a complete hold over the two erstwhile soldiers. The priests take them through the marshes to the Hole of Cree, a bottomless pit in the centre of the marsh and either throw the soldiers in or order them to jump in. The General had given his son a parcel and instructed him to hand it over to West in case of his death or disappearance. When West opens the parcel he finds a letter and some old papers. In the letter the general tells West to read the papers, which are pages from a diary that the general had kept in his days in the army of the English East India Company. As West reads the papers he understands the mystery of Cloomber. When he was in the army forty years ago, during the First Afghan War, the general was fighting against the Afridis in the passes of the Hindu-Kush. After defeating the Afridis in a battle, he chases them to a cul de sac to slaughter them. As the general was closing in on the remnants of the enemy forces, an old man emerges from a cave and stops him from killing them. The general, together with Rufus Smith, kills the old man and proceeds with the massacre. As it turns out, the old man was an arch-adept, a buddhist priest who had reached the zenith of buddhist priesthood. His chelas (students) vow to avenge his death. The three chelas let the general live on for forty years to prolong his misery.The sound that appeared to emanate from above the general''s head was the tolling of the astral bell by the chelas to remind him that wherever he goes, he will never escape their wrath.

The Mystery of Cloomber

As in the Gulliverian prototype, the premise is a shipwreck with a solitary survivor, who finds himself in an unknown land, namely that of the Hins, which contains a minority group, namely the Behins. Accordingly, this work by a Hungarian writer relates not so much to Swift''s work, but more precisely to Brave New World by the British writer Aldous Huxley. As in that work, there coexist two dissimilar societies - of course separately -, one developed and the other backward. The Hins are a people who have solved all economic problems: Production and usage of goods is based on need instead of money, and the standard of living is impeccable. The Hins live without any kind of government or administrative body, as their belief is that such would only hinder production. They lead their lives according to the "pure reality of existence," which they call kazo. They experience no emotions, love, beauty or spiritual life. There are two different main interpretations of the author''s intentions: *Although the theme can be seen as a criticism of developed society, where highly progressive invention goes hand in hand with the loss of human feelings, Dezső Keresztury, the writer of the epilogue of the Hungarian edition stated that this is not what Szathmáry intended - he created the Hins as the ideal society that occupies itself with the "real" stuff of life instead of "unreal" phantasmagories such as nations, religion, and money, that, regardless of intentions, cause people considerable misery. *Another interpretation is that the author satires both human society and communist utopias – which, in his assessment, lead equally to such disastrous consequences as massacres. The protagonist, bored with the inhuman life of the Hins, chooses to live among the insane Behins, who reportedly conform better to his outlook on life. He hopes that in the Behins, living in a walled-off area, he will meet humans with human feelings, similar to himself. The Behins, however have a totally insane society, where living conditions are supported by the ruling Hins while they themselves are preoccupied with what to the protagonist seem to be senseless ceremonies and all too frequent violent brawls. The Behins deliberately arrange their lives in such a way as to turn reality and logic on their heads, while among the Hins everything is arranged according to reality. While living among them, the protagonist suffers hunger, extreme misery, and even danger of death. This part of the novel is in fact satire, with each insanity of the Behins translating to facets of the Western, Christian society of the protagonist such as war, religion, etiquette, art, and philosophy. To further emphasize the satire, the protagonist doesn''t see the obvious parallels between his homeland and the Behin world, but the writer outlines it by giving the same sentences into the mouths of a Behin leader and a British admiral, replacing only the Behin words on ideals and religion with their English counterparts. The Behins are indeed "real" humans, but as their symbols and customs differ from his own, the protagonist sees them as mere savage madmen.

Kazohinia

On their way towards the Great Ga''Hoole Tree, "The Band" (Soren, Gylfie, Twilight and Digger) and Mrs. Plithiver are mobbed by crows. The Band managed to fend off the crows but at the cost of Digger being injured. After landing in a tree for shelter, a neighbouring family of Masked Owls came to visit. Before leaving, the female Masked Owl became skeptical when she heard that "The Band" was on the way to find the Guardians of Gahoole. Later after their departure from the spruce tree, they stayed in a sycamore with a couple of Sooty Owls named Sweetums and Swatums who supported The Band in their quest to find Ga''Hoole. In the Beaks, a barren and desolate area, "The Band" ventured into a dark cave where they were attacked by a bobcat. Together, "The Band" managed to kill the bobcat and upon further investigation they found a dying Barred Owl. When they asked if St.Aggie''s had attacked him, his last words were, "Oh! You only wish!" After hearing this disturbing news, The Band continued on their quest. However, their progress would be dangerously hindered because of the Mirror Lakes. Their gleaming surfaces hypnotized The Band and made them content to stay and put off their quest. Eventually Mrs. Plithiver recognized the danger and stirred The Band into remembrance of their quest. When they left, they were blown off course straight into the Ice Narrows in the Northern Kingdoms where they were taken in by a family of puffins: the oddest creatures "The Band" had ever seen. Despite all difficulties, "The Band" were escorted to the Island of Hoole by the Snowy Owl monarchs of the tree, Boron and Barran. Upon their arrival to the Great Ga''Hoole Tree, a stuck-up Spotted Owl named Otulissa escorted "The Band" to their new hollow. They learned from her that they could not just go into a battle but that skills must be learned by becoming members of chaws: specialized groups of owls that dedicate themselves to a certain skill. Despite finding Ga''Hoole, "The Band" sought a meeting with the parliament because they felt that their knowledge of St. Aggie''s would be valuable to the Guardians. However, Boron informed "The Band" that they needed to wait a bit longer and that nobility wasn''t garnered instantly but through unwavering resolution and stalwartness. He also informed them that their journey had not ended when they arrived at the tree but it had only just begun and that they would begin their training the next day. During the day, Soren found Twilight thinking about leaving the Guardians because "The Band" would be broken up because they would be separated into chaws. Soren reassured Twilight that no matter what happened that they would always be a band. Upon hearing these words, Twilight decided to stay. As time passed, "The Band" learned many skills and became more accustomed to life at the tree. However, Soren was still haunted by the thought of his sister Eglantine and her well-being. Eventually, The Band were placed into their respective chaws; Soren was placed into the colliering and weather chaws. This was a disaster for Soren because of the Whiskered Screech Owl Ezylryb''s intimidating missing talon and because he was double chawed with Otulissa whose talkative attitude proved to be hard to bear. However, the blacksmith of the Great Ga''Hoole Tree, Bubo (a Great Horned Owl) was confident that Soren would be all that he could be because Ezylryb had recognized Soren''s potential. Later, "The Band" discovered that the roots under the parliament chamber were prone to transmitting any sound created in the chamber. This allowed them to discover that the Guardians were addressing the topic concerning the dead Barred Owl. They found out that he was a slipgizzle: an owl spy that worked for the Guardians. Eventually Soren''s fears and problems began to subside. Ezylryb proved to be much more than every owl in his weather chaw ever thought him to be. Soren was even able to help Mrs. Plithiver get a spot in the harp guild with Madame Plonke, the tree''s beloved snowy owl singer. Soren also managed to catch a burning coal in his beak and earned Ezylryb''s rare approval. Owlets of the Tyto species were found dropped all over babbling nonsense about owl purity. Digger and Twilight, who were part of the search and rescue chaw, found Eglantine who was one of the owlets dropped in the event that came to be known as the Great Downing. Soren was shocked when he was shown Eglantine but disappointed that she wasn''t her true self. Eventually, Trader Mags came to trade goods at the Great Ga''Hoole Tree and Eglantine went into a panic when shown a piece of isinglass. This panic, however, proved to be effective because Eglantine broke out of her strange condition and became normal once again. For now, Soren felt content but only to an extent since Ezylryb, the ryb Soren had come to truly cherish, had not yet returned from his investigations of the Great Downing.

Guardians of Ga''Hoole: The Journey

Still suffering heartache over his lost love, Jill—the on-again, off-again girlfriend who most recently left for another ex-boyfriend—Kal''s world becomes even gloomier when the whole college assumes he is the attempted rapist pictured in a wanted poster displayed throughout campus. After establishing an unlikely alliance with Katie, a vivacious campus newspaper reporter, the pair set out to prove Kal''s innocence, find the true culprit, and possibly develop their own relationship in the process. The major theme the novel approaches is the wandering mentality quickly becoming synonymous with college students and recent graduates. Kal represents an extreme of that theme, constantly worrying if he''s making the right choices about school, his major, his social life, his drinking problems and so on to the point of neuroticism. In his moments of deep pondering and worry, Kal often floats deep into a trance he coins "The Stare," similar to the "1,000-mile Stare" war veterans are known to have. During The Stare, Kal is oblivious to his surroundings, somehow focusing only on an internal voice in his head, imaginarily personified by a 16-year-old version of himself who is thoroughly disappointed with how the present version of himself has turned out. The book juggles a variety of subplots into one, as opposed to following a singular, linear story line. As the story unfolds, it takes turns between focusing on Kal and Katie''s quest to find the real assailant and Kal''s attempts to pull himself out of his self-made puddle of misery.

Assault on the Senses

The 33 Strategies of War contains successful military principles from a range of cultures and eras that are often applied to 21st century situations. The book is divided into five parts: Self-Directed Warfare, Organizational (Team) Warfare, Defensive Warfare, Offensive Warfare and Unconventional (Dirty) Warfare. The 33 strategies are: # Declare War on Your Enemies: The Polarity Strategy. # Do Not Fight the Last War: The Guerrilla-War-of-the-Mind Strategy. # Amidst the Turmoil of Events, Do Not Lose Your Presence of Mind: The Counterbalance Strategy. # Create a Sense of Urgency and Desperation: The Death-Ground Strategy. # Avoid The Snare of Groupthink: The Command-and-Control Strategy. # Segment Your Forces: The Controlled-Chaos Strategy. # Transform Your War into a Crusade: Morale Strategy. # Pick Your Battles: The Perfect Economy Strategy. # Turn the Tables: The Counterattack Strategy. # Create a Threatening Presence: Deterrence Strategies. # Trade Space for Time: The Nonenagement Strategy. # Lose The Battles But Win The War: Grand Strategy. # Know Your Enemy: The Intelligence Strategy. # Overwhelm Resistance With Speed and Suddenness: The Blitzkrieg Strategy. # Control the Dynamic: Forcing Strategies. # Hit Them Where it Hurts: The Center of Gravity Strategy. # Defeat Them in Detail: The Divide and Conquer Strategy. # Expose and Attack Your Enemy''s Soft Flank: The Turning Strategy. # Envelop The Enemy: The Annihilation Strategy. # Maneuver Them Into Weakness: The Ripening For the Sickle Strategy. # Negotiate While Advancing: The Diplomatic-War Strategy. # Know How To End Things: The Exit Strategy. # Weave a Seamless Blend of Fact and Fiction: Misperception Strategies. # Take The Line of Least Expectation: The Ordinary-Extraordinary Strategy. # Occupy the Moral High Ground: The Righteous Strategy. # Deny Them Targets: The Strategy of the Void. # Seem to Work for the Interests of Others While Furthering Your Own: The Alliance Strategy. # Give Your Rivals Enough Rope To Hang Themselves: The One-Upmanship Strategy. # Take Small Bites: The Fait Accompli Strategy. # Penetrate Their Minds: Communication Strategies. # Destroy From Within: The Inner Front Strategy. # Dominate While Seeming to Submit: The Passive-Aggressive Strategy. # Sow Uncertainty and Panic Through Acts of Terror: The Chain Reaction Strategy.

The 33 Strategies of War

The story is narrated by a Roman historian, during the time of the Emperor Nero. He tells the story as a secret history of humanity''s beginnings, as pieced together from scraps of documents and oral histories, passed down through the ages. Humanity was made up, in the beginning, of solely females who reproduced asexually. These females were a calm race and had few problems. They lived by the sea and were partially aquatic. They called themselves "Clefts" - after The Cleft - a fissure in a rock which the females deemed sacred, and which had a resemblance to the female vagina. One day, a cleft gave birth to a male child - to what the clefts dubbed a "Monster". This caused such a fright that the boy was killed by the clefts. But more "monsters" were born, and the clefts left them on a rock to die. Eagles, which lived nearby, saw the dying babies and swooped down and carried them off, to deposit them in a nearby valley where they were then suckled by beneficent deer. The children gradually grew older and able to fend for themselves. Soon, as more boys were brought by the eagles, a tribe emerged. One day, a female wandered over to the valley and was raped by the now adult men. She fled and gave birth to a new, mixed child nine months later. When she told her story to the rest of the clefts, the two tribes soon came into contact with each other. The matriarchs of the clefts, however, feared the "monsters" and decided to try to kill them off.

The Cleft

The greatest discovery of the nineteenth century is found by accident. A team of archaeologists uncover one of the most ancient burial tombs of all time. Inside the tomb they find something far greater than gold or gems, they find a diary of a person who lived more than four thousand years ago. The team pool all their knowledge together in order to translate the scroll diary before it disintegrates in the foreign air. The diary of Seola is about a girl''s struggle to resist a wicked world. Her resolve to remain loyal to God is so strong she influences a fallen angel to repentance. The diary is unique because it gives a detailed account on how the Great Deluge started. One of the planets in the solar system becomes unstable and its destruction causes the waters above the expanse to fall. The beginning entry of the journal gave no doubt as to the era the individual claims to come from. The entry reads, “West Bank of the Euphrates, first moon-evening, after Adam, four cycles”. The author of the journal identifies herself as Seola, daughter of Aleemon and Lebuda. Her father was the son of Lamech and his father was Methuselah. Aleemon had a passion for study and the preservation of historical records. This desire kept him near a grand city which contained a wealth of knowledge on the history of the world written down on scrolls. The city’s name was Sippara and it was also known as the city of the Sun. This desire also endangered the lives of his family. It so happened that the city was the royal seat of the one who ruled the planet. This ruler was known as Lucifer the Light Bearer, King of the Sun. He and his kind were ruling the earth for over 1100 years, since the days of Jared. These beings were known as the Devas. The Devas were angelic spirit beings that materialized into human form. Their superior powers enabled them to dominate and instill fear into the human race. They sought after the most beautiful women of mankind and took them as wives. Through the union of the mortal female and the angelic being came male children of large stature. These offspring were known as the Darvands. The Darvands were ruthless bullies with strength that none could match. Seola begins her journal at the request of her father. Her first entries are common and uneventful because the family has been relocated to an isolated section of the forest away from Sippara and their life is peaceful with the isolation. The tranquility eventually comes to an end because the Devas discover their private sanctuary. The threat to the family is neither by wealth or possession but by way of beauty.

Seola

In both "Amanda Morgan" and the later portion of Tactics of Mistake, Dow de Castres unites Earth forces and galvanizes Earth opinion against the Splinter Cultures of the colonized worlds and against Cletus Grahame who leads the bid for independence of those cultures. As de Castres arrives at The Dorsai''s Foralie District, local residents, under Amanda Morgan, enact a pre-arranged plan of defending their home against the invading troops with the power of the disabled, the elderly, and the children. The plan is predicated on the principle of inevitable and acceptable losses in the face of unavoidable conflict. As a science fiction story, it employs a subtle and clever, nearly passive form of chemical warfare as a military action. The theme is given its central power when the disabled, the elderly, and the children overcome the seasoned and better equipped Earth troops in the cause of their culture''s independence from Earth control. The subplot of the naming of Betta Hasegawa''s child, Amanda''s great-great grandchild, treats Amanda Morgan''s age with sympathy and grace. However, it may be noted that Dickson did not foresee the direct involvement of women in combat to the extent that it seems likely to develop over the course of the next century. When he was writing these stories, United States women were still not in active combatant positions, though other nations had already passed that barrier. Nevertheless, Amanda Morgan is a strong and able commander and a flawed, elderly woman of pride and wisdom. Both her strengths and weaknesses are treated with literary integrity. Morgan''s identity in the inner struggle over the use of her name, is as important as the idea of cultural identity to the development of the over all Cycle theme.

Amanda Morgan

Canadian writer Leonard Batts arrives in the tiny New Zealand town of Hicksville to research the early life of Dick Burger, whose work has taken the comic book industry by storm. He finds that Hicksville is a town in which everyone from the postman to the farmer is an expert on comics, yet everyone seems to hate Burger. The novel explores the machinations of the comic book industry, and contains a fictionalized account of the history of mainstream American comics, with particular attention paid to the era of Image Comics. Most of the characters are comic creators, and many of their strips are reproduced in full as part of the story, most notably Sam Zabel''s extensive account of moving to Los Angeles in order to work with Burger, which he documents in his self published comic Pickle. Horrocks has said of the book: "It''s a story about comics—their history and poetry—and also about what we New Zealanders call ''tūrangawaewae''—having a place to stand in the world—a kind of spiritual home. Hicksville is my way of creating such a home for comics."

Hicksville

Versory, a literary lecturer engaged in spreading English culture (“From Beowulf to Dylan Thomas”) throughout Germany, needs a ride after delivering a talk to a group of matrons. Imagine his surprise when his driver is the gorgeous Hannelore, a girl in a thousand. Her blond beauty and charming personality ensnare his heart and imagination. They arrange to meet again in Paris, to attend a meeting of literary lecturers from other countries. It is in Paris that Versory’s suspicions are aroused. How does she afford her expensive clothes and other habits? Hannelore claims that there is no way to contact her, that she will get in touch with him. Even though she contacts him regularly and her affection for him is obvious, he wonders if Hannelore is what she seems. And for that matter, Versory himself is not what he appears to be, his career as a lecturer is actually just a convenient cover for other activities. In fact, in this fast-moving and paradoxical story, few people are what they seem to be, even to themselves. Is the lecturer from Russia interested only in stimulating an appreciation of Russian literature? And what is his connection with the gentleman from South America? What is Hannelore doing in the elegant establishment of Mme. Putiphar? Where is Vesory’s chief taking her in the sports car -- and why? Does she really love Versory or is she only using him? The answers to these questions are revealed as "A Girl from Lübeck" unfolds. It is a story with several levels: it is a romance, a tale of suspense and intrigue, a lighthearted satire, but it is also a parable. For in the end, the mystery surrounding the girl from Lübeck is cleared away and the meaning of Faith and Grace is revealed.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

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Imzadi

No Author Listed

One Night @ the Call Center

By Chetan Bhagat

The Mystery of Cloomber

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Kazohinia

By Sándor Szathmári

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Journey

By Kathryn Lasky

Assault on the Senses

No Author Listed

The 33 Strategies of War

By Robert Greene

The Cleft

By Doris Lessing

Seola

By Anne Eliza Smith

Amanda Morgan

No Author Listed

Hicksville

No Author Listed

A Girl from Lübeck

By Bruce Marshall