The Five are happily staying at Kirrin Cottage for the holidays until the big ash tree in the garden falls down and destroys the top floor where the bedrooms are. Uncle Quentin''s scientist friend,Mr Lenoir, was coming to stay over but now as he can''t, he invites the five to his house. Mr Lenoir''s stepson Sooty is a friend of Julian and Dick. George finds out that she can''t take Timmy her dog and at first refuses to go, but then decides to go and take Timmy, but hide him in secret! So they go to Sooty Lenoir''s house, Smugglers Top while Kirrin Cottage is being repaired. Smugglers Top is situated on a hill named Castaway Hill. The children come to know that there is a network of secret passages inside the hill and that there are secret doors in the house which open into these passages. One night, the boys wake up and find someone flashing lights as some sort of signal from one of the towers at Smuggler''s Top. The children are puzzled at this mysterious discovery. After a few days, Uncle Quentin also visits Smugglers Top to stay for a few days. But one night, quite unexpectedly, Uncle Quentin and Sooty disappear. The children are sure that they have been kidnapped. There are many suspects. It might be the butler Block who appears to be stone deaf or Mr Barling,who is a rich man and a suspected smuggler. The five even suspect Sooty''s father, Mr Lenior! They hunt underground in the honeycomb of passages for Uncle Quentin and Sooty, with the help of Timmy the dog. Can they solve the mystery and find Uncle Quentin and Sooty before they get lost in the passages?

Five Go To Smuggler''s Top

Sent by the Humanx Commonwealth Science Council, a team of explorers manage to find the planet Quofum—which only occasionally appears on long range scans. Since the planet is outside of the Commonwealth territory their mission is deemed minor and unimportant. The team’s four scientists—two human males, one human female and one male thranx—initially discover four separate, unique sentient species. Combined with Quofum’s nine percent alcohol oceans, its unstable appearance is seemingly part of the nature of Quofum: every species on Quofum is seemingly unrelated—casting well-established scientific notions of evolution into doubt. When the team’s mechanic, Salvador Araza murders the ship’s captain—revealing himself to be a member of the assassin clan, the Qwarm—the scientific exploration nearly ends. Before stranding the scientists on Quofum, Araza kills one member of the team who tries to stop him from stealing the ship’s shuttle. Upon returning to the ship Araza leaves Quofum but quickly discovers he is not in any part of the known universe. Unknowingly he left the planet while it was in an alternate universe where it periodically hides. Upon realizing his mistake, Araza tries to re-locate Quofum, but fails—stranding himself in the alternate universe. The three remaining scientists fall into a survivor’s depression realizing their small expedition won’t be missed while also lacking a means to return home on their own. They continue to explore and document Quofum’s flora and fauna, documenting upwards of ten different sentient species of various degrees of technological development. Eventually they happen upon an entrance to the inner workings of the planet. The ancient race (unnamed, but obviously the Xunca) that once inhabited Quofum altered their planet when they realized the inter-galactic Great Evil was eventually coming to their corner of the universe. The main alternation was to give Quofum the ability to shift to a different universe to protect itself. They also started multiple experiments to create different diverse races in an attempt to find a species that could trigger the "Great Attractor device" they set up in the Norma cluster to fight the Great Evil. The solution to the problem, and the conclusion to the storyline is actually revealed in Flinx Transcendent.

Quofum

Mycroft Holmes invites Sherlock and his tutor, Amyus Crowe, to London for a visit. When they arrive at the Diogenes Club they find Mycroft holding a dagger over a dead body. The police arrive soon and arrest Mycroft, leaving Sherlock and Amyus to prove his innocence. They find some clues at the murder scene; a business card, a small bottle with a clear liquid in it, and a small wooden case. They determine that the business card is freshly printed and look for printers around London who might have created it. The pair split up and Sherlock locates the right printer which leads him to a bouncer in a local tavern. Sherlock tails the bouncer, but the bouncer manages to turn the tables on him, and chases Sherlock into the sewers inhabited by London''s abandoned and feral children. Sherlock has to run for his life to escape them, and ends up at the London Necropolis Railway. Sherlock and Amyus meet up again and have dangerous encounter with a falcon in an animal museum. From there it becomes evident that events occurring in Russia may be linked to Mycroft''s frame-up. Due to the mysterious disappearance of Mycroft''s agent Robert Wormersley who was located in Moscow, Sherlock and Mycroft accompanied by Rufus Stone will have to go to Moscow. Sherlock, as a part of their disguise, joins a traveling theater troupe to Russia to uncover the truth. In Russia they find Wormesley''s house in a state of chaos , it is then apparent that someone was searching for several objects. On their way back to the hotel, Sherlock is framed up for pick-pocketing. Sherlock then runs as the police is on his trail ,he soon finds himself in a dead end , and the only way to escape was via a manhole. While he descends, he can hear the people who set him state that the manhole led to a tributary of the Moscow river, the Neglinnaya, Sherlock then goes downstream in order to make it to the river. He is soon chased by the people who set him up. While navigating through the river he meets a pack of dogs that have adapted to survive in dark tunnels. Sherlock sees there larger than ordinary ears and speculates that their sense of hearing is greater than those of the normal dogs, Knowing this Sherlock does not make a noise, but due to the twitching of his finger the dogs get ready to pounce on him , at this moment Sherlock''s pursuer has his hand over Sherlock''s neck ,his hand is bitten by a dog and he loosens his grip allowing Sherlock to escape. Sherlock soon finds his way in the Moscow river and climbs on its banks , only to see Mycroft being arrested by Russia''s secret police-the Third Section. He is then met by Robert Wormesley who was watching Mycroft''s arrest and tells him that they both will have to plan the next move in order to save Mycroft''s life. Both of them chat in a cafe , where Sherlock deduced that Mycroft was being taken to be framed for the murder of Count Shuvalov''s murder and he will

Young Sherlock Holmes: Black Ice

Catherine, Called Birdy provides an insider''s look at the life of Catherine Rollo, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. She is called "Birdy" in reference to the number of birds she keeps in her room. It could also be interpreted metaphorically, as she has been described as "a bird fighting against the bars of her cage" many times throughout the story. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is Catherine''s diary. She looks with a clear and critical eye upon the world around her, telling of the people she knows and of the daily events in her small manor house. Much of Birdy''s energy is consumed by avoiding the various suitors her father chooses for her to marry. She sends them all packing with assorted ruses until she is almost wed to an older, unattractive man she refers to as Shaggy Beard. In the process of telling the routines of her young life, Birdy lays before readers a feast of details about medieval England. The book contains information about the food, dress, religious beliefs, manners, health, medical practices, and sanitary habits (or lack thereof) of the people of her day. From the number of fleas she kills in an evening to her herbal medicines laced with urine, Birdy tells facts about her time period. She is depicted as a feminist far ahead of her time. An afterword discusses the mind set of medieval people and concludes with a list of books to consult for further information about the period.

Catherine, Called Birdy

Rook Barkwater lives in the network of sewer-chambers beneath Undertown, in which a society of librarians has established itself, secretly opposing the cruel Guardians of Night. Rook, a lowly under-librarian, dreams of becoming a librarian knight—one of the select few to travel into the Deepwoods and gather information which may lead to the discovery of the cure to stone-sickness (an affliction which has destroyed the buoyant rocks, making skysailing impossible). Rook does not expect his dreams ever to come true—his best friend, Felix Lodd, seems a much more likely candidate—but, to everyone''s surprise, Rook is chosen to be a knight, along with Stob Lummus and Magda Burlix. Rook, Magda and Stob make their way along the Great Mire Road, a shryke-controlled bridge that has been built to traverse the marshy Mire in place of sky ships. While on the way, Rook helps an imprisoned sky pirate, Deadbolt Vulpoon, to escape. Finally, the librarian knights arrive in the Eastern Roost, a large shryke-city. Employing the help of a male shryke, Hekkle, who is friendly to the librarians, the three make their way across the Deepwoods, eventually arriving at the Free Glades. After arriving there, Rook, Stob and Magda are joined by Xanth Filatine, a disguised Guardian of Night who is secretly channeling information to the Guardians so that they may ambush the librarian knights as they travel. During Rook''s studies, he learns to create a skycraft, which is a small, flying one-person vehicle. Xanth breaks his leg in a skycraft accident, and cannot embark upon his treatise-voyage, the journey for which the knights have been studying. Rook also makes a raid on the Foundry Glade, along with Felix Lodd''s sister Varis Lodd (who saved Rook from slavers when he was very young) and the slaughterer Knuckle. The purpose of this raid is to free the banderbear slaves that are kept there. During this raid, Rook takes a poisoned arrow to the chest to save a banderbear''s life. Rook embarks on his treatise-voyage. His goal is to find the Great Convocation of Banderbears. Rook befriends a young banderbear named Wumeru, and he follows her, against her will, to the Convocation. The banderbears discover his presence and are about to kill him when the banderbear who Rook saved in the Foundry Glade stands up for him. Rook is then introduced to Twig, the main character from the second Edge Chronicles trilogy, now an old man. Twig reveals that his sky ship, the Skyraider, has not yet succumbed to stone-sickness. Along with a crew of banderbears, the two set out to attack the fortress of the Guardians of Night: the Tower of the same name. Their purpose is to free Cowlquape Pentephraxis, an old friend of Twig''s. While Twig and the Skyraider keep the Guardians busy, Rook sneaks into the tower on his skycraft and frees Cowlquape. As he is about to fly free, a rope becomes snagged and the skycraft is stuck. Xanth, the traitor, confronts Rook. The two had become good friends during their time together in the Free Glades, a fact that Xanth apparently had not forgotten. Xanth cuts the rope quickly, allowing Rook to fly away safely with Cowlquape. The Skyraider, meanwhile, had succumbed to stone-sickness, and was slowly dropping over the Edge. Rook and Cowlquape mourn the end of Twig, who had been struck by a crossbow-bolt and had decided to go down with his ship. However, at the last minute, Twig''s caterbird, who had sworn to watch over him for always, catches him and flies towards the rejuvenating waters of Riverrise. Whether they make it in time is left as a cliffhanger.

The Last of the Sky Pirates

The novel begins with the birth of Adolf Hitler and his early childhood. Huovinen describes the young Adolf as a rebellious child with a weak constitution, but with an intimidating gaze and vulgar speech. Also, his uncanny ability with a rifle is commented upon. Adolf eventually ends up as a vagrant in the streets of Vienna, selling mediocre watercolor paintings. The novel suggests that during this time Hitler met Joseph Goebbels, with whom he had an instant rapport with his vulgarities and anti-semitism - the first radical departure from actual history. The novel swiftly moves to the First World War, and describes Hitler''s exploits as a behind-the-lines scout sniper - who, in his spare time, criticizes the General HQ and tells jokes so disgusting that even hardened soldiers stay silent. Also his foul-smelling flatulence is commented upon. While following Hitler''s rise to power from the Great Depression to the Second World War, the novel makes its most outrageous claim; Hitler and Goebbels jointly conceived the Second World War in order to "teach the pompous German nation a lesson" with two distinct operations. The first, "Operation Ulex" has the goal of starting a war and reaching decisive victories in the short term - while making strategic mistakes that will hurt in the long run. The second, "Operation Saublöder Arsch" involves deliberately losing the war, while prolonging it to the bitter end with as much bloodletting and destruction as possible. When all is lost, Hitler and Goebbels leave the corpses of look-alikes behind, escaping the siege of Berlin with guns blazing and board a Fw-200 Condor bound for South America. When enroute, they express their disgust for the servile, obedient Germans and fantasize about Latin women.

Veitikka

The novel tells the story of a journey. The unnamed narrator is in his late twenties and is the son of a wealthy family, and travels south from the northern-most tip of Germany down to the Bodensee and onwards to Zürich. He is more an involuntary observer than participant in the events that unfold. He begins in Sylt and heads through Hamburg, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Munich, Meersburg, and finally Zürich. In each of these places he has experiences with decadent excesses in the form of alcohol, drugs, and sexual encounters. These excesses are not enjoyed by the participants, but are more an expression of their hopelessness. The protagonist sees the downfall of his generation – a close friend commits suicide – and experiences his own downfall. He also reflects on unhappy memories of youth. His odyssey, which can be interpreted as either a search for meaning or a long goodbye, ends on Lake Zürich: the references to Greek mythology (Charon, Obolus, and Hades) suggest the narrator''s suicide in the middle of the lake. Another interpretation sees the crossing to the other shore as a sign of the homosexuality of the narrator. Neither has been confirmed by Kracht. The ending is left open.

Faserland

The novel, set in post–war Barcelona, concerns a young boy, Daniel Sempere. Just after the war, Daniel''s father takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author but can find none. All he comes across are stories of a strange man – calling himself Laín Coubert, after a character in the book who happens to be the Devil – who has been seeking out Carax''s books for decades, buying them all and burning them. The novel is actually a story within a story. The boy, Daniel Sempere, in his quest to discover Julian''s other works, becomes involved in tracing the entire history of Carax. His friend Fermin Romero de Torres, who was imprisoned and tortured in Montjuic Castle for having been involved in an espionage against the Anarchists during the war – himself being a government intelligence agent – helps Daniel in a number of ways, but their probing into the murky past of a number of people who have either been long dead or long forgotten unleashes the dark forces of the murderous Inspector Fumero. Thus, unravelling a long story that has been buried within the depths of oblivion, Daniel and Fermin come across a love story, the beautiful, yet doomed love story of Julian and Penelope, both of whom seem to having been missing since 1919 – that is, nearly thirty years earlier. Julian, who was the son of the hatter Antoni Fortuny and his wife Sophie Carax (but preferred to use his mother''s last name) and Penelope Aldaya, the only daughter of the extremely rich and wealthy Don Ricardo Aldaya and his beautiful and narcissistic American wife, developed an instant love for each other, carried out a clandestine relationship only through casual furtive glances and faint smiles for around four years, after which they decided to elope to Paris, little knowing that the shadows of misfortune had been closing upon them ever since they met. The two lovers are doomed to unknown fates just a week before their supposed elopement, which was meticulously planned by Julian''s best friend, Miquel Moliner – also the son of a wealthy father, who had earned much during the war including an ill reputation of selling ammunition. It is eventually revealed that Miquel loved Julian more than any brother and finally sacrificed his own life for him, having already abandoned all his wishes and youth towards lost causes of charity and his friend''s well-being after his elopement to Paris, nevertheless without Penelope, who never turned up for the rendezvous. Penelope''s memories keep burning Julian and this eventually forces him to return to Barcelona, in the mid 1930s, however he encounters the harshest truth about Penelope, who had just been nothing more than a memory for those who knew her, for she had never been seen or heard of again by anyone after 1919. He discovers that he and Penelope are actually half-brother and sister; her father had an affair with his mother and Julian was the result. The worst thing for his to dicover is that after he left, Penelope''s parents imprisoned her because they were ashamed of her committing incest with Julian, and she was pregnant with his child. Penelope gave birth to a son named David Aldaya, who was stillborn. Penelope died during childbirth and her body was never found. Julian is despaired over the deaths of Penelope and David. He attempts suicide by poison and was hospitalized. After his release, he began writing a series of books, but it was A Shadow of the Wind, based on his lifetime, that became famous. Soon after the book was published, Julian disappeared without a trace. After finishing reading the book, Daniel marries Beatriz "Bea" Aguilar, whom he has loved for a long time, in 1956. Soon after, Bea gives birth to a son. Daniel names his son Julian Sempere, in honor of Julian Carax. In 1966, Daniel takes Julian to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where A Shadow of the Wind is kept.

The Shadow of the Wind

As the play opens, Countess Isabella is at her house in Venice, where she observes the customary period of mourning for her recently-deceased husband Viscount Hermus. Her state of mind is far removed from what society expects: instead of grieving over her husband''s death, she wishes he had died much sooner. She quickly strikes up a new romance with Roberto, the Count of Cyprus; they violate mourning with a sudden marriage. A masque is staged at their wedding feast &mdash; and the wanton Countess is attracted to one of the dancers in the masque, Count Massino. She writes him a love letter; they meet and quickly flee together to Pavia. There, Isabella meets Massino''s friend Gnaica, the Count of Gazia, and just as precipitously she conceives a passion for him. Gnaica resists her advances at first, unwilling to betray his friend; but the Countess''s appeal soon overwhelms his scruples. Massino returns from hunting, only to be denied admission to Isabella''s presence. He denounces her uncontrolled lust in satiric verses; she, outraged, solicits Gnaica to kill Massino. The two meet and duel &mdash; but soon find that their hearts aren''t in the matter. They talk over the situation, and part amicably. Isabella is even more outraged by this, and determines to work the deaths of both men. A Spanish colonel named Don Sago falls in love with her on first sight; she uses him to kill Count Massino. Sago is captured and brought before the Duke of Medina; he confesses fully. As a result, Isabella is condemned to death. Her husband Count Roberto, disguised as a friar, visits her on the scaffold, to offer her his forgiveness and bid her a final farewell. Isabella''s lustful career is contrasted with the three virtuous women of the play''s subplot. Two foolish citizens, Mizaldus and Clardiana, are determined to continue a family feud begun by their grandfathers; even on their mutual wedding day, the two quarrel in the street. Their new brides, Thais and Abigail, are old friends, and decide to teach their silly husbands a lesson. The two men are not brave enough to fight an actual duel; each tries to gain advantage on his rival by seducing the rival''s wife. Thais and Abigail use this circumstance to stage a doubled version of the bed trick that is so common in English Renaissance drama. Both Rogero and Clardiana have sex with their own wives, each mistakenly thinking that he is a successful seducer. Meanwhile, the virtuous widow Lady Lentulus is being pursued by her own would-be seducer, Mendoza Foscari, nephew of Duke Amago of Venice. When Mendoza tries to climb to the widow''s balcony, his rope ladder breaks under him. Mendoz is injured in the fall; he crawls away from the Lady''s house, and is apprehended by the night watch. The watch assume that the Duke''s nephew has been assaulted, and scour the city for suspects; they find Clardiana and Rogero in each other''s houses, and arrest them both. The two silly men are ready to be wrongfully condemned, rather than admit publicly that they''ve been cuckolded (as they now believe); Mendoza, wanting to spare Lady Lentulus dishonor, claims that he was climbing to her apartment to steal her jewels. The exasperated Duke sentences all three men to death, hoping that the move will shock someone into telling the truth. On the day appointed for the executions, Abigail and Thais come forward to explain the double bed trick; their husbands, now realizing that they are not cuckolds, retract their confessions and are released. (Mendoza''s part of the story is never resolved.)

The Insatiate Countess

Maxine Williams is a well-known and leading child psychiatrist, specializing in trauma and suicide, with three amazing children Daphne, Jack and Sam and a rich and glamorous ex-husband. Blake Williams, one of the richest men in the world has a glamorous life of globe travelling and dating beautiful women whilst Maxine stays in Manhattan looking after their children and pursuing the career she loves.Though divorced, both are extremely affectionate to each other. Blake soon meets the beautiful Arabella and falls deeply in love.Meanwhile Max also starts dating a doctor, Charles West.But Charles is a bit uncomfortable with the children and even starts showing his irritation by suggesting that the kids should be sent to a boarding school.The eldest one, Daphne starts becoming possessive of both her parents and behaves rudely to both Arabella and Charles. When a tragedy strikes in Morocco, Blake and Max join hands to help the victims and orphaned children. Blake transforms into a responsible man, much to Max''s surprise.Blake throws Arabella out after she deceives him. Max and Charles plan to wed soon but Max finds herself happy only in Blake''s company while Charles constantly hurts Blake by behaving rudely whenever he was around. After a series of hilarious events, Max and Blake marry again, much to the delight of their kids.

Rogue

Horselover Fat believes his visions expose hidden facts about the reality of life on Earth, and a group of others join him in researching these matters. One of their theories is that there is some kind of alien space probe in orbit around Earth, and that it is aiding them in their quest. It also aided the United States in disclosing the Watergate scandal and the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974. There is a filmed account of an alternate universe Nixon, "Ferris Freemont" and his fall, engineered by a fictionalised Valis, which leads them to an estate owned by the Lamptons, popular musicians. Valis (the fictional film) contains obvious references to identical revelations to those that Horselover Fat has experienced. They decide the goal that they have been led toward is Sophia, who is two years old and the Messiah or incarnation of Holy Wisdom anticipated by some variants of Gnostic Christianity. She tells them that their conclusions are correct, but dies after a laser accident. Undeterred, Fat goes on a global search for the next incarnation of Sophia. Dick also offers a rationalist explanation of his apparent "theophany", acknowledging that it might have been visual and auditory hallucinations from either schizophrenia or drug addiction sequelae.

VALIS

Jacob (or "Jake") Horner, the first-person author of this confession, suffers from "cosmopsis"—an inability to choose from among all possible choices he can imagine. His cosmopsis completely paralyzes him in the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Baltimore just after his 28th birthday, having abandoned his graduate studies at John Hopkins University. He is taken in by a nameless African-American doctor who claims to specialize in such conditions. At the doctor''s private therapy center called the Remobilization Farm, Jake is given "mythotherapy", instructed to read Sartre, and to assign "masks" to himself and abolish the ego. Horner would thus get over his paralysis by inducing action through taking on symbolic roles. As part of his schedule of therapies, Jake takes a job teaching at Wicomico State Teachers College, where he becomes friends with the history teacher Joe Morgan and his wife Rennie. Joe and Jake enjoy intellectually sparring, participating in a "duel of articulations". The philosophical Morgans have a marriage in which all must be articulated, and in which "the parties involved be able to take each other seriously". While Joe is busy working at his Ph.D. dissertation, he encourages Rennie to teach Jake horseback riding. She does, and the two talk at length about the Morgans'' unusual relationship. After returning from one of their outings, Jake encourages a resistant Rennie to spy on her husband. She is convinced that "real people" like Joe are not "any different when they are alone. No mask. What you see of them is authentic." What she sees of him is disorients her and her vison of the reality of Joe. When Joe discovers that Jake and Rennie have committed adultery, he insists they maintain the affair, in an effort to discover the reasons for his wife''s unfaithfulness. Rennie discovers she is pregnant, but cannot be sure whether Joe or Jake is the father. The Morgans visit Jake, Joe with Colt .45 in hand. Rennie insists on having an abortion, or she will commit suicide. Jake hunts for an abortionist under an assumed name, but is unable to find a doctor who will agree to the procedure, and thus turns to the Doctor. The abortion is botched, resulting in Rennie''s death. Jake does not know what to feel, and "crave[s] responsibility". His relativist "cosmopsis" confirmed, he reverts to his paralysis. Two years later, as part of his Scriptotherapy on the Remobilization Farm, he writes his story of what happened in Wicomico.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Five Go To Smuggler's Top

By Enid Blyton

Quofum

By Alan Dean Foster

Young Sherlock Holmes: Black Ice

By Andy Lane

Catherine, Called Birdy

By Karen Cushman

The Last of the Sky Pirates

By Chris Riddell

Veitikka

By Veikko Huovinen

Faserland

No Author Listed

The Shadow of the Wind

By Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Insatiate Countess

By John Marston

Rogue

By Danielle Steel

VALIS

By Philip K. Dick

The End of the Road

By John Barth