Enjoying a day to skip school, Marco unexpectedly runs into his mother (Visser One), and discovers she is hiding in an office building, planning to find the Hork-Bajir colony. Marco, Tobias and Ax confirm this on a late-night visit, in which they negotiate a deal with Visser One. Marco begins to formulate a plan that will destroy Vissers One and Three, and free his mother, and make the Yeerks believe they have destroyed the Hork-Bajir colony. The plan goes well for the most part, but a few miscalculations reveal to Visser One that at least one of the guerilla fighters is human and there is a misconception that Jake and Cassie have died. When the Animorphs spring the battle between the two Vissers, Visser Three is forced to retreat and Visser One is believed to have perished (over a cliff, butted by Marco in mountain goat morph), though not before realizing that Marco is one of the warriors. *Visser One reveals that she is wanted by Visser Three and the Council of Thirteen for treason (according to Visser Three), and the council has issued a gashad, or warrant, to kill her on sight. This plot element later comes up in Visser. *Visser One realizes that Marco is a member of the ''Andalite bandits'', before being knocked off a cliff.

The Reunion

An artificial radio signal from Barnard''s Star listing prime numbers (although the term "prime" is never used in the story) is received at the Mesa Radio Astronomy Observatory. One of the radio-astronomers is a Russian spy and tries to inform his superiors; however he is uncovered by his fellows and subsequently killed. The CIA hires James Bludd, a prominent astrophysicist, to try to understand what is going on. Several plotlines follow and intertwine, most of them centering around personal greed. News of the extraterrestrial message leaks to the outside world, with different consequences. A bum and a waitress build a cult, calling themselves the Star People, which seeks to find a new home on the Barnard''s planet. Multinational, a corporation, decides to invest money into the cult, in order to have an easy to manipulate spaceship crew ready to take possession of the inhabited planet on behalf of the company. A dying biologist, Dr.Crowben, decides to push on the creation of plant-human hybrids biologically suited to the planet environment, which also this plan falls within the scope of the Multinational. Meanwhile, the two surviving astrophysicists have been abducted by the KGB, and Bludd learns that Russians plan to answer to the signal using neutrinos. The international situation further complicates when a small fictional African state, Sidiami, burdened by debts with other countries, decides to "secede from planet Earth" and declares itself a colony of the planet around Barnard. The "Star People" decide to relocate in Sidiami, and the Multinational starts plans to launch a probe towards the Barnard''s planet from there. James Bludd finds himself implicated in the ongoing struggle between the USA, the Multinational and the "Star People" to get advantage of the situation. At the end, the space probe is launched towards the Barnard''s planet. Bludd, convinced that humankind is not ready for contact with aliens, has sabotaged it and after a while makes it explode with the aid of a remote control. When later, in the observatory, a new possible artificial extraterrestrial signal is received from space, Bludd destroys all evidence of it with a smile.

Life on Another Planet

The book opens with Peter Parker being forced to be a substitute basketball coach at the high school where he teaches science. He is challenged by Samuel Larkin, a star basketball player, who refuses to work with the other players. Peter soon finds out that Samuel never got the regular and required vaccines, and will be suspended and therefore unable to play for the rest of the season, making it nigh-impossible to get into a good university. After coaching, Peter returns home to find that Mary Jane Watson got a part as Lady Macbeth, but since the show is playing in Atlantic City, she bought a car, despite not knowing how to drive. As they are discussing Peter teaching her, The Rhino attacks Times Square, and Spider-Man is needed. As he swings to the battle, Felicia Hardy, otherwise known as "The Black Cat", tells him that he is in danger and the Rhino''s attack is a trap. Spider-Man swings on, and easily defeats the Rhino. After he knocks him unconscious, the three vengeful siblings of Morlun (Thanis, Malos, and Mortia), appear and say that Spider-Man caused the death of their brother. Spider-Man evades them until a SWAT team appears. In the end, it is Mary-Jane who defeats the siblings. Already angry that she can''t help Peter like Felicia can, Mary-Jane is enraged by what the siblings are putting her husband through. she defeats them by driving into them with her car. Another Marvel Comics character, Doctor Strange is included in the novel as a figure from whom the wall-crawler seeks assistance.

Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours

Jack Dawson is a New York Detective dealing with a variety of situations in his life. His wife Linda has recently died, and that leaves him the sole caretaker for his two children Penny and Davey. Aside from missing his wife very much; he is confronted by an especially brutal string of murders of Mafia criminals. These murders are both grisly and unearthly, seemingly done by animals, although forensics cannot determine any living creature that would simply tear a victim to pieces without actually eating anything. Finally, his partner Rebecca is a woman that does not share his approach to this crimewave. Dawson believes that there may be supernatural or magical factors in the killings, while Rebecca believes this to be absurd. Dawson''s instincts are seldom wrong; and although he can''t deny the initial absurdity of some kind of magic, alternative explanations are disappearing quickly. In truth these denizens are called forth from hell by a bocor(an evil sorcerer of voodoo). Because of their small size Carver Hampton came to the conclusion that this were just minor devils and the hole to hell is not yet big enough to grant access to greater demons. Though these denizens have different appearance they have similar characteristics such as a number of very sharp claws and teeth and the eyes the color of hot silver. At the end of the novel where Jack is about to arrest Lavelle, he was surprised to see that the pit where this demons pass through has gone so big that it has engulfed the shed where it is concealed. Numerous tentacles have sprouted from the pit and dragged Lavelle to hell. When Jack sees this he comes to the conclusion that this was just a mere finger of a greater evil that was about to come. When holy water doesn''t stop the pit from growing, Jack uses his blood from the wound inflicted by a tentacle to stop the pit. He fears that if he fails, he will be forced to sacrifice himself into the pit. The novel ends with all the denizens turning to mud and Jack hearing Rebecca say "I love you Jack" in thin air.

Darkfall

A man who identifies himself as Thomas Yeager, head of Continental Plastics, asks Archie to ascertain whether he is being followed when he visits a certain address in one of New York''s worst neighborhoods. When the real Yeager''s body is found at an excavation site in the vicinity of that address, Archie crosses the threshold and finds a fantastically appointed love nest where Yeager secretly entertained many women. The case becomes more complicated when the daughter of the building superintendent is later killed; her novice attempts at blackmail provide Wolfe with critical evidence needed to solve both murders and earn a large fee, shoring up his low bank account balance. In short order, Wolfe and Archie find themselves beset by prospective clients: * the building superintendent and his wife, who want Archie to keep the police from harassing them (and, later, to catch their daughter''s killer) * an actress, who offers to pay Archie to get her cigarette case out of the love nest * the directors of Continental Plastics, who want to keep the existence of that room from becoming public knowledge and causing a scandal * Yeager''s widow, who expects Wolfe to solve her husband''s murder even if it embarrasses the company

Too Many Clients

The story begins in a prison in Occupied France during World War II. It is decreed that one in every ten prisoners is to be executed; lots are drawn to decide who will die. One of the men chosen is a rich lawyer. He offers all his money to anyone who will take his place. One man agrees. Upon his release from prison the lawyer must face the consequences of his actions. The story comprises four parts. In Part I, set in prison, the occupying German guards issue a decimation order to the thirty inmates. One of the three chosen by drawing lots is a rich lawyer named Chavel. Chavel becomes hysterical and desperately offers his entire wealth to any man willing to die in his place. A young man, known as Janvier, accepts his offer and is executed. In Part II, the war is over and Chavel is alive and free, but virtually destitute. He returns to the house he sold for his life and finds it occupied by Janvier’s mother and sister, Thérèse. Assuming the false name Charlot, he becomes their servant. Part III sees the arrival of an impostor, named Carosse, who claims to be Chavel. Carosse attempts to denounce Charlot, win the favour of Thérèse and stake a claim on the property. Finally in Part IV, Charlot, having fallen in love with Thérèse, must save her from Carosse, as a means of redemption from his earlier cowardice.

The Tenth Man

Linda Martin lands in Paris on a cold, gray, and rainy day. She is on her way to her new post as a governess to the young Count Philippe de Valmy. Having lost both his parents in a tragic accident, the nine-year-old boy lives with his aunt and uncle in the vast and ornate Château Valmy in the French countryside. Léon de Valmy, Philippe''s uncle, runs the estate on behalf of his underage nephew until he comes of age and arranged for a proper English governess for his charge. When Linda arrives at the imposing manor, she is at once enchanted by its beauty and history, but is also immediately struck by the sense of menace and doom surrounding the land and its inhabitants. Léon is a charismatic force of nature and quite charming and, when Linda meets his reckless and rakishly handsome son Raoul, she understands a bit more about the de Valmy heritage and what makes this family tick. As she becomes closer to Philippe and Raoul, Linda draws ever nearer to putting her finger on the source of the threat. But the layers of danger and darkness run deeper than any of them guessed and she may not be able to trust those she wants to, no matter how innocent or attractive they may seem. Soon it is up to the shy young governess to beat the clock in order to save Philippe''s life as well as her own.

Nine Coaches Waiting

The story concerns Jander Sunstar, an elf vampire who, despite his affliction, attempts to remain as good as possible. On at trip to Waterdeep to drink the blood of patients of a mental hospital there, Jander falls in love with an inmate who introduces herself as Anna. For about one hundred years the immortal vampire visits Anna regularly, and Anna seems to be similarly ageless. Anna begins to become ill, and Jander, afraid of losing her, tries to turn her into a vampire. Anna refuses. In her last moments of life, when Jander asks her what ruined her mind, she answers "Barovia." In a rage, Jander kills every last occupant of the asylum, and is transported to the Demiplane of Dread. There, he has his fortune told by a Vistani gypsy before befriending Count Strahd Von Zarovich. The predictions made by the fortune-teller all prove to be true later in the book, sometimes in multiple ways. After a very long period of time spent in Barovia, Jander discovers that the woman he knew as Anna was in truth Tatyana, wife of Strahd''s Brother, Sergei, and the woman who drove Strahd to murder his own family. She escaped the castle as it entered the demiplane, but lost her mind in the process. Shocked, Jander bands together with a local cleric and a young thief, to the end of killing Strahd. They fail, though the severe damage they inflict on him forces him to into an extended healing cycle thereby limiting the speed with which he increased in power as a spell-caster. To that end, Jander somewhat succeeded, at least for the time being, and more so prevented Strahd further access to any more of his own knowledge when he walks into the sunlight for his final death.

Vampire of the Mists

The novel is situated in the 11th century at the fortress of Alamut (Persian for "Eagle''s Nest"), which was seized by the leader of the Ismailis, Hassan ibn Sabbah or Sayyiduna (Our Master). At the start of the story, he is gathering an army for the purpose of attacking the Seljuk Empire, which has taken over possession of Iran. The story commences with the journey of young ibn Tahir, who is, according to his family''s wish, intending to join the Alamut garrison. There, he is appointed to the squad of the most valiant soldiers, named the fedai. Fedai are expected to obey orders without any demur, death being not an obstacle. During their demanding training, they come to be convinced that they shall go to heaven immediately after their death if they die in the line of duty. Hassan managed to achieve such level of obedience by deceiving his soldiers - he gave them drugs (hashish) to numb them and ordered afterwards that they be carried into the gardens behind the fortress, which were made into a simulacrum of heaven, including houris. Therefore, fedai believe that Allah had given Hassan the power to send anybody into the Heaven for a certain period. Moreover, some of the fedai fall in love with houris and Hassan unscrupulously uses that to his advantage. Meanwhile, the Seljuk army besieges Alamut. Some of the soldiers are captured and Hassan decides to demonstrate his power to them. He orders a pair of fedai (Yusuf and Suleiman) to kill themselves; Suleiman by stabbing himself, Yusuf by jumping off of a tower. They fulfill their master''s order with a smile on their face, thinking that they will soon rejoice with their beloved in heaven. Afterwards, Hassan orders ibn Tahir to go and kill the grand vizier of the Seljuk sultan Nizam al-Mulk. Hassan wants to take vengeance for al-Mulk''s treachery against him long ago. Ibn Tahir stabs the vizier, but, before he passes away, the vizier reveals the truth of Hassan''s deceptions to his murderer. Ibn Tahir decides to return to Alamut and kill Hassan. When ibn Tahir returns, Hassan receives him and also reveals him his true motto: "Nothing is true, everything is permitted". Then, he lets ibn Tahir go, to start a long journey around the world. Another fedai kills the Seljuk Sultan and the Seljuk empire dissolves. The fight for the Seljuk throne begins. Hassan encloses himself in a tower, determined to work until the end of his days. He transfers the power over the Ismaelits to the hands of his faithful dai, military, and religious chiefs.

Alamut

In the previous novel, Georgia has landed the "Sex God", her longtime crush Robbie Jennings, for a boyfriend. Georgia''s dad has gone to New Zealand for a few months. While he is gone Libby is ill and Georgia''s mother takes her to the doctors. When they return, "Gee''s" mum has seen a new doctor and rather likes him; she begins finding any excuse she can to make an appointment with him. After a while, Georgia''s mother announces that the family are off to New Zealand for a month, but Georgia feels she cannot possibly leave as she has just got the boy of her dreams and cannot leave him. Georgia does not leave for New Zealand, but Robbie says she is too young for him and leaves her. Georgia decides to use Dave the Laugh as a red herring to make Robbie jealous and come back to/for her. Georgia feels guilty for using Dave the Laugh and she breaks up with him. Georgia feels extremely awful about it, until she learns that Dave has started dating her friend Ellen (one of her best mates out of her "Ace Gang"). In the end Robbie admits he can''t stop thinking about Georgia and really misses her. He asks her to be his girlfriend again. In a subplot, Georgia''s cat Angus becomes interested in a pedigree cat named Naomi belonging to new neighbors across the road.

On the Bright Side, I''m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God

Khalid, a repentant pirate, is rescued by the Pugad Baboy residents after he is nearly killed by his erstwhile brothers-in-arms in the Red Marlin Group under the command of Luna, who are under the impression that he is responsible to the death of their leader Hamid Mustafa. Polgas saves his life several times as a Red Marlin hit squad attempts to finish the job. As rogue elements of the Navy and the Red Marlin finally catch up with Khalid and take him, Doc Sebo, Tomas and Dagul captive, Polgas dons his Dobermaxx persona and rescues the group which had been taken on board a ship in North Harbor. Khalid in turn saves Dobermaxx''s life as Luna was about to shoot him from behind. It is soon revealed that Luna himself murdered Hamid; the Red Marlin take him with them as Khalid allows them to escape. The rogue Navy elements are taken into custody by the authorities. Khalid is later accepted as the Red Marlin''s new leader. He plans to surrender the pirate group to authorities and will soon testify during the court martial of Major Velasquez, the rogue Navy group''s commander.

Pirata

The novel revolves around movie actress Suzanne Vale as she tries to put her life together after a drug overdose. The book is divided into five main sections: *The prologue is in epistolary form, with postcards written by Suzanne to her brother, friend, and grandmother. *The novel continues the epistolary form, consisting of first-person narrative excerpts from a journal Suzanne kept while coming to terms with her drug addiction and rehab experiences. ("Maybe I shouldn''t have given the guy who pumped my stomach my phone number, but who cares? My life is over anyway.") In time Suzanne''s entries begin to alternate with the experiences of Alex, another addict in the same clinic. This section ends with Suzanne''s successful graduation from treatment. *The second section opens with dialog between Suzanne and movie producer Jack Burroughs on their first date. It then changes to alternating monologues from Suzanne (addressed to her therapist) and Jack (addressed to his lawyer, who serves much the same purpose as Suzanne''s therapist). Their relationship continues in this vein - all dialogue/monologue. There is a lot of humor and satirical commentary in the dialog and how they each describe the relationship to outside parties. The last three sections are traditional third-person narrative. As one reviewer notes, this progression from first to third-person narrative shows how disconnected Suzanne is from herself, now that she''s not on drugs. *The third section describes the initial days of the first movie Suzanne made after her treatment. For convenience, Suzanne stays with her grandparents while the movie is made. She is chided for not relaxing herself on-screen, and notes that if she could relax she wouldn''t be in therapy. This becomes a running gag among the actors and crew. The section ends with the crew mooning her on her birthday, and Suzanne asserts that "there isn''t enough therapy" to help her with that experience. *The fourth section shows a week of Suzanne''s "normal" life: working out, business meetings, an industry party, and going with a friend to a television studio for a talk show. She meets an author in the green room and gives him her phone number. *The fifth section encapsulates her relationship with the author, bringing the story to the anniversary of her overdose. *The epilogue consists of a letter from Suzanne to the doctor who pumped her stomach, who had recently contacted her. She notes that she is still off drugs and doing well. She is flattered that he inquires as to whether she is "available for dating", but she is seeing someone. The book ends on a bittersweet note: she knows she has a good life, but doesn''t trust it. Unlike the movie, most of the conflict in the book is internal, as Suzanne is learning to handle her life without the prop of drugs. Suzanne''s mother appears in very few scenes, while Suzanne is in rehab: :My mother is probably sort of disappointed at how I turned out, but she doesn''t show it. She came by today and brought me a satin and velvet quilt. I''m surprised I was able to detox without it. I was nervous about seeing her, but it went okay. She thinks I blame her for my being here. I mainly blame my dealer, my doctor, and myself, and not necessarily in that order. [...] She washed my underwear and left. Later Suzanne talks with her on the phone, but it is not stressful.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

The Reunion

By K. A. Applegate

Life on Another Planet

No Author Listed

Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours

By Jim Butcher

Darkfall

By Dean Koontz

Too Many Clients

By Rex Stout

The Tenth Man

By Graham Greene

Nine Coaches Waiting

By Mary Stewart

Vampire of the Mists

By Christie Golden

Alamut

By Vladimir Bartol

On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God

By Louise Rennison

Pirata

No Author Listed

Postcards from the Edge

By Carrie Fisher