As the book begins, Rachel and her adopted sister Hilary are living with Rachel''s mother. Rachel''s father was a budding film star, but died just as his career was taking off, when the children were seven. As a result, the family is not well off; they must take in boarders in order to make ends meet. Hilary''s mother was a dancer, and so Rachel and her mother are determined that Hilary will also become a ballet dancer. Hilary does have a talent for ballet, but is not at all interested in it. Their mother dies when the girls are ten, just before Hilary''s audition for the Royal Ballet School, and the girls go to live with their Uncle Tom (their father''s brother), his wife Cora and their child, Dulcie. Aunt Cora runs a dancing school to teach girls how to perform in troupes for pantomimes, musicals and reviews; the troupes are referred to as "Mrs Wintle''s Little Wonders". Dulcie, who is almost a year older than Rachel and Hilary, is very attractive and a talented dancer, but also very spoiled by her mother. Mrs Wintle intended to take only Rachel, as she is a blood relative, but she decides to keep Hilary also, when she realizes how talented a dancer Hilary is. Rachel is horrified by the type of dancing taught at Mrs Wintle''s school, which ranges from tap to acrobatics, and remains determined that Hilary will continue with her ballet. Rachel must also train as a Little Wonder, and though she works hard, she has no talent for the dancing required of the "Wonders". She only excels at elocution and acting lessons, which puts her in competition with her cousin Dulcie for theatrical roles. Mrs Storm, their tutor, decides to teach Rachel extra elocution, because it makes her happy. Hilary continues dancing and through the book enjoys acrobatics and musical theatre. Although Rachel tries to bribe her with money to finish ballet, Hilary continues to excel at acrobatics. This makes Rachel upset.

Wintle''s Wonders

The opening chapter tells the story of John, a young African-American boy in Harlem in the 1930s. John has been raised by his mother Elizabeth and her preacher husband Gabriel, who nominally is John''s father and is a strict disciplinarian, abusive to both his children and his wife. Gabriel''s religious philosophy is tough and one of salvation through faith in Jesus, without which one is damned to hell. John hates his father and dreams of wounding or killing him and running away. The characters are members of the Temple of the Fire Baptized Church in Harlem, a Pentecostal Protestant denomination. Florence''s Prayer tells her life story. She was born to a freed slave who chose to continue to work in the South for a white family. Her mother always favored Florence''s younger brother Gabriel, causing Florence to feel a yearning need to escape from her life. Disgusted by the sexual harassment of her boss, Florence buys a one-way train ticket to New York and leaves her mother on her deathbed with Gabriel. In New York, Florence marries a dissolute man named Frank, resulting in a power struggle within their marriage which ends after ten years when Frank leaves one night and never returns. He later dies in France in World War I, but Florence only finds out from Frank''s girlfriend. Gabriel''s Prayer starts with a description of his drunken, womanizing ways as a teenager, before his rebirth in Christ and the start of his career as a preacher. After his conversion he forms a relationship with a childhood friend of Florence, a slightly older woman from his town named Deborah who was gang-raped as a teenager by a band of white men. Deborah is devout in her faith, and Gabriel uses her strength to become a successful Reverend himself. However, despite his religious convictions, Gabriel is unable to resist his physical attraction for a woman named Esther. Esther and Gabriel work for the same white family. Gabriel has a brief affair with her that but then ends it out of guilt. When Esther finds herself pregnant, Gabriel steals his wife''s savings and gives them to Esther to hush up the matter and allow Esther to go away to have her baby; she goes to Chicago but dies giving birth to their son, Royal. Royal knows his father but doesn''t know of their relationship, and is eventually killed in a barroom fight in Chicago. Gabriel is powerless and unable to stop his son''s murder. Deborah, who knew or suspected that Royal was her husband''s son from the beginning, admonishes Gabriel before her death for abandoning Esther and his son. Elizabeth''s Prayer, the shortest of the three, tells her story. As a young girl, Elizabeth was very close to her father, but when her mother dies, she is forced by a court order to live with an imperious and cold aunt, and then goes to live in New York with a friend of the aunt''s who is a Spiritualist medium. It is revealed that Gabriel is not John''s biological father, for Elizabeth had gone to New York with her boyfriend, Richard, a self-educated "sinner" who did not believe in the Church and who never carried out his promise to marry Elizabeth. Richard is arrested for a robbery he didn''t commit, and while he is acquitted at trial, the experience – including the abuse he takes at the hands of white police officers – leads him to commit suicide on his first night home. Elizabeth, then just a few months pregnant with John, takes a job, where she meets Florence. Florence introduces her to Gabriel, whom she marries. The final chapter returns to the church, where John sees his friend Elisha fall to the floor in a religious ecstasy and is himself then caught up in a Pentecostal spiritual experience and falls to the floor. He has a series of dreamlike visions in which he sees hell and heaven, life and death, and also Gabriel standing over him. When he regains his senses, he says that he is saved and that he has accepted Jesus as his savior. Yet even as the group leaves the church, old sins are revisited as Florence threatens to tell Elizabeth of Gabriel''s sordid past. Although she does not tell Elizabeth, she hopes that she finds out eventually.

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Rudi Mackenzie and Edain Aylward Mackenzie head out through post-Change Illinois on a mission given to them by the Bossman of Iowa to recover Ingolf Vogeler''s wagons that he abandoned there. They break up an ambush by Knifers and save three Southside Freedom Fighters (Southsiders), descendants of survivors from Chicago, including their leader Jake. Rudi adopts the tribe and they help him bring Ingolf''s wagons back to Iowa. Along the way, Rudi and Edain teach them how to make bows and arrows, then train them as military archers. Southsiders listen to them sing and add the songs to their culture. Soon the Southsiders consider themselves part of Clan Mackenzie. Meanwhile, Mary and Ritva Havel are trying to find a way to break Ingolf out of the Bossman''s prison. Then Captain Denson of the Iowa State Police has a conversation with Ingolf and offers to release him from prison if he lures the CUT troops from Des Moines. When Ingolf agrees, Denson takes him out while his men kill the other prisoners who witnessed the conversation. When Rudi reaches the Mississippi, Denson meets them on the east side of the river. He brings Ingolf with him. They cross the river and meet the Bossman and the rest of Rudi''s party in Dubuque. Meanwhile, the Corvallis Meeting is fighting CUT and Boise invaders. The Prophet''s troops are converging on the Meeting lands from several directions. While the Meeting nations can slow the invasion down, they have been unable to drive the invaders back. News that the Portland Protective Association are losing castles due to the strange abilities of the CUT High Seekers causes morale to drop. Back in Iowa, the Major Graber and his CUT forces attempt to kill Rudi and his allies. Though Rudi survives the CUT manage to assassinate the Bossman of Iowa. Thanks to Mathilda Arminger''s efforts, however, she manages to encourage the Bossman''s wife to take power as Regent, creating a new ally for Rudi and his group. Rudi and his group leave Iowa heading north along the Mississippi River. While en route, Rudi''s companions swear loyalty to him as the High King of "Montival", the new name the group has chosen for the Pacific Northwest. Rudi reluctantly accepts. Rudi and his group arrive in the nation of Richland, Ingolf''s home. While there Ingolf makes amends with his estranged brother, a local sheriff, who agrees to help Ingolf and his friends reach Nantucket. Heading north around the Great Lakes using skis to move over the snow, the party is attacked once again by CUT forces who are allied with French-speaking savages. Though they succeed in driving off the CUT forces, Jake is killed in the battle. Arriving in Maine, Rudi and his followers are taken in by survivors who have adopted a Viking-like culture. They agree to help Rudi reach Nantucket, but upon arriving at a coastal town, they discover it under siege by Major Graber and Muslim Corsairs. Rudi and his forces succeed in lifting the siege and capture one of the pirate leaders, but Odard Liu is killed during the battle. Rudi convinces the pirate captain to take him and his followers to Nantucket. They are chased there by Major Graber who has commandeered another pirate vessel. As both ships arrive at Nantucket, reality begins to change as alternate versions of Nantucket begin to appear at random. Rudi and his followers fight their way onto Nantucket. There Rudi is transported into the presence of Maiden, Mother, and Crone who have taken the form of Rudi''s mother (Juniper Mackenzie) and Marion Alston and Swindapa from the Nantucket series. They explain the reason behind the Change, alluding at the humanity''s importance (the Fermi paradox) and that certain forces saw the need for humanity to mature more before it self-destructed due to abuse of technology. They also explain the powers that are aiding CUT as a result of a disagreement between those forces on how best to guide the changed humanity. Rudi is last seen removing the Sword of the Lady from its sheath. Back in Montival, Juniper calls on the help of the gods against the CUT in a ceremony (Cone of power). During the ceremony light emanates from Juniper''s hands and she proclaims the coming of the High King.

The Sword of the Lady

The events of Childe Morgan span a period of approximately two and a half years, from late December 1093 to late March 1096. In the Gwyneddan capital of Rhemuth, Sir Kenneth Morgan and his wife, Lady Alyce de Corwyn, bring their son, Alaric Morgan, to the court of King Donal Blaine Haldane. At Twelfth Night Court in January 1094, Kenneth is created Earl of Lendour and named primary regent for Alaric''s future inheritance of the Duchy of Corwyn. After court, the Camberian Council discusses the emerging danger posed by Zachris Pomeroy, a rogue Deryni who is encouraging the current Festillic Pretender to press his claim for the throne of Gwynedd. In the spring, the Morgan family travels through Lendour and Corwyn while Kenneth acquaints himself with his new lands and reviews the regency of his son in Corwyn. While returning to Rhemuth in late summer, they encounter the remains of a Deryni who was burned at the stake by the people of a small village. The incident is a sobering and disquieting reminder of the remaining antagonism that many people in Gwynedd still bear toward Deryni. As the next Twelfth Night Court approaches several months later, Donal receives word of the death of the Crown Prince of Torenth. Concerned about Zachris'' prior involvement with the dead prince, the Camberian Council investigates the matter, but is unable to discover any new or useful information. In June 1095, Alyce and Kenneth assist the king in a brief magical ritual. With Donal''s eldest son and heir, Prince Brion, attaining his legal majority on his fourteenth birthday, Donal takes the opportunity to prepare his son''s mind for the eventual assumption of the full Haldane potential. Afterwards, Alyce and Alaric travel to Culdi, where the pregnant Alyce plans to spend the summer in the company of her secret twin sister, Countess Vera McLain of Kierney. The day after Alaric''s fourth birthday, at the king''s request, Alyce and Vera conduct an ancient Deryni ritual to bestow magical names upon their children. The ritual is briefly interrupted by the clandestine arrival of the king himself, who takes an active part in Alaric''s ritual and further binds the boy to his plans. Alyce and Vera relocate to Kenneth''s familial estates in October, and their close proximity to Rhemuth allows Donal to make another surprise visit in November. Heart-broken by the accidental death of his youngest son, Prince Jathan, Donal sets a final set of mental triggers in young Alaric to enable the boy to activate Prince Brion''s full Haldane powers in the future. However, due to Alaric''s youth, Donal also gives similar power to Alyce, allowing her to activate his heir''s abilities if necessary. During the return to Rhemuth, Donal falls ill, and his condition quickly deteriorates despite the best efforts of the royal physicians. King Donal Blaine Haldane dies on November 14, 1095. Alyce delivers her second child, a daughter named Bronwyn, on December 12, but she fails to regain her strength afterwards. Nevertheless, she is determined to activate Brion''s powers as quickly as possible, and she orders Kenneth to bring the new king to her. Kenneth reluctantly complies, but Alyce, in her weakened state, is unable to fully activate Brion''s arcane abilities. The strain of the attempt is ultimately too much for her, and Lady Alyce de Corwyn de Morgan dies in the arms of her husband on December 29, 1095. After Alyce''s funeral, Kenneth and Alaric return to Rhemuth for Brion''s coronation, but the ceremony is delayed by the death of the Archbishop of Valoret. The remaining bishops travel to Valoret to elect their new leader, a process that is finally completed in early March. Brion decides to travel to Valoret to meet the new archbishop, despite concerns for his safety by several of his ministers. Additionally, the Camberian Council has become increasingly concerned that Zachris Pomeroy may attempt to kill the new king. After arriving at Valoret and witnessing the enthronement of the new archbishop, an assassination plot is discovered by Jamyl Arilan, a Deryni secretly working for the Camberian Council. Jamyl is forced to reveal himself to Kenneth, and the two successfully disrupt the plot before Brion can be harmed. During a battle in the cathedral itself, Kenneth is saved from Zachris'' magic by the timely intervention of Sir Sé Trelawney, a mysterious childhood friend of Alyce''s who kills the rogue Deryni with a single arrow. Afterwards, Kenneth tells nobody of Jamyl''s Deryni heritage or Sé''s presence in Valoret. Upon returning to Rhemuth, the final preparations for the coronation are made, and King Brion Haldane is crowned on March 24, 1096. Sé briefly appears to pledge his service to Brion, and Kenneth once again dedicates himself and his son to the protection of the Haldane line.

Childe Morgan

The book is a collection of short stories describing various aspects of human life on Earth in the 22nd century. The plots of the stories are not closely connected, but they feature a shared set of characters. The most commonly recurring characters are Evgeny Slavin and Sergei Kondratev, who, as a result of a lengthy journey through interstellar space at near the speed of light, are thrown over a century into the future and must re-integrate into the society of their great-grandchildren. The book includes the following stories: #Night on Mars - Two doctors walk on foot on Mars after their vehicle was lost in quicksand. They must avoid an encounter with a local wild beast, while hurrying to assist in the delivery of Evgeny Slavin, the first human born on Mars. (This apparently takes place in the late 20th century.) #Almost the Same - Sergei Kondratev as a young man in flight school. #Old-timer - The photon engine-driven spaceship "Taimyr" mysteriously returns to Earth after having disappeared a century earlier. Kondratev and Slavin are the only survivors. #The Conspirators - Schoolchildren Pol Gnedykh, Aleksandr "Lin" Kostylin, Mikhail Sidorov, and Gennady Komov plan and dream about their futures. #Chronicle - A scientific report giving an analysis of the disappearance and reappearance of the Taimyr. #Two from the Taimyr - Kondratev and Slavin recuperate from their wounds after the crash of the Taimyr, and begin to investigate the Earth of the future to which they have returned. #The Moving Roads - Kondratev explores Earth on a global system of moving roadways. #Cornucopia - Slavin attempts to adjust to the domestic technology of the future. #Homecoming - Kondratev encounters Leonid Gorbovsky, and decides to take a job in oceanography. #Langour of the Spirit - Gnedykh and Kostylin reconnect after many years apart. #The Assaultmen - Gorbovsky tours the artificial satellites of Vladislava, and journeys to the surface with Sidorov and Ryu Waseda. #Deep Search - Kondratev and oceanographer Akiko Okada hunt giant squid on a deep sea expedition. #The Mystery of the Hind Leg - Slavin encounters the Collector of Dispersed Data project. #Candles Before the Control Board - Okada (now married to Kondratev) tries to visit her dying father, the subject of the Great Encoding #Natural Science in the Spirit World - Espers assist the Institute of Space Physics in an effort to explain the Taimyr disappearance and reappearance. #Pilgrims and Wayfarers - Gorbovsky discusses the "Voice of the Void" and other mysteries, and the philosophy of space exploration. #The Planet with all the Conveniences - Komov, Waseda, and others explore the planet Leonida and make brief contact with the Leoniders. #Defeat - Sidorov tests prototype colonization devices in a remote area on Earth. #The Meeting - Gnedykh and Kostylin again meet after a long separation, and Gnedykh regrets his accidental killing of an alien creature who may have been sentient. #What You Will Be Like - Kondratev, Slavin, and Gorbovsky explore Tagora. Kondratev and Slavin discuss the progress and stagnation of humanity over their long lifespan, and Gorbovsky tells a fantastic story about his encounter with a visitor from the future.

Noon: 22nd Century

The story is set during the Second World War and deals with a group of six children living in the North East of England. Their town, Garmouth, regularly suffers bombing raids by the German Luftwaffe. One of the children, Chas McGill, finds a crashed German He 111 bomber and takes a fully operational machine gun and over two thousand rounds of ammunition. With the help of his friend, Cyril "Cemtery/Cem" Jones, the pair intend to set up their own fortress with their friends, including a boy from Glasgow called "Clogger" Duncan, and another boy, nicknamed "Carrot Juice" on account of his ginger hair and freckles. They also team up with a girl called Audrey Parton, and a boy, Benjamin "Nicky" Nichol. They name their "Fortress Caporetto", after a World War I battle in which Chas''s grandfather fought. Later a bomb lands on Nicky''s house and he is presumed dead. According to Chas''s puritan neighbour Nicky''s mother and a man were found "dead in their bed of sin with not a stitch on". Nicky has actually survived, and, understandably shaken and upset, he hides in the Fortress, where he is found by the gang. After this, only his friends know he is alive. During an attack by an Me 110 fighter, the children fire their gun at the plane. They miss but, surprised, the plane swerves into the path of an AA gun and is shot down by three Spitfires from the nearby airfield at RAF Acklington. The pilot is killed; rear gunner Rudi Gerlath bales out, injuring his ankle on landing. The victor of two air battles, Rudi evades capture for many days, until his ankle is sufficiently healed to allow him to walk again. He then discovers the children''s hidden fortress and is promptly arrested by the children, who take his pistol. Only later does he realise that the machine-gun has been damaged and is not working. The children do not wish to reveal their secret so do not hand Rudi over to the authorities, but keep him prisoner at their fort, where Clogger and Nicky now live permanently. After a while Rudi is bribed with the offer of a boat belonging to Nicky''s dead father, if he will mend the gun. He agrees and mends it before being taken to the dock where he rows off. The same night the church bells ring, the alarm signalling a German invasion. The children hurry to the fortress but do not see anything; it was a false alarm. Out at sea, Rudi finds he does not have the strength to row to German-occupied Norway and is forced back to England. He rejoins the children at the fortress. The next day it is realised that the children are missing, and some Polish refugee soldiers are drafted in to look for them. The children, on seeing troops speaking in a foreign language, open fire on them with the gun believing they are a German invasion force. The children are soon overpowered, however, and forced to surrender. In the chaos, Clogger shoots and wounds Rudi with his own Luger pistol, but the injury is not fatal. The very well-made fortress is surrendered to the Home Guard, then Clogger and Nicky are taken to a children''s home while the other children are handed over to their parents. A sequel, Fathom Five, set two years later, was published in 1979.

The Machine Gunners

This novel covers the time from when Arthur Pendragon was conceived to when he was crowned a king. In this version, Merlin''s father is Aurelius Ambrosius, the Roman war leader, Uther Pendragon''s brother, making Merlin Arthur''s cousin. Merlin is depicted as twenty-two years old at the beginning of the book, which opens on the morning after the conception of Arthur. This conception has taken place as a result, not of illusion or shape-changing as in the legends (and as Merlin would like people to believe), but of ordinary human disguise and misdirection. Duchess Ygraine is said to have known who she was mating with and whose son she bears from the moment Uther came to her. Merlin goes into hiding, to avoid trouble. He learns that Uther wishes the child to be hidden, until another (legitimate) son is born. In later chapters, Merlin travels from one place to another, arranging for the upbringing of Arthur. He gives the child first to his own nurse Moravik, who after some years sends the boy to Count Ector of Galava to be trained as a man. Merlin sets off for Constantinople, accompanied by a small retinue of servants. In Constantinople, he learns from his host Adhjan that Magnus Maximus (also known as Macsen Wledig) possessed an especially beautiful and well-made sword, which was taken back to Britain after Macsen Wledig''s death. Inspired by a dream which he believes to be prophetic, Merlin returns to the North in search of this sword. In Wales, Merlin finds the sword in a deserted temple of Mithras hidden beneath the altar with a spearhead and a chalice. He takes only the sword. In order to hide from overly curious people, Merlin becomes a hermit in an obscure shrine, providing healing to the injured and advice to the insecure. He commits himself to no religion, but "allows" whatever god is willing to receive the offerings at the shrine. Later, Merlin becomes Arthur''s tutor and that of two other boys, those being Arthur''s foster-brother Cei and his friend Bedwyr. Out on a ride, Arthur discovers the sword of Macsen—his ancestor and Merlin''s—hidden in a cave on an island in the center of a lake. Naming it Caliburn and laying it to rest in the altar of the Chapel Perilous, he goes on to win his first battle in a decisive victory against invading Saxons. His parentage is revealed and he is named the heir of High King Uther Pendragon; facing a challenge to his fitness as the next High King, he returns to the Chapel and draws forth Caliburn as proof before the assembled nobility.

The Hollow Hills

In the book, Plimer likens the concept of human-induced climate change to creationism and asserts that it is a "fundamentalist religion adopted by urban atheists looking to fill a yawning spiritual gap plaguing the West". Environmental groups are claimed to have filled this gap by having a romantic view of a less developed past. The book is critical of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which he claims has allowed "little or no geological, archeological or historical input" in its analyses. If it had, the book asserts, the IPCC would know cold times lead to dwindling populations, social disruption, extinction, disease and catastrophic droughts, while warm times lead to life blossoming and economic booms – suggesting that global warming, whether or not caused by humans, should be welcomed. The book is critical of political efforts to address climate change and argues that extreme environmental changes are inevitable and unavoidable. the book claims, and they have narrowed the climate change debate to the atmosphere, whereas the truth is more complex. Money would be better directed to dealing with problems as they occur rather than making expensive and futile attempts to prevent climate change. The book differs from the scientific consensus in contending that the Great Barrier Reef will benefit from rising seas, that there is no correlation between carbon dioxide levels and temperature, and that 98% of the greenhouse effect is due to water vapour. In the book, Plimer asserts that the current theory of human-induced global warming is not in accord with history, archaeology, geology or astronomy and must be rejected, that promotion of this theory as science is fraudulent, and that the current alarm over climate change is the result of bad science. He argues that climate models focus too strongly on the effects of carbon dioxide, rather than factoring in other issues such as solar variation, the effect of clouds, and unreliable temperature measurements.

Heaven and Earth

The story follows the adventures of a young groob, named Sprocc, who loves to play with his splingtwanger (a guitar-like instrument). On his homeworld, planet Blipp, creativity is stifled and only the traditional music passed down from many generations is allowed. This stagnant environment quickly becomes too much for the artistic Sprocc and he improvises his own music, this nearly gets him exiled from his homeworld. But, he decides "life on Blipp for him was through", so he goes to an urban planet where he meets a variety of aliens. There he makes some new friends and learns of a competition for the "Worst Band in the Universe". The irony of this title is that within the context of the stagnant music environment, a creative band would be considered bad and the most creative band considered the "Worst". However, after winning the competition, Sprocc learns that the contest is a sham run by the same imperial authorities stifling music creativity. Sprocc and his band mates are sent in exile to the junkyard planet, Wastedump B19, where Sprocc meets another exile called Skat. After a persistent effort by Sprocc, eventually Skat is persuaded to help Sprocc, his bandmates, and the other exiles build a ship, that is powered by music, and return to Blipp one year later. After returning to Blipp, the music exiles perform a grand show but are eventually stopped by the imperial authorities. However, the elder leader of Blipp comes out and explains that the old ways are no longer viable, that Sprocc and his friends represent the new generation of music creativity, and that they should be embraced and supported. With their authority stripped away, the Imperials can do nothing but watch the new generation and their new music. The book comes with a bonus CD. The CD covers some of the music performed at the "worst band in the universe competition" in the novel. All the music was written and performed by Graeme Base.

The Worst Band In The Universe

John Dolittle, MD, is a respected physician and quiet bachelor living with his spinster sister in the small English village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. His love of animals grows over the years and his household menagerie eventually scares off his human clientele, leading to loss of wealth. But after learning the secret of speaking to all animals from his parrot Polynesia, he takes up veterinary practice. His fortunes rise and fall again after a crocodile takes up residence, but his fame in the animal kingdom spreads throughout the world. He is conscripted into voyaging to Africa to cure a monkey epidemic just as he faces bankruptcy. He has to borrow supplies and a ship, and sails with a crew of his favourite animals, but is shipwrecked upon arriving to Africa. On the way to the monkey kingdom, his band is arrested by the king of Jolliginki, a victim of European exploitation who wants no white men traveling his country. The band barely escapes by ruse, but makes it to the monkey kingdom where things are dire indeed as a result of the raging epidemic. He vaccinates the well monkeys and nurses the sick back to health. In appreciation, the monkeys find a pushmi-pullyu, a shy two-headed gazelle-unicorn cross, whose rarity may bring Dr. Dolittle money back home. On the return trip, they again are captured in Jolliginki. This time they escape with the help of Prince Bumpo, who gives them a ship in exchange for Dolittle''s bleaching Bumpo''s face white, his greatest desire being to act as a European fairy-tale prince. Dolittle''s crew then have a couple of run-ins with pirates, leading to Dolittle''s winning a pirate ship loaded with treasures and rescuing a boy whose uncle was abandoned on a rock island. After reuniting the two, Dolittle finally makes it home and tours with the pushmi-pullyu in a circus until he makes enough money to retire to his beloved home in Puddleby.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The movie begins with a battle between fates, the evil Rebi Ra (also pronounced Levi Ra or even Devi Da) versus the short-lived hero Genichirou. Rebi Ra has allowed himself to be possessed in order to gain the incredible powers of evil and plans to summon demons to conquer the world. Defeating Genichirou and destroying Shinjuku, a part of Tokyo, with a devastating earthquake, the area becomes a demon-haunted wilderness. The novel doesn''t have a fight scene between Genichirou and Rebi Ra. It opens with a quiet time in Shinjuku and then in a sudden change the Demon Quake hits only Shinjuku. Ten years later, the World President, put in place to uphold world peace, is attacked by Rebi Ra indirectly to keep his old master, Aguni Lai (Aguni Rai), as the protector of the president, occupied. However, Rebi Ra did not know that Genichirou had a son who inherited his powers and more. After an emotional plea from the president''s daughter, Sayaka Rama, the unlikely hero Kyoya Izayoi follows her deep into the heart of the evil city, finding new allies and terrifying enemies along the way. In the novel Aguni Rai asks the Information Bureau Japan Section Chief to look for Kyoya as the only one who could stop Rebi Ra. The Section Chief tests Kyoya with a commando cyborg and then relates to Kyoya that the president is in a life threatening curse and only has three days to defeat Rebi Ra before the president is killed as the ritual sacrifice to bring the Demon Realm to Earth, which he failed to do years prior, causing the Demon Quake. During the course of explanation Aguni Rai uses a doppelganger to communicate to Kyoya from New York in hopes of convincing him to save the world. Sayaka soon enters and pleads with him to do so as well. Kyoya finally decides to help because of Sayaka''s pleas.

Demon City Shinjuku

The story is set during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan has invaded China, and the Japanese attack the village where young Tien Pao and his family live. The family flees upriver in an abandoned sampan to the town of Hengyang. While the boy''s parents go to a nearby American airfield to seek work with his younger sister, Tien Pao spends the day taking care of the sampan as well as three ducklings and the family pig, named Glory of the Republic. During a rainstorm, while Tien Pao is asleep, the sampan breaks loose from its moorings. Tien Pao is swept down the river. After a night in the raging waters, the storm abates, and Tien Pao finds himself floating in the area where his village used to be. He releases the ducklings in the river and heads for higher ground with his pig. He must travel over high mountains and through dangerous Japanese occupied territory to reach Hengyang. As he journeys home, Tien Pao begins to starve and suffer from exhaustion. He witnesses terrifying scenes of violence. Once, he sees a plane strafe a Japanese military convoy, only to be shot down over the forest. Sitting on a big rock, Tien Pao watches the entire skirmish. He later comes upon the injured American pilot (whom he had met before during his stay at Hengyang river) and helps the man return to his unit. The American pilot is a member of the Flying Tigers, and the sixty men in the unit become the "sixty fathers" who care for Tien Pao. Tien Pao exhibits a strong will to continue to try to find his parents, an incredibly difficult task; with the help of the American pilot he finds an airfield similar to the one his parents once worked on. The pilot only wishes to show Tien Pao an airfield but Tien Pao finds his mother and is at last reunited with his family.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Wintle's Wonders

By Noel Streatfeild

Go Tell It on the Mountain

By James Baldwin

The Sword of the Lady

By S. M. Stirling

Childe Morgan

By Katherine Kurtz

Noon: 22nd Century

By Boris Strugatsky

The Machine Gunners

By Robert Westall

The Hollow Hills

By Mary Stewart

Heaven and Earth

By Ian Plimer

The Worst Band In The Universe

By Graeme Base

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

By Hugh Lofting

Demon City Shinjuku

By Hideyuki Kikuchi

The House of Sixty Fathers

By Meindert DeJong