The fictional town of Grantville, West Virginia (modeled on the real West Virginia town of Mannington) and its power plant are displaced in space-time, through a side effect of a mysterious alien civilization. A hemispherical section of land about three miles in radius measured from the town center is transported back in time and space from April 2000 to May 1631, from North America to central Germany. The town is thrust into the middle of the Thirty Years'' War, in the German province of Thuringia in the Thuringer Wald, near the fictional German free city of Badenburg. This Assiti Shards effect occurs during a wedding reception, accounting for the presence of several people not native to the town, including a doctor and his daughter, a paramedic. Real Thuringian municipalities located close to Grantville are posited as Weimar, Jena, Saalfeld and the more remote Erfurt, Arnstadt, and Eisenach well to the south of Halle and Leipzig. Grantville, led by Mike Stearns, president of the local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), must cope with the town''s space-time dislocation, the surrounding raging war, language barriers, and numerous social and political issues, including class conflict, witchcraft, feminism, the reformation and the counter-reformation, among many other factors. One complication is a compounding of the food shortage when the town is flooded by refugees from the war. The 1631 locals experience a culture shock when exposed to the mores of contemporary American society, including modern dress, sexual liberation, and boisterous American-style politics. Grantville struggles to survive while trying to maintain technology sundered from twenty-first century resources. Throughout 1631, Grantville manages to establish itself locally by forming the nascent New United States of Europe (NUS) with several local cities even as war rages around them. But once Count Tilly falls during the Battle of Breitenfeld outside of Leipzig, King Gustavus Adolphus rapidly moves the war theater to Franconia and Bavaria, just south of Grantville. This leads to the creation of the Confederated Principalities of Europe (CPoE) and some measure of security for Grantville''s up-timer and down-timer populations.

1632

The play opens with the King of Navarre and three noble companions, Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville, taking an oath to devote themselves to three years of study, promising not to give in to the company of women – Berowne somewhat more hesitantly than the others. Berowne reminds the king that the princess and her three ladies are coming to the kingdom and it would be suicidal for the King to agree to this law. The King denies what Berowne says, insisting that the ladies make their camp in the field outside of his court. The King and his men meet the princess and her ladies. Instantly, they all fall comically in love. The main story is assisted by many other humorous sub-plots. A rather heavily-accented Spanish swordsman, Don Adriano de Armado, tries and fails to woo a country wench, Jaquenetta, helped by Moth, his page, and rivalled by Costard, a country idiot. We are also introduced to two scholars, Holofernes and Sir Nathaniel, and we see them converse with each other in schoolboy Latin. In the final act, the comic characters perform a play to entertain the nobles, an idea conceived by Holofernes, where they represent the Nine Worthies. The four Lords – as well as the Ladies'' courtier Boyet – mock the play, and Armado and Costard almost come to blows. At the end of this ''play'' within the play, there is a bitter twist in the story. News arrives that the Princess''s father has died and she must leave to take the throne. The king and his nobles swear to remain faithful to their ladies, but the ladies, unconvinced that their love is that strong, claim that the men must wait a whole year and a day to prove what they say is true. This is an unusual ending for Shakespeare and Elizabethan comedy. A play mentioned by Francis Meres, Love''s Labour''s Won, is believed by some to be a sequel to this play.

Love''s Labour''s Lost

Leslie and Peter are childhood friends who become lovers the summer before their senior year in high school. Their romance is immediately complicated by Leslie’s discovery—by reading her mother’s diary—that her mother, Aline, and his father, Nelson, are having an affair. Before the summer is over their parents have announced their impending divorces and Leslie and Peter’s lives are thrown in disarray. The pair spends the next few months of their lives dealing with senior year in high school, the divorces of the parents, and the quick marriage that legally makes them stepsiblings. In addition, Peter is striving for early acceptance at Harvard while Leslie spends much of her time in rehearsal for her high school play for she plans on going to college for acting and drama. Peter at the start of the school year continues to live with his mother; Nelson moves into a new apartment with his new wife and stepdaughter. Leslie is upset at the new living arrangements because she is close to her father and is angry with Aline for the divorce and quick remarriage. In her struggle to deal with the divorce Peter’s mother decides to sell the family home and move to Chicago to finish her college degree. This forces Peter to move in with his father, stepmother and stepsister/girlfriend. The awkwardness of the situation causes the two to argue and abruptly end their physical relationship, having kept it a secret from their parents. As they move on with their lives, Peter and Leslie reconcile and renew their intimacy as the new marriage begins to fall apart primarily because of Nelson’s womanizing, although Aline’s emotional neediness is also a contributing factor. The novel ends with the couple planning a cross country car trip during the summer before they go off to separate colleges. No longer related, they are more comfortable to resume their relationship without the complications imposed by their parents'' actions.

Family Secrets

The book is about Josh Tambling who is well loved and cared for by his parents. Josh and his mates have formed a grunge metal band and dream of being rock stars. But when he lands a holiday job in the Lost Property Office at Sydney’s Central station, Josh starts to sense the loss of some important things in his life. One is that his brother Michael has drifted off and will not let anyone know where he is. The stress this is putting on his family grows, so when Josh discovers a clue to Michael’s whereabouts while handling lost items in his work, he sets out on his own to bring him back. Josh Tambling is the son of a famous footballer and a very well known radio station personality. He is in a band with his mates. He has a girlfriend named Alicia. During the holidays he works at the Lost Property office. On his first day a lady requests a cardigan and Josh gives it to her but she doesn''t find what she wanted, a brooch. Josh''s supervisor, Clive, explains that sometimes they separate jewellery and other valuable items from bags and clothing. He finds a brooch in the safe where jewellery is kept and it belongs to the woman. She is overcome with emotion and explains that even though it is of little monetary value,it is a family heirloom and very important to her. Here, Josh realises how important small things can be to people. He goes for a band practice with his friends and they meet his friend Steve''s sister, Gemma. The next night Josh goes to Alicia''s house and goes into the pool. They play around and look at the stars and Josh confesses that he believes that the universe is big for no reason. His trust in God slowly decreases. He goes to work again and in the afternoon goes for another band practice. He talks to Gemma about the same conversation he had with Alicia and she responds that there is more out there than just a big waste of space. The band decide to go to The Domain for New Year''s Eve. When they go Josh sits next to Alicia and his friend Neven sits next to Gemma and their relationship is revealed. That evening Josh finds himself dwelling on the last thing Clive said to him, which was “Don’t forget, if you find any lost property, even the small things can be valuable”. Josh is in the train home when he answers to a calling, he starts picking up all the lost property in his carriage then follows on to do all the carriages. He continues to do this on another train, then another until he reaches Cronulla Station. His life begins to go downhill.

Lost Property

Martin Lynch-Gibbon is a 41-year-old well-to-do wine merchant whose childless marriage to an older woman called Antonia has been one of convenience rather than love. It never occurs to him that his ongoing affair with a young academic called Georgie could be immoral. Displaying quite a number of macho attributes in his relationships with women, Lynch-Gibbon is shocked when, out of the blue, his wife tells him that she is going to leave him for Palmer Anderson, her psychoanalyst and a friend of the couple''s, with whom she has had a secret affair for quite some time. Lynch-Gibbon moves out of their London house but still does not want to publicize his affair with Georgie, let alone become engaged to her. At roughly the same time Cupid''s arrow hits Lynch-Gibbon again. This time he falls for Honor Klein, Anderson''s half-sister, who is a lecturer in anthropology at Cambridge, a woman who, on seeing her for the first time, he remembers finding rather repulsive. Like a man possessed, he follows her to Cambridge and, in the middle of the night, breaks into her house, only to find her in bed with her half-brother. When, shortly afterwards, Antonia confesses to him that she has also been sleeping with his older brother Alexander ever since he introduced them to each other ("You mean you didn''t know at all? Surely you must have guessed."), Lynch-Gibbon''s world starts disintegrating. Despite his being a wine merchant, he chooses whisky as his constant companion. In the end, however, he realizes that life must—and somehow will—go on.

A Severed Head

The novel takes place in 19th century Georgia, when Georgia was occupied by the Russian Empire. It is a love story of Iago, a peasant boy, and Nunu, a beautiful young woman. Nunu''s mother died early, and since her father (a member of the coalition army in the Shamil rebellion) is too poor to care for her, she lives with her uncle''s family. They disapprove of her match with Iago, as they consider him a mere Plebe. Instead, they are sympathetic towards Grigola, the tyrannical village governor appointed by the Russians. Grigola is married, but in love with the beautiful Nunu. He convinces her family that his brother would like to wed her, though Grigola intends to keep Nunu as his own mistress. To get Nunu, Grigola realizes that he has to get rid of Iago first. Grigola accuses him of stealing state property and gives orders to lock him up in the Ananuri fortress. He then kidnaps and rapes Nunu. Koba, Iago''s best friend, witnesses the kidnapping. He fights through Grigola''s men to rescue Nunu, but he is too late. Koba swears revenge against Grigola for his shameful behavior. Koba and another friend break Iago out of jail, and they all decide to flee to the Northern Caucasus and hide in Chechnya, since Russian police and Cossacks are looking for them all over Georgia. Despite the fact that many Georgians were fighting on the Russian side, Shamil receives them and offers protection. The author portrays Chechens as free men who fight for their freedom, in contrast to the Georgians, who were kept on a short leash by people like Grigola, unable even to hold town meetings (a tradition since the Middle Ages). Meanwhile, Nunu escapes from Grigola. Koba manages to contact her and tells her to meet them in Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia, along with her father. The night before Iago and Nunu are supposed to see each other again, Iago and Koba''s host decides to inform Grigola of their whereabouts, hoping to receive their horses in exchange for the information. After midnight, Grigola shows up and murders Iago, the friend, and Nunu''s father, hoping to pin the latter on Nunu and thus have an excuse to send her to Siberia. Koba escapes Grigola''s wrath, but upon discovering both her lover and father murdered, Nunu dies from grief. At the end of the story, Koba exacts his revenge for both Iago and Nunu by shooting Grigola and his supervisor in a cab in the forest. Koba is the hero of the story, who respects friendship, defends truth, respects women, and enforces justice.

The Patricide

Mists of Avalon is a generations-spanning retelling of the Arthurian legend, but bringing it back to its Brythonic roots (see Matter of Britain). Its protagonist is Morgaine, who witnesses the rise of Uther Pendragon to the throne of Camelot. As a child, she is taken to Avalon by High Priestess Viviane, her maternal aunt, to become a priestess of the Mother Goddess and witnesses the rising tension between the old Pagan and the new Christian religions. At one point, she is given in a fertility ritual to a young man she will later learn is Arthur, her half-brother. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Morgaine conceives a child, Gwydion, later called Mordred, as a result of the ritual. After Uther dies, his son Arthur claims the throne. Morgaine and Viviane give him the magic sword Excalibur, and with the combined force of Avalon and Camelot, Arthur drives the invasion of the Saxons away. But when his wife Gwenhwyfar fails to produce a child, she is convinced that it is a punishment of God: firstly for the presence of pagan elements (a stance which Morgaine deeply resents), and secondly, for her forbidden love for Arthur''s finest knight Lancelet. She increasingly becomes a religious fanatic, and relationships between Avalon and Camelot (i.e. Morgaine and herself) become hostile. When the knights of the Round Table of Camelot leave to search for the Holy Grail, Mordred seeks to usurp the throne. In a climactic battle, Arthur''s and Mordred''s armies square off, and in the end Avalon and Arthur are magically removed from the circles of the world. It is Morgaine alone who lives to tell the tale of Camelot.

The Mists of Avalon

Inspector Hans Bärlach, at the end of his career and suffering from cancer, is recovering from an operation. He witnesses how his friend and doctor Samuel Hungertobel turns pale and becomes nervous when looking at a photograph in a magazine he is reading. The person pictured is the German Dr Nehle who carried out horrific experiments on prisoners in the concentration camp Stutthof near Gdansk and is believed to have committed suicide in Chile in 1945. Hungertobel explains that his colleague Fritz Emmenberger, who was in Chile during the war, closely resembles Dr Nehle. Bärlach suspects that Nehle and Emmenberger either changed roles during their time in Chile or happen to be the same person. A close friend of Bärlach''s is the Jew Gulliver who fell victim to Nehle''s experiments in Stuffhof. Gulliver visits Bärlach and they talk through the night. In the morning, Bärlach is convinced that Dr Emmenberger, who is now leading a famous private clinic in Zurich, committed the crimes under the false name of Dr Nehle. He decides to sign himself into Emmenberger''s clinic under the false name of Kramer in order to put the suspect under pressure. In the clinic, Bärlach can indeed identify Dr Emmenberger as the man who committed those terrible crimes. However, the cancer has weakened him and he loses all control, being consistently drugged under Emmenberger''s supervision. All hospital staff proves to be blindly committed to Emmenberger whose plan it is to brutally murder Bärlach under the pretense of an operation. Bärlach is saved in the nick of time when Gulliver steps in, murders Emmenberger and leads Bärlach out of the dubious clinic to be reunited with his friend Hungertobel in Bern.

Suspicion

Texar and Burbank are bitter enemies, Burbank''s northern view of slavery as an evil being an unpopular stance with Texar and the rest of the community, deep in the Confederate States of America. On top of this disagreement, though, Texar is angry at Burbank for past legal troubles Burbank has brought upon Texar, and, despite Texar inventing a perfect alibi that allows him to escape conviction, Texar feels the need for vengeance and eventually becomes a prominent and powerful member of the Jacksonville community. Using this newfound power, Texar turns the townsfolk against Burbank and leads a mob that destroys the Burbank plantation, known as Camdless Bay. Burbank''s daughter Dy and caretaker Zermah are both kidnapped by a man claiming to be Texar and are purportedly taken to a place in the Everglades called Carneral Island. En route, and after enlisting the help of the United States Navy, they find a separate group searching for Texar in response to crimes that apparently happened in the same time as the ones at Camdless Bay but in a distant location. This opens up the realization that there is one real Texar and one who is not, and the search continues now, not only for Dy and Zermah, but for the answer to this mystery.

Texar''s Revenge, or, North Against South

This book is set in the present day and follows the exploits of adventurer Nicholas Quenton-Harper and his love interest, the beautiful Dr. Royan Al Simma as they try and uncover the tomb of Tanus as described in River God. Wilbur Smith makes references to himself in the book, parodying the conventions of violence and sex often seen in his work. Duraid Al Simma and his wife Royan decipher the seventh scroll, which Taita had placed in the tomb of Lostris. Unfortunately, before they could proceed further, they are attacked and their work is stolen. Duraid is brutally murdered, but Royan manages to escape into the night, for help. She narrowly escapes death for the second time. Royan heads to England and there convinces an old friend of Duraid, Nicholas, of the existence of the fabulous treasure that is in the tomb of Pharaoh Mamose. During her stay in England she narrowly escapes death for the third time as she and her mother drive back home. Struck with confusion, fear and insecurity, she entrust herself into Nicholas''s companionship. Together they travel to Ethiopia following clues laid out by Taita. As the pair journey along together, they grow fond of each other''s company, with heart-felt love and romance. They find the location of the tomb, but are then attacked by the Pegasus group, which was also behind earlier attempts on Royan''s life. Once again Royan and Nicholas''s work are stolen. It is revealed that the Pegasus group is owned by Herr von Schiller, a ruthless German collector. With the help of his right hand man Jake Helm, Colonel Nogo, and Duraid''s former assistants under his command, he acquires a strong force that are willing to go to extreme lengths for his sake. Colonel Nogo was put in charge of keeping Royan and Nicholas out of their way and Duraid''s assistant was in charge of exploiting the works Nicholas and Royan discovered, while Jake Helm provided them with Pegasus''s facilities. Meanwhile, with the help of an old friend of Nicholas, Mek Nimmur (leader of a notorious force of Christian gangs, ''Shuftas''), Nicholas and Royan sneak back into Ethiopia for the second time, but this time illegally and with equipment to search for the treasure. Accompanying them is an old fisherman who has knowledge of building dams. He is employed under Nicholas''s demand, to help in their quest. With spies of Herr Von Schiller''s gloating around Nicholas and Royans''s premises, the question of how Nicholas and Royan manage to find the tomb and escape from von Schiller forms the rest of the novel.

The Seventh Scroll

Sneaking into Paisley Park to sit with her memories of Asukai Jin, Kinukawa Kotoe fell into the clutches of Spooky E, who had been hiding there since his defeat by Boogiepop. Capturing her as a new terminal, he worked on her to lead his search for Imaginator. Using her vast wealth, the manipulated Kinukawa began taking those whose friends had been changed by Imaginator to help find it. Under the suspicion of Kirima Nagi, Taniguchi Masaki headed off to meet Orihata Aya, planning to again impersonate Boogiepop for her. Kinukawa had already met up with Orihata and had instructed her that this was the end of her relationship with Taniguchi. Trying to save him, Orihata tries to make Taniguchi hate her, but he instead runs off to continue impersonating Boogiepop for her sake. Spotting one of the girls who had been with Asukai at her school, Suema followed to investigate. The girl had been looking for someone. After, at their cram school, Suema confronts Asukai. Both manage to surprise each other with their knowledge, though neither managed to identify how the other was linked. Living as ''Boogiepop'', Taniguchi stopped returning home. Finding new targets by himself, he continued to act the part of a hero, but was gradually becoming sloppier in his actions. Kinukawa and some of her hired thugs managed to find Taniguchi and tried to use him to kill ''Boogiepop'', thereby making the real Boogiepop a fake in the eyes of others. Though able to protect himself against the initial attack, Taniguchi was soon overwhelmed, however, he was rescued by Kirima, who had also been looking for him. She defeated the attackers and freed them all from Spooky E''s control. Kinukawa escaped, but was found by Asukai, who restored her to normal, as he had done with many of the other Terminals. Trying to find Orihata, Taniguchi searched her apartment, but soon realised that she had not returned since they last met. Meanwhile, Spooky E quickly discovered that he had lost all his Terminals, and was soon confronted by Asukai, who identified himself as Imaginator. Protecting himself from Spooky E''s powers with anti-magnetic sheets, Asukai grasps Spooky E''s ''flower'' and begins changing his heart, but the synthetic human chose suicide over being manipulated by Imaginator. Fearing for Orihata''s life, Taniguchi attempts to contact her by phone. She is found by Asukai, who allows her to speak with Taniguchi, but he needs her to be his sacrifice to create his perfect world. From the phone call, Taniguchi was able to deduce that they were at Paisley Park and immediately set off for it. Meanwhile, Suema also discovers that everything is at Paisley Park and makes her own way to the abandoned site. Breaking into Paisley Park, Taniguchi is confronted by those manipulated by Imaginator. Unable to effectively fight back, he is soon overwhelmed, but at the last moment is saved by a microfilament wire. Accompanied by the Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Boogiepop makes his appearance and quickly defeats the manipulated humans. Making his way to where Asukai and Orihata were, Boogiepop appeared before them. From the way she feared him, Asukai deduced that Boogiepop was a powerful opponent, but it was not until his plan to use Orihata fails that he realised that he had lost. After expelling Imaginator, Boogiepop left Orihata and Asukai alone. Suema arrived at Paisley Park to again find that everything had already finished around her. Suema saved Asukai and helped reunite Orihata and Taniguchi, who need no longer be separated.

Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 2

Zia is the 14-year-old niece of Karana, the Indian woman left behind on the Island of the Blue Dolphins in the previous book. Zia believes her aunt Karana to be alive, and with the help of her younger brother Mando, she sets out twice in an eighteen-foot boat on what are, ultimately, unsuccessful attempts at rescuing Karana. There is evidence on the island that she is still there, including small footprints in the sand, signs of cooking fires and the remains of huts. Captain Nidever sails to the Island of the Blue Dolphins to hunt otters, bringing Father Vicente with him to find Karana. Meanwhile, Stone Hands, planning an escape for himself and the other Indians living at the mission, gives Zia the key to the girls'' dormitory room. She unlocks the dormitory, and Captain Cordova puts Zia in prison, believing she was the instigator of the escape. Captain Nidever returns with Karana and her second dog, Rontu-Aru. Captain Nidever and Father Vicente argue, and finally free Zia from prison. Zia and Karana can''t communicate, although Karana appears to be settling into society. She learns to weave baskets as the other mission Indians do, loves melons and is fascinated by the horses, of which there were none on her island. Originally, Karana is assigned to sleep in the women''s dormitory, but Rontu Aru is separated from her and chained up in the courtyard, as the priests believe he is bringing fleas into the dormitory. Karana, unaccustomed to the company of others and missing her dog, moves out to the courtyard. Father Merced becomes very ill and dies, and Father Vicente takes over. He lets the people sell the things that they make and allows them to keep the money. He then goes to Monterey Bay, Father Malatesta filling his place. Stone Hands, Karana and the others do not like Father Malatesta, and run away. Zia finds Karana in the same cave in which she and Mando had hidden the dinghy they found at the beginning of the book. A few days later, Karana dies. Zia decides to return to her hometown, Pala, where she dies years later.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

1632

By Eric Flint

Love's Labour's Lost

By William Shakespeare

Family Secrets

By Norma Klein

Lost Property

No Author Listed

A Severed Head

By Iris Murdoch

The Patricide

No Author Listed

The Mists of Avalon

By Marion Zimmer Bradley

Suspicion

By Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Texar's Revenge, or, North Against South

By Jules Verne

The Seventh Scroll

By Wilbur A. Smith

Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 2

By Kouhei Kadono

Zia

By Scott O''Dell