In The Comet''s Watchmaker, The Count de Champignac goes to visit his great nephew and entrusts the castle to Spirou and Fantasio, who both hope to relax. However, a strange vessel crashes in their garden and an individual resembling the Count de Champignac, accompanied by a strange creature, Snouffelaire, disembark. The individual proves to be the descendant of the Count, Aurélien, come from the future to look for the seeds of some plants that are extinct in his time in order to preserve them, located in the forest of Palombia. Knowing about the hostile environment of the Palombian jungle, Spirou proposes that he and Fantasio accompany Aurélien. However a malfunction sends the vessel to the sixteenth century during the Portuguese colonization of Palombie. Spirou, Fantasio and Aurélien are confronted by the hostile cannibals and the colonists who take them for French spies. Finally, Aurélien''s vessel disintegrates, but strange individuals come from even further in the future to save them and to bring them back to their respective times. <!--

L''horloger de la comète

Jenny Humphrey has attended some crazy parties at Waverly Academy, but none as hot as the bash at Miller farm, where the antique red barn went up in flames. Literally. So when Dean Marymount announces that someone is going to be held responsible and expelled from Waverly, it''s every owl for him and herself. Tensions are rising, rumors are flying, and pretty soon everyone is a suspect. Jenny is worried about her adorable, shaggy-haired new crush, Julian, whose silver engraved Zippo was found at the scene of the crime. Callie is petrified she and Easy both will get kicked out, because they were in the barn together when the blaze began. And Tinsley knows she’ll take the heat for organizing the wild soirée in the first place. Luckily she’s come up with a crafty way to keep from getting in trouble: by blaming Jenny. Julian and Jenny get "closer than ever" and just when "things can''t get any better," Jenny finds out the only reason Julian even met her is because he was hooking up with Tinsley Carmichael which causes Jenny to not trust him. Easy becomes very suspicious of Callie because of her comments towards Jenny starting the fire. Kara and Brett''s relationship goes public and Brett figures out she still loves Jeremiah and Kara and Heath hook up and become a couple. Shockingly, Tinsley''s plan works but it also backfires. Easy finds out that Callie had something to do with the plan to kick Jenny out, and tries to rescue Jenny. Callie and Easy''s relationship is over—Easy was put off by Callie''s plot to get Jenny out, which he discovered when Tinsley texted Callie-and Jenny still hasn''t forgiven Julian for lying to her. Easy supposedly paid off Old Lady Miller, whose barn got burned down, and Jenny is rescued and returned to Waverly. Old Lady Miller said that her cows caused it and not Jenny. Jenny admits into setting the barn on fire(and gets expelled) just because she can''t take everyone''s accusations, dirty looks, and rumors. However, Jenny is admitted back into Waverly.

Lucky

The book opens with an explanation about how people in the Kingdom of Didd still talk about "The year the King got angry with the sky," and how Bartholomew Cubbins, King Derwin of Didd''s page boy, saved the Kingdom. Throughout the year, Bartholomew sees the king getting angry at rain in spring, sun in summer, fog in autumn, and snow in winter. The king explains he''s angry because he wants something new to come down from the sky, but when Bartholomew points out that "even kings can''t rule the sky," the king vows to prove Bartholomew wrong. One spring night, as he''s getting ready for bed, the king gets the idea that ruling the sky is the task of his Royal Magicians so he orders Bartholomew to summon them. After expressing his wish to the magicians, they announce they can make something called Oobleck which won''t look like the regular weather that the king doesn''t want. The magicians soon return to their secret cave on Mount Neeka Tave to make the oobleck. After watching the cave all night, Bartholomew sees the first sign that the oobleck has been made and that it is falling the very next morning. When the king wakes up and sees the oobleck, Bartholomew tries to caution him on how big the falling oobleck is getting, but the king orders Bartholomew to tell the Royal Bell Ringer that today will be a holiday. Bartholomew does as he''s told, but when the bell ringer tries to ring the bell, it doesn''t ring because oobleck has gotten into it. When Bartholomew and the bell ringer see a mother bird trapped in her nest by the Oobleck, as well as the cow, who is also stuck in the Oobleck, they see that it could be dangerous, so Bartholomew makes the decision to warn the kingdom. First, Bartholomew warns the Royal Trumpeter about the oobleck, but when the trumpeter tries to sound the alarm, oobleck gets into the trumpet and the trumpeter gets his hand stuck trying to remove the oobleck. When Bartholomew tries to tell the Captain of the Guards to warn the kingdom, the captain instead, thinking the oobleck to be pretty, tries to prove to Bartholomew that he''s not afraid by scooping some oobleck up with his sword and eating it, only to get his mouth stuck and breathe out green bubbles. Bartholomew tries to go to the Royal Stables for a horse to warn the kingdom himself, but even the stables are covered in oobleck. As Bartholomew goes back inside, the falling blobs of oobleck, now as big as buckets filled with broccoli, start to break into the palace, creating even more mess inside than outside. Bartholomew runs around warning everybody to stay undercover, but the palace servants and guards are soon stuck in the oobleck. In the throne room, the king, now covered in oobleck himself, orders Bartholomew to summon the magicians to stop the storm, but when Bartholomew brings up the bad news that even the cave is covered in oobleck, the king gets the idea to use the magicians'' magic words ("Shuffle Duffle Muzzle Muff") to stop the oobleck. Bartholomew finally gets the courage to tell the king off for making such a foolish wish and tells him to use simple words, like "I''m sorry," instead of magic words. At first, the king insists that he never says sorry, but only after Bartholomew states that he''s no sort of king if he''s covered in oobleck does the king finally admit his mistake and say "I''m sorry." Straight after the king says those simple words, the Oobleck Storm breaks up and the sun melts away all the oobleck, freeing everybody in the process. At this point, the narrator states that maybe those simple words the king said were the magic words to stop the storm. After the oobleck is gone, Bartholomew takes the king to the bell tower and the king rings the bell proclaiming the day a holiday, dedicated not to oobleck, but to rain, sun, fog, and snow, the four things that have, and always should, come down from the sky.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

Maggie Bean is the average 7th grader, having a tough year. Her dad lost his job, and her mom is stressed about money. So Maggie focuses on keeping up her straight A average and eating chocolate—lots and lots of chocolate. But it all changes when Maggie gets a chance to try out for the synchronized swim team. Becoming a Water Wing has always been Maggie''s dream. She and her friend Aimee work to complete their goal and Maggie might finally stop being a social outcast. Who would not want a cute silver bathing suit, an awesome circle of friends, and the boyfriend of her dreams? But it is all up to Maggie, and who she thinks she is. She also is forced to join the "Pound Patrollers", a club of other heavy people, where she meets Arnie, another chunky boy her age who turns out to be Peter (her dream boy''s) cousin. She forms a friendship with him. At school, she also gets a little closer to Peter, though not boyfriend-girlfriend close. Her sister, Summer, Aimee, and of course Maggie herself, work to help find her dad a job. She also begins to lose weight and takes nearly 20 pounds off her original 186. She eats less, gets rid of her chocolate, and practices for the Water Wings tryouts, which she eventually nails. However, cocaptains Julia and Anabel keep her off the team, causing Maggie to become depressed. Later, her gym teacher realizes this and offers Maggie a chance to join the Water Wings OR the regular swim team. She chooses the latter. Her dad also makes progress towards getting a job through Maggie''s help. Maggie Bean a self-conscious 7th grader whose father has recently lost his job. Because of this, Maggie goes from 149 pounds to 186 and that''s not good when you''re 5'' 7". Her measurements are 42-34-44. Maggie is a straight-A student. Maggie has a crush on Peter Applewood, a baseball player. Maggie dislikes Anabel Richards and Julia Swanson, the captains of the Water Wings, but she envies them for their bodies and popularity. To deal with the stress of her father losing his job Maggie does what she knows best: she eat lots of chocolate and get straight A''s. Peter Applewood A popular, good looking baseball player and Maggie''s crush. He''s quite nice to Maggie and is her locker neighbor at school. Aimee thinks he may like Julia Swanson, though it''s revealed she was actually just stalking him and only thought they were going out. Arnie Peter Applewood''s cousin and a boy that Maggie met at the Pound Patrollers. Arnie is also overweight like Maggie and he plays the flute. He hopes to start a business someday. Aimee McDougall Maggie''s well-intentioned, athletic best friend who encourages her to try out for the Water Wings. She''s prettier and skinnier than Maggie and has a long list of admirers, but still sticks up for Maggie and helps her. "Anabel Richards and Julia Swanson" the popular queens of the seventh grade and also the cocaptains of Water Wings. Julia seems to be the more evil one, who more openly mocks Maggie and tries to get Peter, while Anabel seems a little nicer, as at the Water Wings tryouts she actually encourages Maggie and seems to express a little guilt at keeping her off the team. Summer Bean Maggie''s encouraging younger sister. She''s ten years old. Aunt Violetta Maggie''s overweight aunt who convinces Maggie to try the Pound Patrollers to lose weight.

The Melting of Maggie Bean

The story opens with Armstrong and his colleague Ferdy Foxwell returning from a six-week mission aboard a nuclear submarine during which they gathered data on Soviet communications and electronic warfare techniques in the Arctic Ocean. He and Foxwell visit "The Bonnet", a rural Scottish public house. On returning to London, Armstrong''s car breaks down on his way home and he decides to use the phone in his old flat, for which he still has the key. He is surprised and disturbed to discover that the flat has been refurnished, including photographs which he owns, but with an unknown individual replacing him in the images, and clothes identical to his own. He also discovers a door hidden in the back of the wardrobe leading into the adjoining flat, which has been fitted out as some kind of medical facility. When he leaves the flat thinking that a taxi he ordered has arrived, he is confronted by Special Branch officers who have a former member of the Studies Center verify who he is before releasing him. While they have been away on their six-week mission, the Studies Center has acquired a new boss, the abrasive American Charles Schlegel, a former Marine Corps Colonel. Foxwell and Schlegel do not get on at all well, and even less so when Schlegel makes Armstrong his Personal Assistant. Shortly after his return, Armstrong is about to leave his flat when it is ransacked by KGB Colonel Oleg Stok and two assistants, who even blow open a safe left by the previous occupant. They offer no explanation for this, leaving Armstrong yet more puzzled. At a party at Ferdy Foxwell''s palatial London house, Armstrong learns that Foxwell is close to MP Ben Tolliver, and has even been passing him classified information. Foxwell shows him a photo of Rear-Admiral Remoziva of the Soviet Northern Fleet, who Armstrong immediately recognises as the person who had been inserted into the photographs at his old flat. Also at the party is Dawlish, the head of the intelligence organisation WOOC(P) of earlier books. We learn that Armstrong worked for Dawlish before deciding to quit intelligence work altogether. Dawlish tries to recruit him, but Armstrong turns him down. Tolliver has a suspicious car accident returning home from Foxwell''s party. Armstrong traces the woman who was reported to be with him to a small French restaurant, where he discovers photos of Remoziva and a Soviet Admiral''s uniform being made. He returns to the restaurant later to discover it deserted. Breaking in, he discovers all traces of what he had earlier seen have been removed along with all paperwork. Leaving the restaurant, he is met by a high-ranking police officer who escorts him to Battersea, from where a helicopter takes him to Heathrow Airport, from where in turn he is flown north in a small single-engine aircraft. It takes him to a remote location in the West of Scotland, where he finds Toliver and his co-conspirators. It appears that they have been running their own unauthorised intelligence operation to arrange the defection of Admiral Remoziva, who will die within a year if he does not receive treatment for a kidney condition. The plan is to meet the Admiral on the Arctic ice, and leave a corpse in his place. They had planned to keep him at Armstrong''s former flat, and use the adjoining medical facility to treat his condition. Armstrong receives a message from an unidentified member of the clique advising him to leave, which he does. After a nightmare journey through a snow storm, he reaches a road, where he finds Dawlish and Schlegel waiting. They tell him that the defection is still to go ahead, though using a USN submarine instead of a British one. Out on the Arctic ice, they make the arranged rendezvous with Remoziva''s helicopter, but it turns out to contain Colonel Stok. After a brief struggle the helicopter takes off with one of Stok''s men holding on to Foxwell. Armstrong grabs Foxwell''s legs and is also hauled aloft. He fires at the man holding Foxwell and they both fall to the ice. He manages to lift Foxwell and staggers off to where their submarine has surfaced, but by the time he reaches it Foxwell has died. At the end of the book it is revealed that the scheme''s real intent was to discredit Remoziva and, by association, his siblings; his sister was playing a crucial part in talks to unify Germany and is forced to step down, causing the talks to collapse.

Spy Story

Martin Drake meets Jennifer West in an auction house. Three years ago, he had fallen in love with her during a brief but intense encounter on a railway platform—after which she vanished. Now it seems she is engaged to Richard Fleet, whom she''s known since they were children together. And when they were children, Richard''s father Sir George died when he fell off the roof of their home, Fleet House. It was generally accepted as an accident, but a series of mysterious happenings cause the case to be re-opened. Sir Henry Merrivale, detective and explainer of the impossible, is also at the auction and revives his old antagonism with Sophia, Dowager Countess of Brale, who is Jenny''s grandmother. Arthur Puckston keeps the pub across the road from Fleet House and was an eyewitness to Sir George''s death. When his daughter, Enid Puckston, is found murdered in what might be a haunted prison, Sir Henry takes a hand and reveals not only the identity of the murderer but the unusual psychology that underlies the case.

The Skeleton in the Clock

Luik slowly heals in the security of Mount Dakka, a stronghold where the remaining forces of good are attempting to gather. Luik, once healthy, sets out on a mission to find Anorra, whom no one has seen for a time. He finds her in the ruins of Adriel, almost entirely crazy as she fights off crows from her father''s corpse. With his friend Luik returns to Mount Dakka, where Anorra''s mind soon returns to normal. After a winter has come and gone in the mountain stronghold, Luik receives a mysterious message asking him to come to the secret dwarf city of Ot. He sets out with Anorra and, after many difficulties, locates the place and is greeted by Li-Saide and the missing portion of the Dibor, all alive and well. A day or two later, a hasty council is held to determine Dionia''s new king from among the Dibor. Luik is unanimously selected, and to his double shock, Li-Saide reveals that Luik is not the son of the late King Lair at all; rather he is that of former King Ragnar. His lineage had been disguised to protect him from Morgui''s attention, which would have been drawn because of a prophecy concerning Luik. Li-Sade also tells Luik of another much older, much more important prophecy; that the Most High will allow his Son to die in order to redeem the people of the alternate world Earth, and possibly those of Dionia as well, from their fallen state. When exactly this will happen, Li-Saide is not sure, but it seems that it will be soon. Linked with this prophecy is another disturbing one that Luik also will likely die. Reunited with the Dibor, Luik returns to Mt. Dakka and there receives a hero''s welcome. He crowns new kings over all the territories of Dionia; King Brax of Tontha, King Jrio of Trennesol, Cage of Jahdan, Fyfler of Somahgaurd, and Gorn of Bensotha. Setting out on yet another journey, the Dibor, Kings, and Anorra travel to the city of Narin to look for survivors. Instead they find a horrible carnage, women and children slaughtered. In the midst of the terrible grief there is a spot of life; Anorra''s two sisters are found mad yet alive. With these two the group returns to Dakka. Luik has been accepted, along with the other Dibor and many other valiant knights in Mt. Dakka, into the Order of the Lion, the Lion Vries. Among them is Ragnar, who was resurrected by the Most High and remains for now in hiding in a secret chamber beneath Dakka. At this unlikely time, Hadrian returns, haggard and different from when Luik last saw him. Fane seems mistrusting of their old friend, and Luik is torn between both his friends. After a slightly heated quarrel between the High King and Fane, the latter disappears from Mr. Dakka. In response to messages from some of the old cities calling for help, Dakka''s armies divide into contingents. Luik''s group travels for days towards the islands of Somahguard and are rapidly weakened by poisoned water. Devoid of the precious substance for days, they nearly fall into a trap of Morgui''s to fall under his power. After many perils and after at last finding clean water, Luik and his army arrive at Somahguard and in enter into a fierce battle against an army of "the taken", fallen men who no longer serve the Most High. In the fight first Gyinan and then Najrion fall. The latter is the first of the Dibor to die. The remaining men engage in a furious boat race against the taken to the safe haven of Kirstell. As Luik and his men land upon the shores of Kirstell and unload their wounded, the taken who had been following behind for days come within arrow range, draw their bows, and fire a barrage of missiles at the helpless warriors. Meanwhile, at the besieged Mt. Dakka, Anorra is picking off demons and taken from a distance when she hears, via a special tool of the Lion Vrie, that Luik is dead. In sickened, mad rage she leaps onto the ramparts and fires with crazed accuracy at the enemy until, having been singled out by the enemy commander as a target, a catapult shatters the wall beneath Anorra. Broken-boned and half-dead, demons surround her.

The Lion Vrie

The narrator, presented as the author himself, is dismayed by literary critics saying that he has never written a moral tale. The narrator then begins telling the story of his friend Toby Dammit. Dammit is described as a man of many vices, presumably at least in part due to his left-handed mother flogging him with her left hand, considered improper. Dammit often made rhetorical bets, becoming fond of the expression "I''ll bet the devil my head." Though the narrator tries to break Dammit of bad habits, he fails. Nevertheless, the two remain friends. While traveling one day, they come across a covered bridge. It is gloomy and dark, lacking windows. Dammit, however, is unaffected by its gloom and is in an unusually good mood. As they cross the bridge, they are stopped by a turnstile partway across. Dammit bets the devil his head that he can leap over it. Before the narrator can reply, a cough alerts them to the presence of a little old man. The old man is interested in seeing if Dammit is capable of making such a leap and offers him a good running start. The narrator thinks to himself that it is improper for an old man to push Dammit into making the attempt—"I don''t care who the devil he is," he adds. The narrator watches as Dammit makes a perfect jump, though directly above the turnstile he falls backwards. The old man quickly grabs something and limps away. The narrator, upon checking on his friend, sees that Dammit''s head is gone ("what might be termed a serious injury"). He realizes that just above the turnstile, lying horizontally, was a sharp iron bar that happened to be lying at just the spot where his friend''s neck hit when he jumped. The narrator sends for the "homeopathists", who "did not give him little enough physic, and what little they did give him he hesitated to take. So in the end he grew worse, and at length died". After the bill for his funeral expenses is left unpaid, the narrator has Dammit''s body dug up and sold for dog meat.

Never Bet the Devil Your Head

Raging at the escape of the StarSon, Qeteb has the Hawkchilds scour the remains of Tencendor. Although they don''t immediately find Sanctuary, a Hawkchild does find and return the wooden bowl given to Faraday by the Mother, though they do not know how to use it. Unaware of this oversight, the Mother, Ur, and the Horned Ones wait in the Sacred Groves, slowly dying. meanwhile, at sanctuary many are discontented and impatient, finding it more of a prison then a sanctuary. Axis walks to the bridge and begins talking to it, though halfway through it begins screaming and it dies, and Axis nearly falls into the chasm below until Drago saves him, and though Axis notices a some sort of power in him, he still stubbornly refuses to forgive him for Caelum''s death, thinking he is still the malevolent man he was when he was a baby, who always wanted Caelum''s inheritance. Drago then talks to Azhure, who also recognises he has some sort of power, and on departure recognises him as Dragonstar, not Drago

Crusader

Civil war threatens the unity of the Galactic Alliance. To ensure financial stability, the Alliance wants more control in the powerful Corelian systems. This involves control over the Centerpoint Station, a powerful artifact that is capable, in the right hands, of destroying entire planets. The Corelian systems desire more independence than the Alliance is willing to let them have. Han and Leia Solo anger their families and friends by allying themselves with the Corellian insurgents. The Correlian government send the Solos on a diplomatic mission to the powerful Hapes Consortium, but Han and Leia are outraged when they discover a plan to buy Consortium support by murdering the pro-Alliance queen Tenel Ka and her daughter, long-time Solo family friends. The Solos race to solve the situation and save the intended victims. Neither the queen or her daughter are killed but the Solos are now the number one suspects in the assassination attempt. Meanwhle, Jacen Solo''s dark side powers grow stronger under the Dark Jedi Lumiya. As such, the Galactic Alliance Guard, which he commands, grows more powerful and corrupt. Lumiya is encouraging Jacen to make a sacrifice, by killing an important family member; this would "balance the Force". As Jacen goes closer to the dark side, his influence over his potential apprentice, Ben Skywalker, grows stronger. Various characters come together over the conflict. Luke, secretly betrayed by Jacen, nearly loses his life in a duel with Lumiya and the wayward Twi''lek Jedi Alema Rar. Han and Leia, on the run, literally come under fire from their own son, who is commanding the Star Destroyer Anakin Solo. They barely escape with their lives, though the Millennium Falcon is shot clean through and Leia''s friends, her two Noghri bodyguards, are killed. Regardless, the traitors in Tenel Ka''s Hapes Consortium and their Corellian allies fail their mission to overthrow the Queen Mother, and with Jacen''s fleet''s success in defending Tenel Ka, the two of them secretly embrace as lovers before he leaves her once again.

Tempest

In the book, Gunther records the true story of his teenage son''s struggle to overcome a brain tumor, and his ultimate death at the age of seventeen. The story chronicles the period beginning when Johnny experiences the first symptoms of the tumor shortly after being given a clean bill of health. Johnny''s complaint of a stiff neck one day leads doctors to operate, thus leading to the discovery of a tumor the size of an orange, according to a doctor. The book, published in 1949, records in simple detail all the events and tensions that made up the months that Johnny Gunther fought for his life and his parents sought to help him through recourse to every medical possibility then known. When it appears that Johnny has finally overcome the tumor, he dies of a cerebral hemorrage, which occurs the day of a medical checkup - the day before he and his family are to leave on vacation. Partly because of its stark honesty about the pain that this kind of struggle causes a family, and partly because of its refreshingly revealing portrait of a brilliant young man (he discovered a new way to liquefy ammonia) struck down too young by incurable illness, Death Be Not Proud became a best-selling book that is still popular today. The story in the book was eventually made into a TV movie in 1975, starring Robby Benson as Johnny Gunther, and Arthur Hill as his father.

Death Be Not Proud

The novel, which Bellow initially intended to be a short story, is a roman à clef about Bellow''s friendship with the poet Delmore Schwartz. It explores the changing relationship of art and power in a materialist America. This theme is addressed through the contrasting careers of two writers, Von Humboldt Fleisher (to some degree a version of Schwartz) and his protégé Charlie Citrine (to some degree a version of Bellow himself). Fleisher yearns to lift American society up through art but dies a failure. In contrast, Charlie Citrine makes quite a lot of money through his writing, especially from a Broadway play and a movie about a character named Von Trenck - a character modeled after Humboldt. Another notable character in the book is Rinaldo Cantabile, a wannabe Chicago gangster, who tries to bully Citrine into being friends and whose career advice to Citrine, focused solely on commercial interests, is the opposite of the advice Citrine was once given by his old mentor, Humboldt Fleisher, who valued artistic integrity above all other concerns.

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L'horloger de la comète

No Author Listed

Lucky

By Cecily von Ziegesar

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

By Dr. Seuss

The Melting of Maggie Bean

No Author Listed

Spy Story

By Len Deighton

The Skeleton in the Clock

By John Dickson Carr

The Lion Vrie

No Author Listed

Never Bet the Devil Your Head

By Edgar Allan Poe

Crusader

By Sara Douglass

Tempest

By Troy Denning

Death Be Not Proud

By John Gunther

Humboldt's Gift

By Saul Bellow