Blair Maynard, a divorced journalist in New York City, decides to write a story about the unexplained disappearance of yachts and other small boats in the Caribbean, hoping to debunk theories about the Bermuda Triangle. He has weekend custody of his preteen son Justin, and decides to mix a vacation with work, taking his son along. They fly from Miami to the Turks and Caicos island chain but, while on fishing trip, are captured by a band of pirates. The pirates have, amazingly, remained undetected since the establishment of their pirate enclave by Jean-David Nau, the notorious buccaneer L''Olonnais, in 1671 (in reality, however, L''Olonnais is known to have died four years earlier). The pirates have a constitution of sorts, called the Covenant, and have a cruel but workable society. They raise any children they capture to ensure the survival of the colony, but kill anyone over the age of thirteen. In short order, Justin is virtually brainwashed and groomed to lead the pirate band, much to Maynard''s horror. Maynard tries repeatedly to escape, and finally attracts the attention of the passing United States Coast Guard cutter New Hope. The pirates attack and capture it, but Maynard is able to use a machine gun aboard to kill most of the pirates and to win Justin''s and his own freedom.

The Island

One particularly hot evening Tintin is out walking with his dog Snowy. Tintin then notices an extra star in the Great Bear. When he reaches home, he calls the observatory. They say that they have the phenomenon under observation and hang up. From his window, Tintin sees that the star is getting bigger every minute. He walks to the observatory and, after some trouble, gets inside. He meets a man called Philippulus who proclaims himself to be a prophet and tells him that "It is a Judgement! Woe!" Puzzled, Tintin proceeds to the main room with the giant telescope. There he meets the director of the observatory, Professor Decimus Phostle, who explains that the extra star is a meteor, a vast ball of fire making its way towards Earth, which will cause the end of the world tomorrow morning. In the end, however, the shooting star does not collide with the Earth, but passes by it. A piece of it, a meteorite, lands in the Arctic Ocean, causing an earthquake that lasts a mere few seconds. After an analysis of a spectroscopic photo of the meteorite, Phostle deduces that it is composed of an entirely new metal. He names this metal "Phostlite", but is dismayed to discover that the meteorite has landed in the sea and therefore, presumably, is lost. Tintin, however, realises that the meteorite could be protruding above the surface of the water. The Professor is persuaded to organise an expedition to find the metal and to retrieve a sample of it for further research. The expedition consists of leading scientists, as well as Tintin, Snowy and their friend, the alcoholic Captain Haddock (ironically serving as president of the Society for Sober Sailors), aboard the trawler Aurora. However, unknown to the Aurora expedition, another team has already set out aboard the polar expedition ship Peary, backed by a financier from São Rico, Mr. Bohlwinkel. The expedition becomes a race to be the first to land on the meteorite. Bohlwinkel attempts to sabotage the Aurora expedition by getting a henchman to plant a stick of dynamite on the ship on the eve of departure, but it is found and thrown overboard. While crossing the North Sea, the Aurora is almost rammed by another of Bohlwinkel''s ships, but Haddock manages to steer his ship out of the way. Further setbacks occur at the Icelandic port of Akureyri, when Captain Haddock is informed that there is no fuel available. He is furious, but then he and Tintin come across an old friend of his, Captain Chester, who reveals that there is plenty of fuel and that the Golden Oil Company (which has a fuel monopoly) is owned by Bohlwinkel. The three of them devise a plan to run a hose from Chester''s ship, Sirius, to the Aurora and thus trick Golden Oil into providing them with the fuel they need. Coming close to catching the Peary, the Aurora then receives an indistinct distress call from another ship and has to turn round in order to help. Inquiries by Tintin lead him to realise that the distress signal is a fake designed to further delay them. Resuming the journey, they then intercept a cable announcing that the Peary expedition has reached the meteorite but not actually claimed it yet. Tintin uses the ship''s seaplane to parachute on to the meteorite and plant the expedition flag, beating the crew of the Peary by seconds. The Aurora expedition has won the race. Tintin makes camp while the ship''s over-exerted engines are repaired. The next day he discovers the remarkable properties of Phostlite: his apple core instantly grows into an enormous tree full of oversized apples, and a maggot turns into a massive butterfly. Tintin is menaced by a giant spider and huge, exploding mushrooms before rescue arrives. Then a sudden seaquake shakes the meteorite to its core; the young reporter and Snowy retrieve a rock sample and jump to safety as the meteorite sinks into the sea. The triumphant expedition''s return is reported on the radio. Bohlwinkel listens at first in frustrated silence, but then gets concerned at the news that law enforcement agencies are closing in on him over his attempts at destroying and delaying the Aurora. Back on the ship itself, as they prepare to dock, the Captain announces that they are short on one vital commodity—whisky.

The Shooting Star

By his parents'' marriage, Jesus was better placed to be King of Israel than Herod Antipas was. The two contradictory blood lines in the gospels are seen as compatible if one belongs to Mary and the other to Joseph. In such a case Jesus would have united a formidable list of families into his ancestors. Jesus joined John the Baptist''s movement - John was a close relative of Jesus - and the two were prepared to bring about an uprising in Judaea, but John''s arrest and execution caused Jesus to go underground to avoid the same fate. Eventually he resurfaced to carry on the Baptist''s work alone. Jesus was a charismatic teacher and possibly a faith healer. James and Jude were his half-brothers (since Jesus is not Joseph''s son, in Tabor''s view) and inherited the leadership after Jesus'' death. Tabor argues that the later, spiritualist, writings of Paul the Apostle polluted and effectively hijacked the movement, with the later Gospels following the Pauline point of view. Tabor produces many supporting statements from the Bible and New Testament apocrypha, which escaped excision by the later Church fathers, intent on selling the Pauline message at the expense of Jesus'' dynastic one. The argument produces a portrait of a real man in a tumultuous time, who really believed that his actions would accomplish the end of the Roman occupation and a return of the Jewish kingdom. The book also speculates about whether the Talpiot Tomb in Jerusalem was the tomb of Jesus or his relatives, and whether Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera, a Roman soldier, was Jesus'' father, although it reaches no definitive conclusions about either hypothesis.

Jesus Dynasty

The story starts with a group of schoolboys aged between eight and Fourteen on board a schooner moored at Auckland, New Zealand, and preparing to set off on a six-week vacation. With the exception of the oldest boy Gordon, an American, and Briant and Jack, two French brothers, all the boys are British. While the schooner''s crew are ashore, the moorings are cast off under unknown circumstances and the ship drifts to sea, where it is caught by a storm. Twenty-two days later, the boys find themselves cast upon the shore of an uncharted island, which they name "Chairman Island." They go on many adventures and even catch wild animals while trying to survive. They remain there for the next two years until a passing ship sinks in the close vicinity of the island. The ship had been taken over by mutineers, intent on trafficking weapons, alcohol, and drugs. With the aid of two of the surviving members of the original crew, the boys are able to defeat the mutineers and make their escape from the island, which they find out is close to the Chilean coast (Hanover-Island located at 50°56’ S, 74°47’ W). The struggles for survival and dominance amongst the boys were to be echoed in William Golding''s Lord of the Flies, written some 66 years later.

Two Years'' Vacation

George, the nephew of plantation owner Mrs. Peyton, returns from a trip to France to find that his aunt''s plantation is in dire financial straits as a result of his late uncle''s beneficence. Jacob McClosky, the man who ruined the late Judge Peyton, has come to inform them that their plantation will be sold and their slaves auctioned off separately. Salem Scudder, a kind yankee, was Judge Peyton''s business partner; though he wishes he could save Terrebonne, he has no money. George is courted by the rich Southern belle heiress Dora Sunnyside, but he finds himself falling in love with Zoe, the daughter of his uncle through one of the slaves. Dora, oblivious to George''s lack of affection for her, enlists Zoe''s help to win him over. McClosky desires Zoe for himself, and when she rejects his proposition, he plots to have her sold with the rest of the slaves, for he knows that she is an octoroon and is legally part of the Terrebonne property. He plans to buy her and make her his mistress. McClosky intercepts a young slave boy, Paul, who is bringing a mailbag to the house which contains a letter from one of Judge Peyton''s old debtors. Since this letter would allow Mrs. Peyton to avoid selling Terrebonne, McClosky kills Paul and takes the letter. The murder is captured on Scudder''s photographic apparatus. Paul''s best friend, the Indian Wahnotee, discovers Paul''s body; he can speak only poor English, however, and is unable to communicate the tragedy to anyone else. George and Zoe reveal their love for each other, but Zoe rejects George''s marriage proposal. When George asks why, Zoe explains that she is an octoroon, and the law prevents a white man from marrying anyone with the smallest black heritage. George offers to take her to a different country, but Zoe insists that she stay to help Terrebonne; Scudder then appears and suggests that George marry Dora. With Dora''s wealth, he explains, Terrebonne will not be sold and the slaves will not have to be separated. George reluctantly agrees. George goes to Dora and begins to propose to her; while he is doing so, however, he has a change of heart and decides not to lie to her. He and Zoe admit to their love of each other; a heartbroken Dora leaves. The auctioneer arrives, along with prospective buyers, McClosky among them. After various slaves are auctioned off, George and the buyers are shocked to see Zoe up on the stand. McClosky has proved that Judge Peyton did not succeed in legally freeing her, as he had meant to do. Dora then reappears and bids on Zoe – she has sold her own plantation in order to rescue Terrebonne. McClosky, however, outbids her for Zoe; George is restrained from attacking him by his friends. The buyers gather to take away the slaves they have purchased on a steamship. They have realized that Paul is missing, and most believe him dead. Wahnotee appears, drunk and sorrowful, and tells them that Paul is buried near them. The men accuse Wahnotee of the murder, and McClosky calls for him to be lynched. Scudder insists that they hold a trial, and the men search for evidence. Just as McClosky points out the blood on Wahnotee''s tomahawk, the oldest slave, Pete, comes to give them the photographic plate which has captured McClosky''s deed. The men begin to call for McClosky to be lynched, but Scudder convinces them to send him to jail instead. The men leave to fetch the authorities, but McClosky escapes. Stealing a lantern, he sets fire to the steamship that had the slaves on it. Wahnotee tracks him down and confronts him; in the ensuing struggle, Wahnotee kills McClosky. Back at Terrebonne Zoe returns but with a sad heart as she knows that she and George can never be together. In an act of desperation she drinks a vial of poison, and Scudder enters to deliver the good news that McClosky was proven guilty of murdering Paul and that Terrebonne now belongs to George. Despite the happiness Zoe stands dying and the play ends with her death on the sitting room couch and George kneeling beside her.

The Octoroon

David Fyfe, a high school English teacher, brings Wolfe a problem regarding a contract and inheritance. His brother Bert has just died of pneumonia and left his estate to David, another brother Paul, and their sister Louise Fyfe Tuttle. But under the terms of an agreement with Bert''s business partner, Johnny Arrow, all assets from their uranium mining operation go to Arrow, and the assets represent nearly all of Bert''s five million dollar estate. Paul Fyfe thinks that Arrow might have killed Bert before he could shelter his assets by giving them to his relatives. The family hires Wolfe to determine whether there''s enough evidence of a crime to refer the matter to the police. Twenty years earlier, Bert was charged with the murder of his father. Bert was acquitted, largely on the basis of an alibi provided by Vincent Tuttle, at the time his roommate and later his brother-in-law. After his acquittal Bert broke contact with his family and moved to Canada, where, in partnership with Arrow, he struck it rich in uranium. Having recently returned to New York to re-establish ties with his family, Bert invited them to his hotel suite for dinner, and to a Broadway show. But Bert fell ill with pneumonia and required bed rest and 24-hour nursing care. Paul, a masher, manhandled nurse Anne Goren, who phoned the attending physician to send another nurse. Louise Tuttle volunteered to watch Bert, and Miss Goren left. Then Paul got into a fistfight with Arrow over Miss Goren, who had aroused romantic and protective feelings in Arrow. Arrow beat Paul so badly that he was arrested and spent the night in jail. That night, Bert died, and his doctor certifies that the death was due to pneumonia. Paul now suggests that Arrow might have found a way to substitute something toxic for the morphine that the doctor had left with the nurse. There are several strange aspects to Bert''s death. One is that Bert''s father had died in a similar fashion 20 years earlier – someone had opened the bedroom windows on a snowy winter night as the father lay asleep, also suffering from pneumonia. Louise Tuttle has felt guilty ever since, because she was supposed to be looking after him but had fallen asleep in the next room. Then there''s the matter of the missing ice cream. Paul had brought two quarts of ice cream to Bert''s hotel room and put them in the refrigerator. It went uneaten due to the subsequent events, but somehow it has disappeared. Wolfe sends Archie to see Paul, Louise and Vincent in Mount Kisco to check on the morphine, and while he''s there to investigate the ice cream''s disappearance. Yet another strange aspect is that when Bert''s body was found, there were two hot water bags next to him. The presence of the bags was expected; that they were both empty was not.

Three for the Chair

A few years before, a tragic "accident" left him with 78 fewer friends. The only loved-one left was Emmanuel "Manny" Weingrass, a world-renowned architect and a somewhat impossible person. In his first year in Congress, there is an uprising in Masqat - a hostage taking. The events remind him of a man known as The Mahdi whom Weingrass said was the reason for the deaths of his 78 friends. He goes to Oman for revenge and comes back victorious. The Mahdi dead and a tragedy averted. A year later, the inheritors of Inver Brass - the resurrected group of influential people, destroyed in the events of the Chancellor Manuscript, who had been tracking him ever since he went on the Oman operation through a specially gifted ICT specialist, exposes the truth of Kendrick being involved in Masqat and they reveal this to the world to have Kendrick as Vice-President of the USA, because they consider him to be morally incorruptible. After the revealing, lives are lost and friendships broken, Kendrick is desperately looking for the people who are responsible for turning his life upside-down. But unknown to the Inver Brass there is a traitor in their midst... and this might just be the last straw... Codename Icarus is the last hope to a nation and to a world. The organisation was first mentioned in his 1977 novel The Chancellor Manuscript and is also mentioned in his later novel The Bancroft Strategy.

The Icarus Agenda

The Smiths are a traditional couple from London who have invited another couple, the Martins, over for a visit. They are joined later by the Smiths'' maid, Mary, and the local fire chief, who is also Mary''s lover. The two families engage in meaningless banter, telling stories and relating nonsensical poems. At one point, Mrs. Martin converses with her husband as if he were a stranger she just met. As the fire chief turns to leave, he mentions "the bald soprano" in passing, which has a very unsettling effect on the others. Mrs. Smith replies that "she always wears her hair in the same style." After the Fire Chief''s exit, the play devolves into a series of complete non-sequiturs, with no resemblance to normal conversation. It ends with the two couples shouting in unison "It''s not that way. It''s over here!," right before a blackout occurs. When the lights come back on, the scene starts from the beginning with the Martins reciting the Smiths'' lines from the beginning of the play for a while before the curtain closes.

The Bald Soprano

The Romans have once again been humiliated by the Gauls. Felonius Caucus, right hand man of Centurion Nebulus Nimbus, head of the fortified camp of Totorum, suggests a Big Fight. This is a Gallic tradition where two Gallic chiefs fight and the winner becomes leader of both tribes. To fight Vitalstatistix, chief of Asterix’s tribe, the Romans enlist a Gallo-Roman Chief, Cassius Ceramix of Linoleum. Vitalstatistix would surely win with Getafix’ magic potion of invincibility, but the Romans plan to dispose of the druid long beforehand. In an effort to rescue him, Obelix accidentally puts Getafix out of action with a menhir, the impact of which causes amnesia and insanity. Cassius Ceramix'' challenge therefore comes at the worst possible moment, and Asterix and Vitalstatistix desperately attempt to restore Getafix’s mind by consulting Psychoanalytix (original French name is Amnesix), a druid who specializes in mental disorders. But during an explanation of the cause of the problem, Obelix decides to physically demonstrate with a menhir, leaving Psychoanalytix in the same state. As the two crazed druids concoct a number of skin-coloring magic potions, Asterix tries to bring Vitalstatistix into good physical shape for the upcoming fight. Meanwhile the Romans plan to arrest Cassius after the Fight to stop him becoming too powerful. As the fight begins, Getafix accidentally makes a potion which restores his mind, despite Obelix throwing another menhir at him to try curing him, and quickly proceeds to brew a supply of magic potion. Cassius Ceramix looks sure to win, but Getafix'' recovery gives Vitalstatistix the courage to win despite not having any potion. After another tussle with the Romans, who do not accept this victory, and Cassius Ceramix himself getting "menhired", Vitalstatistix returns home victorious to the inevitable feast. Psychoanalytix returns to business despite his current state, but he remains professionally successful (a wry comment on the state of psychiatry).

Asterix and the Big Fight

As punishment for plagiarizing the classical Syrian satirist Lucian, Father Reynardine Bombo is commanded by an apparition of the "famous prophet Mahomet" to "take a long and tedious Journey to Mecca" on foot. To atone, Bombo must also convert to "Mahometanism," become a zealous devotee, and don a "Turkish habit and particularly that of a Pilgrim." His forced religious conversion does not prevent Bombo from frequently indulging in alcohol and pork during his pilgrimage. Headed for the harbor of New York, Bombo sets off from his New Jersey "castle" (the fictional stand-in for the college''s Nassau Hall) clothed in a turban and a "Turkish vest". Seeking quarter in inns, houses of ill fame, and at his father''s castle on Long Island, Bombo initiates a series of angry disputes when the characters he encounters fail to show the respect and deference that is his due as a pilgrim. These episodes often devolve into gross-out humor and violent slapstick pratfalls, of which Bombo is the usual victim despite his great size and pugnaciousness. While sailing across the Atlantic, Bombo is tied to the ship''s yard-arm for propositioning the captain''s wife and instigating a mutiny, abducted by French then Irish privateers, and finally set adrift in a barrel. Washing ashore on the Irish coast, Bombo tries his hand at teaching and panhandling. Bombo''s trek across the Middle East and arrival in Mecca are hastily detailed in the book''s final chapter. In Mecca, Bombo visits the mosque that purportedly contains the tomb of Mahomet, wherein he deposits dictionaries "in one of the most sacred closets of the place" in order to complete his penance and "pacify the Ghost of Lucian." Bombo returns safely to his castle in New Jersey, a refined and more responsible scholar, and eventually retires to a country estate in the vicinity to live out his days.

Father Bombo''s Pilgrimage to Mecca

The book begins with multiple flashbacks,all leading to Janie’s extraordinary powers and where she stands in the present day. Janie Hannagan is an independent, 17-year-old senior at Fieldridge High School, living at home with her alcoholic mother and trying to find ways to fund her future college education. What makes Janie so different from her peers is that she has the involuntary ability to witness others'' dreams. Janie discovered this ability at 8 years old, when she was able to witness a businessman’s dream of him giving a presentation in his underwear. From that day on, she is somewhat cursed by the long struggle and suffering of being part of others’ dreams and nightmares. By taking part in others’ dreams, she can see their fears and/or desires. This leads to Janie finding out the secrets of the people around her, but she cannot reveal them because they might think she is crazy. Whenever someone falls asleep within a certain distance of Janie, she automatically becomes paralyzed and blinded, and is sucked into the other person’s dream. People within the dream she enters usually ask her for help, but she is unable to know what to do. All these incidents become a problem for Janie, especially towards her junior and senior years, because most of the time she cannot control the situation. Her peers, especially Cabel, become suspicious of her strange behavior. While most of her classmates have dreams typical of adolescent anxieties, Cabel,a mysterious loner, has frighteningly morbid dreams that Janie cannot come to terms with. After several encounters, Janie and Cabel fall for each other on a class trip to Canada, during which time Cabel becomes aware of Janie''s strange powers. Although Cabel helps Janie protect her secret, they are unable to maintain a close relationship due to peer pressures, secrecy, and Cabel''s growing reputation as a drug dealer to the wealthy.. Even as Janie and Cabel grow apart, their desire for each other increases. As Cabel seems to fall away from Janie and into the drug trade, Janie realizes things are not always as they seem, and she can learn to use her powers to help others and even serve the community. With the help of Miss Stubin at the Heather Home, Janie discovers that she is a dream catcher and has the power to help others resolve the dreams which are haunting them. The climax of the story comes as Cabel, along with a number of other Fieldridge students and parents, are imprisoned on narcotics charges. Janie witnesses a dream that helps the police and allows her to free her friends.

Wake

Young Obi-Wan Kenobi is now the Padawan of the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. While preparing for their next mission, Obi-Wan celebrates his thirteenth birthday. Qui-Gon provides his apprentice with a special rock that has Force-sensitive powers. Meanwhile, Yoda assigns them to the planet of Gala, where they must oversee elections between Prince Beju and two other candidates. However, along the way to Gala, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are hijacked by Guerra''s brother, Paxxi and forced to land on the planet of Phindar, which is controlled by The Syndicat crime organization. Although hesitant to help eradicate the Syndicat at first, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are forced to cooperate with Guerra and his friends when they realize that none other than Gala''s Prince Beju is in league with the crime faction. Beju plans on using the Syndicat''s power to cut bacta supply, allowing him to control Gala and, hopefully, the entire sector. At the Syndicat''s headquarters, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon discover that the storages are empty, giving them a lead that Beju is indeed in on the plot. Later, Obi-Wan is captured and nearly brainwashed by the Syndicat, though he uses the Force to endure it along with the Force-sensitive rock. As a result, Obi-Wan is able to sneak aboard Beju''s ship and incriminate the Syndicat organization. With the Syndicat defeated, Beju is forced to return to Gala and operate his plans alone. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi brace themselves on their next mission.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

The Island

By Peter Benchley

The Shooting Star

By Hergé

Jesus Dynasty

No Author Listed

Two Years' Vacation

By Jules Verne

The Octoroon

By Dion Boucicault

Three for the Chair

By Rex Stout

The Icarus Agenda

By Robert Ludlum

The Bald Soprano

By Eugène Ionesco

Asterix and the Big Fight

No Author Listed

Father Bombo's Pilgrimage to Mecca

No Author Listed

Wake

By Lisa McMann

The Hidden Past

By Judy Blundell