Thom Creed is a high school basketball star, who has a tendency for getting into trouble. His mother abandoned the family several years ago, and his father Hal, a publicly disgraced ex-superhero, now works as a lowly factory worker. During a basketball game, Thom recognizes one of the players from the opposing team as Goran, a guy who Thom once accidentally made a racist remark to. Goran ends up breaking his own leg, and Thom is able to heal his injuries by touching them with his hands. He explains that he has done this before, but doesn''t know why. When he resumes playing, another guy calls him a faggot in front of everyone. After the game, Thom has a seizure, something that is most likely related to absorbing Goran''s injuries, and ends up getting his license taken away. During the summer, Thom''s coach tells him that it would be better if he no longer plays for the team. He initially says it''s because of his health, but Thom knows better. When he get''s home, he takes his father''s laptop and decides to look at porn. Thom explains that he has always been attracted to guys, but is afraid to come out due to living in a homophobic town. While masturbating to a picture of local superhero Uberman, Hal comes home to get ready for his real estate class. Thom quickly straightens things up, but doesn''t have enough time to erase his history on the computer. When his father does leave, Thom decides to run away from home. When he falls asleep on the bus, he becomes mixed up in a battle between some villains and The League. He also encounters a mysterious man known as Dark Hero, who works alone. Thom ends up using his powers yet again, and gets an invitation to try out for one the minor leagues. When he get''s home, he discovers that Hal''s former colleague Captain Victory has died. He immediately decides never to tell his father about the tryouts. Thom is accepted as a trainee, and assigned to work with a group of other probationary heroes. The group consists of Ruth, an aging psychic, Scarlett, who can control heat, and Larry, who has the ability to morph into any disease. The stress of keeping so many secrets from his father exacts a painful toll. Soon, however, the world''s superheroes begin dying under mysterious circumstances. In order to solve the mystery, Thom must reunite with his fellow outcast trainees and deal as well with society''s prejudices when his secrets are revealed.

Hero

The story centers on a Kargish child who is taken from her family and dedicated as the high priestess in the service of the "Nameless Ones" on the island of Atuan. Her true name is Tenar, but she is renamed Arha, "the eaten one", when she is formally consecrated to the gods'' service at age six, as all the high priestesses are considered reincarnations of the first. Arha''s youth is a haunting contrast between lighthearted childish escapades and dark, solemn rituals. Her only true friend is the eunuch Manan who cares for her. Gradually she comes to accept her lonely, anonymous role, and to feel at home in the unlit underground labyrinth, the eponymous Tombs, where the malevolent, powerful Nameless Ones dwell, and where prisoners are sent for a slow death. Indeed, as she becomes aware of the political machinations among the older priestesses Thar and Kossil, the Tombs become a refuge to her, as she is the only one who may freely move through the labyrinth under them. When Thar dies, Arha becomes increasingly isolated, as although she was stern, Thar was fair to her. Now there is only Arha and Kossil, who despises Arha and her cult as rivals to Kossil''s power. The numbing routine of Arha''s world is dramatically disrupted when she is fifteen years old by the arrival of Ged, the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea. He comes to the Tombs in order to find the long-lost half of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, a magical talisman necessary for peace in Earthsea, which had been broken centuries before. (The other half came into his possession entirely by chance, and it took a dragon to inform him what it really is.) Arha finds him wandering, lost in the magic-laced labyrinth, and traps him underground to die in order to punish what she sees as sacrilege. She goes back and forth in her mind as to whether she should kill him. Yet in her loneliness, she is drawn to him and listens as he tells her of the outside world. Arha spares Ged''s life and keeps him prisoner in the tombs, bringing him food and water. However, she is unable to keep it a secret indefinitely, and the priestess Kossil learns of Ged''s existence. Now Arha is trapped into promising that Ged will be sacrificed to the Nameless Ones. She realises that she cannot go through with killing Ged and instructs Manan to dig a false grave underground, while she takes Ged to hide in the treasury of the tombs where only she is allowed to go. By now Arha''s relations with Kossil have deteriorated to the point of no return and they have a public falling out in front of the subordinate priestesses. Kossil tells her openly to her face that no-one believes in the Nameless Ones anymore and that Arha is only a powerless figurehead. The real power lies with her, Kossil, as the priestess of the Godking. In response Arha curses her in the name of the Nameless Ones. After her anger has cooled Arha realises that Kossil will now be determined to kill her, and that no-one can stop her. She heads underground to the labyrinth to think, and is horrified to find Kossil uncovering the fake grave, and desecrating the tombs by using a light. She heads for the treasury where Ged is kept prisoner, and in her desperation, confesses everything to him. In the meantime while prisoner there Ged has discovered what he came to find - the other half of Erreth-Akbe''s ring. He begs Arha to abandon her role as priestess and escape with him from the tombs. Arha is eventually won over by Ged''s kindness. She realizes that the Nameless Ones demand her service, but give nothing and create nothing in return. Ged must expend his strength continually on hiding himself from the Nameless Ones, as they would kill him if they detected his presence. Realising that she has no future in the tombs Arha renounces her role as priestess and reverts to calling herself by her original name Tenar. She helps Ged escape from the Tombs with the other half of the ring, as he frees her from the priesthood. The Tombs fall in upon themselves as Tenar and Ged escape. Ged brings her with him back to Havnor where they are received in triumph, and the reunited ring of Erreth-akbe ushers in a new era of peace to Earthsea.

The Tombs of Atuan

The novel begins in November 1999 with Rosemary Woodhouse waking up in a long term care facility after the last member of the coven from the first novel is killed in a car accident. She learns that she has been in a coma since 1973, the result of a spell cast on her by the coven when they discovered that she planned to remove her son Andy from their influence. Rosemary immediately becomes a national sensation after waking up from such a long coma. In her absence, Andy was raised by Minnie and Roman Castevet, the leaders of the coven. Andy is now 33, the same age as Jesus is said to have been when he died -- he also has twelve assistants and a girlfriend called Judith S. Kharyat who threatens to reveal his parentage and is spectacularly murdered with 30 silver knives. He is the leader of a charitable foundation with a worldwide influence. Rosemary immediately suspects that Andy''s foundation has a demonic purpose, but he reassures her that he has fought his evil side, and is trying to do good work. Supporters wear pins that say "I (heart) Andy" -- in fact, this is the first thing Rosemary sees when she wakes -- and after Rosemary''s story becomes known, they begin wearing "I (heart) Rosemary" pins as well. Andy consorts with Republican Party members and members of the Religious Right, who want him to endorse a slightly retarded millionaire for President. Throughout the book, various characters playfully mention the riddle "roast mules",often out of context or à propos of nothing. The foundation has distributed candles worldwide with the intention that they be lit at midnight on New Year''s Eve to help usher in the year 2000. Rosemary gradually comes to suspect that all is not right with the candles, but her concerns fall on deaf ears. In the climax of the book, the candles release a deadly virus which causes people to disintegrate into dust particles. Andy''s real father returns for a visit, and takes Rosemary with him to Hell. After being taken to Hell, Rosemary wakes up in bed with her husband Guy and finds that it is 1965 again. The events of the entire first book and nearly all of the sequel are revealed to have been a vivid dream of Rosemary''s. Even the Bramford, the apartment building where Guy and Rosemary lived in the first book, was revealed to be a creation of Rosemary''s mind after reading Bram Stoker''s book, Dracula. Rosemary then receives a call from her friend Edward Hutchins (who in the first book was killed to prevent his revealing the coven''s existence). He offers her and Guy a rent-free apartment in the Dakota Apartments (the model for the Bramford) for a year. Hutch then makes a comment about "roast mules", and about the candle lighting, causing Rosemary to sense danger. Guy questions why she would want to turn down a chance to live at the Dakota, but Rosemary takes Hutch''s remarks seriously as a warning.

Son of Rosemary

A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength and wisdom. A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar. A brother who betrayed his own to protect a nation. From a wise scholar to one of history''s most powerful warriors, Conqueror tells the story of Kublai Khan - an extraordinary man who should be remembered alongside Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte as one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. It should have been a golden age, with an empire to dwarf the lands won by the mighty Genghis Khan. Instead, the vast Mongol nation is slowly losing ground, swallowed whole by their most ancient enemy. A new generation has arisen, yet the long shadow of the Great Khan still hangs over them all … Kublai dreams of an empire stretching from sea to sea. But to see it built, this scholar must first learn the art of war. He must take his nation’s warriors to the ends of the known world. And when he is weary, when he is wounded, he must face his own brothers in bloody civil war.

Conqueror

McLuhan is concerned by the size and the intentions of the North American culture industry. "Ours is the first age in which many thousands of the best-trained individual minds have made it a full-time business to get inside the collective public mind," McLuhan writes in his preface to the book. He believes everyone is kept in a "helpless state endgendered by prolonged mental rutting is the effect of many ads and much entertainment alike." McLuhan hopes Bride can reverse this process. By using artefacts of popular culture as a means to enlighten the public, McLuhan hopes the public can consciously observe the effects of popular culture on them. McLuhan compares his method to the sailor in Edgar Allan Poe''s short-story "A Descent into the Maelstrom." The sailor, McLuhan writes, saves himself by studying the whirlpool and by co-operating with it. Likewise, the book is not interested in attacking the strong currents of advertising, radio, and the press. The book argues anger and outrage are not the proper responses to the culture industry. "The time for anger...is in the early stages of a new process," McLuhan says, "the present stage is extremely advanced." Amusement is the proper strategy. This is why McLuhan uses punning questions that border on silly or absurd after each visual example. On the technique of amusement McLuhan quotes Poe''s sailor, when he''s locked into the whirlpool''s walls looking at floating objects: :"I must have been delirious, for I even sought amusement in speculating upon the relative velocities of their several descents towards the foam below." [italics original] This amusement, McLuhan argues, born "of his rational detachment as a spectator of his own situation," saved the sailor''s life. By adopting the position of Poe''s sailor, readers of Bride can escape from the whirlpool of popular culture.

The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man

Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron is about a man named Clay Loudermilk and his attempts to locate his estranged wife, Barbara Allen. (The song "the Ballad of Barbara Allen" forms a commentary on the story with its elements of unrequited love, loss, and death.) For reasons unknown, Clay is in the audience at a porno theatre when he sees a bizarre BDSM feature (also titled Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron), the star dominatrix of which is revealed to be his wife. Clay sets out to locate her and becomes embroiled in a series of misadventures involving an incredibly bizarre and varied cast of supporting characters. Clay is victimized by two crazed policemen, meets a religious cult led by a mass-murderer who intend to overthrow the American government, conspiracy theorists who believe that the reins of the world''s political power somehow revolve around a series of dime store novelty figures, an inhumanly malformed, potato-like young woman and her nymphomaniacal mother, and various other freaks and weirdos. During one dream sequence, the infamous Foot Foot, from the song by The Shaggs, gnaws on Clay''s leg. The happy-face icon of "Mr. Jones" also appears in various places through the story, tattooed into people, carved on to Clay''s foot, as a ghost-like character, in Hitler''s birthmark, and on the sign for Value Ape shops. It signifies the way in which logos pervade our societies, and links to the conspiracy elements of the story. The true nature of the potato-woman''s father is never learned by Mr. loudermilk, but the reader will see suggestions of the Cthulhu Mythos. The phrase "What''s the Frequency, Kenneth?", referencing the bizarre Dan Rather incident (some years before the R.E.M. song did the same thing), is used as part of the "Mr. Jones" conspiracy sub-plot. There are, in addition, references to child porn and . The story is for adults only, and has a violent, ugly climax.

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron

In His Steps takes place in the railroad town of Raymond, probably located in the eastern U.S.A. (Chicago, IL and the coast of Maine are mentioned as being accessible by train). The main character is the Rev. Henry Maxwell, pastor of the First Church of Raymond, who challenges his congregation to not do anything for a whole year without first asking: “What Would Jesus Do?” Other characters include Ed Norman, senior editor of the Raymond Daily Newspaper, Rachel Winslow, a talented singer, and Virginia Page, an heiress, to name a few. The novel begins on a Friday morning when a man out of work appears at the front door of Henry Maxwell while the latter is preparing for that Sunday’s upcoming sermon. Maxwell listens to the man’s helpless plea briefly before brushing him away and closing the door. The same man appears in church at the end of the Sunday sermon, walks up to “the open space in front of the pulpit,” and faces the people. No one stops him. He quietly but frankly confronts the congregation—“I’m not complaining; just stating facts.”—about their compassion, or apathetic lack thereof, for the jobless like him in Raymond. Upon finishing his address to the congregation, he collapses, and dies a few days later. That next Sunday, Henry Maxwell, deeply moved by the events of the past week, presents a challenge to his congregation: “Do not do anything without first asking, ‘What would Jesus do?’” This challenge is the theme of the novel and is the driving force of the plot. From this point on, the rest of the novel consists of certain episodes that focus on individual characters as their lives are transformed by the challenge.

In His Steps

At age four, Young Ju moves with her parents from Korea to Southern California. While expecting an easy, blissful life in America, Young Ju sees the stress that the cultural adjustment puts on her family. She struggles with the language barrier at her new school, and her parents'' relationship becomes inceasingly strained due to financial issues. Young Ju''s brother, Joon, is born, and is given more freedom and choices due to his gender. Their father has a Jekyll and Hyde personality; sometimes a playful, loving parent, and all too often a violent alcoholic, eventually getting arrested for DUI and losing his drivers licence. As Young Ju matures and begins to enjoy friends and school, her parents fight constantly and Joon withdraws. When her father''s brutality reaches a new peak (he nearly beats his wife to death), Young Ju steps in and calls the police to arrest him. When he is released from jail, he leaves the family without a word. Some time later, Young Ju is preparing to leave for college, and knows her mother and brother are finally starting a better life.

A Step From Heaven

Jasmine Callihan is a 17-year-old girl on vacation in Las Vegas with her family. She is spending her vacation trying to avoid her cousin Alyson and her "Evil Hench Twin" Veronique, get the ''cute guy across the pool'', Jack, to notice her, and prove to her father that she is a model daughter. However, as soon as she is attacked by a three-legged cat (Mean and Dangerous Joe, or Mad Joe for short), things go haywireShe is suddenly caught up in a mystery regarding the murder of Len Phillips, and is determined to solve it with her best friends, fashion-wise Polly, crazy and eccentric Roxy, and Tom, sensible and totally in love with Polly.Along the way, she gets to know the ''cute guy across the pool'', who may or may not be involved with the murder. It is a typical afternoon by the pool at the Venetian hotel. Jas is feeling listless, frustrated and flat in her green bikini. Her cousin Alyson is being her obnoxious and snotty self. Her overprotective father coos with his twenty-years-younger wife and clearly has no intention of letting Jas follow her dream—a career as a detective—any time soon. The sun is shining, the water is cool. The cat incident leads to Jas''s first run-in with hotel security and her introduction to the cat''s owner, the eight-year-old son of Fiona Bristol. Fiona is a famous model who was embroiled in scandal a year earlier when her lover was killed and her husband was arrested for the murder. Jas''s three best friends sense she needs help and show up to offer insight into the case and fashion advice. When the cute guy at the snack hut turns out to be deeply enmeshed in the case, Jas has to figure out whether he is a friend or a foe.

Bad Kitty

There are two extant fragments of this manuscript. This plot summary pertains to "The Museum Fragment (Musejní Zlomek)." The play begins with Rubin approaching the Merchant and telling him that he will gladly serve him if the Merchant gives him a pot of barley porridge and three new spoons. The Merchant agrees to provide these goods if Rubin helps him find a place to set up a stall to sell his ointments. Rubin then starts to sing a song with Pusterpalk extolling the virtues of the Merchant''s ointments, and continues after the song to praise the Merchant and his ability to cure sicknesses of all kinds. Rubin runs off amongst the people and the Merchant, not able to find him, calls for him repeatedly. When Rubin returns to him, the Merchant asks him to take out the ointments and enumerate them for him. Among these ointments is one that is "so precious that neither Vienna nor Prague has it: A young lady made it all out of gnat lard, she added a few farts to it so that it should not quickly spoil; that''s the one all praise most keenly." The Merchant suggests after some time that they should set up their stall somewhere else since no customers are coming. Rubin then tells him that he has heard that there are three ladies in town seeking good ointments. The three ladies - all named Mary - are standing in the crowd and Rubin calls them over. The Marys ask for ointment to anoint their Lord Jesus Christ''s body. At this point Abraham appears carrying his son Isaac and asks the Merchant to heal him and make him rise from the dead. The Merchant agrees but only if Abraham gives him gold and his daughter, to which Abraham agrees. The Merchant proceeds to pour feces over Isaac''s backside. Isaac then rises and gives thanks to the Merchant for healing him. The Marys continue to request ointment to anoint Jesus Christ. The Merchant asks for two talents of gold instead of three as usual and the Merchant''s wife then yells angrily at him for offering the ointment for less gold, blaming him for their poverty. To his wife''s outburst, the Merchant exclaims: "I would advise you to stop, to let me be in peace. And if you do not stop it maybe you will rise and go away from me in tears. Busy yourself with your distaff at once, or I will punch you in the face!" Rubin and Pusterpalk then have a conversation about their lineage and get into an argument, whereby the Merchant tells the Marys not to pay attention to their fighting. This is how the Museum Fragment ends.

The Ointment Seller

After five hundred years, an older and wiser Khaavren has become the de facto commander of the Phoenix Guards. Pel continues to scheme and study the Art of Discretion, while Aerich and Tazendra live quietly on their estates. Khaavren learns that the now-decadent Emperor Tortaalik has allowed his Empire to hover on the brink of financial collapse. After Khaavren survives an attempt on his life, he learns that several key members of the court have been killed and deduces that a conspiracy is underway to damage the fragile Empire. A shadowy figure called Greycat has planned the murders as part of a scheme to cause chaos in the Empire and then come to its rescue, so that he may gain a place at court. Aerich, Pel, and Tazendra learn of their friend''s danger and come to his aide. They are also helped by the powerful enchantress Sethra Lavode. Adron e''Kieron, the Dragon Heir, and his daughter Aliera arrive at the city as well, but the growing tension between the Emperor and Adron threatens to break into full-scale sedition. Greycat continues to send minions in failed attempts to kill Khaavren, while his conspirator Grita works to start a riot in the city. Grita successfully sparks a riot that is only barely contained by Khaavren''s men. The city lies in shambles and resentment toward the Emperor runs high. Meanwhile, Greycat hires a naive but highly skilled Jhereg assassin named Mario to kill the Emperor and gives him a fake magic weapon for the task. Greycat plans on Mario failing, but will use the fake assassination to further unnerve the Emperor. Mario does fail, but manages to escape with the help of Aliera, who now truly hates the Emperor. Tortaalik has her arrested for her complicity. Adron has become so disgusted by the actions of the Emperor that he decides to start a revolt and seize the Orb for himself. He does not have the military might to do the deed, so he plans to use outlawed Elder Sorcery to steal the Orb directly. While Adron begins his spell, Tortaalik''s forces engage his troops. Meanwhile, Khaavren and his friends are met by Greycat, Grita, and their thugs. Khaavren and company recognize Greycat as the former Duke of Garland, who had been disgraced by the group''s actions during the events of The Phoenix Guards. During the fight, Khaavren kills Greycat, and a horrified Grita reveals that he had been her father. During the fighting, Mario returns to the Imperial Palace to free Aliera. Together, they return to the throne room and kill Tortaalik. As the Dragon Heir, Adron is now the Emperor in truth, but his spell cannot be stopped. Caught in a logical loop, the spell continues to grow until it will eventually explode. Adron knows that he has doomed himself and the city with his pride. He uses his fleeting moments of immense power to teleport Khaavren and his friends to safety. Back in the castle, Sethra Lavode comprehends what is about to happen. She teleports Aliera and Mario away, and sends the Orb to the Paths of the Dead. Adron''s spell explodes into a sea of chaos that destroys Dragaera City, a cataclysm later called Adron''s Disaster. Khaavren, Pel, Tazendra, and Aerich arrive safely in the duchy of Arylle. Without the Orb, there is no Empire. A lawless time of plague and strife called the Interregnum has begun.

Five Hundred Years After

Aliens Stole My Body concludes the four-book series. After the departure of Selima Khan, the group characters from The Search for Snout splits up into three groups, Rod and Seymour head for the planet Kryndamar, along with Snout, Elspeth, and Madam Pong (the Diplomatic Officer of the Ferkel). Meanwhile, Grakker and Phil (the sentient plant who serves as the Ferkel''s science officer) leave to reestablish contact with the Galactic Patrol, and Ah-Rit heads off with Tar Gibbons in an attempt to reclaim Rod''s body from BKR. While on Kryndamar, Rod begins training his mind with Snout, and later gains a few new allies: the intergalactic pet trader Mir-Van; his family; and his business partner Grumbo. They also encounter one of BKR''s henchmen; from him, they learn that BKR has already discovered their deception: Rod''s brain is empty. BKR still plans to use it as bait, and he intends to capture Rod''s mom and younger twin siblings from Earth, to serve as more bait. After arriving on Earth and locating Rod''s family, the entire group (sans Grumbo, Mir-Van and his family) are captured by BKR and his gang (including the traitorous Arly Bung) in the Merkel. The captives, along with Grakker, Phil, and Selima Khan, who are captured shortly before they were to leave the solar system, are taken to BKR''s headquarters. There, the entire group is joined by Ah-Rit and Tar Gibbons. With all his enemies in one place, BKR delivers an ultimatum: reveal where they''ve hidden Rod''s mind, or die. Rod tells Snout to send him back to his own body. Using the skills that he''s learned from both Tar Gibbons and Snout, Rod is able to take out all of BKR''s crew, and finally BKR himself. Following the defeat and capture of their enemies, Rod and his family are returned to Earth, though Rod will be able return to space in the future. BKR and his gang are locked up and await trial. After a final goodbye to his teacher and friends, Rod watches as the Ferkel and its crew depart for GP headquarters so they can deliver BKR and his gang to stand trial. Ferkel and its crew must also stand trial, since they did break the law by going renegade instead of following orders.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Hero

By Perry Moore

The Tombs of Atuan

By Ursula K. Le Guin

Son of Rosemary

By Ira Levin

Conqueror

By Conn Iggulden

The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man

By Marshall McLuhan

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron

By Daniel Clowes

In His Steps

By Charles Sheldon

A Step From Heaven

By An Na

Bad Kitty

By Michele Jaffe

The Ointment Seller

No Author Listed

Five Hundred Years After

By Steven Brust

Aliens Stole My Body

By Bruce Coville