President Francis Xavier Kennedy is elected to office, in large part, thanks to the legacy of his forebears–good looks, privilege, wealth–and is the very embodiment of youthful optimism. Too soon, however, he is beaten down by the political process and, disabused of his ideals, he becomes a leader totally unlike what he has been before. When his daughter becomes a pawn in a brutal terrorist plot, Kennedy, who has obsessively kept alive the memory of his uncles’ assassinations, activates all his power to retaliate in a series of violent measures. As the explosive events unfold, the world and those closest to him look on with both awe and horror.The novel''s emphasis is on the characters. The reader learns about a character''s background when he/she has to make a major decision. Critics have stated that, once the book has focused on a particular character, he/she is relegated to the background and never again returns to prominence. Mario Puzo has stated: "The Fourth K was a [commercial] failure—but it was my most ambitious book."

The Fourth K

Prince Rupert is taken by the Roundheads; held captive at a country house, he falls in love with his captor''s niece, Jennifer. One of his troopers, Will Fairweather, followed him to the house where he was held captive; with the help of Jennifer, Will brings him to Oberon and Titania, who offer magical aid. Rupert and Jennifer exchange magic rings that will aid them as long as they are true to each other. Rupert sets out with Will to find the books that Prospero sank, in order to aid King Charles. Rupert, fleeing Roundheads, finds refuge in a magical inn, The Old Phoenix, which proves to be a nexus between parallel worlds. Inside the tavern, he meets Valeria Matuchek, who is from an alternate history twentieth-century America. (Originally, the character had been a child in Anderson''s Operation Chaos and a teenager in its sequel, Operation Luna, but is now an adult.) Holger Carlsen is another guest, born in a world where the Matter of France is history, and later trapped in "our own" twentieth-century America (the hero of Anderson''s Three Hearts and Three Lions). Valeria explains what will happen in the English Civil War in "our" timeline, including the king''s execution, strengthening Rupert''s determination to change events here. He finds a Spanish ship that will transport him; it is carrying an ambassador and his wife. Jennifer''s Puritan uncle discovers her on her return, when she resolves to use the ring to find Rupert. She is brought, captive, to a port, where the ring enables her to steal a boat and set sail. The ambassador''s wife uses a magic potion to seduce Rupert, and the rings fail. Rupert cannot find his way to the island, and Jennifer is stranded at sea. Despairing, Rupert takes to the library at Milan to try to work out where to find the island and books. Jennifer''s plight becomes desperate from thirst, but Ariel (from The Tempest) finds her and brings her to the island. Rupert works out the location, and Jennifer and he are reconciled. They retrieve the books and magically bear them back to England. Charles I has taken up a position near Glastonbury Tor for reasons he does not understand. Rupert attempts the magic; Will Fairweather is possessed by a spirit of England and stirs up the magic of the land. The Roundheads are defeated, and Charles I wins the English Civil War. At the Old Phoenix, Valeria believes that even if "romantic reactionaries" like Charles I won the English Civil War here, there is still the prospect of technological advance in North America. However, the fairies believed differently—they supported the Cavalier cause to delay the disenchantment of this world. Rupert and Jennifer return the rings to Oberon and Titania, and retire to a peaceful married life.

A Midsummer Tempest

The Sacred Flame is the story about the misfortune of Maurice Tabret, previously a soldier of World War I who had returned home unscathed to marry his sweetheart Stella. Unfortunately, after only a year of marriage, Maurice is involved in a plane crash and left crippled from the waist down. The play commences some years later in Gatley House near London, home of Maurice''s mother, Mrs. Tabret. Mrs. Tabret''s home has been set up to care for her son and a young Nurse Wayland has been Maurice''s constant aid throughout. She is extremely professional and devoted to her job. Maurice''s wife Stella lives with them also and remains his cheerful companion and support. Maurice''s brother Colin Tabret has returned from a time in Guatemala to spend the previous 11 months before the play''s start with his brother and the family. The local practitioner Dr. Harvester visits frequently to check on Maurice''s condition and to prescribe appropriate treatments. Mrs. Tabret''s own husband has passed on some time ago and whilst she does not have a close relationship with anyone else, her old friend retired Major Liconda visits often. All is as well as can be expected until Maurice is found dead in his bed one morning. Not altogether unexpected, Dr. Harvester is prepared to write the death certificate but then Nurse Wayland cries foul and indicates that she believes Maurice was murdered by being given an overdose of his sleeping draught. The play then works through a series of Agatha Christie-style "whodunnit" scenes as the audience attempt to figure out whether Maurice was killed, took his own life, or else if the whole thing is no more than an imagining and false accusation by the Nurse. For the majority of the second and third act the main suspect is Stella, who it transpires is having an affair with Colin and is pregnant by him. It looks as if the matter will be brought to the coroner and the police, which is likely to mean Stella going on trial for Maurice''s murder. At the end of the third act, Mrs. Tabret reveals that it was she that killed Maurice. She had realised that Stella was pregnant, and because Stella''s love was all that Maurice lived for, she couldn''t bear to see Stella''s betrayal exposed. Mrs. Tabret therefore sees her act as a mercy killing. After this revelation, the play ends as Nurse Wayland asks Dr. Harvester to sign the death certificate indicating that Maurice died of natural causes, meaning there will be no police investigation.

The Sacred Flame

Claudine, a fifteen year old girl, lives in Montigny, with her father, who is more interested in mollusks than his daughter. Claudine attends the small village school, which is the primary location of her many adventures, presented as an intimate journal. The journal begins with the new school year, marked by the arrival of the new headmistress, Miss Sergent, and her assistant, Miss Aimée Lanthenay, as well as the boys'' instructors, Mr. Duplessis and Mr. Rabastens. Although Claudine begins an affair early on with Miss Lanthenay, Miss Sergent soon discovers the liaison and discourages Miss Lanthenay, ultimately taking her on as her own lover. Claudine feels betrayed and causes trouble for the two women with the help of her friends, cynical Anaïs and childlike Marie Belhomme. Miss Lanthenay''s sister Luce arrives at school, and Claudine mistreats her, but Luce idolizes Claudine nonetheless. Some major events of the school year documented in the novel are the final exams, the opening of the new school, and a ball to mark the visit of an important political minister to the town.

Claudine at School

The spirit of Harry Keogh now resides in his son, Harry Jr. When his infant son sleeps, Harry can roam the Continuum and speak to the dead, but is gradually losing his control as the son "reels" his father''s spirit back in. Roaming in his spare time, Harry discovers that Thibor had infected a pregnant woman with a small part of his flesh, which results in a lesser breed of vampire, albeit a still formidable one. This youth, Yulian Bodescu, retains many vampire abilities: hypnotism, increased lust, bodily transformation, regeneration, and creating thralls (lesser vampires that are infected with a shed body part of the master vampire). Harry eventually contacts Faethor Ferenczy, a master manipulator (as all vampires are), who was not ready to die but was forced to when he was pinned beneath an unmovable column. When Faethor died, a small worm like (leech) creature left his body, which was also killed. Talking to Faethor, Harry discovers that the creature is the "true" vampire and source of the Wamphyri power, longevity, and when the two beings are merged, they are Wamphyri. Faethor tells Harry about Thibor, who was a mighty warrior centuries prior, and how he infected Thibor with his sole wamphyric egg. Thibor was to watch over Faethor''s castle and servants while gone, but after disobeying him, Faethor had him chained underneath the earth (leading to the events of the prior book). Yulian is creating thralls out of his family, and Thibor uses telepathy to tell him that Harry Jr. is a great enemy. Yulian sets out to kill the infant, and Harry informs E-Branch that Thibor has a piece of dead skin left behind, which could be used to further Yulian''s mutation. E-Branch teams up with the current Russian head to destroy Thibor''s remains and a "finger mutation" left behind in Castle Ferenczy. After destroying the remains of Thibor, Alec Kyle is captured by rogue Russian agents believing him to be a spy. With the assistance of Zek Foener they mindwipe him and steal his knowledge of British E-Branch and Harry Keogh. Afterwards Zek Foener learns she has been tricked and vows never to use her talents for the Russians again. As Yulian prepares to murder Harry Jr, the infant, using powers he learned form his fathers mind slips through the Mobius Continuum, to E-Branch HQ with Brenda while the dead rise to slaughter Yulian Bodescu. Before he goes Harry Jr. releases his fathers consciousness, which is drawn to inhabit the now mindless body of Alec Kyle. Enraged at what the Russians have done to Alec Kyle, Harry destroys the Russian HQ once more. It is unclear at the end of the Novel whether Yulian would have developed into "FULL" Wamphyri, however such seems likely as he had been able to shapeshift extensively among other talents that lesser vampires seldom possess to any great extent.

Necroscope II: Wamphyri

Clay Jensen, a somewhat shy high school student, returns home from school one day to find an anonymously-sent package sitting on his doorstep. Upon opening it, he discovers that it is a shoebox containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by the late Hannah Baker, his classmate and emotionally damaged crush who recently committed suicide by taking a handful of pills. The tapes were initially mailed to one classmate with instructions to pass them from one student to another, in the style of a chain letter. On the tapes, Hannah explains to thirteen people how they played a role in her death, by giving thirteen reasons explaining why she took her life. Hannah has given a second set of tapes to one of their classmates, the identity of whom Clay later discovers, and warns the people on the tapes that if they do not pass them on, the second set will be leaked to the entire student body. This could lead to the public embarrassment and shame of certain people, while others could face physical harassment charges or jail time. Through the audio narrative, Hannah reveals her pain and suffering and her spiral into depression that ultimately leads to her death. She lists her first crush,a former friend, a peeping Tom, a liar, a goof who takes advantage of her, a hater, a thief who steals her poems, a member of the list that already passed, a cheerleader who crashes into a stop sign, a guy she had a sexual encounter with, the guidance counselor, and Clay himself. They all thought their actions were harmless, but they were wrong. Hannah''s tapes will haunt them forever.

Thirteen Reasons Why

It is the story of Elizabeth Allen, who is made a monitor and then risks her position by accusing Julian, a fellow student, of being a thief who tricks her and making her lose her place as a monitor, by playing tricks on her such as making irritating water drops fall on her head, making her books fall thrice, making the teacher to send her out and putting sneezing powder in her book which enters her nose on opening the book and tickles her nostrils, causing her to sneeze. Elizabeth also quarrels with another fellow student, Arabella Buckley, who is vain and selfish and disobeyed the school rules about pocket money. She also makes a midnight feast for her birthday. Elizabeth then sees Julian taking biscuits from the old games locker and thinks he is stealing. She is made to resign her position as a school monitor but ultimately gets it back when she saves a small child from drowning. The real thief- Martin- is discovered at last and admits to having deliberately framed Julian. But unfortunately, in the process he had got Elizabeth into trouble.But at last there was a happy ending.

The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor

Jarvis Stringer is a student of the London Tube and its history and of underground trains worldwide. In order to finance his hobby and be able to travel to distant lands to inspect the underground systems in other parts of the world, he lets rooms in an old disused school building he has inherited which is close to the tube tracks in West Hampstead (see Jubilee Line). There, a group of misfits and weirdos, including a squatter, gather whose dreams of the good life have time and again been shattered as they are constantly victimized by society. There is 24 year-old Alice, an aspiring musician who leaves her husband and new-born baby only to end up busking in various stations in central London. There is Tom, who, after an accident, drops out of music school and is reduced to busking as well but who dreams of one day starting his own business. There is unemployed Tina, whose promiscuity landed her with two children whom she does not take care of in the way her mother thinks she ought to. There is Jed, who volunteers as a vigilante and who, disappointed by humans, lavishes all his love on the hawk he has acquired and which he keeps in the house. And there is Axel, an enigmatic man who regularly travels on the tube in the company of a man disguised as a bear and who is planning something illegal. Cecilia and Daphne, two old ladies living in the neighbourhood, serve as a foil to this ill-assorted group. It is Cecilia in particular who does not understand how young people such as her daughter Tina can be utterly devoid of morals. She is shocked to learn that her 10 year-old grandson enjoys riding on the roof of cars as they go through deep-level tunnels. While travelling on the tube herself, her handbag containing her credit cards is stolen, and she suffers a stroke in one of the packed cars. The novel is interspersed with extracts from Jarvis Stringer''s (fictional) book on the London Underground.

King Solomon''s Carpet

While his sister, Maerad, was in the north in search of the Treesong, as told in The Riddle, Hem and his mentor Saliman arrive in Turbansk, the centre of the light in the Suderain, which is Saliman''s School. There Hem becomes a Minor Bard, and has lessons with other Bards of Turbansk. Because he does not know the Suderain language, Hem finds it very hard to make friends. After a quarrel with one of his teachers, Hem escapes to a garden, where he rescues a white crow from the attack of several black crows. Hem names the crow Irc, (the Pilani name for "bird"), and keeps him. A few days later, Turbansk receives news that the army of Sharma, the Nameless One, have destroyed cities and towns to the South, and are expected to attack Turbansk soon. The children are mostly evacuated from Turbansk. Under the request of Saliman, Hem stays at the School and works to heal those wounded in battle. One day while wandering around the nearly empty Turbansk, Hem meets an orphaned girl called Zelika, whose parents were killed by the dark army of the Nameless One. As Hem, Saliman, Zelika and Irc travel South to remain safe from the Black Army, they pass through an ancient underground city. There they stay and Hem and Zelika are trained as child spies. One day, when they are left alone, Hem finds a room with a mural of a tree-man. The tree-man is an Elidhu. After Hem and Zelika are trained as spies, their mentor sends them out. At the nearest hideout yet to be discovered by Sharma''s army, the Pit, they stop. While spying Zelika spots her brother and gives herself away. Hem then spends months tailing Zelika, waiting to save her. When the chance came, he was already in the city where the Iron Tower was, and he found out that he had been tracking Zelika''s brother all that time. As he ran away alone, Irc came back carrying a shiny thing. Irc helps him escape the city and tells him the story of how Irc came by the shiny thing. They met up with Saliman later and Hem is told that Zelika never even set foot in the camp—they had found her body mauled in the woods and did the best they could to honor her death. Later, Hem goes to find the tree-man and asks him what the thing was, and the tree-man tells him it was part of the Treesong, and that he couldn''t touch it. He says that Hem was part of the Treesong, and that he was the player. Then Saliman, Hem and Irc set off to find Maerad.

The Crow

Events take place in a fictional country called Laurania, located somewhere on the Mediterranean sea, which is similar to Italy or Spain, but with an overlay of Victorian England. Laurania has an African colony which can be reached via the Suez Canal. It has been a republic for many years, and has a well established constitution. Five years previously (stated to be in 1883) the country was split by a civil war, as a result of which General Antonio Molara became President and Dictator. Unrest has arisen because of Molara''s refusal to restore parliamentary rule, and the final events of his dictatorship are described in the book. The story opens with a description of the capital and fast-moving political events there. Molara has bowed to popular pressure for elections, but intends to do so on the basis of a grossly amended electoral register. Savrola is seen as the leader of the revolutionaries, deciding what they are to do, and presiding over conflicting factions with differing aims. Despite the unrest, society still proceeds on the surface in a genteel course, with state balls and society events. Molara decides to ask his young and beautiful wife, Lucile, to attempt to seduce Savrola and discover anything she can about his plans. Unfortunately for him, Lucile finds herself attracted to Savrola and her loyalties confused. Events move from political maneuvering to street fighting when a rebel army invades Laurania. While Savrola knows about the army and intended invasion, he has poor control over it, so the invasion has started without his knowledge or proper preparations. Both sides scramble for a fight, as Molara finds the country''s regular troops refuse to obey his orders. He is obliged to despatch most of the loyal Republican Guard from the capital to oppose the invaders, leaving him with a much reduced force to hold the capital. Fierce street fighting takes place in the capital between the revolutionaries of the Popular Party and the Republican Guard. The revolution culminates in the storming of the Presidential Palace and the death on the steps of his palace of General Molara. The revolutionary allies start to break apart in the face of a threat by the Lauranian navy (which remains loyal to the president), to bombard the city unless Savrola is handed over to them. The council of public safety decides the most expedient position would be to agree to this, but Savrola escapes attempts to arrest him and flees with Lucile. The city is subsequently bombarded when Savrola is not produced, and the last scene is of Savrola watching the destruction from outside the city. During 1886 and 1887 there was unrest in the African colony. This was dealt with by the small but very effective Lauranian Army, with the support of the Lauranian Navy. In 1888 a border dispute with the British increased tension in that part of Africa, and the arrival of HMS Aggressor in the area precipitated the despatch of the several Lauranian warships to ''show the flag''. This was also intended to dissuade the British from taking any military action in support of their claim on the disputed area. * ''Three hundred thousand people live there''. * ''The palace stood upon high ground commanding a wide view of the city and harbour ... The red and blue tiled roofs were relieved by frequent gardens and squares whose green and graceful palms soothed and gratified the eye. To the north the great pile of the Senate House and Parliament buildings loomed up majestic and imposing. Westward lay the harbour with its shipping and protective forts''. * Part of the harbour''s defences include a military mole, at the end of which is a ''shapeless mound of earth that marked the protecting battery of the harbour ...''. * The seaward battery is armed with ''nine-inch guns'', some of which are within embrasures and some are en barbette. * The entrance to the harbour is ''nearly a mile wide, but the navigable channel itself was dangerously narrow and extremely difficult.'' * There is a ''great square in front of the Parliament House''. The square is called Constitution Square. * There is a railway line that runs ''right to the frontier''.

Savrola

Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, and C-3PO all make an appearance in the book as they attempt to stop Project Starscream. Their appearance in the book is apparently prior to their relocation to Hoth. The shadow creatures inhabiting Kiva were reduced to that state by an accident caused by Gog and Hoole. Little is said about the connection between Gog and Hoole, but they once worked together, which is interesting because they are both Shi''idos. Gog''s weapon is disguised as an innocent baby, with a bruise on his forehead, named "Eppon". Many people left alone with the baby mysteriously disappear. The baby also grows at an alarming rate and quickly matures into an adult. When the Rebels find an imperial lab, they also find Gog, who reveals that Hoole''s full name is Mammon Hoole, who the Shadows had been talking about. Then, it is revealed that Eppon is really an imperial Bio-weapon. Eppon turns into a giant monster which tries to eat Hoole. Tash convinces Eppon to turn on Gog, who promptly blows Eppon up with a control he had in his coat, much to Tash''s dismay. The Shadows burst in to kill Hoole, when suddenly the computer in the lab is turned on, revealing that it was Gog who rigged an experiment to make the power of a star in a test tube fail, and as a result it was Gog who created the Shadows. Gog is promptly killed by the Shadows immediately afterward.

Galaxy of Fear: Army of Terror

One of the novel''s main characters is Cathy Scarlet, who has married Neil Mitchell, son of the wealthy household where her mother Lizzie used to scrub floors. Neil''s mother Hannah was totally against the marriage and makes life hard for Cathy. Cathy and her college friend, Tom Feather, set up a catering business called Scarlet Feather, the fortunes of which are traced throughout the book. Tom is in a relationship with beautiful Marcella, who dreams of being a model, but Marcella''s ambitions come between the couple and there is growing distance too between Cathy and Neil. Younger characters are Neil''s twin nephew and niece Simon and Maud who are in need of care, as their mother is an alcoholic and their father has disappeared. Their older brother Walter is not willing to take responsibility for them, and they end up spending a lot of time with Cathy''s parents, Lizzie and Muttie, in a far less affluent part of town. The novel traces the growth of the catering company which gives it its name and the relationships of the main characters, as well as those of more minor characters such as Shona and James. Scarlet Feather explores familiar themes of family strife and responsibility, relationships and fledgling business ventures.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

The Fourth K

By Mario Puzo

A Midsummer Tempest

By Poul Anderson

The Sacred Flame

By W. Somerset Maugham

Claudine at School

By Colette

Necroscope II: Wamphyri

By Brian Lumley

Thirteen Reasons Why

By Jay Asher

The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor

By Enid Blyton

King Solomon's Carpet

By Ruth Rendell

The Crow

By Alison Croggon

Savrola

By Winston Churchill

Galaxy of Fear: Army of Terror

By John Whitman

Scarlet Feather

By Maeve Binchy