As the Fifth Doctor and his companions vacation in Tasmania they get caught up in a scheme by the Time Lord Ruath to resurrect the vampire Yarven (from Blood Harvest). Ruath sends a vampire baby to attack the Doctor and turn him into a vampire, but the child instead attacks and converts Nyssa. Unable to provide Yarven with the Doctor''s Time Lord blood, Ruath gives her own blood to Yarven, causing her to die and regenerate into a vampire Time Lord. Nyssa, while trying fight her new vampire nature, is drawn to Yarven''s castle, where she learns more about Ruath''s plan. Ruath has created a genetically enhanced mist that can turn normal humans into vampires, and kill those who use traditional methods (garlic, crosses, etc.) to protect themselves. Ruath has also invented a Time Freeze, a small Time Loop that can hold the Earth in a perpetual night, leaving the vampires free to roam and feed. Nyssa contacts the Doctor and aids him in entering the castle, which turns out to be Ruath''s TARDIS. Ruath captures the Doctor and Tegan. She informs Yarven that his brain, now enhanced by Time Lord blood, will become the controller of the Time Freeze mechanism, and offers the Doctor the change to become her vampiric consort. Yarven, however, decides he doesn''t want to sacrifice himself, and places the Doctor in the Time Freze. The Doctor manages to use Ruath''s command ring to take control of her TARDIS and force it to materialize on a distant planet, where the rising sun incinerates Yarven and his vampire hordes. The death of the vampire child cures Nyssa of her vampirism. Ruath survives the dawn, but is sucked into the Time Vortex after Nyssa opens the doors to the Doctor''s TARDIS while it is in flight.

Goth Opera

Monty Bodkin, despite his wealth, needs to hold a job down for a full year ("There are wheels within wheels"), so when he is sacked from his job assistant-editing Tiny Tots for Lord Tilbury''s Mammoth Publishing Company, he jumps at his pal Hugo Carmody''s tip that his old job as Lord Emsworth''s secretary is available, especially on hearing that his former fiancee Sue Brown will be on the premises. Hearing that Monty is on his way, and fearing Ronnie''s jealous nature, Sue heads to London, dines with Bodkin and warns him to be distant; on the train back, they both encounter Ronnie''s formidable mother Lady Julia, and claim not to know each other. Lady Julia, having seen Sue and Monty at lunch together, tells her son about their suspicious behaviour, and Ronnie is at once convinced that Sue loves Monty. Meanwhile, Connie and Parsloe-Parsloe, unaware of these developments, task Percy Pilbeam with obtaining Galahad''s manuscript, used to ensure Sue and Ronnie''s marriage is permitted. Lord Tilbury, also wanting the book, visits the castle and is rebuffed. Leaving, he calls on the Empress, but is locked in a shed by Pirbright the pig-man, instructed by a suspicious Lord Emsworth to guard the pig closely. He is released by Monty Bodkin, who he persuades to steal the book by offering him a year''s guaranteed employment - he is worried about his tenure at the castle, as Lord Emsworth suspects him, being the nephew of his rival Parsloe-Parsloe, of scheming to nobble his pig, the Empress. Beach, catching Pilbeam in the act of grabbing the book, tells Galahad and is instructed to guard the book himself. When he overhears Tilbury and Bodkin plotting in the garden at the Emsworth Arms, however, he sees the task is too much for him and hands the book on to Ronnie Fish. Fish is distracted by his loss of Sue''s love, but once the storm breaks feels better; he sees Monty Bodkin, drenched from the rain, and is friendly towards him. However, when he sees "Sue" tattooed on Bodkin''s chest, his mood turns sour once more. Sue, having heard Ronnie''s kind words, is also cheered and rushes to find Ronnie; when he is once more cold and distant, she breaks down and breaks off the engagement. Bodkin finds Ronnie and asks him a favour - to get Beach to hand over the book, explaining he needs it in order to marry his girl. Ronnie, inwardly furious, chivalrously hands it over. Gally sees Sue is upset, learns all and confronts Ronnie with his idiocy. He explains about Bodkin and Sue, and Ronnie forgives her. Gally then confronts his sisters, threatening them once more with his book; although Julia is at first unmoved, when Gally relates a few of the stories it contains concerning her late husband "Fishy" Fish, she is defeated. Bodkin, having engaged Pilbeam to find the book for him, tells the detective he is no longer needed, revealing where he has hidden the manuscript. Pilbeam steals it, planning to auction it between Tilbury and the Connie-Parsloe syndicate, and hides it in a disused shed. He informs Lord Emsworth that Bodkin released Tilbury, and Bodkin is fired. Pilbeam is summoned to see Lady Constance, and primes himself with a bottle of champagne. She is insulting, and Pilbeam vows to sell the book to Tilbury, who he calls promising to deliver it, but he retires to bed first to sleep off the booze. Lord Emsworth, having moved the Empress to her new sty for safety, finds her eating the manuscript. Pilbeam sees this, and hurries to Connie and Parsloe-Parsloe, but is denied his fee when they find the pig has eaten the book. He then rushes to the Emsworth Arms, and gets a cheque out of Lord Tilbury, telling him the book is in the pigsty. Bodkin is on hand, however, and destroys the cheque and warns Emsworth by phone that someone is heading for his sty. Later, full of remorse, he offers Pilbeam a thousand pounds to employ him for a year in his agency. While Emsworth is being badgered by his sisters into denying Ronnie his money, a mud-spattered Lord Tilbury is brought in, captured by Pirbright. Gally and Sue then appear, informing Emsworth that Ronnie has the pig in his car and will drive off with it if denied his cash. Emsworth coughs up, and the happy couple depart, much to Gally''s satisfaction.

Heavy Weather

Alex Rider is assigned by MI6 to investigate the deaths of billionaires, Michael J. Roscoe and General Viktor Ivanov. Each of them had a son attending Point Blanc, an academy in the French Alps run by a South African scientist, Dr Hugo Grief, and both died under mysterious circumstances. Alex''s cover is that of the son of a supermarket magnate, Sir David Friend. Alex is taken to a hotel on the way to Point Blanc, where his dinner drink is drugged. His bed is then transported where Mrs. Stellenbosch (the lady who took him from Mr. Friend''s house) strips Alex and photographs his entire body. After the examination, Alex''s clothes are put back on and he is returned to his hotel room. Upon arriving at Point Blanc, Alex befriends a student who goes by the name of James Sprintz. James thinks something is wrong with the academy because the other boys were rebellious before and then suddenly became complacent. One day, James is taken and replaced with a look-alike who is no longer rebellious. The following night, Alex examines the forbidden third floor to find replicas of the boys'' rooms upstairs, with TV screens monitoring the boys'' behaviour downstairs. Following later investigations, Alex''s finds the real boys locked in a basement jail. Alex sees James and tells him the truth, his identity and the reason why he was sent to Point Blanc. A teacher named Mrs Stellenbosch is told this after someone overhears it and knocks Alex unconscious, captures him and turns him over to Dr. Grief, who then reveals his plan to take over the world, named "Project Gemini". In the 1980s, Grief cloned sixteen copies of himself in his home country of South Africa (where he greatly supported the apartheid regime). While the real boys are at Point Blanc, a plastic surgeon named Baxter surgically alters Grief''s 14-year-old clones to resemble them. Soon, the clone and the real boy are swapped. The replica rooms are used by the clones to imitate the boys'' behaviour so the parents will not notice that they have been swapped. When the parents die and pass on their inheritance, Dr Grief will take the assets from the clones. Eventually, he will be the most powerful man in the world, and reinstate apartheid globally. Grief imprisons Alex, planning to dissect him alive the next day for a biology class. Alex uses his exploding ear-stud that was given to him by MI6''s gadget genius Smithers to escape his cage. He fashions a makeshift snowboard to escape, but crashes and Alex faints and is taken to a hospital, where a visiting Mrs Stellenbosch is told that Alex has broken several bones, fractured his skull and died. However, MI6 then sends him out again with a team of SAS soldiers (among them is Wolf, an SAS soldier introduced in Stormbreaker) to help liberate the school. As Dr Grief attempts to escape, Alex kills him with a snowmobile by driving it up a ramp and crashing it into Grief''s helicopter, jumping off at the last minute. In the final chapter of the novel, Alex goes to his school to find a clone that resembles him, who avoided capture and escaped. The clone and Alex fight, starting a fire in the science building, ending with one of them falling to his death. It is left ambiguous as to whether the clone or Alex survived, though at the beginning of Skeleton Key it is revealed that the clone was killed and the real Alex lives.

Point Blanc: The Graphic Novel

Five years have passed since a truce was reached between Manticore and Haven, but there is still no formal peace treaty. Even though neither side wishes to resume fighting, political circumstances in both nations threaten to plunge them into war. On Manticore, the administration of Prime Minister High Ridge focuses on strengthening its political position. They are determined to remain at least technically at war with Haven - peace would terminate the special war taxes they are diverting from the Royal Manticoran Navy''s budget for their welfare programs and vote-buying schemes, and would end their ability to postpone elections in which they expect to lose their fragile majority. Manticore''s allies, most notably Grayson and Erewhon, are infuriated with the new government''s carelessness and outright rudeness in foreign affairs. From their seats in the House of Lords, Honor Harrington and Hamish Alexander voice their opposition to the High Ridge Administration''s policies, and the government takes actions to discredit the war heroes. Haven struggles to rebuild after the fall of the People''s Republic. President Pritchart''s administration faces increasing pressure from certain political factions that demand the Republic to be more assertive in its negotiations with the Star Kingdom. Admiral Thomas Theisman has to restore the Havenite Navy''s morale and fighting capabilities after the long war with Manticore and a protracted campaign to conquer the remnants of the old People''s Republic. The Andermani Empire, at the encouragement of the Republic''s secretary of state, has adopted a confrontational stance with Manticore over the chaos-ridden Silesian Confederacy, and Honor Harrington is sent to the planet Sidemore, located near Silesian space, with a task force. She is ordered to go to Silesia at the behest of the Royal Navy''s new management, who wishes to get her out of the political arena. The intention is to keep a close eye on the Andermani and their activities, and the risk of war between Manticore and the Empire is steadily rising. Tensions also rise between Haven and Manticore. A new terminus of the Manticore Wormhole Junction has been discovered, and several worlds located near the new terminus request annexation into Manticore, triggering fears amongst the Havenites that Manticore is going to go on an expansionist rampage. The Manticoran government''s ineptness and the schemes of some members of the Havenite government compounds an already unstable scenario, and President Pritchart orders the Havenite Navy to launch "Operation Thunderbolt": the resumption of combat operations against Manticore. War breaks out again. In a series of coordinated attacks the Havenites succeed in conquering every system the Manticorans took out from them (except San Martin, which is recognized as a part of the Star Kingdom) and in devastating a critical Manticoran shipyard. Even Honor''s fleet is attacked, despite the long distance between Haven and Sidemore, but, reinforced by the Protector''s Own division of the Grayson Navy, she succeeds in defeating the Havenite forces. The High Ridge administration falls, and a new government takes over in the Star Kingdom, composed of the remnants of the earlier Cromarty government. Now Haven is almost the technological equal of Manticore and its fleet of modern warships is significantly larger than the Manticoran navy. Erewhon has broken out of the Manticoran Alliance and has sided with Haven, handing them many of the latest technological developments of the Star Kingdom. The Havenites have the initiative and the Star Kingdom is shocked. However, the Andermani Empire joins the Manticoran side in the new war.

War of Honor

Following a painful divorce from his wife Nickie, Robert Forester leaves New York and moves to a small Pennsylvania town, where he develops an obsession with the seemingly happy, 23-year old Jenny Thierolf. As a way of easing his own discontent with life, he begins spying on her through her kitchen window, and is surprised when she invites him into her house after spotting him one night. Jenny sees their chance meeting as an act of fate, and breaks off the engagement to her hot-tempered fiancé Greg Wyncoop. During the next weeks, Jenny in turn goes after Robert, contacting him at his home and the company he works at. Robert is offered a promotion at work (which will require him to move to another city), and he hopes this will put an end to Jenny''s advances, which he is feeling increasingly uneasy about. One night, Greg starts a fight with Robert, which ends in Greg being knocked unconscious and left on a river bank by Robert. Soon afterwards, Greg is reported missing, with Robert becoming a suspect for the police. Also, Robert''s ex-wife Nickie tells the police that Robert once threatened her with a weapon. After a newspaper article on the case appears, Robert''s promotion is withdrawn. A badly decomposed body is found in the river which the police believe to be Greg''s, but the identification proves to be difficult. The fragile relationship between Robert and Jenny deteriorates quickly, and finally Jenny commits suicide after coming to the conclusion that Robert''s appearance in her life symbolizes her death. Nickies new husband Ralph informs Robert that Greg''s disappearance is actually a plot of Greg and Nickie against him. Later, Robert is shot at by Greg (severely wounding another person instead). Greg is arrested by the police but released. In a final confrontation between Robert, Greg and Nickie, Nickie is accidentally killed when Greg tries to knife Robert. Again, Robert is a suspect in an apparent crime scene.

The Cry of the Owl

In pre-agricultural Europe,the hunter-gatherers of the Forest live in clans, each represented by a particular animal or life form. Torak and his father, of Wolf Clan, live together in the forest. During Torak''s twelfth year, his father ("Fa") is killed by a bear which has been possessed by a demon. Before Torak''s father dies, he tells Torak to swear an oath to head north and find the Mountain of the World Spirit, and ask the World Spirit to help destroy the bear before it kills all life in the forest. His guide will find him and help him on his quest. Torak reluctantly leaves his father as the bear comes back to kill him. Torak heads north and soon encounters an orphaned wolf cub. Torak initially tries to kill the cub in order to eat it, but he doesn''t have the heart. He discovers that he can communicate with the cub. The Cub smells Torak is of the Wolf Clan, who was fed by a wolf as a baby, and accepts Torak as his pack-brother. He realizes the cub is the guide, and Torak names the cub "Wolf". Over time they become good friends. A few days later Torak and Wolf are captured by the Raven Clan, who accuse Torak of stealing one of their roe deer. They are taken to the Raven camp so Torak''s fate can be decided by Fin-Kedinn, the Raven Clan leader. Torak''s captors are a teenage boy named Hord, a girl named Renn, and a man named Oslak. In the Raven camp, Torak is taken to Fin-Kedinn. Unlike the other Ravens, Fin-Kedinn treats him with kindness and respect, until Fin-Kedinn realizes who Torak''s father was. To regain his freedom, Torak fights Hord, who is much bigger and stronger, to prove his innocence. He wins by temporarily blinding Hord with steam from some broth which is cooking nearby. This, together with the dog whistle which Torak has made to summon Wolf, makes Fin-Kedinn and Saeunn, the Raven mage (shaman), see Torak as the possible fulfillment of a prophecy about a "Listener". The prophecy states that the Listener, who "talks with silence and fights with air", will offer his heart''s blood to the World Spirit and thereby kill the demon-bear. One interpretation of this prophecy is that Torak must be sacrificed, and his blood taken to the Mountain of the World Spirit. Fin-Keddin reveals to Torak that his Fa was the Wolf Clan''s mage, and the Demon Bear was created for the sole purpose of killing his Fa. They then lock Torak away while they debate his fate. Torak escapes, helped by Renn, who believes that Torak must go to the Mountain of the World Spirit himself. Renn tells Torak the rest of the prophecy, which says he must find three parts of the "Nanuak", the brightest soul, to please the World Spirit and ensure its aid. On their journey together, guided by Wolf, Torak finds the first part of the Nanuak when he falls into a river, the second part in a cave, and the third part while crossing the treacherous glacial flow close to the High Mountains. Nearly at their destination, Renn and Torak are recaptured by the Ravens and taken to the Raven Clan''s new temporary camp. Fin-Kedinn releases Torak, believing him to be the one who should go to the Mountain. Fin-Kedinn also reveals that Torak''s Fa was killed because he dedicated himself to thwarting a group of rogue mages, the Soul Eaters, who have turned to evil in their determination to rule the Forest. Torak and Wolf climb the mountain, followed by the bear. Torak is unexpectedly attacked by Hord, who believes himself to be the one who must take the Nanuak to the mountain. Torak realizes that the prophecy''s "heart''s blood" means Wolf, and as Wolf carries off the Nanuak, Hord and the bear are engulfed by an ensuing avalanche, and fall down the mountain. Torak escapes from under his hiding place and looks for Wolf, but he only hears his howl in the distance, along with the howls of other wolves. Torak howls to Wolf, promising that he will one day return for him, before turning to head back into the forest.

Wolf Brother

Jacob, the hero of the book, was a resident of Josefov, a Jewish town in Poland. After the Khmelnytsky massacres, in which his wife and three children were murdered by Cossacks, Jacob was sold as a slave to pagan peasant farmers. Throughout his several years of slavery, he struggled to maintain his Judaism by observing as many Jewish rituals as possible and by maintaining high ethical standards for himself. While in captivity, Jacob fell in love with his master''s daughter, Wanda. While Jewish law and custom forbids Jews from even touching a woman a man is not married to and also forbids Jews from cohabiting with gentiles, Jacob''s love for Wanda was too powerful to overcome and they engage in sexual intercourse. Later, Jews from Josefov came to ransom him by paying off Wanda''s father and he returned Josefov. While in Josefov, Jacob dreamed of Wanda. In the dream, Wanda was pregnant and asked Jacob why he abandoned her and left the child in her womb to be raised by pagans. Jacob decided to return to the pagan village, take Wanda as a wife, and help her to convert to Judaism. Jacob and Wanda reached another town, Pilitz, where Jacob made his living as a teacher. In Pilitz, Wanda became known as Sarah and Jacob instructed to be pretend that she was deaf and mute so as not to reveal her origin as a gentile. Sarah thirsted for knowledge and at night, Jacob taught her Jewish beliefs, myths, and practices. She suffered in silence as the women in the town gossiped about her right in front of her, as they thought that since she was deaf, she would not hear them. Her secret was finally discovered when she screamed loudly during the birth of her and Jacob''s son. Sarah died during the difficult birth, and was given a "donkey''s burial" outside of the Jewish cemetery. Jacob called his baby son Benjamin (he likens himself to the biblical Jacob whose wife, Rachel, died in the childbirth of the biblical Benjamin); he traveled to the Land of Israel with the infant. Benjamin grew up to become a lecturer in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. 20&nbsp;years later, Jacob returned to Pilitz and discovered that the town grew and that the cemetery had grown so much that the place where Sarah was buried was now within the bounds of the cemetery. The place where Sarah was buried was not prominently marked and unknown to the Jews of Pilitz. Jacob was weak and died during the visit to Pilitz. By coincidence (or perhaps, by a miracle), as a grave was being dug for Jacob, the bones of Sarah were found. The town decided to bury them together, side by side.

The Slave

The novel is set in Bengali society of the early 1900s. The story has four main women characters–two major, Savitri and Kiranmayi, and two minor, Surbala and Sarojini. The former two are accused of being charitraheen (characterless). It is most interesting that all four characters are totally different. Savitri is born a Brahmin, but poverty has forced her to become a servant, doing tasks appropriate only for a ''lower caste''. She is, and remains, pure of character, and devoted to the man she loves–Satish. Surbala is Upendranath''s wife. She is young, pure in character and pious to the point of blind faith in religious texts. Sarojini is educated in the Western style, and is forward-thinking, but hampered by familial circumstances and a forceful mother. She marries Satish in the end. Finally, Kiranmayi is the most striking character of the novel. Young and extremely beautiful, she is also very intelligent and argumentative. Her emotions and desires have, however, always been repressed by a husband more intent on teaching her than on conjugal matters, and by a nagging mother-in-law. She surprises and impresses all the three main men in the novel–Satish, Upendra and Diwakar–but her life is ultimately reduced to shambles by these unthinking men. The three men play very important roles in the lives of the four women, but most of the time, their actions are detrimental to the women. They are orthodox, unthinking, and not in control of their emotions. Satish brings about Savitri''s downfall and acts strangely with Sarojini till the end, when he brings about a final reunion of sorts on Upendra''s deathbed. Upendra helps Kiranmayi initially, but thinks the worst of her relationship with Diwakar, and actually causes Kiranmayi''s compulsive elopement with Diwakar. Diwakar is weak-kneed and immature. An orphan, he is delighted by Kiranmayi treating him as her brother, and eventually shirks education. He acts totally irresponsibly after his elopement with Kiranmayi. There is a redemption of all the women in the end, Savitri being considered a devi, Kiranmayi''s compulsions understood somewhat and her ill-treatment regretted implicitly, Sarojini getting to marry Satish, and Surbala dying a natural death. But one feels that this redemption has come too late. Wrong done to the women cannot be righted just like that, even if the women themselves feel so. The depiction of orthodox Hindu society in conflict with Western thoughts brought in by British rule is good.

Choritrohin

In the beginning of the book, Odd Thomas is silently approached by the ghost of a young girl brutally raped and murdered, and through his unique ability to understand the dead, is psychically led to her killer, a former schoolmate named Harlo Landerson. With this opening, we are introduced to Odd''s world. Koontz soon discloses how Odd was named and begins, layer by layer, to show how Odd''s dysfunctional upbringing has shaped his life, and as those details are uncovered, his supernatural abilities begin to make more sense. We see Odd at work as a short order cook in a California desert town, and in a fateful 24-hour period, he meets a suspicious-looking man in the diner followed by bodachs, shadowy spirit creatures who appear only during times of death and disaster. This man, who Odd nicknames "Fungus Man" (due to his waxy complexion and blonde hair that resembles mold), has an unusually large swarm of bodachs following him, and Odd is convinced that this man is connected to some terrible catastrophe that is about to occur. To gather more information about him, Odd uses his gift of supernatural intuition, which his soulmate Bronwen (a.k.a. Stormy) Llewellyn calls "psychic magnetism," to track him down. Odd''s sixth sense leads him to Fungus Man''s home, and Odd begins to uncover more details about the man and a mysterious other-worldly link to the dark forces about to be unleashed on the town of Pico Mundo. Accompanied sometimes by the ghost of Elvis Presley and encountering other memorable spirits, including a murdered prostitute, Odd is soon deeply involved in an attempt to prevent the disastrous bloodshed he knows will happen the next day.

Odd Thomas

Chapter I Hadleyburg enjoys the reputation of being an “incorruptible” town known for its responsible, honest people that are trained to avoid temptation. However, at some point the people of Hadleyburg manage to offend a passing stranger, and he vows to get his revenge by corrupting the town. The stranger''s plan centers around a sack of gold (worth around $41,000) he drops off in Hadleyburg at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Richards, to be given to a man in the town who purportedly gave him some life-changing advice (and 20 dollars in a time of need) long ago. To identify the man, a letter with the sack suggests that anyone who claims to know what the advice was should write the remark down and submit it to Reverend Burgess, who will open the sack at a public meeting and find the actual remark inside. News of the mysterious sack of gold spreads throughout the town and even gains attention across the country. Chapter II The residents beam with pride as stories of the sack and Hadleyburg''s honesty spread throughout the nation, but the mood soon changes. Initially reluctant to give into the temptation of the gold, soon even the most upstanding citizens are trying to guess the remark. Mr. and Mrs. Richards, one of the town''s 19 model couples, receive a letter from a stranger revealing the remark: “You are far from being a bad man: go, and reform.” Mrs. Richards is ecstatic that they will be able to claim the gold. Unbeknownst to one another, all 19 couples have received exactly the same letter. They submit their claims to Burgess and begin to recklessly purchase things on credit in anticipation of their future wealth. Chapter III The town hall meeting to decide the rightful owner of the sack arrives, and it is packed with residents, outsiders, and reporters. Burgess reads the first two claims, and a dispute quickly arises between two members of the town, "Shadbelly" Billson and Lawyer Wilson. Both of their letters contain nearly the same remark. To settle which is right, Burgess cuts open the sack and finds the note that reveals the full remark: “You are far from being a bad man—go, and reform—or, mark my words—some day, for your sins you will die and go to hell or Hadleyburg—try and make it the former.” Neither man''s claim includes the second half of remark. The next claim reads the same, and the town hall bursts into laughter at the obvious dishonesty behind the identical, incorrect claims. Burgess continues to read the rest of the claims, all with the same remark, and one by one the prominent couples of the town are publicly shamed. Mr. and Mrs. Richards await their name with anguish, but surprisingly it is never read. With all the claims presented, another note in the sack is opened. It reveals the stranger''s plot and his desire for revenge. He says that it was foolish for the citizens of Hadleyburg to always avoid temptation, because it is easy to corrupt those who have never had their resolve tested. It is discovered the sack contains not gold but lead pieces. A townsperson proposes to auction the lead off and give the money to the Richardses, the only prominent couple in town that did not have their name read off. Mr. and Mrs. Richards are in despair, unsure whether to come clean and stop the auction or to accept the money. The stranger who set up the whole scheme in the first place is revealed to have been in the town hall the whole time. He contrives to reward the Richards for their supposed honesty by buying the sack at auction for its price in gold. Chapter IV The following day the stranger delivers checks totaling $40,000 to the Richards. They fret about whether they should burn them. A message arrives from Burgess, explaining that he intentionally kept the Richards'' claim from being read as a way to return an old favor done to him by Mr. Richards. Mr. and Mrs. Richards become distraught over their situation. They grow paranoid and start to think Burgess has revealed their dishonesty to other people in the town. Their anxiety causes them both to fall ill and Mr. Richards confesses their guilt shortly before he and his wife die. Hadleyburg, with its reputation irreparably damaged, decides to rename itself. The story ends with the line “It is an honest town once more, and the man will have to rise early that catches it napping again.”

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

The novel tells the story of Jamal Hicks, a 12-year-old boy from Harlem in order for his older brother to be released from jail joins a gang. Jamal is having a hard time at school, home, and in the streets. The only person he can count on is his best friend Tito. The main problem in his life is trying to get his brother, Randy, out of jail. Randy is a 17-year-old who is the leader of the Scorpions, a local gang. The gang''s motive is to make money by selling cocaine and crack. His family includes himself, Mama, his 8-year-old sister Sassy, Randy, and his father, Jevon Hicks. Jamal''s father used to be an alcoholic after losing his job and started abusing Jamal''s mother Mama until she moved away from him with the kids. This happened while Jamal was very young. Now Jamal''s father only comes to visit the family once in a while on occasion. The story starts out with Jamal and his family thinking that Randy needs only $500 for his appeal. Then the next morning, Jamal''s Mama tells Jamal that Randy says to go see Mack. Mama does not like the boy because he is on crack and thinks he caused Randy to kill the delicatessen owner. She keeps warning Jamal about Mack. His mother soon finds out that his brother has been attacked and stabbed while in jail and is in medical care while his mother visits him, the other members of the Scorpions find out, thinking they should defend themselves by offering Jamal to join the Scorpions much to Indian''s dismay. They believe this will help make a connection by having orders directly from Randy to Jamal back to the members; the other members feel through they should just vote on a new leader because they feel Randy is dead to them and feeling that letting a 12-year-old joining a gang would not be beneficial. When Jamal meets Mack, Mack tells Jamal to be the leader of the Scorpions and finds out the appeal is really $2,000. The second time Jamal meets Mack, Mack gives him a gun while high at a park. At school, Jamal is having a tough time with the principal, Mr. Davidson. The teachers are giving him trouble, and Dwayne is giving him trouble by bullying him. In the book, he fights Dwayne and threatens Dwayne with a gun in the second fight which leads to Jamal getting into deeper trouble in school. Jamal is given a gun to get his way in to his brother''s former position as the leader of the Scorpions. One afternoon after Jamal and Tito get out of the school they follow the brother''s fellow gang member Mack. The gun causes several bad occasions, ultimately causing Jamal''s best friend Tito to be sent to Puerto Rico.

Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers

Outlining his strategy in organizing, Alinsky writes: There''s another reason for working inside the system. Dostoyevsky said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and chance the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution. To bring on this reformation requires that the organizer work inside the system, among not only the middle class but the 40 per cent of American families &ndash; more than seventy million people &ndash; whose income range from $5,000 to $10,000 a year [in 1971]. They cannot be dismissed by labeling them blue collar or hard hat. They will not continue to be relatively passive and slightly challenging. If we fail to communicate with them, if we don''t encourage them to form alliances with us, they will move to the right. Maybe they will anyway, but let''s not let it happen by default. For Alinsky, organizing is the process of highlighting whatever he believed to be wrong and convincing people they can actually do something about it. The two are linked. If people feel they don’t have the power to change a situation, they stop thinking about it. According to Alinsky, the organizer — especially a paid organizer from outside — must first overcome suspicion and establish credibility. Next the organizer must begin the task of agitating: rubbing resentments, fanning hostilities, and searching out controversy. This is necessary to get people to participate. An organizer has to attack apathy and disturb the prevailing patterns of complacent community life where people have simply come to accept a situation. Alinsky would say, &#34;The first step in community organization is community disorganization.&#34; Through a process combining hope and resentment, the organizer tries to create a &#34;mass army&#34; that brings in as many recruits as possible from local organizations, churches, services groups, labor unions, corner gangs, and individuals. According to Alinsky, the main job of the organizer is to bait an opponent into reacting. &#34;The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength.&#34; In a separate chapter he suggests that the perennial question, &#34;Does the end justify the means?&#34; is meaningless as it stands: the real and only question regarding the ethics of means and ends is, and always has been, &#34;Does this particular end justify this particular means?&#34; These rules of the ethics of means and ends are only one chapter of his book, totally distinct from his &#34;clear set of rules for community organizing.&#34;

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Goth Opera

By Paul Cornell

Heavy Weather

By P. G. Wodehouse

Point Blanc: The Graphic Novel

By Antony Johnston

War of Honor

By David Weber

The Cry of the Owl

By Patricia Highsmith

Wolf Brother

By Michelle Paver

The Slave

By Isaac Bashevis Singer

Choritrohin

No Author Listed

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By Dean Koontz

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

By Mark Twain

Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers

No Author Listed

Rules for Radicals

By Saul Alinsky