Before Rákóczi''s war of liberty, during a hunting expedition, Pál Görgey, the arrogant but noble leader of the Hungarian county of Szepes, shoots Károly Kramler, Saxon magistrate of Lőcse, for having killed Görgey’s favourite dog. When their magistrate is fatally injured, his company, on the advice of one of their members, Nustkorb, takes the still-living body and marks with his blood the boundaries of a large field owned by Görgey. This was because during the conflict between king Róbert Károly and Máté Csák, the ruler gave a special and bizarre privilege for the magistrate of Lőcse for his service in combat - “Let the magistrate of Lőcse have land-claiming-blood.” Thus the field marked out by the magistrate''s blood became a possession of the town Thirsting for revenge the city embalms one of the dead magistrate''s hands, and orders all citizens to wear black clothes until Kramler''s death is revenged. To protect his daughter, Rozália Görgey, her father hides her in Lőcse in secret under the name of “Rozália Otrokócsy”, hoping that she will not be sought for, being so close to home. Rozália falls in love with Antal Fabricius, the youngest senator of Lőcse. The next magistrate is Nustkorb, who tries to catch Görgey but all his plans fail. He dies when the statue of the dead magistrate falls and kills him. The traumatized citizens now believe that Nustkorb was the true murderer, and that the murdered magistrate has made his own revenge. Antal Fabricius then becomes the magistrate. Fabricius makes a trap for Görgey, catches and executes him - but realises too late that he was Rozália’s father. He is shocked by this discovery; but on the streets all the folk of Lőcse are glad, singing, dancing and burning their black clothes now that the revenge has been completed.

A fekete város

An ancestor of John Thomas Stuart XI brought the alien, long-lived Lummox home from an interstellar voyage. The articulate, sentient pet he inherited has gradually grown from the size of a collie pup to a ridable behemoth—especially after consuming a used car. The childlike Lummox is perceived to be a neighborhood nuisance and, upon leaving the Stuart property one day, causes substantial property damage across the city of Westville. John''s mother wants him to get rid of it, and a court orders it destroyed. Desperate to save his pet, John Thomas considers selling Lummox to a zoo. He rapidly changes his mind and runs away from home, riding into the nearby wilderness on Lummox''s back. His girlfriend Betty Sorenson joins him and suggests bringing the beast back into town and hiding it in a neighbor''s greenhouse. However, it isn''t easy to conceal such a large creature. Eventually, the court tries to have Lummox destroyed, but is unable to do so, much to Lummox''s amusement. Meanwhile, representatives of an advanced, powerful and previously unknown alien race appear and demand the return of their lost child...or else. A friendly alien diplomat of a third species intimates that the threat is not an empty one. Initially, no one associates Lummox with the newcomers, in part due to the size difference (Lummox was overfed). Lummox is identified as royalty, complicating the already-tense negotiations. It is discovered that, from her viewpoint, the young Lummox has been pursuing her only hobby and principal interest: the raising of John Thomases. She makes it clear that she intends to continue doing so. This gives the chief human negotiator the leverage he needs to avert the destruction of Earth. At the request of Lummox, the recently married John and Betty accompany her back to her people as members of the human diplomatic mission.

The Star Beast

Princess Taramis of Shadizar promises to bring Conan''s lost love Valeria back to life if the Cimmerian will procure two magical items that she hopes will gain her ultimate power, a wizard''s gem and a horn that can awaken the dreaming god Dagoth. He undertakes the quest together with his thief partner Malak and Taramis'' niece Jehnna and henchman Bombaata. On their journey they are joined by two additional allies whom Conan saves from dire fates; the magician Akiro and the female warrior Zula. At their goal, the castle of the wizard Amon-Rama, Jehnna is kidnapped. Thanks to Akiro''s magic she is located in Amon-Rama''s lair and a way in is discovered. Inside, Conan is separated from the others and forced to battle a Man-Ape in a hall of mirrors, which he is only able to defeat by destroying the mirrors. He also mortally wounds the wizard, who is hiding behind one of them. Jehnna, who is the only person who can safely handle the wizard''s gem, retrieves the first magical item. Afterwards the group beats off an attack by Corinthian soldiers, and continues on to the fortress that holds the horn. It is retrieved at the cost of a battle with its Dagoth-worshipping keepers, whose leader Akiro defeats in a sorcerous duel. Bombaata and Jehnna escape through a tunnel, which the former closes to the others by starting a landslide. Back at Taramis'' palace, the queen conducts a ritual to awaken Dagoth that entails the placing of the horn on the forehead of the sleeping deity, and ultimately the sacrifice of Jehnna. Conan, Akiro and Zula, having survived the landslide, interrupt the proceedings. Conan fights and defeats Bombaata while Zula rescues Jehnna. In the absence of the sacrifice, Dagoth is an uncontrollable monster on his revival, eating Taramis and threatening the destruction of everything else. On the advice of Akiro, Conan rips the horn from Dagoth''s forehead, and the creature finally falls. In the aftermath, Jehnna succeeds to the throne of Shadazar and takes Zula, Akiro, and Malak as advisors. She offers Conan her hand and a place at her side as king, but the Cimmerian prefers to win his own kingdom.

Conan the Destroyer

Cyril Annick and his wife Grace have been running Downs Park for many years. Both are universally respected and loved by staff and pupils alike. Unforeseen problems for the school arise when the idiosyncrasies and compulsions of individual members of the staff threaten to upset life at the school. There is Rupert Massinger, the second master, whose womanizing makes victims of both the school secretary and the headmaster''s grown-up daughter. Also, with money he has inherited Massinger is planning to take over the school and gently force the Annicks into early retirement. To everyone''s surprise, as a strategic move, Massinger and his wife, who also teaches at the school, decide to resign, to reculer pour mieux sauter. Elspeth Murray, the middle-aged French mistress, has been feeling extremely lonely since her husband''s death and has only taken up teaching recently to find some sort of distraction. At first, her irrational sexual attraction to Betty Cope, a pretty young lesbian who assists Grace Annick in her capacity as Matron, causes some eye-rolling. Later, when a series of petty thefts occurs everyone suspects a pupil to be stealing his schoolmates'' things. However, Murray turns out to be a kleptomaniac, and when she is caught in the act she thinks she cannot cope any longer and commits suicide in the school swimming pool. Leo Canning, the young science master whose humble social background and troubled childhood make it difficult for him to adapt to the thoroughly bourgeois atmosphere of the school, falls in love with Penelope Saxton, the headmaster''s young widowed daughter, and in the end they get married. However, it takes Penelope a long time until she makes up her mind to spend the rest of her life with Canning. In the meantime, she is courted by the father of the youngest staff member, a baronet called Sir James Pettifer whose aristocratic ways she finds quite alluring. More trouble appears with the arrival of Norman and Delia Poole, who have come to replace Massinger and his wife. It does not take the staff long to discover that Delia is a hopeless alcoholic whose pathetic attempts at rationalizing her addiction are embarrassing to everyone who happens to witness them. She has to give up her art classes quite soon again and over the following months mainly stays at their home on the school grounds. Finally, although he is a popular teacher, Norman Poole hands in his notice to be able to care for his wife full time. Cyril Annick has no intention to retire, let alone hand over to Massinger. However, when his wife suffers a mild stroke he sees it as the last straw and willy-nilly sells out to him. The Annicks move to a flat in nearby Eastbourne, where shortly afterwards Grace has another stroke and dies. Not yet 60, Cyril Annick moves to London to be near his daughter and son-in-law.

The Honours Board

Duncan Makenzie is the latest generation of the ''first family'' of Titan, a colonised moon of Saturn. Originally settled by his grandfather Malcolm Makenzie in the early 23rd century, Titan''s economy has flourished based on the harvest and sale of hydrogen mined from the atmosphere, which is used to fuel the fusion engines of interplanetary spacecraft. As the plot opens in 2276, a number of factors are combining to make a diplomatic visit to the ''mother world'' of Earth a necessity. Firstly, the forthcoming 500th anniversary of US Independence which is bringing in colonists from the entire Solar System, obviously needs a suitable representative from Titan. Secondly, the Makenzie family carry a fatal damaged gene that means any normal continuation of the family line is impossible — so both Duncan and his "father" Colin are clones of his "grandfather" Malcolm. Human cloning is a mature technology, but is even at this time ethically controversial. And thirdly, technological advances in spacecraft drive systems — specifically the ''asymptotic drive'' which improves the fuel efficiency by orders of magnitude — means that Titan''s whole economy is under threat as the demand for hydrogen is about to collapse. The human aspects of the tale center mainly on the intense infatuation (largely unrequited but not unconsummated) that the two main male characters, Duncan and Karl Helmer, develop for the vividly characterized Catherine Linden Ellerman (Calindy), a visitor to Titan from Earth in their youth, and its lifelong consequences. A number of other sub-plots suggest some sort of greater mystery, but remain unexplored. The book ends with him returning home with his new "child" Malcolm (who is a clone of his dead friend Karl), leaving the other plot threads dangling.

Imperial Earth

The story takes place in an unnamed school classroom, in the aftermath of a war with an unnamed country. It is implied that a country similar to America has been defeated and occupied. The story opens with the previous teacher leaving the classroom, having been removed from her position and replaced with an agent of the foreign power. The new teacher has been trained in propaganda techniques, and is responsible for re-educating the children to be supportive of their occupiers. During the course of the story, the children are persuaded to abandon their religion and national loyalty. Framing the story is the fact that, while the children have ritually recited a ''Pledge of Allegiance'' every morning, none know what it actually means. The teacher is relentlessly positive about the change, offering the children candy, songs and praise. When asked if the war was won or lost, she responds only that "we won", implying that everyone would benefit from the conquest. Only one student is initially hostile to the new teacher, a child named Johnny, whose father had been arrested and placed in a re-education camp. At first, he defends his father, but when he is rewarded by the teacher with a position of authority in the class, he quickly accepts the new regime and commits himself to not accepting "wrong thoughts". The story takes place over a twenty-five minute span.

The Children''s Story

The book begins immediately after the partition decision was announced. The Jews flooded the streets of Palestine, celebrating. However, the Jewish leaders immediately began planning for war. Ehud Avriel was sent to Prague to buy arms in the name of Ethiopia. Meanwhile, the Jews built an army and air force from scratch. The Jewish leaders, like David Ben-Gurion, knew that, due to military shortcomings, the conflict could only be won through intelligence warfare. The Arabs vowed to put Jerusalem under siege, and did. For many months Jerusalem survived on very limited foodstuffs. On the Arab side, Captain Abdul-Aziz Kerine bought arms in Prague in the name of Syria, the only sovereign Arab nation at the time. The Arab countries (Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Transjordan) discussed their plan of action. They agreed to work together, but everyone, especially King Abdullah of Transjordan, had their own agenda. In the end, the Arab states'' lack of cooperation led to their downfall. There was a lot of disorganization and non-cooperation on the Jewish side as well. The main Jewish army was the Haganah, however the Stern Gang and Irgun were other Jewish militant groups. The groups had conflicting ideals (for example: the Haganah was willing to internationalize Jerusalem in order to have a unified, peaceful state, but Jerusalem was of the utmost importance to the Stern Gang and the Irgun), but they managed to retain more organization and cooperation than the Arab armies.In the main text of O Jerusalem!, it is related that the Stern Gang and the Irgun massacred the Arab village of Deir Yassin, outraging Arabs and Jews alike. The Haganah denounced the massacre, but the Arabs believed the Haganah to be responsible and retaliated at the Jewish kibbutz of Kfar Etzion. Collins and Lapierre also acknowledged that other eyewitness accounts claim that the event at Deir Yassin was a battle and not a massacre. As May 15 drew closer, the two peoples continued preparing for war. However, the Jewish intelligence learned that, although the mandate was set to expire on May 15, the British were planning to leave on May 14. Prepared for the early departure, the Haganah mobilized quickly and managed to capture many British buildings before the Arabs even realized that the British had left. Not privy to this intelligence, the Arab armies activated on May 15. The Jewish homeland of Israel was declared on Iyar 5, 5708 Hebrew, or May 14, 1948 Gregorian. Today, this day is celebrated as Yom Ha''atzmaut, or Israeli Independence Day. After the expiration of the mandate, war befell the region. The Arab armies underestimated the Haganah''s strength and were not prepared for a strong foe. Both the Arab and Jewish armies suffered major shortcomings in ammunition and manpower. The situation in Jerusalem worsened, leaving Jewish Jerusalemites near starving. On June 11, 1948 a UN sanctioned cease-fire began. Jerusalem''s starving were saved by a temporary end to the siege. Jerusalem''s storerooms and stomachs were filled again. By cease-fire agreement, neither army was allowed to re-arm itself, but the Haganah was able to buy arms through the black market. The Arab armies, however, were not. After four weeks, the fighting began again, followed by another cease-fire beginning on July 19 (July 17 in Jerusalem), 1948 (O Jerusalem! Collins).

O Jerusalem

Blackrock was set in a fictional Australian beach side working-class suburb called Blackrock, where surfing was popular among youths like Jared. He had his first serious girlfriend, Rachel, who came from a much wealthier part of the city. One day Ricko, the local surfing legend, came back after an eleven-month odyssey, and Jared gave him a ''welcome home'' get together. A few nights later it was Rachel''s brother Toby''s birthday party which was held at the local beach club.Unsupervised and with alcohol freely available, tragedy soon arrived - Jared witnessed a girl called Tracy being raped by three youths (Davo; Scott; and Toby, Rachel''s brother). After which she was murdered by Ricko with a rock. And Jared did nothing to stop the attacks. Ricko and the community would soon be scrutinized by news bulletins across the nation. The locals reacted differently: The surfers continued their lives as if nothing had happened. Cherie, who also happened to be Jared''s cousin, resorted to violent behaviours; Rachel had to face the news that her brother Toby was one of the accused. Jared was torn between the need to reveal what he saw for the sake of justice, and the desire to protect Ricko, Toby and the other rapists in the name of ''mateship''. His silence eventually led to the breakdown of his relationships, not only with Rachel, but also with his mother Diane, who was recovering from breast cancer.

Blackrock

The story opens with Rebecca''s journey to Riverboro, to live with her two aunts, Miranda and Jane Sawyer. Until this time, she has lived on the family farm. Rebecca is the second eldest of seven children. Most of the children have fanciful names, such as Marquis and Jenny Lind, influenced by the father''s artistic background (Rebecca is named after both the heroines in Ivanhoe). The family is quite poor, due to the number of children, Mr. Randall''s inability to stick to a job, and the farm being mortgaged. At the beginning of the novel, he has been dead for three years and the family are barely scraping by. Therefore, Rebecca''s stay with her aunt is both a chance to improve her opportunities in life and to make things easier, as there is one less mouth to feed. Despite her impoverished background, Rebecca is an imaginative and charming child, often composing little poems and songs to express her feelings or to amuse her younger brothers and sisters. It is she who names their farm "Sunnybrook". Miranda and Jane had wanted Hannah, the eldest sister, due to her pragmatic nature and household skills, but as these skills are also greatly valued by her mother, Rebecca is sent instead. Miranda is unimpressed by Rebecca''s imagination and sallow complexion, saying that she is the image of her shiftless father, Lorenzo DeMedici Randall. Miranda determines to do her duty and train Rebecca to be a proper young lady, so she will not shame the Sawyer name. Jane takes on the role of Rebecca''s protector, acting as a buffer between her niece and her sister, and teaches Rebecca to sew, cook and be a proper little housekeeper. In return, Rebecca''s liveliness and curiosity brighten Jane''s life and refresh her spirit. Although Rebecca strives to win Miranda''s approval, she finds it hard to live up to the older aunt''s high standards, as she has to fight against Miranda''s view of her as "all Randall and no Sawyer". The middle part of the novel is taken up with describing the life of Riverboro and the people who live there. Important characters include Jeremiah Cobb, who is the first resident to encounter Rebecca and be charmed by her; Sarah Cobb, his wife; Rebecca''s best friend, Emma Jane Perkins, and Adam Ladd, a young businessman, who first meets Rebecca when she and Emma Jane are selling soap for charity. Rebecca nicknames him "Mr Aladdin", as he gave her and Emma Jane a lamp as a present. Rebecca proves to be a good student, especially in English, and goes on to attend the high school in Wareham. During the last part of the book, she matures into a young lady, but still retains her high spirits and develops her talent for writing. She applies for a teaching place at Augusta, but her mother falls ill and Rebecca has to return to take care of her and the farm. While Rebecca is away from Riverboro, Miranda dies, having willed the Sawyer house to Rebecca. A railway company will buy Sunnybrook Farm in order to build on the land, giving the Randall family enough to live on. Thanks to Miranda''s will, Rebecca now has enough money to become an independent woman and help her brothers and sisters. The novel ends with her exclaiming, "God bless Aunt Miranda! God bless the brick house that was! God bless the brick house that is to be!"

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

The plot mainly deals with the title character, Latawnya, the youngest horse in her family. While out playing with her sisters Latoya and Daisy, they come across some other mares: Connie, Chrystal, Jackie and Angie. They ask Latawnya if she wants to engage in "smoking games" and "drinking games". Latawnya realizes that they want to smoke drugs and drink alcohol, and she joins in. Her sisters catch her with the three "bad" horses and proceed to criticize her for "smoking drugs and drinking", something that their parents tell them not to do. Although Latawnya begs Latoya and Daisy not to tell their parents, they tell on her anyway, resulting in an uncomfortable confrontation with them, as they are disappointed in her experimenting with smoking drugs and drinking. After an intense lecture from her parents (including a scene wherein an old friend of the father horse suffers an overdose after engaging in smoking games and drinking games), Latawnya realizes the error of her ways and promises never to engage in "smoking games" and "drinking games" again.

Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say \\"No\\" to Drugs

Theodolinda "Dol" Bonner is half of the Bonner and Raffray Detective Agency. She claims to have been "inoculated against" men and has no use for them, even her perennial suitor, newspaperman Len Chisholm. Her business partner, Sylvia Raffray, doesn''t know much about detection but is the firm''s financial backer. As the story begins, Len has just been fired from his job at the instigation of Sylvia''s guardian, financier P.L. Storrs, who also controls Sylvia''s money for the next six months and thus insists that she withdraw her financial support of the detective agency. Strangely, Storrs asks Dol Bonner to join a house party at his place in the country. Other family members present are Storrs'' wife Cleo, who "goes in for cults", and his daughter Janet, who is plain, quiet and writes poetry. Sylvia''s fiance Martin, who is a neighbor, and his friend Professor Zimmerman have joined the party, and George Ranth, of the "League of the Occidental Sakti", is Mrs. Storrs'' guest and financial parasite. Storrs'' problem is that Ranth is pressuring Mrs. Storrs to let him marry Janet and thus become Storrs'' heir. He hires Dol to discredit Ranth in Mrs. Storrs'' eyes, and proposes that she pretend to be investigating the killing of some pheasants at Martin''s estate as a cover story. Dol accepts the task and arrives at the Storrs estate, but before she gets too deeply involved in the task, she comes across the murdered body of her host and employer, who has been brutally strangled with wire and hung from a branch. She soon recognizes that in order to commit the murder, the murderer must have worn heavy gloves to avoid cutting his hands with the wire. She immediately searches the house for the gloves, dodging the police, and finds them -- bizarrely, concealed inside a watermelon in the garden. She continues to investigate Ranth but also learns more about the other guests and family members. Professor Zimmerman proposes marriage to Sylvia, regardless of the feelings of his friend Martin, and promptly becomes the second strangling victim. Dol rapidly collects enough information to identify the murderer of both men and forces a confession at gunpoint, foiling the police.

The Hand in the Glove

The story begins on the eve of the English Civil War in 1642. Simon Carey is the school age son of John and Anne Carey, of Lovacott Farm, near Great Torrington in Devon. He has a sister, christened Marjory, whom he always calls "Mouse". One day he is the house of his best friend Amias Hannaford with whom he does his schoolwork, when Amias''s father Doctor Hannaford announces that the king has raised his standard at Nottingham, and calls for a toast to the king. Simon refuses, because he and his family support Parliament. This leads to a falling out between the families. Simon''s father goes off to fight for Parliament but orders Simon to finish school first. One day while Simon is getting his horse Scarlet reshoed in town, a rider falls down in front of him after being pursued and almost run over by the following horses. He and the smith rescue the young rider. Through his knowledge of the area and the introduction of the rescued man Barnaby Colbourne, a Parliament man, he manages to lead retreating Parliament troops under Colonel Ireton past a Royalist stronghold to safety. A few months later, after finishing his education, Simon goes to Windsor to join the New Model Army. He is fortunate to fall in again with Lieutenant Colebourne who recommends him to General Thomas Fairfax. Simon is commissioned as cornet to Colbourne in the Fairfax Horse. One of his subordinates is the devout Corporal, former Ironside ''Zeal-for-the-Lord'' Relf. He first sees action in the decisive Battle of Naseby. After the battle Corporal Relf deserts, having learned that his neighbour has stolen all his money from him. He is recaptured and sentenced to the Pioneer regiment, one of the harshest of units, but escapes. Simon''s troop heads west and is ordered to capture a house at Okeham Paine, near Exeter, which is held by the Royalists. When they break through he finds himself fighting Amias, who is with the Royalists. Simon is knocked unconscious by a musket butt and is tended by the formidable lady of the house, Mistress Killigrew. He meets and falls in love with her daughter Susanna. After his recovery he is ordered to go to Lovacott to act as a go-between for messages from Parliament spies in the area under Royalist control. One turns out to be Corporal Relf, now called Ishmael Watts, who is hiding with another spy, Podbury, in the tower of Torrington Church above the powder store. While Simon is at home, a Royalist search party led by Amias turns the house upside down, Simon''s sister describes him "not quite ''zactly", i.e., not quite right after his head injury, and Amias chooses to believe this to stop further enquiry from his subordinates. It is then that Simon realises their friendship is still alive. When he hears the Parliament army is in Torrington, he rejoins them for the battle there. The Royalists are defeated and 200 prisoners are put in the church. When a huge explosion blows up the church, suspicion falls upon a red-headed man whom Simon recognizes as Amias, because he used a phrase they used as children. He finds him outside the town and brings his doctor father to him. Amias said it wasn''t he who blew up the church. Simon is unaware he is being followed by Cornet Wainwright, who has disliked him since Simon took his coveted position as cornet. He and Amias are arrested. Amias is cleared when the dying Ishmael Watts (Corporal Relf) tells the chaplain Joshua Sprigg and General Fairfax that the explosion was an accident. The General forgives Simon, comparing his actions to those of the Biblical Jonathan who protected his friend David. The story ends four years later at Lovacott in April 1649. Simon resigned from the army at the same time as General Fairfax, because both disagreed with the decision to execute the king, although they otherwise approve of the Commonwealth. A ghost from the past, Podbury, reappears and the mystery of the blast that killed 200 Royalists seems to be solved. Simon and Amias are fast friends again and look set to marry Susanna Killigrew and ''Mouse'' respectively.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

A fekete város

By Kálmán Mikszáth

The Star Beast

By Robert A. Heinlein

Conan the Destroyer

By Robert Jordan

The Honours Board

By Pamela Hansford Johnson

Imperial Earth

By Arthur C. Clarke

The Children's Story

By James Clavell

O Jerusalem

No Author Listed

Blackrock

By Nick Enright

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

By Kate Douglas Wiggin

Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say \\"No\\" to Drugs

No Author Listed

The Hand in the Glove

By Rex Stout

Simon

By Rosemary Sutcliff