The Galactic Hegemony, an alliance of assorted alien races, sent a research and survey group to Earth (designated as "KU-197-20") for assessment. The ship arrived in Earth''s orbit in the 15th century, during the Hundred Years'' War. The survey group observed the Battle of Agincourt between the English and French, and were horrified of humanity''s feriocity and cruelty - being that war and violence rarely happened among the Hegemony. By the 2010s, the Hegemony has reviewed the survey on Earth and is instantly repulsed. Seeing as humans are similar to a recent species reluctantly admitted to their alliance, the carnivorous, wolf-like Shongairi, the pacifist Hegemony decides to send the Shongairi to see humanity''s submission or extinction before humanity will reach the same level as the Shongairi, seeing that as the "lesser of two evils", rather than a second Shongair Empire. The Shongairi see value in the human race as slave soldiers and decide to conquer Earth and make humans their subjects. Once their expedition reaches Earth, they are surprised at humanity''s advancement in only six hundred years, at six times the galactic norm. Fleet Commander Thikair orders his fleet to continue the conquest by hacking into human military computer systems and laying a series of Kinetic strikes on nearly every military installation, naval fleet, and major city on the planet with Kinetic Energy Weapons, wiping out half of the human population. Expecting that this attack has crippled the humans, the Shongairi land their forces, concentrating on Europe and North America. The expect humans to surrender immediately, since the Shongairi and other alien races have a natural "submission mechanism". However, the surviving remnants of humanity begin a massive guerrilla war against the Shongairi, who have never before fought an advanced race. For every successful human attack, the Shongairi retaliate with an orbital strike on the attackers or any nearby survivors to inflict submission. The conflict lasts over two months, during which nearly half the expedition''s landing forces are killed, leading Shongairi xenoanthropologist Shairez discovers the reason the humans do not submit: they lacked the "submission mechanism", and their mindset (such as morality and altruism) evolved differently from any other known Hegemony species. Attempting to subjugate them would be the height of folly, as humanity - completely unable to forgive the Shongairi for what they had done to Earth - would undoubtedly feign surrender and subsequently betray them. As a result, Thikair decides to carry out the Hegemony''s order to exterminate the humans by developing a targeted bioweapon specifically designed to wipe out all humans. Efforts of creating the bioweapon involve capturing humans and transporting them to "Ground Base Seven", located west of the Black Sea, and "Ground Base Two" in North Carolina, where the weapon is to be released. Yet, in the following weeks, several bases in Europe and North America are wiped out by unknown attackers who leave no sign except for their handiwork. Eventually, nearly every Shongairi base on Earth is destroyed, forcing Thikair to get his remaining forces off the planet and proceeding to outright destroy Earth from orbit. However, their dreadnoughts are immediately hijacked following the evacuation and destroy the rest of the fleet. Thikair is confronted by the hijackers, the same enemy that attacked the bases: vampires. The Shongairi commander is brought before their leader, Mircea Basarab, who is actually the immortal Vlad the Impaler, whom humans remember as Dracula. He and his kind have been hibernating and kept hidden before the Shongairi''s arrival forced them to "protect" the people of Earth by creating more vampires and build an army to eliminate the Shongairi. With Shongairi ships now in the possession of humans and vampires, in a way the aliens'' arrival has allowed humanity and their new allies to become exactly what the Hegemony had feared. The hijacked dreadnoughts are sent to each of the Shongairi worlds to destroy their Empire. Thikair is slain by one of the vampires, Stephen Buchevsky, whose human family was killed by the initial bombardment. Humanity now possesses Shongairi and Hegemony technology from the Shongairi industrial ships, and is fully united under the newly established Terran Empire, becoming a mighty adversary to the Hegemony.

Out of the Dark

In 1942, John (J.R.R. Tolkien), Jack (C.S. Lewis), and Charles (Charles Williams) return to the Archipelago of Dreams as the last stones of the Keep of Time fall, dangerously approaching the Cartographer (Merlin)''s study as well as the ever-out-of-reach "future" door. As the second World War rages in the Summer Country, the Imperial Cartological Society - led by writer/explorer Sir Richard Burton - rebuilds it at the request of the Archipelago''s terrible foe, the shadow of the Winter King, who wields a weapon of such power it can take the soul of anyone it touches - even the ancient and terrifyingly powerful dragons. To defeat the King''s shadow, the three Caretakers band together with past Caretakers (the Caretakers Emeritis) found at Tamerlane House, built by Edgar Allan Poe in the Nameless Isles of the Archipelago. Rose Dyson, the Grail Child, Don Quixote, Archimedes, and Stellan Sigurdsson are sent to retrieve and repair the sword Caliburn. In the meantime, the Caretakers are betrayed by Rudyard Kipling and Daniel Defoe, but their cause is bolstered when Burton, Doyle, and Houdini defect from the Imperial Cartological Society, which had allied itself with the Shadow King. Charles and Fred, Tummeler''s grandson, chase Defoe through a Trump, and burn down a reproduction of the Keep of Time by the Shadow King. When Rose, Archimedes, and Quixote return, the Nameless Isles are under siege from the armada of children created by the Shadow King in 1926. They were brought by the Chancellor Murdoch, who is a fusion of the Red King from the Clockwork Parliament made by the animals in 1914 and of Mordred''s shadow. He wields the Lance of Longinus, which can command the shadows of the Dragons, using their true names. The Dragons'' true names, all except for Samaranth''s, were found in the Last Book stolen by Defoe. The children are pushed back by the Tin Man (Roger Bacon), and the shadows of the Dragons are prevented from entering into the Nameless Isles by the carvorite deposits in the bases of the islands. The Shadow King, however, crosses and kills Artus, the King of the Silver Throne and descendant of Arthur Pendragon. Kipling reveals himself as a triple agent for the Caretakers, Rose Dyson binds the Chancellor, and Stephen, Aven''s son, kills him with Caliburn. Finally, Rose frees each of the dragons, leaving Samaranth the last dragon alive. Stephen becomes the new King of the Archipelago, and the Dragonships, now soulless, are no longer allowed to pass the Frontier. John, Jack, and Charles are returned to Oxford and to their own time, and they forge a full alliance, to be implemented in seven years, with Burton and the Imperial Cartological Society.

The Shadow Dragons

The setting of the novel was during the final years of Spanish colonialism. The main characters of the novel are Modesto Magsikap and Elisea Liwayway. Magsikap is a vigilante who kills two suitors of Liwayway, his girlfriend. Magsikap’s first crime was the killing of Sergeant Cruz, the first suitor of Liwayway. Magsikap was imprisoned for the homicide. A group of bandits invaded the town where Magsikap was imprisoned, including the jail where Magsikap was confined. Magsikap returned to his own hometown after learning about the death of his father. There Magsikap murders Lt. Rosca, the second suitor of Liwayway. Magsikap’s two brothers were put in jail. To escape his pursuers and the Spanish authorities, Magsikap flees to the United States. From the United States, Magsikap continued communicating with Liwayway through letters. After five years, Magsikap returns to the Philippines. After his trip, Modesto became convinced of the "benevolent presence" of the United States in the Philippines.

Anino ng Kahapon

This chapter contains an exploration of the meaning of orientalism. It is argued that the word orientalism was until relatively recently used mainly in two senses, to denote either a branch of scholarship or a school of painting. However Lewis contends that it has now been given a new meaning, "that of unsympathetic or hostile treatment of oriental peoples." (p100). The historical beginnings of oriental scholarship in Western Europe are dated to the time of the Renaissance. Its history is then traced from relatively narrow roots where one discipline, philology, recovered, studied, published and interpreted texts relating to one region, that which is now called the Middle East, to its gradual expansion to include other disciplines such as philosophy, theology, literature and history and a diversity of areas from the Ottoman Empire to India and China. Having reached a point where the multi-disciplinary approaches and the sheer number of regions under study rendered the term orientalist obsolete Lewis argues it was in effect formally abandoned by those he terms accredited orientalists at the 29th International Congress of Orientalists in 1973. Lewis laments that although the term has now been revived its usage has changed to that of a term of polemic abuse. An exploration of the rise of anti-orientalism follows where critics from a diversity of sources ranging from Islamicists to Arab Nationalists to Marxist theorists are briefly considered before Lewis concludes by identifying its main exponent in the United States of America, Edward Said. A significant proportion of the remainder of the chapter is devoted to a critique of Said''s book Orientalism published in 1978. Lewis attributes the success of Said''s book to its anti-Western stance, its use of, "the ideas, and still more the language of currently fashionable literary, philosophical and political theories." (p114) and its apparent simplification of complex problems. Finally the chapter concludes with a brief review of the counter-critique from Arab writers such as the Egyptian philosopher Fu''ad Zakana.

Islam and the West

The story opens with a prologue in which an unnamed female character in a courtroom inexplicably shoots the defendant four times as he approaches his defense attorney. The shooter, as revealed, is Assistant District Attorney Nina Frost and the defendant a priest. At the time of the trial (and shooting) she had been led to believe that Father Szyszynski had sexually abused her five-year-old son Nathaniel after lab tests had confirmed that his semen was found in the child''s underpants, and Nathaniel had verbally accused Father "Glen" Szyszynski of molesting him. It later turned out that Nina had in fact killed the wrong man, and a visiting priest named Father Gwynne had molested Nathaniel. Fathers Gwynne and Szyszynski shared the same DNA in their blood because Father Szyszynski had a bone marrow transplant from Father Gwynne (being that they were half brothers), leading to the belief that the semen belonged to Szyszynski. Although this fact was made known at Nina''s own court trial for murder, after the jury could not reach a verdict, the judge ruled that her reasons were justified and therefore she was found not guilty of murder. However, using a Maine clause she was found guilty of manslaughter because the Judge believed she was under the influence of a reasonable fear or anger brought about by reasonable provocation and sentenced to 20 years in Jail but it is suspended. In a final twist at the end, Nina''s best friend and colleague Patrick Ducharme, with whom she''d had a very brief affair during a brief split with husband Caleb, moves away, and Nina discovers that Caleb had poisoned Father Gwynne, despite his earlier protests to her killing Szyszynski.

Perfect Match

No Deals, Mr. Bond begins with a mission in the Baltic Sea dubbed "Seahawk", which involves James Bond stealthily extracting two women that have completed an assignment in East Germany. After accomplishing his mission, the book continues 5 years later with Bond being called in by M to learn more background into what those women were doing there before being extracted. Their mission, dubbed Cream Cake, was a honey trap that involved getting close to top Soviet personnel as a means to not only spy for the British Secret Service, but to secure the defection of 2 highly ranking Soviet officers, an act that the Soviets occasionally performed against countries of the West. Involving 4 women and a man, the operation was considered a complete debacle that ended with the members being found out. After being extracted and given new identities, however, two of the women were discovered to be gruesomely murdered. Bond is subsequently sent by M, "off the record", to find the remaining members of Cream Cake before they suffer the same fate. During the adventure, Bond believes that Colonel Maxim Smolin, the primary target during operation Cream Cake, is systematically killing off the former members of the Cream Cake operation and leaving a signature of having their tongues removed. This, however, is not the case, and, in actuality, Smolin is a turncoat now working with the British Secret Service. Instead, the former members, in addition to Smolin and another Soviet turncoat, Captain Dietrich, are being targeted by General Chernov, an agent of a department formerly known as SMERSH. The situation is further complicated after M gets a message to Bond warning him that one of the surviving Cream Cake members is a double and that he wants Chernov brought in alive.

No Deals, Mr. Bond

In September 1939, as Britain stands on the edge of World War II, many young children from the cities are sent into the countryside to escape the German bombardment. William "Willie" Beech, a boy from London who is physically and emotionally abused by his mother, arrives at the home of Mr. Thomas Oakley, a widower in his sixties who lives in the village of Little Weirwold. The boy is thinly clad, underfed and covered with painful bruises, and believing he is full of sin, a result of his upbringing by his mother. "Mister Tom", as Willie christens his new guardian, is reclusive and bad-tempered, and as such is avoided by the community. Willie lives with him as his Mother wants him to live with someone who is either very religious or lives next to a Church. Though initially distant, he is touched after discovering William''s home-life and treats him with kindness and understanding, helping to educate him. Under his care, William begins to progress, forming a small circle of friends at school among his classmates including fellow-evacuee Zach. He also becomes proficient in drawing and dramatics. As William is changed by Tom, so is Tom transformed by William''s presence in his home. It is revealed that Tom lost his wife and baby son to scarletina some 40 years previously, and he has become reclusive because of this. The growing bond between William and Tom is threatened when William''s mother requests that the boy return to her in the city, telling him she is sick. At first, William thinks this will be a good thing, as he can be helpful to his mother. However his mother is not pleased to learn the details of his time with Tom, feeling that he has not been disciplined properly. While William has been away, she has become pregnant and had a girl, but is neglecting the baby. After a bad reunion, where his mother becomes furious upon learning the details of her son''s life with Tom, abhorring his association with the Jewish Zach among other things, she throws William against a bookcase, knocking him out. She then ties and gags him and locks him, with the baby, in a cupboard under the stairs. Back in Little Weirwold, Tom has a premonition that something is not right with William. Although he has never travelled beyond his immediate locality, he ventures into London and eventually locates William''s neighbourhood of Deptford and his home. He persuades a local policeman to break down the door of the apparently empty home, and finds William in the closet holding his dead half-sister. William is malnourished and badly bruised as he had been locked under the stairs for a number of days. William is hospitalised, but whilst there suffers horrific nightmares and is drugged simply to prevent his screams from disturbing the other children. Tom is warned that it is likely that William will be taken to a children''s home, and, unable to observe William''s distress any longer, kidnaps him from the hospital and takes him back to Little Weirwold. Back with Mister Tom, William is much damaged by his ordeal, blaming himself for the death of his sister as he had not been able to provide enough milk to feed her whilst locked away, and becomes very depressed. Later, when his favourite teacher Annie Hartridge has a baby, William is shocked to learn from Zach that a woman cannot conceive a child on her own, and realises that his mother was having a relationship with a man, even though she had previously told him that it was wrong for unmarried couples to live together or have children together. Tom is traced by the authorities, who have come to tell William that his mother has committed suicide and offer him a place in a children''s home, as they''ve been unable to trace any other relatives who may have been able to take care of him. Luckily the authorities realise that William has already found a good home and allow Tom to adopt him. Tom, William and Zach enjoy a holiday at the seaside village of Salmouth, where they stay in the house of a widow whose sons have been sent out to war. Zach then receives news that his father has been injured by a Luftwaffe bomb in London and he hurries home on the next train saying farewell to all his friends. This is the last time they hear from him. William later learns that Zach has been killed and is grief-stricken for some time. Eventually, Doctor Little, the village doctor, who was Zach''s guardian while he was evacuated, gives William Zach''s bike. Through learning to ride it, William realises that Zach lives on inside him. In the ending scene William finally learns to ride Zach''s bike down a steep hill and sees Mr. Tom waiting for him. They both embrace and William, happily, calls him Dad.

Goodnight Mister Tom

The novel is about Peter''s relationship with his younger brother, Fudge, who always causes trouble for Peter and his family. Four-year-old Fudge has gained a high vocabulary for his age owing to his curiosity. He also knows where babies come from and plans to be a bird when he grows up. According to his older brother, Peter, he is the biggest pain ever invented, but is loved all the same. When Peter''s mother, Anne, announces that she is pregnant for the third time, Peter decides to run away from home. He worries that the baby will be like a carbon copy of Fudge, but when Anne gives birth to a beautiful baby girl they name Tamara Roxanne, who soon comes to be called "Tootsie," he finds that his fears are unfounded. Fudge, however, becomes jealous of all the attention she is getting and acts out. Fudge''s father (Warren) decides to take a leave of absence from his advertising agency job to write a book. Anne decides to return to university in order to pursue art history courses. Peter''s parents announce that they are moving to Princeton, New Jersey for a year in order for his parents to pursue their respective goals. Peter unenthusiastic about the idea. Furthermore, when he learns that Fudge is enrolled at the same school as Peter, he feels even worse. His best friend, Jimmy Fargo, however, tries to see the bright side: Peter will be far away from his nemesis, Sheila Tubman, and Jimmy promises that he will visit Peter in Princeton. Princeton proves boring for Peter until he meets a local boy named Alex Santo. Discovering that they will be in the same class at school, they become friends. Fudge makes a new friend of his own, a self-proclaimed bird expert named Daniel Manheim, who is Jewish. At school, Peter (who is 11 years old at the start of the book) is in sixth grade, while Fudge is in kindergarten at the same elementary school. Fudge resents his assigned teacher because she refers to him by his legal name, Farley (the teacher disapproved of the nickname "Fudge") and acts out by climbing to the top of the cabinetry in his classroom and refusing to budge; Fudge is eventually moved to the other class, whose teacher accepts the nickname. Over the course of the following year, Peter and Fudge each experience their own highs and lows: *Fudge gets a myna bird he names Uncle Feather and then decides that he wants to be one when he grows up. *Peter develops a crush on a local girl named Joanne McFadden. *Jimmy comes to visit Peter, but when he and Alex meet and become fast friends, Peter can''t help feeling left out and resentful. *Fudge receives a new bike for Christmas, then tells Peter a shocking secret—that he''s always known Santa isn''t real. *Fudge meets his favorite author, Brian Tumkin, and causes an awkward moment for Peter at a school assembly. *After Fudge plays a practical joke on Peter, he refuses to bring him to a picnic he is having with Alex. Afterwards, Fudge goes missing and Peter thinks he is to blame, until he and Daniel are found at a local bakery. At the end of their time in Princeton, Warren and Anne talk about moving back to New York City. Although Peter has gotten accustomed to life there, he looks forward to going back to his "normal" life in the big city. The timeframe for this story is presumably 1978, as the book talks a lot about Superman, which was the year the film debuted. Peter says how he had seen it when he was still in New York City, but it had not yet played in Princeton, so the friends he made there have not yet seen it. Jimmy Fargo claims to have already seen it twice; to which the second time he saw it was better. The story also mentions a coming of age event for Peter. Fudge pours ice down Peter''s shirt in the onscreen shot of Superman kissing Lois Lane, and Joanne sits with him and offers him napkins to dry off the cold water. Jimmy and Alex have not yet gotten into girl-boy relationships and tease him for it. Fudge is also inspired by the film, believing it may be possible he was born on Krypton and can become like Superman. Later (post-2003) reprints contain edits to the book, including a different Christmas list for Peter, references to record players replaced with CDs, MP3 Players and tapes, and making Anne only allergic to tree nuts instead of all kinds (resulting in her unable to eat peanut butter in the original). Fudge also mentions at one part that he likes to watch The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and The Electric Company. This was edited so he says that he likes to watch Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

Superfudge

Bass'' future Earth is an environment in which the sum of the biota serves as its food chain. Human science has created the four-toed Nebish, a pallid, short-lived and highly programmable humanoid who has had the elements that do not facilitate an underground Hive existence (aggression, curiosity, etc.) bred out of it. The five-toed humans (called buckeyes) wander the biofarms that keep the trillions of Earth''s Nebish population fed. All animals other than man are extinct, so meat comes from other humans (and the occasional rat). The conflict between the Hives and the roving bands of five-toed original Humans, who are reduced to savagery and hunted like vermin by Hive Security, forms the backdrop of this novel. Something strange is happening, as the primitive buckeyes are showing signs of a purpose whose goal is unclear and probably dangerous to the balance of the Hive. There seems to be a third party stirring the pot, campaigning in a relentlessly successful battle with the computer minds that keep this "brave new world" in balance. Agendas beyond the ken of their protagonists begin to come into play, and an epic battle between the Four- and the Five-toed is looming.

Half Past Human

Following the eruption of the bloody Clone Wars at the battle of Geonosis, both sides remain deadlocked in a stalemate that can be broken only by elite warrior teams like Omega Squad, clone commandos with terrifying combat skills and a lethal arsenal. Deployed deep behind enemy lines, Omega Squad engage in sabotage, espionage, ambush, and assassination. But when the Squad is rushed to Coruscant, the war''s most dangerous new hotspot, the commandos discover that they are not the only ones penetrating the heart of the enemy. A surge in Separatist attacks has been traced to a network of terrorist cells in the Republic''s capital, masterminded by a mole in Command Headquarters. To identify and destroy a Separatist spy and terror network in a city full of civilians will require special talents and skills. Not even the leadership of the Jedi generals, along with the assistance of Delta Squad and a notorious ARC trooper, can even the odds against the Republic Commandos. And while success may not bring victory in the Clone Wars, failure means certain defeat.

Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple Zero

The hero Peer Ulffson now lives with his friend Hilde and her family. One evening on the beach, having just returned from a fishing trip in stormy weather, he is horrified when a neighbour’s young wife, Kersten, pushes her newborn child into his arms before throwing herself into the sea. As he carries the child home through the windy night, he sees the old deserted mill mysteriously working away ‘all by itself’. Rumours abound in the village that Kersten was a seal woman, and that her husband Bjorn the fisherman, Peer’s friend and mentor, is now cursed, doomed to die at sea. As he struggles to understand these mysteries and protect the vulnerable ‘seal-baby’ from the predatory water spirit Granny Greenteeth, Peer must also learn to cope with his feelings for Hilde, and try to carve out a future for himself. As in the first book of the trilogy, Troll Fell, Langrish uses a variety of folklore motifs such as the Orkney legends of seal people or selkies to create an unusual and believable fantasy.

Troll Mill

At the start of 1941, Jenkins is stationed at divisional HQ and allocated to lowly F Mess with the obnoxious Captain Biggs. During an exercise Jenkins has dinner with General Liddament who recommends him to Finn. Widmerpool is humiliated by Colonel Hogbourne-Johnson, and plots revenge. Stringham turns up as Mess Waiter for F Mess. On leave in London Nick has an unsuccessful interview with Finn for a liaison posting with the Free French forces. He has a drink with Chips Lovell who desires a reconciliation with Priscilla, despite her affair with Odo Stevens. Moreland, now living with Audrey Maclintick, dines with Nick. Audrey, Priscilla and Stevens arrive to join the party, but Priscilla leaves in distress. Later that night Jenkins is told that a bomb falling on the Café de Madrid has killed almost everyone, including Chips. Nick sets off to the Jeavons''s to inform Priscilla, only to find the house also bombed, Lady Molly and Priscilla being killed. On return to divisional HQ, Jenkins finds Stringham has been transferred to the mobile laundry. Stringham and Nick try to cover up for Bithel''s drunkenness, but their efforts are foiled and Widmerpool has Bithel dismissed from the army. Farebrother brings news of the disaster awaiting Widmerpool in consequence of the latter''s machinations. Jenkins fails to persuade Stringham to leave the mobile laundry before it is posted to the Far East. Captain Biggs hangs himself in the cricket pavilion ("And him so fond of the game."). Jenkins receives orders to report to the War Office. *Adapted in part from material published by the Anthony Powell Society with consent

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Out of the Dark

By David Weber

The Shadow Dragons

By James A. Owen

Anino ng Kahapon

No Author Listed

Islam and the West

No Author Listed

Perfect Match

By Jodi Picoult

No Deals, Mr. Bond

By John Gardner

Goodnight Mister Tom

By Michelle Magorian

Superfudge

By Judy Blume

Half Past Human

By T. J. Bass

Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple Zero

By Karen Traviss

Troll Mill

By Katherine Langrish

The Soldier's Art

By Anthony Powell