Like most of the Henry Huggins books, the incidents in this book follow an ongoing plot line. In this book, the Huggins have a new car, and go out shopping; Ribsy, denied a ride, chases the car at up to 25 miles per hour, and is finally allowed in. At the shopping mall, Ribsy is left in the car, and lowers the electric window with the button. Ribsy eventually wants to return to the car to await Henry, and gets into the first new-smelling car he finds, but a different family, with several daughters and one toddler son, gets in and takes Ribsy home with them. Ribsy endures a bubble bath and escapes, wandering in search of Henry. Ribsy finds an old lady named Mrs. Frawley who is telling him to go away when Ribsy raises his paw in greeting and Mrs. Frawley invites him in. With dinner in his stomach, Ribsy sleeps while Mrs. Frawley goes out to shop for her new pet. Ribsy chafes at a coat and colorful leash, then escapes. He, soon after, finds himself becoming the unofficial mascot for a class of elementary school students until he is kicked out over an incident with a squirrel. Later, Ribsy sneaks into a high school football game and inadvertently makes the game-winning tackle. He is caught by a boy who, pleased at the attention he gets for people thinking it was his dog who won the game, takes Ribsy in. The story of the game gains the attention of the Huggins family who attempt to retrieve Ribsy. Ribsy, however, escapes again after hearing Henry''s voice on the phone and running off in search of his beloved owner. Later, Ribsy is found by a boy with a tennis ball who lives in an apartment building. The boy decides to adopt Ribsy, but panics when confronted by his landlady and hides Ribsy on a fire escape where, fortunately, he is spotted by the Huggins family as they drive through the neighborhood in search of him. Mr. Huggins manages to retrieve Ribsy from the fire escape with the help of some nearby workmen and the mutt is happily reunited with Henry. The family offer the boy, Larry, a portion of the reward and help him deal with his landlady before getting back in the station wagon where Ribsy sits beside Henry on the seat as they drive home, finally reunited.

Ribsy

Pryd Holding, where much of the story is set, is troubled by the threat of powrie dwarves, domination by other kingdoms and religious conflicts between the brutal Samhaists, led by the cruel and evil Bernivvigar and the seemingly more benevolent brothers of Blessed Abelle, to which Brother Bran Dynard belongs. Also complicating matters is that Prince Prydae, the last of his line, suffers an injury in battle that leaves him impotent. Brother Dynard has recently returned from the south, where he was sent to enlighten the people, but instead became fascinated and enlightened by the people, and took a wife, the beautiful Jhesta Tu mystic Sen Wi. Sen Wi has come to Pryd holding with Dynard to help explain the ways of her people to the brothers of Blessed Abelle. One night, a beautiful young woman, Callen Duwornay, is sentenced to death for adultery. Forced to endure sexual humiliation as part of her punishment, she is stripped completely naked in front of the community, is bitten by a poison snake and then left for dead, hung over the road that is being constructed to connect Pryd Holding with the other kingdoms as a warning to others. Sen Wi and Dynard find her hanging naked and rescue her from the dwarves that are beating her. Sen Wi uses her training to heal Callen and they take her to Dynard''s friend, Garibond, to heal. After recovering, an apparently still naked Callen leaves Garibonds home and disappears. Some time later, after changing her name, Callen gives birth to a daughter, whom she names Cadayale. Brother Dynard and Sen Wi go before the brothers of Abelle, but they are appalled to find that he was "enlightened" by the "beasts of Ber" rather than enlightening them as he was supposed to. Additionally, the brothers refuse to recognize Sen Wi as his wife, referring to her instead dismissively as his concubine. Sen Wi realizes that she is pregnant and that her baby is suffering within her due to her having taken the poison and pain from Callen into herself. Sen Wi later dies giving birth in Garibond''s home, using the last of her strength to save her son, whom Garibond names Bransen, combining his parents name. Dynard himself is later killed by a dwarf on the highway when he is sent to see the higher order of Abelle. Adopted by Garibond, Bransen is a constant source of ridicule, mockery and abuse in the town by local bullies due to his disfigurement, shown kindness only by Cadayale, daughter of Callen. With old age overtaking him and suffering a terrible injury to himself due to the cruel machinations of Bernivvigar, who wishes to sacrifice Bransen, Garibond makes a deal with the brothers of Abelle to take in Bransen should he die. Garibond himself is later burned to death for heresy and for harboring the Book of Jhest, written by Dynard. After this, Bransen is taken in by the monks, but most of them treat him cruelly as well. Bransen utilizes both sides of his heritage in the novel to overcome his crippled state and become the Highwayman. With help from a soul stone, the hematite, combined with his knowledge of The Book of Jhest, Bransen overcomes his physically weak form by centering his chi, which greatly increases his mobility. With his new found ability, he rescues Cadayale from the bullies who wished to rape and beat her for helping him, killing the lead bully, Tarkus Breen. After weeks of robbing from the tax collectors to give back to the poor, becoming a local Robin Hood, Bransen risks everything to rescue Cadayale and Callen from Bernivvigar and Prydae, who sought to rape Cadayale to beget an heir, leading to the deaths of both men. Afterward, Bransen, Cadayale and Callen are banished from Pryd Holding by Bannagran, Prydae''s closest friend and temporary ruler. With hope in their hearts, the three depart for the south to seek a better life. In 2007, Matthew Hansen of Marvel Comics/Dabel Brothers Productions adapted The Highwayman to a comic book.

The Highwayman

Dr. Melmoth, the President of Harley College, takes into his care Ellen Langton, the daughter of his friend, Mr. Langton, who is at sea. Ellen is a young, beautiful girl and attracts the attentions of the college boys, especially Edward Walcott, a strapping though immature student, and Fanshawe, a reclusive, meek intellectual. While out walking, the three young people meet a nameless character called “the angler,” a name he gets for appearing an expert fisherman. The angler asks for a word with Ellen, tells her something in secret, and apparently flusters her. Walcott and Fanshawe become suspicious of his intentions. We learn that the angler is an old friend of the reformed Inn owner, Hugh Crombie. The two had been at sea together, where Mr. Langton had been the angler’s mentor and caretaker. Langton and the angler had a falling out, however, and, thinking that Langton has been killed at sea, the angler undertakes to marry Ellen in order to inherit her father’s considerable wealth. Thus in his secret meeting with Ellen, the angler instructs her to sneak out of Melmoth’s home and follow him, telling her he has information about her father’s whereabouts. His real aim, though, is to kidnap her, to tell her of her father’s death, and to manipulate her into marrying him. When the various men (Melmoth, Edward, Fanshawe) learn that she is not in her chamber, they go searching for her. The search reveals the nature of each: Melmoth, an aged scholar unused to physical labor, enlists the help of Walcott, who is the most skilled rider and the most likely to be able to contend with the angler in a fight. Fanshawe, who lags behind the search because of his weak constitution and his slow horse, is given information by an old woman in a cabin (where another old woman, Widow Butler, who turns out to be the angler’s mother, has just died) that allows him to reach the angler and Ellen first. The angler has taken Ellen to a craggy cliff and cave, where he intends to hold her captive. Ellen has finally realized the angler’s intentions. When Fanshawe arrives, he stands above them, looking over the edge of the cliff. The angler begins to climb up the cliff to fight Fanshawe but grabs a twig too weak to support him and tumbles to his death. Fanshawe awakens Ellen from a faint, and they travel back to town together. Fanshawe loves Ellen but knows that he will die young because of his shut-in lifestyle. When Langton offers Ellen’s hand in marriage to Fanshawe in exchange for rescuing her, he refuses, sacrificing his happiness so as not to subject her to a life of widowhood. He also knows that Ellen has affections for Walcott. Fanshawe dies at 20. Ellen and Walcott marry four years later. The narrator states that Walcott grows out of his childish ways (drunkenness, impulsiveness, the suggestion of teenage affairs) and becomes content with Ellen. They are, according to the narrator, happy, but the book ends on an ambivalent note, stating that the couple did not produce children.

Fanshawe

Elizabeth Butler is an archaeologist, and the author of several popular books that challenge her colleagues'' ideas about Mayan civilization. Elizabeth has a strange gift, connected to a suicide attempt as a young woman, which allows her to see the spirits of ancient people while she walks at dusk and dawn. The story opens with Elizabeth in the middle of an eight-week field study at Dzibilchaltún. Her team hopes to find dramatic artifacts that will spark interest and increased funding for future field studies at the site. In the middle of the field study, Elizabeth''s estranged adult daughter Diane arrives unannounced. After the death of her father, Elizabeth''s ex-husband, Diane suddenly abandoned her life in the United States, and flew to Mexico to see her mother. It''s revealed that Diane has seen Elizabeth for only a few brief visits since Elizabeth left her as a young child to be raised by her father. Neither is sure what Diane wants from Elizabeth. As the two struggle to connect, Elizabeth has a new experience: one of her spirit visions, a Mayan priestess named Zuhuy-kak, can see and speak with Elizabeth. Zuhuy-kak provides unprecedented knowledge about the Mayans'' departure from Dzibilchaltún, and leads Elizabeth to the major archaeological find her team needs, but demands a sacrifice to the goddess Ix Chebel Yax. As the dig progresses, haunted by bad luck and tragedy, Zuhuy-kak makes it clear that Elizabeth must sacrifice her daughter.

The Falling Woman

In a fit of pique Escargot eats a pie that his wife had been withholding to bribe him into attending a revival meeting. Unfortunately Stover, the revivalist, is also the local judge and has designs on Escargot''s wealthy wife; Escargot winds up homeless and indigent. He becomes infatuated with Leta, Stover''s barmaid, and is introduced to a dwarf he believes to be her uncle. Escargot had purchased a bag of odd marbles from a bunjo man (a kind of gypsy/hobo); the dwarf first swindles them from the hapless divorcé, then humiliates and terrifies him for laughs. After obtaining a settlement from his ex-wife, Escargot leaves for the coastal town of Seaside where he hopes to find Leta at the annual Harvest Festival. A series of misadventures leads him to the submarine of a piratical elf; winding up in sole possession of the vessel Escargot travels through an undersea passage into the land of Balumnia, a sort of siamese-twin world. Escargot''s fortunes do not seem to improve as he is rapidly cheated out of money and goods, but he has a surprise encounter with the dwarf and resolves to pursue him. The dwarf attempts to eliminate Escargot but through a combination of persistence and improvisation Escargot survives and learns the dwarf''s evil plan: sacrifice Leta and use the marbles to revive the stone giants, ancient enemies of the elves. With the assistance of an eccentric crew of sky-faring elves, Escargot seeks an opportunity to rescue Leta and redeem his many foibles.

The Stone Giant

A teenager named Alfred Kropp lives in a small apartment with his Uncle Farrel, who is a security guard. He stays mostly secluded, both at home and at school. A man named Arthur Myers calls Alfred''s uncle at work, and offers one million dollars for the return of an object stolen from him by Uncle Farrell''s boss. Basically, Alfred has to break into the main office, find the safe, and steal the object himself, accidentally cutting himself on the blade of the sword. Then when he is about to leave, he is attacked by three monks. A battle ensues, but Alfred manages to defeat them with Excalibur. Alfred and Uncle Farrell manage to escape, where they are attacked by Arthur Myers. He steals the sword, and kills Uncle Farrell, sparing Alfred. Alfred meets Bernard Samson ( Bernard is Alfred´s dad), who explains to him that Arthur Myers was an alias of an international terrorist, who wanted control of Bernard''s sword, which was Excalibur. Bernard Samson, the heir of Lancelot, goes off to Jativa, in Spain, to try to reclaim the Sword from Myers, whom he knows as Mogart. A member of an international organization called OIPEP interjects that their codename for Mogart is ''The Dragon''. When Alfred asks Samson if there is anything he can do to help, Samson replies, "Pray." Alfred returns to his normal life unwillingly, and is taken into a foster home owned by a family called the Tuttles. Alfred, unsatisfied with his normal life, takes to hanging around the nearby town, particularly the cafes. There, Alfred meets Bennacio, a knight protector of the sword (and the lead monk who attacked him); he reveals that all the defenders, including Samson, were killed, and the sword was lost. After relating this, Bennacio leaves the coffee shop they were in and Alfred follows him. Alfred sees Bennacio get attacked and attempts to save him. They go to Bennacio''s room at the Marriott, where Bennacio uses Alfred''s blood (where he cut himself) to heal the wound. Bennacio explains to Alfred that Excalibur has the power to heal, and that having been cut by it, Alfred has been granted the power to heal. The next day, Bennacio is ready to leave without Alfred, but he pleads to the knight to help in any way he can. Bennacio offers Alfred a chance to drive him. They drive to Canada (In a Koenigsegg CCX) and steal a Ferrari Enzo, but are attacked by more of Mogart''s henchmen. Bennacio kills them when he has the chance and then continues on their journey. They stop at a deceased knight''s house, where Windimar''s mother lets them stay. They leave the next day, and get attacked once again. This time there are six of them on Suzuki Hayabusas. Alfred and Bennacio continue through Nova Scotia, and hijack a Jaguar because their Ferrari was critically damaged. They then fly to France. In France, Bennacio tells Alfred that he is a descendant of Lancelot, making him the heir to his father''s title. Then OIPEP offers to trade 10.5 billion dollars for the sword; however, Mogart double crosses them and kills Bennacio in the process, leaving Alfred as the last man standing. Mike Arnold, a member of OIPEP who set up the exchange, is also revealed as a traitor at this time. Bennacio''s daughter, Natalia, is taken by Mogart, and held for a ransom. Alfred personally travels to Merlin''s cave in England in order to save Bennacio''s daughter. Here, in Merlin''s Cave in Tintagel, Kropp finds his true destiny as the master of the Sword. Mogart is unable to kill him with it even though Kropp is impaled upon the sword and pinned to the wall of Merlin''s Caves underneath Tintagel. As in the original King Arthur stories, Mogart is unable to pull the sword out of the stone as only the Master of the Sword can claim it. Kropp, having healed himself with the sword, pulls the sword out of the stone, finishes off Mogart, and returns home as a hero. At the end of the story, Alfred finds that he yearns for more excitement and calls OIPEP, wanting a job fighting "agents of darkness."

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

The novel is situated in the 11th century at the fortress of Alamut (Persian for "Eagle''s Nest"), which was seized by the leader of the Ismailis, Hassan ibn Sabbah or Sayyiduna (Our Master). At the start of the story, he is gathering an army for the purpose of attacking the Seljuk Empire, which has taken over possession of Iran. The story commences with the journey of young ibn Tahir, who is, according to his family''s wish, intending to join the Alamut garrison. There, he is appointed to the squad of the most valiant soldiers, named the fedai. Fedai are expected to obey orders without any demur, death being not an obstacle. During their demanding training, they come to be convinced that they shall go to heaven immediately after their death if they die in the line of duty. Hassan managed to achieve such level of obedience by deceiving his soldiers - he gave them drugs (hashish) to numb them and ordered afterwards that they be carried into the gardens behind the fortress, which were made into a simulacrum of heaven, including houris. Therefore, fedai believe that Allah had given Hassan the power to send anybody into the Heaven for a certain period. Moreover, some of the fedai fall in love with houris and Hassan unscrupulously uses that to his advantage. Meanwhile, the Seljuk army besieges Alamut. Some of the soldiers are captured and Hassan decides to demonstrate his power to them. He orders a pair of fedai (Yusuf and Suleiman) to kill themselves; Suleiman by stabbing himself, Yusuf by jumping off of a tower. They fulfill their master''s order with a smile on their face, thinking that they will soon rejoice with their beloved in heaven. Afterwards, Hassan orders ibn Tahir to go and kill the grand vizier of the Seljuk sultan Nizam al-Mulk. Hassan wants to take vengeance for al-Mulk''s treachery against him long ago. Ibn Tahir stabs the vizier, but, before he passes away, the vizier reveals the truth of Hassan''s deceptions to his murderer. Ibn Tahir decides to return to Alamut and kill Hassan. When ibn Tahir returns, Hassan receives him and also reveals him his true motto: "Nothing is true, everything is permitted". Then, he lets ibn Tahir go, to start a long journey around the world. Another fedai kills the Seljuk Sultan and the Seljuk empire dissolves. The fight for the Seljuk throne begins. Hassan encloses himself in a tower, determined to work until the end of his days. He transfers the power over the Ismaelits to the hands of his faithful dai, military, and religious chiefs.

Alamut

The Day Boy and the Night Girl begins by telling of a witch named Watho who, in her pursuit of complete knowledge, undertook an experiment to mold two people from birth by strictly controlling their environments. Watho convinced two expectant mothers to visit her castle. Lady Aurora (whose ambassador husband was away on business) was given spacious, sunlit rooms to stay in; she gave birth to a boy. The witch promptly whisked him away, sending his mother back to her home burdened with the lie that her son had died shortly after birth. The other woman (who had recently been widowed and become blind) Watho settled in windowless, tomblike chambers elsewhere in the castle. Vesper died in childbirth, leaving her daughter to the witch’s keeping. Watho did everything in her power to ensure that the boy Photogen grew up strong, able, and fearless. However, her foremost concern regarding the boy was that he should never see the night. Watho desired the opposite for the girl Nycteris, who knew no other world than the stony chambers she had been born in and no other light than that provided by the single dim lamp. It came about that Nycteris, in her sixteenth year, found her way out of these chambers into a night lit by a full-moon. Nycteris was filled with wonder at this glorious new light and the rest of nature; she returned to her rooms before daybreak, desiring to see the outdoors again and not wanting to spoil her chance by arousing Watho’s suspicions. Around the same time, Photogen (who spent his days hunting) one morning spied a big cat of some sort slinking off to the forest and took it in his mind to hunt this skilled hunter. As the sun went down, Photogen left to hunt the nocturnal beast, violating the witch’s constraint. Once darkness fell, Photogen was beset with terror. He came across Nycteris in one of her outings, and gathered some measure of comfort from the strange girl’s calm. She agreed to watch over him while he slept, and so it was that she was for the first time yet outdoors when the sun rose. Photogen regained his courage immediately; assuring Nycteris that there was now nothing to fear, he went on his way, despite her terrified pleas that he stay and protect her from the blinding light. Photogen (wishing to prove his courage) stayed up for another night, only to experience similar results. Photogen and Nycteris eventually learned to use their strengths to bear the other up through their weakness. In this way they were able to defeat the witch Watho. Photogen and Nycteris married; they continued to rely on and rejoice in each other’s strengths, to the point that Photogen came to prefer the night and Nycteris the day.

The Day Boy and the Night Girl

As the play begins, Valentine is preparing to leave Verona for Milan so as to broaden his horizons. He begs his best friend, Proteus, to come with him, but Proteus is in love with Julia, and refuses to leave. Disappointed, Valentine bids Proteus farewell and goes on alone. Meanwhile, Julia is discussing Proteus with her maid, Lucetta, who tells Julia that she thinks Proteus is fond of her. Julia, however, acts coyly, embarrassed to admit that she likes him. Lucetta then produces a letter; she will not say who gave it to her, but teases Julia that it was Valentine''s servant, Speed, who brought it from Proteus. Julia, still unwilling to reveal her love in front of Lucetta, angrily tears up the letter. She sends Lucetta away, but then, realising her own rashness, she picks up the fragments of letter and kisses them, trying to piece them back together. Meanwhile, Proteus'' father has decided that Proteus should travel to Milan and join Valentine. He orders that Proteus must leave the next day, prompting a tearful farewell with Julia, to whom Proteus swears eternal love. The two exchange rings and vows and Proteus promises to return as soon as he can. In Milan, Proteus finds Valentine in love with the Duke''s daughter Silvia. Despite Julia''s love, Proteus falls instantly in love with Silvia and vows to win her. Unaware of Proteus'' feelings, Valentine tells him that the Duke wants Silvia to marry the foppish but wealthy Thurio, against her wishes. Because the Duke suspects that his daughter and Valentine are in love, he locks her nightly in a tower, to which he keeps the only key. However, Valentine tells Proteus that he plans to free her by means of a corded ladder, and together, they will elope. Proteus immediately informs the Duke, who subsequently captures and banishes Valentine. While wandering outside Milan, Valentine runs afoul of a band of outlaws, who claim they are also exiled gentlemen. Valentine lies, saying he was banished for killing a man in a fair fight, and the outlaws elect him their leader. Meanwhile, in Verona, Julia decides to join her lover in Milan. She convinces Lucetta to dress her in boy''s clothes and help her fix her hair so she will not be harmed on the journey. Once in Milan, Julia quickly discovers Proteus'' love for Silvia, watching him attempt to serenade her. She contrives to become his page – a youth named Sebastian – until she can decide upon a course of action. Proteus sends Sebastian to Silvia with a gift of the same ring that Julia gave to him before he left Verona, but Julia discovers that Silvia scorns Proteus'' affections and is disgusted that he would forget about his love back home, i.e. Julia herself. Silvia deeply mourns the loss of Valentine, whom Proteus has told her is rumoured dead. Not persuaded of Valentine''s death, Silvia determines to flee the city with the help of Eglamour, a former suitor to Julia. They escape into the forest but when they are confronted by the outlaws, Eglamour flees and Silvia is taken captive. The outlaws head to their leader (Valentine), but on the way, they encounter Proteus and Julia (still disguised as Sebastian). Proteus rescues Silvia, and then pursues her deeper into the forest. Secretly observed by Valentine, Proteus attempts to persuade Silvia that he loves her, but she rejects his advances. Furious and mad with desire, Proteus insinuates that he will rape her ("I''ll force thee yield to my desire"). At this point, Valentine intervenes and denounces Proteus. Horrified at what has happened, Proteus vows that the hate Valentine feels for him is nothing compared to the hate he feels for himself. Convinced that Proteus'' repentance is genuine, Valentine forgives him and seems to offer Silvia to him. At this point, overwhelmed, Julia faints, revealing her true identity. Upon seeing her, Proteus suddenly remembers his love for her and vows fidelity to her once again. The Duke and Thurio arrive, and Thurio claims Silvia as his. Valentine then warns Thurio that if he makes one move toward her, he will kill him. Terrified, Thurio renounces Silvia. The Duke, impressed by Valentine''s actions, approves his and Silvia''s love, and consents to their marriage. The two couples are happily united, and the Duke pardons the outlaws, telling them they may return to Milan.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The trilogy follows the adventures of ex-king Jorian, a native of the village of Ardamai in the kingdom of Kortoli, one of the twelve city-states of Novaria. Jorian is a powerful and intelligent man who has trained extensively for a life of adventure, but hampered by garulousness and a weakness for drink and women. When first seen, Jorian is the reluctant king of Xylar, another Novarian city-state. The Xylarians select their king every five years by executing the reigning monarch and tossing his head into a crowd; the man who catches it becomes the next king. Jorian, having been selected for the position five years before, is at the end of his term as ruler. He miraculously escapes his fate with the aid of the Mulvanian sorcerer Dr. Karadur. The tale continues through a pair of spectacularly disastrous quests in aid of his savior, the first taking them through the exotic lands of Mulvan, Komilakh and Shven and the second south to the ancient empire of Penembei. In the course of the later adventure Jorian is tapped to be ruler of Penembei, an office nearly as hazardous as king of Xylar. Adroitly ducking this second crown he endeavors to recover from Xylar his favorite wife Estrildis, with whom he hopes to retire to a life of quiet obscurity, only to have things once again go wrong...

The Reluctant King

Icefire is an action/science fiction novel about an unknown group using the Ross Ice Shelf to create a soliton wave&mdash;much more powerful and destructive than tsunamis caused by seismic displacement&mdash;directed into the Pacific Ocean. Roughly the size of France, the Ross Ice Shelf is first broken free of its shoreline anchor points by tactical nuclear weapons detonated around its periphery. A larger nuclear device is then airburst above the Shelf, slamming the entire mass of loose ice into the Ross Sea beneath it and generating the monster wave. The EMP from the airburst warhead disables most electronics within its line of sight, blinding the worlds'' satellites and silencing radio communication from the area. The main protagonists, Mitch Webber and Cory Rey, must escape the communication dead zone in time to tell the world what happened, warn everyone of the deadly wave racing towards it, discover who set it in motion, and find a way to catch the villains and stop the wave&mdash;if they can. The destruction caused by the bombs and peoples'' understandable skepticism are working against them as, with every passing second, the wave gets closer to major cities and their unsuspecting populations.

Icefire

Following the Yuuzhan Vong''s capture of Coruscant, General Wedge Antilles, leading New Republic Fleet Group Two, successfully capture and intend to hold the Vong-held world of Borleias. This becomes convenient for the New Republic Senators, under unofficial leadership from Councilor Pwoe, to gather up their resources in order to find a new capital for the Republic. Later, after the actions they took within the Hapes Consortium, Jaina Solo, Kyp Durron, and Jagged Fel become part of the occupation force of Borleias, and Jaina and Jag begin to develop a romantic relationship as a result of their time together fighting the Vong in the solar system. As the fighting in the Borleias system increases, it attracts the expertise of Supreme Commander Czulkang Lah, father of Warmaster Tsavong Lah, who soon becomes Wedge Antilles''s enemy in the occupation of Borleias. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker senses a dark presence on Yuuzhan Vong-held Coruscant that has nothing to do with the Vong themselves. So he organizes a strike team consisting of himself, his wife Mara, Tahiri Veila, and Wraith Squadron in order to infiltrate Coruscant and then find and eliminate the dark presence there. With help from Lando Calrissian, they successfully arrive on Coruscant to begin their mission. At Coruscant, treacherous New Republic Senator Viqi Shesh is scheduled to be executed, since her usefulness in helping the Vong in their invasion is gone. However, Shesh makes up a lie that allows her to live when she says that the shapers that grafted Tsavong Lah''s artificial arm had intentionally set it to rot; the purpose of this is to force him to secretly do their bidding, or he would become a Shamed One. Lah looks into this with the help of Master Shaper Nen Yim, and finds strong evidence that there is indeed such a conspiracy forming against him. Meanwhile, Viqi Shesh herself is controlling an innocent holocam operator named Tam Elgrin, working as a civilian assistant on Borleias, via a Yuuzhan Vong implant. At the end of the novel, Tam is able to overcome his conditioning, even when it nearly costs him his life, just before the New Republic launch into another engagement against the Vong. This engagement incorporates a tactic from the once-great Galactic Empire that forces the Vong to go into a temporary tactical retreat.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Ribsy

By Beverly Cleary

The Highwayman

By Robert Anthony Salvatore

Fanshawe

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Falling Woman

By Pat Murphy

The Stone Giant

By James Blaylock

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

By Rick Yancey

Alamut

By Vladimir Bartol

The Day Boy and the Night Girl

By George MacDonald

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

By William Shakespeare

The Reluctant King

By L. Sprague de Camp

Icefire

No Author Listed

Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream

By Aaron Allston