In her book, Irvine starts with the somewhat odd circumstances of this collaboration, in which she addresses Kingsland’s ad for a “wife to live on a lonely island for a year”. In that year (1982), Irvine was 25, and Kingsland 49. After being formally married — Tuin Island is part of Queensland, and the authorities would have never let them go without marrying first — and Irvine has an IUD implanted to prevent pregnancy, Irvine and Kingsland try to adapt, making the best out of a beautiful but hostile environment with treacherous flora and fauna. Slowly but surely, an intense love-hate relationship develops between the two, as Irvine is much more strict and disciplined than the laid-back Kingsland. Kingsland also makes clear he desires the blonde, slender Irvine, but much to his chagrin, she refuses his advances. However, as both are mutually dependent on each other, and both are also constantly hungry, the tension remains in check. Matters grow worse when Kingsland’s legs become infested with ulcers – it turns out he is allergic to the shark they are regularly eating – and the two are visited by two male naval postal officers who drop supplies. When Irvine flirts with them, and acknowledges being sexually attracted by them, Kingsland is eaten up with jealousy. However, when she eats poisoned beans, he also saves her life, which earns her respect. But things grow from bad to worse when a bad drought comes over Tuin. Having no means of communication – the antenna of their CB radio set is missing — the two nearly starve to death. Irvine has serious abdominal problems and fears she is pregnant, which would be her doom in her weakened state. Then, salvation comes in the form of natives from the neighbouring island of Badu Island, Queensland, who find the castaways and nurture them back, helped by occasionally passing white nurses. Irvine and Kingsland regain their strength and health; Irvine’s abdominal problems are due to inflammation caused by the IUD, not pregnancy. She has it extracted, and after recovering, the two are treated as honoured guests. They are invited to several tribal ceremonies and get a deep insight in their culture. Kingsland establishes himself as a fine addition because he is able to fix many of their technical and electrical devices. He thrives on his new usefulness, and Irvine finds herself courted by young Badu islanders, offers which she politely declines. Feeling proud of Kingsland, Irvine makes a fateful decision. Feeling her libido return and now willing to fulfill Kingsland the one wish she has denied him, she equips herself with condoms and seduces him. They start a fulfilling, but awkward sexual relationship; both enjoy the new quality of their marriage, but Irvine makes clear that she will leave him at the end of the year, as they had planned. She feels that life has more to offer than being the wife of a castaway mechanic, and Kingsland accepts with a heavy heart, stating she is still too young to waste her dreams. They spend their last days together at Tuin Island, and when she flies away to the UK, Irvine feels both sadness and relief. Years later, Irvine stated she liked Kingsland, but hated marrying him. She also states that she would not do it again the same way, but it was an invaluable experience.

Castaway

The year is 1529, and Brian Duffy, a world-weary Irish mercenary soldier is hired in Venice by the mysterious Aurelianus to go to Vienna and work as a bouncer at the Zimmerman Inn, former monastery and current brewery of the famous Herzwesten beer. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Turkish army under Sultan Suleiman I has achieved its most advanced position yet in their march into Europe, and is poised to capture Vienna. With the Turkish army travels Ibrahim, a magician who intends to use horrific spells as part of the siege. Duffy spent some time in Vienna years ago, and as he returns, he is haunted by memories of past events, and now he also finds himself having visions of mythical creatures and being ambushed by shadowy people and demonic monsters. Upon arriving in Vienna, Duffy meets Epiphany, a former girlfriend from his previous time in Vienna, and her father, Gustav Vogel, who is working on a painting he calls "The Death of St. Michael the Archangel". It seems the painting is never quite complete, and the elder Vogel is continuously adding additional detail to the work, causing it to gradually become more and more obscure. Then Duffy finds himself not only drafted into the city''s defensive army, but also led by Aurelianus down mystical paths from the surprisingly old Herzwesten brewery to even more ancient caves beneath the city, in search of defenses against the approaching army and clues to Duffy''s very nature. As it turns out, Aurelianus knows more about Duffy and his past than Duffy himself knows, and his real purpose in hiring him is to protect the hidden Fisher King, secret spiritual leader of the western world, and to defend him and the West against the Turkish advance in the siege of Vienna. And the real reason that it''s critical that Vienna not be captured by the Turks is because it''s the site of the Herzwesten brewery. The Herzwesten light and bock beers are famous throughout Europe, but the dark beer, produced only every eight hundredth year, has supernatural properties and must not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Meanwhile, others are drawn to Vienna in anticipation of significant events. The so-called "dark birds", magically sensitive individuals from far flung corners of the world, arrive in the city hoping for a sip of the Herzwesten dark, and a small group of middle-aged Vikings have improbably sailed their ship up the Danube River to Vienna, having sensed the possibility that the prophesied final battle of Ragnarok will take place here.

The Drawing of the Dark

Restoree is the story of Sara, an introverted, beak-nosed, 24-year-old virgin librarian from New York who is abducted by the Mil, amorphous alien creatures that eat human flesh. She is kept alive, with her skin removed and in a catatonic state from the physical and mental shock, on a meat hook as a Mil meal until the alien ship she is on is captured by human inhabitants of the planet Lothar. Without her skin, some Lotharians mistake her for one of their own and perform controversial "restoration" procedures on her, including a nose job. Sara comes to her senses in a mental institution on Lothar with no memory of what happened, little knowledge of the local language, and a beautiful, golden-skinned body. At the institution, she is treated as if she were retarded and given menial tasks to do, as are other "restorees" who have been clandestinely salvaged from Mil ships; it is apparently some factor of Sara''s Terran origins that allows her to fully recover from the shock of the Mil ordeal, while Lotharian restorees are of limited intellect at best. One of her jobs is to care for Harlan, the deposed planetary regent, who is being drugged into a moronic state. Recognizing what is being done, Sara helps Harlan to regain his senses and escape the mental institution. Sara and Harlan then gain the advantage over Harlan''s political enemies, defeat the Mil, solve some of Lothar''s emerging domestic problems and, of course, fall in love.

Restoree

In the book, Wolf argues that "beauty" as a normative value is entirely socially constructed, and that the patriarchy determines the content of that construction with the goal of reproducing its own hegemony. In her introduction, Wolf offers the following analysis: Wolf also posits the idea of an "iron-maiden," an intrinsically unattainable standard of beauty that is then used to punish women physically and psychologically for their failure to achieve and conform to it. Wolf criticizes the fashion and beauty industries as exploitative of women, but claims the beauty myth extends into all areas of human functioning. Wolf writes that women should have "the choice to do whatever we want with our faces and bodies without being punished by an ideology that is using attitudes, economic pressure, and even legal judgments regarding women''s appearance to undermine us psychologically and politically". Wolf argued that women were under assault by the "beauty myth" in five areas: work, religion, sex, violence, and hunger. Ultimately, Wolf argues for a relaxation of normative standards of beauty.

The Beauty Myth

Set after Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness but before Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Day of the Dragon is the story of how a human Mage, Rhonin ventures into the last remaining Orc-controlled lands in Khaz Modan by the order of Krasus. Krasus is actually a red dragon named Korialstrasz, yet is disguised as a human mage of Dalaran during the earlier chapters of the book. He is loyal to his captured queen, Alexstrasza, Queen of the Red dragon flight and one of the five great Aspects. By using the "Demon Soul", Nekros Skullcrusher, leader of the orcs in Khaz Modan, is able to hold Alexstrasza and her consorts, such as Tyranastrasz, against their will and use their offspring as pawns against the other races of Azeroth. Whilst Korialstrasz sought help from the other Aspects, Nozdormu, Malygos and Ysera, Deathwing helped Rhonin get into the Orc Fortress in order to convince Nekros Skullcrusher that there was an imminent Alliance attack on Grim Batol. Deathwing''s real motivation was that he wanted the eggs so he could replenish his flight, not to free the Red Dragonqueen. Believing a great army to be on its way, Nekros had the eggs transported elsewhere, placing them in the open where Deathwing wanted them. However, as Deathwing was stealing the eggs, he was confronted by a dying Tyranastrasz. Despite initial problems, Korialstrasz managed to gain the aid of the other three Great Aspects in his task to free Alexstrasza. With the help of Rhonin, Vereesa Windrunner, Falstad Dragonreaver (Falstad Wildhammer), and a number of dwarven resistance fighters, the group managed to destroy the "Demon Soul" forever. By doing so, they free Alexstrasza, who swallows Nekros Skullcrusher in one gulp, aiding in the defeat of the orcs in the area. Ironically, Deathwing helped with the release of Alexstrasza, yet was not concerned due to the fact that the "Demon Soul" has drained the other Aspects powers. However, with the destruction of the "Demon Soul" the powers were returned to the four Aspects and Deathwing was last seen fleeing from three angry Aspects at the time as Alexstrasza went to Korialstrasz. The storyline also covers Deathwing''s plot to throw the mortal kingdoms into disarray by posing as Lord Prestor, using his draconic powers to manipulate the rulers of the human kingdoms into making him king of Alterac, then planning to marry into the Lordaeron royal family to become its heir. However, with his defeat at the hands of the other four Dragon Aspects, Lord Prestor is never seen again.

Warcraft: Day of the Dragon

The story begins with a painter named Tim Picasso who suffers critical rejection from his peers and decides to take a break in the Caribbean, where he ends up crewing on a drug smuggling sailboat. When the captain gets drunk and falls overboard, Picasso takes the boat to Florida, and meets up with Jesus Castro, the lead drug smuggler. Castro intimidates Picasso into running the drugs from Miami to Boston, however after Picasso collects the $1.5 million payment from the Irish Republican Army, he escapes by train to the New England town of Tyburn, where a winter storm is picking up force. He decides to lodge at the seaside Admiral Benbow Inn for the weekend, until he can depart for Italy. Meanwhile, Mr. Glowery, a bitter New York journalist and writer who believes that a rival author is sabotaging his literary career, arrives in Tyburn where he is to speak at a fiction workshop being held at the Admiral Benbow Inn. He is immediately tasered by one of Castro''s detectives, who mistakenly confuses him for Picasso. Back at the Admiral Benbow Inn, the innkeeper, George Hawthorne, worries about Mr. Briscoe, a cross-dressing contract worker who is stranded in the abandoned lighthouse just off the coast because of the raging nor''easter, while his unhappy wife, Magdalene Hawthorne, threatens to leave him. The next morning, Mr. Glowery is stuck in a restaurant where he is being coerced by a psychotic cook to peddle his novel in order to pay off a debt he incurred during the night. When Professor Eggman, the director of the fiction workshop, comes across Mr. Glowery, he rescues him and brings him back to the inn. However, few people show up for the fiction workshop because of the storm. Hawthorne''s wife returns from a spa with Picasso; Mr. Hawthorne informs her that he is trying to procure a prostitute for his new arrival, Jesus Castro, who has registered under the false name of Mr. Wassermann. Mr. Hawthorne asks Picasso if he has had sex with his wife and Picasso meekly admits to it. At the lighthouse, Mr. Briscoe decides to brave the storm in a landing craft, but is immediately swamped with water and carried by the tide towards the mainland. After Castro avails himself of the services of a prostitute, he rampages around the property searching for Picasso. The storm crashes through the inn. A guest is killed by a billiards table that falls on top of him and is dragged off into the sea. Mr. Glowery is also dragged off into the sea by the storm. Castro and his assistant round up the guests and interrogate them about the location of the $1.5 million Picasso stole. In another part of the inn a fire starts. Finally, Mr. Briscoe shows up and kills Castro''s assistant before knocking Castro unconscious. While Hawthorne learns his wife is leaving him for the prostitute, the inn becomes completely engulfed in flames. Picasso, Hawthorne, and Briscoe motor a lobster boat over to the lighthouse, and dump Castro''s dead assistant into the sea along with Castro himself, weighed down with two cinder blocks chained to his ankles. When they land on the island, Briscoe runs into the lighthouse and blows himself up. Amongst the rubble of the lighthouse, Picasso notices the inscription "MORTE D''AUTHOR" painted on one of the surrounding rocks and says to the innkeeper "He''s been thinking about this for some time, George."

Light House: A Trifle

The story is set in 1964 in and around Los Angeles, California. Jim Hastings is a young boy who lives with his uncle, Edward St. Ives; Jim''s father suffered a nervous breakdown upon his wife''s death and has been institutionalized ever since. Jim is increasingly puzzled by a series of strange events that seem to happen around his friend Giles "Gill" Peach who, like his father and forefathers before him, has gills. The boys are fascinated by pulp science fiction, and Gill begins building a device inspired by the "subterranean prospector" described in Edgar Rice Burroughs'' novel "At the Earth''s Core." Jim''s father William, who periodically escapes the psychiatric facility run by Hilario Frosticos, is convinced that Gill is being manipulated by unscrupulous adventurers allied with Frosticos: a hollow earth conspiracy. This is discounted as paranoia by St. Ives, Russell Latzarel, Roycroft Squires, and William Ashbless, all members of the Newtonian Society, an alternative science-oriented social club. However as events unfold it appears that William''s worst fears have a bizarre truth behind them, and the ideas described in Gill''s diaries are more than weird tales. Clues found by William lead St. Ives and Latzarel to sewers connected to an underground river, mermen, bizarre technology, and a longevity serum based on carp. Together with Jim, the four men try to outmaneuver Frosticos in the race to reach a not-quite unimaginable goal.

The Digging Leviathan

The Confederation of Human Worlds comprises about two hundred semi-autonomous settled worlds. Some of those worlds are rich and powerful, others aren''t. A coalition of a dozen lesser worlds, tired of being second class citizens, decides to secede from the Confederation.What they do not know is the threat of an alien species known as the Skinks hangs over the entire confederation. The Skink Threat is top secret, no citizens know of them. Ever since the discovery of these aliens, the Confederation has beefed up its defences on the out lying colonies. On Ravenette, one of the Coalition worlds, protestors gather at the main gate of the Confederation army base. Someone unknown shoots into the crowd, killing a protestor and setting off a bloody riot that kills many civilians and soldiers. The Coalition started the riot and prevoked the soldiers even though the soldiers did not shoot into the crowd, news networks say otherwise. The Coalition declares war, and brings all its military might against the Confederation forces on Ravenette—banking on the likelihood that they will achieve victory before reinforcements arrive, and that the Confederation will agree to negotiate a peaceable parting. They guessed wrong. An army division and 34th FIST are soon on the scene, holding the line until more reinforcements arrive. But matters get worse when General Jason Billie is given command of the Confederation forces. General Billie not only has no combat command experience, he hates Marines.

Flashfire

"Are You My Mother?" is the story about a hatchling bird. His mother, thinking her egg will stay in her nest where she left it, leaves her egg alone and flies off to find food. The baby chick hatches. He does not understand where his mother is so he goes to look for her. In his search, he asks a kitten, a hen, a dog, and a cow if they are his mother. They each say, "No." Then he sees an old car, which cannot be his mother for sure. In desperation, the hatchling calls out to a boat and a plane, and at last, convinced he has found his mother, he climbs onto the teeth of an enormous power shovel. A loud "SNORT" belches from its exhaust stack, prompting the bird to utter the immortal line, "You are not my mother! You are a SNORT!" But as it shudders and grinds into motion he cannot escape. "I want my mother!" he shouts. But at this climactic moment, his fate is suddenly reversed. The shovel drops him back in his nest just as his mother is returning home. The two are united, much to their delight, and the baby bird tells his mother about the adventure he had looking for her.

Are You My Mother?

The story is narrated by a young rich man, heir to a huge sum of money. He devotes his life to an organization called "We Live Again" which investigates the reality of reincarnation. People have souls that pass on to other individuals and give them their memories, usually alongside, but sometimes in place of their own memories. The story focuses on Mallory Gabus, a recently reincarnated woman and her fascinating integration into the new world. She recalls and narrates her experiences and memories of Hitler''s victory, which allowed Hitler to bring his desire for an "Aryan" world to fruition. She realizes all that went wrong. The Nazis had won World War II and purged their empire of all non-whites, then rewrote history so as to say that Dachau, a concentration camp, was instead a battle with Adolf Hitler as its hero. After Hitler''s victory, the Third Reich is solely Aryan, the Aryans have killed all non-Aryans in their new empire. They now use A.D. to refer to After Dachau, the turning point in their civilization, and A.D.-A.D. to refer to our A.D. Mallory was (re-)born in 1922 A.D.-A.D. as an Afro-American female in New York. We find out that the Nazi purges in the Third Reich have started to have a cultural effect on America, and soon Jews are being executed. Blacks are being "repatriated", which turns out to mean: put into concentration camps. Mallory, hides out with her lover in the N.Y. underground and makes a life until their hiding place is discovered by police. At that point, they commit suicide rather than being taken alive or executed. The narrator, in an attempt to publicize the story and the atrocities the Aryans committed, contacts a newspaper and other news media. His investigation gets him sequestered in an unknown location until he can write three words upon a chalkboard. The words turn out to be "No One Cares", and, as it turns out, no one does. The narrator explains that he cares, and he doesn''t care if others don''t care, he is still going to pursue this for his own personal interest. He opens an exhibit displaying relics from the old world, including works by Jewish authors such as Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. The narrator receives a gift from his "uncle" (the man who imprisoned him), and expresses his intent to publish the gift. He opens a shop where he displays pictures of Africans that had been saved in Mallory''s hideout. Finally, one night, someone throws a brick through the gallery''s windows, prompting the narrator to conclude that somebody "does care". The last line reveals that the gift is the diary of a young girl written during World War II, the Diary of Anne Frank.

After Dachau

After the First Punic War, Carthage is unable to fulfil promises made to its army of mercenaries, and finds itself under attack. The fictional title character, a priestess and the daughter of Hamilcar Barca, an aristocratic Carthaginian general, is the object of the obsessive lust of Matho, a leader of the mercenaries. With the help of the scheming freed slave, Spendius, Matho steals the sacred veil of Carthage, the Zaïmph, prompting Salammbô to enter the mercenaries'' camp in an attempt to steal it back. The Zaïmph is an ornate bejewelled veil draped about the statue of the goddess Tanit in the sanctum sanctorum of her temple: the veil is the city''s guardian and touching it will bring death to the perpetrator. *Chapter 1. The Feast. During a victory banquet, the mercenaries destroy Hamilcar''s garden for sport in his absence. Hamilcar''s daughter Salammbô tries to quell the riot. Matho falls in love with her. The slave Spendius is released, and he tries to persuade Matho to take Carthage for the mercenaries. *Chapter 2. At Sicca. The mercenaries leave the city unpaid and travel to Sicca. Later, Hanno comes and speaks to the mercenaries about delays in recompensing them, but he is driven off when Zarxas arrives and tells them of a treacherous massacre of 300 slingers who had stayed behind. *Chapter 3. Salammbô. Hamilcar''s daughter prays and is instructed by Schahabarim. *Chapter 4. Beneath the Walls of Carthage. The mercenaries besiege Carthage; Matho and Spendius penetrate via the aqueduct. *Chapter 5. Tanit. Matho and Spendius steal the Zaïmph. Because Matho is caught while breaking into Salammbô''s bedroom to see her again, she falls under suspicion of complicity. *Chapter 6. Hanno. The mercenaries leave Carthage and split into two groups, attacking Utica and Hippo-Zarytus. Hanno surprises Spendius at Utica, and occupies the city, but flees when Matho arrives and routs his troops. *Chapter 7. Hamilcar Barca. The hero returns and an attempt is made to blame him for Hanno''s losses. He defends himself before the Council and defends the mercenaries, but turns against the barbarians when he sees the damage they have done to his property. *Chapter 8. The Battle of the Macar. Hamilcar defeats Spendius at the bridge of the Macar, three miles from Utica. *Chapter 9. In the Field. Hamilcar''s troops are trapped by the mercenaries. *Chapter 10. The Serpent. Schahabarim sends Salammbô in disguise to retrieve the Zaïmph. *Chapter 11. In the Tent. Salammbô reaches Matho in his tent at the encampment. Believing each other to be divine apparitions, they make love. The mercenaries are attacked and dispersed by Hamilcar''s troops. She takes away the Zaïmph, and on meeting her father, Hamilcar has her betrothed to Narr'' Havas, a mercenary who has changed sides. *Chapter 12. The Aqueduct. The Carthaginians return to their city with the mercenaries in pursuit. Spendius cuts off the water supply to Carthage. *Chapter 13. Moloch. Carthaginian children are sacrificed to Moloch. Hamilcar disguises a slave-child as his son Hannibal and sends him to die in his son''s place. *Chapter 14. The Defile of the Axe. The drought is broken and aid comes. Hamilcar drives the mercenaries away from their encampments. Later, thousands of mercenaries are trapped in a defile and slowly starve (the Battle of "The Saw"). Deaths of Hanno and Spendius, both by crucifixion. *Chapter 15. Matho. Victory celebrations at Carthage. Matho is tortured before his execution; Salammbô, witnessing this, dies of shock. The Zaïmph has brought death upon those who touched it.

Salammbô

* 9/11. * The Greater Depression (aka The Debt, Deficit, and Fuel Depression) transpired when, after the American government began spending more and landed itself further in debt, foreign countries started asking for repayment: prices started inflating rapidly, causing a depression even greater than that of the 1930s. * The Andreas Quake occurred on 3/12 and helped to inspire the Jesus Revolution (see below). * Hurricane Wanda occurred on 7/23 and also helped to inspire the Jesus Revolution. * The Reign of Fear began when the President decided to end the Greater Depression by launching The War to End All Wars, which led to the tragic events of 4/5, unexplained to readers. The Decent party was established, and members created the Denial Education program. The Opus Dei Trials took place. * The Prada Riots took place when The War to End All Wars proved ineffective, and citizens began to protest that some people remained rich while the rest were yet struggling. * Worldwide Health Care has been established to combat the monopoly of drug companies over whole dying nations. * The Jesus Revolution, described by critic Wayne Hoffman, author of Hard, as "Levithan''s most ingenious creation", is a Christian movement promoting Jesus Christ as a messenger who preached love and peace as opposed to violence and intolerance. It encourages many of the young faithful to vote, and is thus decisive in turning the election in Stein''s favour. * AIDS is a thing of the past. * The United States Supreme Court has affirmed the civil rights of homosexuals, including marriage. The novel opens with the revelation that the United States has just elected into power Abe Stein, its first openly gay (and Jewish) president. Alongside running mate Alice Martinez, Stein won a tight race by the mere margin of 1,000 Kansas votes, signalling a watershed for progressive politics, which take the limelight for the first time in decades. Although the lives of American homosexuals are drastically improved even before Stein''s election, and the country is in the main far more liberal, it remains divided along acute political lines: as Hoffman notes, "the pendulum has merely swung slightly to the left, thanks to voters fed up with economic inequality, ongoing health crises and a politically motivated ''War to End All Wars'' against ''extremists everywhere.''" The novel''s focus, however, is on the personal impact of the election on a teenager named Duncan, who is also Jewish and openly gay. Although too young to vote, he is a strong supporter of Stein; thus, when the conservative governor demands a recount, and Stein''s followers are prevailed upon to gather in support, he finds himself in a dilemma between his parents, who want him to stay home, and his politically passionate boyfriend, who demands that he stand up for what he believes in.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

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Castaway

No Author Listed

The Drawing of the Dark

By Tim Powers

Restoree

By Anne McCaffrey

The Beauty Myth

By Naomi Wolf

Warcraft: Day of the Dragon

By Richard A. Knaak

Light House: A Trifle

By William Monahan

The Digging Leviathan

By James Blaylock

Flashfire

By Dan Cragg

Are You My Mother?

By Philip D. Eastman

After Dachau

By Daniel Quinn

Salammbô

By Gustave Flaubert

Wide Awake

By David Levithan