In a small town in Greece, a group of people witness a boating accident and subsequently become tangled in each other''s lives. Thomas is a Californian university professor escaping from the tense relationship between him and his remarried ex-wife, and their son, who he adores. Elsa, the beautiful German blonde, resigned from her successful television job to escape her ex-boyfriend, who she still loves. Irish Fiona couldn''t stand her family and friends'' resentful attitudes towards her boyfriend, Shane, so they went to peaceful Greece. David, a kind English man, doesn''t want to take over his father''s business like his family wants and expects, and instead decides to travel. These strangers meet in a tavern in peaceful Aghia Anna underneath the stars, and soon they are the closest of friends. Vonni, a native who too escaped her family many years ago, becomes involved in all their lives and together they form bonds and discover things about each other and themselves that they never could have anticipated. *2004, Ireland/UK/Australia, Orion ISBN 0-7528-5166-7, Pub date 25 August 2004, Hardback *2004, USA, Dutton ISBN 0-525-94754-X, Pub date 21 September 2004, Hardback *2005, USA, Dutton ISBN 0-451-21446-3, Pub date 28 June 2005, Paperback *2005, Ireland/UK/Australia, Orion ISBN 978-0-7528-6536-2, Pub date 29 June 2005, Paperback

Nights of Rain and Stars

The wife of the ambassador of the fictional Middle Eastern nation of Wasabia gets drunk, steals her husband''s car and drives out of the compound. When pulled over by police, she desperately phones her friend Florence Farfaletti, the "Deputy to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs," begging for asylum to avoid a harsh punishment. Florence is unable to arrange asylum. The wife is taken back to Wasabia and beheaded for her crime. In anger over her friend''s loss, Florence drafts a proposal to introduce a women''s television network in the relatively liberal Matar. The state department rejects the proposal, and reassigns Florence to an obscure posting outside the country. To Florence''s surprise, a mysterious government employee, identified only as "Uncle Sam," representing an unknown agency, notifies Florence that her proposal has been accepted and agrees to fund the mission. Florence arrives in Matar and creates a women''s television network that is broadcast into neighboring Wasabia. The network airs shows like "One Thousand and One Mornings," which feature empowered female characters who nettle their oppressors and make fun of men. The programming is effective, eventually causing the women of Matar to stage an uprising. Florence is thrown in jail, but ultimately is rescued and returns to the United States. Back in the United States, Florence discovers that her operation was not funded by the U.S. government at all, but rather by the Waldorf Group, a private equity firm which wanted to prevent extremism in Wasabia to help secure the flow of profits. Florence is exasperated to have been working for bankers all along, but glad that her work improved the status of women''s rights in Wasabia. An ex-president, who is on the board of the Waldorf Group, tells her, "One way or the other, Florence, we''re all working for investment bankers."

Florence of Arabia

The book begins during the construction of Redwall Abbey, when a roving hedgehog named Trimp visits the abbey and sings a song to help the workers lifting a beam. Martin the Warrior recognizes his father, Luke the Warrior, mentioned in the lyrics and asks Trimp more about him. He decides to go on a quest to learn more about his father. Martin, Gonff the Mousethief, Dinny, and Trimp befriend an orphaned woodlander squirrel named Chugger, the bird Krar Woodwatcher, as well as two brother otters, Folgrim (who is very close to becoming feral, having filed his teeth to points, and even eating vermin after he kills them) and his older brother Tungro. When they reach the northlands, Martin meets his father''s friends: the old mouse, Vurg and Beauclair Fethringsol Cosfortingham, an exuberant old hare, who show him a book titled In the Wake of the Red Ship, an account of Luke''s life. The plot then flashes back to Martin''s birth to Luke and Sayna. Luke was the leader of a tribe of mice who lived an idyllic life for many seasons until Vilu Daskar, the murderous captain of the pirate ship Goreleech, attacked the settlement and killed Sayna, as well as many others with his Sea Rogues. Luke vowed revenge upon Daskar and soon had an opportunity when Reynard Chopsnout, master of the Greenhawk, sailed in, hoping to fix his broken vessel: Luke and his tribe slew Chopsnout and his crew and captured the ship. Together with Vurg, Beau, and others, they sailed off. Martin, now older, wished to accompany his father, but Luke declined, giving Martin his sword, and the chance to name the ship, which he dubbed Sayna. The account of Lukes'' life contains the scene where Luke gives his sword to his son. The same scene occurs in the beginning of Martin the Warrior, when Martin receives a flashback of his childhood, as he was captured and put out for the seagulls by Badrang the Tyrant. Therefore, the events in the Second Book occurred around the same time as Martin The Warrior. At one point, Beau was believed to be dead, but survived. Luke, however, was captured and forced into slavery by Daskar when the Sayna was destroyed. He befriended a black squirrel, Ranguvar Foeseeker, who also wanted her revenge. Luke is quite a bit like his son. For instance, he threatened to strangle the slavedriver, whereas Martin tried to choke a Marshank hordebeast with the creature''s own whip. Luke was able to convince Daskar of a hidden treasure that only the mouse could steer to. Vurg and Beau sneaked aboard to free the slaves as Ranguvar and Luke killed foebeasts. Initially planning to run the ship aground where his tribe could join the fight to take the ship, upon realising his tribe had abandoned the area, Luke ordered the slaves to take the ship,trapped Daskar at one end of the ship, then smashed it against two rocks, breaking it. The ship''s stern sinks instantly and Luke, Ranguvar, Daskar, and much of the vermin crew upon it were drowned. The bow becomes stuck between the two rocks and the surviving vermin are massacred by the liberated slaves. Beau and Vurg presented Martin with a tapestry of his ancestor, which would eventually be expanded into one of the mouse himself. They returned to Redwall, and Martin allegedly chose to put down his sword and live a life of peace.

The Legend of Luke

The handwritten will of a deceased world-traveller is strange and mysterious. Its instructions are to deliver "the valuable object to the rightful owner, a descendant of an Aztec warrior." What is the valuable object and where is it? What is the name of the owner and where is he? Frank and Joe Hardy have only one clue to work with: the name of a complete stranger who can help find the answers, Roberto Hermosa. Despite the harassments, the threats, and the attacks made upon them by an unknown, sinister gang, Frank and Joe unravel clue after clue in their adventure-packed search for the living descendant of the mighty Aztec nation which once ruled Mexico. The hunt leads to a marketplace in Mexico City, to the Pyramids at Teotihuacan, to the tombs of Oaxaca-where Chet Morton, the Hardy''s buddy, is nearly buried alive by foul play. It takes as much high courage as clever deduction for the young detectives to defeat their ruthless foes and to decipher the fascinating secrets of the strange and mysterious will.

The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior

The legendary King Vikram, identified as Vikramāditya (c. 1st century BC), promises a vamachari (a tantric sorcerer) that he will capture a vetala (or Baital), a celestial spirit who hangs from a tree and inhabits and animates dead bodies. King Vikram faces many difficulties in bringing the vetala to the tantric. Each time Vikram tries to capture the vetala, it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If Vikram cannot answer the question correctly, the vampire consents to remain in captivity. If the king answers the question correctly, the vampire would escape and return to his tree. In some variations, the king is required to speak if he knows the answer, else his head will burst. In other versions, the king is unable to hold his tongue if he knows the answer, due to his ego. Regardless of the reason, he knows the answer to every question; therefore the cycle of catching and releasing the vampire continues twenty-four times. On the twenty-fifth attempt, the vetala tells the story of a father and a son in the after-math of a devastating war. They find the queen and the princess alive in the chaos, and decide to take them home. In due time, the son marries the queen and the father marries the princess. Eventually, the son and the queen have a son, and the father and the princess have a daughter. The vetala asks what the relation between the two newborn children is. The question stumps Vikram. Satisfied, the vetala allows himself to be taken to the tantric. The vetala reveals the tantric''s plan to sacrifice Vikram, beheading him as he bowed in front of the goddess. The tantric could then gain control over the vetala. The vetala suggests that the king asks the tantric how to perform his obeisance, then take advantage of that moment to behead the sorcerer himself. Vikramāditya does exactly as told by vetala and he is blessed by Lord Indra. The vetala offers the king a boon, whereupon Vikram requests that the tantric''s life be restored and that the vetala would come to the king''s aid when needed. A variation of this story replaces the vetal with a minor celestial who, in exchange for his own life, reveals the plot by two tradesmen (replacing the sorcerer) to assassinate Vikram and advises Vikram to trick them into positions of vulnerability as described above. Having killed them, Vikram is offered a reward by the goddess, who grants him two spirits loyal to Her as his servants.

Baital Pachisi

Joe Winder is a journalism dropout employed to compose press releases for the Amazing Kingdom, a Florida based theme park that aspires to achieve the greatness of Disney World. The park is owned by a former “wise guy” whose court testimony forced him to seek refuge in the Federal Witness Protection Program. A new identity and a change of venue, however, did nothing to alter the morals of Francis X. Kingsbury. He thinks nothing of faking wildlife exhibits, destroying the fragile environment of the Florida Keys, or using lethal means to protect his nefarious schemes from public exposure. When an equally amoral environmentalist resolves to thwart Kingsbury’s designs. Winder comes out of retirement as an investigative reporter to attempt to rescue the last of a near-extict species. He finds himself in alliance with an ex-governor seeking absolution in the life of a hermit, law enforcement officials with a peculiar sense of justice, two of the most bumbling burglars ever to circumvent an alarm system, and an incredibly bloodthirsty senior citizen. This motley group, with the assistance of a contract killer sent by the mob to eliminate Kingsbury, put paid to those who would damage the environment and subvert the democratic process.

Native Tongue

Bern Thorkellson, a young Erling man living on Rabady Island has stolen a horse belonging to the island''s governor, who has died. Attempting to find a way to flee the island, Bern seeks the assistance of the local Volur seer, who offers to make him invisible if he has sex with her. The seer''s trickery is revealed by a young acolyte who assists Bern to escape from Rabady. Elsewhere, in Cyngael, a Jaddite priest named Ceinon discovers Alun ap Owyn and his older brother Dai, two Princes of Cadyr, about to carry out a cattle raid at Brynnfell, the house of Brynn ap Hywll, a renowned fighter and leader of another Cyngael province. The princes are persuaded by Ceinon to forget the raid and to accompany him to Brynn''s house, where Dai ap Owyn becomes strongly attracted to Brynn''s daughter Rhiannon who in turn is enamoured of Alun. In an attack by Erling raiders, Dai is killed and his soul is taken by a fairy to the fairy queen, and even wtinessed by Alun who begins a relationship with one of the faeries. Among the Erlings who participated in the attack is Bern''s father, Thorkell Einarsson, who alone is spared among the Erling captives, and becomes a retainer in Brynn''s household. Bern Thorkellson himself travels to Jormsvik, a fortress for elite Erling mercenaries with some parallels to the Viking Jomsvikings of Jomsborg, with the intent of seeking admittance to the ranks of the mercenaries, which is traditionally done by way of defeating another Erling from the fortress in single combat. On his arrival at Jormsvik Bern narrowly escapes being killed even before he can issue his challenge, but is hidden by a prostitute, Thira, who lives in the settlement outside the walls of the fortress. Defeating a Jormsvik captain, Bern is accepted as a member of the mercenaries and joins a raiding part heading from Vinmark to Anglcyn under the patronage of Ivarr Ragnarsson. Ivarr''s famed grandfather was killed by Brynn ap Hywll and is hoping to avenge his grandfather''s death and he persuades the Jormsvik Erlings to participate in the venture by falsely assuring them that Anglcyn''s defences remain vulnerable. Anglcyn is ruled by Aeldred, who in his youth saved the kingdom from Erling conquest. Equally interested in the broader aspects of nation-building, Aeldred has begun to collect manuscripts and foster scholarship. One of the scholars he wishes to attract to his court is Ceinon, who is unwilling to give up his role as leader of the Jaddite faith among the Cyngael. Although he is a great hero to his people and endeavours to be a good Jaddite, Aeldred suffers from periodic debilitating fevers and spiritual confusion as he had encounters with the half-world of faeries in his youth, and cannot reconcile his knowledge of the faerie-world with the tenets of his acknowledged religion. Aeldred and his wife have four children: Aldred''s heir, Aethelbert; two daughters Judit and Kendra; and a younger son, Gareth. The Erlings attack Anglcyn, killing one of Aeldred''s lifelong friends, but are defeated by Aeldred''s fyrd, or army. Bern and Thorkell have a brief reunion, but Bern rejoins the Erlings who set sail for the land of the Cyngael, to attack Brynfell, kill Brynn ap Hwyll and regain the sword of Ivarr Ragnarsson''s grandfather, although Ivarr himself is killed. Alun determines to warn Brynn and his family, deciding to seek a way through the enormous spirit wood that separates the Anglcyn settlements from the lands of the Cyngael in the west. The forest is a place of great dread for Cyngael, Anglcyn and Erling alike. On this journey Alun is joined by Thorkell, and then by Aethelbert. The ancient god creature that dwells in the forest suffers the three men to pass through after Thorkell pledges that they will kill nothing on their journey. In the wood Alun meets the faerie he first met the night of his brother Dai''s death and persuades her to travel to Brynfell to warn Brynn of the approaching Erlings. It is decided to determine the conflict between the Erlings and the Cyngael by a contest of single combat. Thorkell who offers himself as the champion of the Cyngael, is slain; but while Brynn suspects Thorkell of having sacrificed himself he honours the wager and allows the Erlings to depart. After the combat Alun uses the sword of Ivarr''s grandfather to kill the souls of mortals that had been taken as the faerie-queen''s lovers and later discarded, including the soul of his own brother Dai. With the discovery of the psychic link between himself and Kendra, Alun''s own relationship with the faerie is ended.

The Last Light of the Sun

The year is 1985 and the location is somewhere in the vast, teeming jungles of the Amazon. Medical scientist Brian Raft and his two colleagues Dan Craddock and Bill Merriday are working at a small, newly-built health center, researching tropical diseases. They are the only white men in the vicinity and are the last outpost of civilization. Somewhere deeper in the jungle drums have been beating for days and Craddock seems convinced that they are not beating a message, rather that they have some other, more sinister purpose. Craddock, despite his medical training, is a superstitious man "with his Welsh ghosts and his shadow-people of the lost centuries", so Raft does not take much notice of him. But soon out of the unknown comes a canoe propelled by two men with paddles. They have been working themselves to the point of almost complete exhaustion. One of these newcomers, Thomas Da Fonseca, proves to be a pilot on a mapping expedition whose plane has crashed near the second man''s property. This second man, Paulo da Costa Pereira, is of indeterminate origin; he speaks Portuguese, but in a faulty manner, and carries himself in a kind of confident, haughty, evasive way that annoys Raft. Da Fonseca is sick, with a temperature far below normal, and appears to have some tropical disease. Pereira, on the other hand, seems to recover remarkably quickly. Nevertheless, Raft insists, against Pereira''s will, on taking a blood sample to be certain of his health. Pereira''s blood seems to be strangely mutated. If anything, it works in a superior way to normal blood. Raft overhears Pereira talking to Craddock, then suddenly these two disappear. They are seen by Merriday departing in the Center''s motorboat. Craddock seems to be under the hypnotic spell of Pereira. The next morning Raft, with five natives, sets out up the river in pursuit. Raft''s journey will ultimately take him to the Valley of the Flame.

Valley of the Flame

The EU is a response to and function of Europe’s unique historical experience. The past decade has shown that there is policy space for greater EU engagement in European security, although the EU has not been able to play all roles with the same degree of accomplishment. There are particular concerns over its security and defence dimension where attempts at pooling resources and forming a political consensus have failed to generate the results expected. These trends, combined with shifts in global power patterns, have been accompanied by a shift in EU strategic thinking whereby great-power ambitions have been scaled down and replaced by a tendency towards hedging vis-à-vis the leading powers. On an operational level the track record shows that the EU’s effectiveness is hampered by a ‘consensus– expectations gap’, owing primarily to the lack of an effective decision-making mechanism. The sum of these developments is that the EU will not be a great power, and is taking the place of one of the small powers in the emerging multipolar international order.(summarized on page 11).

The European Union as a Small Power: After the Post-Cold War

Betty, an attractive California girl, takes a coming-of-age sojourn, embarking from San Francisco on an Italian freighter bound for ports in El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela, Spain and Italy. There are about a half dozen other passengers, including, to her dismay, Tom, an old boyfriend who infuriates her by introducing himself as her "fiancé", a notion of which she immediately disabuses both him and her fellow passengers. Betty develops an attraction for and engages in a mild flirtation with Mik Finsch, an older, mysterious man-of-the-world, but when she accepts an offer of drinks in his cabin, his amorous advances get way out of line and Betty find herself hard put to fend him off. Tom bursts into Finsch''s cabin and the two start fighting; by the time the captain breaks them up, Tom has thrashed Finsch, who claims he was "just warming up". Betty tells Tom she could have handled the situation herself and she still has no interest in marrying him and wished he had not come. Another passenger tells Betty that Finsch''s pride has been wounded and he will get revenge on Tom somehow. That night, Tom goes missing and a typewritten suicide note is found. There are suspicions, but no proof. When another "suicide" involving Finsch and the beautiful wife of a shipping agent leaves no doubt in Betty''s mind that Finsch is a murderer, the two are pitted against one another, with Finsch seemingly holding all the cards.

The Dark Ocean

Blocher begins by outlining the doctrine of Original Sin in its four parts. Universal sinfulness, the shared culpability of all humanity. Natural sinfulness, the innate or natural tendency to sin in people. Inherited sinfulness, the transmission of the Adam''s original sin. Adamic sinfulness the idea that sin had its origin in the Garden of Eden with an act of rebellion by Adam, also known as "The Fall". Blocher then analyses the status of "The Fall" in the context of Genesis, modern science and a wider theological context. Blocher favours the ''framework'' interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis, which means he understands "The Fall" as a complex type of ''myth'' containg historical elements such as Adam, Eve, the Garden itself and an actual act of original rebellion. The core of the book is centred around Blocher''s discussion of Romans 5. In this chapter Blocher compares two common theological views of understanding the "The Fall" with some of his own ideas about the topic. Blocher concludes the book with two chapters about the significance of "The Fall" for humanity and the solution provided by the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle

Stanislaus Oates is being followed by a stranger, and runs into his friend Campion in the bizarrest of places. Campion is waiting for a client, Joyce Blount, the fiancee of his solicitor friend Marcus Featherstone, and when she arrives she clearly recognises Oates'' stalker, but denies having seen him before. After Campion hears Joyce''s story, of the disappearance of her Uncle Andrew on the way home from church, news reaches them that Andrew''s murdered body has been found in a stream. They head to Cambridge, where Campion meets Marcus and hears more about the family of Andrew, his imperious Great-Aunt Caroline and the clutch of feckless relatives who live off her, including Uncle William, who was with Andrew when he went missing, and about the body, found tied up and shot in the head. He meets William, and learns that Oates'' mysterious stalker was Cousin George, who visits rarely and has some power over Great-Aunt Caroline. Next morning, more bad news hits the family; Aunt Julia is found dead in her bed, poisoned by a surruptitious morning cup of tea. Campion heads to the house and meets the famous Caroline Faraday, who hires him to help them resolve matters. Oates analyses the teacup and finds traces of conium poison, while Campion finds a stash of weight-loss pills in Julia''s room. Uncle William approaches Marcus, telling him he has been suffering from blackouts, and Campion also finds the old man''s service revolver is missing, along with some cord from the same (unused) room. Later, Campion finds William in the corridor, his hand badly cut; he almost faints, and Campion suspects mild poisoning. He and Oates inspect the scene where Andrew''s body was found, but find nothing but an old hat, presumably swapped for Andrew''s missing bowler. Back at the house, there has been another scare; a mysterious symbol like a stylised letter B has been drawn in chalk on one of the library windows. Campion and Oates suspect it is a sign used by tramps to communicate amongst themselves. Great-Aunt Caroline reveals that Andrew had been writing to old girlfriends, and Campion has an idea which could solve the case. He finds Uncle William has an alibi, having been seen in a pub at the time of the murder, in the midst of an amnesia attack, and the inquest into Andrew''s death returns a verdict of murder. Cousin George arrives at the house, and denounces his family, claiming to know who killed Andrew and insisting he be allowed to stay in the house, threatening to bring scandal on the family. He gets drunk and is locked in Andrew''s room by Campion and Marcus. In the night, Campion spots a man in the gardens, and tackles him; he is a large-footed tramp named Beveridge. In the morning, Campion is missing, and George is found dead in his bed, with a strong smell of cyanide in the room. When Campion and Oates arrive, Campion explains all - Andrew, watched secretly by George and his friend Beveridge, bound and then shot himself, arranging for the gun to fall from the bridge. George hid the gun in a tree and Beveridge took Andrew''s hat. Andrew had previously placed several booby-traps around the house, including the poisoned pill which killed Julia, a hidden blade which cut William, and a cyanide-stuffed pipe which killed George. Campion leaves the house with everyone''s gratitude, and some interesting gifts. The device Uncle Andrew used is similar to one in a Sherlock Holmes story The Problem of Thor Bridge.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Nights of Rain and Stars

By Maeve Binchy

Florence of Arabia

By Christopher Buckley

The Legend of Luke

By Brian Jacques

The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior

By Franklin W. Dixon

Baital Pachisi

No Author Listed

Native Tongue

By Carl Hiaasen

The Last Light of the Sun

By Guy Gavriel Kay

Valley of the Flame

No Author Listed

The European Union as a Small Power: After the Post-Cold War

No Author Listed

The Dark Ocean

By Jack Vance

Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle

No Author Listed

Police at the Funeral

By Margery Allingham