Some people say optimism is for fools. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong, but in the case of Kristos the centaur, you could say his father was a fool, thinking that after almost a hundred years there was a chance at peace between them and their neighbours in Jeremiah's Watch. Which is why Kristos finds himself, along with Aella, his niece, out for revenge on the man who killed their family.But revenge comes with a price, doesn't it? Kristos thinks it's a price he can pay, bu...

It's been 500 years since the world came crashing to a halt, and in a tiny, quiet village hidden away in the depths of a ravine, a young girl named Snow's life changes forever when her brother suffers a devastating accident.One day her parents announce that the family are leaving home, and it is on this journey that Snow learns that the two people she trusted most with her well-being have decided to use her as the currency in a very sinister transaction...And so she must le...

The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the "wicked and sentimental" Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age an...

In its first appearance in 1892, Israel Zangwill's Children of the Ghetto created a sensation in both England and America, becoming the first Anglo-Jewish bestseller and establishing Zangwill as the literary voice of Anglo-Jewry. A novel set in late nineteenth-century London, Children of the Ghetto gave an inside look into an immigrant community that was almost as mysterious to the more established middle-class Jews of Britain as to the non-Jewish population, providing a compelling analysi...

A highly influential figure in the Church of England, John Henry Newman stunned the Anglican community in 1843, when he left his position as vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford, to join the Roman Catholic church. Perhaps no one took greater offense than Protestant clergyman Charles Kingsley, whose scathing attacks against Newman's faith and honor inspired this brilliant response. Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Newman's spiritual autobiography, explores the depths and nature of Christianity with flowing pr...

Among Shakespeare's plays, "Hamlet" is considered by many his masterpiece. Among actors, the role of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is considered the jewel in the crown of a triumphant theatrical career. Now Kenneth Branagh plays the leading role and co-directs a brillant ensemble performance. Three generations of legendary leading actors, many of whom first assembled for the Oscar-winning film "Henry V", gather here to perform the rarely heard complete version of the play. This clear, subtly ...

"The Children's Bible is a remarkable work that brings biblical stories to young readers. Let's explore it further: Title and Authors: The full title of this collection is "The Children's Bible: Selections from the Old and New Testaments." It was compiled by Charles Foster Kent and Henry A. Sherman . Content and Purpose: "The Children's Bible" provides a simplified translation of key stories from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. These selections were carefully chosen over a pe...

In a fit of drunken anger, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair. Over the course of the following years, he manages to establish himself as a respected and prosperous pillar of the community of Casterbridge, but behind his success there always lurk the shameful secret of his past and a personality prone to self-destructive pride and temper. Subtitled 'A Story of a Man of Character', Hardy's powerful and sympathetic study of the heroic but dee...

"First published in 1844, The Three Musketeers is the most famous of Alexandre Dumas' historical novels and one of the most popular adventure novels ever written. Dumas' swashbuckling epic chronicles the adventures of d'Artagnan, a brash young man from the countryside who journeys to Paris in 1625 hoping to become a musketeer and guard to King Louis XIII. Before long, he finds treachery and court intrigue,and also three boon companions, the daring swordsmen Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Toge...

"This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square , a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women-thin, straight lines-are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social sta...

"The Invisible Man" is a science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells and originally serialized in Pearson's Weekly in 1897. It was later published as a novel the same year. The central character, Griffin, is a scientist who becomes invisible after inventing a way to change a body's refractive index to that of air. He carries out this procedure on himself, rendering himself invisible. However, he fails in his attempt to reverse it. Griffin, a practitioner of random and irresponsible violen...

First published in 1525, Martin Luther's "Bondage of the Will" is acknowledged by theologians as one of the great masterpieces of the Reformation. It is Luther's response to Desiderius Erasmus's "Diatribe on Free Will, " written in his direct and unique style, combining deep spirituality with humor. Luther writes powerfully about man's depravity and God's sovereignty. The crucial issue for Luther concerned what ability free will has, and to what degree it is subject to God's sovereignty. F...