In "Second Chance", we follow the journey of Ben, a young man who thought his heart belonged to his best friend, Venny. But when she chooses someone else, Ben is left to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart.As he navigates the complexities of love, loss, and friendship, Ben discovers that sometimes, the person you least expect can become the love of your life. Meet Carol, the girl who challenges Ben's perceptions and helps him realize that love can be given a seco...

This insider's account, a penetrating view of science policy and politics during two presidencies, captures the euphoria that characterized the space program in the late seventies and early eighties and furnishes an invaluable perspective on the Challenger tragedy and the future of the United States in space. President Reagan's approval of $8 billion for the construction of a permanently manned orbiting space station climaxed one of the most important political and technological debates in...

By any measure, Hans Mark was a warrior of the Cold War. Born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1929, he spent his early childhood in Vienna before escaping the Nazi Anschluss in 1938 and eventually emigrating to the United States, settling in New York. He graduated from high school in 1947, went west to attend the University of California, Berkeley, and later earned a PhD in physics from MIT. His work in nuclear engineering soon set him on a path that would be shaped by aeronautics, space explorat...

This is the story of Keshika, a girl of humble origins in the kingdom of Rosewood, who rose to become queen not because of royal blood, but because of her kindness, wisdom, and courage.Chosen by a dying queen who saw greatness in her, Keshika proved that true royalty comes from character, not lineage.This tale is a reminder that every girl holds the power to lead, to inspire, and to rise above her circumstances.Because in every girl, there lives a queen...

A Short Story Little Hankey tells the story of Ten year-old Alison Hankey, a mute boy growing up in a troubled household. Witnessing his parents' fights and hidden secrets, Alison becomes a quiet, observant, and psychologically complex child. The story explores how neglect, secrecy, and family dysfunction shape his dark and cunning mind.

Christmas stories are often filled with magic, miracles, and sudden fortune.This story is not one of those.Days Before Christmas was written to honor something quieter the kind of courage that does not announce itself, the kind of love that works silently in the cold, and the kind of hope that grows coin by coin, day by day.Jason Carter is not extraordinary because he is strong or clever. He is extraordinary because he chooses to try. In a world moving too fast to n...

In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad readers who have since become Sanderson fans.This new edition begins with a preface by author Dan Wells, the first person to read the completed novel, and a new afterword by Sanderson explaining how he came to write the...

“True! - nervous - very, very nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?”A horrible shriek pierces the night air. A concerned neighbour calls the police. Once at the house, the officers find nothing out of the ordinary – until a guilty conscience reveals a dismembered body under the floorboards. What prompted the murderer to commit such a terrible act? And why do they insist on convincing the police of their sanity?A tale of mystery and madness from the ...

Roderick Usher’s fate is inextricably intertwined with that of his sister, Madeline, and that of their estate. As one falls, so do they all. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is considered Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest work, and a masterpiece of Gothic horror.A pioneer of the short story genre, Poe’s stories typically captured themes of the macabre and included elements of the mysterious. His better-known stories include “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “Th...

Acclaimed author Elizabeth Haydon returns with a heartbreaking tale of love and valor in The Hollow Queen, the eighth installment of her USA Today bestselling Symphony of Ages series that began with Rhapsody.Beset on all sides by the forces of the merchant emperor Talquist, the Cymrian Alliance finds itself in desperate straits. Rhapsody herself has joined the battle, wielding the Daystar Clarion, leaving her True Name in hiding with her infant son. Ashe ...

Finally available, a high quality book of the original classic edition of The Cask of Amontillado.This is a new and freshly published edition of this culturally important work by Edgar Allan Poe, which is now, at last, again available to you.Enjoy this classic work today. These selected paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside The Cask of Amontillado:I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now ...

Ruari is the best physician in the Empire, the most skilled wielder of the Heal spell.But when war engulfs the Empire and her husband is threatened, even physicians will have to fight...