Collecting uniquely uncanny tales from the master of American horror, H.P. Lovecraft`s The Call of Cthulhu & Other Weird Stories is edited with an introduction & notes by S.T. Joshi in Penguin Modern Classics. Credited with inventing the modern horror tradition, H.P. Lovecraft remade the genre in the early twentieth century. Discarding ghosts & witches, & instead envisaging mankind at the mercy of a chaotic & malevolent universe, Lovecraft`s unique works would prove to be a huge influence on modern horror writers such as Stephen King. This selection of short stories ranges from early tales of nightmares & insanity such as ` The Outsider` & ` The Rats in the Walls` through the grotesquely comic ` Herbert West
- Reanimator` & ` The Hound`, to the extraterrestrial terror of ` The Call of Cthulhu`, which fuses traditional supernaturalism with science fiction. Including the definitive corrected texts, this collection reveals the development of Lovecraft`s mesmerising narrative style & establishes him as a hugely influential
- & visionary
- American writer. Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937), born in Providence, Rhode Island was self-educated & lived in his birthplace all his life, working as a freelance writer, journalist, & ghostwriter. Using many pen names, he contributed his supernatural/horror & science fiction/fantasy stories to various pulp magazines but his reputation as a writer rests mainly on the 60 or so stories he published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales starting in 1923. If you enjoyed The Call of Cthulhu, you might also like Arthur Machen`s The White People & Other Weird Stories, available in Penguin Classics. ` The twentieth century horror story`s dark & baroque prince` Stephen King


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An adventure across a thousand miles of Scotland`s mountains. In this personal guide to the triumphs, hardships & perils of scaling the Munros, Landsberg brings the joys & pitfalls of hill-climbing to life. Landsberg`s adventures are presented in vivid detail, with insights ranging from encompassing the wonder of unique experiences like seeing the birth of a deer to the mundane delight of the flavour of sandwich he had on a given day. Throughout his account, Landsberg provides an in-depth insight into his growing obsession with climbing the Munroes & its effect on his physical, emotional & spiritual development. With insights on the history, culture, ecology & geology of Scotland`s mountains & guides to Gaelic place names, mountain safety & an analysis the science of walking, this book provides a complete guide for anyone looking for adventure in the Highlands, & is sure to inspire anyone who reads it to go climb a rock! ...

Eddy Merckx. Fausto Coppi. Jacques Anquetil. Bernard Hinault. Beryl Burton. Marianne Vos. A sole cyclist battling over a pass high in the mountains is one of the most romantic of sporting images. In the past 150 years road cycling has been dominated by a series of iconic people who have redefined endurance & fortitude. Every decade has pushed human limits, until limits were extended by inhuman pharmacology. & these battles have not been fought over just one race, but an annual series beginning with the Spring Classics & then culminating in the three great tours
- the Giro d` Italia, Vuelta d` Espagne & the Tour de France
- before the cyclists retire to lick their wounds & start on another winter of training. The Call of the Road is the definitive story of cycle road racing, from the first race in 1868 to the present day. It is a story that has never been told as the professionals experience it
- as a whole energy-sapping year. It looks at the beginning & development of the sport, it explains the tactics & looks at the different physical types that succeed. It explains why some nations have dominated this sport & why, until recently, British riders have underperformed. It also looks at the way the great races were founded & developed, & how the great riders stamped their authority on them through the ages. Sidwells doesn`t shy away from controversy: dissecting the vexed & seemingly ever-present question of doping. The final chapter brings the story of road racing completely up to date with insight into jiffy bags & salbutamol levels. Truly international in scope, looking at road racing in North & Latin America, Australia, Africa & Asia, as well as continental Europe, The Call of the Road is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the history, tactics or personalities of cycle road racing.


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One mild summer evening Lily & her husband are enjoying a meal while their baby daughter sleeps peacefully in her pram beneath a maple tree. But when Lily steps outside she is paralysed with terror. The child is bathed in blood. Inspector Sejer is called to the hospital to meet the family. Mercifully, the baby is unharmed, but her parents are deeply shaken, & Sejer spends the evening trying to comprehend why anyone would carry out such a sinister prank. Then, just before midnight, somebody rings his doorbell. The corridor is empty, but the caller has left a small grey envelope on the mat. From his living room window, the inspector watches a figure slip across the car park & disappear into the darkness. Inside the envelope Sejer finds a postcard bearing a short message. Hell begins now. ...

Even as a young man, Hamid Farsi is acclaimed as a master of the art of calligraphy. But as time goes by, he sees that weaknesses in the Arabic language & its script limit its uses in the modern world. In a secret society, he works out schemes for radical reform, never guessing what risks he is running. His beautiful wife, Noura, is ignorant of the great plans on her husband`s mind. She knows only his cold, avaricious side & so it is no wonder she feels flattered by the attentions of his amusing, lively young apprentice. & so begins a passionate love story of a Muslim woman & a Christian man. ...

THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING. PLAY NOW. OR WE ALL LOSE. After centuries waiting in secret, twelve unbroken bloodlines, armed with hidden knowledge & lethal training, are called to take humanity`s fate into their hands... The first book in a game-changing new series by bestselling author, James Frey. Bryan High School, Omaha, Nebraska: Sarah stands at her graduation ceremony
- perfect SATs, a star athlete, her life ahead of her. Then a meteor wipes out half her school. But Sarah is not hurt & not surprised. Because she is the Player of the 233rd line
- the Cahokian. & she knows what this means. Endgame is here. Juliaca, Puno, Peru: Jago walks the streets after the meteor hits. There`s looting & violence but he`s not scared. He is the Player of the 21st line
- the Olmec. & he`s ready. Endgame is here. China, Australia, Turkey... Twelve meteors fall. Cities & people burn. The news is full of the end of the world. But Sarah, Jago & ten others are already plotting & planning for the fight. They are the Players & Endgame is here. All but one of them will fail. But that one will save the world. We hope... Written into this book is a puzzle. Solve the puzzle, & you will find the key to open a case of gold. Read the Books. Find the Clues. Solve the Puzzle. Who will Win? Google Niantic is building a mobile location-based augmented reality videogame inextricably tied to the books & mythology, a major prize will be tied to a puzzle in each book, & Twentieth Century Fox has bought the movie rights.


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With heart-pounding descriptions of avalanches & treacherous ascents, Barry Blanchard chronicles his transformation from a poor Native American/white kid from the wrong side of the tracks to one of the most respected alpinists in the world. At thirteen, he learned to rappel when he joined the 1292 Lord Strathcone`s Horse Army Cadets. Soon kicked out for insubordination, he was already hooked on climbing & saw alpinism as a way to make his single mother proud & end his family`s cycle of poverty. He describes early climbs attempted with nothing to guide him but written trail descriptions & the cajones of youth. He slowly acquires the skills, equipment & partners necessary to tackle more & more difficult climbs, farther & farther afield: throughout the Canadian Rockies, into Alaska & the French Alps & on to Everest, Peru, & the challenging mountains in Pakistan. From each he learns lessons that only nature & extreme endeavor can teach. This is the story of the culture of climbing in the days of punk rock, spurred on by the rhythm of adrenaline & the arrogance of youth. It is also a portrait of the power of the mountains to lift us -- physically, emotionally, intellectually, ...

One of Europes last remaining wildernesses, the Camargue forms a unique landscape of salt-marsh, lagoons, cultivated farmland & seashore. Where the turbulent River Rhne meets the Mediterranean in southern France lies this huge delta, home to a rich array of wildlifeflamingos, a host of other migrating birds & marshland floraas well as a complex mix of agricultural & tourist interests. The whole region is now under increasing threat from commercial & ecological pressures. Edwin Mullins, whose acquaintance with the Camargue dates back many years, evokes the areas natural beauty & also its appeal to artists & writers. From Dumas pre to the great champion of Provenal culture, Frdric Mistral, & Vincent van Gogh, he considers the aesthetic inspiration offered by a romantic emptiness that was once despised as a mosquito-infested swamp. ...