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Mutant Narratives in Ecological Science Fiction: Thinking with Embodied Estrangement (Posthumanism in Practice)
by Kaisa KortekallioUsing an innovative multidisciplinary approach which is deeply invested in posthumanist thought, this book demonstrates how reading science fiction shapes the way we engage with lived environments. In dialogue with works by widely studied science fiction authors Greg Bear, N.K. Jemisin, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Jeff VanderMeer, it draws out how they function as mutant narratives. The first to systematically integrate three fields – feminist posthumanism, cognitive narratology, and science fiction studies – it offers a complex and coherent understanding of readerly experience as material, embodied, dynamic, and imaginative. Covering a range of urgent topics, including climate fiction, New Weird fiction, and new phenomenologies of the body, this book is the first to demonstrate how readerly experience acts as a site for ethical and political reorientation in the time of climate change.
My Father's Dragon
by Ruth Stiles GannettWhen Elmer Elevator hears about the plight of an overworked and underappreciated baby flying dragon, he stows away on a ship and travels to Wild Island to rescue the dragon.<P><P> A Newbery Honor book
Nine Hundred Grandmothers (Gateway Essentials)
by R. A. LaffertyLafferty's Nine Hundred Grandmothers collects the following stories:Nine Hundred GrandmothersLand of the Great HorsesGinny Wrapped in the SunThe Six Fingers of TimeFrog on the MountainAll the PeoplePrimary Education of the CamiroiSlow Tuesday NightSnufflesThus We Frustrate CharlemagneName of the SnakeNarrow ValleyPolity and Custom of the CamiroiIn Our BlockHog-Belly HoneySeven Day TerrorThe Hole on the CornerWhat's the Name of that TownThrough Other EyesOne at a TimeGuesting Time
Ninteen Eighty-Four
by George OrwellGeorge Orwell's dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century, published with an introduction by Ben Pimlott in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past' Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal. If you enjoyed Nineteen Eighty-Four, you might like Orwell's Animal Farm, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'His final masterpiece . . . enthralling and indispensible for understanding modern history' Timothy Garton-Ash, New York Review of Books 'The book of the twentieth century . . . haunts us with an ever-darker relevance' Independent
No Joke: Todd Phillips's Joker and American Culture
by M. BookerNo Joke is a detailed examination of Todd Phillips’s Joker, one of the biggest global box-office hits of 2019. While his success was no doubt partly because of the association of its title character with the Batman superhero franchise, Joker is anything but a flashy superhero romp. It does explore the pathologies of its central character and suggest ways in which his life experiences might have driven him to become a supervillain, the arch-enemy of Batman. At the same time, the film leaves open the possibility that its “Joker” is not, in fact, the same as the one conventionally associated with Batman. In fact, the film leaves open many interpretive possibilities, in keeping with the complex work of postmodern art that it turns out to be. Joker also engages in extensive dialogues with a range of works from modern American culture, especially the films of the 1970s and 1980s, the period in which the action of Joker is set. Moreover, Joker is a highly political film that comments in important ways on American political history from roughly the beginning of the presidency of Richard Nixon through the end of the Trump presidency, with a special focus on the Reagan years. It also comments in more general and fundamental ways on the very nature of American society and American capitalism. All this, and more, is covered in M. Keith Booker’s analysis of one of the most talked-about films of recent years.
The Old Tobacco Shop
by William BowenMagic tobacco transports a little boy and his several adult friends on a quest to an island that also happens to hold a pirate's treasure hoard.
On the Beach
by Nevil ShuteA classic work of post-apocalyptic fiction, and a haunting look at the capacity of humankind for self-destruction. On the Beach is set in the wake of World War III; the world has been rendered almost completely uninhabitable due to Nuclear Fallout, with the only liveable areas, located in the southern part of the planet, on a short clock as air currents threaten to eventually spread the fallout over the entire planet. When Austrlia receives a morse code message from the Seattle area, they dispatch one of the last nuclear submarines in hopes of finding survivors. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Outworlder
by Lin CarterMorgan Outworlder was born of Centaurus-stock, but two short years on Bargelix had made him almost a native of his adopted world. Trained to be a societic engineer in the Imperium, Morgan found little need for his science on the outworlds . . . but much need for a strong arm and a sharp sword. For Bargelix was a world in struggle, battling the dark forces of magic. Morgan was marked as an exile because he had been caught up in the Tarsnian struggle for self-government - and when the Freedom Riots failed, he found himself barred forever from the worlds of the Imperium. But the way back to the inner stars lay through the struggle for his adopted world . . . and the man from the stars was hero enough to battle the darkest of magicians!
Ozma of Oz (Classics To Go #3)
by L. Frank BaumWhile traveling to a different Oz (Australia), Dorothy is lost at sea with her hen, Billina. The two end up in Ev, a country across the desert from Oz, and, with their new friend Tik-Tok, they must save the royal family from the evil Nome King.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (Land of Oz Book #7)
by L. Frank BaumThe Patchwork Girl is one of the most delightful of the stories. The most important new character is Miss Scraps Patches, the patchwork girl herself, who is only a large stuffed doll, but very much alive thanks to the magic Powder of Life, and very brainy, because her stuffing has been well dosed with a part of the contents of all the bottles on the shelf labeled "Brain Furniture" . Then there is the Woozy, a strange little animal "all squares and flat surfaces and edges", who isn't very important except for the three hairs at the end of his tail; his only talent is his fire-flashing eyes. Another unusual creation is Bungle, a glass cat, who is completely transparent and quite conceited because of her pink brains: "You can see 'em work."
Penguin Readers Level 2: Roald Dahl Fantastic Mr Fox (Penguin Readers Roald Dahl)
by Roald DahlLearn English with Fantastic Mr Fox! A Penguin Readers book. Discover fifteen famous Roald Dahl adventures, adapted for learners of English aged 7+. Can you read them all?Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. Readers include simplified text, illustrations and language learning exercises. Please note that the eBook edition does NOT include access to the audio edition and digital book.In these Penguin Readers editions, Roald Dahl's stories have been aligned to the CEFR framework A1 to A2+, in four levels. Each book is also Lexile measured. The graded readers feature illustrated new words, language activities, and fun games between chapters, encouraging students and teachers to structure learning and make real progress. Every book also includes projects and discussions.Visit the Penguin Readers website for downloadable quizzes, worksheets and answer keys. Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock a digital book and audio edition (not available with the eBook).Fantastic Mr Fox, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages.The farmers do not like Mr Fox, because Mr Fox takes food from their farms! The farmers are angry, and Mr Fox's family is not safe. But Mr Fox has a clever plan. Is Mr Fox more clever than the farmers?
Phantastes: A Faerie Romance
by Arthur Hughes George MacDonaldOne of the first great works of nineteenth-century fantasy fiction, Phantastes inspired many of the great Christian and fantasy authors of the twentieth century. A fairy tale for adults, it is the captivating story of a wealthy young man who takes an unplanned journey into a fantastic nether world. Led by an enchanting sprite (discovered inside an old desk once owned by his deceased father), he meets a diverse cast of characters, among them a fairy queen, as well as sinister figures who threaten his spiritual well-being. Outstanding for its imaginative characters, vivid action, and subtle yet powerful moral messages, this book, first published 100 years ago, earned MacDonald recognition as "The Grandfather of Modern Fantasy," and a tribute from W. H. Auden as "one of the most remarkable writers of the 19th century." Of this work, C. S. Lewis wrote, "It will baptize your imagination."Enhanced with 14 illustrations by Pre-Raphaelite artist Arthur Hughes, Phantastes offers readers an enlightening experience and a memorable literary journey.
Pirates of Darksea
by Catherine Doyle'Utterly brilliant. Sensationally swashbuckling. Completely magical' – A.F Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn ThiefFrom the award-winning author of The Storm Keeper's Island, set sail on Catherine Doyle's latest perilous adventure to the magical islands of Darksea Deep in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, where the full moon rests on the horizon, lies a secret kingdom called Darksea. Ruled by the Pirate King, Captain O'Malley, Darksea's tranquil waters have, of late, been haunted by an invisible and deadly monster – a monster that is eating the once-beautiful islands in gigantic bites. On the other side of the horizon, at his home in Galway, Max Reid and his family are battling a different monster. His big brother Christopher is in hospital and getting sicker – and his parents have begun to talk of miracles. Then one night a loud, bright red parrot taps on Max's bedroom window, carrying an invitation from the pirate king. Captain O'Malley needs a new crew member for a dangerous quest; and the reward is everything Max has been hoping for. But in Darksea, not everyone is as they seem. When Captain O'Malley's secret threatens to upend their mission and destroy Max's chance to help his family, Max realises he's going to have to navigate much more than he bargained for…
The Pnume: City Of The Chasch, Servants Of The Wankh, The Dirdir, And The Pnume (Gateway Essentials)
by Jack VanceThe Pnume were an ancient race of the planet Tschai, living underground in a vast network of caverns with their human slave-species, the Pnumekin: The Pnume were the historians of Tschai, collecting its past with ruthless and scholarly dedication. Surface-dwellers never saw the Pnume - if they were lucky. Adam Reith was not so fortunate. The Pnume had heard rumors of a strange man, claiming to have come from the planet Earth, and they wanted him for Foreverness, the museum of Tschai life. Adam Reith was about to become an alien exhibit.
Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories
by Ambrose BierceAmbrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842-1914) was an American editorialist, journalist, short-story writer and satirist, today best known for his The Devils Dictionary (1911). He wrote some of his books under the pseudonyms Dod Grile and J. Milton Sloluck. Bierces lucid, unsentimental style has kept him popular when many of his contemporaries have been consigned to oblivion. His dark, sardonic views and vehemence as a critic earned him the nickname, "Bitter Bierce. " Such was his reputation that it was said his judgment on any piece of prose or poetry could make or break a writers career. His short stories are considered among the best of the 19th century, providing a popular following based on his roots. He wrote realistically of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Killed at Resaca, and Chickamauga. His works include: The Fiends Delight (1873), Cobwebs from an Empty Skull (1874), Black Beetles in Amber (1892), Fantastic Fables (1899), Shapes of Clay (1903), A Son of the Gods, and A Horseman in the Sky (1907), Write It Right (1909) and A Cynic Looks at Life (1912).