Sparhawk, the Pandion Knight and Queen's Champion, returns from a long spell of exile to find his native land overrun with evil and intrigue, and his young Queen grievously ill. Indeed, Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal, doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year.
Hell Hole is the fourth book in the mystery series featuring hardened former military PD and current Sea Haven, New Jersey, police officer John Ceepak and his partner, wise-cracking Danny Boyle.
In Hell Hole, Ceepak is confronted with his most personal case yet when he must investigate the alleged suicide of a military corporal who recently returned from Iraq. It turns out that this "locked stall" rest-stop suicide is anything but an open-and-shut case.
When the travel bug bit, J. Maarten Troost took on the world's most populous and intriguing nation. As Troost relates his gonzo adventure - dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai, eating yak in Tibet, deciphering restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as cattle penis with garlic), and visiting with Chairman Mao (still dead) - he reveals a vast, complex country on the brink of transformation that will soon shape the way we all work, live, and think.
Dan says:
"Funny but harsh with some underlying truth."
The Black Hole War: My Battle to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics
UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 45 mins)
By Leonard Susskind
Narrated By Ray Porter
Whispersync for Voice-ready
Overall
(419)
Performance
(143)
Story
(140)
What happens when something is sucked into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decades ago, a young physicist named Stephen Hawking claimed that it did - and in doing so, put at risk everything we know about the fundamental laws of the universe. Leonard Susskind and Gerard 't Hooft realized the threat and responded with a counterattack that changed the course of physics.
In the festive season of Winterfair on the planet Barrayar, Lord Miles Vorkosigan is making elaborate preparations for his wedding. The long-awaited event stirs up romance and intrigue among his eccentric family and friends, particularly for bioengineered space mercenary Sergeant Taura and shy, diffident Armsman Roic.
In the days when Scotland lay under siege - from the Vikings who sailed from the north and the Norman English who came from the south - King David sought to unite his people into one nation. For this, he needed loyal warriors. Waryk de Graham soon proved the greatest of these fighters, and was knighted Lord Lion. But his honored position came with a price: a wife chosen for him by the king - a reluctant Viking bride.
Maya says:
"Slow start and stupid, annoying heroine"
Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse
UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 36 mins)
By Peter D. Schiff
Narrated By Sean Pratt
Overall
(318)
Performance
(54)
Story
(51)
From both an economic and monetary perspective, the United States is a house of cards; impressive on the outside, but a disaster waiting to happen beneath the surface. In a relatively short period of time, the country has gone from the world's largest creditor to its greatest debtor; the value of the dollar has declined; and manufacturing has given way to non-exportable services.
Paul says:
"Wrote late 2006 and predicted 08 and 09 VERY well"
In Wealth, War, and Wisdom, legendary Wall Street investor Barton Biggs reveals how the turning points of World War II intersected with market performance. Biggs will help the 21st-century investor comprehend our own perilous times as well as choose the best strategies for the modern market economy.
Now that George Chapman has upset the fragile truce between the warring statues of London, he has been drawn into a war that will test his mettle. He and Edie, a glint who can see the past, may have succeeded in their quest to find the Stoneheart, but their journey is far from over.
Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you. But Trouble comes careening down the road one night in the form of a pickup truck that strikes Henry's older brother, Franklin. In the truck is Chay Chouan, a young Cambodian from Franklin's preparatory school. The tragedy sparks racial tensions in the school.
