Cobwebs from an Empty SkullAmbrose Bierce
A collection of short fables and stories written under Bierce's pseudonym, Dod Grile, and although one of his earliest published books, it still displays the wit and cynicism which colors his writing. The book is divided into three sections: Fables of Zambri, the Parsee, an assortment of over 100 fables; Brief... read more »
The Five JarsM. R. James
Here is a fascinating journey into a world none of us mere mortals can usually see: a world of weird enchantment, where all is not as it seems, where fantastic beauty is commonplace, where strange beings are hidden just out of sight everywhere, and yet disturbing danger lurks around every corner… Told in James’... read more »
The FloodÉmile Zola
Sixty-two-year-old Louis Roubieu sees his family's long-awaited prosperity as a reward rained upon him by God for years of arduous toil on the land. Yet it is the very abundance of God's rain, initially observed from the window of their imposing farmhouse, which comes to pose a dire threat to not merely their... read more »
The Red Rat's DaughterGuy Boothby
John Grantham Browne is rich, extremely rich - a millionaire many times over, but there's a mystery affort. Sit back and enjoy another great crime classic from the pen of Guy Boothby. read more »
The Fair JiltAphra Behn
The story of a charming, daring, and determined lady who contemplates even murder to attain her love. It is all in vain, however, and her love transforms later into aggressive hatred. These Orders are taken up by the best Persons of the Town, young Maids of Fortune, who live together, not inclos'd, but in Palaces... read more »
MidwinterJohn Buchan
In 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebel army is marching south into England. Alastair Maclean, one of the Prince's most loyal supporters, is sent ahead to carry out a secret mission. He is befriended by two extraordinary men-Dr. Samuel Johnson, an aspiring man of letters, and the shadowy figure known only as... read more »
Hermann and DorotheaJohann Wolfgang von Goethe
There are few modern poems of any country so perfect in their kind as the Hermann and Dorothea of Goethe. In clearness of characterization, in unity of tone, in the adjustment of background and foreground, in the conduct of the narrative, it conforms admirably to the strict canons of art; yet it preserves a... read more »
Sand and FoamKahlil Gibran
Poetry is wisdom that enchants the heart. Wisdom is poetry that sings in the mind. This book of aphorisms contains much of the poetry and wisdom that have gained for Kahlil Gibran his remarkable following, and his world-wide reputation. His power came from some great reservoir of spiritual life else it could not... read more »
Doctor PascalÉmile Zola
This final volume in Zola's twenty-book Rougon-Macquart cycle serves in many respects as an epilogue to the series—but it's also a fine tale in its own right. Doctor Pascal, approaching old age, looks back on his life and finds himself asking whether he has made the right choices . . . and the answers he finds... read more »
A Crime of the Under-seasGuy Boothby
Boothby was and still is a delightful writer. In this collection you can enjoy some of his finest tales, including; * A Crime of the Underseas * The Phantom Stockman * The Treasure of Sacramento Nick * Into the Outer Darkness * The Story of Tommy Dodd and 'The Rooster' * Quod Erat Demonstrandum * Cupid and... read more »
The RoundheadsAphra Behn
Mrs. Behn has (quite legitimately) made considerable departures from strict historical fact and the sequence of events for her dramatic purposes. Lambert and Fleetwood are scheming for the supreme power, and both intrigue with Lord Wariston, the chairman of the Committee of Safety, for his good word and... read more »
StarfishPeter Watts
A huge international corporation has developed a facility along the Juan de Fuca Ridge at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to exploit geothermal power. They send a bio-engineered crew--people who have been altered to withstand the pressure and breathe the seawater--down to live and work in this weird, fertile... read more »
Fantastic FablesAmbrose Bierce
Over 200 fantastic fables from the bitter pen of Ambrose Bierce fill this little volume to overflowing with a rich feast of his misanthropy. Bierce didn't miss a thing—greedy politicians, thieving doctors, not so pious holy men, aldermen, poets, naturalists, poodles, lions, kangaroos, judges, diplomats... read more »
MakersCory Doctorow
Perry and Lester invent things: seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent entirely new economic systems. When Kodak and Duracell are broken up for parts by sharp venture capitalists, Perry and Lester help to invent the “New Work,” a New Deal for the technological... read more »
The Magic Walking StickJohn Buchan
The Magic Walking Stick is a children's short story by John Buchan. It tells the story of a teenage boy who buys a walking stick from a beggar - a magic walking stick that allows the boy to visit many places at his command... read more »
BurnJames Patrick Kelly
Colonization is the theme of this exciting, complex page-turner that provides a provocative and entertaining look at Thoreau's classic eco-text Walden. Eccentric billionaire Jack Winter has bought the planet Beekman's Pea, renamed it Walden, and created a utopia in which members renounce the technologies of human... read more »
NanaÉmile Zola
Prompted by his theories of heredity and environment, Zola set out out to show Nana, the golden fly, rising out of the underworld to feed on society--a predetermined product of her origins. Nana's latent destructiveness is mirrored in the Empire's, and they reflect each others' disintegration and final collapse in... read more »
A Bid for FortuneGuy Boothby
Richard Hatteras, on holiday in Sydney, rescues a lovely young woman in distress, the start of a series of events that sees him falling in love and becoming ever more entangled in the machinations of the shadowy Doctor Nikola, villain, gentleman, and occult adventurer, who will stop at nothing to steal his prize... read more »
Pharos, The EgyptianGuy Boothby
The plague is spreading across Europe -- a plague as vile and vicious as the plagues of the middle ages. It is a plague more virulent than any childhood disease: everyone will catch it; everyone who catches it will die. But this is no ordinary plague: it is the work of a sorcerer -- a man of exactly the stripe as... read more »
MacbethWilliam Shakespeare
One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Prompted by the prophecies of three mysterious witches and goaded by his ambitious wife, the Scottish thane Macbeth murders Duncan, King of Scotland, in order to succeed him on the throne. This foul... read more »
FaustJohann Wolfgang von Goethe
Based on the fable of the man who traded his soul for superhuman powers and knowledge, it became the life's work of Germany's greatest poet, Goethe. Beginning with an intriguing wager between God and Satan, it charts the life of a deeply flawed individual, his struggle against the nihilism of his diabolical... read more »
The Hollow EarthRudy Rucker
In 1836, Mason Algiers Reynolds leaves his family's Virginia farm with his father's slave, a dog, and a mule. Branded a murderer, he finds sanctuary with his hero, Edgar Allan Poe, and together they embark on an extraordinary expedition to the South Pole, and the entrance to the Hollow Earth. It is there, at the... read more »
GerminalÉmile Zola
With flawless construction and impeccable detail, Germinal chronicles the conflicts, lusts, and deprivation of life in the coal fields of nineteenth-century France. A father and three of seven children work brutal hours, facing such hazards as landslides, fire, and poisoned air, to scrape together enough money for... read more »
AccelerandoCharles Stross
His most ambitious novel to date, Accelerando is a multi-generational saga following a brilliant clan of 21st-century posthumans. The year is some time between 2010 and 2015. The recession has ended, but populations are ageing and the rate of tech change is accelerating dizzyingly. Manfred makes his living from... read more »
A Prince Of SwindlersGuy Boothby
Introducing Simon Carne, a gentleman thief predating both E. W. Hornung's A. J. Raffles and Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin. The British Viceroy first meets Carne while traveling in India. Charmed, he invites the reclusive hunchbacked scholar to London, little suspecting that his guest is actually an adventurer and... read more »
Free CultureLawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig, “the most important thinker on intellectual property in the Internet era”, masterfully argues that never before in human history has the power to control creative progress been so concentrated in the hands of the powerful few, the so-called Big Media. Never before have the cultural powers... read more »
The Sorrows of Young WertherJohann Wolfgang von Goethe
Visiting an idyllic German village, Werther, a sensitive and romantic young man, meets and falls in love with sweet-natured Lotte. Although he realizes that Lotte is to marry Albert, he is unable to subdue his passion for her, and his infatuation torments him to the point of absolute despair. The first great... read more »
Thérèse RaquinÉmile Zola
One of Zola's most famous realistic novels, Therese Raquin is a clinically observed, sinister tale of adultery and murder among the lower classes in nineteenth-century Parisian society. Set in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a dingy haberdasher's shop in the passage du Pont-Neuf in Paris, this powerful novel tells... read more »
The Witch in the WoodT. H. White
The Queen of Air and Darkness, is the second book in T. H. White's epic work; The Once and Future King. It continues the story of the newly-crowned King Arthur, his tutelage by the wise Merlyn, his war against King Lot, and also introduces the Orkney clan, a group of characters who would cause the eventual downfall... read more »
The FestivalH. P. Lovecraft
Considered to be one of the first of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos stories, this short story by was written in 1923 and first published in the popular magazine; Weird Tales. read more »