Modern Fiction

Modern Fiction

The Mysterious Affair at Styles
By: Agatha christie
In this story the fastidious Hercule Poirot and his companion Captain Arthur Hastings meet up with Inspector Japp to undertake the first of their many investigations. It is a case of a country house matron who is found to be dying of poison in her locked bedroom. Clues and red herrings are in abundance as everyone in the house seems to be in want of her money or suspect others of craving it. Following are four audio book readings of this novel.


The Secret Adversary
By: Agatha Christie
Murder, mayhem and adventure as this mystery opens with the sinking of the Lusitania and ends... Tommy and Tuppence's first adventure and Agatha Christie's second book. An exciting and old-fashioned adventure.


Shadow of Love
By: Dick Claassen
This copyright romance delves into the modern day online dating and romance. What does happen when two people meet on-line? the results are not far from the truth.


A Child's Christmas In Wales
By: Dylan thomas
There is the story of one day in the life of a young boy growing up in wales. This is probably my favorite secular Christmas story. It is filled with fun and joy and just a bit of the mystery that a boy feels at Christmas.


Stories by Modern American Authors
By: Edited by Julian Hawthorne
Here are thirteen lucky tales of terror and mystery written by modern American authors. You will surely enjoy these little gems. But it might be wise to read only when someone else is with you.


This Side Of Paradise
By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
This Side of Paradise is beautiful, ugly, brave, cowardly, immaculate, flawed. It's paradise lost and paradise regained and paradise in purgatory. It's everything life and man should or shouldn't be, all at once. The reader can perfectly understand why someone wouldn't like this novel, wouldn't understand, wouldn't appreciate, but also understand that if all the world were Amory-ish or Amory-leaning, Amory-sympathetic, Amory-lovers, or even Amory-haters - somehow the world would just collapse and be ruined. This is also a bit of what Fitzgerald was trying to impart, so it is as it should be.


Seeds of Light
By: Ira Hughes
A remarkable story of racism and enlightenment in the American South. This story takes place in the turbulent 1960s in Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas. You won't put it down!


The Feeling of Power
By: Isaac Asimov
Meet Myron Aub, a lowly technician who discovers the lost art of Graphitics. At least that's what he calls it. In the early 21st. century we still call it arithmetic. Aub's world is controlled by computers and there is a continual war. But Aub's discovery may change all that.
This short story by Isaac Asimov foretells the Pocket PC and the fear that many have had about the possibility that with computers doing everything human?s will become so dependent upon them that they will lose the basics of math, and who knows what more.
With the court decision marking the sharp differentiation between printed books and eBooks I publish this story as a test case, as well as the fact that I believe it is a must read.
Following this story is the text of the court judgement.
Enjoy it while you can.

In the year 2000 and the beginning of 2001, Rosetta Books contracted with several authors to publish certain of their works - including The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie's Choice by William Styron; Slaughterhouse- Five, Breakfast of Champions, The Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut; and Promised Land by Robert B. Parker - in digital format over the internet. (Def. Ex. 21- 23; http:// www. rosettabooks. com/ pages/ about_ us. html.) On February 26, 2001 Rosetta Books launched its ebook business, offering those titles and others for sale in digital format. (Cantos Aff. ? 2, Ex. A; http:// www. rosettabooks. com). The next day, Random House filed this complaint accusing Rosetta Books of committing copyright infringement and tortiously interfering with the contracts Random House had with Messrs. Parker, Styron and Vonnegut by selling its ebooks. It simultaneously moved for a preliminary injunction prohibiting Rosetta from infringing plaintiff's copyrights.


Mystery Stories by Modern English Authors
By: Julian Hawthorne, Ed.
Once again we present a series of tales of suspense and mystery edited by Julian Hawthorne. These stories were written by the best, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Wilkie Collins, Rudyard Kipling, Conan Doyle and more. so sit back and enjoy this treat.


Slayer
By: Karen Koehler
They are your friends and neighbors, your teachers and your lovers. They are the beautiful ones, the ones alone, aloof. The ones living on the edges of society. The ones you suspect the least. The spawn of an unholy union between the mortal and the profane, they have taken the art of blood-drinking--and murder--to chilling new heights. And they are about to inherit the earth.
They are slayers. And they have never questioned the creed of their work, nor challenged the words of their elders, until now...until him.
Prepare to hunt the hunter.


Deliberate Lies
By: Karl H. Purnell
This is the compelling story of a young boy growing up in a small town during World War II. Determined to become a Jesuit priest, he finds that living without sin is a difficult task, particularly when young girls attempt to seduce him, he witnesses a murder and is faced with a doctor father who is having an affair. This book chronicles the summer of 1944 when the Allied invasion of Normandy took place.


One More Road To Follow
By: Kenneth Mattern
Here are two stories that I wrote years ago when I was the pastor of a church. At Christmas rather than preach I told stories about the birth of Christ. Stories that children would enjoy as well as their parents. These two are my favorites.
One More Road To Follow tells of three men who have one more job to do for God. I'll leave it for you to guess what it is.
Many of my stories and plays take place at or near the Crippled Camel Inn, the fictitious place where Jesus was born. This is a story that took place there nearly two thousand years ago.
Enjoy!


The One That Got Away
By: Magdvin Cszgarna
The One That Got Away was written in 1981 and 1982 long before Forrest Gump or The Silence of the Lambs. It was revised slightly in 1989 to reflect the collapse of the Soviet Union. What is interesting about attempts to publish it is not that it was rejected by every major publisher but the nature of the rejection letters it received. Typical of these was one by Bob Guccioni of Penthouse who wrote, 'This is really well written, but it's too weird for me. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.'
     It really does seem to violate a lot of boundaries.


The Breaking Point
By: Mary Roberts Rinehart
What happened to Jud Clark? Has he run off, is he dead? He was supposed to have died ten years ago. Well, if he is dead, then who was that at the theater with the girl in the blue dress?


The Circular Staircase.
By: Mary Roberts Rinehart
After seeing a shadowy face and hearing ominous sounds, Rachel Innes is convinced that her rented summer house in the Adirondacks is haunted. Then, the night after her niece and nephew unexpectedly arrive, Rachel discovers a dead body at the foot of the circular staircase. But it isn't until her relatives become the prime suspects that Rachel fears for her own life.


The Man in Lower Ten
By: Mary Roberts Rinehart
Lawrence Blakely, attorney-at-law, sets off by train to deliver valuable documents in a criminal case. His ride will be eventful. Along the way he'll encounter romance, treachery, a train wreck, even a murder in which he'll be implicated. Who's after Blakely and his papers -- why? The first detective novel to appear on national bestseller lists, THE MAN IN LOWER TEN is still a great read almost ninety years after its publication. It has all the thrills of a contemporary whodunit and a satiric edge that gently mocks the conventions of male detective fiction.


THE STREET OF SEVEN STARS
By: Mary Roberts Rinehart
Murder, fear and crime. Mary roberts Rinehart thrills with this early mystery. If intention is a crime then the action may follow suit.


End Game
By: Patrick Schepman
This little story came to my e-mail box one day recently. Mr. Schepman saw this site and gave you the book to read. To be honest I have not had the chance to read it, though it looks to be a very nice post-apocalyptic tale. Enjoy this story.


Light Speed
By: Paul Harrington
Light Speed!
Second Edition
This second edition of Light Speed is not a complete re-write but a number of inconstancies have been have been rectified. Also with the help of a new editor Paul Harrington has made this read so much more enjoyable while keeping the story line always in mind.
In the effort of rushing the first edition to press a number of grammatical and spelling errors were overlooked. They have all been corrected in this second edition.
If you liked Light Speed the first time around you will love this version. It makes the sequel, 'To Whom The Stars Belong' that much more anticipated!
Light Speed is a fast paced ride into the world of the future. Two rival Mega Corporations battle for control of the worlds first FTL engine technology.
When Shepherd Industries discovers a practical faster than light engine, rival Atoms Technical begins a corporate espionage mission to steel the plans.
Meanwhile Micah Shepherd's daughter Rebecca and freighter pilot John Burke try to work out a turbulent relationship as Burke himself is asked by Micah Shepherd to oversee a new project. A secret star ship called the ESS Destiny.
All of Atoms technical efforts at espionage begin to fail so Bernard Rush, CEO of Atoms Technical, kidnaps Rebecca Shepherd hoping to force Shepherd Industries to give up their new technology. Ultimately his bid fails and with his dying breath Rush takes out his frustration by trying to destroy his rival.
Burke's tests of the new star ship prove successful and he becomes instrumental in saving his love Rebecca and preventing the demise of his employer by stopping Rush's plans to destroy Shepherd's holdings.
Rebecca is injured in the end by fire and must recover in the sickbay of the Destiny. During this time she realizes her future should be with the worlds first star ship captain John Burke.
Coming Soon Book 2 -'To Whom the Stars Belong'


Maid in Boston
By: Paula Corbett
A romantic story of a farm girl who moves to the big city of Boston to work for a high tech company. She enters an entirely new world of romance, excitement, and big city ways.


The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu
By: Sax Rohmer
The Master of Death - death in every form, brutal, mysterious - death of the body and death of the mind and soul. That was Fu-Manchu, the greatest criminal genius the world has ever known. Subtly, his world-wide organization had grown and spread, its tentacles reaching into the very governments and police forces of the West. Only one man knew the full danger of Fu-Manchu's plan - Denis Nayland Smith. On him alone depended the fate of western civilization - and Fu-Manchu had marked him for extinction!


The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
By: Sax Rohmer
Fu Manchu is back in what was originally a series of short stories. Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie must stop his plot to destroy the enemies of the Seven. Contains the fiendish torture device called the Gates of Joyful Wisdom, perhaps the villains most grisly device. Nayland Smith is placed in a compartmentalized trap where rats will work their way up his flesh as each successive gate is opened.


The Yellow Claw
By: Sax Rohmer
Terror from the Orient! '...With puzzled face, Dunbar opened the envelope and withdrew the Commissioner's note. It was very brief:-- 'M. Gaston Max, of the Paris Police, is joining you in the Palace Mansions murder case. You will cooperate with him from date above.' 'Max!' said Dunbar, gazing astoundedly at his subordinate. Certainly it was a name which might well account for the amazement written upon the inspector's face; for it was the name of admittedly the greatest criminal investigator in Europe! 'And so it falls to Gaston Max to stop Fu Manchu?s prototype, the powerful and mysterious 'Mr. King,' a dealer in drugs and the head of an unabashedly 'yellow peril' organization named the 'Sublime Order.'


The Mad Philosopher
By: Sholder Greye
I believe that the narrator is (or was, I should say; he died soon after completing these confessions) insane, for during the months that I met with him, and transcribed exactly the words that issued from his mouth, I do not think he ever directly acknowledged my existence, or recognized my presence in the room any more than he might have registered a speck of dust on the bureau in the corner. He was entirely absorbed within himself, and frankly, I am amazed that he found the energies necessary to speak with such vigor as he did. Sometimes, he would mumble, and I could hardly discern what he was saying; then, with frightening suddenness, he would burst into wild, intense, staccato, almost incoherent passions, and the words would flow from his mouth, seemingly disjointed, but in the final analysis, surprisingly relevant. I admit, I found it all to be rather spooky. In the midst of his diatribes and rantings, nothing seemed to make sense, but when I went back over the recordings, and wrote the words down to paper, somehow they came together into a recognizable pattern - like those pictures one sometimes encounters, which at first glance seem utter chaos, but upon further, minute investigation, when viewed from just the right angle or under precisely the right circumstances of slightly skewed perception, one discovers that there is hidden within the randomness a scheme and a delicate proportion previously unsuspected. That is the sort of man who wrote these so-called 'Confessions.'


Terminal Compromise
By: Winn Schwartau
Here is a real techno thriller. From the White House to the Pentagon to the CIA to the National Security Agency and FBI, a complex weaving of fascinating political characters find themselves enmeshed a battle of the New World Order. Sex, drugs, rock'n'roll: Tokyo, Vienna, Paris, Iraq, Iran. It's all here. Copyright ? 1993 Winn Schwartau