Author Alley 2021
In this end-times fantasy thriller set in Pittsburgh, Cashe, a mixed-race pizza delivery driver with a severe case of sleep apnea, begins to have lucid nightmares of a mysterious demon after moving in with and eventually marrying his girlfriend Kia, a second generation Egyptian-American.
A series of bizarre encounters-witnessing a murder, a foreboding warning from a homeless man called the "Prophet," an ethereal meeting with a young angel named Tulpehoken and an assistant manager with strange telekinetic abilities-leads Cashe to uncovering an apocalyptic secret society hiding frighteningly in plain sight, and propels him toward a destiny he never could have imagined in his wildest dreams.
The Inescapable Consequence not only offers a contemporary interpretation of the fallen angel and watcher Azazel, widely depicted in various forms of literature, film, art and video games, but also explores the intimacies surrounding the intermingling of different religions, ethnicities and cultures in a socially-timed moment in history.
Using a deft writing style, blending elements of magical realism and conspiracy theories, Belcher paints the urban landscape of Pittsburgh with superb detail, portraying and juxtaposing the so-often untold behind-the-scenes happenings of both big franchise and small, immigrant-based pizza shop business employees who work the counters of America.
A unique visual guide to America's war between the states, told through those sites swept aside by development or decay Take a journey through lost civil war battlefields in this photographic guide to the many historic sites that have been destroyed or become overgrown over the centuries.
A companion title to the 150,000-copy-selling Civil War Battlefields Then and Now, this is a unique collection of lost Civil War heritage that features a wide range of sites, arranged thematically and illustrated with original photographs throughout.
Featured locations include: Encampments: Over-wintering camps and winter quarters were widely photographed.
Historic buildings: Many of the original buildings were destroyed and have been rebuilt. These include the McLean House in Appomattox and the Ford Theatre in Washington DC, with many others completely destroyed.
Prisons: Those featured included Libby Prison, which was dismantled and the bricks shipped to Chicago for the Exhibition; Andersonville Prison and Capitol Prison in Washington DC, and Castle Pinckney in Charleston Harbor.
Cycloramas: There was such an interest in seeing re-enactments of the Civil War that many cycloramas were built especially to show re-runs of Gettysburg. Including such curiosities as a list of the longest-living Civil War veterans, the guide also features an up-to-date survey of Confederate statues and memorials and their complicated and often controversial legacy in the 21st century.
Nanoannie is bored. She wants to go to clubs, wear the latest Earth fashions, and dance with nuke guys. But her life is not exciting. She lives on her family's Pharm with her parents, little sister, and a holo-cat named Fuzzbutt. The closest she gets to clubs are on the Marsnet. And her parents are pressuring her to sign her contract over to Utopia Limited Corp before she's even had a chance to live a little. When Kapera--a friend from online school--shows up at her Pharm asking for help, Nanoannie is quick to jump in the rover and take off. Finally an adventure!
What Nanoannie and Kapera find at the Smythe's Pharm is more than the girls bargained for. The hab has been trashed and there are dead bodies buried in the backyard! If that wasn't bad enough, the girls crash the rover and Kapera gets kidnapped by Facers, who claim her parents are murderers! Between Renegade Nuns, Facers, and corp geeks, Nanoannie and Kapera don't know who to trust or where to go. Kapera only wants to find her parents so they can get to Earth Orbitals and she can be treated for her leukemia. Nanoannie wants to help her friend and experience of little bit of Mars before selling her contract to the first corp that offers to buy it.
Life isn't easy when you're just a couple of Mars Girls.
Readers of Kate DiCamillo and Sheila Turnage will love Moonpenny Island, a middle grade novel of friendship and secrets by the beloved and acclaimed Tricia Springstubb.
Moonpenny is a tiny island in a great lake. When the summer people leave and the ferries stop running, just the tried-and-true islanders are left behind. Flor and her best, her perfect friend, Sylvie, are the only eleven-year-olds for miles and miles--and Flor couldn't be happier. But come the end of summer, unthinkable things begin to happen. Sylvie is suddenly, mysteriously, whisked away to school on the mainland. Flor's mother leaves to take care of Flor's sick grandmother and doesn't come back. Her big sister has a secret, and Flor fears it's a dangerous one.
Meanwhile, a geologist and his peculiar daughter arrive to excavate prehistoric trilobites, one of the first creatures to develop sight. Soon Flor is helping them. As her own ability to see her life on this little lump of limestone evolves, she faces truths about those she loves--and about herself--she never imagined.
