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  Somnium: The Dream - Or...

  Johannes Kepler

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  The Renaissance gave us a lot of things, including the earliest science fiction that relates to modern science. The book would now be called hard sci fi, as it leans heavily into the known orbital mechanics of the moon.Somnium (Latin for "The Dream") — full title: Somnium, seu opus posthumum De astronomia lunari — is a novel written in Latin in 1608 by Johannes Kepler. It was first published in 1634 by Kepler's son, Ludwig Kepler, several years after the death of his father. In the narrative, an Icelandic boy and his witch mother learn of an island named Levania (the Moon) from a daemon. Somnium presents a detailed imaginative description of how the Earth might look when viewed from the Moon, and is considered the first serious scientific treatise on lunar astronomy. Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov have referred to it as one of the earliest works of science fiction. - From the wiki

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  Rose in Bloom

  Louisa May Alcott

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  Rose Campbell returns as a young woman after traveling abroad, now facing the challenges of love, societal expectations, and personal growth. Surrounded by her extended family and seven spirited cousins, she navigates relationships, career aspirations, and moral dilemmas while staying true to her values. Alcott explores themes of independence, compassion, and the importance of inner strength, blending humor and wisdom in this heartwarming sequel to Eight Cousins . As Rose matures, she learns that true happiness comes from authenticity, kindness, and embracing one’s unique path in life.

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  The Shadow of the Bell Tower -...

  Stefano Vignaroli

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  Year 2017: the young scholar Lucia Balleani, arranging and classifying the texts of the library of the Hoenstaufen Foundation, starts working in the old palace that had been the residence of the noble Baldeschi-Balleani family, of which she is a direct descendant. A series of visions linked to what happened to Lucia Baldeschi, of the same name, will lead the reader to discover with her an interesting story that took place in the same place 500 years before. During the Renaissance Jesi is rich in art and culture and where new and sumptuous palaces are built on the ruins of the ancient Roman city, lives a young countess, Lucia Baldeschi. The girl is the granddaughter of an evil Cardinal, weaver of obscure plots aimed at centralizing both temporal and ecclesiastical power in his own hands. Lucia, a person with a strong intelligence, becomes friend with a printer, Bernardino, with whom she share the passion for the rebirth of the arts, sciences and culture, which are characterizing the period throughout Italy. She will find herself caught between the duty to obey her uncle, who made her grow up and educate her in the palace in the absence of her parents, and the passionate love for Andrea Franciolini, son of the People`s Capitan and designated victim of the Cardinal`s tyranny. The story is also told through the eyes of Lucia Balleani, a young scholar descendent of the noble family. In 2017, exactly 500 years after the events, she discovered ancient documents in the family palace, and reconstructed the complex history of which traces had been lost.

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  The House of Mirth

  Edith Wharton

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  “The House of Mirth” was the breakthrough novel for Edith Wharton and its immediate commercial and critical success put her on the American literary map.   
  Based on Wharton’s own experiences among the elite of the New York City social set in the late 1890’s, “The House of Mirth” is both a fascinating glimpse into the upper-reaches of high society and a searing satire of the cruelties, frivolities and hypocrisy of the city’s ultra-rich.  The story follows the romantic entanglements of twenty-nine year old Lily Bart, a beautiful socialite who has fallen on hard financial times and must secure a rich husband before the clock runs out and she is forever branded a spinster.   
  An immediate success when it was first serialized and published in 1905, “The House of Mirth” launched Wharton’s extraordinary career and remains an American literary classic to this day.  It is presented here in its original and unabridged format.

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  Children Sent into Danger

  David Tetlow

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  Beginning in 1910, this story follows two brothers, Michael, a baby, and Ronald, a seven-year-old, who suddenly lose both parents. Their mother dies in childbirth, and their father perishes in the worst coal mining disaster in Lancashire's history: the Pretoria Pit explosion at Hulton Colliery near Westhoughton, Bolton, which claimed 344 lives. Taken to a local orphanage, the baby is fostered by a local mill owner and his wife. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the mill owner's intentions are far from benevolent; he wants a compliant son to fulfill his wishes. Meanwhile, the traumatized and unruly Ronald is deemed too difficult to adopt and is sent to Australia under Britain's Child Migrant Program, where he initially suffers much abuse. Despite their harsh beginnings, both brothers eventually join the medical profession. During World War II, they encounter each other several times while working in field hospitals, completely unaware of their true relationship. Is it possible that they will one day discover the bonds of brotherhood and reunite?

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  The Sword of Saint Isidores -...

  David Thomas Kay

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  THE SWORD OF SAINT ISIDORES 
    
  Witches, warlocks, Norse Gods and historical Viking battles, a teenage necromancer and a cursed ceremonial sword with a strange influence over its possessors.  
  Circa 926 A.D: King Athelstan, the first king of all England, gifts the jewelled sword to Harold Fairhair, the first king of all Norway, setting in place a series of events that will shape the future of Norway. Alphonso, a young monk in search of redemption, and Theresa, a beautiful Asturian s woman, are enslaved by Vikings, and crave their Spanish homeland. Rota, the daughter of Heidre the sorceress, is a necromancer with a secret. She has inherited her warlock father’s curse and hunts the woods at night. Wilhelm, a soldier of fortune, clings to his Christian beliefs whilst surrounded by sacrificial worship to the Norse Gods. Ragnarr, the Viking son of Hauk the Red, reveres the sword and plans to take it with him to the new land: The Lake District of England. Does he own the sword, or does the sword own him? The emigration is fraught with danger, and peace in the settlement is elusive, as a female warrior seeks revenge in a battle that must be won. 
   
  REVIEW: 
  Kay's use of interwoven storylines is impressive. The reader is initially presented with snippets of the characters' lives, all connected by the titular sword, gripping and captivating. The narrative quickly coalesces around the figure of Ragnarr, whose presence weaves religion and Norse customs into an increasingly tense plot.  
   Overall, THE SWORD OF SAINT ISIDORES offers a captivating tale of emigration, a departure from established traditions, relations, and physical domains.-a sprawling saga of Norse kings, jarls and warriors, linked and menaced by the same exquisite, cursed sword-David Thomas Kay proves that an impassioned imagination and an expertly wielded pen produce storytelling that defies the creative limitations of any set genre. 
   
  ~Neil Czeszejko for IndieReader 4.8 Stars

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