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<\/p>\nLet\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.<\/p>\n
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End of the Century<\/span> by Chris Roberson<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE HOLY GRAIL<\/p>\n \nThree people. Three eras. One city. Endless possibilities. End of the Century is a novel of the distant past, the unimaginable future, and the search for the Holy Grail. Set in the city of London, the narrative is interlaced between three ages, in which a disparate group of heroes, criminals, runaways, and lunatics are drawn into the greatest quest of all time.<\/p>\n \nTwilight \u2013 Londinium, Sixth Century, CE<\/p>\n Galaad, a young man driven by strange dreams of a lady in white and a tower of glass, travels to the court of the high king Artor in Londinium, abandoned stronghold of the Roman Empire in Britain. With the dreams of Galaad as their only guide, Artor and his loyal captains journey west to the Summerlands, there to face a threat that could spell the end of the new-forged kingdom of Britain.<\/p>\n \nJubilee \u2013 London, 1897 \nMillennium \u2013 London, 1999 \nThe three narratives Dark Ages fantasy, gaslit mystery, and modern-day jewel heist alternate until the barriers between the different times begin to break down, and the characters confront the secrets that connect the Grail, the Glass Tower, and the vanishing gem. And lurking behind it all is the entity known only as Omega.<\/p>\n Given Roberson\u2019s skill and track record, I\u2019m really looking forward to this one.<\/span><\/p>\n Without Warning<\/span> by John Birmingham<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n John Birminghams big new breakout geopolitical thriller asks what would happen to the world if America suddenly vanished.<\/p>\n Star Wars: Millennium Falcon<\/span> by James Luceno<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n Two years have passed since Jacen Solo, seduced by the dark side and reanointed as the brutal Sith Lord Darth Caedus, died at the hands of his twin sister, Jaina, Sword of the Jedi. For a grieving Han and Leia, the shadow of their son\u2019s tragic downfall still looms large. But Jacen\u2019s own bright and loving daughter, Allana, offers a ray of hope for the future as she thrives in her grandparents\u2019 care. And when the eager, inquisitive girl, in whom the Force grows ever stronger, makes a curious discovery aboard her grandfather\u2019s beloved spacecraft\u2013the much-overhauled but ever-dependable Millennium Falcon\u2013the Solo family finds itself at a new turning point, about to set out on an odyssey into uncertain territory, untold adventure, and unexpected rewards. From the moment the Falcon broke loose from a Corellian assembly line like an untamed creature with a will of its own, it seemed destined to seek out trouble. It wasn\u2019t long before the feisty YT-1300 freighter went from shuttling cargo to smuggling contraband. But it\u2018s a fateful rendezvous on Coruscant, at the explosive height of the Republic\/Separatist uprising, that launches a galaxywide cat-and-mouse game whose newest players are Han, Leia, Allana, and C-3PO. And they\u2019re not alone: Crime lords, galactic pirates, rogue politicians, and fortune hunters alike loom at every turn of the quest\u2013each with his or her own desperate stake in the Millennium Falcon\u2019s most momentous mission. Through the years and across the stars, from the Rim worlds to unknown points beyond, the race will lead them all to a final standoff for a prize some will risk everything to find\u2013and pay any cost to possess.<\/p>\n \nJacen Solo?<\/span><\/p>\n See Part One here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Books received 10\/16\/08 Part Two<\/a> was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. End of the Century by Chris Roberson Promo copy: UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE HOLY GRAIL Three people. Three eras. One city. Endless … Continue reading
\nConsulting detective Sandford Blank, accompanied by his companion Roxanne Bonaventure, is called upon to solve a string of brutal murders on the eve of Queen Victoria\u2019s Diamond Jubilee. The police believe that Jack the Ripper is back on the streets, but Blank believes that this is a new killer, one whose motive is not violence or mayhem, but the discovery of the Holy Grail itself. And what of the corpse-white Huntsman and his unearthly hounds, who stalks the gaslit streets of London?<\/p>\n
\nAt the eve of the new millennium, American teenager Alice Fell is on the run, and all alone. On the streets of a strange city, friendless and without a pound to her name, Alice is not sure whether she\u2019s losing her mind, or whether she is called by inescapable visions to some special destiny. Along with a strange man named Stillman Waters, who claims to be a retired occultist and spy, she finds herself pursued by strange creatures, and driven to steal the priceless vanishing gem that may contain the answers to the mysteries that plague her.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51a0obTW1dL._SL500_AA240_.jpg\")
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\nTo Han, who knows every bolt, weld, and sensor of the Falcon as if they were parts of himself, the strange device Allana shows him is utterly alien. But its confounding presence\u2013and Allana\u2019s infectious desire to unravel its mystery\u2013are impossible to dismiss. The only answer lies in backtracking into the past on a fact-finding expedition to retrace the people, places, and events in the checkered history of the vessel that\u2019s done everything from making the Kessel Run \u201cin less than twelve parsecs\u201d to helping topple an evil empire.<\/p>\n