A new novel of temptation by the author of the international bestsellers The Alchemist and The Zahir. A community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear. A man persecuted by his painful past. A woman searching for happiness. In one eventful week, each of them will face questions of life, death, and power, and each will choose their own path. Will they choose good or evil? Paulo Coelho's stunning novel explores the timeless struggle between good and evil and brings to our everyday dilemmas fresh incentive: to master the fear that prevents us from following our dreams, from being different, and from truly living.
Starred Review. Actor Jeremy Northam (Gosford Park, Tristram Shandy) has himself a ball with Greene's comic suspense novel, its Cuban setting and panoply of international characters. He downplays the religious and political undertones of the book in favor of Greene's comedy of a vacuum-cleaner salesman turned secret agent. Greene's array of Germans, Brits and native Cubans allows Northam to trot out some of the choicest examples from his stable of voices, all cleverly done. The brief bits of salsa music that punctuate the breaks between chapters underscore Northam's jaunty reading. This is one classic novel meant to be enjoyed for entertainment, not self-improvement. (June)
In an America driven to near bankruptcy with crushing foreign debt, the Talos Corporation stands out as a major success story—training soldiers and security forces from around the world and providing logistics and troops for nearly all branches of the United States government.
In the middle of the Indian Ocean, a NUMA research vessel is taking water samples at sunset when a crew member spots a sheen of black oil ahead of them. But it is not oil. Like a horde of army ants, a swarm of black particles suddenly attacks the ship, killing everyone aboard, while the ship itself goes up in flames.
