Arcadia Public Library

Into a tumultuous time is born a child for whom the witches of the world have been waiting. Ciri, the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe, the Lioness of Cintra, has strange powers and a strange destiny, for prophecy names her the Flame, one with the power to change the world: for good, or for evil.

Geralt is a witcher: guardian of the innocent; protector of those in need; a defender, in dark times, against some of the most frightening creatures of myth and legend. His task, now, is to protect Ciri. A child of prophecy, she will have the power to change the world for good or for ill -- but only if she lives to use it. A coup threatens the Wizard's Guild. War breaks out across the lands. A serious injury leaves Geralt fighting for his life ......

"In an unnamed dream country, the young man Cincinnatus C. is condemned to death by beheading for "gnostical turpitude," an imaginary crime that defies definition. Cincinnatus spends his last days in an absurd jail, where he is visited by chimerical jailers, an executioner who masquerades as a fellow prisoner, and by his in-laws, who lug their furniture with them into his cell. When Cincinnatus is led out to be executed, he simply wills his executioners...

Throughout his amazing career, Franz Kafka created some of the most haunting, timeless, and enduring images of the nightmare world of everyday life. First published in 1915, "The Metamorphosis" is one of Kafka's most famous works. The story begins when traveling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes from a series of disturbing dreams to discover that he has transformed overnight into a giant insect. Instead of arousing surprise or horror in his family, however,...

Portrait of a modern hero whose capacity to live each moment to its fullest is revealed in a series of adventures in Crete.

"Memories of My Melancholy Whores is Gabriel García Márquez's first work of fiction in ten years, written at the height of his powers, the Spanish edition of which Ilan Stavans called, 'Masterful. Erotic. As hypnotizing as it is disturbing' (Los Angeles Times). On the eve of his ninetieth birthday, our unnamed protagonist-an undistinguished journalist and lifelong bachelor-decides to give himself 'the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent...

Collects short stories following the adventures of magical hero Geralt. "Geralt is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent."--

"From "one of South Korea's best and most worldly writers" (NPR): An electric collection that captivates and provokes in equal measure, exploring what it means to be on the edge--between life and death, good and evil"--

"Disasters, accidents, and deaths abound in Bluebeard's First Wife. A woman spends a night with her fianc ǎnd his friends, and overhears a terrible secret that has bound them together since high school. A man grows increasingly agitated by the apartment noise made by a young family living upstairs and arouses the suspicion of his own wife when the neighbors meet a string of unlucky incidents. A couple moves into a picture-perfect country house, but...