Showing results for "F F Bruce" in Literature & Fiction

AD 265, Gaul—The Roman Empire is on the brink. Emperor Gallienus has amassed a huge army across the Alps to seize back the mountains from the usurper Posthumus. War has come. Ballista and his cavalry are on the frontline, battling in the most brutal of conditions. But if he is to survive the campaign and finally retire to his beloved Sicily, it's not just the battlefield he needs to navigate. As he and Praetorian Prefect Volusianus lay siege to Posthumus' armies, it becomes clear the greatest threat to Ballista's life might just come from within his ranks.

A lone figure stands silhouetted atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Behind him, the sun is setting over the centre of the known world. Far below, the river is in full flood. The City of Rome lies spread out before him on the far bank. Footsteps pound up the stairs. He's been set up. An enemy is closing in; he is cornered. He jumps.

Alexander of Macedon was just twenty years old in 334BC when he set out with a small army to challenge Persia, the largest and most powerful empire in the world. The Macedonians marched East into the unknown, won battles against overwhelming odds, stormed impregnable fortresses. In the deserts and mountains between the Aegean and India they conquered nature itself. Yet disaster was never more than a sword stroke away. Alexander`s companions were riven with murderous rivalries, their loyalty contingent.

In the summer of 1968, the year of Prague Spring with a Cold War winter, Oxford students James Borthwick and Eleanor Pike set out to hitchhike across Europe, complicating a budding friendship that could be something more. Having reached southern Germany, they decide on a whim to visit Czechoslovakia, where Alexander Dubcek's 'socialism with a human face' is smiling on the world.

When Valens, a junior officer in the Roman Army, joins a crack squad of soldiers on a dangerous mission, little does he know what's in store for him. Tasked with rescuing the young Prince Sasan, who has been imprisoned in the impenetrable Castle of Silence, the troops set out across Mesopotamia and into the mountains south of the Caspian Sea. Deep in hostile territory, inexperienced Valens finds himself in charge. And as one by one his soldiers die or disappear, he begins to suspect that there is a traitor in their midst and that the rescue is fast becoming a suicide mission.

Obsessed with his ex-girlfriend, Alistair Haston heads off to Greece, where she is on holiday. Then he is robbed of everything. So when Ricky, a charming Aussie, shows up and offers Alistair a job recruiting tourists to pose for his wealthy boss, Heinrich, a charismatic German artist, Alistair accepts. He soon realises that it is more than just painting that Heinrich has in mind. Swept away on a tide of wild parties, wild sex, fine food and drugs, Haston sheds his reserve and throws himself headlong into the pursuit of pleasure. Until the body of a missing tourist is found....

Ostensibly written by an English knight, The Book of Marvels and Travels claim to recount his experiences in Egypt, the Levant, India, and China. It describes a journey from Europe to Jerusalem and further into Asia, and the many weird and wonderful peoples and practices of the East. The author claims to have traveled in land populated by Amazons, dog-headed people, cannibals, one-footed tribes, and Pygmies.

The Devil's Pool is George Sand's most popular novella. Set in rural France, the narrative explores relations between the sexes, the power of fantasy in human life and the plight of the underprivileged. Two of the main characters are Father Maurice and his son-in-law Germain, who is considering marriage again after the death of his wife. His father-in-law organises a meeting with the rich widow, Catherine Leonard, but he finds her vain and haughty and much in demand. He seeks out the company of Marie, a shepherdess from his own village, who would prefer a younger husband.

When saving a life in 1946 Alabama, Amish giant Konrad took one in return and must run before the electric chair claims him. In New York, Nazi propaganda fools him into jumping on a ship to Berlin, the capital of the Third Reich. In 1965, at Gothengau, an SS-run colony in Ukraine, a terrorist rocket attack on Berlin compels soldier-farmer Konrad to focus on his duty: commanding an SS convict battalion. He must flex his muscle for the armed forces or the Holocaust's perpetrators--his superiors, colleagues, and neighbors in Ukraine.

Sonny's wife Paulina tells him she wants another child. He agrees to expand the family. Tony's wife Roberta hears the good news and she also wants a child. She confides in Sonny that Tony is too stubborn to find out why he can't get her pregnant. She had been examined and the problem is not with her. Both mobsters are trying to deal with this delicate situation when all of a sudden someone slits the throat of Robert Rizzo, crime boss of the Damato family, and his bodyguard Jesse.

In a barracks on an abandoned military base, miles from the nearest road, Thomas watches as the man he has brought wakes up. Kev, a NASA astronaut, doesn't recognize his captor, though Thomas remembers him. Kev cries for help. He pulls at the chain. Thomas didn't want to have to resort to this. But they really needed to have a conversation, and Kev didn't answer his messages. And now, Thomas has a few questions.

A large party was given to me and Tony for our release from prison. We were also celebrating our promotions to Capo. Our new business venture was to run drugs and counterfeit money in phony taxis. They were perfect replicas of cabs that traveled thru the city. We operated right under the cop's noses --- making the mob millions. Don Mancini was pleased until I had an accident. I actually had two --- one with the taxi and the other with my girlfriend, both were life changers. Don Carmine Mancini was a brilliant and he turned my negatives into positives.

Sonny and Tony were found not guilty for the murder of a federal agent. Instead, they were sentenced to spend two years in the state penitentiary for extorting and racketeering. They made it very clear to the warden, guards, and inmates that they were Mafia bosses and would not be strong armed. After showing pictures to the warden and the guards of their families, it was obvious that the Mob could get to anyone on the inside as well as the outside.

When I was young my father lost his life saving Carmine Mancini, who later became "Don" Carmine Mancini of the Miami Mafia.... My family didn't have life insurance, so the Mob secretly supported us. When I became of age my mother found me a job at a car rental center. It wasn't long before strange things began to happen. I was paid well to look the other way. I liked the extra money, and it was the first time I had an abundance of it.

Eric was a respected contractor, he made a fortune during the building boom. He lived a clean humble life and invested his money well. His employees did the opposite - they spent all they earned and partied away their savings. Some of them despised Eric, they felt that he had capitalized on their strong backs. They felt that Eric looked down on them, most of them were in legal troubles. Some had drug problems and others had child support troubles from several woman.

This is the story about a high school football star that turns to drugs to enhance his game. He experiments with steroids and other mind altering drugs. He loses his high school sweetheart to drugs and alcohol. Francis mixed any drugs that he can get his hands on, risking his mental and physical health. He became delusional and he can't distinguish what is real or part of his drug induced illusions.

The most powerful memories of my life were the teenage years that I spent with my brother Bruce. He was my mother's favorite son, born with multiple sclerosis (MS). I used to take him swimming almost everyday, being weightless in the water made him feel powerful and normal. He fought his disease and other than tiring easily he was no different than any other teen. Since we were both excellent swimmers and always at the pool, we were offered a chance to fill in as lifeguards at the beach. It was a great summer with a large crowd and plenty of sunshine.

Bart was a poor college graduate without a job and buried in debt. Things changed when he inherited his uncle's property. It came with a strange farmhand named Alan. The farm didn't provide typical vegetables or animals. Instead, it produced marijuana, and wolf-dogs bred for professional dogfights. One dog gave him winnings of 80,000 dollars in a single match. The dogs were a mix of great dane and wolf. They were fed live animals and shot with steroids to increase their size and anger. They were the ultimate fighting dogs - supersized wolves.

Once I graduated college, my life fell into a rut - my father's rut. The only way out of the rut was excitement. During the day, I worked with my dad at his insurance agency. He knew I was bored in the office and sent me to take photos of insurance losses. I also took pictures of expensive items that his clients insured. Once I saw the valuables and how carelessly they were kept, a seed began to grow in my mind. I fantasized about breaking in and taking the items.

Stan was a misfortunate orphan, he was raised by his uncle Hector. Hector was mentally unstable and the worst foster father a parent could leave their child to. Hector was a war scorn madman that brought Stan to the remote woods to be raised. Hector had an abnormal desire to hunt and kill. Although he hunted the most dangerous beast of the forest, he craved hunting humans. Living away from society kept him from becoming a serial killer. He passed on his sick thoughts as well as his exceptional hunting skills.