Cover Artist: Ed Emshwiller Mission of Gravity is an sf novel by Hal Clement. The title is a play on words, one meaning "the force which pulls" & the other being "extremely serious or important". It was serialized in Astounding Science Fiction, 4–7/53. Its 1st cloth publication was in '54. It was 1st published in paper in '58. Along with the novel itself, many editions (& most recent editions) of the book also include "Whirligig World", an essay on creating the planet Mesklin that was published in the 6/53 Astounding. He published two sequels, a '70 novel called Star Light & a '73 short story called "Lecture Demonstration". Mission of Gravity was nominated for a Retro Hugo Award for '54. For a profit & adventure Barlennan would sail thousands of miles across uncharted waters, into regions where gravity played strange tricks. He'd dare the perils of strange tribes & stranger creatures--even dicker with those aliens from beyond the skies, tho the concept of another world was unknown to the inhabitants of the planet of Mesklin. But in spite of the incredible technology of the strangers & w/out regard for their enormous size, Barlennan had the notion of turning the deal to an unsuspected advantage for himself--a considerable enterprise for a being very much resembling a 15" caterpillar!

Product Description

Two ships race in from outer space and crash in the Pacific Ocean. One contains a hunter, entrusted with a vital mission. The other, his quarry - corrupt, evil, a criminal from an unearthly civilisation light years away. Yet both these creatures had one thing in common - they were unable to exist alone. Each needed a host, a human body they could invade and control

Erotica. 95437 words long. First Published 2002

From Booklist

Calame has a screenwriting background, and it shows—his hilarious debut resembles nothing so much as the crude-yet-insightful comedies of producer Judd Apatow. See if this rings a bell: three 15-year-old buddies make a pact to see a naked girl before the summer is over and in the process mire themselves in increasing trouble and constant humiliation. All three are on the summer swim team, and, in a desperate attempt to impress the superhot new girl, Matt agrees to swim the dreaded butterfly at championships, despite the fact that he can barely tread water. At the same time, he’s dealing with his horny grandpa, a sadistic swim instructor, and his pals’ wacky schemes to catch a glimpse of bare skin, which includes dressing up like girls and entering a women’s locker room. That would’ve worked if it weren’t for the accidental dose of laxative . . . well, you get the idea. Although Calame underuses his moments of poignancy, teen readers will have a blast puzzling out the creative vulgarisms. “Pants hamster” is just the beginning. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus

Product Description

Now in Paperback— Three adolescent boys with a single goal: see a real-live naked girl. The result? Razor-sharp, rapid-fire, and raunchy, of course. And beyond hilarious.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time — quite a challenge, given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team. In the spirit of Hollywood’s blockbuster comedies, screenwriter-turned-YA-novelist Don Calame unleashes a true ode to the adolescent male: characters who are side-splittingly funny, sometimes crude, yet always full of heart.

Amazon.com Review

Wit'ch Fire grabs you in the first scene, and doesn't let go until the very end. This is the beginning of a new fantasy series--the Banned and the Banished--by first-time author James Clemens, but its sophistication and style are reminiscent of experienced fantasists such as Guy Gavriel Kay and George R.R. Martin. Elena is "the wit'ch of spirit and stone," born of a deadly alliance between three powerful mages in fulfillment of prophecy. But can she learn how to use her powers in time to resist the forces of the Dark Lord? She is joined in her battle by some unlikely allies, but the motley crew may be the only hope for a threatened world. Clemens handles plot and characterization deftly, but the addition of lots of un'neccesary apos'trophes to let you know you're reading a fantasy is a little distracting. Still, Wit'ch Fire is a fast-moving, entertaining read that's definitely worth your time.

From Publishers Weekly

Thirteen-year-old Elena is the daughter of kindly orchard keepers who have no idea their little girl is the reincarnated sorceress Sisa'kofa, "wit'ch of spirit and stone," dead for more than five centuries and now the world's last hope for defeating the dreaded Dark One and his minions. This launch novel of a projected trilogy by first-time author Clemens is another entry into the crowded fantasy adventure field, and the book introduces all the usual suspects: an ancient prophecy; an adolescent with burgeoning magical powers; her loyal multispecies cohort; a power-mad evil sorcerer. Just as Elena's magical ability starts to manifest, the Dark One's servants arrive to capture herAfor the Dark One plans to add her newborn powers to his own. Elena's escape begins a wild chase as she struggles to learn what she is and to come to terms with her growing power. She must eventually embrace her magic in order to save herself in the inevitable climactic battleAand to prepare for further confrontation with the Dark One, in Book Two. Readers who like their stories full of violence, magical pyrotechnics and black-hearted villains will find themselves on familiar ground here. Those in search of something original should look elsewhere.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Clemens continues his carefully constructed epic fantasy adventure (begun in Wit'ch Fire) about Elena, a young farm girl destined to be the "wit'ch" of ancient prophecy who will save her land from all-consuming evil, or die trying. The novel opens with Elena and her companions setting off for the legendary lost city of A'loa Glen, to use the magic of the Blood Diary hidden there to defeat the dreaded Dark Lord. A motley and fantastic crew accompanies Elena, including an immoral warrior with a dark past, a half-breed og're, a silver-haired elv'in, a tree-loving nyphai and a pair of si'luran shape-shifters. As Elena struggles to control the magic of the scarlet Rose on her right hand, the adventurers are beset by minions of the Dark LordAand by internal treachery. Meanwhile, at A'loa Glen, Elena's brother, Joach, snatched by a demon in the preceding novel, has been magically enslaved to Greshym, who serves the Dark Lord by posing as one of the good clerics sworn to protect the lost city from evil. Another side plot introduces Sy-wen, a young ocean-dwelling mer'ai destined to fulfill an ancient prophesy herself: summoning A'loa Glen's protector, the mighty dragon Ragnar'k. There's a lot of character buildingAmuch of it expertAbut a paucity of action in this installment. Hopefully Clemens will light a fire under the plot in the series' next entry.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Hunted by the Dark Lord because of the wit'ch mark she bears, Elena journeys with a group of trusted companions in search of a lost city reported to contain a way to defeat her enemy. At the same time, a young woman of the sea embarks on an arduous trek that leads her to a rendezvous with prophecyAand with Elena. Clemens (Wit'ch Fire, LJ 6/15/98) embellishes traditional high fantasy conventions with his own unique touches to create a vivid tale of a young woman's battle against the forces of evil. A strong addition to most fantasy collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

This third, stout volume recounts the dramatic climax of the quest for the Blood Diary, which holds the secret magic of the evil Black Heart. Three groups of do-gooding warriors are trying to track down the diary: Elena, the wit'ch, and her one-armed companion, Er'ril; Elena's Aunt Mycelle (a reformed shape-changer) and her motley crew; and the pirate Kast the Bloodrider and his beloved Sy-wen. Clemens tediously details each group's long journey, which concludes in a final confrontation on the island of A'loa Glen. There, the adventurers must confront the evil mage Shorkan (who happens to be Er'ril's brother). No tyro, Clemens does intelligent things with Elena and her brother, Joach, as they fight not only their enemies but also the dangers of their magical powers. He writes suggestively about shape-changing, and the final battle is so well constructed that it demands to be read at one sitting. But Clemens's decision to reveal only toward the end that the Blood Diary does not in fact hold the real key to the power of the Black Heart (thereby invalidating the purpose of the quest) produces terrific disappointment. (It does, however, suggest that he'll write at least one more novel in this series.) Although the scenario revolves around strong women and an abundantly detailed world, such a plot is hardly a novelty in contemporary fantasy fiction. Weakly executed, this book won't compel the attention of more discriminating readers.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Gifted with the long-lost power of blood magic, the wit!ch Elena travels to the ancient city of A!loa Glen to retrieve the Blood Diary, a tome whose power will enable her to save her land from the evils of the sorcerer known as Black Heart. Clemens!s epic fantasy features a strong heroine along with a memorable cast of supporting characters marked by their loyalty to one another and to the young woman whose cause they serve. Libraries owning Wit!ch Fire (LJ 6/15/98) and Wit!ch Storm (LJ 5/15/99) should purchase this companion volume.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

D'warves, el'ves, og'res as well as various un-apostrophized mythical beasts populate this strangely compelling fourth installment in Clemens's saga (Wit'ch War, etc.). The overseer of this menagerie is Elena, a wit'ch with the gift of wit'chfire and coldfire, a type of magick that's accessed by bloodletting. Elena and her cohorts must eradicate an evil blight brought on by the Dark Lord and his minions, finding the weirgates that are sucking elemental magick from the land. The Dark Lord has been temporarily pushed back, but the four weirgates in the shape of a basilisk, a manticore, a wyvern and a griffin must be destroyed in order for our heroes to continue their fight against the forces of darkness. Elena's companions break into three groups, each journeying in a different cardinal direction to take on an individual weirgate (yes, only three directions the fourth is where the Dark Lord lives and they can't tackle him yet). Each group possesses some form of elemental magick with which to surmount hazards. The book runs true to often predictable fantasy series form (one group receives help from a Gollum-like creature straight out of Tolkien), but the author supplies enough plot twists to keep the reader guessing what will happen next. Clemens fans will be left eager for the sequel. (Nov. 27)novels Subterranean, Excavation and Deep Fathom.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The wit'ch Elena's victory over the Dark Lord is short-lived as she learns of the existence of four magical Weirgates through which her rival hopes to unleash a power that will destroy the world. The latest installment in Clemens's epic fantasy series (Wit'ch Fire, Wit'ch Storm, Wit'ch War) takes his heroes on separate quests to find and close the sorcerous portals. Along the way, love and death take their toll, changing some of the characters forever. A solid addition to the growing body of panoramic fantasy, this title belongs in most libraries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Time was running out for Bob Kinnaird. Without much warning, the Hunter - the green protoplasmic alien that lived inside him and cured all his ills - had suddenly become his destroyer. Day by day Bob grew weaker and weaker, but only specialists from the Hunter's distant world would know what was wrong with him and, more importantly, how to save him. But the only way searchers from his planet could find him was to locate his missing spaceship . . . a spaceship that had crashed beneath the ocean years before, its location still very much a mystery. Once again leading an investigation against time - as he had done so many years before - the Hunter knew he had to find comrades and find them fast . . . before someone murdered his best friend.

About the Author

Barbara Cameron is the author of 21 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies (HBO-Cinemax), and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. When a relative took her to visit the Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, she felt led to write about the spiritual values and simple joys she witnessed there. She currently resides in Edgewater, FL.  Find out more about Barbara at www.barbaracameron.com, www.amishhearts.com and www.amishliving.com.

Review

'[A] great page-turner.' ANCIENT WARFARE 'The minutiae of military logistics, the mediations in inter-tribe rivalries, and the casual contemporary scene-setting prove unexpectedly engrossing... a sword-slash above the rest of its ilk.' IRISH EXAMINER 'A sweeping, deeply moving epic that takes the reader into the heart of a different time and culture.' HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW 'The author has picked a forgotten part of history and brough it to life with wonderful characters and amazingly vivid battle scenes... a story that is sweeping, powerful and provides a fresh look at the past.' HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER

Product Description

Kineas, the Athenian cavalry commander, has come a long way since being dismissed from the army of Alexander and vengefully exiled by his own city. Together, his mercenary force and their Scythian allies have defeated a mighty Macedonian army at the Ford of the River God, and his adopted city of Olbia is now free once more. But his destiny will not allow him to enjoy the fruits of victory for long. Far to the east, at the farthest edge of the Sea of Grass, Alexander is threatening to crush the Scythian hordes once and for all. The Lady Srayanka of the Cruel Hands, the Scythian warrior-princess who spurned a king's love to be at Kineas's side, is pledged to take her tribe east to help stop 'the monster' - and Kineas knows he has no choice but to follow, even if it means embracing the violent death in battle that he has seen prefigured in countless dreams. But long before he can confront the might of Alexander's army alongside his beloved Srayanka, he must undertake an epic journey, of breathtaking daring, taking an army through hundreds of miles of hostile terrain - towards his own appointment with fate.