Stara baśń

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski

Akcja powieści Stara baśń rozgrywa się w czasach przedhistorycznych na ziemiach plemienia Polan. Władzę nad nim sprawuje okrutny kneź, Chwostek, oraz jego żona Niemka Brunhilda. Oboje marzą o tym, by wprowadzić władzę absolutną, podobną tej, jaką sprawują władcy w Niemczech. Nie odpowiada to kmieciom nawykłym do poszanowania ich swobód przez rządzących. Coraz okrutniejszy kneź ze swymi podwładnymi działa coraz bezwzględniej. Wówczas wybucha bunt przeciwko Chwostkowi, który wzywa na pomoc niemieckich popleczników. Dochodzi do wojny domowej i oblężenia kneziowego grodu, który zostaje zdobyty. Chwostek ze swymi bliskimi ginie, a władza zostaje powierzona prostemu, lecz cieszącemu się autorytetem kmieciowi Piastowi. Równoległe do wątku wojennego toczy się wątek miłosny. Doman, młody kmieć i wojownik, zakochuje się w pięknej Dziwie córce szanowanego kmiecia Wisza. Ona jednak przeznaczona została do służby bogom, więc choć obdarza go uczuciem, odmawia Domanowi. Ten postanawia uczynić wszystko, by ją zdobyć.

Beyond the Black River

Robert E. Howard

A young settler named Balthus walks blissfully unaware through a forest trail when the sound of combat draws his attention. He hides behind a tree and sees Conan step into the open, having just slain a Pictish robber who was about to ambush Balthus. Conan had been tracking the Pict for some hours, as he has been chasing the encroaching Picts on commission from nearby Fort Tuscelan.

The Strange Lapses of Larry Loman

Edgar Wallace

Larry Loman is a member of the Criminal Investigation Department of New Scotland Yard. While on a special assignment in Asia he contracts a form of malaria that causes him to suffer character-changing bouts of amnesia for up to eight hours at a stretch. When Larry is assigned to deal with the Crime Trust, a syndicate which has gathered just about every crook in England into one organization, his periodic blackouts result in all sorts of unforeseen complications. However, he eventually breaks the Trust, and his disease goes into remission. The Strange Lapses of Larry Loman is an enjoyable mystery short story by Edgar Wallace with some surprising twists, well written and great to read.

The Three Oak Mystery

Edgar Wallace

Ex police officer Socrates Smith and his brother Lexington, who is also an amateur sleuth, are invited to spend a weekend at Peter Mandles country home. Shortly after they arrive the brothers notice many precautions taken against intruders, a message flashed in Morse code, and someone skulking across the lawn. Come three oaks, it spells in Morse code. Early next morning the brothers take a stroll, and there, tied to an oak branch, is a body with a purple mark where the bullet struck. A nicely convoluted mystery with plenty of incident, murder, forced marriage, kidnapping and so on from the master of mystery Edgar Wallace.

Desperate Remedies. A Novel

Thomas Hardy

Once upon a time there lived in the 19th century a charming young lady from a poor but proud family and a young ambitious gentleman in spirit, but not in origin. And now the boundaries of estates and welfare were ready to be erased under the pressure of the couples feelings and understanding of the girls parents that its not the age of her daughter to attract men and we need to work with what we have. However, the lady turned out to be capricious, fell into a hysteria and forced the family to rush off to hell, as soon as she heard about a marriage proposal from our hero.

The Mystery of the Gold Box

Valentine Williams

In the dark days just before the outbreak of WW1, Philip Clavering, a British Secret Service agent, is despatched to Europe to recover a gold box carried by a now dead agent, the box holding a deep secret. But the Kaisers man, Dr. Grundt, alias Clubfoot, is also on the trail of that box and its secrets. The chase is on! The Mystery of the Gold Box is the fourth in the seven book series about the evil Dr. Adolph Grundt. He answers to no one except the Kaiser. Hes a big man with a clubfoot. Since hes behind a lot that goes on his nickname is the Crouching Beast. The first in the series is The Man With The Clubfoot (1918), written as Douglas Valentine and the last entry is Courier To Marrakesh (1944). Dr. Grundt is an over the top villain but that makes the series even better. A hard boiled mystery, suspense, and espionage thriller.

No Other Tiger

A.E.W. Mason

Mr. Mason is here at his best. While working out very deftly an extremely intricate and clever plot, he gives us excellent characterization and a remarkably vivid series of glimpses into different settings and phases of life. Beginning in the opulent lands of India, home of enchantment, color and adventure, the novel No Other Tiger becomes a mystery that begins with a tiger hunt across Asia. The story is woven skillfully around the secrets of the East and conjures a glittering history long forgotten. Although it is indeed an oldie, the author achieves all the suspense and bone chilling scenes required of a modern thriller. Give yourselves a treat, and read this short but unforgettable masterpiece.

When the World Screamed

Arthur Conan Doyle

The final, and certainly climactic, adventure of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Professor George Edward Challenger is 1928s When the World Screamed. It is another Professor Challenger story where a new craziness pressures him to make the earth feel the existence of human being on its surface. Professor says the earth is a giant creature and it doesnt even care or know that we the human being exist on its surface. Professor believes that by drilling into the center of the earth, he will be the first person to let the planet know that there are people on its surface. He begins a very expensive experiment and one day his dreams come true. The majority of the story, like others in the story, is about the build-up to the event. Its narrated by a new character, Peerless Jones, who is an expert on drilling.

The Man With the Black Feather

Gaston Leroux

There is something psychological about this story. The look of one of the heroes falls on a mysterious man. He was dressed in black, his appearance was the deepest despondency. Leroux did an excellent job of creating the bad guy we all worry about, which is really not that bad when you recognize him.

Druga księga dżungli

Rudyard Kipling

Powieść przygodowa ukazująca dalsze losy Mougliego chłopca wychowanego w dżungli przez watahę wilków, niedźwiedzia Balloo i panterę Bagerę. Pełna emocji historia o niezwykłej przyjaźni. Klimat powieści i opisy przyrody przenoszą czytelnika w głąb egzotycznych Indii.

The Cat Burglar and Other Stories

Edgar Wallace

A collection of 7 short mystery/romance stories by the great story-teller Wallace which contains the following works: The Cat Burglar, The Pick-Up, Discovering Rex, The Clue Of Mondays Settling, Establishing Charles Bullivant, Sentimental Simpson, White Stocking. The Cat Burglar takes place in the British capital. Here we can see family jealousies, intrigues and double games, all because of a mysteriously disappeared emerald. Sentimental Simpson is the story of a house breaker with a soft heart. Although Wallace wrote many stand alone novels it is, perhaps, for his series based material-always popular with readers-that he remains best known. He was one of the most popular and prolific authors of his era.

The Invasion of 1910

William Le Queux, H.W. Wilson

The Invasion of 1910 is a novel written mainly by William Le Queux (along with H. W. Wilson providing the naval chapters). It is centered on an invasion by the Germans, who have managed to land a sizable invasion force on the East Coast of England. They reach London and occupy half the city. A junior Member of Parliament organizes a resistance movement, the League of Defenders and the Germans seem unable to combat this and tighten their control of London, and suddenly find themselves faced with a popular uprising. Finally a newly-formed British Army marches to liberate London. First published in 1906 this is one of the best-known examples of invasion literature, viewed by some as an example of pre-World War I Germanophobia but considered by others as prescient as it warned of the need to prepare for war with Germany.

A Daughter of the Snows

Jack London

Life and adventures during the Klondike Gold Rush are breathtakingly realistic. Frona Wells, the main character of the novel, is a strong, intelligent, courageous and at the same time unusually charming character in a word, a woman who is able to think, love, fight and share trials along with the best of men. Who is worthy of the hands and hearts of a confident and independent ruler of the North?

Śluby panieńskie, czyli Magnetyzm serca. Komedia w 5 aktach wierszem

Aleksander Fredro

Dwie młode damy Aniela i Klara postanawiają nie wychodzić nigdy za mąż i igrać z męskimi uczuciami. Jak w tej sytuacji odnajdą się starający się o ich względy panowie? Czy miłość rzeczywiście przyciąga nieodwołalnie jak magnes? Aleksander Fredro stworzył komedię obfitującą w zabawne intrygi i dowcipne dialogi, a jednocześnie dowodzą wielkiej siły miłosnych uczuć.

The Black Abbot

Edgar Wallace

Several employees on a noblemans estate show up at a former abbey, reputed to be haunted, to search for a hidden treasure. However, a mysterious hooded figure begins killing off those who may have figured out where the treasure is hidden. Who the Black Abbott is, what his purpose is and how he is connected with the mystery of the treasure these are the elements of the story. Theres a malevolent ghost, buried treasure, the elixir of life, a crooked lawyer, a tangled romance, a scheming young woman, another young woman facing a fate much worse than death, an atmosphere of breathless excitement and non-stop Edgar Wallace thrills.

Cleek. The Master Detective

Thomas W. Hanshew

Collection of several short mysteries, starring consulting detective Hamilton Cleek and his incredible skills at disguise with the assistance of his cockney assistant Dollops. Cleek is poacher-turned-gamekeeper, a master criminal who decides to turn straight and work for Scotland Yard after being stricken by the sight of a lovely, innocent young woman whose jewels he was about to pinch. Told as a fairly continuous narrative, held together by the underlying thread of Cleeks efforts to redeem himself and thus gain the affection of the woman with whom he has fallen in love. There is also another underlying thread concerning Cleeks erstwhile accomplice, Margot, and her present accomplice, Merode, as Cleek occasionally finds himself foiling their plans. Each one of these stories is a romp, some more successful than others.