The Cossacks. A Tale of 1852

Leo Tolstoy

The main character of the story, Dmitry Olenin, is close to the author both in spiritual experience and in moral aspirations. Like Tolstoy, he finds himself in the Caucasus in an attempt to start a new life, "in which there will be no more mistakes, there will be no remorse, and probably there will be only happiness." But instead of imagining paintings on the way to the Caucasus in the spirit of Russian romantic literature, the hero of the story had to see real life and feel like a stranger in a world untouched by civilization.

The Tempting of Tavernake

E. Phillips Oppenheim

The Tempting of Tavernake is written by Edward Phillips Oppenheim. He composed some one hundred and fifty novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue nature, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life. The hero of this novel, however, is very unusual for several reasons. Tavernake is unemotional, unable to sympathize or even understand the most common social situations. He is diligent, precise, obsessive in his pursuit of wealth, but oblivious to the feelings of the people around him. They simply dont matter. He meets Beatrice Burnay an American in London without any money. Odd, uncomfortable, almost autistic, he rescues from hunger and possible suicide, and in return she educates him on the possibilities of human emotion.

In der Strafkolonie

Franz Kafka

Kafkas berühmte Erzählung über einen eigentümlichen Apparat. Ein Reisender kommt in eine Strafkolonie, um mehr über die dortigen Zustände zu erfahren. Man zeigt ihm eine grausame Bestrafungsmaschine, die den Angeklagten ihr Urteil mit einer Nadel in den Körper ritzt immer tiefer, zwölf Stunden lang, bis der verurteilte die Bedeutung des Schriftzugs erkennt und schließlich getötet wird. Die Wesensbeschreibung des ausführenden Technokraten wirkt dabei wie eine hellsischtige Vorausschau auf die dreißiger und vierziger Jahre des vorigen Jahrhunderts in Deutschland. Kafkas Erzählung thematisiert das problematische Verhältnis von Macht und Gerechtigkeit.

Les Étranges noces de Rouletabille

Gaston Leroux

Rouletabille, amoureaux et tout enivré du désir dtre heureux avec Ivana Vilitchkov, il se jete avec ses amis dans la gueule du loup et il risque cent fois sa vie. Il veut la tirer des griffes de ce assassin de toute sa famille, il se bat pour sauver Ivana et capturer son ravisseur, mais elle... elle ne veut pas aller avec Rouletabille. Il narrte pas la protéger. Peut la puissance de lamour transformer un limier intelligant en petit garçon?

The Light That Failed

Rudyard Kipling

Kipling wrote the first novel, The Light That Failed in many ways an autobiographical novel, having already gained fame with his poems and stories. In addition to the novel and selected stories from collections of different years, the book includes the story Brave Captains - about the romance and hardships of sea travel, the formation of the character of a young man, about metamorphoses that occur in people under the influence of merciless circumstances...

Philo Gubb, Correspondence-School Detective

Ellis Parker Butler

A hilarious parody of the detective genre Philo Gubb dreams of becoming a detective like Sherlock Holmes and quitting his job as a wallpaper-hanger. He enrolls in a correspondence course which offers lessons and various disguises. He soon gets involved in several cases and much to his surprise and those around him proves to be rather adept at solving crimes. Amazingly, he solves many puzzles and even catches some real thieves and other criminals usually by some mistake or turn of circumstance that puts the criminals in his lap. Each of these stories is a complete mystery so if you read just one, you will know its beginning and the unorthodox methods by which Philo Gubb solves it using his woeful deteckative skills. Philo Gubb, Correspondence-School Detective is one of the first and best detective parodies.

Befehl aus dem Dunkel

Hans Dominik

Professor Allgermissen löst das Problem der Gedankenübertragung. Forscher sind mit Hilfe von bestimmten Wellen in der Lage Gedanken zu lesen und zu beeinflussen. Politisch verfeindete Systeme machen sich die moderne Technik zu Nutze, um ihre Gegner auszuspionieren und gelangen somit an die unbeschränkte im geheimen geführte Macht. Professor wird jedoch wahnsinnig und stirbt daran. Einen Teil seiner Erfindung gelangt in die Hände des verbrecherischen Abtes Turi Chan, der mit dieser Macht einen Krieg der gelben Rasse gegen die Weißen entfesselt, der andere Teil in den Besitz des deutschen Erfinders Georg Astenryk. Sie werden zu heimlichen Herrschern über ihre Mitmenschen, sie bekämpfen einander mit allen Mitteln. Ein Kampf um die Weltherrschaft und das eigene Leben beginnt.

Tom Sawyer, Detective

Mark Twain

Its an exciting adventures of Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn meeting with a ghost, finding a corpse, etc. Tom unexpectedly became a detective the boy showed amazing observation and outstanding deduction, which helped not only expose the diamond thief and solve the insidious murder, but also save the innocent man from prison.