Publisher: KtoCzyta.pl
Virginia Woolf
Rachel Vinrace sets out on a voyage from the confines of her home in England, where she is raised by her spinster aunts, to the exotic coast of South America in the early twentieth century. But more than just the physical journey from one shore to another, The Voyage Out is a story of the transformation of this essentially unworldly girl to a more self-possessed woman in love with the seemingly enlightened yet searching young writer, Terence Hewet. Her experiences, from a first kiss to a surprising flowering of real love, may inspire the reader to reflect on gender roles in society, love among intellectuals, and the strivings and sorrows of life. Some of the most lovely and illuminating writing flowed from Virginia Woolfs hand as she wrote the words to describe the conversations as well as the innermost thoughts of her characters. Complex characters, vivid and beautiful descriptions of the exotic surroundings, and very real human internal struggles all make for a brilliant novel that one should savor slowly and thoroughly.
The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras
Jules Verne
"The Forward Brig" sailed from Liverpool Port with eighteen crew members on board. But neither during the sailing, nor even for a long time after him, none of them knew the purpose of the voyage, nor even the name of the captain. And only having plunged far into the Arctic waters, the sailors learned that the famous navigator John Hatteras, who set the ambitious task of becoming the first person to reach the North Pole, was leading the expedition.
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
Hugh Lofting
Tommy learns how to communicate with animals, thanks to Doctor Dolittle. Tommy finds himself with a kind doctor on a thrilling and dangerous journey to find Long Arrow, the native American and son of the Golden Arrow, who is considered the greatest living naturalist in the world. This is both an adventure story and a strong call for compassion for animals. The main character found a man in spirit and now they will travel together.
Robert E. Howard
This is a good book of four Western stories. The title story, however, is the longest. The Vultures of Whapeton suffers from a protagonist who is just a bit too manly and effective to be believed. Everyone who meets Steve Corcoran seems to instantly know hell just prevail in any kind of gunfight, no matter how outnumbered he is -- and then, of course, Corcoran goes on to do use that.
Ernest Bramah
The Wallet of Kai Lung is a collection of fantasy stories by Ernest Bramah in which the Chinese Kai Lung tells stories often to stave off some unpleasant fate, like Scheherazade. These tales of an unlikely but marvelous China are classic works of fantasy, with each story holding a story-within-a-story. Ernest Bramahs Kai Lung is a storyteller in an imagined China, telling tales of earnest examination candidates, corrupt mandarins, beautiful maidens, alchemical potions, grasping merchants, and assorted other stereotypes from the Western imagination of China. The China which Kai Lung inhabits has numerous features of the fantasy Land of Fable, and many of the embedded tales are fantasy; all are told in an ornate manner which ironically, often hilariously, exaggerates the old Chinese tradition of understatement and politesse.
H. Rider Haggard
The book is full of unforeseen incidents. At the heart of the story is a guy who is much more honest and bolder than he seems. And of course there is love. Love leads this story, love strengthens it, and also corrupts it in a cunning way. This is a power struggle, a story about kindness, true friendship, sacrifice, conspiracy, and so on.
Herbert George Wells
Bert Smallways is the unlikely protagonist, a kind of Edwardian Mod, not interested in a steady career, always looking for a good time, riding his proto-scooter down to Brighton at the weekends. When Bert is accidentally scooped up by a German fleet, on its way to launch a surprise attack on the United States, he finds himself with a front row seat to the greatest war that has ever been the war in the air! This new war is to be a different sort of war than all the wars that came before it, unprecedented in its ferocity and destructiveness. The art of war has completely changed with the coming of airplanes, which the author very eloquently brings out. The War in the Air is a story of the awful devastation following a conflict between two first-class powers with the resources of the air at their command. It is one of the most brilliant and successful of Mr. Wellss studies in futurity.
Herbert George Wells
One of the most famous science-fiction stories ever written, The War of the Worlds helped launch the entire genre by exploiting the concept of interplanetary travel. Thirty-five million miles into space, a species of Martians sets eyes on planet Earth. With their own planet doomed for destruction, the Martians prepare to invade. Their weapons are ready and their aim is ruthless. The war of the worlds is about to begin. The War of the Worlds describes the fictional 1895 invasion of Earth by aliens from Mars who use laser-like Heat-Rays, chemical weapons, and mechanical three-legged fighting machines that could potentially be viewed as precursors to the tank. After defeating the resistance the Martians devastate much of eastern England, including London... The novel demonstrates Wells typical pessimistic outlook on human nature and offers a good deal of criticism on society and peoples ignorance and vanity.