Books with author Stephen May

In eleven years time, a million members of an alien race will arrive at Earth. Years before they enter orbit, their approach will be announced by the flare of a thousand flames in the sky, their ships’ huge engines burning hard to slow them from the vast speeds needed to cross interstellar space. These foreboding lights will shine in our night sky like new stars, getting ever brighter until they outshine even the sun, casting ominous shadows and banishing the night until they suddenly blink out. Their technology is vastly superior to ours, and they know they cannot possibly lose the coming conflict. But they, like us, have found no answer to the destructive force of the atom, and they have no intention of facing the onslaught of our primitive nuclear arsenal, or the devastation it would wreak on the planet they crave. So they have flung out an advanced party in front of them, hidden within one of the countless asteroids randomly roaming the void. They do not want us, they want our planet. Their Agents are arriving. "Fear the Sky is a brutal and powerful rendering of what would really happen if a race capable of interstellar travel set its sights on taking our planet from us. Book 1 in The Fear Saga sees very human protagonists pitted against an interesting and three-dimensional alien culture. It is as enjoyable as it is frightening." Reviewer - Chronicles Science Fiction Fantasy Community "Sometimes even a superior foe is worth fighting. Fear the Sky is an explosive story filled with awesome tech: from the best of today's military machines to the worst of tomorrow's death dealers." Reviewer - SyFy

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! . . .How much chicken can one human eat? Oscar Noodleman is about to find out!Oscar owes his weird inventor cousin $49,462.37--plus tax. His cousin needs the money to avoid a horrible fate. The only way out is for Oscar to win the Bagful o' Cash prize in a coast-to-coast chicken-eating contest.Trekking across America in his cousin's amazing Picklemobile, Oscar stuffs down more than two hundred chicken meals. But an evil seer with a huge appetite, a grudge against Oscar's cousin, and a taste for fowl play is hot on the drumstick trail herself.Will Oscar sprout feathers? Will the ChickenSniffer, the RemDem and his cousin's other crazy inventions save the day? Feast on this tale and cackle at the fine-feathered fun!

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, here's the hilarious sequel to Hooples on the Highway:Alvin Hoople can't face Halloween without the annual haunted house in the neighbors' garage. But when that neighbor's steaming cauldron blows a hole in the wall of that garage two weeks before Halloween, it looks as though the haunted house just won't happen this year.Then Alvin has a brainstorm: They can have the haunted house in his garage. His parents aren't thrilled with the idea, but Alvin has made up his mind. Still, he hasn't counted on coming up against Mr. Goralski, the neighborhood grouch; spiteful Dwight, who wants to sabotage the plans; or a pesky little sister who won't disappear.Will Halloween turn into a real horror show? Alvin wonders if he can work it all out before his nerves unravel and he goes as mad as his ghouls and monsters!

On Midwinter Eve, Miki and her friend Penguin find their wishes come true, as they are given a little tree to brighten up their cold, dark home. However, keeping the fairy lights twinkling takes more energy than even the great Polar Bear can muster. Miki's friends worry when she suddenly disappears, but her magical underwater journey provides her with a light that is everlasting.Set in a timeless, frozen place with dark blue skies and stark snowy landscapes in beautiful tones, this book evokes winter so thoroughly that the reader cannot fail to snuggle up somewhere cosy and read it.

The United States Navy has designed the most powerful and silent diesel-electric submarine to ever patrol the deeps: the USS Stonewall Jackson. It would require a cunning warrior of the seas to command such a boat, and the USN has chosen its best young submariner: Commander Nathan Blake. He’ll need to employ stealth and guile to seek out the foe. This digital boxset is an omnibus edition containing the first, second and third thrillers of the USS Stonewall Jackson series, plus bonus book HMS Holy Ghost. USS Stonewall Jackson: North Korea has perfected a ballistic nuclear submarine capable of lying way off the Californian coast and raining down nuclear terror on the USA. Enough is enough. USS Stonewall Jackson is given the task of tracking down the enemy. But will Nathan find that the Korean People’s Navy has a trick up its sleeve? The Spratly Incident: The South China Sea’s islands and reefs are in dispute, sitting over vast oil and gas wealth. The People’s Republic of China is taking possession of these and turning them into sea fortresses. It’s time for the USS Stonewall Jackson to intervene. Follow Nathan and his crew as they take on the might of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The Black Sea Horde: The Russian Black Sea Fleet is intent on flooding into the Mediterranean to face the US Sixth Fleet. USS New York City is the tripwire and first line of defense. For her Weapons Officer, young Lieutenant Commander Nathan Blake, it’s the patrol from hell. Stand with Nathan onboard the USS New York City as he faces the Black Sea Horde. HMS Holy Ghost: Captain Luke MacArthur has his orders: hunt down two of the quietest submarines in the world. They were the deadly weapon of the Soviet Union in the Cold War: the Kilo Class, known as the Black Hole for a good reason. Iran intends to use these submarines to choke off the Gulf oil supply. Join the crew of HMS Holy Ghost and help Luke to hunt down the Black Hole.

Set against the backdrop of the Atlantic slave trade, this book traces the development, exhibition and final disposition of one of J.M.W. Turner's greatest and most memorable paintings. Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901) in Great Britain produced unprecedented wealth and luxury. For artists and writers this period was particularly noteworthy in that it gave them the opportunity to both praise their country and criticize its overreaching ambition. At the forefront of these artists and writers were men like J.M.W. Turner, Dickens, Thackeray, Tennyson, and John Ruskin, who created some of the most enduring works of art while exposing many of the social evils of their native land. The book also analyzes the man behind the painting. Aloof, gruff and mysterious, Turner resisted success. He worked as a solitary artist, traveling to Europe, sketching towns along the way, studying nature, and transferring his experiences to finished paintings upon his return to London. The son of a barber, he grew up in London and experienced many of the social issues of the age: slavery and freedom, poverty in the slums, monarchy and democracy, stability and anarchy. He was a poet of nature and its innumerable mysteries.

Here's the best-selling sequel to the hilarious Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!Is is possible? Can an ordinary kid become a multimillionaire in one short week?Jason Nozzle thought so. What gave him the idea was a book he dug up in the park--a book called Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday! The author, Dr. K. Pinkerton Silverfish, didn't look like a multimillionaire, but he claimed to be the world's leading authority on getting rich quick.Rich! The more Jason thought about it, the better it sounded. Jason took the book home and tried to follow its instructions. But that wasn't as easy as it seemed.Did Jason become four million dollars richer in a matter of days? More important, can you? You'll find the hilarious answers here. Once again, noted author Stephen Manes teams up with noted authority K. Pinkerton Silverfish--and you'll laugh all the way to the bank!

A fascinating, beautifully illustrated tale full of mystery, this story of a lost little circus clown is filled with magic, warmth, and heart The little clown Pushka is fast asleep in his bed on the circus train when he suddenly topples out, finding himself lost in the enchanted woods. Scared, Pushka runs away through the night until he is rescued by a beautiful dancing girl. She says not a word, but she beckons him to her—luring Pushka into the arms of a hungry giant! Will love find a way to save Pushka? With a song-like quality, this is an enchanting tale about the unbreakable bonds of true love.

Who are the Obnoxious Jerks?A: The weirdest band of total misfits ever seen at any known high school in the free world.B: Amateur comedians whose routines include kazoos, used chewing gum, and gooey lemon meringue pies.C: Members of a club whose Official Ice Cream Flavor is Nuts to You.D: A disorganized organization whose exploits are required reading for anybody with a sense of humor.All of the above--and more . . . And now they fit into your Kindle!There are jerks in every high school. The Obnoxious Jerks are found only at Ullman Griswold Memorial High (or, as they prefer to call it, UGH). They specialize in pranks (better known as "jerk-outs") designed to show how ridiculous some school rules can be. Which means the detention hall sometimes becomes the Jerks' unofficial meeting room.Then something happens to shake up Jerkdom: A girl known as "Iceberg" Freeze asks to join the all-male club-that's-not-a-club. It's not long before she finds herself at the center of the greatest jerk-out ever--one that involves picket signs, mass demonstrations, and guys wearing skirts.What's acceptable behavior? What's worth fighting for? The Obnoxious Jerks twist, bend, and break the rules to find out. And in the process learn a lot about questioning not only the outside world, but also themselves.

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, here's the hilarious sequel to Hooples on the Highway and The Hooples' Haunted House:Thanksgiving! Turkey! Pumpkin pie! Parades! Alvin Hoople and his family are off to his grandparents' house to celebrate. But everything from freeway traffic to airplane food makes it look like the day will never arrive. Even the Pilgrims on the perfect Thanksgiving cake barely survive the trip.But that's nothing compared to the chaos at grandmother's house when a giant blizzard knocks out the power for miles around. With aunts and uncles and cousins and parents gathered for the big day, suddenly there's no TV, no heat, no lights, no stove . . . no turkey!But if the Pilgrims could get along without electricity, so can the Hooples. With a houseful of clever people and some wild imagination, they come up with the wildest newfangled old-fashioned Thanksgiving ever!