Showing results for "Literature and Science" in Satire

When Bonnie Grayduck relocates from sunny Santa Cruz California to the small town of Lake Woebegotten, Minnesota, to live with her estranged father, chief of the local two-man police department, she thinks she's leaving her troubles behind. But she soon becomes fascinated by another student - the brooding, beautiful Edwin Scullen, whose reclusive family hides a terrible secret. (Psst: they're actually vampires. But they're the kind who don't eat people, so it's okay.)

Galapagos takes the listener back one million years to AD 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galapagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, totally different human race. Kurt Vonnegut, America's master satirist, looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry - and all that is worth saving.

Deadeye Dick is Kurt Vonnegut's funny, chillingly satirical look at the death of innocence. Amid a true Vonnegutian host of horrors - a double murder, a fatal dose of radioactivity, a decapitation, an annihilation of a city by a neutron bomb - Rudy Waltz, aka Deadeye Dick, takes us along on a zany search for absolution and happiness. Here is a tale of crime and punishment that makes us rethink what we believe...and who we say we are.

When Mr. Wolf hires an unlikely lawyer to tell his side of the story, The Three Pigs strike back with the formidable Ms. Priggly. As Mr. Wolf rages a legal battle against the pigs, the town is ripped apart as the wolf and the Pigs clash in the civil trial of the century. As the citizens take sides, will the biases of the past be uncovered? Who will prevail in Mr. Wolf v. The Three Pigs? This is one fairy tale adults can listen to!

In this satirical alternative history, Professor Jeronimo Herodotease and his team of documentary filmmakers and reenactors revivify the dark days of the Grim Depression and Amerika's descent into dictatorship. In the chaos and strife that followed the assassination of President-elect Frankie van Rosenvelt, General Jackson and a cadre of Forcist-minded cockroaches swarmed the stage, gnawed away at democratic norms, and declared martial law under the guise of restoring "Law and Order."

Delve into the satirical and thought-provoking world of "Christian Science" by Mark Twain, a collection of essays and writings that offer a humorous yet critical examination of Christian Science and its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. This audiobook presents Twain's signature wit and incisive commentary as he explores the tenets of Christian Science, its practices, and its impact on society.

This collection of short stories encompasses 20 years of work by Howard Fast, including some of his best-known and most treasured tales. Not merely fantasy or science fiction, these "Zen stories" explore the world’s mysterious and unanswerable questions, big and small, and the results are at once bizarre, humorous, chilling, and poignant. An American general shoots down what appears to be an angel during a Vietnam War battle, a celebrated author becomes a hunted man, and a mouse is granted human thought and emotion by a group of alien beings.

After Hank Morgan of Hartford, Connecticut, takes a blow to the head, he inexplicably awakens in sixth-century Camelot. At first lost and confused, the time traveler soon realizes that he can use modern knowledge and his ability to foretell the future to his advantage. Consequently, he is granted a place in the king’s court as Arthur’s right-hand man. When the Catholic Church grows fearful of his power, the Connecticut Yankee aims higher and concocts a grandiose plan to bring American ideals to sixth-century England to change the future.

When Connecticut mechanic and foreman Hank Morgan is knocked unconscious, he wakes not to the familiar scenes of 19th century America, but to the bewildering sights and sounds of 6th century Camelot. Although confused at first and quickly imprisoned, he soon realizes that his knowledge of the future can transform his fate. Correctly predicting a solar eclipse from inside his prison cell, Morgan terrifies the people of England into releasing him and swiftly establishes himself as the most powerful magician in the land, stronger than Merlin and greatly admired by Arthur himself.

When Vivian's kindergartner, Aria, gets bitten by a werewolf, she is rapidly inducted into the hidden community of magical schools. Reeling from their sudden move, Vivian finds herself having to pick the right sacrificial dagger for Aria, keep stocked up on chew toys, and play PTA politics with sirens and chthonic nymphs and people who literally can set her hair on fire.

Jacob Elliot doesn’t want a temporary job in the mailroom at Delphi Enterprises, but after two post-college years of unpaid internships and living in his parents’ basement, he needs the work. Then, on his first day, the unthinkable happens: toxic gas descends on a meeting in Delphi’s outdoor amphitheater, killing all the regular employees and leaving Jacob stranded inside the vast office complex. Wandering through Delphi headquarters, Jacob finds other survivors: Lauren, a disillusioned classics major; Swati, a fitness instructor; and Dominic, a business-school student.

Many view "hitting rock bottom" as a foundation on which to rebuild one's life, a place from which one can only ascend. Gamers know to search for a secret door leading down to the sewer.

The First Robot President combines science fiction with political satire, making fun of Democrats and Republicans in equal measure. The novel centers around Thomas Jenkins, a lobbyist, and his robot wife whose political ambitions land her on the Green Party's 2520 Presidential ticket.

"The wonderful visit" fu una delle prime tre opere di Wells, pubblicata nel 1895, anno in cui pubblicò anche "La macchina del tempo". Nel racconto lungo si parla di un angelo, atterrato su questo mondo, e non riconosciuto nella sua qualità di visitatore angelico. Il rapporto fra i mondi, situazioni spazio temporali diverse, l'esistenza di una vita oltre la vita, costituiscono il substrato del racconto, oltre che essere un tema dominante nella scrittura di Wells; e non è un caso che il racconto venne dedicato al suo acaro amico, morto di polmonite quello stesso anno.

I never wanted any of this. Sure, I'll take the universe-shattering powers—who wouldn't? But there's always a bloody price. You don't inherit the ability to bend creation to your will and get to ride off into the sunset. Oh no, every power-hungry dickhead in the universe wants a piece of the action, especially the former God of Creation. Not that I asked for the title—or any of the mess that comes with it. But, if I want to achieve my dream of being left the hell alone, it's going to cost me. And that price? Pain… so much pain.

Sconvolgente, lungimirante, avvincente. "La Fattoria Degli Animali". In una nuova traduzione, con doppia voce narrante, questa edizione ti farà conoscere uno dei capolavori della letteratura mondiale. Stanchi delle ingiustizie, gli animali di una fattoria decidono di ribellarsi agli umani dando vita a un nuovo sistema fondato sull'uguaglianza. Ben presto, però, si renderanno conto che non sarà così facile. "Tutti gli animali sono uguali, ma alcuni sono più uguali di altri." L'autore: Pseudonimo di Eric Arthur Blair, George Orwell è uno degli scrittori più conosciuti al mondo.

Ben who rides dragons is twice a hero. He's defeated all kinds of demons and learned how to transform into a chimera. That's powerful stuff for a mere cat. Oh, how proud his ancestors would be if they saw him today. In fact, he's far too powerful for Astravar, the mighty warlock and Ben's nemesis, who can't stand the thought of being defeated by a mere moggie. But now he has allied with the other warlocks and together they have a plan to destroy the kingdom.

Un pilota cinese, durante una manovra d'emergenza, approda su Marte, e scopre che il pianeta è abitato da uomini gatto. Accolto da uno di loro, chiamato Grande Scorpione, impara a parlarne la lingua e ne scopre via via usi e cultura, apprezzando gli effetti stupefacenti delle foglie di loto di cui si nutrono. Man mano che si addentra nella conoscenza della loro società, tuttavia, si accorge che quella a cui assiste è la fase finale di una civiltà in declino, ormai irrimediabilmente corrotta, soggiogata dagli stranieri, priva di valori morali.

Ein Krieg bricht aus, eine Finanzkatastrophe ereilt die Menschheit – und dann wird sie auch noch von einem Virus heimgesucht, das alle Frauen unfruchtbar macht. In dieser schweren Stunde landet eine kleine, bunt zusammengewürfelte Gruppe Schiffbrüchiger mit dem Kapitän Adolf von Kleist auf einer fiktiven Galápagos-Insel. Während die übrige Menschheit ausstirbt, wird hier ein neues Menschengeschlecht mit winzigen Gehirnen begründet.

Earth is rising in the House of Voltar.... And there’ll be hell to pay! That’s right. The invasion is on...and it’s coming soon to a galaxy near you. The action couldn’t be hotter, and the plot couldn’t be more diabolical. Earth is coming to Voltar - and the Voltarians won’t know what hit them. Murder, blackmail, drugs, psychoanalysis, PR firms, sex-crazed teenyboppers, riots in the streets, women in chains. These are the powerful secret weapons of war.