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At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England’s history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England—until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight. Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell’s student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear. Time Magazine #1 Book of the Year « Book Sense Book of the Year « People Top Ten Books of the Year « Winner of the Hugo Award « A New York Times Notable Book of the Year « Salon.com Top Ten of 2004 «Winner of the World Fantasy Award « Nancy Pearl’s Top 12 Books of 2004 « Washington Post Book World’s Best of 2004 « Christian Science Monitor Best Fiction 2004 « San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of 2004 « Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel « Chicago Tribune Best of 2004 « Seattle Times 25 Best Books of 2004 « Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top 12 Books of 2004 « Village Voice “Top Shelf” « Raleigh News & Observer Best of 2004 « Rocky Mountain News critics’ favorites of 2004 « Kansas City Star 100 Newsworthy Books of 2004 « Fort Worth Star-Telegram 10 Best Books of 2004 « Hartford Courant Best Books of 2004 It's 1808 and that Corsican upstart Napoleon is battering the English army and navy. Enter Mr. Norrell, a fusty but ambitious scholar from the Yorkshire countryside and the first practical magician in hundreds of years. What better way to demonstrate his revival of British magic than to change the course of the Napoleonic wars? Susanna Clarke's ingenious first novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, has the cleverness and lightness of touch of the Harry Potter series, but is less a fairy tale of good versus evil than a fantastic comedy of manners, complete with elaborate false footnotes, occasional period spellings, and a dense, lively mythology teeming beneath the narrative. Mr. Norrell moves to London to establish his influence in government circles, devising such powerful illusions as an 11-day blockade of French ports by English ships fabricated from rainwater. But however skillful his magic, his vanity provides an Achilles heel, and the differing ambitions of his more glamorous apprentice, Jonathan Strange, threaten to topple all that Mr. Norrell has achieved. A sparkling debut from Susanna Clarke--and it's not all fairy dust. --Regina Marler
Author: Susanna Clarke
Publisher: Tor Books
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Animal enthusiast Peter Gaulke (Steve Zahn) and his sidekick Fred Wolf (Allen Covert) host an ailing wildlife TV show "Strange Wilderness," which is in a steep ratings decline. Desperate to save the show, Peter hatches a Hail Mary scheme to find the one animal that could truly turn the show around and change the nature-show landscape forever – Bigfoot.
As lunkhead comedies go, Strange Wilderness never creates the necessary frisson to keep a viewer engaged by the film’s endless parade of marijuana jokes, gross-out sight gags, and celebrations of rank stupidity. Which is too bad, because the cast would be ideal for a smarter version of a stupid movie, but they come off as largely wasted here. Steve Zahn (That Thing You Do) plays Peter Gaulke, heir to a wild animal television program called "Strange Wilderness," but too out of it to keep up his late father’s congenial yet focused legacy. With the show’s ratings plummeting (even at a 3 a.m. broadcast time), Peter attempts to rescue the series by traveling to Ecuador in search of Bigfoot. Accompanied by a crew of idiots (Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Justin Long) and one comely lass (Ashley Scott of TV’s Jericho), Peter heads into one obstacle after another: sharks, piranha, pygmies, Mexican border guards, a crazy tracker (Robert Patrick), and a nitrous high. After awhile, the lowbrow hijinks all run together and one feels a bit trapped, desperately awaiting final credits. But there are a couple of recurring comic ideas that salvage the movie somewhat, especially the use of stock footage of animals accompanied by Peter’s absurd voiceovers. ("The shark can be found only in two places: the northern and southern hemispheres.") --Tom Keogh
Publisher: Paramount
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Publisher: Mca Nashville
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Publisher: The Valory Music Co.
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Brash young surgeon Dr. Stephen Strange is on a collision course with destiny - a journey that will force him to search the deepest corners of his own heart... and the outer reaches of the cosmos! Masters of the comic-book medium J. Michael Straczynski, Samm Barnes, and Brandon Peterson chronicle the adventures of the Master of the Mystic Arts in the year's most highly anticipated origin story! Collects Strange #1-6.
Author: J. Michael Straczynski
Author: Samm Barnes
Author: Brandon Peterson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
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Peel back the layers of reality and behold a stunning realm hidden beneath. One of magic and wonder. Of sorcery and enchantment. Of ancient spells, secret doors and remarkable heroes who protect us from evil. Because this is also a world of dark mysticism, malevolent forces and unspeakable horrors. And within the shadows around us, a supernatural war is waged. But the balance is shifting. Darkness is winning. Yet there is hope... Join us as Dr. Stephen Strange embarks on a wondrous journey to the heights of a Tibetan mountain, where he seeks healing at the feet of the mysterious Ancient One. But before his wounds can mend, Strange must first let go of his painful past and awaken a gift granted to very few. The gift of magic. Empowered as the new Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Strange now tests his limits, rising up against monsters that push at the gates, facing the most terrifying entity humankind has ever known.
Publisher: Lions Gate
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Publisher: Toynami
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Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called -the touch.- (Comes in handy when you-re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)Then her dad turns up dead-but still walking-and Dru knows she-s next. Even worse, she-s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they-re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever-or whoever- is hunting her?
Author: Lili St. Crow
Publisher: Razorbill
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The secret double life of the man who mapped the American West, and the woman he loved
Clarence King is a hero of nineteenth century western history; a brilliant scientist and witty conversationalist, best-selling author and architect of the great surveys that mapped the West after the Civil War. Secretary of State John Hay named King “the best and brightest of his generation.” But King hid a secret from his Gilded Age cohorts and prominent family in Newport: for thirteen years he lived a double life—as the celebrated white explorer, geologist and writer Clarence King and as a black Pullman porter and steel worker named James Todd. The fair blue-eyed son of a wealthy China trader passed across the color line, revealing his secret to his black common- law wife, Ada Copeland, only on his deathbed. King lied because he wanted to and he lied because he had to. To marry his wife in a public way – as the white man known as Clarence King – would have created a scandal and destroyed his career. At a moment when many mixed-race Americans concealed their African heritage to seize the privileges of white America, King falsely presented himself as a black man in order to marry the woman he loved. Noted historian of the American West Martha Sandweiss is the first writer to uncover the life that King tried so hard to conceal from the public eye. She reveals the complexity of a man who while publicly espousing a personal dream of a uniquely American “race,” an amalgam of white and black, hid his love for his wife, Ada, and their five biracial children. Passing Strange tells the dramatic tale of a family built along the fault lines of celebrity, class, and race—from the “Todd’s” wedding in 1888, to the 1964 death of Ada King, one of the last surviving Americans born into slavery. Author: Martha A. Sandweiss
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
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