On Fortune's Wheel
by Cynthia Voigt
from Simon Pulse
has a wheel, and all men are fixed upon it.
The wheel turns, and the men rise, or fall,
with the turning of the wheel.
Birle has agreed to be wed to the huntsman Muir as an escape from the drudgery of life at her father's inn -- but the moment she looks into the bellflower blue eyes of the man she comes upon stealing one of her father's boats, Birle knows she cannot marry Muir. Even after she discovers the mysterious stranger is Orien, a Lord and as unreachable to an innkeeper's daughter as a star, Birle is determined to travel with him as far as he will allow.
Their travels take Birle to a world far from home, a world where Lords may become slaves, where Princes rule by fear, and where Fortune's Wheel turns more swiftly and dangerously than Birle could have imagined.
Newberry Medalist Cynthia Voigt's second novel of the Kingdom, set two generations later than Jackaroo, is a memorable combination of thrilling adventure and heart-stopping romance.
Wings of the Falcon
by Barbara Michaels
from HarperTorch
The death of her English father left Francesca alone and unprotected, with nowhere to turn but to the noble Italian family of her late mother. Adrift in a strange land, surrounded by cold and suspicious relatives who had disowned her mother on her wedding day, Francesca is determined to make the best of a bad situation. But nothing could have prepared her for the nest of dark secrets and oppressive cruelty she has been cast into. And her fate now rests in the hands of a mysterious horseman known as the Falcon, whose appearance will speed her salvation ... or hasten her doom.
Wheel of Fortune
by Susan Howatch
from Fawcett
Oxmoon, the rambling old mansion on a sprawling estate in Wales, has been for generations, the dream, the downfall, and the destiny of the wealthy Godwin family. Discover how these extraordinary people were caught on life's wheel of fortune, how the family legacy of madness, murder, and doomed romance, begun with 19th century Gwyneth Godwin's scandalous affair with sheep farmer Owen Bryn-Davis, pursue all of the Godwins who live and die for the memories and the beauty of Oxmoon.
"Emotion-packed."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"The MOST marvelous book imaginable."
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Fortune's Wheel (Sholan Alliance)
by Lisanne Norman
from DAW
Joining forces when their planets are threatened by a mutual enemy, telepaths Carrie of the Terran colony planet Keiss and Kusas of the Sholan Clan are thrust into interstellar conflict when opposing factions on their own worlds decide to exploit their shared power. Original.
Wing of the Falcon
As Saddam Hussein's troops amass at the Kuwaiti border, preparing for invasion, Special Operations Forces position themselves and their super-sensitive equipment to plug the security leaks and find a mole before Operation Desert Storm ends in disaster.
Elske
by Cynthia Voigt
from Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books
"The Volkking struggled, but his sickness attacked him both day and night, a war band giving the enemy no respite of sleep." With the first sentence of Elske readers are tumbled into a vivid medieval world whose rich, elegant detail only continues to entrance. Newbery Award winner Cynthia Voigt (Dicey's Song) brings her Kingdom series to a superb conclusion with this fourth and final story. At age 12, living as a captive in her Viking-styled Volkaric homeland, Elske has been appointed to die. Her grandmother plots to take her place secretly, so that Elske can escape to the merchant society of Traskad. Once there, she becomes a servant to the imperious young noblewoman Beriel--who insists on being the rightful heir to the throne of The Kingdom. Elske finds that while Beriel is stubborn and headstrong, the exiled young queen matches Elske's own honesty and gutsiness, and they soon become allies in the perilous battle to regain the crown. Like the other three books in the series--Jackaroo, On Fortune's Wheel, and The Wings of a Falcon--this story is linked to the others only loosely and can easily stand alone. But young readers who have once experienced Voigt's beautifully drawn characters, lush settings, and riveting plots will certainly want to seek out the rest of the epic tale. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell
She never knew she had a self. From the time she was a child, she was prepared to sacrifice her life when the Volkking summoned her. She never knew she had a heart, until she set out on a journey north to live among strangers. She never knew she had a choice, until she chose to trust the princess she was told to serve. And she never knew her own value, until she met the man who understood her strength, and who could taste the honey in her name: Elske.
But the princess Beriel had always known who she was and what she was worth. She had always had a heart, and a stubborn one. She had always made her own choices, even when they were forced upon her. What Beriel did not have was the one thing she valued above all else, and that was the throne to her kingdom.
With immense power and compassion, Cynthia Voigt, Newbery Medalist, depicts the parallel quests of two extraordinary young women. As Elske seeks to find her true self and Beriel battles to reclaim what is rightfully hers, both discover the value, and the price, of reaching the journey's end.
The Wings of a Falcon (Point Signature)
by Cynthia Voigt
from Scholastic
Oriel, a strong and remarkable young boy taken into captivity as an infant by a cruel man, decides to escape from his life of hardship and betrayal and takes Griff, his loyal companion, with him. Reprint. K. SLJ. PW.
Wheel of Fortune
A collection of short tales includes works of alien gambles and fantastic wagers by such authors as Joe Haldeman, Gahan Wilson, and Nina Kirika Hoffman, and highlights such characters as a down-and-out gambler given a final chance by Lady Luck.
On The Wing: To The Edge of the Earth With the Peregrine Falcon
by Alan Tennant
from Wheeler Publishing
On a mission to map the migration of the peregrine falcon, Alan Tennant and his friend George Vose logged thousands of miles in a rattletrap Cessna. On the Wing is as much quest narrative as nature book, and the tale of the two men's voyage is unforgettable. At their first meeting, when Tennant suggested that they track a radio-tagged falcon by air, WWII vet Vose assessed naturalist Tennant with a keen eye. "Aviation takes intestinal fortitude, Mister. You were pretty green up there today. Calm air, too." Nevertheless, Tennant convinced the gruff pilot that the project was worthy, and they set off, soaring north over the dunes of Gulf Coast barrier islands. The falcon was just a beeping signal to them most of the time, but they became obsessed with its movements. In the small cockpit, they shared extremes of disappointment and elation as they dealt with bad weather, lost signals, run-ins with the Army, and equipment problems. They ended up posing as highway patrol officers, crossing international borders, and risking their lives in order to keep on the track of their wayward subject. Threaded into the funny and moving adventure story, Tennant scatters casual snippets of science--peregrine falcon biology, pesticide toxicology, and the little-understood fact of animal migration itself. The facts never get in the way of the fun, though--this is real Wild Kingdom action. --Therese Littleton
A New York Times Bestseller
Film rights optioned by Robert Redford
Alan Tennant recounts his all-out, unprecedented effort to radio-track the transcontinental migration of the peregrine falcon. Tennant's partner in falcon-chasing is George Vose, a septuagenarian World War II pilot. As the two men nearly lose their lives and run afoul of the law in the race to keep the birds in view and the Cessna in the air, Tennant renders with gorgeous precision the landscape and wildlife they pass on the way.
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