Dragons of Winter Night (Dragonlance Chronicles, Volume II)

Now the people know that the dragon minions of Takhisis, Queen of Dragons, have returned. The people of all nations prepare to fight to save their homes, their lives, and their freedom. But the races have long been divided by hatred and prejudice. Elven warriors and human knights fight among themselves. It seems the battle has been lost before it begins.
The companions are separated, torn apart by war. A full season will pass before they meet again--if they meet again. As the darkness deepens, a disgraced knight, a pampered elfmaiden, and a rattle-brained kender stand alone in the pale winter sunlight.
Not much in the way of heroes.
Dragons of Autumn Twilight sets 'em up, and Dragons of Winter Night knocks 'em down. The second volume in Dragonlance's seminal trilogy stokes the action with a big ol' blast of dragon breath. The War of the Lance has begun in earnest, and the Companions--Tanis, Flint, the twins Raistlin and Sturm, Flint Fireforge, Goldmoon, et al.--find themselves separated across Ansalon. Everyone's figured out that Takhisis's dragon minions aren't just scary bedtime stories, and the desperate search for the Dragon Orbs and the mythical Dragonlance is on. Lots of great combat, some humor and romance sprinkled in, and more solid character development for this complex band (especially Tanis and Laurana). An excellent follow-up bookended by cliffhangers--check out Dragons of Spring Dawning to see what happens next. --Paul Hughes

On Vicarage Road in Kings Heath. Walking back to the High Street. While having a look at the Free Radio Walkathon in the Kings Heath area.This year it is the Free Radio Walk for Kids.Formerly the BRMB Walkathon. Last year it was the Free Radio Walk for Harry!Walkers in green.At Kings Heath Park - as seen from Vicarage Road.A start / end point in Kings Heath Park.

On Vicarage Road in Kings Heath. Walking back to the High Street. While having a look at the Free Radio Walkathon in the Kings Heath area.This year it is the Free Radio Walk for Kids.Formerly the BRMB Walkathon. Last year it was the Free Radio Walk for Harry!Walkers in green.At Kings Heath Park - as seen from Vicarage Road.Trees

The Russian Debutante's Handbook introduces Vladimir Girshkin, one of the most original and unlikely heroes of recent times. The twenty-five-year-old unhappy lover to a fat dungeon mistress, affectionately nicknamed 'Little Failure' by his high-achieving mother, Vladimir toils his days away as a lowly clerk at the bureaucratic Emma Lazarus Immigrant Absorption Society. When a wealthy but psychotic old Russian war hero appears, Vladimir embarks on an adventure of unrelenting lunacy that takes us from New York's Lower East Side to the hip frontier wilderness of Prava--the Eastern European Paris of the nineties. With the help of a murderous but fun-loving Russian mafioso, Vladimir infiltrates the Prava expat community and launches a scheme as ridiculous as it is brilliant.
Bursting with wit, humor, and rare insight, The Russian Debutante's Handbook is both a highly imaginative romp and a serious exploration of what it means to be an immigrant in America.
Vladimir Girshkin, a likeable Russian immigrant, searches for love, a decent job, and a credible self-identity in Gary Shteyngart's debut novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook. With a doctor-father of questionable ethics and a manic, banker mother, Vladimir avoids his suburban parents and their desire that he pursue the almighty dollar as proof of success. Vladimir gets by as an immigration clerk, eking out a living in a cruddy New York City apartment while accumulating an array of quirky acquaintances, from a wealthy but disheveled old man (who claims his electric fan speaks to him) desperate for citizenship to Challa, a portly S/M queen. As a love interest, Challa is replaced by Francesca, a graduate student whose friends welcome Vladimir for the status he brings their bohemian clique, and whose parents encourage them to shack up (she lives at home) as visible proof she can maintain a steady relationship.
The Russian Debutante's Handbook is a quirky amalgam of dead-on American absurdities, albeit with somewhat stereotypical characters. While Vladimir flounders with how to improve his state, he becomes an expatriate in a trendy European city, becomes somewhat of a mobster himself, and generally has a good time. While many of the central characters remain elusively thin, Vladimir is a delight, and Shteyngart's wit is merciless: Russian women wear 'wedding cakes of blond hair' and graduate students lounge in a bar 'as if waiting for funding to appear.' Reminiscent of Gogol and other Russian satirists, The Russian Debutante's Handbook is a genuine, sublime social commentary. --Michael Ferch