The classic children's collection—now available as an ebookJohn Gardner's fairy-tale collection depicts a world where anything can happen—and often doesA humble thistle girl, a wise old philosopher, a hapless woodchopper, and an unscrupulous king—these are the vivid protagonists of Gardner's masterful book for children. Richly and humorously drawn, they face challenges at every turn. And in a realm where any one of these unconventional heroes might triumph, the reader will delight in expecting the unexpected!Inventive and illustrative, entertaining and edifying, these four stories demonstrate the quirky challenges of distinguishing between good and evil and living happily ever after.[Review Quotes] "A jaunty treatment of time-honored fairy tales . . . fantastic fun." —Publishers Weekly "Everything is sacred and nothing is sacred. The form of the fairy tale is honored, but wild deviations are taken within it . . . Tables are turned this way...

James Bond is on a mission that will become an obsession. It starts the night Flight 229 is torn apart at Washington airport, killing 435 passengers. But the victim who matters to Bond is the Principessa Sukie Tempesta: once his lover, still his friend. The search for Sukie's killers will turn out to be the most complex and demanding assignment of Bond's career. Across continents and through ever-changing labyrinths of evil, he follows the traces of clues into the centre of a fanatical society more deadly than any terrorist army. Its code name is COLD.

The classic children's collection—now available as an ebookFour fantastical stories filled with wit and wisdom, humor and heartIn this wonderful collection of fairy tales, John Gardner turns a timeless tradition into a topsy-turvy whirlwind. In the title story, a kindly simpleton unwittingly becomes sovereign of an avian race. A wicked witch seeks a new profession—and, thus, identity—in "The Witch's Wish." In "The Pear Tree," a sweet young boy is rewarded for his good deeds. And "The Gnome and the Dragon" presents a realm so mixed-up not even the reader can distinguish reality from illusion.With tongue-in-cheek wit and laugh-out-loud humor, Gardner has created a world that will delight readers of all ages.

Bond has lost his licence to kill. After he took revenge on the CIA agent who handed his friend over to the master criminal, Sanchez, M revoked his double 0 status and he's considered a rogue agent. With MI6 trying to bring him in and only the support of Q behind him Bond goes after Sanchez. Boarding his ship, Bond tricks his way into Sanchez's inner circle and discovers the secret of his wealth. But Bond is walking a tightrope and it is surely only a matter of time before he slips ...

En Route to retrieve his faithful housekeeper, May, from a European health clinic where she is recovering from an illness, Bond is warned by the British Secret Service that Tamil Rahani, the current leader of SPECTRE, now dying from wounds suffered during his last encounter with Bond, has put a price on Bond's head...

The legendary 007 discovers a link between four assassinations, and Bond's investigation takes him on a wild intercontinental chase culminating in a chilling pursuit through EuroDisney. By the author of Death is Forever. From Publishers WeeklyThis sketchy detective story requires a knowledge of James Bond movies rather than Ian Fleming novels, which may explain why it reads like a rough draft for a screenplay. In Gardner's 12th 007 book (after Death Is Forever ), the ageless agent from Her Majesty's Secret Service is sent to Switzerland to investigate the murder of MI5 operative Laura March. Teaming up with Swiss agent Flica von Gruss, he discovers that March's brother was a serial killer and that her ex-lover was legendary English actor David Dragonpol, now retired and living in a fairy-tale castle on the Rhine. Dragonpol's sister, Maeve Horton, proves to be the link between March's death and four recent assassinations; a Bleeding Heart rose bred by Horton appeared at the funeral of each of the victims, March included. Bond and von Gruss pursue the case to Dragonpol's castle in Germany, where the usual fiendish plot is uncovered and ultimately resolved in the traditional Bond manner. This light, entertaining read doesn't pretend to be anything more than another episode in what has turned into a never-ending adventure. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus ReviewsLike Pentagon dinosaurs laboring to adapt to a new world order by finding telltale traces of the old in every dark shadow, Gardner's reincarnation of James Bond examines a string of serial killings and finds a freelance terrorist just as dangerous as his old adversaries from SMERSH and SPECTRE. Bond's called in when MI5 agent Laura March is killed at Interlaken. Going through the things in her hotel room, he and Flicka Von Grsse, his leggy opposite number from Swiss Intelligence, find a disturbing letter from Laura to her late brother, a serial beheader of blonds, and fax a copy back to M. While they're coupling in Bond's room, the letter itself is stolen, and M, citing the ``grave moral scandal'' (so much for updating Bond's morality), ostensibly removes Bond from duty. Back in England for Laura's funeral, Bond notices a bizarre floral tribute--a red-tipped white rose--linking Laura's death to four other recent assassinations, and to the flower's only breeder: Maeve Horton, sister of Laura's onetime fianc‚, distinguished actor David Dragonpol. There follow the requisite scenes of tourist-trap mayhem--at Schloss Drache, Dragonpol's Alpine aerie, atop the roof of the Duomo in Milan, and at EuroDisney, where the murderer has planned one last, ultra-high-profile strike--but Gardner's lack of conviction reduces everything to retro-fluff. Bond really isn't cut out for the work of tracking down serial killers, even the ones whose targets include Yasir Arafat and Kiri Te Kanawa. As Gardner struggles to update the perils his superstar hero faces, Bond himself remains the biggest anachronism of all. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

James Bond abandons his 007 status, resigns from the Service, and heads south for Monte Carlo in his new Bentley Mulsanne Turbo in search of a new life in Role of Honor . The choice is exercised partly by renewal of Bond’s passion for that prince of cars, the Bentley. His departure from the Service requires rather more explanation. Questions in the House all revolved round a possible security leak, with Her Majesty’s Opposition declaring a cover-up. Bond’s grievance is less that he should come under suspicion than that his honor is impeached by the manner in which the truth is exposed. John Gardner’s fiendish plot embroils his hero with a computer wizard absconding from his duties at the Pentagon, a sinister mercenary army training in secret for an audacious terrorist operation, and a white-knuckle flight over Geneva while Summit Peace Talks are in progress there, before Bond’s honor is fully restored. Review “John Gardner keeps you turning the pages far into the night.” ( Daily Express  )

To the public, Sir Maxwell Tarn is known as a powerful self-made billionaire. To British intelligence, he is known as an international arms-dealer. Spreading blood and terror, the Americans call him Apocalypse. To James Bond and his partner Flicka, he's a maniac who must be stopped-because within reunited Germany, an army of thousands knows him as "der Fuhrer."