Showing results by author "John Gardner" in All Categories

Novelist John Gardner's thesis in On Moral Fiction is simple: "True art is by its nature moral." It is also an audacious statement, as Gardner asserts an inherent value in life and in art. Since the book's first publication, the passion behind Gardner's assertion has both provoked and inspired fans. In examining the work of his peers, Gardner analyzes what has gone wrong, in his view, in modern art and literature, and how shortcomings in artistic criticism have contributed to the problem.

Crimes of passion are as old as love itself. A man, a woman, a weapon: it's the perfect recipe for love gone wrong. And Murder for Love: Murder for Men is the perfect—and only—collection of love stories with a delectable devious twist: Murder. Eight works of short fiction from the very best male writers inside—and out—of the mystery field provide compelling listening in this distinctive collection.

In a gloomy mansion in Madison, Wisconsin, a sheltered and sensitive young man slips a visiting professor his secret manuscript—a staggering and beautiful fantasy of knights, knaves, and fools, a rich tale of timeless battles with the devil himself over power and destiny.

Once again, the game is afoot . . . What really happened in Switzerland between Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes in 1891? And why is Holmes, now in London at 221B Baker Street, curiously uncooperative with Scotland Yard’s inquiries? Furthermore, why has Moriarty planned a grand meeting with the international crime syndicate? These are the questions that make up the larger mystery of the sinister Professor Moriarty’s return.

When at 42, the obese, anxious, and gentle Henry Soames marries seventeen-year-old Callie Wells - who is pregnant with the child of a local boy - it is much more than years which define the gulf between them. But the beauty of this audiobook is the gradual revelation of the bond that develops as this unlikely couple experiences courtship and marriage, the birth of a son, isolation, forgiveness, work, and death in a small Catskill community in the 1950s. The plot turns on tragic events - they might be accidents

October Light is one of John Gardner's masterworks. The penniless widow of a once-wealthy dentist, Sally Abbot now lives in the Vermont farmhouse of her older brother, 72-year-old James Page. Polar opposites in nearly every way, their clash of values turns a bitter corner when the exacting and resolute James takes a shotgun to his sister's color television set. After he locks Sally up in her room with the trashy "blockbuster" novel that has consumed her (and only apples to eat), the novel-within-the-novel becomes an echo chamber providing glimpses into the history of the family that spawned these bizarre, sad, and stubborn people.

In this posthumously published collection of his essays and reviews, acclaimed novelist John Gardner discusses the craft of fiction writing, taking to task some of his best-known contemporaries in the process.

James Bond and his stunning partner—the former Swiss intelligence agent Flicka von Grusse—investigate the disappearance of Sir Maxwell, a self-made billionaire whose aims rival that of Hitler. Their pursuit takes them on a dangerous course through London and Spain then across the Middle East and on to a floating laboratory off the coast of Puerto Rico. The pair get caught up in both deadly international arms trade and an ecological disaster that threatens the entire globe.

1898: Martian tripods lay waste to Earth's cities. The world's armies are unable to stem the tide of destruction. When all hope appears lost, common bacteria kills the alien invaders. From the ashes, the human race uses the technology left behind by the Martians to build new, advanced weapons.

The night that Flight 229 was blown apart upon landing at Washington's Dulles Airport—killing almost 400 passengers aboard—James Bond embarked on a mission that would become an obsession. Who was responsible for destroying the British-owned aircraft? Was it a straightforward act of terrorism, an assassination aimed at only one person, or a move to put the airline out of business? The search for answers has a personal meaning: Bond' s former lover and old friend, the Principessa Sukie Tempesta, is listed as one of the ill-fated passengers.

The first of John Gardner's novels featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent. Bond has been assigned to investigate one Dr. Anton Murik, a brilliant nuclear physicist who is thought to have been meeting with a terrorist known as Franco. Together, they plan to hijack six nuclear power plants around the world and start a global meltdown, unless Bond can stop them...

Stillness: Martin and Joan Orrick - distant cousins who have known each other since early childhood - are in the final throes of a failing marriage. Martin is a compulsive drinker who obsesses about his writing, and Joan is struggling with a debilitating physical condition. Together they search for some type of collective identity, and identify where the dissolution of their love began. Shadows: John Gardner’s friend Nicholas Delbanco has supplemented this unfinished novel with seven sections from Gardner’s original manuscript that provide critical insight into Gardner’s approach to developing the novel and its characters.

In this second instalment of John Gardner's Bond series, Bond teams up with CIA agent Cedar Leiter, daughter of his old friend Felix Leiter, to investigate Markus Bismaquer, who is suspected of reviving the notorious criminal organisation SPECTRE

A mythological masterpiece about dedication and the disintegration of romantic affection. In this magnificent epic poem, John Gardner renders his interpretation of the ancient story of Jason and Medeia. Confined in the palace of King Creon, and longing to return to his rightful kingdom Iolcus, Jason asks his wife, the sorceress Medeia, to use her powers of enchantment to destroy the tyrant King Pelias. Out of love she acquiesces, only to find that upon her return Jason has replaced her with King Creon's beautiful daughter, Glauce.

In this wonderful fantasy, John Gardner weaves tales within tales to bring a magical world to vivid life. When three travelers on their way to the Suicide Mountains meet an enigmatic man, the Abbot of the Ancient Monastery, they begin a series of wild adventures in which they must confront mystical creatures—and come to terms with the roles fate has determined for each of them.

When Professor James Chandler learns he is dying from leukemia, he moves his family to his childhood home in Batavia, New York. There, surrounded by loved ones—both new and old—the immediacy of Chandler’s illness strikes them with new force, and the limitations of his mortality become painfully clear. Rich and moving, and imbued with insight, The Resurrection is a poignant story of love in the face of the ultimate tragedy.

We are searching for big ideas that inspire hope and action in higher education around institutional transformation and innovation to advance student success outcomes. Joining John Gardner are higher education leaders and other relevant persons of interest who will discuss innovation and strategies that improve higher education.All opinions and views expressed as part of “Office Hours with John Gardner” belong solely to the individual participants and do not necessarily represent those of the people, institutions, or organizations with which the individuals may be associated in a ...

Forced to flee England and live in America during the 1890s, Professor James Moriarty - arch-enemy of Sherlock Holmes - returns to London in 1900 to find that his huge criminal empire has been infiltrated and plundered by the coming crime boss, Idle Jack Idell. As if this was not enough, he has evidence that one of his closest lieutenants, a member of the self-styled Praetorian Guard, is betraying him.

England, June 1944. Exactly one week after the Allied armies invade Nazi occupied Normandy, Hitler strikes back with his Vengeance Weapons: the terrifying V-1 Flying Bombs. In August, one of these "doodlebugs" falls on an Anglican convent near Camberwell, killing three nuns.