Black Butterflies is in two parts: eight stories set in "This World" (what we call reality) and eight stories set in "That World" (where the door swings open into the realm of the surreal, the supernatural). In "This World" we meet a middle-class white woman who turns a mugging by two black youngsters into her chance to pursue glory as a criminal; a cop who knows his partner is guilty of murdering his wife; two hustlers who throw a sadistic and drug-infested party at the expense of their bound and unwilling host (believe it or not, it's hilarious); "a girl who died from cum"; and two bike messengers whose fate is to join hundreds of other people in a freak accident so hideous it boggles the mind. Almost all of them seem to find some kind of manic deliverance in the most outlandish and horrific of circumstances. In "That World" we creep down a tunnel into a child's escape from reality, witness more than one scene of surreal cannibalism in the service of sexual pleasure and/or artistic creation, and participate with horror and awe in a religious rite in the final days of the human species.
John Shirley visits some very strange places, but he always comes back to tell of his adventures in a spare, unaffected voice. He can carry you into the edgiest of human situations and bring you back giggling nervously. Take the risk; go on a ride with him. --Fiona Webster
]]>The ongoing Third World War leaves parts of Europe in ruins. Into the chaos steps the Second Alliance, a multinational eager to impose its own kind of New World Order.
In the United States ... in FirStep, the vast space colony ... and on the artificial island Freezone -- the SA shoulders its way to power, spinning a dark web of media manipulation, propaganda, and infiltration.
Only the New Resistance recognizes the SA for what it really is: a racist theocracy hiding a cult of eugenics.
Enter Rick Rickenharp, a former rock'n'roll cult hero: a rock classicist -- out of place in Europe's underground club scene, populated by "wiredancers" and "minimonos" ... but destined to play a Song Called Youth that will shake the world.
]]>Subject: Gabriel Bleak. Status: Civilian. Paranormal skills: Powerful. Able to manipulate AS energies and communicate with UBEs (e.g. "ghosts" and other entities). Psychological profile: Extremely independent, potentially dangerous. Caution is urged....
As far as Gabriel Bleak is concerned, talking to the dead is just another way of making a living. It gives him the competitive edge to survive as a bounty hunter, or "skip tracer," in the psychic minefield known as New York City. Unfortunately, his gift also makes him a prime target. A top-secret division of Homeland Security has been monitoring the recent emergence of human supernaturals, with Gabriel Bleak being the strongest on record. If they control Gabriel, they'll gain access to the Hidden -- the entity-based energy field that connects all life on Earth. But Gabriel's got other ideas. With a growing underground movement called the Shadow Community -- and an uneasy alliance of spirits, elementals, and other beings -- Gabriel's about to face the greatest demonic uprising since the Dark Ages. But this time, history is not going to repeat itself. This time, the future is Bleak. Gabriel Bleak.
]]>But when you look around at the world as it stands -- you see Darfur, you see Somalia and the Congo, you see the modern slavery of indentured servitude, you see children sold into prostitution, you see millions starving, you see mindless wars, you see people you care about dying of Alzheimer's and children dying of cancer and millions of others trapped in schizophrenia or living lives of media-hypnotized desperation...
You see a planet beset by a loss of biodiversity, a depleted ozone layer, slash-and-burn destruction of rainforests, and the onset of global warming...
And you know that because the population of the Earth is increasing, it's only going to get worse. This can't go on; something has to change.
What if you could change it? What if you could design your own Judgment Day?
What if there were another end rather than one based on childish interpretations of religion, bias, bigotry, exclusion, and cultural narrowness-mindedness?
What if Judgment Day came for the whole world and offered true justice?
It would be THE OTHER END.
]]>Unlike undertaking those endeavors, you can get through the harrowing pages of In Darkness Waiting alive (although we are not promising you'll remain unscathed.) Towards the end you'll discover one of the most extreme yet literate passages ever written. It may well be the most outré scene ever created.
But John Shirley wasn't after shock alone. Shock is never enough for him.
]]>John Shirley incisively explores human nature and the pitch-black streak within the soul that each of us fears. The twenty-two excursions collected here divide the darkness with scalpel-like precision, daring you to peek inside. In these divided shadows, in the shift of diffuse light and occlusion, things move--things that aren't there. There you will find your own id, the dark side of your own imagination.
Read these words, and be forever changed by what you find.
]]>A nightmare creature, buried by children, returns to claim them as adults.
A woman's flat tire turns into a memorable stretch of bad luck as she becomes a passenger in a car bound for Hell.
A man spends his life trying to forget the misdeeds of his past.
A small group of teenagers must overcome an ancient evil.
Experience the return of terror in Night Visions 10, edited by World Fantasy award-winner Richard Chizmar.
]]>Yet the greatest enemy of all could be human. When former professor Harmon Fiskle is transformed by the Current — a roving mutagenic force — he is freed to pursue his megalomaniacal nature. He advocates a depraved policy of social Darwinism, and forges a grotesque alliance of Twists: men and women who have sacrificed their own humanity to become monstrous mutations of their former selves.
With an entire world at stake, only Zero can solve the mystery of Fool's Hope ... if it isn't already too late.
]]>We believe the programmer writing her first DCE application will find this book the perfect resource. A primary focus is remote procedure calls (RPC). The Guide to Writing DCE Applications is designed to get the programmer up and running with working examples of client/server applications and to provide a comprehensive model for the development of distributed applications.
Contents include:<ul><li>Overview of a distributed application.<li>Using a DCE RPC interface (IDL and ACF files).<li>Developing clients.<li>Using pointers and arrays.<li>Developing a server.<li>Using a name service.<li>Using a context handle to maintain server state.<li>Using pipes for large quantities of data.<li>Quick references.<li>Complete code of four applications, plus Makefiles and directions for building and running.
]]>Like many aspects of Microsoft programming, RPC forms a small world of its own, with conventions and terms that can be confusing. But once you understand the purpose behind each feature, programming with RPC is not difficult. This book lays out the concepts and the programming tasks so that you can use this powerful API.
Microsoft RPC is a new technology based on the RPC used in the Distributed Computing Environment (DCE). This book builds on O'Reilly's successful DCE series. It provides a solid foundation for programmers learning to use Microsoft RPC, including:
<ul><li> Controlling communications through the Microsoft Interface Definition Languages (MIDL) and the Attribute Configuration File (ACF)The book contains:<li> How the server advertises itself<li> How a client chooses a server (binding)<li> Types of pointers and arrays<li> Memory management<li> Administration tasks for an RPC server
This edition covers version 2.0 of Microsoft RPC. Four complete examples are included.
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