Open Road: 9207 books

An NPR Books Great Read: Two never-before-published stories from the archives of one of science fiction’s all-time masters. The novella “A Necessary Being” showcases Octavia E. Butler’s ability to create alien yet fully believable “others.” Tahneh’s father was a Hao, one of a...

Six extraordinary stories from the author of Kindred, a master of modern science fiction—including a Hugo and Nebula award–winning novella. Octavia E. Butler’s classic “Bloodchild,” winner of both the Nebula and Hugo awards, anchors this collection of incomparable stories and essays....

A “wonderful novel” steeped in the folklore of the South from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Women of Brewster Place (The Washington Post Book World). On an island off the coast of Georgia, there’s a place where superstition is more potent than any trappings of the modern...

Women stand their ground in the midst of crisis in this story collection by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Color Purple. This collection builds on Alice Walker’s earlier work, the much-praised In Love & Trouble. But unlike her first collection of stories, the women in...

In seventeenth-century France, a daring young man defends the queen’s honor and tests his skills against the best swordsmen of the day D’Artagnan journeys to Paris armed with nothing but his sword, his courage, and a burning desire to prove his mettle as a member of King Louis XIII’s...

A Confederate spy risks his life to win the heart of a fallen woman Early in the Civil War, the Confederacy sends Roger Duval to Sacramento, to keep an eye on the situation in California in hopes of turning the Western territory towards the Southern cause. It’s a plush assignment, well out...

The Executioner brings his unique brand of warfare to the home of American muscle Ever since he began his one-man war against the Mafia, Mack Bolan has dreaded the day he would take on Detroit. The driving engine of the American economy, Detroit is run by the most stable mob outfit in the country....

A young couple battles forces determined to keep them apart in this high fantasy series by “one of the leading masters of epic fantasy” (Publishers Weekly). These four fantasy novels of love and adventure follow the exploits of childhood friends Inos and Rap as their feelings are tested...

The heroes of King Solomon’s Mines return to Africa in this action-packed sequel that inspired the film Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.   Allan Quatermain, big-game hunter and explorer, has recently lost his son, Harry, to smallpox and is ready to get away from civilization. Rather...

A “moving and memorable” novel about a cafe where everyone has a story to tell from the award-winning author of The Women of Brewster Place (The Boston Globe). In post–World War II Brooklyn, on a quiet backstreet, there’s a little place that draws people from all over—not for the...

The National Book Award–winning author of The Women of Brewster Place explores the secrets of an affluent black community. For its wealthy African American residents, the exclusive neighborhood of Linden Hills is a symbol of “making it.” The ultimate achievement: a home on prestigious...

Ishmael Reed’s inspired fable of the ragtime era, in which a social movement threatens to suppress the spread of black culture—hailed by Harold Bloom as one of the five hundred greatest books of the Western canon In 1920s America, a plague is spreading fast. From New Orleans to Chicago...

A poet craving authenticity ventures into a gritty Philadelphia neighborhood in this novel by the award-winning author of The Chaneysville Incident.   Philadelphia’s South Street is a world of contradiction. The hardscrabble neighborhood is filled with prostitutes and gangsters; working...

Three lyrical and unforgettable novels from the National Book Award–winning author of The Women of Brewster Place.   After winning both the National Book Award and the American Book Award for her now iconic debut novel, The Women of Brewster Place, which was later made into a TV miniseries starring...