Splrix

-THREE CRACKING THE SHELL “Good evening,” came the cheerful greeting of the old man behind the counter.  His unruly silver curls were like a cloud of steal wool on top of his head, and his great bushy brows arched like bridges of wiry haystacks over his large black eyes.  He wore a pair of wide round glasses, giving him an even odder appearance and making his eyes look even larger than they really were.  But the air he held was a very strong and confident one and most amiable.  He smiled pleasantly as Nathaniel entered, and the way with which he welcomed him might have made one think that the elder man was greeting an old friend.

-ONE NEW AND FIGHTING FOR IMPROVED “Nathaniel . . .” Nathaniel awoke with a start.  Panting violently, he sprang up and bed clutching at his covers for dear life.  He was hot and covered in thick sticky sweat; his heart was pounding so aggressively that he could feel his pulse throbbing in his ears.  For a minute or two he did not even know where he was, but as his palpitating heart began to slow down to a normal rate and his heavy gasps to ease he saw that there was absolutely nothing to substantiate his fear. He was almost surprised to find that he was not in a tiny room he had known for nearly half a century of his life.  As

PROLOGUE “. . . I am often asked why I decided to write my book.  Most of the time, I shall admit, that I do not really give a very decent response.  It is usually something along the lines of: “It was just something that needed to be put down on paper.”  However this is only “the tip of the iceberg”, though I do not think I have ever used the expression personally before.  The reason for my writing the book came to me, yes as a form of release, but also something I felt that I needed to share with everyone around me.  This may sound a bit pretentious, especially considering that the book itself is written mostly abo