Bøger af Ernest Pick

Holly and Talin meet in a small town in Ohio where they fall in love. The path to marriage, however, is arduous, and littered with several infidelities. Holly works as a real estate agent in town while Talin, unbeknownst to her, is recruited by the CIA. Holly believes that Talin is operating an import-export firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. In fact, he is sent by the CIA to recover a microchip in the south of France which he does successfully. His second significant duty for the firm, however, fails. He is supposed to take custody of a young woman and place her in the hands of the CIA. Instead, she dives into a lake in an effort to escape with Talin in hot pursuit. In the ensuing struggle, The girl, Miriam, drowns. Throughout the novel, Talin travels to and from Salamanca. Spain where it is believed that a plot is about to hatch. Terrorists in an Islamic Center are preparing to explode bombs, some believe in front of the American Embassy in Madrid. Paco, who has been working with Talin, becomes enraged when he is not offered more money for his services, and attempts to join the other side. Instead, Waleed, one of the terrorists, murders him. In revenge, Talin garrots Waleed. An attempt on Talin's life is made in his hotel, but he manages to escape. In the interim, his wife, Holly, has had an affair with one of her clients which she breaks off when the client becomes serious with her. Talin uncovers this breech, but after taking it out on the client and fighting with Holly, he remains in the marriage when she pleads with him to stay. Talin, himself, has found a Scottish woman named Alice Prore appealing, but she wants nothing to do with a married man. Further, she believes that Talin has yet to suffer enough as a man to be worthy of more than her friendship. Holly resorts to another affair, this time with her gynecologist, the affair uncovered by the doctor's wife and relayed to Talin, . This time he decides to divorce Holly. Talin returns to Salamanca where the plot is now taking shape. Aitor, a Spaniard and one time believer, is put off by the terrorists' need to kill thousands of innocents. To buy his loyalty, the terrorists kidnap his daughter and lock her up in the basement of the Center. Aitor decides after much thought to inform on the terrorists. He tells Talin about their plans to explode bombs in front of the American Embassy in Madrid, but this plan turns out to be a decoy, and he accompanies the terrorists as they leave Spain to explode their bombs elsewhere. Thanks to Aitor, the bombs are harmlessly destroyed, the terrorists killed or captured, and Talin is able to free Aitor's daughter from the Islamic Center. Subsequently, he flies to Scotland to spend time with Alice Prore who now believes that Talin would be a suitable companion for her. They leave for her apartment arm in arm.

Paul Scudery, a young American, travels to London to study in 1956. He takes a philosophy course with the famed philosopher, A. J. Ayer, and meets him for a cup of coffee to discuss a lecture...but did this meeting actually take place ? When the Hungarian Revolution begins, he participates in an assault on the Russian Embassy and the Daily Worker, and even hitchhikes to Vienna to see refugees who have fled Hungary. When he returns, he finds questions about his activities, people who dispute that he undertook them. The American Embassy asks Paul to spy on several Communists...later a spokesman denies this happened. Several similar incidents cause Paul to wonder whether he is sane. The novel follows Paul as he seeks to uncover the truth of his experience.

Poor Francis Henderson. He's rich, he's handsome, he's even a Senator from Ohio, yet he cannot make a single decision. To deal with this issue, he visits Dr. Gerhardt, a psychiatrist, once a German scientist who sought to switch brains from one individual to another, who turns the timid, diffident senator from a mouse into a man. Not only a man, but one that America can be proud of, one who speaks out of both sides of his mouth, who feigns love and compassion while consumed with hatred and fear. The new Francis agrees once more to run for the Senate. His good doctor, using a brain synthesizer, and other brain washing techniques, creates a political superhero of our times who has no regard for anyone or anything but power. His helper, Cameron Bernstein, once a reporter for a Cleveland newspaper, and adherent to the sect known as Foreverism, becomes disenchanted with his candidate as Francis becomes less and less caring and more and more ruthless. Foreverism, a sect which once brought Francis and Cameron together, has as its high priest Lopez, not quite a human, not quite a spirit. The motto of Foreverism is: It All Works. And indeed, in the quest for power, Francis finds that everything does work. The hilarious tale of his rise to the highest office in the land, of his wife who grows to fear and despise him, of his girlfriend, a priestess of Foreverism, and the various characters who create the chaos in Washington we call our government, is one not to be missed.

Paul Scudery, a 70-year old long-time actor in the soap, Babylon Revisited, has been playing the role of Ari Bloom for twenty years. He collapses and is admitted to a hospital where he learns that he has contracted a rare and incurable disease. The director of the soap has Paul record several scenes in which he is gradually phased out of the storyline. Paul collapses for the second time in a pool room. In a coma, he is flown to a clinic in France that offers an experimental drug, Cephylor. Awakening out of the coma in the clinic, he answers exclusively to Ari Bloom, the role he played for so many years. He has no idea who Paul Scudery is. In the clinic, Ari meets Penny, another patient, and they form a bond. Together, they attempt to forge a life together in the time remaining. Through dreams which Cephylor amplifies and prolongs, Ari learns of his life as Paul Scudery, a rather unsavory individual interested only in himself. But he also learns that Ari Bloom, if naïve, possesses decent and caring qualities. In a delirium, Ari passes after taking the train to Paris in his pajamas. Sadly, Penny flies to New York to view the final scenes Paul filmed representing his last days on the soap.

Poor Freddie Doolan! He still lives with his folks despite having graduated in film studies from a prestigious university. The great Director, Cephas Varte gives a lecture which Freddie attends. Afterwards, Freddie meets the Director who takes a liking to him and offers him a job on set, albeit a menial one. Freddie becomes entranced with Cephas and patterns himself after the Director both mentally and physically, buying elevator shoes, changing his hair shape and color, for example. The Director is flattered and brings Freddie along to Germany where he is shooting a new film. Freddie meets Lacey, a beautiful women and former drug addict, now Cephas's wife. Suspicious of Freddie, she guards the Director day and night.The film proceeds badly. Several disasters happen during the shoot. One day, Lacey accidentally runs over and kills a girl while driving in the countryside. She does not stop. In the cover-up, she sends Freddie with the vehicle to Frankfurt to have the front end repaired. There, an American named Billy, aware of the accident, tries to blackmail Cephas and Lacey. They devise a successful, if horrendous, plan to get rid of this nuisance. Out of guilt, Cephas lapses back into drugs.Now finding the situation unbearable, Freddie attempts to disengage from Cephas and Lacey. Can he do so? Can Cephas and Lacey escape jail?

Simone Valois becomes a double-agent in war-torn France to avenge the murder of her father by the Germans