He was a mysterious cosmic presence who came out of nowhere with the incredible promise to free the dying planet. Earth's future is one of peace. There are no more wars, nuclear weapons are outlawed, and technology is raising mankind to new heights. Many cities are now underground. Alain von Bek is a bastard of distinguished lineage working an unassuming job with city administration in the underground city of Switzerland. But with the appearance of a massive clownish figure calling himself the Fireclown, Alain's life and the course of Earth's future are both about to change. The Fireclown claims to hold the keys to mankind's salvation. He carries an undeniable charisma that is winning him followers, chief among them Helen Curtis, Alain's cousin and former lover, not to mention serious candidate in the next presidential election. But there are also those who mistrust the Fireclown. At the forefront of this opposition is Minister Simon von Bek, Alain's grandfather, and Helen's chief competition in the forthcoming election. Gradually, Alain finds himself sucked into a game of chess between these three polarizing forces, but each new revelation raises new questions, about his past and that of the world's future. He will have to put his trust in someone, and time is running out-for him and the world.

"The Fireclown raged; he shrieked; he laughed in ghastly mirth. A painted demon, a fat messiah, Fireclown, ever masked, led hysterical subterranean riots, inciting the people to tear down and revolt. For his own deadly power, or for galactic salvation? A grotesque political charlatan, or the only voice of sanity left on Earth? No one knew but everyone was frightened, and there were those prepared to exploit that fear... Earth, with its savage class structure, was dying. Complacently rushing towards a holocaust. Corrupt and weakened by an impotent administration, Earth trembled before the threat of solar war. Only Alan Powys and Helen Curtis saw sense in Fireclown's vision. But by then he had vanished, and the greatest space chase in history was on..."--Page [4] of cover.

One Friday evening Daniel de Luc, an elusive crime writer with a deep love of poetry, disappears from a Camps Bay apartment while cooking pasta. His wife Paola, desperately worried after days of hearing nothing, is contacted by an eccentric stranger who claims to have known her missing husband under a different name and warns her not to look for him. Paola soon learns that her husband was involved in the shadowy world of the international sex industry, where well-heeled women pay men to become the anonymous fathers of their children. As her neat, controlled existence is turned inside out, Paola struggles to keep a level head and find her own humanity while trying to outwit her enemies and stay alive. The result is a fast-paced thriller that shifts between Cape Town and Paris, blending realism with the fantastic and pitting love against the attraction of sexual adventure.

In Limbo, award-winning journalist Alfred Lubrano identifies and describes an overlooked cultural phenomenon: the internal conflict within individuals raised in blue-collar homes, now living white-collar lives. These people often find that the values of the working class are not sufficient guidance to navigate the white-collar world, where unspoken rules reflect primarily upper-class values. Torn between the world they were raised in and the life they aspire too, they hover between worlds, not quite accepted in either. Himself the son of a Brooklyn bricklayer, Lubrano informs his account with personal experience and interviews with other professionals living in limbo. For millions of Americans, these stories will serve as familiar reminders of the struggles of achieving the American Dream.

"Artemis Slake, at the age of thirteen, took his fear and misfortune and hid them underground. The thing is, he had to go with them".