Entertainment Science

You see the world for what it is, and you know we are in trouble. Ills beyond the reach of bankers and cops, soldiers and presidents, and even kings threaten the fabric of our lives. What we need is a hero. Alex Cides straps on his tool belt one morning, only to find his wife is gone, his daughters fear him, he's lost his job, and a mysterious curse has thrown him out of balance with the universe. Ten impossible tasks in LA's mythical underbelly stand between setting things right or losing everything. Literally.

Set in a lethal American professional football league seven centuries in the future, The MVP puts huge humans on the field with four alien races, creating a game that is faster, stronger, and deadlier than anything we know today. Star quarterback Quentin Barnes has spent three seasons putting together a hard-hitting, hard-fighting team that combines rookies, rejects, discarded free agents, and seasoned veterans from all five species.

Henry Long doesn't have a heart. Since the Tragedies, he doesn't have much: just an annoying low-watt buzz from his makeshift transplant, skinny arms, and a dusty library attic from which he charts the slow progress of reconstruction in the Green Zone, the last habitable neighborhood of his troubled coastal city. While his parents work on making the Green Zone independent from a federal government that appears to have abandoned them, Henry himself feels increasingly left on his own.

If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh. You discover how magicians were tortured and killed during the age of witchcraft. You are told how conjuring tricks were used to quell rebellious colonial natives. The history of magic is full of such stories, which turn out not to be true. Behind the smoke and mirrors, however, lies the real story of magic.

NEW ENTRY IN THE ICARUS SAGA FROM NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR TIMOTHY ZAHN For years Gregory Roarke and his Kadolian partner Selene have worked for the ultra-secret Icarus Group, hunting for the mysterious Icari teleportation portals so valued by the Commonwealth. But their job has now...

Teacher and Fran arrive at the Beastman Nation to find the fabled Black Cat who trained Rigdith, but their quest is interrupted by a run-in with some monsters! Fran easily dispatches them, but those monsters were being pursued by a strange, white-haired cat girl. She's outraged that Fran swiped her quarry, outraged enough to challenge Fran to a duel! Can Fran and Teacher resolve this without bloodshed, or is the fur about to fly?

Murelia is vanquished--at a terrible cost. With both Teacher's blade and magic left shattered, he and Fran have no choice but to trust in the godsmith Alistaire, whose mansion may hold the key to repairing him--and perhaps, the key to his origins, too. Either way, the duo's sojourn in the Beastman Nation is almost at an end. What will the climax of this adventure bring?

Kaori and Suimei have finally realized how they feel about each other, but their love will have to wait—the bookstore is in terrible danger. One day, a fox spirit called Hakuzousu storms in, screaming, "The spirit realm has no use for such an unscrupulous bookstore!" He blames his daughter's love for a human on the influence of human books. Shinonome can't just shrug off such an insult, and Kaori fears that a fight between her father and the fox will reduce the store to ashes.

Have you ever wondered how off-key you are while singing in the shower? Or if your Bob Dylan albums really sound better on vinyl? Or why certain songs make you cry? Now, scientist and musician John Powell invites you on an entertaining journey through the world of music. Discover what distinguishes music from plain old noise, how scales help you memorize songs, what the humble recorder teaches you about timbre (assuming your suffering listeners don’t break it first), and more.

The five members of an elite commando group nicknamed "the Stone Wolves" once raged against Creterakian rule. Now, four decades after their heyday, they each try to stay alive and eke out a living. But a friend from the past won't let them move on, and neither will their bitterest enemy. Hopscotch, RedWire, the Killer, Lulz, and Recoil will soon wish their pasts could stay dead.

After the seeming defeat of the dark archon Ulrezaj on the protoss homeworld of Aiur, Jake and Rosemary become separated as they flee through the newly repaired warp gate. Rosemary finds herself with the other refugee protoss on Shakuras, while Jake is catapulted elsewhere. But Jake does not have long to live: their enemies are regrouping, and Zamara’s essence must be separated from Jake’s mind before time runs out.

Fans of MTV’s critically acclaimed hit series, Teen Mom, have followed Farrah Abraham’s tumultuous life as a single teen mother. Her fiery, relentless spirit, and her unwavering commitment to getting the best out of life for herself and her daughter, Sophia, in spite of all the drama constantly surrounding her have made her a beloved star and media sensation. Now, in this unflinching, at times heartbreaking, memoir, Farrah reveals the difficult truth about the life that hasn’t been seen on television.

Nora Colburn was perfectly content in life. A junior in high school, she had good friends, a great family, and did well in school. Nothing particularly exciting ever happened where she lived, and everything was stable. But that all drastically changes when a new student arrives at Nora's school. Wild rumors swirl about his past, and Nora becomes determined to find out the truth. As she gets to know the mysterious student, he shares with her an ancient secret - one that may yet put both of them in grave danger.

Tot zu sein ist schrecklich...besonders wenn man pleite ist. Der ehemalige Kapitän Brad Mendoza und die ehemalige Kommandantin Jessica Lin wären zwei der meistgesuchten Personen in der Galaxis, wenn nicht alle denken würden, sie seien tot. Jetzt versuchen sie verzweifelt, einen neuen Weg zu finden, um ihren Lebensunterhalt zu bestreiten, bevor ihnen der Treibstoff, das Essen und die Hoffnung ausgehen.

When an aristocrat is murdered on his way home from a brothel, one of Claudia's rivals points the finger at her. After all, it's no longer a secret that she controls a crime syndicate. Just as Claudia launches an investigation to clear her name, a new enemy steps onto the scene: the bewitching Niamilia, a bridal candidate brought over to keep her country from going to war! Who's the real villainess among the would-be future queens? Hidden agendas clash as the curtain rises on the deciding event... a masquerade ball!

The task ahead is clear: it's time for Fate to go to the floating continent of Galia to close the Door to Distant Lands at last. Libra has prepared a ship to take Fate and his friends there, but after boarding, they find Eris has been taken hostage! Even so, they have no choice but to continue on to Galia.

What would happen to international politics if the dead rose from the grave and started to eat the living? Daniel Drezner's groundbreaking book answers the question that other international relations scholars have been too scared to ask. Addressing timely issues with analytical bite, Drezner looks at how well-known theories from international relations might be applied to a war with zombies.

Believe it or not, America's fascination with celebrity culture was thriving well before the days of TMZ, Perez Hilton, Charlie Sheen's breakdown, and allegations against Woody Allen. And the stars of yesteryear? They weren't always the saints that we make them out to be. Part biography, part cultural history, the stories contained in this book cover the stuff that films are made of: love, sex, drugs, illegitimate children, illicit affairs, and botched cover-ups.

Finding out that she was a witch was strange enough, but now Nicole must face the realization that she has the rare power to kill with just a touch. No one can know her secret - not even Blake, who she's had undeniable chemistry with since first moving to town. Now Nicole, Blake, and the three others with elemental powers must journey abroad to stop a series of monsters that they previously believed to be dead from rising once again and destroying the mortal world. Will they all survive the quest?

With their wild vacation behind them, Hiro and his crew finally reunite the count and his granddaughter. Then it’s time for him to get cozy with his new robotic maid! He takes her in for an upgrade, which makes her stronger and sexier than ever. When duty calls, will Hiro and his heavily armed android be able to take down a cybernetic soldier and put the noble feud to rest?