Science Myths

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Astraea is a prisoner of her own mind, the past sliding from her grasp like water. But she knows she must escape the tyrannical king who holds her captive and find her clouded memories once again. This quest leads her to the Libertatem, a succession of trials hosted by the king in which five human lands compete for a cycle of safety from the vampires seeking blood, claiming souls, and savaging after dark. But even winning the Libertatum will not keep Astraea safe from vampires.

I can turn into a housecat. It’s a fun magic, except in a world filled with vampires and werewolves, it doesn’t exactly make me a powerhouse. Instead, the supernatural community has classified me as an outcast, which means one thing: picking on me is open season all day, every day. The local fae are the worst of all, and it’s during one of their regular “capture the cat-girl” sessions that I shift into my cat form and meet HIM for the first time.

The tale of the legendary golden flower is widely known. Always the flower is coveted by an old witch to keep herself young and beautiful, and always the flower is used to save a dying queen, who then gives birth to a princess with magical hair. Not willing to lose the flower, the old witch steals the princess and locks her away in a high tower, raising her as her own. But the princess always finds out who she truly is and manages to defeat the old witch. And yet this is only half the story. So what of the old witch, Mother Gothel?

Alexander Weiss inadvertently insults Athena, goddess of wisdom, and she casts him away on a forgotten isle filled with statues. Being marooned is bad enough, but the fact that the island is also the home of Euryale, elder sister to Medusa, makes the situation a touch worse. The only thing keeping Alex from being petrified is the fact that Euryale has taken a liking to the blundering mortal. For now.

Sviska is a man of the shadows, an assassin without any one place to call his own. But in the Far North, he discovers a secret. Magic, long thought lost to the world, is alive. The genocide to destroy every elf, wizard, and sacred being of old is not yet complete. Sviska's masters work the strings of the world and he has been sent for a task he does not even fully understand yet. When at last he feels he has what he has always wanted, darkness falls upon the world.

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Ten-year-old Zeus is mystified (and super annoyed) by the fact he keeps getting hit by lightening. He also longs for adventure, as he has never been far from the cave where he grew up. Zeus gets his wish - and a lot more than he bargained for - when he is kidnapped by dangerous, giant Titans! In self-defense, Zeus grabs the first thing he sees - an actual thunderbolt he pulls from a stone that is covered in mysterious markings. Zeus is the only one who can decipher the markings, and he sets off on a quest to rescue his fellow Olympians from the evil Cronus.

The murder of her mother leads 13-year-old Rowan to a desperate decision. She must set out alone across dangerous country to find the father she has never met: a famous outlaw of Sherwood Forest named Robin Hood. And when Robin is captured by the Sheriff of Nottingham, Rowan and an unlikely band of rescuers must use all their skills to set him free.

Nancy Springer is a two-time recipient of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. Her beloved Rowan Hood books are favorites of young readers. Wild Boy, the fourth book of the series, tells the story of Rook - a feral, homeless orphan who stalks Sherwood Forest like a wild animal. Ever since the Sheriff of Nottingham killed his father, Rook has screamed for vengeance. Now with the evil Sheriff 's son caught in one of his man-traps, Rook may finally get the chance to exact his revenge.

The greatest obstacle to sound economic policy is not entrenched special interests or rampant lobbying, but the popular misconceptions, irrational beliefs, and personal biases held by ordinary voters. This is economist Bryan Caplan's sobering assessment in this provocative and eye-opening book.

Nicholas Flamel is the greatest Alchemyst to ever live. The records show that he died in 1418, but what if he's actually been making the elixir of life for centuries? The secrets to eternal life are hidden within the book he protects - the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed, and in the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. And that's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. There is one hope. If the prophecy is true, Sophie and Josh Newman have the power to save everyone. Now they just have to learn to use it.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.... Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle.

East and West. Humans and Spirits. Breccans and Tamerlaines. The Isle of Cadence has always held itself and its residents in a tenuous balance. But now Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, has pushed everyone and everything in his path off-kilter in a bid to claim dominion over all.

Skeeve needs more than magic to solve a matter of Murder and Myth-tery. He’s in a real pickle this time. His green, scaly partner, Aahz, has disappeared, and it looks like foul play. Finding Aahz ought to be a snap for a talented magician like Skeeve, especially with a sassy apprentice and a dumb-but-brawny bodyguard along for the ride. The trouble is, they're sleuthing in another dimension that makes the Bazaar on Deva look tame!

Aileana is the king's pet. She has lived her entire life in a tower, waiting for the day she will be forced to marry his son. When that day arrives, she has a plan. Armed with her daggers and desire for freedom, she runs from the king and his deadly power. Xander has spent his entire life on the run. He doesn't need anyone or anything, certainly not a mate. But when his path crosses with a feisty elf, nothing will ever be the same again. He has secrets to keep. She wants to leave Ithenmyr behind and not look back. Fate has other plans for them both.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive. When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick. But all gifts come with a price.

Trystan was once the pampered daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, but since his death, she's considered a social pariah. Trapped by her stepmother's malicious web of lies, Trystan is willing to do just about anything to escape - even play a part in a devious plot to disinherit the kingdom's incompetent heir, Prince Ramsey. But what should have been a simple task proves to have sinister implications. The consequences for Trystan's actions become clear in the midst of the glittering royal masque, where two very different princes compete for the hearts of their people.

His vengeance against the gods of Olympus years behind him, Kratos now lives as a man in the realm of Norse gods and monsters. It is in this harsh, unforgiving world that he must fight to survive...and teach his son to do the same. This startling reimagining of God of War deconstructs the core elements that defined the series - satisfying combat, breathtaking scale, and a powerful narrative - and fuses them anew.

The internet is a powerful beast when it comes to science; the answer to any query you may have is just a few keystrokes away. Dr. Joe takes a critical look at how facts are misconstrued in the media. He debunks the myths surrounding canned food, artificial dyes, SPF, homeopathy, cancer, chemicals, and more.