Science Universe

The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world: its makeup, its evolution, and the fundamental forces that drive its operation. Knocking on Heaven's Door is an exhilarating and accessible overview of these developments and an impassioned argument for the significance of science. There could be no better guide than Lisa Randall.

On the run from interplanetary assassins, covert operative Val Con yos'Phelium and former mercenary sergeant Miri Robertson end up stranded on a distant planet - with no rescue in sight. Until they figure out a way back to Liad, these two lost souls must find a way to trust each other - and let their true love heal the dark wounds of their past.

And so continues the saga of the Clan invasion and the explosive struggle within the Inner Sphere. With secret aid from ComStar, the Terran-based sect that serves as the keeper of the Inner Sphere's technological secrets, the Clans' BattleMech warriors have been incredibly successful in their campaign of invasion. But ComStar has its own reasons for giving aid to the enemy, and if its strategy proves successful, the Inner Sphere worlds will finally be reunited under ComStar's rule.

For a physicist, all the world is information. The universe and its workings are the ebb and flow of information. We are all transient patterns of information, passing on the recipe for our basic forms to future generations using a four-letter digital code called DNA. In this engaging and mind-stretching account, Vlatko Vedral considers some of the deepest questions about the universe and considers the implications of interpreting it in terms of information.

Only months away from their escape from Mace, Esna and Rammak find themselves in the middle of a V'kit'no'sat attack on the Star Force ice world base. Evasion is the second book in the Wayward Trilogy and part of the Star Force Universe.

Esna Donovan was stranded on a planet full of people that didn't look like her as a child along with her brother. Their father was murdered, leaving them sitting in their spaceship waiting for his return. They remember almost nothing from before that time, when two Calavari who were business associates of their father took them in and told them they could never be seen outside their full body armor. They've honored their father's dying wish, living and working on the Calavari's farm while exploring the barren wastelands looking for bits of technological salvage.

Theo, star pilot wannabe and troubled misfit has been accepted, against all her expectations, to Anlingdin. It’s the Hogwarts of star piloting academies, and Theo has been selected to train there with the best-of-the-best. Even better - she can finally leave behind the gawky, misfit days of teenage angst her previous life so complicated before. Great Liaden star pilots are born with a bang and not a whimper - and Theo has set a course to graduate from misfit to genuine maverick.

Theo Waitley has lived all her young life on Delgado, a Safe World that is home to one of the galaxy's premier institutions of higher learning. Both Theo's mother, Kamele, and Kamele's onagrata Jen Sar Kiladi, are professors at the university, and they all live comfortably together, just like they have for all of Theo's life, in Jen Sar's house at the outskirts of town.Suddenly, though, Theo's life changes. Kamele leaves Jen Sar and moves herself and Theo back into faculty housing, which is not what Theo is used to.

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire: Behind the Scenes is a special recording that features new commentary by author Timothy Zahn and editor Betsy Mitchell, written for the 20th anniversary edition of Heir to the Empire, read by Zahn and Mitchell. Included here is audio from the that new unabridged recording to enhance their comments.

When Nickie receives a plea for help, she does what any young rebel on a sabbatical would do. She ignores it. Little does she know quite who and what happen to follow the message. One volcanic labyrinth, a rock monster, and a hike with a new team later, she finds herself on a new mission of her own. And this time, she has no idea what’s in store for her.

While Ghost Squadron follows leads to find the Saverus, these shapeshifters are using their powers to repair the Tangle Thief. If they succeed, the galaxy is doomed. Meanwhile, Julianna’s dreams are about to come true. If they hunt down a terrorist’s group then they’ll have their guns. Shiny, upgraded weapons. That’s not the only upgrade on the way, but bigger doesn’t always mean better, they soon learn. The team must be ready for the final battle.

Knox is feeling the pressure to remember where he hid the Tangle Thief. The Saverus are also hunting for the device. It’s a race to find it first. Eddie and Julianna seek out a hypnotherapist to help Knox uncover the secrets his subconscious has buried, even though the therapist is on his own personal journey into the abyss.

Killing the bad guy just got a whole lot harder. Eddie and Julianna are perplexed when a major thief strikes a security corporation. They track down the thieves at a top-secret Federation facility. What they learn only creates more problems. They’re dealing with shapeshifters. The Saverus race was thought to be a myth. It turns out they’ve only been hiding, taking on the identity of others. Biding their time. Now they’re trying to steal a device that could tear the entire galaxy apart.

When Nickie accidentally activates her special functions and finds herself with a stolen ship full of hostile Skaine, she has no choice but to figure out what to do with the cards she has been dealt. A by-product of her activation, her internal computer system also finds her Aunt Tabitha’s diary in her memory banks. In these accounts, Nickie finds a long-desired link back to her favorite aunt, whose recounted stories help them both to accept the trauma they’ve survived.

Nicolelis undertakes the first attempt to explain the entirety of human history, culture, and civilization based on a series of recently uncovered key principles of brain function. This new cosmology is centered around three fundamental properties of the human brain: its insurmountable malleability to adapt and learn; its exquisite ability to allow multiple individuals to synchronize their minds around a task, goal, or belief; and its incomparable capacity for abstraction.

Tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans.

Ryder doesn’t know if she can kill Afana and liberate the bunker. One thing she does know is that the Merry Gang will do the impossible to free the hostage - or die trying. Unfortunately for the Gang, there is a fate worse than death: the Madness.

In Defying Limits, Dave Williams shares the events that have defined his life, showing us that whether we’re gravity-defying astronauts or earthbound terrestrials, we can all live infinite, fulfilled lives by relishing the value and importance of each moment. The greatest fear that we all face is not the fear of dying but the fear of never having lived. Each of us is greater than we believe. Together, we can exceed our limits to soar farther and higher than we ever imagined.

After 10 years of wandering the outer rim of the galaxy, Eddie Teach is a man without a purpose. He was one of the toughest pilots in the Federation, but now he's just a regular guy, getting into bar fights and making a difference wherever he can. It's not the same as flying a ship and saving colonies, but it'll have to do.

Born an Arcadian, but raised as an exile among the Druids, Arryn has trained hard her whole life to bring justice to the man who destroyed her life. The problem? Some girl from the Boulevard beat her to it.... With Adrien dead, and his ashes scattered to the wind, Arryn can finally return to the city she once called home to learn the truth about her family. But powerful forces work in the shadows, carrying on Adrien's evil vision, and threatening to draw Arcadia back into the darkness. Arryn might just get to fulfill that vow for vengeance after all....