Inert, unyielding, impossibly alien constructs, for twenty years they sat lifeless, mute testaments to their long-vanished creators, their secrets hidden. Then one day, they sprang to life... Meet Corporal Flynn Taggart, United States Marine Corps; serial number 888-23-9912. He's the best warrior the twenty-first century has to offer, which is a damn good thing. Because Flynn Taggart is all that's standing between the hell that just dropped in on Mars and an unsuspecting planet Earth...

    The Art of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm artbook was originally distributed in the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Collector's Edition.The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Collector's Edition comes in a special box that contains many exclusive extras to enhance the players' battle against Deathwing, including:World of Warcraft: Cataclysm on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM.- Art of Cataclysm, 176 pages of art featuring never-before-seen images from the archives of the Blizzard Film Department and the World of Warcraft development team.- An exclusive in-game pet: Lil' Deathwing.- A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, the Cataclysm intro cinematic with director’s commentary, and more.- The collector's edition soundtrack CD, containing ten epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.- A mouse pad featuring Deathwing and a map of the newly ravaged world.- A World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Wrathgate™ starter deck, along with two extended art cards and two exclusive hero cards available only in the Collector’s Edition.

    They had too many screaming memories to be fit for combat again, but they were far too dangerous to themselves and others to be returned to civilian life.The bureaucracy that administered human affairs arranged a final mission with the same ruthless efficiency as it conducted the war against the Kalendru. C41 would guard a colony being sent to a hell planet. If the troops succeeded, they might be ready to return to human society.When the mission went horribly wrong, Art Farrell and his troops found their lives on the line as never before, protecting civilians to whom bureaucratic injustice was a new experience. And there was one more thing...A story of soldiers and civilians,of hope and, possibly, redemption.

    Swayed by the promise of financial rewards, a new batch of recruits joins the fight alongside a slew of neurally resocialized criminals—and a few dubious military leaders. Eighteen-year-old Jim Raynor, full of testosterone and eager to make things right at home, ships off to boot camp and finds his footing on the battlefield, but he soon discovers that the official mission is not what he’s really fighting for.For the first time ever, StarCraft enthusiasts will learn the origins of the enduring friendship between the young upstart Jim Raynor and the streetwise soldier Tychus Findlay. Watch as they battle on the front lines of a fierce interplanetary war and bear witness to the Confederacy’s rank corruption—corruption so reprehensible that it rains immeasurable death and destruction upon the government’s own people.

    Now, Valve joins with Dark Horse to bring three critically acclaimed, fan-favorite series to print, with a collection of comics from the worlds of Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Portal. With over two hundred pages of story, Valve Presents: The sacrifice and other Steam-Powered Stories is a must-read for fans looking to further explore the games they love or comics readers interested in dipping their toes into new mythos!

    Outnumbered and on the defensive, Earth made a desperate decision. It would attack the aliens not from space, but on the ground-with forces the Trofts did not even suspect. Thus were created the Cobras, a guerilla force whose weapons were surgically implanted, invisible to the unsuspecting eye, yet undeniably deadly. But power brings temptation . . . and not all the Cobras could be trusted to fight for Earth alone. Jonny Moreau would learn the uses-and abuses-of his special abilities, and what it truly meant to be a Cobra.

    Full color.

    Robots have descended on us from outer space, escaped from top-secret laboratories, and even traveled back in time to destroy us.Today, scientists are working hard to bring these artificial creations to life. In Japan, fuzzy little real robots are delivering much appreciated hug therapy to the elderly. Children are frolicking with smiling robot toys.It all seems so innocuous. And yet how could so many Hollywood scripts be wrong?So take no chances. Arm yourself with expert knowledge. For the sake of humanity, listen to serious advice from real robotics experts. How else will you survive the inevitable future in which robots rebel against their human masters?

    With more than 250 blueprints, 500 photographs and illustrations, and ten stunning gatefolds, Star Wars: The Blueprints is a deluxe volume that reveals the work of the engineers, designers, and artists who dreamed up the look and feel of the Star Wars universe. Best-selling author J. W. Rinzler explores the complex process of envisioning and creating the Star Wars films throughout this collection. Witness first-hand the technical expertise and jaw-dropping detail involved in every part of the process, from concept sketches to final scenes. Star Wars: The Blueprints showcases the transformation of careful technical drawings to now-iconic sets--the rebel blockade runner, the Millennium Falcon , the bridge of General Grievous’s flagship, Jabba the Hutt’s throne room, and many others. Meticulously researched and packed with gorgeous artwork and little-known details, Star Wars: The Blueprints tells the story of the brilliant minds and technical prowess that brought this extraordinary epic to life.

    But a research mission to the planet Ishtar has made a terrifying -- and fatal -- discovery: the Ahanu, ancestors of the former masters, live on, far from the reach of Earth -- born weapons and technology ... and tens of thousands of captive human souls still bow to their iron will. Now Earth's Interstellar Marine Expeditionary Unit must undertake a rescue operation as improbable as it is essential to humankind's future, embarking on a ten-year voyage to a hostile world to face an entrenched enemy driven by dreams of past glory and intent once more on domination. For those who, for countless generations, have known nothing but toil and subjugation must be granted, at all costs, the precious gift entitled to all of their star-traveling kind: freedom!

    By piecing together photographs, scientific field notes, and research data, citizens on Earth have collected the information in this field guide as a way to highlight the lessons Pandora can teach the people of Earth, who have struggled to survive as their planet's critical resources are depleted.Though Pandora has proven to be an exceedingly profitable source of natural resources, the environment—from its gravity-defying floating mountains to the small but venomous hellfire wasps and the gigantic carnivorous thanator—poses continual dangers to RDA. Catalogued with unparalleled precision and access, this field guide provides highly detailed descriptions of the unique creatures and plants found on Pandora, the culture, language, and physiology of the native population, as well as RDA technology and weapons.Eager to save the Earth, the activists have culled this information in hopes to expose the corporate greed and disregard for the native inhabitants and their environment that governs RDA's presence on the foreign moon.This is the evidence in their case to save Pandora—and themselves.

    Every character is detailed with their statistics, techniques, secret facts and training tips."

    A thrilling endeavour for the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One is the first instalment in the Star Wars Story series, a collection of stand-alone tales set in the same beloved universe fans have called home for decades. The plot follows an unlikely band of rebel fighters, led by the intrepid Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who must unite to resist the evil machinations of the evil Galactic Empire. Their mission is a desperate one: prove the existence of the Empire’s new super weapon and steal the plans for this Death Star before it can be used to obliterate all who stand in the Empire’s way. Directed by Gareth Edwards – from a script by Gary White and Chris Weitz – the film also stars Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Jiang Wen, and Donnie Yen.The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an invaluable visual chronicle of the Lucasfilm art department’s development of the fantastical sets, otherworldly machinery, and unforgettable characters found in this first Star Wars Story. This book will take you from the earliest gathering of artists and production designers through production, with unprecedented access to the filmmakers’ creative process.Bursting with exclusive interviews and imagery, fans can revel in hundreds of stunning works of art, including production paintings, concept art and sketches, storyboards, and matte paintings. This rich visual journey is sure to delight Star Wars fans and cineastes for decades to come. The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will stand as a definitive guide to the art behind the newest tale in the Star Wars franchise.

    No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he’s crazy…Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level-ten linesman like Ean. Even if he’s part of a small, and unethical, cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he’s certified and working.Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy. Each of the major galactic powers is desperate to be the first to uncover the ship’s secrets, but all they’ve learned is that it has the familiar lines of energy—and a defense system that, once triggered, annihilates everything in a 200 kilometer radius.The vessel threatens any linesman who dares to approach it, except Ean. His unique talents may be the key to understanding this alarming new force—and reconfiguring the relationship between humans and the ships that serve them, forever.

    But now, one man believes Sim was a fraud, and Alex must follow the legend into the heart of the alien galaxy to confront a truth far stranger than any fiction.