And the Republic commandos are the best of the best. As the Clone Wars rage, victory or defeat lies in the hands of these elite squads, stone-cold soldiers who go where no one else will, and do what no one else can....Hard Contact: It is three months after the Battle of Geonosis. On the backwater planet Qiilura, a Separatist scientist has created a nanovirus designed to kill clone soldiers, and it will be up to four Republic commandosthe Omega Squadto apprehend her and sabotage her research. When Darman, the squad's demolitions expert, gets cut off from the others during planetfall, he meets up with Etain, a stranded Jedi Padawan who has lost her Master. He expects her to be a competent commander, but that hope vanishes once she admits to her woeful inexperience. A long dangerous journey lies ahead, through hostile territory brimming with Trandoshan slavers, Separatists and suspicious natives. A single misstep could mean discovery...and death. Triple Zero: A year after Geonosis, the Republic commandos are being deployed on missions that take them beyond the battlefield and further into sabotage and intelligence operations in Separatist territory. Now, after a close brush with death, the Omega Squad is sent to the toughest terrain in the galaxy: Coruscant. Teaming up with Etain, now a Jedi General, and their legendary training sergeant Kal Skirata and his Null commandosa secret force even the Kaminoan cloners deem too dangerous to unleashthey pursue Separatist terrorists in the treacherous skylanes and labyrinthine underlevels of the world city. It's a critical mission unlike any they've ever tackledand it will test their courage and their friendship to the limit.

    Blunt talks to Mr. Henson, Charlie’s mentor, like he knows him, but Charlie knows that can’t be. John Peter Henson is a good man who would only spend time with someone like Blunt the day he put him into the ground…Unwilling to give up Mr. Henson’s secret and tarnish his good name, Charlie tries to put the pieces together himself. Maggie Buchanan knows he’s hiding something and she’s on his trail as well. Together, they turn the tables on Blunt’s outlaws. Charlie ends up in possession of a treasure map to Mexican gold that may just get him killed.“The pace is fast, the action plentiful, the characters colorful and memorable, and the writing is top-notch.” – Wayne D. Dundee

    Wilbur Larch—saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Cloud's, ether addict and abortionist. It is also the story of Dr. Larch's favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted. A Widow for One Year Richly comic, as well as deeply disturbing, A Widow for One Year is a multilayered love story of astonishing emotional force.  Both ribald and erotic, it is also a brilliant novel about the passage of time and the relentlessness of grief. A Prayer for Owen Meany In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys–best friends–are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy’s mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn’t believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God’s instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying.

    And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon, which was nothing more than a television show's attempt to create a tough-sounding language befitting a warrior race with ridged foreheads. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, and the nearly nine hundred other invented languages that represent the hard work, high hopes, and full-blown delusions of so many misguided souls over the centuries. In In The Land of Invented Languages, author Arika Okrent tells the fascinating and highly entertaining history of man's enduring quest to build a better language. Peopled with charming eccentrics and exasperating megalomaniacs, the land of invented languages is a place where you can recite the Lord's Prayer in John Wilkins's Philosophical Language, say your wedding vows in Loglan, and read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in Lojban. A truly original new addition to the booming category of language books, In The Land of Invented Languages will be a must-have on the shelves of all word freaks, grammar geeks, and plain old language lovers.

    Yes, she is a geek, a very cool geek at that, and when Maya and her family move into the old three-story house that belonged to her grandpa, Maya’s life changes. Her grandmother always claimed that the house was filled with hidden wonders and Maya is not prepared for what lies in wait for her arrival. With the encouragement of her best friend, Tammy, Maya learns to tackle the challenges in her path including Dexter Rose, the boy Maya has a little crush on (a very little one) and who is also her biggest class rival. If you’re a fan of the Diary of a Super Girl series, you are sure to enjoy this series too! It’s packed full of humor, action and lots of fun, a fabulous book for girls 9 – 12.

    But much more than autobiography, his story is woven with provocative psychological and philosophical commentary, including input from the likes of Lucretius, Freud, and the metal band Napalm Death. A rare style of intellectual but conversational and poignant but humorous makes for a highly accessible and enjoyable read. As the spiritual account winds down, the book transitions into a more rational exploration of the problems associated with religion—and even with spirituality in general. Everyone from outspoken atheists to moderate believers will be engaged, as David is able to critically evaluate spirituality without the hostility so common among modern atheist writers. At the book’s climax, David develops the popular atheist conversation a little deeper by courageously exploring the implications of nihilism: If our deepest fears about the nature of reality were to be true, could we go on? By the end of Optimistic Nihilism, we begin to suspect that we could—and even wonder if a relatively nihilistic perspective paradoxically makes life more precious than any other scheme. A critical must-read for all students of spirituality, psychology, and humanity.

    To love and loathe the fox is a British condition."The fox is our apex predator, our most beautiful and clever killer. We have witnessed its wild touch, watched it slink by bins at night and been chilled by its high-pitched scream. And yet we long to stroke the tumbling cubs outside their tunnel homes and watch the vixen stalk the cornfield.There is something about foxes. They captivate us like no other species.Exploring a long and sometimes complicated relationship, The Wild Life of the Fox captures our love – and sometimes loathing – of this magnificent creature in vivid detail and lyrical prose.

    Open the Cabinet to leap back in time, learn about linguistic trivia, follow a curious thread or wonder at the web of connections in the English language.Paul Anthony Jones has unearthed a wealth of strange and forgotten words: illuminating some aspect of the day, or simply telling a cracking good yarn, each reveals a story.

    It makes us aware of the world around us and our own self. How all this emerges from a kilogram of brain cells is one of the greatest unanswered questions. In Your Conscious Mind leading brain scientists and New Scientist take you on a journey through the mind to discover what consciousness really is, and what we can learn when it goes awry. Find out if we will ever build conscious machines, what animal consciousness can tell us about being human and explore the enigma of free will. ABOUT THE SERIESNew Scientist Instant Expert books are definitive and accessible entry points to the most important subjects in science; subjects that challenge, attract debate, invite controversy and engage the most enquiring minds. Designed for curious readers who want to know how things work and why, the Instant Expert series explores the topics that really matter and their impact on individuals, society, and the planet, translating the scientific complexities around us into language that's open to everyone, and putting new ideas and discoveries into perspective and context.

    or just learn more about how languages work with the same accurate yet fun approach as the original LCK.

    Includes detailed maps and information on all the characters and creatures contained in the medieval world of RuneScape.

    Edited by Mary McCarthy; Indices.

    In this hilarious essay, originally published in the collection A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, he ventures to the Illinois State Fair, where he examines butter sculptures, munches on corndogs, and swaps stories with local exhibitors. As he wanders through this endlessly fascinating world, Wallace's one-of-a-kind blend of humor and insight is on full display. "Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All" is an uproarious and ultimately unforgettable foray into a classic part of American life and culture.

    Octopus and the Vulture! Guest-starring Dominic Fortune and the New Mutants! Collecting WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #1-18 and ANNUAL #1-2, and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #268.

    The essay focuses on political language, which, according to Orwell, "is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." Orwell believed that the language used was necessarily vague or meaningless because it was intended to hide the truth rather than express it.