Ferals #2: The Swarm Descends is the second book in a dark middle grade fantasy series that’s part Batman, part The Graveyard Book, and all page-turning adventure. The sinister Spinning Man has been defeated—but a powerful new villain has risen from the shadows. The Mother of Flies has eyes everywhere, and she is searching for Caw. As the last survivor of a long line of crow ferals, Caw holds a crucial piece of Blackstone’s legacy—one the Mother of Flies will stop at nothing to find. With his friend Lydia and his loyal crows by his side, Caw believes he can protect his city. But it will take more than crows to defeat this darkness....
Ferals is the first book in a dark, action-packed trilogy that’s part The Graveyard Book, part Batman, and all high-octane adventure. Blackstone was once a thriving metropolis. But that was before the Dark Summer—a wave of violence and crime that swept through the city eight years ago, orchestrated by the fearsome Spinning Man. Now the Spinning Man is on the move again, and a boy named Caw is about to be caught in his web. Caw has never questioned his ability to communicate with crows. But as the threat of a new Dark Summer looms, Caw discovers the underground world of Blackstone’s ferals—those with the power to control animals. Caw is one of them. And to save his city, he must quickly master abilities he never knew he had . . . and prepare to defeat a darkness he never could have imagined.
The thrilling conclusion to Ferals, a fantasy trilogy that’s part Batman, part The Graveyard Book, and all high-stakes adventure. Caw has defeated the dreaded Spinning Man and vanquished the Mother of Flies. But a new feral has appeared—one who intends to uphold the Spinning Man’s dark legacy. Known as the White Widow, this spider feral is determined to destroy Caw and bring Blackstone back into an era of crime and fear. Now everyone Caw holds dear is in danger. And this time Caw may not be able to protect them.
In a city ravaged by crime and corruption, 13-year-old orphan Caw's only friends are the murder of crows he has lived with since his parents flung him from their house aged only five... Caw lives in a treehouse in an abandoned city park, surviving on scraps of food and only communicating with his three crows. But a jailbreak at the prison forces him into contact with other humans - particularly a girl called Lydia, who is attacked by the escaped prisoners and is saved by Caw. Caw realises that these escaped prisoners have more in common with him than he'd like... they too are FERALS - humans able to communicate with and control an animal species. And they want to bring their evil Feral master, The Spinning Man, back from the Land of the Dead. Only by joining forces with other good Ferals hiding throughout the city can Caw stand a chance of defeating them.
"How do people who love animals translate that devotion into helping creatures who are not our pets? How do we express our care for animals when that means different things to omnivores and vegetarians-or, say, to hunters and non-hunters? Barbara J. King, a widely read expert on animal cognition and emotion, here guides readers through the difficult choices and deep rewards of turning empathy into action on behalf of animals. King discusses our relationship to animals in five different contexts: our homes, the wild, zoos, our food system, and research facilities such as biomedical laboratories. She offers a host of ways in which each of us can be better, and do better, for animals. Acting to improve animals' lives can, she shows, immeasurably enrich our own. True, there is also heartache and the risk of burnout from endlessness of animal rescue the dilemmas that attend it. But King's focus is on the joys. She describes the "happiness lift" that she herself has experienced joining with other activists on behalf of animals destined for slaughter or confined in sub-standard zoos-and in rescuing dozens of cats, some of whom we meet in this book. This is a book for anyone who cares for animals and wishes to do more for them, whether it's learning to live peaceably with spiders in the home or join with others to rescue our more dramatically endangered animal friends"--
In her twenties, journalist Sarah Macdonald backpacked around India and came away with a lasting impression of heat, pollution and poverty. So when an airport beggar read her palm and told her she would return to India—and for love—she screamed, “Never!” and gave the country, and him, the finger. But eleven years later, the prophecy comes true. When the love of Sarah’s life is posted to India, she quits her dream job to move to the most polluted city on earth, New Delhi. For Sarah this seems like the ultimate sacrifice for love, and it almost kills her, literally. Just settled, she falls dangerously ill with double pneumonia, an experience that compels her to face some serious questions about her own fragile mortality and inner spiritual void. “I must find peace in the only place possible in India,” she concludes. “Within.” Thus begins her journey of discovery through India in search of the meaning of life and death. Holy Cow is Macdonald’s often hilarious chronicle of her adventures in a land of chaos and contradiction, of encounters with Hinduism, Islam and Jainism, Sufis, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians and a kaleidoscope of yogis, swamis and Bollywood stars. From spiritual retreats and crumbling nirvanas to war zones and New Delhi nightclubs, it is a journey that only a woman on a mission to save her soul, her love life—and her sanity—can survive.
Stars Without Number is a science fiction role-playing game inspired by the Old School Renaissance and the great fantasy and science-fiction games of the seventies and eighties. * Compatible with most retroclone RPGs * Helps a GM build a sandbox sci-fi game that lets the players leave the plot rails to explore freely * World building resources for creating system-neutral planets and star sectors * 100 adventure seeds and guidelines for integrating them with the worlds you've made * Old-school compatible rules for guns, cyberware, starships, and psionics * Domain rules for experienced characters who want to set up their own colony, psychic academy, mercenary band, or other institution
Roald Dahl meets The Penderwicks in this quirky, humorous, whimsical, and heartwarming middle grade debut about two siblings who run away from home to escape working in the family coffin business. John Coggin is no ordinary boy. He is devising an invention that nobody has ever seen before, something that just might change the world, or at least make life a little bit better for him and his little sister, Page. But that’s only when he can sneak a break from his loathsome job—building coffins for the family business under the beady gaze of his cruel Great-Aunt Beauregard. When Great-Aunt Beauregard informs John that she’s going to make him a permanent partner in Coggin Family Coffins—and train Page to be an undertaker—John and Page hit the road. Before long, they’ve fallen in with a host of colorful characters, all of whom, like John and Page, are in search of a place they can call home. But home isn’t something you find so much as something you fight for, and John soon realizes that he and Page are in for the fight of their lives.
It Came from the Stars!The Alien Bestiary brings you an incredible array of sci-fi and space-themed monsters and menaces for the 5th Edition of the world's most famous roleplaying game! The creatures you'll find within are perfect for whenever your heroes venture into the dark tapestry of space or have to defend their homeworld from alien invasion by eldritch horrors from beyond the stars, whether you use a universe of your own design, or a dedicated sci-fi saga like the Aethera Campaign Setting or the Legendary Planet Adventure Path for 5E! You'll find allies and adversaries within these pages, from playable races for your sci-fi game to cosmic horrors and apocalyptic enemies inspired by classic themes of science fiction. This volume collects nearly 300 monsters from Challenge 1/8 to 30, from mutant minions to cosmic abominations. You'll find residents of the Legendary Planet and Aethera settings, 5E aliens and androids like the myrmidon robot, plasma ooze, and star-spawn of Cthulhu, and brand-new never-before-seen monsters like the asteroid worm, star fairy, meteor dragon, and supermassive singularity! The Alien Bestiary is more than just monsters too, with appendices devoted to cults of the Great Old Ones, creatures of the Aethera system, creature indices by type and CR, high-tech traps and hazards, and spells, feats, and expanded rules for aetherite radiation, vacuum, and more! The PDF version, of course, is hyperlinked and bookmarked for your convenience, and the book is packed with incredible artwork and delightful design by some of the best authors in the business. These monsters are dynamic and cinematic in how they play at the table, with ecology, history, and lore that are a pleasure to read. Don't let your 5th Edition campaign get lost in space or just be a trek among the stars! Grab a copy of this incredible 424-page monster accessory today and Make Your Game Legendary!
The incorrigible children of Ashton Place are especially naughty, but they can't help it: They were raised by wolves. Now that they've been adopted by an English lord and lady, adjusting to a genteel life won't be easy, even with a mysterious young governess to teach them about everything from French to forks. Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place books have been named a Kirkus Best Book for Children, placed on the Kids' Indie Next List, and chosen as Chicago Public Library Best of the Best. Together for the first time, this collection includes: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book II: The Hidden Gallery The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book III: The Unseen Guest
