Under the autocratic rule of a federal Europe, all prisoners are press-ganged into the military to fight an incredible war against andunbelievable enemy: unearthly monsters from another dimension known as the "Glimmer." As the reluctant troopers soon learn, the Glimmer is ruled by the "Geist" -- the malevolent spawn of hell that can rend, kill, and destroy humans in a thousand different ways. The only way to survive is to be meaner, fight dirtier, and kill faster than the Geist...
Wanting to puzzle out the mysteries of her past, an orphaned elf embarks on a quest for answers—a journey made all the more dangerous by the harsh world around her Mirrodin is a world beyond imagination. Forests of metal claw the sky. Razor-sharp metallic grasses stretch across the plains. Vast oceans of quicksilver conceal predators awaiting the unwary. In the metal jungle of the Tangle lives an orphaned elf named Glissa. A reverse amnesiac, she is plagued by strange, indecipherable visions—an affliction she shares with her fellow elves, who have dubbed the phenomenon “Flares.” Accompanied only by these glimpses of a foreign elf's life, Glissa sets out across the harsh landscape, seeking the secrets of her past and daring the perils of her present. And she must tear aside the veil that hides the face of a hidden enemy whose power extends across all Mirrodin.
FROM THE PAGES OF THE JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE A shopping mall where droids sell organs harvested from street trash... A murderous imaginary friend... A psychotic composer drafting music from pain... All in a day’s work for the Lawman of the Future. Edited by and with an introduction by Dredd veteran Michael Carroll, Judge Fear’s Big Day Out and Other Stories gathers the very best short stories from more than a decade of the Judge Dredd Megazine, including stories by legends Alan Grant, Gordon Rennie and Simon Spurrier, among countless others…
Discover What Rodents Know About the Good Life What can the common laboratory rat tell us about being human? According to behavioral neuroscientist Kelly Lambert, a whole lot. Her twenty- five-year career conducting experiments that involve rats has led her to a surprising conclusion: Through their adaptive strategies and good habits, these unassuming little animals can teach us some essential lessons about how we, as humans, can lead successful lives. From emotional resilience and a strong work ethic to effective parenting and staying healthy, the lab rat is an unlikely but powerful role model for us all. This is a surprising and engaging guided tour into the sophisticated mental, emotional, and behavioral worlds of these frequently maligned and often misunderstood little creatures.
Dennis is all set to enjoy a lazy summer day at his swimming pool dreaming about a certain girl he would like to know—Catharine. He spends the morning idly thinking of ways to meet and impress her. The problem perplexes him until he realizes that something else is happening in the city aroud him—something very wrong. Will he ever meet her, and more important, will Dennis and his friends survive The Rats!
The Essential Guide to HTML5 and CSS3 Web Design has been fully revised from its critically acclaimed first edition, and updated to include all of the new features and best practices of HTML5 and CSS3. This book reveals all you'll need to design great web sites that are standards-compliant, usable, and aesthetically pleasing, but it won't overwhelm you with waffle, theory, or obscure details! You will find The Essential Guide to HTML5 and CSS3 Web Design invaluable at any stage of your career, with its mixture of practical tutorials and reference material. Beginners will quickly pick up the basics, while more experienced web designers and developers will keep returning to the book again and again to read up on techniques they may not have used for a while, or to look up properties, attributes and other details. This book is destined to become a close friend, adopting a permanent place on your desk. The Essential Guide to HTML5 and CSS3 Web Design starts off with a brief introduction to the web and web design, before diving straight in to HTML5 and CSS3 basics, reusing code, and other best practices you can adopt. The book then focuses on the most important areas of a successful web site: typography, images, navigation, tables, layouts, forms and feedback (including ready-made PHP scripts) and browser quirks, hacks and bugs. The Essential Guide to HTML5 and CSS3 Web Design is completely up-to-date, covering support of the newest standards in all the latest browsers, including IE 9 and Firefox 4. The last chapter of the book provides several case studies to dissect and learn from, including all the most popular web site archetypes—a blog, a store front, a corporate home page, and an online gallery. You'll also appreciate several detailed reference appendices covering CSS, HTML, color references, entities, and more—any details you need to look up will be close at hand.
In a dark future, human society is deteriorating as outdated infrastructure fails and toxic pollution leeches into everything. Successive nuclear power plants have melted down, cities generate electromagnetic fields that emit strong radiation, and poisonous chemicals are carelessly discarded. Deep beneath the streets of cities all over the world, ordinary grey rats have been continuously exposed to these combined toxic influences. For over forty years they have been evolving, increasing to the size of sheep as well as developing an unbelievable physical strength and intelligence. As the giant mutant rats spread, mankind is faced with a desperate war for survival. But this war will be unlike any ever fought; this will be a war of species and worlds that will call into question the very meaning of being human. Of Rats and Men is a reflection on the origin and the decline of the man as species. It is a short story of rats and men, of God and man and of robot and men! This short story is a call to action and a deep philosophy, simultaneously.
Do all animals have rights? Is it morally wrong to use mice or dogs in medical research, or rabbits and cows as food? How ought we resolve conflicts between the interests of humans and those of other animals? Philosophical inquiry is essential in addressing such questions; the answers given must have enormous practical importance. Here for the first time in the same volume, the animal rights debate is argued deeply and fully by the two most articulate and influential philosophers representing the opposing camps. Each makes his case in turn to the opposing case. The arguments meet head on: Are we humans morally justified in using animals as we do? A vexed and enduring controversy here receives its deepest and most eloquent exposition.
A retired skater is driven by guilt over her husband's death to return to the village where she was raised, lacking the will to live any longer. But oblivion will not take her; she begins hearing stories whispered to her from walls and floors - from boards of funguswood, taken from a species of trees long since rendered extinct by humanity. A shill on death row somehow escapes prison by way of an old Leadbelly song; or perhaps it is a drug-induced madness. He comes to the same village and spies on the skater, out on the Suicide Flats nearby, talking for hours with something that looks like tumbleweed. A tree, either the last or the first of its species, who is curiously familiar with Shakespeare, Blake, and Milton, and who bears humanity no ill will, is looking for a savior.
"Undeniably exquisite . . . Reveal s] not only how science actually happens but also who or what propels its immutable humanity." --Maria Popova "An excellent introduction to the key issues in science today." --P. D. Smith, Guardian " A] stellar compendium . . . Delightful to read." --Publishers Weekly, starred review A renowned scientist and the best-selling author of Lab Girl, Hope Jahren selects the year's top science and nature writing from writers who balance research with humanity and in the process uncover riveting stories of discovery across disciplines.
