I won. I, Loki, stole the magical ring right out from under Odin's and Thor's noses. Right before a little minx stole it from me. I outsmarted them all. I tricked my brother and father, and even my water-dragon son, sending them on a ridiculous chase while I slipped out the back door. I nearly got caught--twice--but in the end, I possessed the prize--the magical Andvaranaut, a god's ring that allows me to hide out on Earth as long as I wish. Then she came along. That little human thief took it right off me, in broad daylight, in the bustling markets of Nepal, without me feeling an Asgardian thing. I'm onto her now though, hot on her trail and closing in. I'll get that deliciously devilish girl if it's the last thing I do. Even if that means punishing her in ways both of us might enjoy. Perhaps especially if it means that, now that I've gotten a good look at the little minx. The more I learn about this Lia Winchester, professional thief, proficient liar, brilliant escape artist, and unbelievably sexy mortal, the more I find myself wanting to draw out this chase, to savor it... perhaps to even partner with her on a heist of our own. It's been a long time since anyone's managed to surprise me. I think it's only right that I return the favor. * LOKI is book #2 in Gods on Earth, a fun paranormal romance and urban fantasy series, ideal for people who want a light romp to Asgard, mischievous gods falling for unwitting humans and battling over magical objects, not to mention dragons, magical wolves, grumpy witches, and a dose of wicked trickster games.
What was paganism really like? Who were the gods and how were they worshipped? These are the questions Thor Ewing addresses in this fresh perspective on the pagan beliefs and rituals of the Viking and the Germanic world, a world which encompasses not only Scandanavia and Germany, but also Anglo-Saxon England. Gods and Worshippers explores ancient cult sites and religious gatherings, as well as burial customs and the rites of the dead, and it reveals the intimate links between religious and secular power. Using the surviving archaeological evidence as well as the recorded myths and poetry from the various regions, Ewing explores the realities of day-to-day worship, such as sacrifices and sacred space, as well as arguing that traditional magical-religious societies operated in parallel to mainstream society, according to their own distinctive morality and laws. The picture that emerges is that of a complex pattern of powers which are respected, honoured, propitiated or even cajoled. It is in this relationship between powers and people that the religion exists, and though it takes many forms it is fundamentally one of respect, honour and worship - a relationship between gods and worshippers.
As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers presents a natural and cultural history of bees: the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round. Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing. As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.
Two Jewish sister leave Austria during WWII/Holocaust and find refuge in Sweden. It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna—12-year-old Stephie Steiner and seven-year-old Nellie—are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay there six months, until their parents can flee to Amsterdam; then all four will go to America. But as the world war intensifies, the girls remain, each with her own host family, on a rugged island off the western coast of Sweden. Nellie quickly settles in to her new surroundings. Not so for Stephie, who finds it hard to adapt; she feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who's as unforgiving as the island itself. It's no wonder Stephie doesn't let on that the most popular girl at school becomes her bitter enemy, or that she endures the wounding slights of certain villagers. Her main worry, though, is her parents—and whether she will ever see them again.
It's not easy being a Super Hero when you've got a steady job to hold down and girlfriend problems to deal with. Somehow, Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) manages to do it while regularly saving New York City from a rogues' gallery of super villains. In The World According to Spider-Man, the wisecracking hero spills the beans on how he balances his two lives and manages to keep his trademark sense of humour, even while he's tangling with Doc Ock or the Green Goblin. The book comes with a wealth of incredible inserts, including clippings from the Daily Bugle, snapshots taken by Spidey on his adventures, a letter from Oscorp, a note from Mary Jane Watson, a page from Uncle Ben's diary, schematics showing how the web-shooters work, and much, much more.
In "My Friend From Beyond Earth: The Wisdom of Valiant Thor," Frank E. Stranges discusses his various trips to the spaceship of Valiant Thor, and what he learned there - including witnessing the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy on the spaceship's television monitor. In this exciting work, Stranges describes the many attempts on his life by the dreaded Men in Black, and how Valiant Thor helped him survive.
When the noted thinker, author, and philanthropist, Commander Valiant Thor, dictated this book over a half-century ago (in Earth years), he was just settling into his role as commander of the Venusian forces on our planet. He had actually put in many decades on Earth prior to that, although he was not, as they say, truly "in charge." Being a relative novice at that time, Thor decided to stick to traditional protocol and studiously avoided mentioning the word "Vril" in these pages. (It had been decided long before that, by certain Venusian elders, to keep that particular word, and its conceptual underpinnings, secret from Earthlings - at least until the appropriate time.) Although it obviously wasn't the appropriate time, the term and the belief system behind it were revealed to certain nosy Germans, who had gotten heavily into the occult during World War II. These Nazi necromancers had somehow hacked into the ongoing telemetric stream between Earth and Venus, and illegally downloaded much of the information about Vril. The civilized world has been trying to regain its balance ever since. As a result, the author herein states unequivocally, and for the record, that Vril has nothing to do with Nazism, fascism, racism, hate, or bigotry. Like most Venusians, Thor follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, Tecumseh, Krishna, and Buddha, which generally state that all men are created equal in God's sight, and are loved equally by God. Today, in 2018, most everyone has heard about Vril, so Thor has no trouble stating that this book, edited for him by his brilliant human acolyte, Hilton Hotema, is about one of the key aspects of Vril: rejuvenating and extending the lives of human beings. (There are many correlations in this area between Venusians and Earthlings.) Vril is truly the essence of the active verb, the powerful sentence, and the narrative that moves people to action. It is the energy behind the words, which makes the mind react in a positive and uplifting fashion. As the Buddhists say, our words are actions, and should be approached soberly, cautiously, compassionately, and empathetically. Vril is about living life to the fullest, and loving to the fullest. In these current days of extreme political divide, where lying and deception are being spread from on high (much like the Nazis and KKK of old), we need Vril more than ever, to counteract the "Antichrist" evil that seems to be sweeping the world under the false guise of "making America great again." Those of you who understand Vril should have no problem understanding what Thor is saying. May these words, and the positive galaxial inspiration behind them, guide and comfort you as you go about your daily business in our dynamic, infinite, and loving universe.
