A history of the idea of "black holes" explores the tumultuous debate over the existence of this now well-accepted phenomenon, focusing particular attention on Indian scientist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
"Empires do not grow old gracefully. As the edifice of ancient government succumbs to entropy, as civil war reigns, and upstart nations encroach upon the elder government's prerogatives and borders, the result is indeed 'interesting times,' the times of interstellar Huns locked in mortal combat with Imperial storm troopers. The times of The Crash of Empire."--Pg. [4] of cover.
The first installment in the Far Star series, a swashbuckling space saga that introduces the daring pirate Blackhawk and the loyal crew of the Wolf’s Claw, from Jay Allan, the author of the bestselling Crimson Worlds saga. Smuggler and mercenary Arkarin Blackhawk and the crew of the ship Wolf’s Claw are freelance adventurers who live on the fringe of human society in the Far Stars. A veteran fighter as deadly with a blade as he is with a gun, Blackhawk is a man haunted by a dark past. Even his cynicism cannot banish the guilt and pain that threaten his sanity. Sent to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his longtime friend Marshal Augustin Lucerne, Blackhawk and his crew find themselves drawn into one deadly fight after another. When the Wolf’s Claw is damaged, they are forced to land on a remote planet subsumed by civil war. Pulled unwittingly into the conflict, they uncover disturbing information about secret imperial involvement that could upset the plans of Lucerne. For the Marshal is determined to forge a Far Stars Confederation powerful enough to eliminate all imperial influence and threats in the sector. He needs a skilled warrior like Blackhawk on his side, but the mercenary, plagued by dark memories from the past, refuses to join the cause. All too soon, though, he and his crew will have to take a stand.
Stars of Empire is a role playing game in which the Victorian Powers have discovered space flight and are striking out across the vast darkness of interplanetary space. As they explore frontiers on Earth, Luna Mars and Venus they encounter transplanted populations of humans, ancient and terrible alien races and ferocious exotic beasts, until 1892 each considered the other Great Powers to be their biggest rivals. It was in that year The Hive broke free in Devon and threatened more than just the balance of power on Earth. The Hive put the very existence of mankind at stake. Stars of Empire is a stand alone game book. It contains the core role playing rules, based on Black Pigeon Press' Hacktastic system and a detailed and dangerous universe setting. The Victorian in Our Time Line was a period of exploration and scientific achievement, military conflict and colonial conquest and social upheaval. In Stars of Empire aerial and space travel have been cleverly grafted into this historical fabric. Players will be able to interact on not only Earth but other worlds as well. Mars is home to a race of ancient aliens, powerful dangerous and unpredictable to the minds of men. Their true powers and purposes are shrouded in mystery. It is know that for many thousands of years they have harvested humans from Earth for use as slaves. With this human workforce Mars has been transformed from a lifeless rock into a tropical greenhouse of a world. Venus, beneath its thick atmosphere is a strange mix of dark basalt plains and humid cloud forests. Rules include character generation, combat and detailed sections allowing characters to develop engineering projects, scientific theories or inventions.
Insecure siblings fighting for their parents’ attention; bickering spouses who can’t stand to be together or apart; adultery and sexual experimentation; even the struggle to balance work and family: These are themes as much at home in our time as they were in the twelfth century. In James Goldman’s classic play The Lion in Winter, domestic turmoil rises to an art form. Keenly self-aware and motivated as much by spite as by any sense of duty, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine maneuver against each other to position their favorite son in line for succession. By imagining the inner lives of Henry, Eleanor, and their sons, John, Geoffrey, and Richard, Goldman created the quintessential drama of family strife and competing ambitions, a work that gives visceral, modern-day relevance to the intrigues of Angevin England. Combining keen historical and psychological insight with delicious, mordant wit, the stage play has become a touchstone of today’s theater scene, and Goldman’s screenplay for the 1968 film adaptation won him an Academy Award. Told in “marvelously articulate language, with humor that bristles and burns” (Los Angeles Times), The Lion in Winter is the rare play that bursts into life on the printed page.
The Empire of Earth, spanning more than a thousand solar systems, is threatened by a conspiracy from within. Now, with more than three-quarters of the Galaxy ready to fall into enemy hands, the Empire is forced to call on its top-secret weapon: the renowned Circus of the Galaxy featuring the d'Alembert family, a clan of circus performers with uncanny abilities. But even these super agents may not be in time to save the Empire. The Imperial Stars is the first book in the "Family D'Alembert" series.
The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbors. But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, it killing Art . . . And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable. Only the aging Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people, before a black-and-gold tide sweeps down over the Lowlands and burns away everything in its path. But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim.