"Tom Bielawski is a bright light in today's dark sea of new writers. His writing gives me hope for the next generation of dreamers. I highly recommend both him and his works." -NYT Bestselling author, Tracy Hickman. 22nd Century lawman, Marshal Heck Thomas, suddenly finds himself on the wrong side of the law when a criminal mafia mastermind with connections to the government links him to a series of heinous crimes. With the Bureau of Investigation and the Commonwealth Fleet in pursuit, Marshal Thomas must find a way to avoid capture by corrupt officials, clear his name, and prevent the dangerous Centaurus technology from tipping the balance of power forever. Follow the further adventures of Heck Thomas in The Orion Deception, available now.
Heck Thomas has infiltrated Rigel's Escape, the mysterious drift in the Outer System, in the hope of finding Dr. William Connor and the rest of the system's missing scientists. The story takes a number of shocking twists as Heck battles to expose an insidious alliance, save the missing scientists, and keep the Centaurus Device from falling into the wrong hands.
"Tom Bielawski is a bright light in today's dark sea of new writers. His writing gives me hope for the next generation of dreamers. I highly recommend both him and his works." -NYT Bestselling author, Tracy Hickman. "Tom is a great new literary voice in a sea of indies." -Bestselling independent author, MR Mathias. When Heck Thomas is attacked while trying to use the Centaurus Device, he is suddenly forced to abandon his plan to find Laylara. Barely escaping with his life and ship intact, Heck must once again live the life of an outlaw to survive as he tries to save an ungrateful System from greater disaster.
Tom Bielawski is a bright light in today's dark sea of new writers. His writing gives me hope for the next generation of dreamers. I highly recommend both him and his works." - NYT Bestselling author, Tracy Hickman. A dark and powerful magic, lost the world for centuries, stirs once more. The Dark Disciples, infamous villains once thought vanquished, have returned. Carym of Hyrum, accused murderer, is freed from captivity by a band of criminals. To repay the debt he must undertake a quest to find the mythical Everpool and bring back a vial of its enchanted water. Minions of a dark god hunt Carym, for he is the key to unlocking a power greater than their own. If they cannot turn him, they will destroy him.
Paths of Darkness is an exciting prelude to The Chronicles of Llars. Shalthazar the dark wizard came to Llars seeking power beyond imagining, and got more than he ever imagined.
"Tom Bielawski is a bright light in today's dark sea of new writers. His writing gives me hope for the next generation of dreamers. I highly recommend both him and his works." -NYT Bestselling author, Tracy Hickman. When Zach turned his back on Carym, even as his lifelong friend contended with the haunted lands of the Black Baron, he had had his doubts about the wisdom of his choice. But a chance encounter with a patrol of the corrupt peacekeepers of Powyss, the Red Dragons, showed Zach a sample of the powers of his new dagger, and all thoughts of his friends were forgotten. The lure of the seedy and dark underworld of Powyss was irresistible. Gambling, thievery, murder, were all ways that Zach was good at making money. But Powyss offered more than he bargained for. A tragic event prompted Zach to take revenge on the corrupt Red Dragons who police, and terrorize, the city of Powyss and Zach is no longer a small time player. As the bodycount of the Red Dragon mercenaries rises, far greater powers begin to take notice of this mysterious “Shadowblade.” But the pull of fate, and the minions of the Shadow, will not be ignored and Zach will have to contend with the call of the Everpool once more.
The quest for the mythical Everpool resumes and Carym is closer than ever to finding the terror-filled lair of the Dark Paladin; so are the hunters of the Shadowfyr. Shalthazar faces his own struggles for survival and must guard against threats from within as he unleashes his own plans for domination. The Shadowblade undertakes a dangerous quest of his own seeking an alliance with the unpredictable ogres, and faces a reckoning with his own dark desires. And the horror of Umber's true plan for the world finally becomes clear, when all paths converge on The Tomb of the Dark Paladin.
Influence from Mesopotamia on adjacent civilizations has often been proposed on the basis of scattered similarities. For the first time a wide-ranging assessment from 3000 BC to the Middle Ages investigates how similarities arose in Egypt, Palestine, Anatolia, and Greece. The development of writing for accountancy, astronomy, devination, and belles lettres emanated from Mesopotamians who took their academic traditions into countries beyond their political control. Each country soon transformed what it received into its own, individual culture. When cuneiform writing disappeared, Babylonian cults and literature, now in Aramaic and Greek, flourished during the Roman Empire. The Manichaeans adapted the old traditions which then perished under persecution, but traces persist in Hermetic works, court narratives and romances, and in the Arabian Nights. When ancient Mesopotamia was rediscovered in the last century, British scholars were at the forefront of international research. Public excitement has been reflected in pictures and poems, films and fashion.
The definitive book on the Hubble Space Telescope, written by a noted astronomer, geologist, and planetary scientist. Looking deep into space, by definition, means looking back in time—and the Hubble Space Telescope can look very far back, including at stars, nebulae, and galaxies that are millions, even billions, of years old. If there is a single legacy of Hubble as it turns thirty years old and nears the end of its useful life, it is this: It has done more to chronicle the origin and evolution of the known universe than any other instrument ever created. Hubble has also captured an astounding collection of ultraviolet images that include geysers of solar light, Mars’ famous dust storms, exploding stars, solar flares, globular clusters, and actual galaxies colliding. As for scientific milestones, Hubble has helped us learn that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, that just about every large galaxy features a black hole at its center, and that it's possible to create 3-D maps of dark matter. Hubble Legacy will not only feature the most stunning imagery captured by the telescope, but also explain how Hubble has advanced our understanding of the universe and our very creation. Praise for Hubble Legacy “Along with his clear description of the Hubble Space Telescope’s setbacks and successes, Jim Bell has compiled an exquisite collection of stunning photographs of the universe. Have many long looks— your tax dollars at work— an astronomer’s catalog of the cosmos.” —Bill Nye, CEO, The Planetary Society “You can’t flip through this stunning collection of Hubble images without pausing often to shake your head in awe. The accompanying text that Contributing Editor Jim Bell wrote is equally enriching. Altogether, this coffee-table book is a riveting celebration of the venerable space telescope’s 30th anniversary.” —Sky & Telescope
