In Austin Pollard's debut novel, "Aces to Kings," readers are plunged into an immersive world rooted in realism, but with elements of fantasy, where an ordinary deck of playing cards offers extraordinary glimpses into the future. This captivating narrative, a masterful blend of suspense and intrigue, pushes the boundaries of fiction and creates a unique space where reality and magic coexist. Terrence, a quiet, hardworking man, unwittingly becomes the custodian of destiny when he inherits an ancient deck of playing cards with prophetic abilities. As the stakes escalate from benign predictions to a chilling prophecy of a biological attack on Atlanta, Terrence, together with his resilient girlfriend, Charlotte, and loyal friend, Nick, engage in a perilous race against time. Their adversaries are formidable – the ruthless CETGEN Corporation, under the cold command of Angela Priest, and her guard of ominous Horsemen, individuals wielding strange and unique powers. The book skillfully intertwines plot twists that strengthen the connection between Terrence's past and his present challenges, upping the tension and reader's engagement. "Aces to Kings" is a perfect blend of magical realism and suspense, punctuated with explosive action sequences and nail-biting moments. With ease, Austin's writing style emphasizes natural dialogue and vivid descriptions, drawing readers into the world he creates, making them live and breathe alongside the characters. At its core, "Aces to Kings" is a story of three friends battling impossible odds, exploring themes of fate, destiny, and the power of choice. It prompts the reader to ponder – if destiny lays down a path that seems to lead to one end, is it possible to alter its course? This moral question forms the heart of the narrative, endearing it to readers who love to delve deep into the philosophical dimensions of a tale. Perfect for adult readers of all ages, "Aces to Kings" is especially appealing to fans of suspense, magical realism, and the zombie genre. Its unique blend of natural and supernatural elements, combined with a compelling storyline and relatable characters, makes it a must-read. Step into the world of "Aces to Kings" – where every card dealt could change the course of destiny.
The Wallflower Avant-Garde argues for the importance of a strain of modernist formalism based in ekphrasis, the literary imitation of the visual arts. Often associated with a conservative aesthetic of wholeness, permanence, and autonomy, ekphrastic writing also involves excess, failure, and mimesis, conjuring an aesthetic sense of closure and unity out of impossible imitations. This choreography of imitation and autonomy resonates with many of the foundational insights of queer theory: the way it situates identity as an effect of performativity, artifice, and mimesis. Unlike many queer theorists, however, this book insists that we value both the imitations and the aspirations that guide them, underlining not only the illusoriness of identity but also its allure. This more capacious formalism allows aspects of modernists aesthetic that have seemed regressive or repressive to be read as generative forms of stasis, quiet, reserve, shyness, and so on.
This study examines the US fiction and related films which makes a series of interventions in the cultural debate over the threat of nuclear terrorism. It traces the beginnings of this anxiety from the 1970s, which increased during the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The traumatic events of 9/11 became a major reference point for this fiction, which expressed the fear that of a second and worse 9/11. The study examines narratives of conspiracies which are detected and forestalled, and of others which lead to the worst of all outcomes – nuclear detonations, sometimes delivered by suitcase nukes. In some of these narratives the very fate of the nation hangs in the balance in the face of nuclear apocalypse. The discussion considers cases of attacks by electromagnetic pulse (EMP), cyberterrorism and even bioterrorism. Some of the authors examined are present or former politicians, members of the CIA, and former president, Bill Clinton.
Spores, Plagues and History follows the trail of anthrax from prebibical times to the present. A highly readable, authoritative perspective of the role infectious agents have played in world history.
Vicious thieves smash a cursed Medusa statue and steal the supercomputer Sapphire in a terrifying museum raid. Jazz and Phoenix are first on the scene and they soon find themselves in the midst of a dangerous mystery. Their friend and museum owner, Dr Zhang, is the prime suspect, but he is nowhere to be found. Determined to prove him innocent and find Sapphire, Jazz and Phoenix have just 48 HOURS to follow the trail of evidence before it goes cold. Will the amateur investigators discover that a centuries-old curse has struck again, or is something even more sinister going on? The clock is ticking...
Beauty of Cannabis is a visual journey into the spectacular marijuana strains being grown in the 21st Century. Award-winning photographer Spurs Broken takes us as deep as the lens will allow by directing light into the valleys between the leaves and through fissures full of crystal trichomes to reveal the beautiful strands, strings, and balls of earthly delight. Readers will learn to direct light inside each bud so it can reflect off the crystals to reveal beautiful colors and will discover the rewards of alternating the depth of field by a few microns to find the deep-orange pistils and the saturated brilliance that manifests from the contrast when a shot is done just right. Cannabis connoisseurs will delight in intimate views of what they’re smoking, as Spurs’ signature style of macro-photography reveals the makeup of each plant’s personality and characteristics of the individual strains in all their glory.
Jellyfish generally are considered to be nuisances because they interfere with human activities by stinging swimmers, clogging power plant intakes and nets of fishermen, killing fish in aquaculture pens, and being both predators and competitors of fish. There is concern that environmental changes such as global warming, eutrophication, over-fishing, and coastal construction may benefit jellyfish populations. During this past decade following the first Jellyfish Blooms volume, some species have bloomed more frequently, expanded their range, and caused more problems for humans. Mnemiopsis leidyi, the ctenophore that invaded the Black Sea in the 1980s and damaged fisheries, now also blooms in the North, Baltic, and Mediterranean seas. Nemopilema nomurai, a giant Asian jellyfish, has bloomed frequently during this decade, causing severe damage to the Japanese fishing industry. Jellyfish Blooms: Interactions with Humans and Fisheries is the fourth volume in this series. Syntheses and original research articles address the question if jellyfish have increased globally and what factors may have contributed to the abundance of jellyfish. This volume is the most extensive to date, containing papers from all continents (except Antarctica) on scyphozoans, hydrozoans, cubozoans, staurozoans, and ctenophores, and on the fate of jellyfish blooms. This is a key reference for students and professional marine biologists, oceanographers, and fishery scientists and managers. Previously published in Hydrobiologia, vol. 690, 2012