Showing results by author "V.V.A.A." in All Categories

The Hundred Worlds have withstood invasion by the relentless Hok for decades. The human worlds are strong, but the Hok have the resources of a thousand planets behind them, and their fleets attack in endless waves. The long war has transformed the Hundred Worlds into heavily fortified star systems. Their economies are geared for military output, and they raise specialized soldiers to save our species. Assault Captain Derek Straker is one such man among many.

Lilly may be losing a husband, but she's gaining a toy poodle. That could be seen as a win-win, since her new adopted pooch, Aggie (named after Agatha Christie), is cute and adorable and Lilly's dirty dog of a spouse is cheating on her with a blonde bimbo - except for one problem: Albert Echosby's just been murdered, and Lilly is the number-one suspect.

Heaven Leigh Casteel may be the prettiest, smartest girl in the backwoods, but her cruel father and weary stepmother work her like a mule. For the sake of her brother Tom and the other little ones, Heaven clings to the hope that someday she can show the world they are worthy of love and respect. But when the children’s stepmother can’t take it anymore and abandons the family, Heaven’s father hatches a scheme that will alter her young life forever. Being sold to a strange couple is just the beginning....

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have pioneered the use of randomized control trials in development economics. Work based on these principles, supervised by the Poverty Action Lab, is being carried out in dozens of countries. Drawing on this and their 15 years of research from Chile to India, Kenya to Indonesia, they have identified wholly new aspects of the behavior of poor people, their needs, and the way that aid or financial investment can affect their lives. Their work defies certain presumptions: that microfinance is a cure-all, that schooling equals learning....

Ireland Steinburgen is absolutely determined to never love again. Happy endings only exist in fairytales, and she’s tired of being let down over, and over, and over again. The one common denominator? Men. Now that she’s moved her life from her small Southern hometown all the way to the big city of San Francisco, she’s convinced she can make it in life, blissfully happy in her singledom.

The Earth Cruiser Agamemnon is destroyed in combat, and the search for answers begins. The veteran crew of Borag gets the assignment, and the race is on. Sgt. Starn of Red Company must visit the disaster site, perform a search and rescue mission, and return to Mars alive. What kind of technology could destroy an Earth warship so easily? Why is a single life-pod found floating, transponder pinging away—with no one aboard? Most important of all, what is the prowling alien super-ship going to do next?

The Galactics arrived with their Battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder. In the third book in the series, James McGill is deployed on another alien world. His third interstellar tour is different in every way. Rather than meeting up with a primitive society, this time he’s headed to an advanced world.

The Galactics arrived with their Battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spans the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder. In 2122 a lost colony expedition contacts Earth, surprising our government. Colonization is against Galactic Law, and Legion Varus is dispatched to the system to handle the situation. Earth gave them sealed orders, but Earth is thirty-five lightyears away.

There's a land rush on exploiting alien tech. Pirates, claim-jumpers, cyborgs, and bureaucrats all must be defeated to keep Borag flying. Corporal Devin Starn is working his way up through the ranks of Red Company. Aboard Borag, a mining ship based out of Mars City, Starn discovers more about the aliens who preceded us. Their ruins and strange technologies deepen the mystery of their ancient downfall.

Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched only by the stunning simplicity of his experiments - using such low-tech tools such as cotton swabs, glasses of water, and dime-store mirrors.

Sunday Times and New York Times best-selling author Peter V. Brett brings one of the most imaginative fantasy sagas of the 21st century to an epic close. The war has begun.... For time out of mind, bloodthirsty demons have stalked the night, culling the human race to scattered remnants dependent on half-forgotten magics to protect them. Two heroes arose - men as close as brothers yet divided by bitter betrayal.

Built from the skulls of fallen generals and demon princes, it is a seat of honor and ancient, powerful magic, keeping the demon corelings at bay. From atop the throne, Ahmann Jardir was meant to conquer the known world, forging its isolated peoples into a unified army to rise up and end the demon war once and for all.

It should have been an easy sell. He was just another client, a wealthy target. I offered him what I had. He stole the rest. Beautiful. Confident. His mafia lineage made him a conqueror. He dominated my senses. He planned to rule my body as well. I didn’t have a chance at keeping my heart.

After barely defeating his most powerful opponent yet, Jaco is flung immediately into the aftermath of that bloody duel. Now permanently affected by the Infernal State and being granted the Devil’s Essence, he must learn to navigate having such energy within him. Both for how the powers of Hell itself affect those originally given to him by Heaven’s System, and what that means for him moving forward. Yet the Apocalypse waits for nobody, and neither do the Chosen Few as they make their own preparations from the darkest corners of the ruined city.

A year ago the Kher Empire was forced to retreat, but they were not beaten. In Orion Fleet, they return with a new weapon. A huge ship driven by AI begins methodically grinding inhabited worlds to dust. This unstoppable enemy is without fear or remorse, and the Rebels begin a desperate battle just to slow its advance. Leo Blake takes Earth's first warship into space to find a counter to this deadly new attack. The Imperial Fleets take notice of Earth's interference, and they're intent upon revenge. Even if he wins, Blake might have doomed our homeworld.

Ihr Rachedurst droht die Welt zu zerstören – kann er sie zurückholen, bevor alles zu spät ist? Diannas Herz ist gebrochen. Blindlings auf Rache sinnend beschließt sie, sich von ihrem letzten Fetzen Menschlichkeit loszusagen und die Welt voller Wut in Brand zu setzen. Nur der Gott Samkiel weigert sich zu glauben, dass Dianna vollends zu dem Monster geworden ist, für das sie alle halten. Er versucht alles in seiner Macht stehende, um sie vor sich selbst zu retten – auch wenn das bedeuten könnte, sich selbst zu verlieren.

Who Sets This Clock? is a podcast about timelines, external influences, and the often unspoken pressure to follow a life path that includes kids and other milestones. Hosted by Margarete, the show asks: who actually set these clocks we’re all supposed to follow? And are they ticking the same for everyone anymore? You know, just your average existential questions. Through honest, sometimes funny, and often vulnerable conversations, each episode explores life transitions, the choices we make (or don't), and the relationships that shift along the way.

For Eights. By an Eight. In Eight Language. What does it mean to be an Enneagram Eight? Why does it feel like everyone misunderstands and demonizes me? How do I grow into health and maturity? C.V. Meo asked these same questions of himself many years ago. Since then, he has gone on a journey of self-discovery. From reading all of the best Enneagram experts, to attending Enneagram workshops, to the hours spent in his therapist's office, C.V. has emerged with insights on what it means to be an Eight. If you want to learn more about all things Enneagram Eight, then this is the book for you.

When Beatrix Brighton—a New Hampshire professor with expertise in demonology—receives a desperate call from her father about a fungal plague consuming his home, she expects to find another easily explained phenomenon. Instead, she discovers a city in the grip of something inexplicable: toxic spores blanket every surface, buildings sprout through with yellow growths, and the residents are slowly changing, their minds colonized by something that lurks in the bayou's depths.

Proto wakes up in the misty halls of the palace of Somnus, the Lord of Dreams. Why is he there? Who knows? But as long as he’s there, he’s been given a job—to visit sleeping people’s dreams and try to make sure they turn out properly. By guiding dreams to the right conclusions, Somnus and his crew of dream visitors help keep the world from going off the rails. During his adventures as a dream visitor, Proto fails, makes a fool of himself, and—against all odds—makes friends too. And maybe more than friends . . . ? It’s hard to tell. There’s something off in how people here are looking at him.