Showing results by narrator "Jonathan Sleep" in All Categories

Among scientists who write, no one illuminates as well as Stephen Jay Gould does the wonderful workings of the natural world. Now in a new volume of collected essays—his sixth since Ever Since Darwin—Gould speaks of the importance of unbroken connections within our own lives and to our ancestral generations. Along with way, he opens to us the mysteries of fish tails, frog calls, and other matters, and shows once and for all why we must take notice when a seemingly insignificant creature is threatened, like the land snail Partula from Moorea, whose extinction he movingly relates.

If you have a family member who suffers from mental illness, but refuses to seek treatment, you may feel like you're caught in a trap. If you try making life easier for your loved one, you wind up perpetuating dependency and entitlement. If you push for treatment, you are met with resistance or outright animosity. And when you reach out to professionals for help, you are told that nothing can be done unless your family member is ready to change. So, how can you escape the "family trap?"

The role and range of the American presidency has undergone significant changes in the twenty-first century, with George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden transforming the office in distinct ways. Many but not all of these changes stem from the numerous crises of this young century: 9/11 and the resulting war on terror, Hurricane Katrina, the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the social unrest of 2020.

To the world, Linda DeSilva's marriage to Robert Edelman was perfect. He was her college boyfriend turned wealthy and successful husband, and the father of her children. But what friends and family didn't know was that the Texas real estate tycoon who set her up with a luxurious life in Dallas was also her abuser. When she asked him for a divorce, the violence against her only escalated, until the shocking moment she learned her husband had hired an assassin to take her life.

Tomas Klein and Levisomaerni are working together to gather as many galactic powers together as they possibly can, hoping that they can form a galaxy wide alliance before the Enlightened decide to make a move. But their efforts are being hampered by a mysterious and dangerous foe. Meanwhile, Adrian and Anessa have finished constructing the Nomad Fleet, and are preparing for their mission to find the Enlightened, waiting only for Tomas to convince the core powers to allow them passage through their territories.

Captured and sold to the Kurian-allied Maynes Conglomerate to work as a slave in the coal mines of Appalachia, Ahn-Kha is angered and appalled by the dangerous working conditions and the brutal treatment inflicted upon his fellow miners. When a protest against shortages is deliberately and bloodily suppressed, Ahn-Kha sets himself against the ruling Maynes family and sets out on a trail of vengeance through the Coal Country.

The Shadow Council have found new allies: shadowy creatures called wraiths. Summoned from another dimension, the wraiths are immune to most forms of attack-and they eat life force. A deadly threat to everyone in Kortall, the wraiths change the balance of power completely.

His experiment shouldn't have wrecked his lab, created a portal to another dimension, or sucked him through said portal. Despite all that, Charles Smith found himself landing atop the emissary of an evil group of mages called the Shadow Council. Literally on top of him, along with half the gear from his lab, which had the fortunate side-effect of turning the evil sorcerer into paste.

The conquest of the Erasi has begun and fleets clash over Erasi worlds. But while the alliance of the Shara Daim, Empire, and Krashinar has an advantage, the war is far from won. The Erasi industrial capacity as well as their population and size make it hard to conquer and harder to hold. And while the invasion across the outer Erasi systems is going well, the alliance is yet to clash with the Erasi core fleets.

The truce with the Erasi allows the Empire and the Shara Daim to grow, expand, and develop new technologies. But the Erasi have a long memory, and the Weaver of the Erasi will not allow the alliance more time to become a greater threat than it already is. Lord Sentinel Adrian Farkas-Reiss and Kar Daim Anessa plan for the inevitable Erasi attack. Their only chance is to strike first, and Adrian reaches out to an enigmatic alien race that could be the key to ending the Erasi threat. Massive fleets are preparing for the end of the truce and an all out war.

The Shara Daim Legions stopped the Erasi fleets from pushing further into their territory, and with the invasion halted a lull in the war gives the Empire time to seek a diplomatic solution on behalf of their new ally. But the Erasi are stalling the diplomatic talks, and the Shara Daim are not willing to wait for long before launching an offensive to take back their systems. The Erasi are master manipulators, and while they feign interest in a peaceful resolution, a massive force from their core is gathering, commanded by one of the founders of the Erasi.

At Sol, Adrian Farkas—Lord Sentinel of the Empire, prepares the defenses for the inevitable attack by the Legions of the Shara Daim—the third race created by the human and Nel ancestor Axull Darr. The Shara Daim come for the device left by their common ancestor, their Elders planning to use it to fulfill their goal of ruling the galaxy. But Adrian has plans of his own. But even as the Shara Daim Legions assemble for their invasion of Sol, Adrian and the Empire's fleets move to fulfill a promise made long ago to the race that had enslaved and destroyed Earth—the Ra'a'zani.

The end of the Sowir Dominion draws near as the Empire resumes its offensive. The retaking of Guxcacal home-world begins, as the Empire's fleets invade the remaining Sowir territory. But the Sowir still have surprises up their sleeves. Adrian Farkas awakens new abilities, buried deep inside the human genetic code by their ancestor Axull Darr. And with them the Empire gains all the knowledge contained inside the device left by their ancestor, the sum knowledge of the People, the first intelligent race in the universe and the ancestors of Humanity and the Nel.

Thirty years after the events in the Solar system, the Empire had entered a time of expansion and advancement. Six hundred light years from Earth, humanity starts again. But, their safety and peace are threatened when a hostile force is detected in one of the systems close to the Empire's border.

Charles must beat the Wraith Queen to at least one of the three Stones, or she'll open a portal and summon an unending horde, enough wraiths to suck all life from the world. At all costs-no matter how great the loss might be-at least one of the Stones must be obtained, or all is lost!

Charles has returned to a land devastated by war with the wraiths. Alone in a desolate land, seeking his friends and allies, he faces one peril after another. But finding his allies is only the beginning of the journey. A wraith queen has invaded Kortall, her legions wiping all life from the land. Worse, she's awoken ancient magics which will allow her to bring an even greater flood of wraiths across the dimensional barrier.

Charles Smith brought magic back with him to Earth, but will even that be enough to end the Reaper threat? The reapers have brought a Queen through the dimensional barrier. With her magic behind them, the reapers intend to open a massive portal, allowing tens of thousands more of their kind to pour into Earth. They have to be stopped—no matter the cost. As governments of the world gird themselves to use their most terrible weapons to stop the reaper threat, Smith and his allies throw everything they have into one final attempt to defeat the enemy with more conventional means.

To end the wraith threat, the dimensional barrier must be healed. But to do that, Charles will need to find a way back to Earth again! Only then can a combination of magic and technology repair the damage his arrival in Kortall caused. The quest to return to Earth is only the beginning of his troubles. Because the wraiths have been very busy, and not just in Kortall. They've invaded Earth as well! Smith quickly finds himself embroiled in two wars on two worlds against an implacable foe determined to spread across the multiverse until all life is devoured.

They rode into town like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Four armed outlaws bringing their own brand of hell to Paris, Texas. First they rob the First National Bank. Then they take a woman hostage as insurance. When Perley Gates learns that local waitress Becky Morris is in the hands of these tough customers, with only his friend Possum he rides to get her back. Problem is, the outlaws are heading toward the Red River--straight into Indian Territory. That's where the ranch hands draw the line. But Perley won't give up.

Victory against the Sowir at the battle for Nuva gave Olympus and their new allies time to fortify their positions. Meanwhile Olympus stretches its already limited resources on a mission to aid their home planet—Earth, which had been enslaved by an alien race called Ra'a'zani. On Earth, resistance prepares to retake their world, daring to reveal themselves for the first time in years. Risking everything for the chance to liberate their world.