Masters and Bastards


Book Description

With life on Earth long extinct, human DNA is cultivated to life in a solar system far from home. Human history begins to repeat itself on the new world of Poltervaut. Hundreds of years beyond their industrial revolution, the resurrected human race faces its greatest peril. Greater telepathy--found in a tiny percentage of human beings--has become the most valuable resource in the galaxy. An expansionistic alien empire has launched a mighty armada and invasion force to enslave the human race and harvest human minds. With the aid of telepathy, an empire can communicate at the speed of instantaneous thought, greatly surpassing the speed of light. The clock is ticking for the divided human nations to prepare their defenses. Old nationalistic rivalries flare between the superpowers of Iberia and Scythia even as the alien Vulgari move closer with a seemingly insurmountable force. Andreas Marset, a young unsuspecting legionary in the Iberian army, must discover his role in the wars to come. As an Arpathian, the conquered people living within the Iberian Empire's borders, Marset belongs to a lower caste of Iberia's residents. Inexplicitly, he is called before the Iberian Imperium and mated to Isabella Caravingian, the bastard daughter of Iberia's Emperor Constantine. Andreas knows only that this apparent break in imperial protocol is the result of years of secret telepathic breeding. Questions abound as to Marset's true identity. Exiled to obscurity in the wars of the colonial worlds in the Rubicon System, Marset begins to unlock the secrets of his gifted mind as he rises in the ranks of the army. Hannah Comzatava, a captured Scythian assassin sent to kill Andreas, may hold the keys to uniting mankind and helping Andreas discover his true destiny in the looming war with the Vulgari.




Masters and Bastards


Book Description

With life on Earth long extinct, human DNA is cultivated to life in a solar system far from home. Human history begins to repeat itself on the new world of Poltervaut. Hundreds of years beyond their industrial revolution, the resurrected human race faces its greatest peril. Greater telepathy--found in a tiny percentage of human beings--has become the most valuable resource in the galaxy. An expansionistic alien empire has launched a mighty armada and invasion force to enslave the human race and harvest human minds. With the aid of telepathy, an empire can communicate at the speed of instantaneous thought, greatly surpassing the speed of light. The clock is ticking for the divided human nations to prepare their defenses. Old nationalistic rivalries flare between the superpowers of Iberia and Scythia even as the alien Vulgari move closer with a seemingly insurmountable force. Andreas Marset, a young unsuspecting legionary in the Iberian army, must discover his role in the wars to come. As an Arpathian, the conquered people living within the Iberian Empire's borders, Marset belongs to a lower caste of Iberia's residents. Inexplicitly, he is called before the Iberian Imperium and mated to Isabella Caravingian, the bastard daughter of Iberia's Emperor Constantine. Andreas knows only that this apparent break in imperial protocol is the result of years of secret telepathic breeding. Questions abound as to Marset's true identity. Exiled to obscurity in the wars of the colonial worlds in the Rubicon System, Marset begins to unlock the secrets of his gifted mind as he rises in the ranks of the army. Hannah Comzatava, a captured Scythian assassin sent to kill Andreas, may hold the keys to uniting mankind and helping Andreas discover his true destiny in the looming war with the Vulgari.




Braun's Battlin' Bastards


Book Description

Memoirs of much decorated WWII veteran Capt. Hal Braun and his time in command of Company B, 158th Regimental Combat Team in the steaming jungles of New Guinea and the South Pacific. Hal has been referred to as the Pappy Boyington of the infantry. Read this incredible book and you'll see why.




Anne Orthwood's Bastard


Book Description

In 1663, an indentured servant, Anne Orthwood, was impregnated with twins in a tavern in Northampton County, Virginia. Orthwood died soon after giving birth; one of the twins, Jasper, survived. Orthwood's illegitimate pregnancy sparked four related cases that came before the Northampton magistrates -- who coincidentally held court in the same tavern -- between 1664 and 1686. These interrelated cases and the decisions rendered in them are notable for the ways in which the Virginia colonists modified English common law traditions and began to create their own, as well as what they reveal about cultural and economic values in an Eastern shore community. Through these cases, the very reasons legal systems are created are revealed, namely, the maintenance of social order, the protection of property interests, the protection of personal reputation, and personal liberty. Through Jasper Orthwood's life, the treatment of the poor in small communities is set in sharp relief. Anne Orthwood's Bastard was the winner of the 2003 Prize in Atlantic History, American Historical Association.




The Lies of Locke Lamora


Book Description

Fantasy meets crime caper in the first book of a landmark, enduringly popular epic series about a roguish group of conmen, which George R. R. Martin has called “fresh, original, and engrossing . . . gorgeously realized.” An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges relentless danger, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentlemen Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying.




Game Design Deep Dive: Horror


Book Description

The Game Design Deep Dive series examines a specific game system or mechanic over the course of the history of the industry. This entry will examine the history and design of the horror genre and elements in video games. The author analyzes early video game examples, including the differences between survival, action-horror, and psychological horror. Thanks to recent hits like Five Night’s at Freddy’s, Bendy and the Ink Machine, and recent Resident Evil titles, the horror genre has seen a strong resurgence. For this book in the Game Design Deep Dive series, Joshua Bycer will go over the evolution of horror in video games and game design, and what it means to create a terrifying and chilling experience. FEATURES • Written for anyone interested in the horror genre, anyone who wants to understand game design, or anyone simply curious from a historical standpoint • Includes real game examples to highlight the discussed topics and mechanics • Explores the philosophy and aspects of horror that can be applied to any medium • Serves as a perfect companion for someone building their first game or as part of a game design classroom Joshua Bycer is a game design critic with more than eight years of experience critically analyzing game design and the industry itself. In that time, through Game-Wisdom, he has interviewed hundreds of game developers and members of the industry about what it means to design video games. He also strives to raise awareness about the importance of studying game design by giving lectures and presentations. His first book was 20 Essential Games to Study. He continues to work on the Game Design Deep Dive series.




Miranda


Book Description

Miranda is a black ex-slave, now the owner of a sugar plantation in Jamaica in the late eighteenth century. Her battle to overcome prejudice and to raise the status of African slaves by teaching them to read and write makes compelling reading. Her personal struggle with an overseer who preys on black women to satisfy his sexual appetite has far-reaching consequences.




Marine A SBS: Terrorism on the North Sea


Book Description

For over eighty years the SBS have sailed into the face of danger. Responsible for quick strikes, reconnaissance, and counter-terrorism, they are the world's foremost marine special forces unit. The SBS risk their lives at sea and on land, undertaking the most dangerous missions. 1982, North Sea. IRA operatives plan to sabotage the North Sea oilfield – and the Prime Minister is in danger. The SBS must risk life and limb against the terrorists and the might of the open waves, or the political impact could be devastating – and the security of the UK could be destroyed forever...




Rasputin's Bastards


Book Description

“Part BioShock, part X-Files, part Sopranos—and 100%, uncut Nickle . . . a glorious, chaotic delight” from the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Volk (Peter Watts, author of Blindsight). Post–Cold War, a group of Russians bred from childhood to be psychic spies are called from around the globe to achieve their true purpose: world domination. But some of them have flourished in the lives they have carved out for themselves—often in nefarious ways—and they will not give up their freedom without a fight, even as a new generation of telepathic children, the beautiful dreamers, are coming into power . . . In Rasputin’s Bastards, David Nickle—the acclaimed author of Eutopia, Monstrous Affections, and Volk—offers readers “an enormous tale, bewilderingly complex, but with lots of twists and turns that reward close attention. It is grotesque, violent, and exciting, with a supernatural tinge that is his hallmark” (Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing). “This novel is supernatural eeriness at its best, with intriguing characters, no clear heroes, and a dark passion at its heart. Horror aficionados and fans of Stephen King’s larger novels should appreciate this macabre look at the aftermath of the Cold War.” —Library Journal “Stiffly compelling. Once you’re done, there’s no question: the hours spent enfolded in Nickle’s imagination are well spent. You won’t ever feel the desire to ask for them back.” —January Magazine “A journey from the depths of the sea, the heart of Mother Russia, to the darkest corners of the soul.” —K. E. Bergdoll, The Crow’s Caw




Volpone's Bastards


Book Description

Through studying Volpone's three bastard children, this book discusses how Jonson's comedies are built upon the tension between death, castration and nothingness on one hand, and the comic slippage of identities in the city on the other.