In the third book of this middle grade sci-fi series, a teen suddenly fluent in multiple languages discovers he is part alien, and someone wants him dead. At Metier Junior High, Jack Raynes is usually the class clown, but lately he has one problem: mustering up the courage to ask the prettiest girl in school, Jenny Kim, on a date. That is until the day he gets hit in the head with a baseball and wakes up with the mysterious ability to speak and understand any language. Was he suffering from a concussion? Or something more sinister? When his weirdo classmates Ashley and Ethan try to tell him he might be an alien, Jack is ready to shrug them off. But then he overhears someone talking about him in a language he’s never heard before, one that isn’t even human. And that someone is planning to kill him. Suddenly Jack is looking to the last two people he’d ever befriend for help: Ethan and Ashley. After all, aliens need to stick together if they hope to stay alive . . .

TO: JACK RAYNES It arrived on my thirteenth birthday: an anonymous note, saying my life was in danger. I figured it was just some stupid prank. So I ignored it. That was a big mistake . . . ADDRESS: METIER, WISCONSIN Since then, something strange has happened to me. When my teacher asked me a question in Spanish, I could answer her fluently-even though I've only been taking Spanish for two months. And suddenly I understood French. And Japanese. And Arabic. And Dutch. Any language. It was totally excellent, until I overheard someone talking about me-talking about killing me-in a language I'd never heard before. A language that wasn't even human . . . MESSAGE: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

These twenty heroines portrayed imperiled women in science fiction, horror, film noir and mystery movies from the 1930s to the 1960s. Some--like Sandy Descher, who confronted the giant ants of Them!--were only girls when they faced their screen perils. Others--such as Mary Murphy, who played opposite Marlon Brando in The Wild One--were leading ladies in other film genres. Yet others--such as June Wilkinson, considered by many as Playboy's greatest model--came from outside the acting world. Each interview is preceded by an introduction. Besides the three above, the interviewees are Ramsay Ames, Claudia Barrett, Jean Byron, Linda Christian, Faith Domergue, Amanda Duff, Evangelina Elizondo, Margaret Field, Mimi Gibson, Marilyn Harris, Kitty de Hoyos, Donna Martel, Joyce Meadows, Noreen Nash, Cynthia Patrick, Paula Raymond and Joan Taylor. Among the films they starred in are The Mummy's Ghost, Robot Monster, Tarzan and the Mermaids, This Island Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Where Danger Lives, The Man from Planet X, The Monster That Challenged the World, Frankenstein, The Brain from Planet Arous, Phantom from Space, The Mole People, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers. Some interviews were previously published in a different form in fan magazines.

MUSIC OF THE SPEARS by Yvonne Navarro New York City, 2124, and the streets are swarming with Alien Jelly addicts and homeless people. The powerbrokers look down from their high-rise offices with disgust. One of them—an entertainment mogul—is planning spectacular revenge on a maniac musician. Damon Eddington will shock the world with his latest opus—the Symphony of Hate—and the unique sound he seeks for his vision of hatred is the razor-sharp scream of the Alien… BERSERKER by S.D. PerryIt is called a Berserker team—desperate volunteers recruited by the Company to destroy Alien infestations. Based on the spaceship Nemesis, it consists of three brutal ex-cons and the Berserker itself: an armed exoskeleton powered by the brain of what was once a human, an unstoppable killing machine. The Nemesis is sent to a space station containing the largest alien hive in history, with nearly a thousand hapless humans cocooned and incubated inside. The mission: to destroy the Aliens while leaving the terminal intact…

With the rediscovery of the Book of Dei'lo, the lines of war have been drawn across the Inherited Lands. Behind their fortified walls, the forces for good and evil are massing for the ultimate conflict, pitting the two Languages of Power against one another in open battle for the first time...At the focal point of this coming apocalypse stands Gideon Dawning, a troubled loner who has been marked by prophecy as the Waymaker for the Pearl. His charge: to find a holy sentient orb of power that has been lost for over 2,000 years, and bring it safely to Wordhaven. If he succeeds, he may avert the war. But there are many who would see Gideon fail-Sa'lei Lords of staggering power, and their corrupted minions within the Deathland Barrens. Yet an even greater danger lurks within the realms Gideon cannot see.where a living evil plots to capture his very soul. With all the perils that lie before him, Gideon is certain of only this: He must go. For if he cannot retrieve the Pearl, no one will.

Directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth) and starring Scarlett Johansson, the 2013 film Under the Skin contains elements of science fiction and fantasy, horror, mystery, and thriller. Arguably the most compelling of Johansson's career, the movie follows a unique tale of one woman's journey to self-discovery. This is the first book to be written about the quiet masterpiece, revisiting the film scene-by-scene through all its cinematic elements. Extensive interviews detail the challenges the filmmakers faced--from hidden filming on the streets of Glasgow to defying a blizzard in the Scottish Highlands. Readers are invited to explore connections between the movie and its science fiction cousins and discover the reasons why Under the Skin deserves to find a wider audience.