It seemed like the perfect crime. In the year 2198, on the planet Canadian Exodus, eight-year-old Tawny Ryder, the daughter of a leading Albertan intelligence officer, was kidnapped from her family home. Detective Nikky Baker had the perpetrator's name, face, and the coldest trailof her career. Now, a deadly series of events has been unleashed. A vicious gang pursues Tawny, forcing her abductor to become her protector. Strange and unearthly creatures begin to appear in the unfamiliar dark of night, determined to influence the very soul of each person they encounter. In the midst of the chaos, a man's name is unexpectedly brought to Detective Baker by a woman named Tabitha, the most feared of New Edmonton's drug lords. It is claimed that only this man can resolve the crisis and save the child. His name is Chester Wolf.

I once told one of my American friends about the great Canadian sea serpent, the Ogopogo of Lake Okanagan. His only response was, Bucky, a country needs to have culture before it can have mythology. Well, the hard reality is that Canada really does have monster legends. Whether or not we have culture yet is still up in the air. However, I will swear to my dying day that the Ogopogo exists, because I saw it with my own eyes. Coincidentally, this sighting took place on the Ogopogos dying day, because I also accidentally killed it. (Hey, I said reality was hard.) Hi. Im Bucky Laroo.

In the year 2191, on planet Canadian Exodus, the hundred year war against the Bloodline terrorist faction is drawing to a close.Before the terrorist leaders can be banished, however, the elite paramilitary unit known as Track and Pursuit is called into enemy territory for one last hunt. Days later, five of the six deployed hunters are dead at the hands of a single fugitive, and the survivors of the unitknow that their only hope is to enlist the aid of retired Captain Chester Wolf, the only man more deadly than their adversary. No hunt is what it seems, as Wolf knows very well. The killer is one of their own, and this hunt will be like no other.

Earthworm Ecology, Second Edition updates the most comprehensive work available on earthworm ecology with extensive revisions of the original chapters. New chapters analyze the history of earthworm research, the importance of earthworms as representatives of soil fauna and how they affect plant growth, the effects of the invasion of exotic earthworms into North America and other regions, and vermiculture and vermicomposting in Europe.This well-illustrated, expansive study examines the important and often overlooked impact earthworms have on the environment. It discusses the impact of climate, soil properties, predation, disease and parasitism, and competition upon earthworm ecology.

Earthworms, which belong to the order Oligochaeta, comprise roughly 3,000 species grouped into five families. Earthworms have been called ‘ecosystem engineers’; much like human engineers, they change the structure of their environments. Earthworms are very versatile and are found in nearly all terrestrial ecosystems. They play an important role in forest and agricultural ecosystems. This Soil Biology volume describes the various facets of earthworms, such as their role in soil improvement, soil structure, and the biocontrol of soil-borne plant fungal diseases. Reviews discuss earthworms’ innate immune system, molecular markers to address various issues of earthworm ecology, earthworm population dynamics, and the influences of organic farming systems and tillage. Further topics include the characteristics of vermicompost, relationships between soil earthworms and enzymes, the role of spermathecae, copulatory behavior, and adjustment of the donated sperm volume.

Introductory Chapter: Earthworms - The Ecological Engineers of Soil.