The theme of death is an essential component of film narrative, particularly in how it affects the hero. Filmmakers from different cultures and backgrounds have developed distinct yet archetypal perspectives on death and the protagonist's response. Focusing on Western and Japanese period genre films, the author examines the work of John Ford (1894-1973), Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) and Sergio Leone (1929-1989) and finds similarities regarding death's impact on the hero's sense of morality.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY BELIEVE IN HIM... Christopher Csejthe doesn't believe in vampires. Not until he becomes one. He doesn't believe in witches or werewolves, either. Not until they make him an offer he can't refuse.... Flight of the Living Dead A scream sliced the night air¾an animal sound as far removed from a human voice as the previous scream of tortured metal. It was a sound that went on and on as we hurried toward the RV. Mooncloud yanked the passenger door open and then ran around to the driver's side as I climbed up onto the bench seat. As she slid behind the wheel the other woman leapt from the building's rear doorway, sailing over the stairs and landing on the ground below. As she crouched on the asphalt, there was a shattering roar that canceled out the screaming. A ball of flame rolled out from the doorway like an orange party favor, licking the air just a few feet above her head. Mooncloud threw the van in gear and brought it skidding around as the blaze snapped back through the opening. Before I could reach for the door handle the woman was springing through the open window to land across my lap. "Go!" she shouted, but Mooncloud was already whipping the vehicle in a tight turn and accelerating toward the parking lot's north exit. The speed bump smacked my head against the roof of the cab and, by the time my vision cleared, we were driving more sedately down a side street, the woman with the crossbow sitting between me and the passenger door. In the rear-view mirror a pillar of flame was climbing from the roof of the old dormitory that housed the radio station. I shook my head to clear away the last of the planetarium show and gripped the dashboard. "Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" "It's very simple, Mr. Csejthe," Dr. Mooncloud said, pressing a button that locked the cab doors. "You are a dead man." At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Danger and intrigue of the US Army Bomb Disposal teams in the European Theatre of Operations, as young Eric Pedersen from Little Falls, Minnesota, enlists in the Army at the outbreak of World War 2, and volunteers for the newly established Bomb Disposal program. He is quickly shipped to North Africa with his squad, takes part in the victory of the desert campaign, then moves on to Sicily and Italy, and finally becomes embroiled in the landing at Normandy and the march through France, culminating with the final victory in Germany. As Eric moves through the combat arenas, he befriends men of the famous Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team and forges a lasting relationship with his new friend from the 3rd Infantry Division, Audie Murphy.

Some things won't stay buried . . . at grave's end It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger. As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she's learned as a special agent won't help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself—and Bones—from a fate worse than the grave.

“Cat and Bones are combustible together.” —Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels Cat and Bones are back! New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jeaniene Frost returns to her remarkable Night Huntress paranormal series, pulling out all the stops on This Side of the Grave. The incomparable team of half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her all-vamp husband Bones face their most terrifying challenge yet as they race to prevent a “species war” that could devastate humans and immortals alike—and are forced to seek help from their sworn enemy, the Ghoul Queen of New Orleans. Gripping, intriguing, and hot as Hades, This Side of the Grave is where Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, and Christine Feehan fans definitely want to be!

It takes a graveyard to raise a child. Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family.