Throughout all of this, the Catholic Church declared a ban on any form of contraception in South America, Mexico, Central America, and Africa. In these poor countries the Church felt it still had significant influence. This action only added to the already staggering population growth. People not killed off by disease died from starvation. The rise of the Christian Right, who were no more than fascists, added their considerable weight to the crisis. This movement managed to influence the U.S. federal government, particularly the executive and judicial branches. Their influence had U.S. Presidents reject the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Accords, using the excuse that participating in them would hurt American business interests. In true Fascist tradition, the American military industrial complex and right wing Christian ideologues, were cozily in bed with each other. When the developing nations saw the United States pay no more than lip service to Kyoto and Bali, they followed suit. Debt national, corporate, and personal was staggering. The Christian Right became deeply entrenched in government, the military, and business. But they needed Democrats and began to court them like a rich old geezer courts a Playboy centerfold. Payment rendered by the Democrats was the gutting of the Constitution and the repeal of Roe v. Wade. The Christian Right was very close to creating their ideal Christian Nation but took one huge misstep. Nuclear missiles were shaken by their political puppets like a stick shaken by an armchair general scolding a poor ally. China and India, considered godless by the Right, were the targets of this saber rattling, even though they held most of this nations debt. When they had had enough, they called in the debt. The United States went financially belly-up and because of the inter-connectedness of the global economy woven between nations, so did other countries. This worldwide governmental bankruptcy, combined with things previously mentioned, brought about total collapse. Governments capitulated and civil order became non-existent, ushering in The Age of Anarchy. The world, now more than ever, needed heroes.

The Muller family saga continues! Madmen get their hands on nuclear weapons and threaten the stability of a now peaceful world. Murder and mayhem, blood and lust, run along side of solid moral behavior throught the book. The author draws a vivid picture of what happens to people when their live's have been turned upside down. Once again, the reader will find gods and goddesses interacting with their human charges for the good of all; the Multiverse. Is this the beginning of Ragnarok, the end of the world? Read the book and you decide!

Wodan sat back in his High Seat as he looked back over the last ten years. The mess known as Discovery Center had been eliminated and Midgard was free....... Morgan vividly remembered the conversation that he and his sister had with his goddess birth mother, the Morrigan, and Freya before the Discovery Center assault. Morgan found out that, had Freya had a different disposition, she would have been chosen as his goddess birth mother and not the Morrigan. That fact did not sit well with him, when he considered that Freya wanted to seduce him to piss off the Morrigan....... Freya had picked up the slack for Sunny, preforming the various duties that fell to Sunny after her mother Ginas death. It appeared to Freya, and too many other gods and goddesses, that Sunny was a woman beyond redemption.......

A complete update to the hit book on the real physics at work in comic books, featuring more heroes, more villains, and more science Since 2001, James Kakalios has taught "Everything I Needed to Know About Physics I Learned from Reading Comic Books," a hugely popular university course that generated coast-to-coast media attention for its unique method of explaining complex physics concepts through comics. With The Physics of Superheroes, named one of the best science books of 2005 by Discover, he introduced his colorful approach to an even wider audience. Now Kakalios presents a totally updated, expanded edition that features even more superheroes and findings from the cutting edge of science. With three new chapters and completely revised throughout with a splashy, redesigned package, the book that explains why Spider-Man's webbing failed his girlfriend, the probable cause of Krypton's explosion, and the Newtonian physics at work in Gotham City is electrifying from cover to cover.

Create characters that leap off the page--and into readers' hearts! Populating your fiction with authentic, vivid characters is a surefire way to captivate your readers from the first sentence to the last. Whether you're writing a series, novel, short story, or flash fiction, Creating Characters is an invaluable guide to bringing your fictional cast to life. This book is a comprehensive reference to every stage of character development. You'll find timely advice and helpful instruction from best-selling authors like Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Sims, Orson Scott Card, Chuck Wendig, Hallie Ephron, Donald Maass, and James Scott Bell. They'll show you how to: • Effectively introduce your characters • Build a believable protagonist • Develop strong anti-heroes and compelling villains • Juggle multiple points of view without missing a beat • Craft authentic dialogue that propels the story forward • Motivate your characters with powerful objectives and a believable conflict • Show dynamic character development over the course of a story No matter what your genre, Creating Characters gives you the tools necessary to create realistic, fascinating characters that your readers will root for and remember long after they've finished the story.

Discover how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage your audience with this ultimate guide to writing. When it comes to writing bestsellers, it’s all about the plot. Trouble is, plot is where most writers fall down—but you don’t have to be one of them. With this book, you’ll learn how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage readers—one scene at a time. Celebrated writing teacher and author Martha Alderson has devised a plotting system that’s as innovative as it is easy to implement. With her foolproof blueprint, you’ll learn to devise a successful storyline for any genre. She shows how to: -Use the power of the Universal Story -Create plot lines and subplots that work together -Effectively use a scene tracker for maximum impact -Insert energetic markers at the right points in your story -Show character transformation at the book’s climax This is the ultimate guide for you to write page-turners that sell!

When the prince of Enlad declares the wizards have forgotten their spells, Ged sets out to test the ancient prophecies of Earthsea.