An ancient and powerful alien civilization, all but destroyed by a celestial impact millennia ago. Now, after thousands of years, their plan to rebuild their race is nearing fruition, and it’s happening here, on Earth. In the near future, the world is running out of known deposits of fossil fuels. Dr. Amanda Johnson, a brilliant, beautiful, and extremely tall computer designer and programmer, has been recruited by DARPA to design a satellite based scanning system to locate any hidden carbon reserves on the planet. This system, based in Phoenix, Arizona and called AUGER, will also be re-tasked to continuously track all nuclear materials once the carbon scans are completed. Amanda’’s fraternal twin brother, Tyler Johnson, also brilliant and extremely tall, is a world traveling archaeologist, working with their adoptive parents Gordon and Ashley Jameson. Tyler is aware of Amanda’s carbon based scanner system, and asks her to use it to search for small carbon deposits that may lead to previously undiscovered archaeological sites for him to excavate. Amanda agrees, and, using Majel, a computer A.I. that she has developed, and that Tyler has, unknown to her at the time, modified, she finds several thousand potential sites, one of which is most unusual. A large cube shaped object buried in North Carolina. After informing her brother, he and their parents go to investigate. What they find will change their lives, and the world, forever. Amanda and Tyler embark on an incredible journey that will take them as far away as the surface of Mars, and even to other dimensions. Along the way they will encounter aliens, suicidal terrorists, nuclear weapons, and even rogue elements of their own military. Difficulties which pale in comparison when they discover that they, Amanda and Tyler Johnson, are themselves another world’s Legacy.

In this volume, Nicholas R. Jones analyzes white appropriations of black African voices in Spanish theater from the 1500s through the 1700s, when the performance of Africanized Castilian, commonly referred to as habla de negros (black speech), was in vogue. Focusing on Spanish Golden Age theater and performative poetry from authors such as Calderón de la Barca, Lope de Rueda, and Rodrigo de Reinosa, Jones makes a strong case for revising the belief, long held by literary critics and linguists, that white appropriations and representations of habla de negros language are “racist buffoonery” or stereotype. Instead, Jones shows black characters who laugh, sing, and shout, ultimately combating the violent desire of white supremacy. By placing early modern Iberia in conversation with discourses on African diaspora studies, Jones showcases how black Africans and their descendants who built communities in early modern Spain were rendered legible in performative literary texts. Accessibly written and theoretically sophisticated, Jones’s groundbreaking study elucidates the ways that habla de negros animated black Africans’ agency, empowered their resistance, and highlighted their African cultural retentions. This must-read book on identity building, performance, and race will captivate audiences across disciplines.

It was supposed to be exciting, yet such an ordinary event in their lives. A new town, a new university. Tyler's father wanted to turn the old family castle on the hill overlooking the village into student accommodation. Tyler and five friends moved in as a one year trial. All was quiet at the start of the University year but it soon became clear that there was something else in residence as well. Something old, something dark. It had been there, waiting in the shadows for a long time. It had been disturbed by their presence and it did not like them. It did not want them there. And it was very, very angry. Dreams became nightmares, good times turned to evil. Was it just one entity or many? Who did it hate the most? The final showdown was about to begin. How would they rid the castle of it's presence? Or would this entity destroy them first?

Confederation may have established Canada’s nationhood in 1867, but the relationships framing Canada’s modern existence go back much further. Employing a unique socio-historical perspective, Canadian Society in the Twenty-First Century examines three formative relationships that have shaped the country: Canada and Quebec, Canada and the United States, and Canada and Indigenous nations. Now in its fourth edition, this engaging text offers students an overview of Canadian society through a series of connections rather than a collection of statistics. Trevor W. Harrison and John W. Friesen weave together complex aspects of the nation’s economic, political, and socio-cultural development. They guide readers to use this interdisciplinary framework to consider some of the tough questions that Canada is likely to face in adjusting to demands and challenges in the next few decades. Reflecting the most current scholarship in the field, this revised edition features new discussions on issues such as the current crisis of neo-liberal globalization, Canada’s petroleum industry, global warming, the Wet’suwet’en dispute in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring the unique character of Canada today, this text is a vibrant resource for sociology courses on Canadian society as well as courses in Canadian studies and Canadian history.

From USA Today Bestselling Author, Felicity Brandon, comes a dragon shifter romance series enveloped in her signature dark romance. Four dragon brothers with a mission. One dangerous secret they're sworn to protect. Balthazar Sparks flew when I met Cherie. That's why I whisked her away to my mountain retreat, To romance the woman who finally spoke to my dragon. But then, in a flash, she was gone. Snatched by my nemesis, Oliver Monroe. I'll destroy the beast who took her, Fight tooth and claw to take her back. By the time she's in my arms again, She'll be mine—for good. Cherie Taken by a monster, I awake dazed in the darkness, Captive to the beast who'd once been my boss. My only hope is freedom, But to get away from his clutches, I'll have to trust in another man, Balthazar Vaughn. And his twisted secrets are buried deeper than most. Balthazar's Fire is book two in The Dragon Guardian series.

What makes 11-year-old Balthazar's eccentric family of magicians unusual is the fact that they actually have magical powers. Only Balthazar lacks the family talent. So when the entire family except Balthazar disappears during a local dinner theater performance it's up to him to find them. To try to free his loved ones Balthazar must work with some questionable characters, including a long-lost lunatic uncle, three enigmatic senior citizens and the loathsome Pagan Fistula. At the center of these disappearances is a force so evil that the world's most preeminent magicians cower before it. What hope could a ragtag crew of misfits have against it? This wildly imaginative debut novel uses magic, humor and high adventure to reaffirm some fundamental family values.

A time journey that places the modern reader deep into the Biblical world of Jesus Christ, Trailing Redemption is a character transformation novel. Billy is a poor husband and father struggling with the death of his own father since childhood. Paranormal and spiritual forces transport him to the time of the New Testament for an opportunity to become the person he was to be before tragedy struck if he can overcome the obstacles of geography, language and diabolical evil. With the help of new found friends, he draws strength and ultimately finds he can change if given a second chance. Trailing Redemption reflects the styles of Dickens and Capra in its scope discovering new grounds of character development.