When man and machine are one and the same, time moves differently. But it runs out all the same. The Asterion Dominion government has fallen, its rulers slain—but in the Dominion, the dead rarely stay that way. A doomsday clock rushes headlong toward the day the monstrous alien shapeshifters known as the Rasu will demand their next tribute of lives. When denied it, the Rasu will burn every Dominion world to the ground. Unless they can be stopped. Nika, Dashiel and their allies fight to hold onto the reins of power even as they search for a way to defeat the enemy. Their quest will take them from barren deserts to a remote wilderness to the hidden homeworld of an ancient, mysterious species, all to uncover a secret 700,000 years in the keeping. With everything they thought they knew now called into question and the reckoning at hand, the Asterions’ past, present and future will collide in a last daring gambit to save all three. ASTERION NOIR 700,000 years ago, the Asterions fled persecution for their pro-synthetic beliefs. In the safe harbor of a distant galaxy, they have evolved into a true biosynthetic race and built a thriving society upon the pillars of personal autonomy, mutual respect and boundless innovation. Now that society is fracturing at the seams. Beneath lies built upon lies, the shocking truth as to why threatens the future of not merely the Asterions, but all life in the universe. Cyberpunk and space opera collide in a thrilling new trilogy from the author of the epic Aurora Rhapsody space opera saga. Enter a world of technological wonders, exotic alien life, enthralling characters, captivating worlds—and a terrifying evil lurking in the void that will shatter it all. *** AMARANTHE UNIVERSE: --------------------------------------- ~ AURORA RHAPSODY ~ (should be read in order) AURORA RISING TRILOGY #1: STARSHINE (Aurora Rising Book One) #2: VERTIGO (Aurora Rising Book Two) #3: TRANSCENDENCE (Aurora Rising Book Three) AURORA RENEGADES TRILOGY #4: SIDESPACE (Aurora Renegades Book One) #5: DISSONANCE (Aurora Renegades Book Two) #6: ABYSM (Aurora Renegades Book Three) AURORA RESONANT TRILOGY #7: RELATIVITY (Aurora Resonant Book One) #8: RUBICON (Aurora Resonant Book Two) #9: REQUIEM (Aurora Resonant Book Three) #10: SHORT STORIES OF AURORA RHAPSODY (can be read at any time) ~ ASTERION NOIR TRILOGY ~ (a new entry point for the series - can be read before Aurora Rhapsody) #11: EXIN EX MACHINA (Asterion Noir Book 1) #12: OF A DARKER VOID (Asterion Noir Book 2) #13: THE STARS LIKE GODS (Asterion Noir Book 3) ~ RIVEN WORLDS ~ (should be read after Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir) #14: CONTINUUM (Riven Worlds Book One) #15: INVERSION (Riven Worlds Book Two) #16: ECHO RIFT (Riven Worlds Book Three) #17: ALL OUR TOMORROWS (Riven Worlds Book Four) #18: CHAOTICA (Riven Worlds Book Five) #19: DUALITY (Riven Worlds Book Six) ~ COSMIC SHORES ~ (a new entry point for the series - each book can be read at any time and without reading any of the other books) #20: MEDUSA FALLING (A Cosmic Shores Novel) #21: THE THIEF (A Cosmic Shores Novel)

With 8 Pages of Black-and-White Photographs In this captivating history of stardom, Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr traces our obsession with fame from the dawn of cinema through the age of the Internet. Why do we obsess over the individuals we come to call stars? How has both the image of stardom and our stars' images changed over the past hundred years? What does celebrity mean if people can now become famous simply for being famous? With brilliant insight and entertaining examples, Burr reveals the blessings and the curses of celebrity for the star and the stargazer alike. From Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin, to Archie Leach (a.k.a. Cary Grant), Tom Cruise, and Julia Roberts, to such no-cal stars of today as the Kardashians and the new online celebrity, Gods Like Us is a journey through the fame game at its flashiest, most indulgent, occasionally most tragic, and ultimately it's most culturally revealing.

An in-depth look at the powerful story and symbolism behind God's unique design of our universe. Thousands of words have been written about the first ten words in the Bible: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," a simple and profound statement that has ignited a firestorm of debate and controversy. People often only focus on the "how" and "when" of creation, but Story in the Stars explores the "why." Why did God create such a vast universe? Why did He choose the sun and moon to light our paths? Why did He design images with stars in the night sky? The Bible is very clear when it states that God created, named, and positioned all of the stars of the universe in their place in a very specific way-a way that tells us the greatest story ever to be told. In Luke 21:25 Jesus says, "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars." Signs are meant to point us towards something: Jesus. Story in the Stars takes an in-depth look at the Bible and all the signs God mapped out through constellations, planets, and even the way the Earth is tilted. We are uniquely designed by God, and He loves us so much that He ensured a way for all inhabitants of the earth, through all of time, to see the messages of salvation and redemption that He painted in the stars.

Startling stories center the bodies, memories, myths, and relationships of Asian American women in “a voracious, probing collection, proof of how exhilarating the short story can be” (The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice)—from the National Book Award “5 Under 35” honoree and author of Bestiary “Wise, energetic, funny, and wild, Gods of Want displays a boundless imagination anchored by the weight of ancestors and history.”—Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Sabrina & Corina and Woman of Light WINNER OF THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Them, Book Riot In “Auntland,” a steady stream of aunts adjust to American life by sneaking surreptitious kisses from women at temple, buying tubs of vanilla ice cream to prepare for citizenship tests, and hatching plans to name their daughters “Dog.” In “The Chorus of Dead Cousins,” ghost-cousins cross space, seas, and skies to haunt their live-cousin, wife to a storm chaser. In “Xífù,” a mother-in-law tortures a wife in increasingly unsuccessful attempts to rid the house of her. In “Mariela,” two girls explore one another’s bodies for the first time in the belly of a plastic shark, while in “Virginia Slims,” a woman from a cigarette ad comes to life. And in “Resident Aliens,” a former slaughterhouse serves as a residence to a series of widows, each harboring her own calamitous secrets. With each tale, K-Ming Chang gives us her own take on a surrealism that mixes myth and migration, corporeality and ghostliness, queerness and the quotidian. Stunningly told in her feminist fabulist style, these are uncanny stories peeling back greater questions of power and memory.

Taking place in the years before World War II, the granite workers of Barre, Vermont are observed and described by Mr. Tiff, the immigrant school teacher. He watches as the people around him live through birth, marriage, and death, never speaking of their fear or the hard granite dust that kills the men who make their living in the sheds.

Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident. Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible. He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever he the same...