German art historian and critic Doris von Drathen has here produced a collection of 24 texts on 24 of the world's famous contemporary artists. In it, she proposes nothing less than a new method of art criticism: an anti-criticism that goes above and beyond aesthetic categories, and against the colonization of art. Paradoxically, the more famous an artist, the more their works seem obscured by inflexible classifications, wild misreading and deceptive labels; von Drathen's analysis instead shows that every one of these artists is driven by an existential and ethical research. Artists from whom von Drathen raises this vortex of silence include: Marina Abramovic, Jean-Pierre Boltanski, Louise Bourgeois, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Ann Hamilton, Rebecca Horn, Anish Kapoor, Agnes Martin, Giulio Paolini, Giuseppe Penone and David Tremlett.

Blair and her brothers are driving home from a disastrous road trip when their day suddenly gets a whole lot worse. After facing down a tornado, their car is barely functioning, and the same can be said for Blair's older brother. Blair must take charge and get her family out of danger, but the storm isn't letting up. Will Blair be able to get her injured and scared brothers to safety . . . before the next twister hits?

It’s Silence, Soundly, It’s Nothing, Seriously and It’s Absence, Presently, continue The ‘It’ Series published by Matador since The Book of It (2010). They constitute another stage in an artistic journey exploring the visual and audial dialectic of mark, word and image that began over 25 years ago. In their aesthetic form the books are a decentred trilogy united together in a new concept of The Bibliograph. All three present this new aesthetic object, which transcends the narrow limits of the academic bibliography. The alphabetical works also share a tripartite structure and identical length. The Bibliograph itself is characterised by its strategic place within each book as a whole as well as by the complex variations in meaning of the dominant motifs – nothing/ness, absence and silence – which recur throughout the alphabetical entries that constitute the elements of each text. It’s Nothing, Seriously, for example, addresses the amusing paradox that so much continues to be written today about – nothing! The aleatory character of the entries in the texts encourage the modern reader to reflect on each theme and to read them in a new way. The reader is invited as well to examine their various inter-textual relations across given conventional boundaries in the arts and sciences at several levels of physical, psychical & social reproduction.

In ""Whispers of the Starforge,"" the realm of Aethoria teeters on the brink of eternal darkness as the ancient Starforge malfunctions. Lyra, a young astronomer from the floating city of Celeste, discovers her rare ability to communicate with cosmic forces and embarks on a perilous quest to save her world. Joined by Zephyr, a mysterious wind-riding nomad, and Ember, a fiery elemental seeking redemption, Lyra must navigate treacherous landscapes and confront the shadowy Void Cult to unravel the Starforge's secrets. Set in a breathtaking world where celestial energy powers both life and technology, this epic fantasy weaves a tale of adventure, moral complexity, and environmental stewardship. As the trio traverses crystal forests and sky rivers, they face challenges that test their resolve and reshape their understanding of Aethoria. With its innovative constellation-based magic system and themes of unchecked power and diversity, this young adult adventure offers a fresh take on the classic hero's journey, inviting readers to explore a realm where the fate of the stars hangs in the balance.

Published in 1924 and widely acknowledged as a major work of twentieth-century Latin American literature, José Eustasio Rivera's The Vortex follows the harrowing adventures of the young poet Arturo Cova and his lover Alicia as they flee Bogotá and head into the wild and woolly backcountry of Colombia. After being separated from Alicia, Arturo leaves the high plains for the jungle, where he witnesses firsthand the horrid conditions of those forced or tricked into tapping rubber trees. A story populated by con men, rubber barons, and the unrelenting landscape, The Vortex is both a denunciation of the sensational human-rights abuses that took place during the Amazonian rubber boom and one of the most famous renderings of the natural environment in Latin American literary history.