Discover a new dark age—and the one girl wielding the light of truth—in a tale “with threads from The Hunger Games, The Giver, and other dystopian novels” (Booklist). For more than a hundred years, no maiden from Aerie has competed in the arduous Testing, but after Eva’s twin brother dies, she is determined to fulfill his dream of participating in the all-male competition, and enters despite her parents’ wishes. With the help of Lukas, her family’s servant from the Boundary lands, Eva learns the ways of the outcasts who live in the brutal and icy world beyond Aerie. She discovers the secrets of the blinding white landscape, the dogs who pull her sled, and the chasms that house the strange relics once worshipped by a godless humanity. This knowledge is exactly what she needs to survive—and win—the harsh trials of the Testing. Leaving the safety of Aerie behind gives Eva a chance to realize how strong she can be in the face of adversity—and how brave she’ll have to become in a society built on the shifting snows of lies . . . “Heather Terrell excavates a richly realized and adventurous world from the iced-over wreck of our own.” —William Alexander, National Book Award–winning author of Goblin Secrets “Part post-apocalyptic fiction and part high fantasy . . . Delicately weaving in elements of Inuit culture as well as elements you might find in Game of Thrones, Heather Terrell creates a world that is as intricate as it is icy . . . A page-turner.” —E. Kristen Anderson, editor of Dear Teen Me

"Our government is failing us. Can we simply blame polarization, the deregulation of campaign finance, or some other nefarious force? What if the roots go much deeper, to our nation's start? In Relic, the political scientists William Howell and Terry Moe boldly argue that nothing less than the U.S. Constitution is the cause of government dysfunction. The framers came from a simple, small, agrarian society, and set forth a government comprised of separate powers, one of which, Congress, was expected to respond to the parochial concerns of citizens across the land. By design, the national government they created was incapable of taking broad and meaningful action. But a hundred years after the nation's founding, the United States was transformed into a complex, large, and industrial society. The key, they argue, is to expand the powers of the president. Presidents take a longer view of things out of concern for their legacies, and are able to act without hesitation. To back up this controversial remedy, Howell and Moe offer an incisive understanding of the Progressive Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, one of the most powerful movements in American history. The Progressives shone a bright light on the mismatch between our constitutional government and the demands of modernity, and they succeeded in changing our government, sidelining Congress and installing a presidentially-led system that was more able to tackle the nation's vast social problems. Howell and Moe argue that we need a second Progressive Movement dedicated to effective government, above all to reforms that promote strong presidential leadership. For it is through the presidency that the American government can address the problems that threaten the very stability of our society"--

This discounted ebundle of the Pendergast Files from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child includes Relic and Reliquary Relic — Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum's dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human... Reliquary —When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D'Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. Books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child The Pendergast Series Relic Reliquary Other books Mount Dragon Books by Douglas Preston The Kraken Project Impact Blasphemy The Monster of Florence The Codex Jennie At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie Davis is the only one left to protect her younger sister. She’ll have to survive the best she can in the Colorado town of Burning Mesa—even if she lives in a strange, alchemical world where the bones of long-extinct magical creatures retain their magic...and are used to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries. When she proves to have a particular skill at harnessing the relics' powers, Maggie is whisked away to the glamorous hacienda of Álvar Castilla, the wealthy young relic baron who runs Burning Mesa. Though his intentions aren't always clear, Álvar trains Maggie in the world of relic magic. But when the mysterious fires reappear in their neighboring towns, Maggie must discover who is channeling relic magic for evil...before it's too late. Relic by Renee Collins is a thrilling adventure set in a wholly unique world, and a spell-binding story of love, trust, and the power of good.

The last known human searches the galaxy for companionship in a brilliant standalone novel from the legendary author of the Pip & Flinx series. “A provocative read.”—The Washington Post Once Homo sapiens reigned supreme, spreading from star system to star system in an empire that encountered no alien life and thus knew no enemy . . . save itself. As had happened many times before, the basest, most primal human instincts rose up, only this time armed with the advanced scientific knowledge to create a genetically engineered smart virus that quickly wiped out humanity to the last man. That man is Ruslan, the sole known surviving human being in the universe. Rescued from the charnel house of his home planet by the Myssari—an intelligent alien race—Ruslan spends his days as something of a cross between a research subject and a zoo attraction. Though the Myssari are determined to resurrect the human race, using Ruslan’s genetic material, all he wants for himself and his species is oblivion. But then the Myssari make Ruslan an extraordinary offer: In exchange for his cooperation, they will do everything in their considerable power to find the lost home world of his species—an all-but-mythical place called Earth—and, perhaps, another living human. Thus begins an epic journey of adventure, danger, heartbreak, and hope, as Ruslan sets out in search of a place that may no longer exist—drawn by the slimmest yet most enduring hope. Praise for Relic “Relic is a thrilling and thoughtful epic. With Alan Dean Foster’s trademark invention in both the psychology and physiology of his aliens, he also enriches the narrative with their complex cultures. The plot spans galaxies!”—Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Greg Bear “The stunning plot of Foster’s stand-alone novel will intrigue readers for not only the ‘last man in the universe’ trope but also the well-developed alien species. A true first contact novel on many different levels.”—Library Journal “Foster’s sympathetic novel successfully surveys human frailty, the tendency not to learn from history, and an enduring capacity for adaptation and emotional attachment.”—Publishers Weekly “Foster’s high-concept novel is a gripping tale of serenity amid sorrow.”—World Magazine

Textures of Images presents for the first time a fundamental analysis and synopsis of the printed relic-book genre. The author brings into focus the specific mediality and aesthetics of this kind of printed books between the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period.

New York Times–bestselling author: This richly imagined urban fantasy novel set in London’s supernatural black market reads like a cross between Clive Barker and Anne Rice There’s an underground black market for arcane things. Akin to the trade in rhino horns or tigers’ bones, this network traffics in remains of gryphons, faeries, goblins, and other fantastic creatures. When her fiancé Vince goes missing Angela Gough, an American criminology student, discovers that he was a part of this secretive trade. It's a big-money business—shadowy, brutal, and sometimes fatal. As the trail leads her deeper into London's dark side, she crosses paths with a crime lord whose life is dedicated to collecting such relics. Then Angela discovers that some of these objects aren't as ancient as they seem. Some of them are fresh. Dripping with supernatural terror, Relics launches a new trilogy by the New York Times–bestselling author of Coldbrook, The Silence, and the Alien-Predator Rage War series.