Messiah Complex

Katrina Ravel arrives incognito on the Greek island of Sifnos in a head-on collision with destiny. Consumed with passion for Sergei Smyrnoff, a Russian sculptor, Katrina barters her soul for Sergei's undying love but in an ironic twist she becomes enamored with the devil's disciple. As the yacht Atlantis plows through the Aegean toward Sifnos, Katrina reflects the past and brings to mind events that impelled her toward this fateful journey. She recalls her first encounter with Sergei. Katrina and Sergei meet unexpectedly at Sonia Alexander's birthday party. Sergei, handsome, charming and a man around town, sets out to conquer beautiful Katrina. Sonia, Katrina's life-long friend, aware of Sergei's shadowy reputation, tries desperately to deter Sergei's and Katrina's budding relationship. Paying no heed to her friend's warnings, Katrina becomes deeply involved with Sergei. Katrina has lost both parents at a young age and was brought up by Manos Xenakis, a close friend of the family. Manos is a wealthy shipowner who does not allow power and wealth to corrupt his principles. He offers Katrina love and compassion and takes full responsibility for her upbringing. However, Katrina gravitates toward Eleni, his housekeeper, who helps her overcome her intense sorrow at her parents' loss. Eleni is originally from the Greek Island of Sifnos. While the two women exchange confidences, Eleni relates a bizarre story that took place on her native Sifnos, years back. The yarn is about a humble chapel on a mountain overlooking the Aegean. A heinous murder within its walls desecrated the chapel and turned it into a place where only the devil can dwell. The legend is that the devil offers his favors to those who are desperate enough to seek him out and do his bidding. While attending a party at Manos's penthouse, Katrina meets with George Venetis. He engages her in conversation and she discovers that he belongs to a sect of devil worshipers. Venetis tries to lure Katrina into surrendering her soul and becoming one of Lucifer's followers. Meanwhile, Sonia flies to Crete seeking solace from an unfortunate love affair. Sonia meets the local doctor, marries him, and settles down in Crete. Katrina attends Sonia's wedding without Sergei. While in Crete she meets unexpectedly with Venetis, who is pursuing her. Aware of Katrina's obsession, Venetis tries to persuade her to sell her soul to the devil for Sergei's eternal love. Upon her return to New York, Katrina visits Sergei at his studio where she meets with a strange woman who is obviously very pregnant. The woman reveals that she is Sergei's fiancée and that the baby she is carrying is Sergei's child. Katrina flees in shock. Grief stricken and inconsolable, she broods and awaits Sergei's return. In time, she realizes that Sergei will not be back and she starts preparing for her journey to Sifnos and the devil's chapel. Olga Zornic, a longtime friend of the Smyrnoffs, calls on Katrina and confides the Smyrnoffs' decadent and lurid past. Though shocked and horrified, Katrina is not deterred by Olga's revelations. Obsessed and driven she flies across the Atlantic and enters the devil's domain. Having accomplished her mission, Katrina comes face to face with George Venetis. Venetis woos her into the Sifnian woods and seduces her. In a twist of fate, her obsession for Sergei dissipates and she becomes enamored with George. The two prepare to go away together into the unknown. But, in yet another twist, Katrina and George lose each other and she finds herself in the hospital with Eleni standing over her. Katrina confesses the barter of

"In the aftermath of House of M, Decimation and Endangered species, the future of mutants has never been bleaker. At the seeming end of their evolutionary cycle, a miracle arrives in the form of the first mutant birth since the tragic events of M-Day, when the Scarlet Witch obliterated the X-gene from virtually every mutant on the planet."--Page 4 of cover.

A history with sweeping implications, American Messiahs challenges our previous misconceptions about “cult” leaders and their messianic power. Mania surrounding messianic prophets has defined the national consciousness since the American Revolution. From Civil War veteran and virulent anticapitalist Cyrus Teed, to the dapper and overlooked civil rights pioneer Father Divine, to even the megalomaniacal Jim Jones, these figures have routinely been dismissed as dangerous and hysterical outliers. After years of studying these emblematic figures, Adam Morris demonstrates that messiahs are not just a classic trope of our national culture; their visions are essential for understanding American history. As Morris demonstrates, these charismatic, if flawed, would-be prophets sought to expose and ameliorate deep social ills—such as income inequality, gender conformity, and racial injustice. Provocative and long overdue, this is the story of those who tried to point the way toward an impossible “American Dream”: men and women who momentarily captured the imagination of a nation always searching for salvation.

Imagined as a sequel to the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, The Last Testament features visual accounts and stories of seven men around the world who claim to be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Building on biblical form and structure, chapters dedicated to each Jesus include excerpts of their scriptural testaments, laying out their theology and demands on mankind in their own words. Jonas Bendiksen takes at face value that each one is the true Messiah returned to Earth, to forge an account that is a work of apocalyptic journalism and compelling artistic imagination.

Part auto-biography and part exposé of Ken Daniels' experience and long time belief in Christianity and the questions and answers he's had to ask about with regard to the validity of Christian theories.

Passionate, forthright and enthusiastic, Carlos Magdalena is a world-renowned horticulturist - known both for his charisma and his conservation work. The Plant Messiah follows Carlos' dreams and disappointments; from his days as a school boy in the death throes of General Franco's Fascist dictatorship, to his advent as The Plant Messiah at the forefront of conservation, backed by the reputation and resources of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and enthused by the potential that lies beyond. The book discloses for the first time the details behind his 'codebreaking' exploits and the secret stories behind his work; his genius, lateral thinking and steadfast belief that everything is possible.

A collection from a popular Detroit-area poet that investigates a wide spectrum of themesdeath, love, loss, redemption.