Stone And Anvil

Captain MacKenzie Calhoun was not always destined for Starfleet. Look back twenty years... A hardened killer, at nineteen years old he is already a leader of men: the maverick teenage figurehead of the revolt that will free his home planet from alien domination. But what will he do when his only goal -- his struggle to overthrow the Danteri rule -- is achieved? Discovered by Captain Picard of the USS Stargazer, who detects in him the seeds of possible greatness, he is given a choice which will change his life forever. Under the guidance of Jean-Luc Picard, he abandons the route that can only lead to an early death on his home world. Instead he chooses to enrol at Starfleet Academy, a place utterly opposed to the values of independence and rebellion he learned as a youth. The road from raw recruit to Starfleet Officer has never been rougher. And Mackenzie Calhoun's journey is never less than fascinating, told here as only Peter David can tell it.

In this dazzling follow-up to "Being Human," the "New York Times" bestselling author presents a new adventure featuring Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, Captain Elizabeth Shelby, and the crews of "Excalibur" and "Trident."

Captain Mackenzie Calhoun's journey is never less than fascinating, told here as only Peter David can tell it. A crewman has been murdered aboard the U.S.S. Trident, and all evidence points to Ensign Janos of the Excalibur. Captain Mackenzie Calhoun is reluctant to accept that Janos, a powerful non-humanoid whom the captain has known and trusted for years, could be a killer, and immediately launches an investigation into the crime. But this troubling murder mystery soon escalates into a full-fledged diplomatic crisis that threatens to pit Calhoun and Captain Elizabeth Shelby against the entire United Federation of Planets—and the Starship Enterprise™. Meanwhile, the turmoil involving Ensign Janos forces Calhoun to recall his own tempestuous past, his rocky relationship with a young Elizabeth Shelby—and a long-ago exploit that may have everything to do with the deadly emergency that now confronts them all!

SFreedom is all that matters. So says spy and master of disguise Marcus ap Iorwerth of his greatest dream. For years, he has courageously struggled to unite Britain "s feuding internal factions and derail the ever-encroaching Saxon threat that has made his homeland a deadly place. So when a mysterious stranger delivers a gruesome, bloodstained effigy fashioned to look like him, Marcus immediately knows it "s both a warning and a challenge. He and his wife Claerwen †whose gift of second sight makes her a target as well †run headlong into the daunting fray. Rival factions are instigating war both among themselves and with the Saxons, and while Marcus sets out to quash their treachery, Claerwen discovers another crisis. Those same factions have mounted a desperate search for one of Britain "s most cherished symbols †a magnificent sword of the ancient high kings that has been lost for decades. She knows the sword must be found; it is part of Britain "s future and will pass to a great king called Arthur who has been prophesied to come. With battle about to erupt all around, Marcus learns the stranger, an assassin bent on killing him, may be one of the last sources that could lead him and Claerwen to the sacred sword. The Anvil Stone brings the volatile tribal nature of Dark Age Britain to life and deftly interweaves it with its mystical Celtic roots and the promise of hope found in the Arthurian legend. A stunning display of the storyteller "s craft, this book is the third in the spectacular four-part Macsen "s Treasure series that began with Into the Path of Gods and In the Shadow of Dragons.

Quarrymen dig, so I opened my bloodline and did just that. And I exhumed all the words I could not say. Or face. The epiphany to excavate myself came one morning around 4 a.m., when I typically have my most honest moments. It was not a bolt of lightning but rather a spark. In the receding silky darkness, I laid in dynamite, struck a match, and blasted my comfortable and confining crypt to hell, a trail of teeth, shards, and shrapnel, my result. And I kept digging, frantically. I was living a subterranean life—the faces, the voices, the eyes, and their heavy breathing jangled angry, a mountain of pennies in my lungs. Breathing was labor.The practice of burying me was methodical, mechanical. The only exchanges I was having were with myself. I was a cluttered labyrinth with no distinguishable door nor window, a seamless box, nested in countless boxes, fashioned by my careful hands, padlocked, and plunged into a hole, paved shut. Like a hoarders’ heaven (haven), I collected and stacked and cataloged exchanges, unwritten letters, tender tidings, retorts, tirades, confessions, and gory screeds. A lifetime’s worth, or so it seemed. And now I rise, each page of this book a slug of new air. Fresh, above ground.

Captain Mackenzie Calhoun has often been accused of playing God, but he has never faced off against real gods—until now. As Captain Kirk did before him, Calhoun has encountered beings of unnatural power and abilities verging on godhood, and who claim to be the very individuals who inspired the Greek, Roman, Norse, and, other pantheons from Earth culture. These beings say that all they want is our worship, and in return for it will provide us with a peaceful galaxy-wide paradise of perfect health and endless pleasure. When the Federation, in the person of Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur, refused their offer, the resulting battle left Morgan Primus dead and Lieutenant Mark McHenry, whose own powers over time and space had proved to be substantial, in a limbo beyond death. Now, with a wounded ship and an injured crew, Captain Calhoun, along with Captain Shelby and the crew of the Trident, must face these god-like beings once again, with the fate of galactic civilization at stake.

'Afflictions & Departures' is a collection of first-person experiential essays by writer and academic Madeline Sonik. Although Sonik explores some of the salient personal experiences of her young life, the essays in 'Afflictions & Departures' are not traditional memoir. In addition to incidents and feelings recaptured from memory, Sonik seeks out connections between the microcosm of of the daily events of her childhood and the social, historical, and scientific trends of the time. 'Afflicitons & Departures' begins by considering the turbulent and changing nature of the world in the late 1950s and early 1960s-the world in which the author was conceived and born. Like many couples of that era, Madeline Sonik's parents focused on shared social and economic ambitions at the expense of authentic personal feeling. These ambitions would erode and, by the 1970s, completely collapse. In 'Afflictions & Departures ' Sonik exercises both intellectual depth and emotional range. The essays are as incisive as they are deeply moving, and leave the reader with a sense of history as it was lived, not as it is codified in countless textbooks."Startlingly original, Madeline Sonik's moving story of her childhood defies all our expectations of memoir. She captures crystalline moments of childhood memory and links them in a daisy-chain with corresponding events of the tumultuous societal change taking place outside her home. It is North America in the 1960s and 70s and her letter-perfect, child's-eye view of the world brings back that time with such intensity that the reader can almost smell and taste it. Droll, tragic, and absolutely compelling, 'Afflictions and Departures' is a visceral portrayal of a family imploding." -Jury, Charles Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction"Her memory is dustless, capacious, uncanny. With a storyteller's skill and a poet's depth of vision, she recreates her childhood with one eye on her family and the other on the larger world. Significant cultural markers sit side-by-side with the small, painful intensities of her childhood. This memoir is crammed with pathos, yet is written with a light touch. I adore the narrator who never falls into self-pity or narcissism. The clarity of her vision makes the prose gleam and transforms autobiography into art." -Lorna Crozier, author of 'Small Beneath the Sky'"Honesty has to be at the centre of any memoir, and 'Afflictions & Departures' pulsates with raw, straightforward truth. ... Sonikhas overcome enormous challenges and turned them into literary jewels. This book encourages readers to think about family, memory and history - and above all, resilience." - Times ColonistWinner of the City of Victoria Butler Book PrizeFinalist, Charles Taylor Prize for literary non-fictionNominated for the BC National Award for Canadian non-Fiction

At fourteen, Toronto school friends Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. Forming their band 'Anvil' they went on to become the 'demi-gods of Canadian metal', releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's Metal on Metal. The album influenced a musical generation including the world-dominating bands Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, all of whom went on to sell millions of records. Anvil's career would take a different path, however, as they slipped straight into obscurity... Almost thirty years later Lips and Robb, our unlikely musical heroes, are still chasing their dream. Anvil! The Story of Anvil, their autobiography, follows the ups and down of their career and their volatile friendship (which has now spanned almost four decades), reveals their dedication and unadulterated passion for their music, and carries us along on their last-ditch quest for fame and fortune. Based on Sacha Gervasi's award-winning film of the same name, and published to coincide with its worldwide release, this hilarious yet poignant book reminds us that if you believe in yourself, stick by your friends and never give up, you really can make your dreams come true. You cannot fail to be moved by this story. Anvil rock!