Time Is Irreverent

◆ An Irreverent, Liberal, Twisty, Time Travel Comedy! What if you could make a change to history that would eliminate the Spanish Inquisition, American slavery, World War II, global warming, and an egomaniacal US president who thought he was smart enough to drop nuclear bombs here and there without negative consequences? What if that change also made the United States and 5 billion people poof from existence? Would you do it? When alien time travel specialists, the Krichards, learn of President Handley's game of dodge the mushroom cloud, they race to Earth to investigate. For them, the question of whether it's worth it to change history is easy to answer, but they will only proceed if the human they deem best qualified to represent Earth agrees to make the change. Erasing Handley's nuclear annihilation will require a quick jump to AD 31 to correct an error in history. If the Krichards select a brilliant scientist or an elite athlete for the task, Earth may be in good hands. Instead they select Marty Mann, a mildly successful travel writer whose only superpower is not taking life too seriously. What could possibly go wrong? Spanning from the Cretaceous period to 2056, Time Is Irreverent is a hilarious, thought-provoking satire, with unpredictable twists, colorful aliens, huge dinosaurs, a smokin' hot lesbian from the future, and a cameo from Jesus Christ himself! Reviews: “Highly recommend. It’s fun, clever, cool, witty, surprising, political, sexy, everything a sci-fi book should be. And as someone who’s also written a sci-fi-time-travel-humor novel, I love that Marty Essen doesn’t break the time rules he sets up from the start—so many sci-fi authors do, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s just lazy writing. Not the case here! Yes, his characters learn and adapt and grow, but the foundation of his rules remain intact always. To repeat: fun, witty, surprising, sexy. Highly recommend.” —Jeff Abugov, writer, producer, director “Time Is Irreverent is a delightful romp that scores solid satirical points about religion, human nature, sex, the Trump administration, and a great deal more.”—Tom Flynn, editor, Free Inquiry magazine “Ironic, original, hysterically funny, deftly crafted, and an impressively entertaining read from first page to last, Time Is Irreverent by Marty Essen is an especially and unreserved recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated science fiction fans that Time Is Irreverent is also available in a digital book format.”—Midwest Book Review “Time Is Irreverent is a well-written, well-paced novel peopled with solid, likeable characters. Marty Essen is a talented author who has managed to wrap several complex threads into a light, enjoyable narrative. I hope he will continue writing in the sci-fi genre and I look forward eagerly to his future works.”—Charles Remington, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews Publisher's Warning: This book is intended for a liberal audience and features satirical content that may not be appropriate for Donald Trump supporters or those who are offended by views that challenge traditional religious beliefs. Common side effects include wide smiles, sudden laughter, and occasional snorts. Reader discretion is advised.

◆ Is it the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost? No! It’s the Marty Mann, the Liberal Jesus, and the Holy Smokin’ Hot Nellie! Ooh, It’s a Trilogy! Here’s what people have said about the books in this hilarious, irreverent, series: ◆ Praise for Time Is Irreverent “Highly recommend. It’s fun, clever, cool, witty, surprising, political, sexy, everything a sci-fi book should be. And as someone who’s also written a sci-fi-time-travel-humor novel, I love that Marty Essen doesn’t break the time rules he sets up from the start—so many sci-fi authors do, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s just lazy writing. Not the case here! Yes, his characters learn and adapt and grow, but the foundation of his rules remain intact always. To repeat: fun, witty, surprising, sexy. Highly recommend.” —Jeff Abugov, writer, producer, director “Time Is Irreverent is a delightful romp that scores solid satirical points about religion, human nature, sex, the Trump administration, and a great deal more.”—Tom Flynn, editor, Free Inquiry magazine “Ironic, original, hysterically funny, deftly crafted, and an impressively entertaining read from first page to last, Time Is Irreverent by Marty Essen is an especially and unreserved recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated science fiction fans that Time Is Irreverent is also available in a digital book format.”—Midwest Book Review “Time Is Irreverent is a well-written, well-paced novel peopled with solid, likeable characters. Marty Essen is a talented author who has managed to wrap several complex threads into a light, enjoyable narrative. I hope he will continue writing in the sci-fi genre and I look forward eagerly to his future works.”—Charles Remington, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews ◆ Praise for Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! “Time Is Irreverent 2 is a madcap blasphemous comedy of the most delightful sort. Recommended for those whose tastes incline that way; if you loved Time Is Irreverent, run, don’t walk, to consume this perfect sequel.”—Tom Flynn, editor, Free Inquiry magazine “An excellent follow-up to the original, and this from someone who typically hates sequels! All the same great characters and more, plus Jesus—although not your mama’s Jesus. The funny is funnier, the crazy crazier, and the politics even more in your face (in the good way!). If you loved the first, you’ve got to read the second. Well done, Marty!”—Jeff Abugov, writer, producer, director “For those aficionados of entertaining, optimistic sci-fi, who have been avidly waiting for another Time Is Irreverent adventure—your wait is over. Marty Essen has produced a fine follow-up to his first time traveling escapade and I hope that the likeable characters he has created will get many future outings. A great addition to a currently gloomy, pessimistic genre. I do not hesitate to recommend it.”—Charles Remington, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews Publisher's Warning: This book is intended for a liberal audience and features satirical content that may not be appropriate for Donald Trump supporters or those who are offended by views that challenge traditional religious beliefs. Common side effects include wide smiles, sudden laughter, and occasional snorts. Reader discretion is advised.

◆ Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon are back for another irreverent, liberal, twisty, time travel comedy! This time they have Noah’s Ark and Ronald Reagan in their sights. Where would you go on a time travel vacation? At the conclusion of their last episode, Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon were on Starship Blue, about to depart for the planet Krichardia, some forty light-years away. Knowing that they would likely never return to Earth again, their Krichard lovers, Chrissie and Tina, arranged for them to abscond with the Chromosphere Cruiser for up to twenty seconds. During that time, Marty and Nellie could do whatever they wanted as a way to say goodbye to Earth. Days, weeks, or even months might pass for them, but as long as their final time jump delivered them back into Starship Blue’s cruiser bay within twenty seconds of their departure, Captain Jagger and the rest of the Krichard crew would never know they were gone. In this episode, our snarky heroes embark on that time travel vacation. Those trips will hurl them into an enlightening adventure that spans from 3000 BC to AD 10,000. They’ll discover the truth behind Noah’s Ark, encounter the Cult of the Holy Smokin’ Hot Nellie, pilfer a bass from a young Geddy Lee, and be taken prisoner by people in the future with just one demand: Kill Ronald Reagan! Time Is Irreverent 3: Gone for 16 Seconds is a hilarious, thought-provoking satire with unpredictable twists, an unconventional Jesus, an unwitting Ronald Reagan, and an unabashed look at Earth’s past and future! Publisher’s Warning: This book is intended for a liberal audience and features satirical content that may not be appropriate for Donald Trump supporters or those who are offended by views that challenge traditional religious beliefs. Common side effects include wide smiles, sudden laughter, and occasional snorts. Reader discretion is advised. This is the third book in the Time Is Irreverent series. Each novel is a stand-alone adventure, and a humorous prologue quickly gets readers up-to-date.

◆ Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon are back for another irreverent, liberal, twisty, time-travel comedy! This time they have Jesus Christ, the actual guy, on their side. The timeline correction Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon accomplished in their first episode was successful. . . . Or was it? When the two humans and their Krichard friends, Chrissie and Tina, return to year 2020 Earth to verify the change, they find an advanced, peaceful planet. The four friends move into Marty’s new timeline home and the next morning head out for a flying car tour of Oodlelakeolis. The city, which was Minneapolis in the previous timeline, is beautiful from the air, but when they swoop down to land, the Colorless Ones, a cult of religious extremists from the planet Krichardia, reverse the timeline change and abduct Chrissie and Tina. Instantly, President Handley is back to dropping nuclear bombs, and once again, Marty and Nellie must find a way to stop him. After our heroes gain possession of the Krichards’ time-traveling Chromosphere Cruiser, they return to AD 31 with plans to restore the advanced timeline by wowing the locals with the Holy Smokin’ Hot Nellie act. Unfortunately, an unexpected event forces them to return to the year 2020, but they have a stowaway—Jesus Christ! Can Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon save the world and rescue Tina and Chrissie with snark being their only superpower? Can a dark-skinned Jesus with a fondness for profanity and a disdain for religious hypocrisy thrive in the twenty-first century? And who are the Soldiers of the White Jesus, and what will they have to do with any of this? These questions and more will be answered in this unforgettable episode. Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! is a hilarious, thought-provoking satire with unpredictable twists, colorful and colorless aliens, the outrageous Holy Smokin’ Hot Nellie, and a juicy role for Jesus Christ, the actual guy! Reviews: “Time Is Irreverent 2 is a madcap blasphemous comedy of the most delightful sort. Recommended for those whose tastes incline that way; if you loved Time Is Irreverent, run, don’t walk, to consume this perfect sequel.”—Tom Flynn, editor, Free Inquiry magazine “An excellent follow-up to the original, and this from someone who typically hates sequels! All the same great characters and more, plus Jesus—although not your mama’s Jesus. The funny is funnier, the crazy crazier, and the politics even more in your face (in the good way!). If you loved the first, you’ve got to read the second. Well done, Marty!”—Jeff Abugov, writer, producer, director “For those aficionados of entertaining, optimistic sci-fi, who have been avidly waiting for another Time Is Irreverent adventure—your wait is over. Marty Essen has produced a fine follow-up to his first time traveling escapade and I hope that the likeable characters he has created will get many future outings. A great addition to a currently gloomy, pessimistic genre. I do not hesitate to recommend it.”—Charles Remington, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews Publisher's Warning: This book is intended for a liberal audience and features satirical content that may not be appropriate for Donald Trump supporters or those who are offended by views that challenge traditional religious beliefs. Common side effects include wide smiles, sudden laughter, and occasional snorts. Reader discretion is advised. This is the second book in the Time Is Irreverent series. Each novel is a stand-alone adventure, and a humorous prologue quickly gets readers up-to-date.

Hell is empty. The Devil is here. There is no road so long and winding as the one that leads you to the finish line. Every bend is meant to test you, every junction meant to bring you closer to that place where love and sacrifice meet. To that place in the valley where the sun doesn

A contrarian view of Alberta and Albertans from the outspoken and often controversial former Calgary Herald columnist. In 2005, Alberta celebrates its centenary: a hundred-year stretch that has seen the province catapulted from being little more than thinly populated grassland and mountain to one of Canada’s richest provinces, one with a fair claim to being perpetually misunderstood. Albertans, of course, are passionate about their province, even when to outsiders the sentiment is baffling. For instance, can a liberal feminist like renowned columnist Catherine Ford find happiness in a right-wing, neo-conservative province? The short form of Ford’s answer is “Yes, I can. But . . .” The long version is the intimate, revealing, entertaining, and opinionated picture of the province she paints in Against the Grain. On the surface, the province is monolithic in its politics, anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-choice in its opinions, and macho in its demeanour. But Ford shows that this is a lopsided, outsider’s view of Alberta, and to prove it she takes readers on a tour from Calgary to Banff and Jasper, Fort McMurray, Edmonton, and beyond, pointing out the good, the bad, and the plain bewildering. Tough-minded but loving, Against the Grain gives outsiders the real goods on Alberta in this, its centenary year.

Read David Farley's posts on the Penguin Blog.A tour through the centuries and through a bizarre Italian town in search of an unbelievable relic: the foreskin of Jesus Christ In December 1983, a priest in the Italian hill town of Calcata shared shocking news with his congregation: the pride of their town, the foreskin of Jesus, had been stolen. Some postulated that it had been stolen by Satanists. Some said the priest himself was to blame. Some even pointed their fingers at the Vatican. In 2006, travel writer David Farley moved to Calcata, determined to find the missing foreskin, or at least find out the truth behind its disappearance. Farley recounts how the relic passed from Charlemagne to the papacy to a marauding sixteenth-century German solider before finally ending up in Calcata, where miracles occurred that made the sleepy town a major pilgrimage destination. Blending history, travel, and perhaps the oddest story in Christian lore, An Irreverent Curiosity is a weird and wonderful tale of conspiracy and misadventure.

A funny and entertaining history of printed books as told through absurd moments in the lives of authors and printers, collected by television’s favorite rare-book expert from HISTORY’s hit series Pawn Stars. Since the Gutenberg Bible first went on sale in 1455, printing has been viewed as one of the highest achievements of human innovation. But the march of progress hasn’t been smooth; downright bizarre is more like it. Printer’s Error chronicles some of the strangest and most humorous episodes in the history of Western printing, and makes clear that we’ve succeeded despite ourselves. Rare-book expert Rebecca Romney and author J. P. Romney take us from monasteries and museums to auction houses and libraries to introduce curious episodes in the history of print that have had a profound impact on our world. Take, for example, the Gutenberg Bible. While the book is regarded as the first printed work in the Western world, Gutenberg’s name doesn’t appear anywhere on it. Today, Johannes Gutenberg is recognized as the father of Western printing. But for the first few hundred years after the invention of the printing press, no one knew who printed the first book. This long-standing mystery took researchers down a labyrinth of ancient archives and libraries, and unearthed surprising details, such as the fact that Gutenberg’s financier sued him, repossessed his printing equipment, and started his own printing business afterward. Eventually the first printed book was tracked to the library of Cardinal Mazarin in France, and Gutenberg’s forty-two-line Bible was finally credited to him, thus ensuring Gutenberg’s name would be remembered by middle-school students worldwide. Like the works of Sarah Vowell, John Hodgman, and Ken Jennings, Printer’s Error is a rollicking ride through the annals of time and the printed word.