Seventeen-year-old Alex Cardin is falsely convicted of a felony. It is six years after President Gray's Prison Reform Act of 2026. Prisons have been shut down across the United States, and all felons must serve life sentences on isolated prison islands where escape is impossible, and rules of civility are obsolete. Alex is banished to Dregs Island and must rely on his sharp intuition, as nobody can be trusted. To survive, he must defeat the ruthless ruler of the island who was a legendary serial killer back on the mainland. Alex is forced to make decisions along the way that weigh survival against humankind and family against friendship.

King Halvar is ill and childless, so he visits the village orphanage, narrowing his search for a suitable replacement to the throne to two young brothers, Silas and Dregz. Halvar knows the new king must be strong, resilient, determined, and most of all, honest. Dregz wins the competition, and his brother Silas, in a fit of jealousy, has him banished to the Island of Dregs, warning the people that “only the dregs of the earth live there!”

But Silas’s actions have dire consequences. Dregz’s son Dreck is determined to uncover the secret his father has kept for years, and as he sets out to save the people who once looked down upon him and his family, he finds himself in a terrifying chain of events. Will he be able to save Silas’s daughter, Princess Elle? And can he defeat Nazaar—the slithery stranger who seems to hold such power over them all?

This is the seventeenth volume of the ongoing series of papers and submissions to the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, the longest running food history conference in the world.

YA horror short stories. If you like Creepypasta short stories, you'll love these. - A peculiar cast of thrill-seekers undergo an unforeseen fight for survival after the cameras begin streaming a live reality show on Halloween. - Four children must cope with lifelong regrets after summoning the estranged brother of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. - Struggling newlyweds take advantage of a free weekend at a secluded cabin in the woods for Valentine's Day but soon realize they are not alone. Crack open this mind-bending short story collection and chill your spine with these and seven more grim tales by Dr. Bon Blossman. As the pages turn, the stories unearth the dark side of the holidays throughout the year. Prepare to face bloodthirsty sorcerers, murderous ghosts, and superior invaders of Earth. So, buckle up as you report for duty at a chocolate factory equipped with morgue drawers, escape a dark forest that forbids you to leave, and evade a deadly storm by attending a to-die-for high school bash. But don't fret - if the twists, turns, and psychological thrills aren't enough for you, the werewolves, vampires, dragons, chupacabra's, serial slashers, and other fiends you may encounter will put your goosebumps to good use.

"Islands and Empires "was first published in 1976. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. This is the first one-volume account of the massive impact of Western civilization on the Pacific Islands and the Far East, principally China and Japan. The effects on the two areas were very different since, in the case of the islands, contact was with peoples who were still in the Stone Age, while in the Far East Westerners came up against sophisticated civilizations more ancient and mature than their own. Because of these differences, the book is divided into two sections, the first dealing with the Pacific Islands and the second with the East Asian mainland. Reverse influences--those of the Eastern cultures on the West--are also discussed.