“Baxter has an uncanny gift for mixing a punchy, cyberpunk cynicism with his resolutely hard SF story base. . . . [Exultant] rivals Asimov in its boundless vision for the future evolution of humanity.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) For more than twenty thousand years, humans have been at war with the alien race of Xeelee. Faced with certain death, a young pilot, Pirius, disobeys orders and travels into the future. Upon his return, Pirius is court-martialed and sentenced to penal servitude. But it is not only Pirius who pays the price. In flying into the future and back again, Pirius returned to a time before he’d left, a time inhabited by his younger self, who also receives punishment. Commissary Nilis believes that the elder Pirius, whom he dubs Pirius Blue, may know how to defeat the Xeelee. But Nilis can do nothing for Pirius Blue. Instead, he takes the younger Pirius—Pirius Red—back to Earth. There Pirius Red will discover truths that shatter his preconceived notions of all that he is fighting for, while Pirius Blue will learn even harsher truths. But the most shocking revelation of all is still to come. “Absurdly ambitious, technically brilliant, and downright exciting.”—SFX Magazine “Striking . . . chilling . . . [with] a triumphant conclusion.”—Starburst

Nature documentaries often depict animal life as a grim struggle for survival, but this visually stunning book opens our eyes to a different, more scientifically up-to-date way of looking at the animal kingdom. In more than one hundred thirty striking images, The Exultant Ark celebrates the full range of animal experience with dramatic portraits of animal pleasure ranging from the charismatic and familiar to the obscure and bizarre. These photographs, windows onto the inner lives of pleasure seekers, show two polar bears engaged in a bout of wrestling, hoary marmots taking time for a friendly chase, Japanese macaques enjoying a soak in a hot spring, a young bull elk sticking out his tongue to catch snowflakes, and many other rewarding moments. Biologist and best-selling author Jonathan Balcombe is our guide, interpreting the images within the scientific context of what is known about animal behavior. In the end, old attitudes fall away as we gain a heightened sense of animal individuality and of the pleasures that make life worth living for all sentient beings.

“God has appointed preaching in worship as one great means of accomplishing his ultimate goal in the world.” —John Piper John Piper makes a compelling claim in these pages about the purpose of preaching: it is intended not merely as an explanation of the text but also as a means of awakening worship by being worship in and of itself. Christian preaching is a God-appointed miracle aiming to awaken the supernatural seeing, savoring, and showing of the glory of Christ. Distilling over forty years of experience in preaching and teaching, Piper shows preachers how and what to communicate from God’s Word, so that God’s purpose on earth will advance through Biblesaturated, Christ-exalting, God-centered preaching—in other words, expository exultation.

"The school of life is preparation for eternity with God." No God, no passing grades! And the best students in this particular school are the ones who know that the bell signaling the end of the last class may ring when least expected. With creative word pictures like this, and the spiritual depth and insight that comes from a lifetime of worshipping the Lord, popular author, pastor, and teacher Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe guides you through the mountains and valleys of Psalms 90-150. Pastor or layperson, you'll devour the timeless truths this commentary has to offer. You will learn much from the practical nature of this study and the challenges it presents. But more important, you will see yourself in the different writers of the Psalms—pillars of the faith like Moses and David—people who experienced failure and doubt, but who also savored a deep relationship with a tenderhearted Father. You will not only learn of their trials and triumphs, but be lead to worship God in a more meaningful way.

The Golden Age is Grand Space Opera, a large-scale SF adventure novel in the tradition of A. E. Van vogt and Roger Zelazny, with perhaps a bit of Cordwainer Smith enriching the style. It is an astounding story of super science, a thrilling wonder story that recaptures the excitements of SF's golden age writers. The Golden Age takes place 10,000 years in the future in our solar system, an interplanetary utopian society filled with immortal humans. Within the frame of a traditional tale-the one rebel who is unhappy in utopia-Wright spins an elaborate plot web filled with suspense and passion. Phaethon, of Radamanthus House, is attending a glorious party at his family mansion to celebrate the thousand-year anniversary of the High Transcendence. There he meets first an old man who accuses him of being an impostor and then a being from Neptune who claims to be an old friend. The Neptunian tells him that essential parts of his memory were removed and stored by the very government that Phaethon believes to be wholly honorable. It shakes his faith. He is an exile from himself. And so Phaethon embarks upon a quest across the transformed solar system--Jupiter is now a second sun, Mars and Venus terraformed, humanity immortal--among humans, intelligent machines, and bizarre life forms that are partly both, to recover his memory, and to learn what crime he planned that warranted such preemptive punishment. His quest is to regain his true identity. The Golden Age is one of the major, ambitious SF novels of the year and the international launch of an important new writer in the genre. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

An orphan boy from a remote Greek island, where dolphins thrive, finds his Scottish father. His father, a captain and a commodore always accompanied by a pelican, takes him to Scotland, where Stephen finds love and security.He graduates as a doctor and travels to New York where he meets an exceedingly beautiful American-French soprano and they fall in love.During their honeymoon, they sail in the Mediterranean Sea and help in the rescue of a family captured by terrorists in Lebanon. The international political involvement of Arab nations and Western governments ensure the release of the abducted shipping magnate and his family. Together, they explore some unknown parts of the Amazon rain forest where they discover a wild girl brought up by an unknown tribe. They bring her back to civilisation, where Stephen's father adopts her. Gradually, she learns how to survive and re-adjust in the American and European environment. Fiona becomes Britain's foremost primate geneticist.

In Psalms 90-150, you will come to know God as both transcendent and immanent, far above and yet personally with us in our pilgrim journey. Everything you learn about God and his creation will prepare your heart to "Be Exultant"!

So begins one of the most celebrated stories in fantasy literature . . . packed full of mystery, deep themes and incredible prose, meet Severian the Torturer and follow him on his journey across the great world of Urth Severian is a torturer, born to the guild and with an exceptionally promising career ahead of him . . . until he falls in love with one of his victims, a beautiful young noblewoman. Her excruciations are delayed for some months and, out of love, Severian helps her commit suicide and escape her fate. For a torturer, there is no more unforgivable act. In punishment he is exiled from the guild and his home city to the distant metropolis of Thrax with little more than Terminus Est, a fabled sword, to his name. Along the way he has to learn to survive in a wider world without the guild - a world in which he has already made both allies and enemies. And a strange gem is about to fall into his possession, which will only make his enemies pursue him with ever-more determination . . . Winner of the World Fantasy Award for best novel, 1981 Winner of the BSFA Award for best novel, 1982 Readers can't stop reading The Shadow of the Torturer: 'Full of rich characters and great imagination' Mark Lawrence, author of Red Sister 'A dark jewel . . . He has a mastery of language not often seen in fantasy writing . . . Couple this with an original and unique, highly imaginative and complex worldbuilding and the high praise is warranted' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This is a picaresque fantasy with a difference, for our hero Severian is no wide-eyed country boy from the shire, but an apprentice torturer, thoroughly schooled in his trade' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'There are certain books that can be considered life-changing experiences. Gene Wolfe is an author who has written one of those for me' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The Book of the New Sun Tetralogy is one of the great achievements in science fiction and is a MUST READ for fans of the genre. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'In addition to being unique in style, The Shadow of the Torturer is a gorgeous piece of work: passionate storytelling (heart-wrenching in places), fascinating insights into nature and the human condition, beautiful prose' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Genre fiction at its finest. Original, difficult and well-crafted, it is easy to see how Wolfe is regarded as a writer's writer' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐