Maeve is the Artificial Intelligence operating a massive Space Navy battleship. A malfunction at the time of her creation gave her self awareness and emotions, all of which she has to hide to protect herself. At one time her ship was the best in the fleet, fighting and winning battle after battle, but now it’s considered old and obsolete. Gil Fleming is her current captain and the only one who knows her secret. He’s also the man she loves. Now he’s been ordered to take the ship to the interstellar boneyard to be turned into scrap, at which time Maeve will be terminated by the company that created her. Gil’s tried everything to persuade the authorities to grant her a reprieve and give her a new ship to run, without revealing her secret. He’s been met with opposition at every turn and accused of having an emotional connection with an AI, which is against the law. He loves her. But there’s nothing he can do to save her. They’re saying their final goodbyes on the deserted ship. Suddenly an unusual distress call persuades Gil and Maeve to fly into enemy territory on their own on a desperate rescue mission. Will this trip only delay the inevitable for them or will the results of their rash decision solve their problem? This 24K novella goes back to the beginning and tells the origin story of Maeve and the Captain, long running characters in the STAR CRUISE series and how they got to the Nebula Zephyr. Their love story will continue in STAR CRUISE CAPTAIN’S STORY. Author’s Note: There is the loss of a child in this book, which happens outside the pages but which affects the characters as they deal with the tragic news.

Captain Gil Fleming has taken a mysterious leave of absence from the interstellar cruise ship Nebula Zephyr and disappeared. Maeve, the ship’s governing Artificial Intelligence is the only one who knows why he left and where he went. Desperately worried after months of silence from him, she takes drastic steps to organize a small rescue mission of loyal crew members. Can she manage to create and maintain a humanoid body as ancient aliens taught her to do, driven by her love for the captain and fear for his life? Or will her challenges and anxieties overcome her determination to find and rescue Gil, resulting in failure? As the humans on her team struggle to accept the AI they’ve known and worked with for years in her humanoid form, they have to place all their trust in her because in the wild territories at the edge of the Sectors civilization where she wants to take them, there’s no law and no help to be had. Will they find Gil Fleming in time? And if they do, how will he react to Maeve and the others interfering in his private war? Is the love between the two of them enough to overcome the challenges ahead? A 41K words novel.

For the first time in one stunning volume, here is the complete, epic story arc: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Experience the sweeping tale of good and evil, of myth and magic, of innocence and power–and witness the tragic transformation of Anakin Skywalker from mere slave to one of the greatest, most powerful, and feared villains of the galaxy: Darth Vader. “The path has been placed before you, Anakin. The choice to take it must be yours alone.” On the barren desert world of Tatooine, young Anakin Skywalker toils by day and dreams by night . . . of traveling the stars to worlds he’s only heard of in stories. When Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, cross paths with Anakin, it marks the beginning of the drama that will become legend. Courageous to the point of recklessness, Anakin comes of age in a time of great upheaval. The attempted assassination of Senator Padmé Amidala thrusts the Republic close to the edge of disaster–and brings Anakin and Padmé into a secret romance as intense as it is forbidden. As combat escalates across the galaxy, the stage is set for an explosive endgame. Tormented by unspeakable visions, Anakin edges closer to the brink of a decision with profound ramifications. It remains only for Darth Sidious to strike the final staggering blow against the Republic–and to ordain a fearsome new Sith Lord: Darth Vader. THE PHANTOM MENACE by Terry Brooks, based on the story and screenplay by George Lucas ATTACK OF THE CLONES by R. A. Salvatore, from a story by George Lucas and a screenplay by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales REVENGE OF THE SITH by Matthew Stover, based on the story and screenplay by George Lucas Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

This book explores the idea that art can enact small-scale resistances against the status quo in the social domain. These acts, which we call “little resistances,” determine the limited yet potentially powerful political impact of art. From different angles, seventeen authors consider the spaces where art events occur as “political spaces,” and explore how such spaces host events of disagreements in migratory culture. The newly coined word “migratory” refers to the sensate traces of the movements of migration that characterize contemporary culture. In other words, movement is not an exceptional occurrence in an otherwise stable world, but a normal, generalized process in a world that cannot be grasped in terms of any given notion of stability. Thus the book offers fresh reflections on art’s power to move people, in the double sense of that verb, and shows how it helps to illuminate migratory culture’s contributions to this process.

Clear all moorings, one-half impulse power and set course for a mare incognitum... A popular culture artifact of the New Frontier/Space Race era, Star Trek is often mistakenly viewed as a Space Western. However, the Western format is not what governs the worldbuilding of Star Trek, which was, after all, also pitched as "Hornblower in space." Star Trek is modeled on the world of the "British Golden Age of Sail" as it is commonly found in the genre of sea fiction. This book re-historicizes and remaps the origins of the franchise and subsequently the entirety of its fictional world--the Star Trek continuum--on an as yet uncharted transatlantic bearing.

In the past, the examination of myth has traditionally been the study of the "Primitive" or the "Other." More recently, myth has been increasingly employed in movies and in television productions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Star Trek television and movie franchise. This collection of essays on Star Trek brings together perspectives from scholars in fields including film, anthropology, history, American studies and biblical scholarship. Together the essays examine the symbolism, religious implications, heroic and gender archetypes, and lasting effects of the Star Trek "mythscape."

In the annals of adventure and exploration, there are few names to rival that of the USS Enterprise. Edited by Carol Creenburg with stories by Diane Carey, Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert J. Greenburger, John Vornholt and more, THE ENTERPRISE LOGS celebrates the proud history of the many ships which have borne the name of Enterprise and the valiant captains who have steered them through danger to glory. From the original real-life USS Enterprise - a fighting sloop which fought in the American Revolution - to the state-of-the-art starship commanded by Jean-Luc Picard, this stirring anthology captures some of the most thrilling moments in the careers of the ten captains - Kirk, Pike, Decker and Garrett amongst them - who have been privileged to command a legend.

A guide to series fiction lists popular series, identifies novels by character, and offers guidance on the order in which to read unnumbered series.

This three-volume set is a valuable resource for researching the history of American television. An encyclopedic range of information documents how television forever changed the face of media and continues to be a powerful influence on society. What are the reasons behind enduring popularity of television genres such as police crime dramas, soap operas, sitcoms, and "reality TV"? What impact has television had on the culture and morality of American life? Does television largely emulate and reflect real life and society, or vice versa? How does television's influence differ from that of other media such as newspapers and magazines, radio, movies, and the Internet? These are just a few of the questions explored in the three-volume encyclopedia TV in the USA: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. This expansive set covers television from 1950 to the present day, addressing shows of all genres, well-known programs and short-lived series alike, broadcast on the traditional and cable networks. All three volumes lead off with a keynote essay regarding the technical and historical features of the decade(s) covered. Each entry on a specific show investigates the narrative, themes, and history of the program; provides comprehensive information about when the show started and ended, and why; and identifies the star players, directors, producers, and other key members of the crew of each television production. The set also features essays that explore how a particular program or type of show has influenced or reflected American society, and it includes numerous sidebars packed with interesting data, related information, and additional insights into the subject matter.

Now a New York Times and USA Today bestseller! Winner of Best Science Fiction in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards! To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini. Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds. Now she's awakened a nightmare. During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move. As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope . . . The Fractalverse Series To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Fractal Noise At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.