The shadow of war stretches over the northlands. The elven wood burns as Zarrum invaders encroach from the north. Ogres, orcs, and goblin hoards wreak havoc and take strongholds, leaving slaughtered people and burned out villages in their wake. Jayde, a young elvish battlemage, burns as well . . . with vengeance. Her village destroyed, her mother murdered, she takes up her sword and bow, cloaking herself in spellcraft, to becoming the Butterfly Assassin, a thorn in the side of the Zarrum invaders. Still, hiding and killing is lonely work until she meets a human paladin from the south. A man of faith that calls her deeds to task. Mathus, Paladin of Thon the Thunderer, doesn’t know quite what to make of the elf girl he’s fallen in with. Swift with her blade and spells, Fiona doesn’t fit into any of the carefully crafted boxes he’s created for women or elves. Could she be the object of his god-given quest? The Butterfly Illusion is the second book in the Heroes of Harth series, an epic adventure across a sprawling fantasy world.

"The Dream of the Butterfly: Experimental Illusions in Motion Graphics is a series of motion graphics and applications defined from visual illusions, which are based on the study of patterns and interactive multimedia. This project is not only focused on making and showing motion graphic pieces, but also providing a basis of studies and enough of the experimental process of creating them, by incorporating sections for the user to interact with. By creating a web-based interface, it provides people with a chance to experiment with the elements of basic patterns and understand visual illusions which were chosen by me for my thesis"--Abstract.

Embracing Illusion is an interdisciplinary study of a classic Korean novel. It argues that a work of narrative fiction can be taken seriously as Buddhist philosophical discourse. The capacity of fiction to speak on behalf of Buddhist truths is set in the larger context of how the literary imagination approaches the exploration of reality.

With this book you can enter a realm of dazzlingly deceptive designs that offer wonderful opportunities for imaginative and inventive coloring. You'll find a host of ingeniously contrived constructions, strange, interlocking shapes and mind-boggling arrangements that defy reality and challenge the imagination to grasp their form and structure. Optical illusions are always fun to look at; coloring these masterly mind-bending illusions will add an extra dimension of enjoyment and foster a new appreciation of mysterious pictorial puzzles that make us wonder if seeing is truly believing.

Ray and her friend Becky are devastated by what they see. Tens of thousands of Monarchs are clinging to the sand along the shores of Lake Erie with their wings shredded and broken by the harsh storm. They work throughout the night collecting and bringing thousands of monarchs into Ray’s cottage, so they can continue their epic migration after the storm has passed. The death of her friend Becky to a rare form of cancer spirals Ray into depression. Finally, Ray leaves her room and heads into nature where life is flourishing all around her. Her curiosity returns as she opens a milkweed pod. Remembering the Monarchs that she and Becky saved last summer gives Ray an idea for her next big adventure. Using a little deception, Ray convinces Jordi, to fly her in his two-seater ultralight, in the midst of the Monarchs all the way down the spine of North America to their overwintering place in Mexico. Every place the Monarchs touch down along their migration path, Ray and Jordi are introduced to a compelling lesson along the Butterfly Way. It’s almost as though the Monarchs are teaching them a new way of seeing, experiencing and moving in the world around them. On route over Texas, Ray & Jordi discover that a nuclear missile test launch will occur in the exact spot where every Monarch flyway on the planet is converging. They are the only ones to know that an ecocide is about to take place. Then can’t redirect this many Monarchs and so it’s up to them to stop the test launch. From the cockpit of the Qbee they go online to Monarch Watch, the Sierra Club and radio the Dyess Airforce Base Commander. Flying straight into the missile’s path, with just seven seconds left before blast off, their fate is now intertwined with the Monarchs. They discover the power of advocacy and social networks and how rigid the hierarchy of command is. In adventure after adventure, flying alongside and landing with the Monarchs, Ray and her co-pilot face real-world perils, like narcotic trafficking, and yet all along the Butterfly Way they find good people risking themselves to redeem a broken world. Travel with Ray and Jordi as they gain the skills and awareness needed to take care of this fiercely beautiful planet.

Visual illusions are compelling phenomena that draw attention to the brain's capacity to construct our perceptual world. The Compendium is a collection of over 100 chapters on visual illusions, written by the illusion creators or by vision scientists who have investigated mechanisms underlying the phenomena. --

A stereogram is a two-dimensional image that, when viewed properly, creates a stunning, almost magical impression of depth. Objects seem to float or to pop out of patterns. And these complex and sophisticated designs, produced by two of the most famous stereogram creators in the world, are state of the art.

The Art of Spiral Drawing offers a fresh, modern take on everyone’s favorite childhood toy from the 1960s through today, the Spirograph®. With The Art of Spiral Drawing, no complicated tools are needed, as artists of all skill levels learn to create their own spiral art using little more than paper and a pen or pencil. Written and illustrated by Jonathan Stephen Harris, the author of the popular The Art of Drawing Optical Illusions, the book opens with helpful sections on tools and materials, perspective, and shading, ensuring that beginning artists know the basics before getting started on the step-by-step projects that follow. Instructions for creating basic shapes, including a triangle, a circle, and a square, progress into more detailed patterns featuring perspective, florals, and more. Instructions are also included for creating a variety of subjects, from flowers to animals, all featuring a spiral pattern as their framework. Artists can even add color to their spiral artwork using the tips featured in the book and simple tools like colored pencils and markers. Beginning and intermediate artists, doodlers, optical illusionists, and more will love creating their own spiral and geometric art with the help of The Art of Spiral Drawing!