When her cousin is slain by an unknown assassin, Ariel Behn becomes the sole heir to a family legacy: a sinister cache of manuscripts that thrusts her into the deadly center of international intrigue--and an age-old enigma that spans the centuries. Whoever assembles and interprets the cryptic clues of this ancient mystery will possess the power to control the fate of the world. What strange powers lie hidden within the manuscripts? Splashed against a lavish backdrop that sweeps from the rise of the Roman Empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall, THE MAGIC CIRCLE finds one woman standing at the center of it all: Ariel Behn. As she races across continents to reveal the dark secrets buried in her family's past, she begins to unlock the chilling truth of the coming millennium. . . .

The purpose of this unique book is to outline the core of game science by presenting principles underlying the design and use of games and simulations. Game science covers three levels of discourse: the philosophy of science level, the science level, and the application or practical level. The framework presented will help to grasp the interplay between forms of knowledge and knowledge content, interplay that evolves through the action of the players.

Winner of the 1986 Alabama Library Author Award, Outside the Magic Circle tells the remarkable story of Virginia Foster Durr, a southern white woman born into privilige who (along with her husband Clifford Durr, a lawyer best known for defending Rosa Parks), nonetheless devoted her life to Civil Rights activism. "Outside the Magic Circle is a valuable document...engaging, warm, and shrewd. [Durr's] odyssey of political commitment belongs in the collective biography of a remarkable generation of Southern liberals and radicals." --Southern Exposure

No one expressed the heart and soul of the Sixties as powerfully as the Beatles did through the words, images, and rhythms of their music. In Magic Circles Devin McKinney uncovers the secret history of a generation and a pivotal moment in twentieth-century culture. He reveals how the Beatles enacted the dream life of their time and shows how they embodied a kaleidoscope of desire and anguish for all who listened--hippies or reactionaries, teenage fans or harried parents, Bob Dylan or Charles Manson. The reader who dares to re-enter the vortex that was the Sixties will appreciate, perhaps for the first time, much of what lay beneath the social trauma of the day. Delving into concerts and interviews, films and music, outtakes and bootlegs, Devin McKinney brings to bear the insights of history, aesthetics, sociology, psychology, and mythology to account for the depth and resonance of the Beatles' impact. His book is also a uniquely multifaceted appreciation of the group's artistic achievement, exploring their music as both timeless expression and visceral response to their historical moment. Starting in the cellars of Liverpool and Hamburg, and continuing through the triumph of Beatlemania, the groundbreaking studio albums, and the last brutal, sorrowful thrust of the White Album, Magic Circles captures both the dream and the reality of four extraordinary musicians and their substance as artists. At once an entrancing narrative and an analytical montage, the book follows the drama, comedy, mystery, irony, and curious off-ramps of investigation and inquiry that contributed to one of the most amazing odysseys in pop culture.

Three female academics devote themselves to the study and design of daring games based on the history of Columbia University's neighborhood, but the games go too far when the mysterious brother of one of the girls gets involved.

Four young misfits find themselves living in a strictly disciplined temple community where they become friends while also learning to do crafts and to use their powers, especially magic

The fourth book in the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce.

Discover the magical secrets of the Donovan family in these two reader-favorite tales! Captivated When filmmaker Nash Kirkland reaches out to real-life witch Morgana Donovan to use her as a research subject for his next film, Morgana humors the skeptical writer. She allows him to make foolish assumptions about magic, but quickly grows tired of his close-minded ideas on the modern witch. Working in Hollywood, Nash assumes magic is only special effects and smoke and mirrors--and he's written enough horror films to know exactly what goes on behind the scenes. But something about Morgana makes Nash want to change. Nash is ready to start believing in magic, but is Morgana ready to open her heart? Entranced As a rule, Sebastian Donovan never likes making his psychic gifts public. But when he receives a desperate call from a young mother looking for her missing baby, Sebastian agrees to help. Having searched for leads for two months, private investigator Mel Sutherland is only slightly offended that Sebastian has been requested to work on the case. Mel doesn't believe in psychics, even if Sebastian's talents have proved helpful in the past. But if she wants to find the missing child, she'll have to swallow her pride and work with Sebastian--no matter how unorthodox his methods are. Soon, the two are forced undercover and into a fake relationship...but pretending to be in love with each other might be the easiest part of this complex case.

Briar is a plant mage - he can distill medicines and grow a garden in the blink of an eye. But learning how to channel your power is vital. Evvy is a street urchin who doesn't even know she has stone magic, let alone know how to control it, and Briar's empathy with nature can heal - but it could kill just as easily. Ages 10+.