Airports Bendigo used to think his biggest problem was that he was named for a road sign. That was before he was magically transported to the realm of Albemarle where creatures of fantasy are real, and Earth is just a myth known only to wizards. Now his greatest challenge is finding a way to defeat an evil warlock, slay a vampire warlord, and rescue a kidnapped princess. And if that’s not enough, it all has to be done in a week! A manageable task, perhaps, for the greatest of sorcerers; but how can a thirteen-year-old boy hope to succeed? And how will he keep secret the fact that he has no powers when everyone thinks he’s a specialty wizard conjured to save them all?

Duels, arcane organizations, and other aspects of a campaign world imbued with magic. Book jacket.

From the bestselling, award-winning author of 1491 and 1493—an incisive portrait of the two little-known twentieth-century scientists, Norman Borlaug and William Vogt, whose diametrically opposed views shaped our ideas about the environment, laying the groundwork for how people in the twenty-first century will choose to live in tomorrow's world. In forty years, Earth's population will reach ten billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be? Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups--Wizards and Prophets, as Charles Mann calls them in this balanced, authoritative, nonpolemical new book. The Prophets, he explains, follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in using more than our planet has to give, our prosperity will lead us to ruin. Cut back! was his mantra. Otherwise everyone will lose! The Wizards are the heirs of Norman Borlaug, whose research, in effect, wrangled the world in service to our species to produce modern high-yield crops that then saved millions from starvation. Innovate! was Borlaug's cry. Only in that way can everyone win! Mann delves into these diverging viewpoints to assess the four great challenges humanity faces--food, water, energy, climate change--grounding each in historical context and weighing the options for the future. With our civilization on the line, the author's insightful analysis is an essential addition to the urgent conversation about how our children will fare on an increasingly crowded Earth.

The sequel to The Warrior Heir by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima. Sixteen-year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. And it's not his attitude that's the problem: it's the trail of magical accidents—lately, disasters—that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained, and his powers are escalating out of control. After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys' school on the coast of Maine. At first, it seems like the answer to his prayers. Gregory Leicester, the headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his mysterious order of wizards. But Seph's enthusiasm dampens when he learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students' powers to serve his own wicked agenda. In this companion novel to The Warrior Heir, everyone's got a secret to keep: Jason Haley, a fellow student who's been warned to keep away from Seph; the enchanter Linda Downey, who knew his parents; the rogue wizard Leander Hastings; and the warriors Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson. The only question is: Does Seph have the strength to survive this wizard war?

Life-like characters is one of the most exciting technologies for human-computer interface applications today. They convincingly take the roles of virtual presenters, synthetic actors and sales personas, teammates and tutors. A common characteristic underlying their life-likeness or believability as virtual conversational partners is computational models that provide them with affective functions such as synthetic emotions and personalities and implement human interactive behavior. The wide dissemination of life-like characters in multimedia systems, however, will greatly depend on the availability of control languages and tools that facilitate scripting of intelligent conversational behaviour. This book presents the first comprehensive collection of the latest developments in scripting and representation languages for life-like characters, rounded off with an in-depth comparison and synopsis of the major approaches. Introducing toolkits for authoring animated characters further supports the ease of use of this new interface technology. Life-like characters being a vibrant research area, various applications have been designed and implemented. This book offers coverage of the most successful and promising applications, ranging from product presentation and student training to knowledge integration and interactive gaming. It also discusses the key challenges in the area and provides design guidelines for employing life-like characters.

Maybe you got Access as part of Microsoft Office and wonder what it can do for you and your household; maybe you're a small business manager and don't have a techie on staff to train the office in Microsoft Access. Regardless, you want to quickly get your feet wet--but not get in over your head--and Access 2003 for Starters: The Missing Manual is the book to make it happen. Far more than a skimpy introduction but much less daunting than a weighty tech book, Access 2003 for Starters: The Missing Manual demystifies databases and explains how to design and create them with ease. It delivers everything you need--and nothing you don't--to use Access right away. It's your expert guide to the Access features that are most vital and most useful, and it's your trusted advisor on the more in-depth features that are best saved for developers and programmers. Access is sophisticated and powerful enough for professional developers but easy and practical enough for everyday users like you. This Missing Manual explains all the major features of Access 2003, including designing and creating databases, organizing and filtering information, and generating effective forms and reports. Bestselling authors, database designers, and programmers Scott Palmer, Ph.D., and Kate Chase are your guides for putting the world's most popular desktop data management program to work. Their clear explanations, step-by-step instructions, plenty of illustrations, and timesaving advice help you get up to speed quickly and painlessly. Whether you're just starting out or you know you've been avoiding aspects of the program and missing out on much of what it can do, this friendly, witty book will gently immerse you in Microsoft Access. Keep it handy, as you'll undoubtedly refer to it again and again.

Nita and Kit rejoin forces when a strange darkness of the mind overcomes the older wizards, stealing away their power, and forcing the younger wizards to go to war to save the world.

“A magical story full of humor and heart.” —Katherine Applegate, Newbery-winning author of The One and Only Ivan For fans of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom comes an offbeat, comedic spin on the Excalibur legend told from the point of view of a talking dog who wants to be a magician! Meet Nosewise. He’s spunky. He’s curious. And he’s a dog who can’t understand why his pack mates Merlin and Morgana spend all day practicing magic tricks. If it’s a trick they want, he’s the dog to ask! He can already Sit!, Stay!, and Roll Over! But there’s no way Nosewise is Stay!ing when his master and best friend, Merlin, is kidnapped. There’s nothing Nosewise won’t do to get Merlin back, even if it means facing the strange Fae people and their magic-eating worms, or tangling with the mysterious Sword in the Stone. But it may take more than sniffing out a spell to do it! Nosewise’s hilarious escapades and steadfast loyalty get him and his companions through King Arthur’s Dark Ages. "An entertaining adventure full of humor and magic" –Booklist "A delightful magical fantasy, perfect for fans of fairy tales, legends, and dogs.” –School Library Journal "An ingenious and entirely credible (at least dog lovers will agree with this) twist on the familiar tale.” –Kirkus Reviews "Nosewise is one of the silliest narrators around." —The Bulletin

A bored and lonely wizard must learn about friendship when another wizard builds himself a tower next door.

From the illustrator of the web comic Strong Female Protagonist comes a debut middle-grade graphic novel about family, identity, courage -- and magic. In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.