An historical novel set in the Italian Renaissance, incorporating real historical figures such as Cesare Borgia and Machiavelli.

Lucifer, the Anointed Cherub, whose ministry in heaven is devoted to the worship of the Most High God, has become pessimistic about his prospects in heaven. Ambition inflamed, he looks to the soon-to-be-created Earth as a place where he can see his destiny realized. With a willing crew of equally ambitious angels, Lucifer creates a fifth-column of malcontents under the very throne of God. Hot on their heels, however, is a group of loyalists, led by Michael and Gabriel, who are suspicious of Lucifer's true motives. In detective style fashion they slowly start to unmask the true nature of Lucifer's sordid plot.

In the beginning… Three brothers – Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer. Royalty. Archangels. United in devotion to their father and all his works. But when Lucifer learns of their father’s latest creation – a new race, fashioned from crude matter and yet made in his image – he is consumed with resentment. Why have he and his angelic kind been overlooked? After a bitter confrontation, Lucifer is cast out, doomed to an eternity of exile and punishment. Unrepentant, he vows he won’t suffer alone. Mankind has made a powerful enemy – one determined to lure it into darkness and torment any way he can… “There could be no bigger canvas for film-making.” – Mark Ordesky (Executive Producer – Lord of the Rings); “Alec not only re-frames pre-history; she also imaginatively illustrates how the realm of spirit impacts the contemporary material world.” Ileen Maisel (Executive Producer for the Golden Compass) “This is the best work of fiction I have read since the last installment of Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein series” Jim McDonald – 1340Mag – Online Entertainment Magazine.

“A fiendishly sharp, intelligent examination of modern human life that is as funny as hell.” —The Times (London) The end is nigh and the Prince of Darkness has just been offered one hell of a deal: reentry into Heaven for eternity—if he can live out a well-behaved life in a human body on earth. It’s the ultimate case of trying without buying and, despite the limitations of the human body in question (previous owner one suicidally unsuccessful writer, Declan Gunn), Luce seizes the opportunity to run riot through the realm of the senses. This is his chance to straighten the biblical record (Adam, it’s hinted, was a misguided variation on the Eve design), to celebrate his favorite achievements (everything from the Inquisition to Elton John), and, most important, to get Julia Roberts attached to his screenplay. But the experience of walking among us isn’t what His Majesty expected: instead of teaching us what it’s like to be him, Lucifer finds himself understanding what it’s like to be us. By an author hailed by the Times Literary Supplement as one of Britain’s top twenty young novelists, I, Lucifer is “a masterpiece . . . startlingly witty, original and beautifully written” (Good Book Guide). “Duncan’s witty and perverse, yet somehow life-affirming, Lucifer is powerful indeed.” —Booklist

The definitive firsthand account of the groundbreaking research of Philip Zimbardo—the basis for the award-winning film The Stanford Prison Experiment Renowned social psychologist and creator of the Stanford Prison Experiment Philip Zimbardo explores the mechanisms that make good people do bad things, how moral people can be seduced into acting immorally, and what this says about the line separating good from evil. The Lucifer Effect explains how—and the myriad reasons why—we are all susceptible to the lure of “the dark side.” Drawing on examples from history as well as his own trailblazing research, Zimbardo details how situational forces and group dynamics can work in concert to make monsters out of decent men and women. Here, for the first time and in detail, Zimbardo tells the full story of the Stanford Prison Experiment, the landmark study in which a group of college-student volunteers was randomly divided into “guards” and “inmates” and then placed in a mock prison environment. Within a week the study was abandoned, as ordinary college students were transformed into either brutal, sadistic guards or emotionally broken prisoners. By illuminating the psychological causes behind such disturbing metamorphoses, Zimbardo enables us to better understand a variety of harrowing phenomena, from corporate malfeasance to organized genocide to how once upstanding American soldiers came to abuse and torture Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib. He replaces the long-held notion of the “bad apple” with that of the “bad barrel”—the idea that the social setting and the system contaminate the individual, rather than the other way around. This is a book that dares to hold a mirror up to mankind, showing us that we might not be who we think we are. While forcing us to reexamine what we are capable of doing when caught up in the crucible of behavioral dynamics, though, Zimbardo also offers hope. We are capable of resisting evil, he argues, and can even teach ourselves to act heroically. Like Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem and Steven Pinker’s The Blank Slate, The Lucifer Effect is a shocking, engrossing study that will change the way we view human behavior. Praise for The Lucifer Effect “The Lucifer Effect will change forever the way you think about why we behave the way we do—and, in particular, about the human potential for evil. This is a disturbing book, but one that has never been more necessary.”—Malcolm Gladwell “An important book . . . All politicians and social commentators . . . should read this.”—The Times (London) “Powerful . . . an extraordinarily valuable addition to the literature of the psychology of violence or ‘evil.’”—The American Prospect “Penetrating . . . Combining a dense but readable and often engrossing exposition of social psychology research with an impassioned moral seriousness, Zimbardo challenges readers to look beyond glib denunciations of evil-doers and ponder our collective responsibility for the world’s ills.”—Publishers Weekly “A sprawling discussion . . . Zimbardo couples a thorough narrative of the Stanford Prison Experiment with an analysis of the social dynamics of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.”—Booklist “Zimbardo bottled evil in a laboratory. The lessons he learned show us our dark nature but also fill us with hope if we heed their counsel. The Lucifer Effect reads like a novel.”—Anthony Pratkanis, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology, University of California

From the acclaimed author of Snow Angels comes a new novel featuring Inspector Vaara. Inspector Kari Vaara has left the Arctic Circle and returned- reluctantly-to Helsinki, where headaches and sleeplessness plague him. But he must work through the pain. He has two cases on his plate: the brutal murder of a Russian businessman's wife, and-more secretively-an investigation into an elderly Finnish national hero who may have played a darker role in World War II than the public knows. Vaara's past has turned him into a haunted man. The questions he's asking now may turn him into a hunted man as well...

Cast out of Heaven, thrown down to rule in Hell, Lucifer Morningstar has resigned his post and abandoned his kingdom for the mortal city of Los Angles. Emerging from the pages of writer Neil Gaiman's award-winning series The Sandman, the former Lord of Hell is now enjoying a quiet retirement as the propretor of Lux, L.A.'s most elite piano bar. But now an assignment from the Creator Himself is going to change all that. If Lucifer agrees to do Heaven's dirty work, he can name his own price--but both the task and reward are more than they seem. Thrown into a position of great threat and ultimate opportunity, Lucifer knows that threading a path through this maze will require the harshest of sacrifices.

Our manuscript, Lucifer Son of the Morning, is what we feel to be a reasonable interpretation into the path of one of the most talked-about characters throughout the history of man. Through no small effort on our behalf and with great attention to that, which is written concerning him in scripture as well as being careful to scour through the countless mythologies surrounding our books protagonist, it was our goal to take the reader into the story with a tale from behind the gates and to paint a picture of the rebellious archangel, both before and after the profound catharsis that spawned he who is readily felt by many faiths to be the embodiment of evil. Our book begins in heaven with Lucifer leading a worship session, adorned in gold and silkhe is flawless to look upon, loving in nature, and still very much in good standings with his father, the almighty king, Jehovah God. At the onset of the book, Lucifer is a humble and revered prince, who takes exceeding pleasure in writing beautiful hymns and raising beautiful praises to his father. Though Lucifer is tasked with much in the kingdom, he embraces it all with good cheerpraising Jehovah through verse is sustenance for him. Although Lucifers prominence is illustrated through displays of reverence by the heavenly hosts, his prestige as an archangel is not too great that the angels feel separated from him by class. No, it is balanced completely by his humility and earnestness. Jehovah publicly exalts Lucifer before the entire angelic body. Throughout time, the transition begins to awaken Lucifer in profound ways. A byproduct of Lucifers ever-escalating wisdom is a knowledge of the thoughts of his contemporaries. The quiet subjugation from those near him comes with a twist. Suddenly, there are internal questions that begin to surface, questions about his pedigree. God announces man and calls Adam his greatest creation, and behind this decree, the angels are told to bow. Lucifer is incensed. He refuses and blatantly disobeys Jehovah. Soon, there are conspirators and clandestine meetings in secret corners of heaven. There, with the assistance and abetting of many, Lucifer, once the humble steward and servant of his father, the king, calculates and devises a web of subterfuge in heaven and brings his own war to the gates of paradise. It sure is a lot of fun getting him there! Thanks, Anthony and Bonita

"If, as Chesterton claimed, the devil's greatest triumph was convincing the modern world that he does not exist, Jeffrey Burton Russell means to rob him of his victory. Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages is both a scholarly assessment of the development of diabology in the Middle Ages and an impassioned plea to the 20th century to recognize and acknowledge the existence of real, objective evil. The third in a series of works tracing the history of the devil from his Judeo-Christian roots, it represents a formidable undertaking: the devil's history is integrally related to the problem of evil, which is in turn at the heart of Western religious thought. Each of the volumes on Satan comprises, in essence, a judicious and able tour of Christian theology from the villain's point of view... Book jacket.