A voyage of exploration to the outer reaches of our inner lives. UFOs are a myth, says David J. Halperin—but myths are real. The power and fascination of the UFO has nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. It's about us, our longings and terrors, and especially the greatest terror of all: the end of our existence. This is a book about UFOs that goes beyond believing in them or debunking them and to a fresh understanding of what they tell us about ourselves as individuals, as a culture, and as a species. In the 1960s, Halperin was a teenage UFOlogist, convinced that flying saucers were real and that it was his life's mission to solve their mystery. He would become a professor of religious studies, with traditions of heavenly journeys his specialty. With Intimate Alien, he looks back to explore what UFOs once meant to him as a boy growing up in a home haunted by death and what they still mean for millions, believers and deniers alike. From the prehistoric Balkans to the deserts of New Mexico, from the biblical visions of Ezekiel to modern abduction encounters, Intimate Alien traces the hidden story of the UFO. It's a human story from beginning to end, no less mysterious and fantastic for its earthliness. A collective cultural dream, UFOs transport us to the outer limits of that most alien yet intimate frontier, our own inner space.

An interdisciplinary study of how conspiracy theories and stories persist and resonate among different Americans

These aliens are willing to do anything to meet their mates…even join a dating agency and come to Earth. But are the humans ready for them? Sixx: Dakonian Alien Mail Order Brides #4 Single alien dad seeks a human mate with some moxie. Saving up to start her own video game company, Moxie Maguire logs fourteen hours days working for an obnoxious boss. But when life seems to be passing her by, she sets another goal—meet her dream man. The Intergalactic Dating Agency matches her with Sixx. Hot & horned, a good listener, family-oriented—Sixx is the perfect man to share a life with. If only that life was on Earth. Single dad Sixx dreams of finding a mate and raising more “kits.” With females in short supply on his planet, he heads for Earth to get a female and get back to Dakon and his young son. The instant he meets Moxie, he recognizes she’s his Fated mate. He can’t abandon his child. And, unfortunately, his planet has even fewer computers than females. One for the entire planet, to be exact. Will two Fated Mates have to part? Or can they find a way to work it out? Kord: Dakonian Alien Mail Order Brides #5 She’s a successful restauranteur, but he’s hungry for more than what she’s cooking. Barb Quintain owns the hottest restaurant in town, lives in a fabulous luxury apartment, and has a personality as big as the state of Texas. But outward confidence conceals old wounds as big as Texas, too. She hides behind success, fearing someone will discover what she’s really like—a fake, a fraud, all broth and no beans. Then, one evening, Kord walks into her restaurant—an alien so hot and sexy she knows he’s way out of her league. Kord doesn’t understand why none of his Intergalactic Dating Agency matches have panned out until he meets the owner of Barbie Q’s Restaurant and realizes she’s his Fated mate. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to recognize that. The only thing he can do is get her to hire him so he can convince her they’re meant to be together. Just as Kord’s patience wins her over, a family crisis sends Barb running in her rhinestone boots. Will confronting her past destroy their future? Braxx: Dakonian Alien Mail Order Brides #6 She’s given up on love, but love hasn’t given up on her… If there’s anything Holly Hansen has learned it’s that falling for a persuasive charmer is a sure path to a broken heart. It happened when her fiancé abandoned her just when she needed him most. Everything about the smoking-hot alien, Braxx, reminds her of her ex, and he keeps showing up night after night at the restaurant where she works. It’s enough to wear a girl down, make her doubt her convictions, maybe hope that love can conquer the heartbreak of the past… The instant Braxx meets Holly Hansen, his horns begin to throb, and he realizes she’s the ONE. His Fated Mate. He can’t wait to settle down with her and make beautiful babies together. Unfortunately, she won’t give him the time of day. But he didn’t come this far to give up easily, and he hopes that with patience and baby steps, he’ll win her heart. Just when it seems he’ll succeed, Holly’s past comes back to haunt them. Can a heartbreak be too deep for love to fix? All the stories in this volume can be read as stand-alones. You do not have to have read the previous Dakonian books (Darak, Aton & Caid).

William Desmond sees religion, art, philosophy, and politics as essential and distinctive modes of human practice, manifestations of an intimate universality that illuminates individual and social being. They are also surprisingly permeable phenomena, and by observing their relations, Desmond captures notes of a clandestine conversation that transforms ontology.

USA TODAY BESTSELLER Truth of the Divine is the latest alternate-history first-contact novel in the Noumena series from the instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times bestselling author Lindsay Ellis. The human race is at a crossroads; we know that we are not alone, but details about the alien presence on Earth are still being withheld from the public. As the political climate grows more unstable, the world is forced to consider the ramifications of granting human rights to nonhuman persons. How do you define “person” in the first place? Cora Sabino not only serves as the full-time communication intermediary between the alien entity Ampersand and his government chaperones but also shares a mysterious bond with him that is both painful and intimate in ways neither of them could have anticipated. Despite this, Ampersand is still keen on keeping secrets, even from Cora, which backfires on them both when investigative journalist Kaveh Mazandarani, a close colleague of Cora’s unscrupulous estranged father, witnesses far more of Ampersand’s machinations than anyone was meant to see. Since Cora has no choice but to trust Kaveh, the two must work together to prove to a fearful world that intelligent, conscious beings should be considered persons, no matter how horrifying, powerful, or malicious they may seem. Making this case is hard enough when the public doesn’t know what it’s dealing with—and it will only become harder when a mysterious flash illuminates the sky, marking the arrival of an agent of chaos that will light an already-unstable world on fire. With a voice completely her own, Lindsay Ellis deepens her realistic exploration of the reality of a planet faced with the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence, probing the essential questions of humanity and decency, and the boundaries of the human mind. While asking the question of what constitutes a “person,” Ellis also examines what makes a monster.

In Recent Years, The Indian English Literature Has Made Conspicuous Progress In All Its Forms, Mainly In Fiction And Poetry. The Present Anthology Aims At Presenting An In-Depth Study Of Nineteen Authors Who Are Both Established As Well As Upcoming Writers: Toru Dutt, Nissim Ezekiel, Jayanta Mahapatra, R.C. Shukla, Rajendra Singh, Mulk Raj Anand, Kamala Markandaya, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Shashi Tharoor, Shiv K. Kumar, Shobha De, Intizar Husain And Mahesh Dattani. Although The Present Anthology Contains Articles On Indian English Poetry, Fiction And Drama, But Fiction Enjoys A Prominent Place.Since Most Of The Authors Included In The Present Volume For Discussion Are Prescribed In The English Syllabus In The Various Indian Universities, It Is Hoped That Both The Teachers And Students Will Find The Book Extremely Useful. Even The General Readers Who Are Interested In Literature In English Will Find It Intellectually Stimulating.

The X-Files was one of the most subversive and longest-running science fiction series in US television history. Yet very little serious work has been done to examine the hit series. Deny All Knowledge examines topics such as: - Why is the series such a hit worldwide? - Why is The X-Files so popular online, generating dozens of websites and chat groups daily? - How does The X-Files' Conspiracy Theory compares to shows from the 1950s? - Can The X-Files be considered a modern-day myth? - What does The X-Files tell us about gender roles today?

Gerard Loughlin is one of the leading theologians working at the interface between religion and contemporary culture. In this exceptional work, he uses cinema and the films it shows to think about the church and the visions of desire it displays. Discusses various films, including the Alien quartet, Christopher Nolan’s Memento, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth and Derek Jarman’s The Garden. Draws on a wide range of authors, both ancient and modern, religious and secular, from Plato to Levinas, from Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar to André Bazin and Leo Bersani. Uses cinema to think about the church as an ecclesiacinema, and films to think about sexual desire as erotic dispossession, as a way into the life of God. Written from a radically orthodox Christian perspective, at once both Catholic and critical.

Named to the 2020 Hal Clement list and the 2020 ALA Rainbow List An original young adult novel of the Alien universe Olivia and her twin sister Viola have been dragged around the universe for as long as they can remember. Their parents, both xenobiologists, are always in high demand for their research into obscure alien biology. Just settled on a new colony world, they discover an alien threat unlike anything they’ve ever seen. And suddenly the sisters’ world is ripped apart. On the run from terrifying aliens, Olivia’s knowledge of xenobiology and determination to protect her sister are her only weapons as the colony collapses into chaos. But then a shocking family secret bursts open—one that’s as horrifying to Olivia as the aliens surrounding them. The creatures infiltrate the rich wildlife on this untouched colony world—and quickly start adapting. Olivia’s going to have to adapt, too, if she’s going to survive... An Imprint Book “An electrifying adventure ... Olivia and Kora are smart, strong young women, and their romance, born in the midst of unspeakable horror, is believable. ... A worthy and terrifying addition to a classic sci-fi/horror franchise.” —Kirkus Reviews “Mira Grant blends gritty science fiction, complex characters, and nail-biting horror in Alien: Echo! A spellbinding novel of courage and terror.” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times–bestselling author of Broken Lands and editor of Aliens: Bug Hunt

Using a style that draws students into the ongoing inquiry into how intimate relationships work, Love and Intimate Relationships investigates the life cycle of relationships influences that affect them, theories behind them, and ways to improve them. Dozens of stories from students themselves, case examples and over 150 tables, figure, and the cartoons of Don Edwing of Mad Magazine help bring the material alive. The book is also unique in exploring aspects of human relationships not covered in other textbooks on the subject. Love and Intimate Relationships helps bring the complex issues surrounding intimate relationships into focus for students from diverse backgrounds. The multidisciplinary perspective of the textbook makes it ideal for introductory courses in psychology, marriage counseling, human relations, and sexuality, and interpersonal relationships