For generations, the elves sought a safe haven against all who would do them harm. But the dream that Chief Cutter and his Wolfriders fought and died for, the Palace of the High Ones, may be the very thing destroying them. The skills that helped them survive the harsh world are fading, and there is a growing threat from a tyrant obsessed with exterminating all elves--creating a disastrous brew that must surely boil over. Volume 1 collects Wendy and Richard Pini's sixty-page special and the first six issues of The Final Quest, the newest adventures of the Wolfriders! "Even with a bit of a slowdown in pace, Wendy and Richard Pini's "Elfquest: The Final Quest" is a pleasant read. And with the setup for what's to come next time, I'm looking forward to seeing them in "60," as the old issues' letter-column liked to state things. I suspect readers who made it this far will agree." - Comic Book Resources "Elfquest is just one of those stories that you never want to end. It's so visually pleasing, I would be totally down for a virtual game or even just a tour of the palace. So yet again, Elfquest scores a five out of five." - Comic Bastards "Wendy Pini's art is as strong as it ever was, and we feel for the characters as they move forward in time and in their individual lives. The scripting augments the beautiful art so very well! If you're looking for some engaging fantasy, don't miss Elfquest: The Final Quest! It's something special and will pull you in from the first time you read it!" - Major Spoilers

Though it is simple and obvious, you may not understand the incredible importance of the way of nothing. When you do see the way, you will wonder, "Can it really be this easy and simple?" And seeing that there was never anything in the way of freedom can almost be embarrassing. "How could I have never seen it?" you’ll ask. The Way of Nothing: Nothing in the Way explores the obstacles that stop you from reaching your highest desires: enlightenment, eternal peace, or simply ordinary contentment. These obstacles are nothing more than concepts you have that seem real, yet they vanish with insight into the way. It is a wonderful surprise to discover that there has always been nothing in the way of what you want. Best of all, there is really nothing to it! ,

A unique look at Christian biblical interpretation and theology from the perspective of Native American tradition. This book focuses on four specific experiences of Jesus as portrayed in the synoptic gospels. It examines each story as a “vision quest,” a universal spiritual phenomenon, but one of particular importance within North American indigenous communities. Jesus’ experience in the wilderness is the first quest. It speaks to a foundational Native American value: the need to enter into the “we” rather than the “I.” The Transfiguration is the second quest, describing the Native theology of transcendent spirituality that impacts reality and shapes mission. Gethsemane is the third quest. It embodies the Native tradition of the holy men or women, who find their freedom through discipline and concerns for justice, compassion, and human dignity. Golgotha is the final quest. It represents the Native sacrament of sacrifice (e.g., the Sun Dance). The chapter on Golgotha is a discussion of kinship, balance, and harmony: all primary to Native tradition and integral to Christian thought.

A blues musician is blasted into a parallel world in a novel that’s “a houserockin’ good time” cowritten by the New York Times–bestselling author (Booklist). Slim’s a Texas bluesman of a certain age, down on his luck and just about broke—but hey, that’s what the blues are all about. He loves his music: “Not the popular blues, homogenized, synthesized, and zombilized; but the real down-home gut-bucket blues.” Then one day the music loves him back. In a single hot burst of lightning that comes straight up out of the ground, Slim finds himself in Tejas. It’s a little bit magic and a whole lot different, but the blues are the same. And the blues—manifest here in the form of a maple-necked, pearl-gray Fender Stratocaster with blue-chrome pickups, aka the Gutbucket—need him and need him bad. The Strat’s fallen into the hands of T-Bone Pickens and his Vipers, who want to suck up all its power and turn it to evil. Slim’s off and running on the Gutbucket Quest, with the help of his new mentor, rhythm guitarist Progress T. Hornsby, and a purely unstoppable blues singer named Nadine.

Discover all the secrets and mechanics of the famous Japanese video game Dragon Quest ! This book looks back at the entire Dragon Quest saga, tells the story of the series' birth, retraces its history and deciphers its mechanics. In this book, the author shares us all his expertise and his passion in Japanese gaming to decipher the creation and the story of this saga and his creator, Yuji Horii. EXTRAIT Even with only limited knowledge of Japanese and somewhat difficult technical conditions, the story was very well told. This was perhaps what surprised players most. Dragon Quest V is a large family cycle of emotions, as transparent as an epic tale by Alexandre Dumas, the author of famous works such as The Three Musketeers. In the end, I was lucky that my first taste of the series was this excellent episode, since VI was far more extravagant, with its tales of parallel universes and heroes traveling on flying beds. A slightly puzzling game, but not without levity nor offbeat humor. One of the most emotional moments of Dragon Quest V is when we end up going back in time to change the past, thus saving the future. The time travel theme has been so often used in science fiction, particularly during the 1980s, that it should have left me impassive. It was not even the first time I had experienced it in a video game. But this adventure, with its simple graphics and persistent melodies, glanced lightly upon feelings that leave no one unmoved. “What would I have done differently if I could have changed things” is a very common concept used in fiction, from A Distant Neighborhood by Jirô Taniguchi to the Quantum Leap series. Well-told, it is so simple and so effective that it affects each and every one of us. CE QU'EN PENSE LA CRITIQUE Un libre passionnant que j'ai dévoré au point de rogner sur mes heures de sommeil. Ici, l'auteur ne nous bassine pas avec des tartines de textes pour nous conter avec détails l'histoire de chaque épisode, les ventes incommensurables de la série ou encore un almanach des jeux estampillés DraQue. - Kaisermeister, Sens Critique Un livre plein d’anecdotes qui feront vibrer votre corde nostalgique et qui donne envie, une fois terminé, de replonger dans l'aventure. - neotsubasa, Sens Critique C'est une biographie très détaillée, riche en anecdotes et bien romancée, Yuji Horii est un personnage fascinant au CV bien rempli et la genèse de la saga est tout aussi passionnante à tel point que j'ai parfois eu du mal à décrocher. - Nixotane, Sens Critique À PROPOS DE L'AUTEUR Daniel Andreyev is an author and journalist of Russian origin. His career in video game journalism began twenty years ago, during the golden years of video gaming, with Player One, Consoles + and Animeland, with a particular interest in Japan. Having spent some time on translation, he is now part of the New Games Journalism movement, which places the player at the heart of the video game experience. He produces the After Hate and Super Ciné Battle podcasts. He also trades memories with his friends in Gaijin Dash, the Gamekult show on Japanese video games. He is a fan of far too many things to list them all here. But when he is not writing, not watching a movie, not reading comics and graphic novels, not climbing mountains or exploring ruined buildings, he might be cooking, exercising or dreaming of one day owning a dog.

Is your company a storyteller--or a storydoer? The old way to market a business was storytelling. But in today's world, simply communicating your brand's story in the hope that customers will listen is no longer enough. Instead, your authentic brand must be evident in every action the organization undertakes. Today's most successful businesses are storydoers. These companies create products and services that, from the very beginning, are manifestations of an authentic and meaningful story--one told primarily through action, not advertising. In True Story, creative executive Ty Montague argues that any business, regardless of size or industry, can embrace the principles of storydoing. Indeed, our best-run companies--from small start-ups to global conglomerates--organize around a coherent narrative that is then broadcast through every action they take (from product design to customer service to marketing). Montague shows why storydoing firms are nimble, more adaptive to change, and more efficiently run businesses. Montague is a founder of the growth consultancy co: collective and the former president and CCO of J. Walter Thompson, the largest advertising agency in North America. He brings his depth of creative business experience to the book and provides a clear framework and proven process for bringing you and your customers together in the creation of your brand story. Montague introduces five critical elements--what he calls the "the four truths and the action map"--that are the foundation of storydoing: - the participants (your customers, partners, and employees) - the protagonist (your company today) - the stage (the world around your business) - the quest (your driving ambition and contribution to the world) - your action map (the actions that will make your story real for participants) The book is filled with examples of how forward-thinking organizations--including Red Bull, Shaklee, Grind, TOMS Shoes, and News Corporation--are effectively using storydoing to transform their organizations and drive extraordinary results.

- A thorough introduction to the Episcopal Church (vocabulary, theology, practice) for youth, young adults, seekers, geeks - A humorous translation of Episcopal practices into geek lingo

"The Enchanted Quest of Dana and Ginger Lamb argues that the Lambs were geniuses of popular entertainment and the precursors to Animal Planet, the Travel Channel, and numerous documentary-format television shows. Drawing on historical records, the Lambs' books and letters, and recently declassified espionage documents, biographers Julie Huffman-klinkowitz and Jerome Klinkowitz show how the Lambs succeeded in marketing their conquests and films to armchair explorers around the world and how they became, in popular imagination, the quintessential American adventurers."--Jacket.

Are the stories in Genesis fact, myth, legend, the word of God, philosophy, or something else? Through time, what people think or remember about Genesis has become a mixture of fact and fable. For example, if you were to ask someone what fruit Adam and Eve were tempted by, most people might say, "An apple." If you were to ask what color the apple was, most people might state that they think the fruit was red. Are these actual facts? No, people are simply using artistic imagination. The stories in Genesis are multifaceted oral traditions about the human family that originated long before the established interpretations, dogmas, and doctrines of our contemporary world. One thing the stories do indicate is that we are all genetically connected regardless of our outward appearance, yet we are divided due to multiple factors related to our situation in life and personal beliefs. The Genesis Quest examines ancient roots of human thinking to strip away veneers of progressive interpretations and reveal the evolution of a philosophy - six principles of the human spirit looking for the soul of our communal life: God/creation, good and evil, sharing, mercy, saving life, and communicating, These principles are intended to help us understand what it means to be human.