“A fantastic story, thrillingly told. This book has a superpower—you can’t put it down.” —Jonathan Stroud, author of the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy The truth about the Super children—who have real powers like flight and super strength—is finally exposed, and the town of Noble’s Green has created a special boarding school for its superpowered children. That’s where all Daniel’s friends are headed, while he—regular kid that he is—is headed to summer school. But all is not well at the Academy for the Extraordinarily Gifted. A clique of popular kids (led by a pair of sinister twins) has taken over the school, and once again, it’s powerless Daniel who may be able to stop them. To do so, he will have to turn to his sworn enemy, the Shroud, for help.

Everyone thinks they know the real story behind the villains in fairy tales—but the villains themselves beg to differ. In Troll's-Eye View, you'll hear from the Giant's wife ("Jack and the Beanstalk"), Rumpelstiltskin, the oldest of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and many more. A stellar lineup of authors, including Garth Nix, Jane Yolen, and Nancy Farmer, makes sure that these old stories do new tricks!

For anyone who loved Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, this is a humorous and important book about learning to follow your heart and proving that kindness can outweigh villainy any day. Maximillian Villainous is a monster who doesn't have the heart to be a villain. His famous family pulls pranks on the likes of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, and Max spends his time undoing them. So when he brings home a bunny to be his sidekick, Max's disapproving mother hatches a plan. She challenges Max and the bunny to become a devious duo; otherwise . . . the bunny hops. If they want to stay together, Max and the bunny have no choice but to go against their nature. They blunder into villainy with comical effect until Max discovers that embracing his good heart may just be the key to pulling off the most devious deed of all and winning his family's acceptance. Delightfully fun and irreverent, Maximillian Villainous is an empowering story about embracing one's true self and finding acceptance. Up and coming illustrator Lesley Breen Withrow brings the characters to life with bold and colorful illustrations in a style reminiscent of Richard Scarry.

“A fantastic story, thrillingly told. This book has a superpower—you can’t put it down.” —Jonathan Stroud, author of the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy The truth about the Super children—who have real powers like flight and super strength—is finally exposed, and the town of Noble’s Green has created a special boarding school for its superpowered children. That’s where all Daniel’s friends are headed, while he—regular kid that he is—is headed to summer school. But all is not well at the Academy for the Extraordinarily Gifted. A clique of popular kids (led by a pair of sinister twins) has taken over the school, and once again, it’s powerless Daniel who may be able to stop them. To do so, he will have to turn to his sworn enemy, the Shroud, for help.

HIGHER INSTITUTE OF VILLAINOUS EDUCATION Otto Malpense may only be thirteen years old, but so far he has managed to run the orphanage where he lives, and he has come up with a plan clever enough to trick the most powerful man in the country. He is the perfect candidate to become the world's next supervillain. That is why he ends up at H.I.V.E., handpicked to become a member of the incoming class. The students have been kidnapped and brought to a secluded island inside a seemingly active volcano, where the school has resided for decades. All the kids are elite; they are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest in the country. Inside the cavernous marble rooms, floodlit hangars, and steel doors, the students are enrolled in Villainy Studies and Stealth and Evasion 101. But what Otto soon comes to realize is that this is a six-year program, and leaving is not an option. With the help of his new friends: an athletic martial-arts expert; a world-famous, beautiful diamond thief; and a spunky computer genius -- the only other people who seem to want to leave -- can Otto achieve what has never been done before and break out of H.I.V.E.?

Live theatre was once the main entertainment medium in the United States and the United Kingdom. The preeminent dramatists and actors of the day wrote and performed in numerous plays in which crime was a major plot element. This remains true today, especially with the longest-running shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd. While hundreds of books have been published about crime fiction in film and on television, the topic of stage mysteries has been largely unexplored. Covering productions from the 18th century to the 2013-2014 theatre season, this is the first history of crime plays according to subject matter. More than 20 categories are identified, including whodunits, comic mysteries, courtroom dramas, musicals, crook plays, social issues, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie. Nearly 900 plays are described, including the reactions of critics and audiences.

The heroic Romeo and (not so) villainous Juliet are back! With their relationship opposed by many and Rodrigo sent off to war by a scheming Emperor, what’s a young couple to do but secretly rendezvous through magic portals? Escaping her parents’ strict supervision, Estella and Rodrigo embark on an adventure to learn about the history of black magic all while dodging assassination attempts from family and foes alike! Amid all this, will this fake couple ever graduate to a real romance? Only time will tell in Volume II of The Obsessed Hero and the Villainous Family’s Daughter! (Rated PG-13)

Most studies of modern chemical warfare begin with World War I and the widespread use of poison gas by both sides in the conflict. However, as Guy R. Hasegawa reveals in this fascinating study, numerous chemical agents were proposed during the Civil War era. As combat commenced, Hasegawa shows, a few forward-thinking chemists recognized the advantages of weaponizing the noxious, sometimes deadly aspects of certain chemical concoctions. They and numerous ordinary citizens proposed a host of chemical weapons, from liquid chlorine in artillery shells to cayenne pepper solution sprayed from fire engines. In chilling detail, Hasegawa describes the potential weapons, the people behind the concepts, and the evolution of some chemical weapon concepts into armaments employed in future wars. As he explains, bureaucrats in the war departments of both armies either delayed or rejected outright most of these unusual weapons, viewing them as unneeded or unworkable. Nevertheless, many of the proposed armaments presaged the widespread use of chemical weapons in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Especially timely with today’s increased chemical threats from terrorists and the alleged use of chemical agents in the Syrian Civil War, Villainous Compounds: Chemical Weapons and the American Civil War expands the history of chemical warfare and exposes a disturbing new facet of the Civil War. In chilling detail, Hasegawa describes the weapons proposed and prepared for use during the war and introduces the people behind the concepts. Although many of the ideas for chemical weapons had a historical precedent, most of the suggested agents were used in industry or medicine, and their toxicity was common knowledge. Proponents, including a surprisingly high number of civilian physicians, suggested a wide variety of potential chemical weapons—from liquid chlorine in artillery shells to cayenne pepper solution sprayed from fire engines. Some weapons advocates expressed ethical qualms, while others were silent on the matter or justified their suggestions as necessary under current circumstances. As Hasegawa explains, bureaucrats in the war departments of both armies either delayed or rejected outright most of these unusual weapons, viewing them as unneeded or unworkable. Nevertheless, many of the proposed armaments presaged the widespread use of chemical weapons in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. For example, while Civil War munitions technology was not advanced enough to deliver poison gas in artillery shells as some advocates suggested, the same idea saw extensive use during World War I. Similarly, forms of an ancient incendiary weapon, Greek fire, were used sparingly during the Civil War and appeared in later conflicts as napalm bombs and flamethrowers. Especially timely with today’s increased chemical threats from terrorists and the alleged use of chemical agents in the Syrian Civil War, Villainous Compounds: Chemical Weapons and the American Civil War reveals the seldom-explored chemical side of Civil War armaments and illuminates an underappreciated stage in the origins of modern chemical warfare.

In appearance they are the same, but their personalities are strangely different. Intertwined in their lives is the Marques de Mansura, who seems to defy time and the normal bounds of reality and whose fascination with identical twins contains the perverse wish to induce the annihilation of one twin by the other. His powerful influence and occult powers threaten to bring about this very end. For those who wish to save them, there will be a monumental struggle that will take them to Paris in the decadent 1860s, to the Tabernas Desert in Spain, and even, through an occult trick of time, Ancient Alexandria of the 2nd Century BC. Their paths will cross with Cora Pearl, the renowned Parisian courtesan, the artists, Gustave Moreau, Gustave Dore, and the flamboyant, Felicien Rops. The poet, Alfred Tennyson, will also play a role and the twin Mariana bears an uncanny resemblance to the Mariana of his tragic poem, 'Mariana in the South', written before she was born. Whilst Mariana hopes for peace and solace in the desert, her twin, Marguerite, moves towards villainy as her dark, guiding star.This novel is a striking exploration of the fascination of identical twins cleverly set across 1860s Paris, the Tabernas Desert in Spain and Ancient Alexandria.