Dessert Science

The world remains under siege by demonkind stalking the land when the sun goes down. But a new hero has risen from the desert. Claiming to be the mythical Deliverer, Ahmann Jardir now rides alongside the allied desert tribes of Krasia. Jardir and his fellows are on an epic quest to vanquish the demons plaguing the world and bring humanity back from the brink of extinction.

The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. It is a tale of rivers diverted and dammed, of political corruptions and intrigue, of billion-dollar battles over water rights, of ecologic and economic disaster. In Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner writes of the earliest settlers, lured by the promise of paradise, and of the ruthless tactics employed by Los Angeles politicians and business interests to ensure the city's growth. He documents the bitter rivalry between two government giants to transform the West.

Reiko, empress of Japan, has allied herself with Princess Órlaith, heir to the High Kingdom of Montival, to find the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword, a legendary treasure of an ancient dynasty that confers valor and victory to its bearer. Órlaith understands all too well the power it signifies. Her own inherited blade, the Sword of the Lady, was both a burden and a danger to her father, Rudi Mackenzie, as it failed to save the king from being assassinated.

Fifteen years have passed since the end of the war with demons, creatures of darkness who have hunted the night and plagued humanity since time out of mind. The heroes of humanity’s hour of need have become legend, and those who remain struggle to escape their shadows.

The sun sinks over the Rio Grande, the mountains around it glow orange, and the world slows down. The Mexican free-tailed bats inside the Jornada Cave are just starting to stretch and murmur. In this episode, we visit the nursery where all the baby bats stay together, and we accompany a new mother as she journeys into the sky with the rest of her crew for a night of hunting bugs via echolocation.

The sand-blasted world of Arrakis has become green, watered, and fertile. Old Paul Atreides, who led the desert Fremen to political and religious domination of the galaxy, is gone. But for the children of Dune, the very blossoming of their land contains the seeds of its own destruction. The altered climate is destroying the giant sandworms, and this in turn is disastrous for the planet's economy.

Desert is consuming the North American continent, Europe was wiped out by a cataclysmic meteor shower, and the world's oceans are unsalvageable poison. Those who could afford to flee to space are long gone, leaving the rest behind in the dust. Nyx is completely alone, scavenging the ruins of humanity to get by. With her brother suddenly missing, the only people she can trust are herself and her busted-up Bronco. Scavenging earns her enough water credits to stay alive but with no margin for error. When a stroke of unexpected luck sends her back to the nearest tent city, things go sideways.

Palmyra has long attracted the attention of the world. Well before its rediscovery in the 17th century, the ancient city gained legendary status because of its Queen Zenobia, who in the third century CE rebelled against Rome and expanded Palmyra's territory into what is now modern Turkey and Egypt.

In January 2012, having covered a Somali pirate trial in Hamburg for Spiegel Online International, Michael Scott Moore traveled to the Horn of Africa to write about piracy and ways to end it. In a terrible twist of fate, Moore himself was kidnapped and subsequently held captive by Somali pirates for 977 days. Yet Moore’s own struggle is only part of the story: The Desert and the Sea falls at the intersection of reportage, memoir, and history.

Straight out of Joshua Tree, California, Desert Oracle is “The Voice of the Desert”: a field guide to the strange tales, singing sand dunes, sagebrush trails, artists and aliens, authors and oddballs, ghost towns and modern legends, musicians and mystics, scorpions and saguaros, out there in the sand. Desert Oracle is your companion at a roadside diner, around a campfire, in your tent or cabin (or high-rise apartment or suburban living room) as the wind and the coyotes howl outside at night.

Starting in early 1915, the Ottoman Turks began deporting and killing hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the first major genocide of the 20th century. By the end of the First World War, the number of Armenians in what would become Turkey had been reduced by 90 percent - more than 1,000,000 people. A century later, the Armenian genocide remains controversial but relatively unknown, overshadowed by later slaughters and the chasm separating Turkish and Armenian versions of events.

At long last, millions of Dune fans can now hear the unpublished chapters and scenes from Dune and Dune Messiah. The Road to Dune also includes the original correspondence between Frank Herbert and famed editor John W. Campbell, Jr.; excerpts from Herbert's correspondence during his years-long struggle to get his innovative work published; and the article, "They Stopped the Moving Sands", Herbert's original inspiration for Dune.

Stranded on a hostile continent with only Oracle and Sehran, Jax is facing a hard truth: all the power of his newfound crown means nothing in a land where no one knows his name—and wouldn't care if they did. Time's running out until the enemy find him, and without his friends and his legions, what chance does he have? He's far from home, surrounded by enemies in an unknown land, and where his own lands are now free of the taint of the dark one and his minions, Carrmor is anything but.

Hope is a four-letter word. Yet, I can’t help but hope that the Oracle will be the answer to what I seek. But getting to the Oracle is no small thing as she resides in the center of the Blasted lands—toxic waste, lava, and monsters. And as the alpha of our Pride, it’s up to me to act responsibly and not get my people all killed. Driving us from behind comes the desert goddess whose rage is centered on me, and with her is a new ally, who still holds my heart in his hands. One whose voice calls to me still.

Alex McCann and Teodora "Ted" Vasquez left Cambio Springs together. Ted came back. Alex didn't. Now, years later, the future alpha of the McCann wolves has returned with plans to bring new life to the dying desert community. Plans that could change everything for the isolated enclave of shapeshifters in the California desert. Some love the plan. Others hate it. As the town's doctor and one of the strongest daughters in the cat clan, Ted has her own concerns about exposing her community to outsiders.

The Blue Dagger Society saved the city of Tristholm from Vitaria's minions and defeated the evil under the mountain. Keeping the Etheric Coast free of Vitaria's influence was going to take more aggressive measures than pounding a hammer into some steel. It was time to throw down with a goddess. Knowing they had their own goddess standing right behind them made Tim feel more optimistic about their chances. Eternia's influence was growing with each one of their victories. With the Goddess of Light standing behind them, how could they lose?

Helene Wecker's dazzling debut novel tells the story of two supernatural creatures who appear mysteriously in 1899 New York. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York Harbor. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian Desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop.

Kyle surprises himself. Imagine an ex-con becoming the type of man others depend on, rely on. Two others, one the sweetest omega of all. He didn’t ask for the role, but he wants to try and make this poly thing Daniel wants so badly work. And he’s beginning to fall in love with Owen. Owen has his habits and ways he likes to do things. These are all thrown out the window with the pandemic, and even before that. Daniel, the omega he’s in love with and needs a little tender care. Jeremiah loves Daniel, but he knows he’s no good for them, the worst possible for Daniel. He’ll bring them...

The first three fairy tale retellings from the Return to the Four Kingdoms series: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl, The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella, and The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin. These interconnected fairy tale retellings each feature a different heroine who finds herself friendless in a strange land and who must fight to save her new home and win her happily ever after.

This audiobook presents a variety of animals and the different places in which they live.