In this short book illuminated by a deep understanding and love of humanity, John Steinbeck retells an old Mexican folk tale: the story of the great pearl, how it was found, and how it was lost. For the diver Kino, finding a magnificent pearl means the promise of a better life for his impoverished family. His dream blinds him to the greed and suspicions the pearl arouses in him and his neighbors, and even his loving wife cannot temper his obsession or stem the events leading to the tragedy. For Steinbeck, Kino and his wife illustrate the fall from innocence of people who believe that wealth erases all problems.

In 2007, Joseph Ratzinger published his first book as Pope Benedict XVI in order “to make known the figure and message of Jesus”. Now, the Pope focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life as a child. The root of these stories is the experience of hope found in the birth of Jesus and the affirmations of surrender and service embodied in his parents, Joseph and Mary.

Out-of-work Latin teacher and borderline alcoholic Austin DeSantis is determined to spend his final days in the arms of a prostitute—that is if the aliens don’t exterminate humanity first. But when the aliens land at the Vatican, begin speaking Latin, and reveal themselves to be Catholic, the world turns upside down. Pressed into service as a translator and thrust into the center of humanity's first contact with a cryptic alien race, Austin must uncover their true intentions before religious turmoil rips the planet apart.

Secular humanism has triumphed. Everything the late Victorians and Edwardians believed would bring human happiness has been achieved: Technology has made it so no one needs to work for a living, the social sciences ensure a smooth-running social order, and, in the name of tolerance, religious beliefs have been uprooted and eliminated except for a single holdout - a largely discredited and rapidly shrinking Catholic Church. Yet people are unhappy.

Ethan McQuarry is a young lighthouse keeper on a tiny island, the rugged outcropping of easternmost Cape Breton Island on the Atlantic Ocean. A man without any family, he sees himself as a silent vigilant, performing his duties courageously year after year, with an admirable sense of responsibility.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

Two astronomers have detected a strange, pulsing signal from deep space. Within hours, the US government goes into lockdown, restricting airspace and scrubbing scientific data. Was the signal an intercepted communication revealing alarming plans for an enemy’s military strike? Or has humanity at long last found proof of extraterrestrial life?

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.

By the Rivers of Babylon presents the early life of the prophet Ezekiel, from his childhood to his service in the Temple to the Babylonian Captivity, where he was enslaved among the exiles along the River Chebar.

Island of the World is the story of a child born in 1933 into the turbulent world of the Balkans and tracing his life into the third millennium. The central character is Josip Lasta, the son of an impoverished school teacher in a remote village high in the mountains of the Bosnian interior. As the novel begins, World War II is underway and the entire region of Yugoslavia is torn by conflicting factions: German and Italian occupying armies, and the rebel forces that resist them the fascist Ustashe, Serb nationalist Chetniks, and Communist Partisans.

Ethan McQuarry is a young lighthouse keeper on a tiny island, the rugged outcropping of easternmost Cape Breton Island on the Atlantic Ocean. A man without any family, he sees himself as a silent vigilant, performing his duties courageously year after year, with an admirable sense of responsibility.

In this new revised edition of his groundbreaking work, Professor J. Budziszewski questions the modern assumption that moral truths are unknowable. With clear and logical arguments he rehabilitates the natural law tradition and restores confidence in a moral code based upon human nature. What We Can't Not Know explains the rational foundation of what we all really know to be right and wrong and shows how that foundation has been kicked out from under western society.

A heart breaking disappearance leads to an even more devastating re-emergence. And nothing will ever be the same again. Life without Delaney McPhearson has not been easy. Yet difficult as it may be, for those who love her, life must go on. Years have now passed since Delaney was last seen, but the governments of the world won’t leave her in peace. Events across the globe point to a re-emergence of the Fallen and governments are wondering aloud what Delaney’s role is in their appearance. Those close to Laney though discover a disturbing pattern linking the re-emergence to one of the ...

Out of the ashes of The Clockwork War, mankind rose above the clouds to begin anew with The Atmo Project, a group of twenty-one flying cities running off the overabundant resource that destroyed the world below. Nearly a century later, one-third of the cities have fallen from disrepair or sky pirate attacks. When fledgling wind merchant Ras Veir inadvertently disrupts the natural fuel source keeping his home city of Verdant aloft, he must fly his airship clear across Atmo to right his wrong.

Molly is determined to get the troubled teens she teaches back on the right path and is convinced a trip to a local prison will show them the consequences of bad behavior. But when an EMP blast knocks out all power across the country, Molly and her five students, along with their former-Marine bus driver, Colton, are locked in with the prisoners with no safe exit. The guards are little help against clever convicts, and when a riot throws everything into chaos, Molly and Colton must find a way to get to freedom with their charges.

On a quiet beach in South Florida, Alice Burton and her two children have started the family vacation early - all that's left is for James to fly in from a conference in Colorado. When the small beach town they're staying in is consumed by fire, they're forced to seek help on foot - facing dangers both natural and manmade at every turn.

A meteorite fragment cures a teenaged trans girl’s schizophrenia, but leaves her with visions of ancient warring gods annihilating each other in space. As the Earth hurtles toward the cloud that is the shattered bodies of those eternal enemies, their eons-old conflict is rekindled on Earth to divide and destroy humanity.

Dr. Whitfield is looking forward to a sabbatical year of peace and quiet, gardening in his backyard, and tinkering with what he calls his latest "unpublishable book". As the year begins, he is drawn by a series of seeming coincidences into involvement with a group of characters from across Europe, including a family that has been the target of assassination attempts by unknown powers. During his journey to Romania, the situation in which he finds himself becomes more sinister than it first seemed.

In the midst of looking for sanctuary in the badlands, Sonny and his friends make it to Fort Gold Rush. A militarized city providing protection from the zombies and predators beyond its walls. However, the military leaders recognize the city’s safety as a sanctuary is only temporary unless they train the next generation of defenders. It’s there that Sonny is introduced to Grim, an unlikely anti-hero who becomes the singularly most important influence in Sonny’s life. As he and his friends adapt to their new life, they are conscripted to train rigorously as the city’s soldiers and ...

The Darkness is a fast-paced story of survival that brings the apocalypse to Main Street USA. While the world falls apart, Jacob Anderson barricades his family behind locked doors. News reports tell of civil unrest in the streets, murders, and disappearances; citizens are warned to remain behind locked doors. When Jacob becomes witness to horrible events and the alarming actions of his neighbors, he and his family realize everything is far worse than being reported.

In 2090, the island formerly known as Manhattan is surrounded by a shimmering scientific marvel called The Barrier. It prevents people from exiting and outsiders from entering. When Sammi Pickett's father is arrested on a phony charge, she's tossed out of their apartment and left homeless. Sammi, 19, undertakes the dangerous task freeing him. She joins a group of rebels known as the Resistance. With help from her friends, she fashions a plan to free her father and expose the government.

Anwyn's family has always assumed that she'd follow in the footsteps of her illustrious mother and uncle as a diplomat and eventual head of state. But Anwyn is an impulsive rule-breaker, and she's made other plans: getting off her home planet and seeing the galaxy after training as a starship pilot.

Welcome to the Capitol, where nothing is as it seems. Senator John Hawthorne's career has been long and illustrious, but as age creeps in, his once firm grip on power begins to waver. At ninety-four, Senator Elizabeth Morrow stands as a beacon of resilience, tirelessly advocating for healthcare reform despite the whispers of vulnerability. Behind the scenes, the Capitol is a labyrinth of ambition and intrigue. Every politician, every aide, and every reporter has a role to play in the delicate dance of power.