Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

Some people like science fiction adventures and don't care overmuch about the plausibility of the various technologies presented in those stories. Others want to know if those futuristic wonders could be possible someday. If you fall into the latter camp, this ebook might be for you:

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

In this latest effort to popularize the sciences, City University of New York professor and media star Kaku (Hyperspace) ponders topics that many people regard as impossible, ranging from psychokinesis and telepathy to time travel and teleportation. 

His Class I impossibilities include force fields, telepathy and antiuniverses, which don't violate the known laws of science and may become realities in the next century. Those in Class II await realization farther in the future and include faster-than-light travel and discovery of parallel universes. Kaku discusses only perpetual motion machines and precognition in Class III, things that aren't possible according to our current understanding of science. He explains how what many consider to be flights of fancy are being made tangible by recent scientific discoveries ranging from rudimentary advances in teleportation to the creation of small quantities of antimatter and transmissions faster than the speed of light. 

Science and science fiction buffs can easily follow Kaku's explanations as he shows that in the wonderful worlds of science, impossible things are happening every day.


The book is $9.99 for the Kindle version, and it has lots of great reviews at Amazon. Check it out if geeky reads are up your alley:

Physics of the Impossible

Young Adult Fantasy Ebooks for $3 or Less

If you're a fan of young adult fantasy novels, then you may enjoy this look at several indie authors offering their ebooks for $0.99 to $2.99. The Kindle finds listed below all have higher than average reviews, as well, so give them a try!

The Purloined Boy: The Weirdling Cycle, Book 1

The Purloined Boy, by Mortimus Clay, is a work of fantasy literature for young adults. In parts dark and grotesque, in others luminous and inspiring; it could be described as R. L. Stine meets Plato. It begins with the question, Where do all those children on the milk cartons go? It provides the answer through the eyes of one of those children, a boy named Trevor Upjohn, the purloined boy. Trevor was stolen by a bogeyman as a toddler. But he can't remember that. And he's not the only one. Thousands of children just like him were stolen by bogeys and taken to Superbia, the worst place in the universe. There, the children are cared for by group of officious and unfeeling humans known as the Guardians. For what purpose you ask? A dark and sinister purpose: the most horrid one any could possibly imagine! Fortunately Trevor is not left to fend for himself. A conspiracy comes to his aid, a conspiracy made up of an old man with one good eye, a red-haired girl named Maggie, and a mysterious but very powerful mouse named Zephyr.

The Mind Readers, A Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows the truth …that Cameron can read minds. For years Cameron has hidden behind a facade of normalcy, warned that there are those who would do her harm. When gorgeous and mysterious Lewis Douglas arrives he destroys everything Cameron has ever believed and tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a secret haven with Lewis; a place where she meets others like her, Mind Readers.

But as Cameron soon finds out some things are too good to be true. When the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs. Cameron suddenly finds herself involved in a war in which her idea of what is right and wrong is greatly tested. In the end she’ll be forced to make a choice that will not only threaten her relationship with Lewis, but her very life. 

Spellbinding (The Seven Spell Saga)

 

When 18 yr old Chloe McGarry moves with her family from her home in California to an English estate rich in history, she isn't sure what to expect. She never dreamed she'd get caught up in a mystery that has lasted for more than eight hundred years, nor that she'd fall in love with two gorgeous guys.

Chloe's never been lucky in love that is until she meets Oliver Tarrant. He's charming, interested in her and amazing looking. Is he all that he seems?
 

Her new home holds many mysteries. Out one day exploring the grounds she stumbles across Tristan Dearing. Tristan is enigmatic and beautiful; to begin with, he tries to keep himself apart from Chloe until she uncovers his secret; a secret he has been keeping for 800 years. 

Switched (Trylle Trilogy, Book 1)

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.

With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it. 

Children of the Dragon: A Fantasy Novel

An evil power has been set loose upon the peaceful land known as Great Germaine. A tryant is stealing the life force of fairies, unicorns, dragons, and others, harnessing it, changing its purity into a devastating power in order to rule the land with an iron fist. Balthazar Despot has made it his goal to elimate all mystical creatures, and with each victim, he grows more powerful.

During their summer vacation, while visiting their father, Ricky and Alyssa Randall are transported to the foreign land of Great Germaine. Once there, the children meet an old couple, Ardor and Tora. However, they are a couple of which Ricky and Alyssa have seen only in storybooks They are dragons.

In an effort to return peace to the land, the children and the elderly dragons fuse their bodies, becoming powerful warriors and Great Germaine's last hope.

Join Ricky and Alyssa in their quest to restore peace to a magical world, and to find a way home to their loving father.


Let us know if you have any affordable young adult fantasy novels you'd recommend!

LE Modesitt Jr's Lady-Protector: The Eighth Book of the Corean Chronicles out for Kindle

If you're an LE Modesitt, Jr. fan, you may not mind the steep Kindle price tag on Lady-Protector: The Eighth Book of the Corean Chronicles. At $14.99, it's an expensive ebook, but it is a couple dollars cheaper than the hardback, which just came out March 15th.

Here's the story blurb:

A new novel of Mykella, the young woman introduced in The Lord-Protector’s Daughter. Though a bloody coup has made Mykella ruler of her land, it has left her and her two sisters bereft of family and uncertain of their friends. Worse, an examination of the nation’s accounts reveals that their country is almost destitute. Plus, there are rumblings of war along the borders. With no money and few allies, Mykella is faced with the difficult prospect of rebuilding her nation while trying to hold off a potentially devastating invasion.

Fortunately for Mykella, an old magic has awakened in her; a power that gives her the ability to read the emotions of others and to spy on the movements of her enemies. But the resurgence of this power might herald the return of an ancient enemy, one that Mykella isn’t sure how to face.

L.E. Modesitt, Jr. returns to the world of The Corean Chronicles with a novel filled with politics, adventure, magic, and romance.


Lady-Protector

Get Your Geek on with Free Astronomy Ebooks

Everybody loves free ebooks, and if you're a science geek, you may love astronomy too.

The following Kindle finds don't have cool covers or anything snazzy, but they're free, so give them a download if they sound interesting:

• Myths and Marvels of Astronomy by Richard A. Proctor
• History of Astronomy by George Forbes
• The Astronomy of the Bible An Elementary Commentary on the Astronomical References of Holy Scripture by E. Walter Maunder
• Curiosities of the Sky by Garrett Putman Serviss
• Recreations in Astronomy With Directions for Practical Experiments and Telescopic Work by Henry White Warren
• The Future of Astronomy by Edward Charles Pickering
  

10 Epic Fantasy & High Fantasy Ebooks for Under $3

Looking for some high/epic fantasy ebooks set in secondary worlds you've never seen before? With swords? Magic? Adventure? All that good stuff? At an affordable price? Of course, you are.

Naturally, I have to plug one of my stories, but the rest are from other up-and-coming authors. If you're a fantasy fan, download the samples and give them a try. All the ebooks below range from $0.99 to $3.00.

The Emperor's Edge (a high fantasy mystery in an era of steam)

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.

Worse, Sicarius, the empire's most notorious assassin is in town. He's tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills... or someone wants her dead. 

Briggen (Briggen Sci-Fi/Fantasy Trilogy)

In the first book of this exciting sci-fi/fantasy trilogy, Briggen, the brawny warrior prince, is plucked from a hostile planet by the powerful wizard, Quinhelm, beginning his desperate plunge into the midst of an interplanetary war. Briggen and Quinhelm rush home as the powerful Xandoth and their allies surge across the galaxy, killing and laying waste to everything they encounter.

As Briggen confronts the evil Sorceress of Endih, squabbling nobles and an assassin on his home planet, the great dragon Ephereon abducts the good sorceress, Telana, instructing her in the ways of magic. To her astonishment, Telana learns that she is the Chosen One, the one foretold by the ancients to lead the people of Mantasi to a stunning victory. Telana joins forces with Briggen as they battle the Xandoth for supremacy over the planet. Will magic and courage triumph over the powerful forces of evil?

Amber Magic (Book #1 of the Haven Series)

The humans have no magic and are hunted for sport, but that is about to change. War is coming...

The Sun Dragon spawned nine lesser dragons which devoured their parent for the power the elder possessed. These young dragons fought for choice bits of the Sun Dragon, but each only managed to eat a portion, thus giving them specific powers. Over time, these foul dragons were hunted down and slain by heroes of old. When each body rotted away, nothing was left save for a Jewel—the lens of each dragon’s left eye. These Nine Eyes, or Jewels, form the basis for all magic in the world.

The Haven series is the story of the nine Jewels of power, each representing a different form of magic. The Red Jewel, Sang, gives the wielder power over Blood Magic. The Blue, Lavatis, can call the Rainbow and rules the Sky. 

The Black God's War: A Novella Introducing a new Epic Fantasy

Her father-king wants war.

Her messianic brother wants peace.

The black god wants his due.

She suffers all the consequences.

King Vieri’s war against the lands of Pawelon rages into its tenth year, and with the kingdom’s holy savior, his son Caio, en route to the fighting in the storied canyon, victory ought to come soon. Feeling abandoned by his god, King Vieri forces young Caio to lead his army to victory.

The Black One, Lord Danato, tortures Lucia with nightly visions promising another ten years of bloodshed. She can no longer tell the difference between the waking world and Danato's nightmares. Lucia knows the black god too well; he entered her bed and dreams when she was ten.

As the epic battles rage, Lucia struggles to understand the messages of The Black One, while Caio wrestles with his conscience: Can someone who only wants to heal the world bring himself to kill another man?

Left Horse Black (Adventure Fantasy) (Sorcerers' Twilight)

For centuries, the zealot Kersian sorcerers have abducted innocent women and children for sacrifice to their 'no name' god, and have waged war upon Danaria's sorcerers. Now, they are covertly usurping the thrones of human-ruled kingdoms to do the unthinkable; they are building a massive human army to assist them in destroying Danaria's sorcerer bloodlines in an attempt to save their own.

Armed with nothing more than meager weapons, untrained sorcery, and mere instinct, a troubled human prince, an inept Danarian sorceress, and their friends, rise up and become the world's last hope to stop the Kersians, and save the sorcerers' dying race. 

An Exercise in Futility

Beyond the borders of the mighty Kalharian Empire, the Tribes of Gurdur wander a vast plain. When the border falls under dispute and his tribe prepares for war, Ezekiel is left behind to train with his mysterious uncle. There he learns the art of necromancy, and begins to wonder: If a man can be brought back to life, why not a civilization?

Call of the Herald (The Dawning of Power)

Call of the Herald is Book One of The Dawning of Power trilogy. Echoes of the ancients' power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind's deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war. 

Visions of Power (The Ingenairii Series)

The opening book in the Ingenairii Series introduces Alec the Healer, in the days when he worked as a menial helper in a traveling carnival that toured the great cities of the magic land of the Dominion. Alec's carnival makes a fateful decision to visit lands in the wilderness, where he is exposed to violence and fear, and where he is forced to scramble for survival. When Alec and Natalie plunge into the ruins of Riverside, the adventures begin to come fast and furious, and before he knows it, Alec will acquire new abilities to heal the injuries of other in miraculous ways, and then be pressed to exercise those abilities to save the most powerful noble in the Dominion, the Duke of Goldenfields!

Saving the Duke, and discovering that his act of healing will become a political act that plunges him into court intrigue, brings Alec face-to-face with new challenges and new people - allies and adversaries who seek to control him and his powers.

With his change in abilities, change in status, and his uncertainty about what he wants to do, Alec has to decide who to trust, and how to protect himself in a complex world. 

BlackThorn (Chronicles of the Dark Sword)

Three millennia have passed since the war of the breaking. A time of legends that nearly destroyed the world. Out of the chaos Mankind has struggled, and from the ashes of destruction civilization has once more returned to the land.

But unknown to man a forgotten evil stirs in the west, for generations it has worked its foul craft in the shadows. Growing stronger, no longer content to lurk in the darkness consumed by hatred and gnawing on its own ambitions. It has grown powerful and in its might it seeks to throw down what remains of the old world and destroy the petty kingdoms of man.

The last of the immortals has returned from his self-imposed exile. He has seen the danger and seeks a Talisman lost for three thousand years. Only the sword Aethir, forged by the immortals can save the world.

Old legends have come to life, and the age of man is on the brink of destruction. Now he must convince an outlaw and a fugitive to aid him in its recovery or all is lost.

Snowraven

It is a time of chaos. The First Wizard War has shattered the land, transforming the World-Sea forever. In the aftermath of the conflict, the rule of law means nothing, and evil raiders ravage the countryside -- killing any who stand in their way. Their victims are too numerous to count, and only a few dare oppose them. Katyana Ravenlocks and her mother are two such brave souls. They've lost everything in the war -- except each other -- yet, they refuse to give in to despair or bend a knee to evil.

Now, though, the warrior women face a challenge more dangerous, a trap more deadly, than any they've encountered before. The decisions they make this day will forever change the course of their lives ... and history itself. And from these ashes, a legendary hero will arise: Snowraven.

Middle Grade Zombie Books...Because Children Like Zombies Too!

It's no secret that zombies are popular (Ebooks to Help You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse is still an oft-visited post here), but did you know you needn't wait until you're an adult to enjoy zombie tales? There are numerous children's books out there to try out, and some are available for the Kindle.

Here are a few zombie reads for middle-grade ebook lovers:

Enter the Zombie

When Mr. Murphy finds out that evil organization RABID is using a student academic and athletic competition to recruit agents, he asks Nathan, Abigail, and Mookie to form a team and enter the contest. Things go terribly wrong when Nathan’s nemesis, Rodney the bully, forms his own team to go up against Nathan. Soon Rodney and his pals start to notice some very odd things about Nathan. Will they discover Nathan’s secret and expose his zombie identity to the entire world?

The Zombie Chasers

Seventh-grader Zack Clarke's suburban Phoenix neighborhood seems normal–until almost everyone mysteriously transforms into a zombie. Zack, his geeky friend Rice, and his eighth-grade sister Zoe's glamorous but snarky friend Madison are seemingly the only ones unaffected. That means that all the zombies in the neighborhood–including Zoe–are determined to devour them. They need to defend themselves but can only find a plastic baseball bat and a fire extinguisher. Meanwhile, Zack and Zoe's parents are at a parent-teacher night at their school–do they even know what's going on? This first volume in a new series leaves readers hanging at the end, but it's a quick, fun read, loaded with jokes and middle-school sarcasm. Kloepfer's descriptions of the zombies and their feeding habits, and Wolfhard's cartoon characters with guts and drool hanging out, are not for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach).

A to Z Mysteries: The Zombie Zone

Z is for ZOMBIE . . .

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are excited to vacation in the Louisiana bayou. But the small village they visit has a scary problem. The villagers tell stories of voodoo and a giant zombie with silver hair who has been digging up graves in the cemetery. Can the the tales be true? It’s up to Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose to unearth the secrets of the zombie zone.

Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie

After Keats and Henry lose their bikes, they need money—fast. So the help-wanted ad at the supermarket seems ideal for them. All they have to do is weed Hallway House's garden, find some lightbulbs in the attic, sweep the garage . . . and battle a shark-headed zombie. But no one told them about the giant bookworms in the library, the toe-biting carpet in the halls, and the kitchen sinkhole!

Brains For Lunch: A Zombie Novel in Haiku?!

Middle school is hard enough for the living, but for Loeb it's especially dreadful. He is a thoughtful zombie whose classmates are fellow zombies, Lifers (regular humans), and blood-sucking creatures known as Chupos. His school is a boiling pot of rivalries and segregations. Things get interesting for Loeb when the librarian (a Lifer) encourages him to read some of his haiku at open-poetry night. Subplots include a Lifer who is romantically interested in Loeb and tensions within the different groups that mount when one being mingles with another. The novel is told through a series of haiku, a form that is comically ideal for zombie dialogue. While the book appears to be an easy read, this poetic form will appeal to skilled readers who are comfortable navigating this narrative technique. The novel jumps right into the story, and readers are required to interpret the characters, setting, and situations quickly; the poetic form does not allow for detailed character and plot development and it is sometimes difficult to discern which character is speaking. Holt employs gross-out humor that will appeal to her audience: the zombies' bodies are constantly falling apart and the novel begins, appropriately, with a haiku about eating brains, “Brains for lunch again/‘Stop moaning and just eat it.'/Lunch lady humor.” Wilson's pen-and-ink illustrations complement the text and zombies are shown as creatures surrounded by flies, swarming with worms, and constantly struggling to keep their bodies intact.


There you have it: several zombie books for young readers, all available for the Kindle. Enjoy the reading!