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Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle (Girl Genius)
by Phil Foglio Kaja FoglioIn the third installment of the Girl Genius novels, Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle begins as Agatha Heterodyne returns to her ancestral home, the warped little town of Mechanicsburg. There she must claim her inheritance by convincing the artificial intelligence that animates her family&’s castle that she is, in fact, the new Heterodyne. But this apparently simple task is made complicated in several ways: An imposter claiming to be the legitimate heir appears. The Empire is convinced that Agatha is the person responsible for the Long War (and to be fair, they are not entirely incorrect). And, worst of all, the Castle itself is insane.From the Hugo Award–winning Girl Genius online comics comes this third book in the Agatha H. trilogy; and just like the first two, Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle will grab you from the first page and not let go!
Lightbreaker
by Mark TeppoMarkham has returned to Seattle, searching for Katarina, the girl who, a decade ago, touched his soul, literally tearing it from his body. But what he discovers upon arriving is dark magick — of a most ancient and destructive kind! An encounter with a desperate spirit, leaping destructively from host to host, sets Markham on the trail of secretive cabal of magicians seeking to punch a hole through heaven, extinguishing forever the divine spark. Armed with the Chorus, a phantasmal chain of human souls he wields as a weapon of will, Markham must engage in a magickal battle with earth-shattering stakes! Markum must delve deep into his past, calling on every aspect of his occult training for there to be any hope of a future. But delve he must, for Markham is a veneficus, a spirit thief, the Lightbreaker...
Eclipse 3
by edited by Jonathan StrahanTo observe an eclipse is to witness a rare and unusual event. Under darkened skies the sun becomes a negative image of itself, its corona transforming the landscape into a strange space where anything might happen, and any story may be true...In the spirit of classic science fiction anthologies such as Universe, Orbit, and Starlight, master anthologist Jonathan Strahan (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year) presents the non-themed genre anthology Eclipse: New Science Fiction and Fantasy. Here you will find stories where strange and wonderful things happen--where reality is eclipsed by something magical and new.Continuing in the footsteps of the multiple-award-nominated anthologies Eclipse One and Eclipse Two, Eclipse Three delivers new fiction by some of the genre's most celebrated authors, including Karen Joy Fowler's story of a family's desperation and a rebellious young woman's strange incarceration; Ellen Klages's fable of a practical girl, an unusual tortoise, and an ancient mathematical puzzle; Pat Cadigan's story of a mysterious photograph and two friends' journey through space and time in order to solve its riddle; Jeffrey Ford's tale of a legendary sword imbued with the power to turn flesh to coral, and of the artist that wields it; Daniel Abraham's story of divine providence, sacred oaths, and the omens that indicate whether a man is fit to be king; and Caitlin R. Kiernan's chronicle of an astronaut whose memories of a lover lost to an alien intelligence haunt her.
Orbus (A Spatterjay Novel)
by Neal AsherThis is a follow-up to The Voyage of the Sable Keech tracing the journey of an Old Captain, Orbus – a sadist in charge of a crew of masochists - to a planetary wasteland called The Graveyard&’ lying between the Polity and the Prador Kingdom. An ancient war drone by the name of Sniper has stowed away aboard his spaceship, and the purpose of the journey is not entirely what the captain expected. Also heading in the same direction is the Prador king and the Prador Vrell. Vrell, having been mutated by the Spatterjay virus into something powerful and dangerous, has seized control of a Prador dreadnought, killing much of its crew, and is intent on heading back to the Prador Third Kingdom to exact vengeance on the King of the Prador, who tried to have him killed. All three ships are heading towards a climatic confrontation to The Graveyard, where underlying truths about the virus are revealed and an ancient menace to civilization reappears…
Darkwar
by Glen CookThe world grows colder with each passing year, the longer winters and ever-deepening snows awaking ancient fears within the Dengan Packstead, fears of invasion by armed and desperate nomads, attack by the witchlike and mysterious Silth, able to kill with their minds alone, and of the Grauken, that desperate time when intellect gives way to buried cannibalistic instinct, when meth feeds upon meth. For Marika, a young pup of the Packstead, loyal to pack and family, times are dark indeed, for against these foes, the Packstead cannot prevail. But awakening within Marika is a power unmatched in all the world, a legendary power that may not just save her world, but allow her to grasp the stars themselves.From Glen Cook, author of the Black Company and Dread Empire novels, comes Darkwar, collecting for the first time, the stunning science fantasy epic that originally appeared as Doomstalker, Warlock, and Ceremony.
Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals AI-900 Exam Guide: Gain proficiency in Azure AI and machine learning concepts and services to excel in the AI-900 exam
by Steve Miles Aaron GuilmetteGet ready to pass the certification exam on your first attempt by gaining actionable insights into AI concepts, ML techniques, and Azure AI services covered in the latest AI-900 exam syllabus from two industry experts Key FeaturesDiscover Azure AI services, including computer vision, Auto ML, NLP, and OpenAIExplore AI use cases, such as image identification, chatbots, and moreWork through 145 practice questions under chapter-end self-assessments and mock examsPurchase of this book unlocks access to web-based exam prep resources, including mock exams, flashcards, and exam tipsBook DescriptionThe AI-900 exam helps you take your first step into an AI-shaped future. Regardless of your technical background, this book will help you test your understanding of the key AI-related topics and tools used to develop AI solutions in Azure cloud. This exam guide focuses on AI workloads, including natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs). You’ll explore Microsoft’s responsible AI principles like safety and accountability. Then, you’ll cover the basics of machine learning (ML), including classification and deep learning, and learn how to use training and validation datasets with Azure ML. Using Azure AI Vision, face detection, and Video Indexer services, you’ll get up to speed with computer vision-related topics like image classification, object detection, and facial detection. Later chapters cover NLP features such as key phrase extraction, sentiment analysis, and speech processing using Azure AI Language, speech, and translator services. The book also guides you through identifying GenAI models and leveraging Azure OpenAI Service for content generation. At the end of each chapter, you’ll find chapter review questions with answers, provided as an online resource. By the end of this exam guide, you’ll be able to work with AI solutions in Azure and pass the AI-900 exam using the online exam prep resources.What you will learnDiscover various types of artificial intelligence (AI)workloads and services in AzureCover Microsoft's guiding principles for responsible AI development and useUnderstand the fundamental principles of how AI and machine learning workExplore how AI models can recognize content in images and documentsGain insights into the features and use cases for natural language processingExplore the capabilities of generative AI servicesWho this book is forWhether you're a cloud engineer, software developer, an aspiring data scientist, or simply interested in learning AI/ML concepts and capabilities on Azure, this book is for you. The book also serves as a foundation for those looking to attempt more advanced AI and data science-related certification exams (e.g. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate). Although no experience in data science and software engineering is required, basic knowledge of cloud concepts and client-server applications is assumed.
Mastering Palo Alto Networks: The complete journey to firewall mastery from setup to advanced security
by Tom Piens 'reaper'Unlock the full potential of Palo Alto Networks firewalls with expert insights and hands-on strategies for mastering next-gen security. Free with your book: DRM-free PDF version + access to Packt's next-gen Reader*Key FeaturesMaster Palo Alto Networks firewalls with hands-on labs and expert guidanceStay up to date with the latest features, including cloud and security enhancementsLearn how to set up and leverage Strata Cloud ManagerPurchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBookBook DescriptionMastering Palo Alto Networks is the ultimate guide for anyone looking to become proficient in configuring and managing Palo Alto firewalls. Written by a seasoned security consultant and author with 25 years of expertise in network security, this book provides a comprehensive approach to mastering Palo Alto Networks’ firewalls. If you’ve struggled with managing firewall policies, setting up VPNs, or integrating cloud security, this book will provide clear solutions. You’ll get to grips with the fundamentals, and go through the entire process step by step—from initial setup to advanced configurations, gaining a solid understanding of both on-premise and cloud-based security solutions. Packed with practical examples and expert tips, chapters show you how to deploy and optimize firewall policies, secure your network, and troubleshoot issues effectively. With a focus on real-world applications, this guide covers essential topics like traffic management, threat prevention, VPN setup, and integration with Prisma Access for cloud security. By the end of this book, you’ll have the confidence and expertise to manage even the most complex network security environments, making this a must-have resource for anyone working with Palo Alto Networks. *Email sign-up and proof of purchase required.What you will learnSet up and configure Palo Alto firewalls from scratchManage firewall policies for secure network trafficImplement VPNs and remote access solutionsOptimize firewall performance and security settingsUse threat prevention and traffic filtering featuresTroubleshoot common firewall issues effectivelyIntegrate Palo Alto firewalls with cloud servicesConfigure Strata Cloud Manager for network security managementWho this book is forThis book is perfect for network security professionals, IT administrators, and engineers looking to master Palo Alto firewalls. Whether you’re new to network security or aiming to deepen your expertise, this guide will help you overcome configuration challenges and optimize security. Basic networking knowledge is required, but no prior experience with Palo Alto is necessary.
Other Worlds Than These
by John Joseph AdamsWhat if you could not only travel any location in the world, but to any possible world?We can all imagine such &“other worlds&”--be they worlds just slightly different than our own or worlds full of magic and wonder--but it is only in fiction that we can travel to them. From The Wizard of Oz to The Dark Tower, from Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass to C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, there is a rich tradition of this kind of fiction, but never before have the best parallel world stories and portal fantasies been collected in a single volume--until now.
The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith: A Vintage From Atlantis
by Clark Ashton SmithPublished in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive &“preferred text&” for Smith's entire body of work. This third volume of the series brings together 21 of his fantasy stories.
Confess: an emotional and gripping novel from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of IT ENDS WITH US
by Colleen Hoover&‘This book will consume you - rip out your heart and piece it back together. I absolutely loved it!&’ Paige Toon&‘Hoover will pull heartstrings in this second-chance love story… edgy, sexy&’ BooklistFrom the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us, a novel about risking everything for love and finding your heart somewhere between the truth and lies. At age twenty-one, Auburn Reed has already lost everything important to her. In her fight to rebuild her shattered life, she has her goals in sight and there is no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn&’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry. For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is keeping a major secret from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it. To save their relationship, all Owen needs to do is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin.
Tower Broken: Tower and Knife 3 (Tower and Knife)
by Mazarkis WilliamsThe Cerani Empire reaches a tipping point in the thrilling conclusion to the Tower and Knife trilogy.The world is at its breaking point. The nothing, a terrible darkness caused by the festering wounds of a god, bleeds out the very essence of all, of stone, silk—and souls. Emperor Sarmin thought he had stopped it, but it is spreading toward his city, Cerana—and he is powerless to halt the destruction.Even as Cerana fills with refugees, the Yrkmen armies arrive with conquest in mind, but they offer to spare Sarmin&’s people if they will convert to the Mogyrk faith.Time is running out for Sarmin and his wife, Mesema. The Mage&’s Tower is cracked; the last mage, sent to find a mysterious pattern-worker in the desert, has vanished; and Sarmin believes his kidnapped brother, Daveed, still has a part to play. The walls are crumbling around them . . .As the Tower and Knife trilogy thunders to the finish line, author Mazarkis Williams expands his masterful world-building a final time, putting the pieces in place for an explosive conclusion.
Never Knew Another (Dogsland)
by J.M. McDermottFugitive Rachel Nolander is a newcomer to the city of Dogsland, where the rich throw parties and the poor just do whatever they can to scrape by. Supported by her brother Djoss, she hides out in their squalid apartment, living in fear that someday, someone will find out that she is the child of a demon. Corporal Jona Lord Joni is a demon's child too, but instead of living in fear, he keeps his secret and goes about his life as a cocky, self-assured man of the law. The first book in the Dogsland Trilogy, Never Knew Another is the story of how these two outcasts meet.
The Fire in His Hands: Book One of A Fortress in Shadow
by Glen CookOnce a mighty kingdom reigned, but now all is chaos. In the vast reaches of the desert, a young heretic escapes certain death and embarks on a mission of madness and glory. He is El Murid - the Disciple - who vows to bring order, prosperity, and righteousness to the desert people of Hammad al Nakir. After four long centuries, El Murid is the savior who is destined to build a new empire from the blood his enemies. But all is not as it seems, and the sinister forces pulling the strings of empire come into the light. Who and what lies behind El Murid's vision of a desert empire? The first book in the A Fortress in Shadow book.
Enormity
by W.G. MarshallEnormity is the strange tale of an American working in Korea, a lonely young man named Manny Lopes, who is not only physically small (in his own words, he's a &“Creole shrimp&”), but his work, his failed marriage, his race, all conspire to make him feel puny and insignificant-the proverbial ninety-eight-pound weakling.Then one day an accident happens, a quantum explosion, and suddenly Manny awakens to discover that he is big-really big. In fact, Manny is enormous, a mile-high colossus! Now there's no stopping him: he's a one-man weapon of mass destruction. Yet he means well.Enormity takes some odd turns, featuring characters like surfing gangbangers, elderly terrorists, and a North Korean assassin who thinks she's Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. There's also sex, violence, and action galore, with the army throwing everything it has against the rampaging colossus that is Manny Lopes. But there's only one weapon that has any chance at all of stopping him: his wife.
Transmaniacon
by John ShirleyJohn Shirley&’s Debut Novel!Ben Rackey, Professional Irritant: A man who is assigned to steal the Exciter—a device that can amplify and release strong, hostile human emotions in anyone, anywhere. The Exciter can turn suppressed anger into a full-scale war. With the power to psychically manipulate crowds of people, Rackey can demolish The Barrier, an invisible wall of densely flowing ions entirely enclosing the continental United States...and escape. BEN RACKEY Foremost Professional irritant, remarkable in acting both as burglar and inciter in the bizarre and pleasure-seeking world of the 22nd century is a fearless, ruthless man of ingenuity, completely overwhelmed with his own strength. His latest and most dangerous assignment is to steal THE EXCITER. A dangerous and fragile device for the augmentation of the telepathic transfer of mania. By seeking out and amplifying strong, hostile human emotions, the exciter can turn a street brawl into a full scale war. As soon as Ben has possession if it he will have the power to destroy THE BARRIER. Conceived as the perfect defense against nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare, it was activated in 1989 - an invisible screen of densely flowing ions entirely enclosing the continental zone labeled "The United States." Once the barrier is demolished Ben can escape.
Living Shadows: Stories: New & Preowned
by John ShirleyOne of the darkest, edgiest, boldest writers around, John Shirley lays down an adrenalized yet artful prose that fairly skids across the page, dragging the reader along into shadowed corners of terror and desire. Yet while it's thrilling, there's psychological depth, too, as Shirley bores into the brains of his characters, revealing the motivations of those who walk on the wild side. Many writers extrapolate from peripheral observation and research, but John Shirley's stories come from personal experience with extreme people and extreme mental states, and his struggle with the seductions of addiction. On the streets, in the midst of darkest suburbia, or just beyond consensus reality - Shirley brings the shadows to vivid life.
The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
by John Joseph AdamsThe game is afoot! Night Shade Books is proud to present the fantastic adventures of the world's greatest detective — mystery, fantasy, science fiction, horror, no genre can escape the esteemed detective's needle-sharp intellect and intuition.This reprint anthology showcases the best Holmes short fiction from the last 25 years, featuring stories by such visionaries as Stephen King, Neil Gaimen, Laura King, and many others.
Necropolis
by Michael DempseyIn a world where death is a thing of the past, how far would you go to solve your own murder? NYPD detective Paul Donner and his wife Elise were killed in a hold-up gone wrong. Fifty years later, Donner is back: revived courtesy of the Shift. Supposedly the unintended side-effect of a botched biological terrorist attack and carried by a ubiquitous retrovirus, the Shift jump-starts dead DNA and throws the life cycle into reverse, so reborns like Donner must cope with the fact that they are not only slowly youthing toward a new childhood, but have become New York's most hated minority. With New York quarantined beneath a geodesic blister, government and basic services have been outsourced by a private security corporation named Surazal. Reborns and infected norms alike struggle in a counterclockwise world, where everybody gets younger, you can see Elvis every night at Radio City Music Hall, and nobody has any hope of ever seeing the outside world. Lost in a sea of nostalgia, NYC becomes an inwardly focused schizophrenic culture of alienation and loss. In this backwards-looking culture where only some of the dead have returned, Donner is haunted by revivers guilt, and becomes obsessed with finding out who killed him and his non-returning wife. Little does he know, strange forces have already begun tracking him. Donner isn't the only one obsessed with the past.
God's War (Bel Dame Apocrypha)
by Kameron HurleyNyx had already been to hell. One prayer more or less wouldn't make any difference...On a ravaged, contaminated world, a centuries-old holy war rages, fought by a bloody mix of mercenaries, magicians, and conscripted soldiers. Though the origins of the war are shady and complex, there's one thing everybody agrees on--There's not a chance in hell of ending it.Nyx is a former government assassin who makes a living cutting off heads for cash. But when a dubious deal between her government and an alien gene pirate goes bad, Nyx's ugly past makes her the top pick for a covert recovery. The head they want her to bring home could end the war--but at what price?The world is about to find out.
High
by John ShirleyThe kind of originality that conventional science fiction is reluctant to welcome: a visionary adventure. In the near future, the human race is facing an intolerable population crisis and impending global conflict. Devastating war and vast destruction seem inevitable. Then the Great High comes—a partial cancellation of gravity—destroying cities, killing countless people, but the survivors possess strange new telekinetic powers. The old rules are meaningless; anarchy and violence arise, but rationality and cooperation also persist. But with all the old prejudices surviving, humans still turn to military force as the answer to their problems. Can humanity learn to adapt... and survive?
King of the Cracksmen
by Dennis O'FlahertyThe year is 1877. Automatons and steam-powered dirigible gunships have transformed the nation in the aftermath of the Civil War. Everything on the other side of the Mississippi has been claimed for Russia. Lincoln is still president, having never been assassinated, but the former secretary of war Edwin Stanton is now the head of the Department of Public Safety, ruling with an iron fist as head of the country&’s military.Liam McCool is a bad man, one of the best Irish cracksmen there is when it comes to robbery, cracking safes, and other sundry actives—until he was caught red-handed by Stanton. Those in the South who don&’t fit into Stanton&’s plans for the Reconstruction, and Stanton realizes Liam McCool is more useful doing his dirty work than sitting in a jail cell. But when his sweetheart, Maggie, turns up murdered, Liam McCool realizes he&’ll do anything, even if it means getting way over his head with bloodthirsty Russians, to solve the crime.The King of the Cracksmen is an explosive, action-packed look at a Victorian empire that never was, part To Catch a Thief, part Little Big Man. It&’s steampunk like you&’ve never seen it before, a murder mystery in a foreign world where no one is who they seem to be and danger lurks around every corner.
The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith: The End Of The Story
by Clark Ashton SmithPublished in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive &“preferred text&” for Smith's entire body of work. This first volume of the series, brings together 25 of his fantasy stories, written between 1925 and 1930, including such classics as "The Abominations of Yondo," "The Monster of the Prophecy," "The Last Incantation" and the title story.
A Passage at Arms
by Glen CookThe ongoing war between Humanity and the Ulat is a battle of attrition that humanity is unfortunately losing. However, humans have the advantage of trans-hyperdrive technology, which allows their climber fleet, under very narrow and strenuous conditions, to pass through space almost undetectable. Passage at Arms tells the intimate, detailed and harrowing story of a climber crew and its captain during a critical juncture of the war. Cook combines speculative technology with a canny and realistic portrait of men at war and the stresses they face in combat. Passage at Arms is one of the classic novels of military science fiction.
Incandescence
by Greg EganThe long-awaited new novel from Greg Egan! Hugo Award-winning author Egan returns to the field with Incandescence, a new novel of hard SF.The Amalgam spans nearly the entire galaxy, and is composed of innumerable beings from a wild variety of races, some human or near it, some entirely other. The one place that they cannot go is the bulge, the bright, hot center of the galaxy. There dwell the Aloof, who for millions of years have deflected any and all attempts to communicate with or visit them. So when Rakesh is offered an opportunity to travel within their sphere, in search of a lost race, he cannot turn it down.Roi is a member of that lost race, which is not only lost to the Amalgam, but lost to itself. In their world, there is but toil, and history and science are luxuries that they can ill afford.Rakesh's journey will take him across millennia and light years. Roi's will take her across vistas of learning and discovery just as vast.
An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat
by Glen CookThe Dread Empire, a gritty world of larger-than-life plots, nation-shattering conflict, maddening magic, strange creatures, and raw, flawed heroes, all shown through the filter of Cook's inimitable war-correspondent prose. The Dread Empire, spanning from the highest peaks of the Dragon's Teeth to the endless desert lands of Hammad al Nakir, from besieged Kavelin to mighty Shinshan, the Empire Unacquainted with Defeat, with its fearless, masked soldiers, known as the Demon Guard…