Professor X, the X-Men's founder and mentor, and Shi'ar Empress Lilandra have been forced to love each other from afar-he has to remain on Earth to lead the X-Men, and she must stay with the Shi'ar to run the empire. Now, Lilandra must turn to the X-Men for help against a threat to her domain-and possibly the Earth as well. Shi'ar scientists have learned of a creature that devours galaxies and is heading toward Shi'ar space. Beset by a panicking people and by several assassination attempts, Lilandra calls upon the X-Men for their assistance, for the galaxy-eater will target Earth next-but the price for stopping the galaxy-eater may be higher than the X-Men expect. They must use a device that increases their powers a thousandfold to drive the creature back, a process that could destroy them-or make them insane with power!
An investigation into a simple cellular-phone fraud leads both Peter Parker and his alter-ego, the Amazing Spider-Man, to a fiendish plot: using unique counterfeiting equipment and a devastatingly large stock-pile of bombs, someone plans to destabilize the world's economy and destroy several major cities. The mysterious corporation CCRC is involved in this plan-and they have caused trouble in the past for Spider-Man and for the alien symbiote Venom, who has sworn to kill Spidey. Soon both hero and villain learn that the mastermind behind that old trouble and the new danger is none other than Spider-Man's oldest, most dangerous enemy: Doctor Octopus. Now Spider-Man and Venom must put aside their differences and join forces to stop the greater menace of Doctor Octopus before the villain devastates the planet!
Every eleven years, Earth's senior wizards hold the Invitational: an intensive three-week event where the planet's newest, sharpest young wizards show off their best and hottest spells. Wizardly partners Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan, and Nita's sister, former wizard-prodigy Dairine Callahan, are drafted in to mentor two brilliant and difficult cases: for Nita and Kit, there's Penn Shao-Feng, a would-be sun technician with a dangerous new take on managing solar weather; and for Dairine, there's shy young Mehrnaz Farrahi, an Iranian wizard-girl trying to specialize in defusing earthquakes while struggling with a toxic extended wizardly family that demands she perform to their expectations. Together they're plunged into a whirlwind of cutthroat competition and ruthless judging. Penn's egotistical attitude toward his mentors complicates matters as the pair tries to negotiate their burgeoning romance. Meanwhile, Dairine struggles to stabilize her hero-worshipping, insecure protegee against the interference of powerful relatives using her to further their own tangled agendas. When both candidates make it through to the finals stage on the dark side of the Moon, they and their mentors are flung into a final conflict that could change the solar system for the better or damage Earth beyond even wizardly repair.
One hundred years ago, four crewmembers of the U.S.S Enterprise TM crossed the dimensional barrier and found a mirror image of their own universe, populated by nightmare duplicates of their shipmates. Barely able to escape with their lives, they returned, thankful that the accident which had brought them there could not be duplicated, or so they thought.
But now the scientists of that empire have found a doorway into our universe. Their plan is to destroy from within, to replace a Federation Starships with one of their own. Their victims are the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, who now find themselves engaged in combat against the most savage enemies they have ever encountered, themselves.
Nita and Kit return from their wizardly holiday, looking forward to getting back to their everyday routine. But there's trouble brewing. A strange darkness of the mind and heart is about to befall the older wizards of the world, stealing away their power. Soon, the young wizards of Earth and many other planets find themselves forced to defend wizards and nonwizards alike against an invasion of a kind they've never imagined. But mere defense won't be enough to combat the evil afoot. With their alien teammates, Nita, Kit, and Dairine must race to search worlds known and unknown for the secret weapon the Powers That Be have promised them--before the minions of the sinister Lone Power find it first. And then, for the first time in millenia, the wizards must go to war. . . .
In this ninth novel in her acclaimed Young Wizards series, New York Times best-selling author Diane Duane whisks listeners away to Mars for a compelling adventure. While young wizards Kit and Nita investigate the mystery of the Red Planet's long-lost inhabitants, life suddenly emerges again to shake Mars with its own perilous and baffling brand of magic. Kit's long-standing Martian fascination ensnares him in a terrible, age-old conflict-making him a key to its solution or a tool for destroying humans. As Nita searches for Kit, she soon finds herself battling an implacable foe.
Best-selling author Diane Duane has created a book full of magical mystery, suspense, and humor that is sure to delight Harry Potter fans. When Nita and Kit, two teenage wizards, lose a young friend, Kit goes searching for him. Meanwhile, Nita is grappling with mysterious dreams and disturbing messages. Soon she fears that the Dark Power, source of all death, is threatening to return to the universe.
Nita's best friend and wizard partner Kit has gone his own way, leaving Nita to practice magic on her own. In the midst of this sad goodbye, Nita's mother is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer--seemingly untreatable by science or sorcery. Nita's greatest foe, the evil Lone Power, may be her only hope. Her mother's life hanging in the balance, Nita must now trust an arch-nemesis she's spent a lifetime fighting. The Wizard's Dilemma is the fifth title in Diane Duane's New York Times best-selling Wizardry series, which includes So You Want to be a Wizard, Deep Wizardry, High Wizardry, and A Wizard Abroad. Christina Moore vividly conveys Nita's teenage angst, fear and courage in these wonderful tales of magic and mischief that have delighted readers for almost 20 years. Before there was Harry, there was Nita!
Fourteen-year-old Nita is in Ireland, spending the summer with her aunt. As a young wizard, Nita is fascinated by the forces at work in this ancient land. Sometimes, the world seems to be shifting sideways into another dimension. Layers of history, rich with battles between superhuman tribes, lurk beneath the surface of every moment. When Nita discovers that her aunt is a wizard, too, Nita realizes that this summer will not be a vacation. Ireland truly is in danger: her past is breaking into the present. And if this disintegration of time continues, the rest of the physical world will crumble, too. Nita must help her aunt and the other wizards restore order again. Like the other books in Diane Duane's popular series, A Wizard Abroad is filled with all the imaginative details of a magical world. Its frisky spells, talkative cats, and moonlight visions are enhanced by Christina Moore's spirited narration. Also available: So You Want to Be a Wizard, Deep Wizardry, and High Wizardry.
As young wizards, Nita and her friend, Kit, share magic spells and spectacular adventures. Twice, they have successfully thwarted a dark power called the Lone One. Each victory has protected the universe against its paralyzing force-for a while. But now Darine, Nita's 10-year-old sister, has found her wizard's manual. With the help of a laptop computer, Darine has not only absorbed the book's wisdom, she has become a powerful wizard herself. Setting off on a jaunt to distant galaxies, Darine doesn't realize she is headed toward a confrontation with the Lone One. Can Nita and Kit find her in time to help? Children love Diane Duane's works for their fast-paced combination of sorcery and suspense. She adds wonderful technological twists to this third book in her Wizardry series, and narrator Christina Moore's voice adds just the right touch of magic.
Even though she's on vacation at the beach, young wizard Nita is still on active duty, available to assist any other wizard in distress. So when Nita meets the wizard S'reee, she is bound to promise help. Nita is needed to face the Lone Power, who is threatening life in the oceans. But although S'reee is a wizard, she is also a whale. Nita will need to shapeshift into a sea creature to join her. And when Nita learns that the final confrontation will take place 16,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, she begins to get uneasy. Explaining day-long absences to her curious parents will be tricky, too. Diane Duane's Wizardry books are marvelous combinations of fantasy, fast-paced adventure, and realism. As Nita crafts spells and prepares for what could be the ultimate sacrifice, you'll be pulled into her wondrous world. Christina Moore's vivid narration brings out the suspense and magic of each moment.
