Is it the latest in spy technology, a meteor, a UFO, or a new star? No one-not even government leaders, military commanders, astronomers, or other scientists-can provide any real answers regarding the mysterious light that has suddenly appeared in the eastern sky. When a diverse group of scholars and scientists meets in Israel to investigate the phenomenon, they are soon caught in a web of political and spiritual intrigue, terrorist bombings, and sniper attacks. As uncertainty about the ph...

Since the release of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins in 2005, there has been a pronounced surge in alternative uses of the computer term ‘reboot,’ a surge that has witnessed the term deployed in new contexts and new signifying practices, involving politics, fashion, sex, nature, sport, business, and media. As a narrative concept, however, reboot terminology remains widely misused, misunderstood, and misinterpreted across popular, journalistic, and academic discourses, being recklessly an...

«The Scandinavian Invasion offers an important and timely interrogation of Nordic Noir. Putting the concept under a microscope in a series of diverse chapters, it reveals that Nordic Noir is still teeming with vigorous life as it has emerged, proliferated and travelled across borders, becoming in the process a cultural phenomenon that has had significant implications for global television in the new millennium.»(Sue Turnbull, University of Wollongong)You might thin...

This book explores horror film franchising from a broad range of interdisciplinary perspectives and considers the horror film’s role in the history of franchising and serial fiction.Comprising 12 chapters written by established and emerging scholars in the field, Horror Franchise Cinema redresses critical neglect toward horror film franchising by discussing the forces and factors governing its development across historical and contemporary terrain while also examining text...

Sound advice for married couples struggling to save their marriage.The divorce rate has topped 50 percent, and many people believe that permanent relationships are now obsolete. Is it really possible to have an old-fashioned, lifelong husband-wife relationship? Theologian and marriage counselor Dr. Paul A. Mickey answers with a resounding "Yes," but it takes a tough marriage to survive tough times. Too many couples have adopted the narcissistic, give-it-up-if-it do...

The Ambassador is the first book-length study of Alexander Findlay' s life and his contributions to the game of golf. Findlay was the best golfer in New England, one of the best in the U.S, the most prolific and important golf course designer on the east coast in the early years of American golf, and the most well-regarded representative of the game in America. He played exhibition matches and tournaments in front of hundreds of thousands, helped establish over 100 separate golf clubs, was...

Love. What is love?The question is asked by each of us but the answer remains elusive.Dictionaries summon up many words but none fulfill. Love itself is often ethereal, felt but only seen in a glance, a look, a fleeting touch. Part of Love’s beauty is perhaps in the fact that the question never can be adequately answered; its ephemeral, a chimera of the heart and only felt.Our own experiences are unique and personal to ourselves and of little help defining it for an...

Remakes are pervasive in today’s popular culture, whether they take the form of reboots, “re-imaginings,” or overly familiar sequels. Television remakes have proven popular with producers and networks interested in building on the nostalgic capital of past successes (or giving a second chance to underused properties). Some TV remakes have been critical and commercial hits, and others haven’t made it past the pilot stage; all have provided valuable material ripe for academic analysis.

In 2012, Disney purchased Lucasfilm, which meant it also inherited the beloved Star Wars franchise. This corporate marriage sent media critics and fans into a frenzy of speculation about what would happen next with the hugely popular series. Disney’s Star Wars gathers twenty-one noted fan and media studies scholars from around the world to examine Disney’s revival of the franchise.Covering the period from Disney’s purchase through the release of The Force Awakens,...

Today’s convergent media industries readily produce stories that span multiple media, telling the tales of superheroes across comics, film and television, inviting audiences to participate in the popular universes across cinema, novels, the Web, and more. This transmedia phenomenon may be a common strategy in Hollywood’s blockbuster fiction factory, tied up with digital marketing and fictional world-building, but transmediality is so much more than global movie franchises. Different cultur...

To a reader of Joyce's Ulysses, it makes a difference whether one of Stephen Dedalus's first thoughts is "No mother" (as in the printed version) or "No, mother!" (as in the manuscript). The scholarship surrounding such textual differences--and why this discipline should concern readers and literary scholars alike--is the focus of William Proctor Williams and Craig S. Abbott's acclaimed handbook.This updated, fourth edition outlines the study of texts' composition, revision...

The Holly-Tree Inn presents a tapestry of Victorian storytelling, weaving a rich narrative fabric from the pens of literary luminaries such as Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and others. This anthology intricately balances a medley of themes'Äîfrom the whimsical to the contemplative'Äîcapturing the era's essence through both enchanting tales and penetrating societal reflections. The collection offers a microcosm of 19th-century England's literary scene, characterized by its diversity in s...