Papers and presentations given by and to members of the Thomas Smith Webb Royal Arch Chapter of Research in the State of New York, covering historical, philosophical, and esoteric subjects related to Freemasonry and the Royal Arch Degrees in particular.

“Joan of Arc, a village girl from the Vosges, was born about 1412—burnt for heresy, witchcraft, and sorcery in 1431—rehabilitated after a fashion in 1456—designated Venerable in 1904—declared Blessed in 1908—and finally canonized in 1920. She is the most notable Warrior-Saint in the Christian calendar, and the queerest fish among the eccentric worthies of the Middle Ages.”—George Bernard ShawWith Saint Joan, Shaw reached the height of his fame as a dramatist. Fascinated by the stor...

In late 1700s Paris, a young but promising illusionist dabbles in the arcane art of phantasmagoria. But at his moment of greatest triumph -- unveiling a magical lantern said to open a door to the Chinese spirit world -- he is violently struck down by a vengeful phantom....On assignment in London, archaeologist Annja Creed is hunting down a man who claims to have discovered the Jekyll and Hyde potion. On the trail of one curiosity, Annja finds herself pulled toward another mystery.....

Middle-aged, lazy, and out of shape, spellsinger Jon-Tom attempts to break out of domestic drudgery with one last great adventure.Jon-Tom and Mudge are bored.Their adventuring days long behind them, the spellsinger and his once-thieving otter sidekick have settled into a life of tepid domesticity, and they are sick of it. They hunger for an old-fashioned adventure, but there are no more great evils to combat. And so they decide to follow the music. Literally.A drift...

Acting jobs don't grow on fire escapes, so struggling actress Esther Diamond is outraged when her guest role as a hooker on controversial TV drama The Dirty Thirty is jeopardized by zombies, angry spirits, and a voodoo curse.Meanwhile, the talented teens Esther is coaching at a Harlem cultural center are also being attacked by the sinister supernatural power that's spreading through Manhattan. Since the show must go on, Esther boldly helps her friend, the 350-year-old sorcerer Dr. ...

Someone is poisoning San Francisco's foodies. Tony Mandolin, the fog city's only Private Eye with a view into the supernatural, has been retained to find out whom and why.Unfortunately this brings him to the attention of Medb, the Queen of the Unseelie Court and it seems that Tony's only hope of survival lies in the hands of Landau Bain, the alcoholic wizard, and Bain is cranky.

Earth, 2512 A.D. Humans have spread across the six arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Unified Authority controls Earth's colonies with an iron fist and a powerful military----a military made up almost entirely of clones. But four centuries of relative peace are about to be shattered...Lt. Wayson Harris is one of thousands of clones born and bred to be the ultimate soldiers. But unlike the others, Harris is an outlawed model -- one with independent thoughts and an addiction to violen...

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale spinner, author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? What kind of world results when the Dark Lord is in charge? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises and magical martial-arts action that begins in Mistborn.For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery...

When former first lady Gwen DeVere Queen is discovered to be hale and hearty-after falling victim to a successful (and very public) assassination-the jig is finally up. Arthur Penn, aka King Arthur, reveals his true identity, and the existence of the Holy Grail, to the world.Unable to cope with the sick and dying who desperately entreat him to heal them with the power of the Grail, Arthur accepts an offer from an entrepreneur with a new approach to health care: siphon water through...

A train full of killers. Two passengers marked for death. And one legendary mountain man. Matt Jensen is in for the ride of his life. And it may be his last…After surviving a brilliantly plotted murder attempt, the richest man in San Francisco is looking to hire the best protection money can buy. Enter Matt Jensen, who, for the princely sum of $5000, agrees to escort millionaire John Gillespie and his very fetching daughter on a railway journey from Frisco to Chicago. There's just ...

Reproduced for the first time in over 50 years, the classic tale from the birth of modern motor sportBehind the Scenes of Motor Racing is a tale of sporting chivalry, heroism and humour — but also one of tragedy through the loss of so many of the author’s friends and colleagues among the young drivers of the day.Ken Gregory, at the time “Britain’s most famous manager”, not only raced himself, but also became a racing car constructor with the Kieft Company, ...

Behavioral science books are popping up on bestseller lists: Predictably Irrational; Thinking, Fast and Slow; Nudge; Decisive. Even the White House launched a Behavioral Insights Team to match the British Ministry of Nudges. Conspicuously absent from this conversation is the church. The Irrational Jesus bridges this gap. Ken Evers-Hood looks at Jesus through the lens of cognitive heuristics (mental shortcuts) and biases (blind spots) and makes the case that a fully human Jesus is predictab...