Networks of relationships help determine the careers that people choose, the jobs they obtain, the products they buy, and how they vote. The many aspects of our lives that are governed by social networks make it critical to understand how they impact behavior, which network structures are likely to emerge in a society, and why we organize ourselves as we do. In Social and Economic Networks, Matthew Jackson offers a comprehensive introduction to social and economic networks, drawin...

Here is a fresh, intriguing, and, above all, authoritative book about how our sometimes hidden positions in various social structures-our human networks-shape how we think and behave, and inform our very outlook on life. Inequality, social immobility, and political polarization are only a few crucial phenomena driven by the inevitability of social structures. Social structures determine who has power and influence, account for why people fail to assimilate basic facts, and enlarge our unde...

Yuji is an artist working out of a modest Tokyo apartment, when he suddenly receives a letter from his mother informing—not asking—him about an Italian girl coming to live with him while she attends university. Supposedly the two have a history, but forgotten memories lend little in the way of preparing either party for the inevitable awkwardness to come. Left with little say in the matter, Yuji’s bachelorhood comes to an end, and his life with Francesca begins.

Francesca is here to stay in Yuji’s life, but to what end? Yuji struggles to reconcile his newfound feelings with his obligations as a host. Wounds old and new only exacerbate the uncertainty of conflicting emotions and desires. Faced with the mistakes of his past, how long can Yuji really treat Fran as nothing more than a guest in his home? What does it mean to truly move on?

Life is beginning to settle down for Yuji and his new roommate, Francesca, but as luck would have it, things can’t ever just stay quiet. When an unexpected visitor arrives with a proposal, answers to questions which Yuji never even thought to ask arise—decisions have to be made and lines must be drawn. What really brought Fran all the way to Japan? What does Yuji have anything to do with it? And how will it potentially change his life forever?

Mysterious symbols written in the blood of murder victims, a respected government official no longer in possession of his own will, a High Priest clever enough to work the political system and ruthless enough to dispatch anyone who gets in its way.The list of challenges facing Namzu, High Priest of Eridu, is as long as it is daunting. Skilled in the dual arts of investigation and judicial enforcement, Namzu must navigate an ancient world of superstition, myth, and intrigue; a world...

With the fall of the Rising Sun, Inori and his new companion are finally free—well, the latter less so than the former. The two find themselves in the Holy Land of Ryne, where Ariya’s new obligation is to make a living while her new master, Inori, gathers intel from the shadows. And to the layabout’s credit, he does just that. Until, that is, the appearance of a nosy and rambunctious holy knight.Forced into the role of the knight’s apprentice, Inori now has to navigate the perils o...

Inori’s intuition was right. There are great unknown forces poking their noses into his business, and their methods are...intimate. The amorous Sylph has ensnared the layabout, but he’s nothing if not full of surprises.A new ally. New enemies. An out-of-season stampede. Myriad powers with myriad goals swirl about, with Inori at the center, and he couldn’t be more delighted. But where’s the fun in conflict if it’s too one-sided? Preparations must be made. One can never be too carefu...

Holy Knights gather in Regin for one reason: the all-important “training camp,” a rigorous assessment every Gods-fearing woman must endure before earning the right to call herself one of the elites. But there’s a truth to the Church. An ugly truth that Chris Chamsel happened to experience firsthand. Broken and beaten by Inori, now her only desire is to see them suffer for it, and Inori is all too eager to help bring that dream to fruition.The layabout’s out to make a powerful enemy...

The battle for the Rising Sun reaches its bloody conclusion—and from the ashes will rise only the strongest of souls. Aegiana proves a more dangerous threat than Inori anticipated, and even with all his world-defying power, he’ll need to utilize every tool in his sinister toolbox if he wants to bring his plan to fruition. Meanwhile, deep in the palace, a will stirs, tempered by the flames...As ideals clash, corridors burn, and walls crumble, dawn finally breaks upon a kingdom in da...

Flanked on both sides by nosy gods and intrusive spirit mages, Inori finds himself with his back against a wall and with far too little information. Unless he wants to be caught unawares, he’s got to find a way to flip the tables. Fast.That’s when his enigmatic drinking buddy comes to mind. Who is he really? Why does everyone hate him? Will Inori regret finding the answers to those questions? And there’s still the matter of the mysterious elf seemingly stalking his every move. When...

Chris Chamsel is out for revenge by any means necessary—even going as far as drowning all of Regin in a sea of monsters. Whatever the church did to drive her to take such measures, Inori doesn’t care. He just needs more intel. And what’s the best way to siphon that from some unlucky prisoner of war? Torture. Physical and mental. And thanks to his new plaything, Sylph, he’s got the perfect means to that end.Ariya witnesses this from afar, and she arrives at a few conclusions. What t...