Steven L. Kent Books

After a blistering defeat by alien forces, clone soldier Lt Wayson Harris and his brethren have been exiled to the far reaches of the galaxy where the Unified Authority intends to use them as targets for live-fire training exercises.

Earth, AD 2519. Less than a year has passed since the clone military of the Enlisted Man's Empire toppled the government of the Unified Authority. Now the clones rule Earth, but a new enemy has emerged - and set off civil war.

Discover the behind-the-scenes history of video games and their evolution into a multibillion-dollar industry. This definitive volume reveals the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who created them, and the passionate players who embraced them. Beginning in arcades and transitioning to televisions and handheld devices, the video game phenomenon has captivated audiences for nearly fifty years. Gaming historian Steven L. Kent meticulously documents this journey, sharing firsthand accounts from industry insiders and chronicling how games like Space Invaders, Centipede, and Pac-Man shaped an arcade culture that defined a generation. Explore the remarkable stories behind gaming's milestones, including the video that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy, the serendipitous design of Pac-Man, and the missteps that led to Atari’s downfall. Learn about the coin shortage sparked by Space Invaders and the intriguing rise, fall, and resurgence of Sega. This engaging narrative is both entertaining and informative, making it essential reading for anyone who has ever picked up a joystick.

"As video games evolve, only the fittest companies survive... In volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games, [Steven L. Kent] chronicled the industry's first thirty years. In volume 2, he narrates gaming's entrance into the twenty-first century, as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft battle to capture the global market. The home console boom of the '90s turned hobby companies like Nintendo and Sega into Hollywood-studio-sized business titans. But by the end of the decade, they would face new, more powerful competitors. In boardrooms on both sides of the Pacific, engineers and executives began, with enormous budgets and total secrecy, to plan the next evolution of home consoles. The PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Sega Dreamcast all made radically different bets on what gamers would want. And then, to the shock of the world, Bill Gates announced the development of the one console to beat them all-even if Microsoft had to burn a few billion dollars to do it... [This volume] explores the origins of modern consoles and of the franchises-from Grand Theft Auto and Halo to Call of Duty and Guitar Hero-that would define gaming in the new millennium"-- Provided by publisher

Earth, 2516 A.D.: The Unified Authority has spread human colonies across the Milky Way, keeping strict order with a powerful military made up almost entirely of clones. But now the clones have formed their own empire, and they aim to keep it... no matter who they must defeat.

Earth, AD 2519. The clone soldiers of the Enlisted Man's Empire, formerly members of the Unified Authority's military, believe they have finally secured their freedom, until they uncover the UA's last ditch plan for survival: a super weapon designed to attack the clones' internal architecture.

Earth, A.D. 2519. The clone soldiers of the Enlisted Man’s Empire, formerly members of the Unified Authority’s powerful military, maintain a tenuous grasp on the power they fought so hard to gain. But the U.A. will not be so easy to suppress as they had hoped… A provocateur attacks the Pentagon. Gunships converge on the penitentiary where Unified Authority war criminals are held. And a clone assassin murders Admiral Don Cutter, commander in chief of the Enlisted Man's Empire... It all happens at once—and five minutes later, more assassins attack Wayson Harris as he prepares for a summit with delegates of Olympus Kri. With Harris missing and their most deadly enemies on the loose, the remaining officers of the Empire must uncover a plot to overthrow their government while preparing for war...

Rogue clone Wayson Harris is stranded on a frontier plane - until a rebel offensive puts him back in the uniform of a U.A. Marine, once again leading a strike against the enemy. But the rebels have a powerful ally no one could have imagined.

Presumed dead after his troops were massacred, Lt Wayson Harris has gone AWOL as a bounty hunter. But, thanks to his clone conditioning, Harris finds himself drawn back into the UA's service by his mentor and creator, Admiral Klyber.

PFC Wayson Harris is just another clone born and bred to fight humanity's battles for them. But when he learns that his fellow Marines are being slaughtered to make room for the newer model of clone soldier, he goes AWOL--and plans revenge.

As a child, Philip Sherlock loved to listen to folk tales. Since then he has made a significant contribution to Caribbean folklore by recording many of them in print for the first time. Here are fables of the birds and animals of the West Indies: jaguar, snake, crested curassow, wild pig, parrot, wise owl, and of Anansi--the spider who can assume human form. These twenty-one stories are a wonderful mixture of early tales from the Arawak and the Carib people, the original inhabitants of the Caribbean, and from the Ashanti people of West Africa. Read together they help to provide a background to the history of the West Indies. The stories are retold here in a warm, rich style--some tales gentle and philosophical, some humorous and full of action.

Die Erde im Jahr 2516: Menschen bevölkern alle sechs Arme der Milchstraße. Die despotische Vereinigte Obrigkeit kontrolliert die Erdkolonien mithilfe eines mächtigen Militärs, das fast vollständig aus Klonen besteht – bis die außerirdischen Avatari die Kontrolle über alle Planeten – bis auf zwei – an sich reißen. Nachdem sie ein letztes Gefecht ausgestanden haben, um Neu-Kopenhagen vor dem anrückenden außerirdischen Feind zu verteidigen, werden Lieutenant Wayson Harris und die anderen überlebenden Klone in ein abgelegenes Umsiedlungslager geschickt. Die obersten Militärs suchen nach jemandem, dem sie die Schuld für die Dezimierung der VO-Republik zuschieben können. Und wer wäre besser dafür geeignet als diejenigen, die geboren wurden, um geopfert zu werden? Doch Lieutenant Harris ist fest entschlossen zurückzuschlagen, mit der ganzen Feuerkraft, die er aufbringen kann …

2514 n. Chr.: Eine unaufhaltsame Alien-Armee hält auf die Erde zu und droht die Kolonien der Vereinigten Obrigkeit eine nach der anderen auszulöschen. Es liegt nun an Wayson Harris, dem geächteten Klon, und seiner Truppe das letzte Gefecht auf dem Planeten von New Copenhagen auszutragen – entweder sie gewinnen den Kampf und damit den Krieg oder werden alles verlieren.

The Making of FINAL FANTASY: The Spirits Within book will feature an inside look into the making of the movie. The book includes storyboards, the movie script, concept sketches, and images of the characters, sets and props from the movie. Behind-the-scenes information and interviews with the creative minds behind this ground-breaking production. The book brings to light the truly staggering level of work and detail involved in the movie's development.