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This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Engineering Societies in the Agents World, ESAW 2006, held in Dublin, Ireland, September 6-8, 2006.

The 22 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers are organized in topical sections on agent oriented system development, methodologies for agent societies, deliberative agents and social aspect, agent oriented simulation, adaptive systems, cordination, negotiation, protocols, and agents, networks and ambient intelligence.

Product Description
He holds the secret that can end the world.

The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Sometimes legends are true.

And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (184)

Amazing book, perfect for young advanced readers:)
I have an extremely advanced reader(she is 7yrs old) and it can be very difficult to find books she likes, this book did not disappoint, actually the entire serious was perfect. The story line was wonderful and fun, the character's were very well developed and we had a good sense of who they were and the roles they had, the action was wonderful but not gory or scary.We love these books and cannot wait for the last one to come out in may.

BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!!
after summer break i was planning which book i should read to get points ( i go to my school library to read books and each one has points and this one was 14 points) and i looked at the shelf and saw a book called "The Alchemyst" and it sounded interesting so i checked it out when i got home i started reading it and i said "this is the best book i will read in a lifetime and i got that book a week ago and i am halfway there!!! u should definetly get this book on your kindle or look it up in your library or bookstore or etc,

The book is amazing--J. K. Rawlings eat your heart out!I read it in a day, could not put it down.
Michael Scott, an Irish authority on mythology and folklore has created a new series of books that masterfully creates a new series that masters fantasy, science fiction, horror, and Folklore. The Alchemist ifs the first of four.

The bad guys are lead by the real character, Dr John Dee (13 July 1527-1608 or 1609) was a noted English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I, choosing her coronation date as January 15, 1559.He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy--and helped the British Empire prosper under his advice to the Queen.

Ten thousand years ago, Abraham had managed to wipe out the original elders, by using iron, the codex, and the floods. The elders retrieved into the earth and are still divided into two groups, those who worked with the humans-- Scathach and Hekate--and those who regarded as little better than slaves--and in some cases, food.Dr Dee is retrieving the Codex and works for the Dark Elders who are now joined by Bastet, the Egyptian goddess of the body of a cat and the face of a woman, and her niece Morrigan, the crow goddess.

The good guys are lead by real characters also.Nicolas Flamel (early 1330s - cir.1418) was a successful French scrivener and manuscript-seller who developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist due to his reputed work on the philosopher's stone.According to the introduction to his work and additional details that have accrued since its publication, Flamel was the most accomplished of the European alchemists, and had learned his art from a Jewish conversoon the road to Santiago de Compostela. The modern assertion that many references to him or his writings appear in alchemical texts of the 16th century, however, has not been linked to any particular source. The essence of his reputation is that he succeeded at the two magical goals of alchemy--that he made the Philosophers' Stone, which turns lead into gold, and that he and his wife Perenelle achieved immortality through the "Elixir of Life".

Twins Sophie and Josh Newman are working respectively forPerenelle (Perry) and Nicholas (Nick) at a café and a bookstore.Within the first pages of the book they are involved fighting Golems--monsters made of clay--and Dr. Dee's army trying to steal The Flamel's Alchemy book: The Book of Abraham the Mage (The Codex), from which Flame has learned alchemy and Perry has mastered the Elixir of life.Luckily Josh manages to grab the last two pages of the book, so Dr. Dee, who works for a Civilization known as the Dark Elders--the ones who want to destroy the world, restore their rule, and either enslave humanity or have them as lunch--suffers a minor setback. Dr. Dee manages to grab part of the book and takes hostage, Perry, Nick's wife, because she is the better sorcerer of the two.

Nick immediately realizes that the twins are in imminent danger and escapes with them.He immediately recruits the help of Scathach, a younger elder--only two thousand years old--and with their help they arrive to Hekate's World Tree (Her Shadowrealm), the home of an original elder--over ten thousand years old--who saw Abraham write the code. After being chased by birds sent by Morrigan.Nick realizes that the twins are prophesized in the Codex. The twins are either to save or destroy the world from the threat of the Elders.Sophie has a pure silver aura, and Josh a pure gold aura, so Hekate awakens Sophie--however before she can awaken Josh, they are attacked by Dr. Dee and their gang, barely saved by Sophie's new powers as Perry helps them from her prison; however Hekate is killed and her Shadowrealm destroyed.

Sometimes legend are true: and Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all times.

The book is amazing--J. K. Rawlings eat your heart out!I read it in a day, could not put it down.

The Alchemyst
I am a freshman in college. In high school I never read the assigned books, but rather sparknoted them. This book was recommended to me by a friend and not 100 pages in I was hooked. For me to want to read a book really says something. It was a page turner, and I could never put it down. I ended up reading all of the books in one day each. Even if you aren't in to mythology (which these books are packed with), it is simply an interesting and creative storyline to keep teenage readers to young adults sincerely interested. I recommend to anyone who even remotely enjoys fantasy books.

A Last Minute Comeback
Warning: This review is written by what the average reader of this book would consider a gray haired elderly type. I am, however, a life-long reader of fantasy and I have read at least a respectable number of contemporary YA titles, not all of which were penned by Ms. Rowling. Still, I'm hardly the target audience for this book.

If I'd stop reading halfway through I would have given this book two stars. I'm giving it four because of the content in the last half of the book. I began to get interested about half way through, and I'll confess I read perhaps the last third in two increasingly avid gulps.

The complaints I see here from the other reviewers all seem fair. I too was initially intrigued by the idea of reading about "real world" alchemists, and felt the book never really delivered on that promise. I also felt that the author tried to overwhelm us with a myriad of flashy mythological creatures rather than developing the characters or the plot. Please compare with the CS Lewis, Tolkien or Potter books which mix a significant amount of character development with the generous helpings of flash. Nevertheless, I can picture a much, much younger version of myself really enjoying all the magical creatures for their own sake. And there is some "real world" (ie educational) value in meeting famous mythological characters that are often referenced in adult literature.

Despite the slow start, sticking with the author to the end turned out to be a good idea in this case. Especially since this is a relatively short book, and I wasn't bogged down for too long. Three things happened to make the second half of the book more interesting than the first.

1) The author stepped away from "telling" everything from a distant third-party point of view and started "showing" us what was happening as if we were actually witnessing it, rather than hearing about it from several removes.

2) A glacial accretion of detail about the main characters allowed their outlines to slowly emerge from the rubble of facts about flamboyant mythological creatures and take on a separate, and not unappealing, life of their own. This is especially true of the "good" characters in the book, and less true of the villains.

3) The plot in the second half of the book was more tightly drawn and more interesting. Rather than just throwing another creature at us, the author dug in his heels and took the time to let the story develop at a more reasonable pace. Finishing up with a few good scenes really does leave one with the impression that the overall book was good, even if portions of it dragged.
... Read more

Product Description
After an attack by the Joker left former Batgirl Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair, she took on the mantle of Oracle, the premiere computer hacker in the DCU. Now, she kicks tail as the leader of a covert ops team populated by the world's top heroines, including the Huntress and Lady Blackhawk.

The all-female team hits the road and find a new home in a place called Platinum Flats. But the move brings them into direct conflict with former teammate Black Canary! Then the past comes back to haunt Oracle as Joker makes a deadly move against her squad. Can she find the courage she needs to face the madman? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What could have been
Talk about spanning the entire spectrum. In this one trade alone we go from the highly anticipated and emotionally charged reunion between two renowned comic characters infamously linked forever, to a group of incredibly lame and inane sci-fi villains not worthy of a second glance. No wonder this title lost its' readership and subsequently its' very existence. It's all over the map, recklessly bounding from one fancy to another, noticeably lacking any consistent and coherent sense of direction. Perhaps even the inclusion of the Joker was due primarily to the series' imminent demise and not the realization of the potential affording itself, especially if they had taken the opportunity and really ran with it, which sadly and shamefully they didn't. Of course what course and tone the book could have and should have employed is now a moot point, but silly sci-fi was certainly not one of them. Part of the problem could stem from the inclusion of team members with metahuman powers themselves, like Infinity and Misfit, plus the debatable decision to relocate the Birds out of Gotham and into Platinum Flats, with the specific intent of having them battle totally unconventional types of adversaries. Ultimately though, the heart of the group is non-powered individuals, which should naturally equate to confronting comparable characters. The Joker definitely qualifies and his and Barbara's much awaited rematch was deserving of center stage all by itself, with the rest of the ridiculous riff raff rightfully left by the wayside, but regrettably this was not the case. As evidenced by this trade, this title treaded some considerable water as it headed fatefully towards its' unfortunate conclusion. Maybe the time is right for these Birds to take flight and explore completely different avenues, with Barbara Gordon justly warranting top consideration. ... Read more

Product Description
All-new, all-ages, all-action fun featuring the Tinkerer, Green Goblin, the Hobgoblin, the Sandman and Venom! Plus: Don't miss the senses-shattering debut of Spidey's new "smart stealth" black costume! Collects Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #21-24. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fred Van Lente + Spider-man= a winning combination...
The arc is a simple and sweet done in one story, illustrating how Spidey got the Black Suit in the Marvel Adventures Universe.

Fred Van Lente's jokes within this book is a fun read, and it's the book's own way of promoting the events of Spider-man 3.

My Favorite arc over all is World War G, which pits the Hobgoblin against the Green Goblin, and Spidey caught in the middle.

Overall, the series is a great read for anyone who looking for a Spidey book for little boys to read about.

As this series doesn't contain a lot of violence and drama that the other Spider-man titles have.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is searching for a Child's first Spidey book. ... Read more

Product Description
With introductions by Harlan Ellison, this collection features "Three Odd Comedies" by Terry Bisson; "Into the Sun" by Brian Smith; "Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly; "The Death of Captain Future" by Allen Steele and Brian Smith; "A Clean Escape" by John Kessel; and "The Bigger One" by Gregory Benford. Unabridged. November '98 publication date. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Terrific science fiction
I absolutely love these productions, and it's a terrible shame that Sci-Fi no longers makes these available through their website.

Seeing Ear Theatre is a much mourned loss.

Into the Sun!
WOW what a story! Brian Smith could sell this as a short story by itself it is so good IMO. I just wish they sold a hard copy of these writings--not just audio! I have been reading Sci Fi for a long time. This guy is great!Reminds me of 2001, a space odyssey a bit. Worth the price just for thisone folks!I noticed there are no other books by Brian Smith for sale onAmazon. What's up with that? He needs to write books, and Amazon needs tosell them--geez, do I make myself clear?

Very compelling stories
This tape is well done.The sound effects create an atmosphere that draws in the listener.The actors are dramatic, but not overly so.The short stories themselves are well written, delivering edge-of-the-chair suspense(or knee-slapping comedy, as the case may be).

It's finally here....and worth the wait!
As most net surfers are aware the Sci-Fi Channel's web site has included a section devoted to science fiction radio drama...Seeing Ear Theatre. One aspect of which includes originally producedproductions ceratedespecially for the site and which has featured performances by manywell-known SF actors as Micheal O'Hare,Mark Hamill,Marina Sirtis,andothers. With a few exceptions, a lot of the dramas are based on recentshort stories by SF writers such as Terry Bisson, Allen Steele, John Kesseland Gergory Benford. With the release of this audiobook editon(whichincludes introductions by SF's resident angry young{sic}man HarlanEllison)now one can listen to these stories anytime you want. The beststories(IMO)are the Three Odd Comedies and The Death of Captain Future(which despite the pulpish-sounding title is a darkly humorous tale set inthe future history of Steele's previous works such as Orbital Decay andClarke County,Space). If you like audio drama-- especially newly producedaudio drama...you'll love this collection and you may also want to checkout Vol. 2 which should be on sale soon(I know I can't wait). ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Policy Studies Journal, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2006. The length of the article is 9492 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Environmental agencies' funding sources should follow their diverse business models.
Author: Michael O'Hare
Publication: Policy Studies Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 34Issue: 4Page: 511(22)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Washington Monthly, published by Washington Monthly Company on May 1, 2009. The length of the article is 3186 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Confessions of a non-serial killer: conspiracy theories are all fun and games until you become the subject of one.(Essay)
Author: Michael O'Hare
Publication: Washington Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2009
Publisher: Washington Monthly Company
Volume: 41Issue: 5-6Page: 33(4)

Article Type: Essay

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
Some super-villains are too tough for even Spider-Man to handle alone! But with friends like the Fantastic Four, first family of super-heroes; Captain America, star-spangled Sentinel of Liberty; Kitty Pryde of the X-Men; and the Mighty Thor, Norse God of Thunder; everybody's favorite wall-crawler knows he can count on plenty of help to beat the bad guys!Collects Marvel Age Spider-Man Team-Up 1-5 and Spider-Man Team-Up Special. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Read the originals
I understand why they updated the old stories.But the artwork is not as good as the originals, and neither is the storytelling.What really bugs me is the couple issues that are drawn anime-style.Spider-man is distinctly American.Plus, there was nothing wrong with the original art.They also change the story some (Betty is only Peter's friend not a girlfriend, and Betty's brother dies in a less violent way). These are ok stories, and I do recommend them to younger kids who want to read some of the classic stories. However, I'd definately recommend the essential paperbacks over these.Plus, I personally enjoy the later essential volumes more, once MJ, Harry, and Gwen become main characters, we get into multi-part stories with increased continuity, and the situations become less hokey (such as beating Sandman with a vacuum cleaner, and some of the more awkward dialogue that Stan Lee later improved on).

Continuing to retell Lee & Ditko's "Spider-Man" stories
"Marvel Age Spider-Man" takes a decidedly different approach from all the other Spider-Man comic books out there.After the success of the two "Spider-Man" theatrical films, both of which are in the Top 10 in terms of all-time box office receipts (non-adjusted for inflation, as any good "Gone With the Wind" fan can tell you), Marvel has been riding the wave by putting out several new Spider-Man titles.Each issue of "Marvel Age Spider-Man" is based on the original stories that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko did in back in the early 1960s for "The Amazing Spider-Man", completely rewritten by Daniel Quantz and Todd Dezago, and redrawn by Jonboy Meyers.

"Volume 2: Everyday Hero" brings together issues 5-8 of "Marvel Age Spider-Man," which updates issues 6-9 of "The Amazing Spider-Man" (Marvel made the wise decision to just skip over the storyline of "Spider-Man" #1 where our hero uses his webbing to hitch a ride on a space capsule and started "Marvel Age Spider-Man" with "Spider-Man" #2 and his first fight with the Vulture).The assumption is that everybody knows the story of Spider-Man's original, from the first movie if not from anything else.In the four issues collected here Spider-Man fights the Lizard, has a second encounter with the Vulture, has to deal with both the Living Brain and Flash Thompson (plus a brief encounter with the Human Torch), and then clashes with Electro.

These stories will be familiar to those of us who remember the original "Spider-Man" stories, but they work just as well with neophytes once they understand that the first time around Mary Jane Watson was not around from the very beginning.Peter Parker is not as much of bookworm as he was before and Spider-Man is pretty much cocky right from the start (as Doc Ock notes at one point, but that will not be until Volume 3).It will be interesting to see how far Marvel goes with this particular comic book title: Will they continue past the point when Ditko was drawing the book?Will they adapt an annual so that issue #100 of "Marvel Age Spider-Man" will redo issue #100 of "The Amazing Spider-Man," when Spider-Man ends up with six arms?Stay tuned, boys and girls.

I still think there is a place for "Marvel Age Spider-Man" in the Marvel universe, since it takes us back to the beginning when Peter Parker was still in high school without all the changes and complications we have in "Ultimate Spider-Man," although that retelling of the tale is even more interesting.By retelling and redrawing the Lee and Ditko stories we get to enjoy what us old timers still think of as getting back to the basics of Spider-Man, when our hero was always worried about Aunt May, dealing with daily doses of grief from Flash Thompson and J. Jonah Jameson, not to mention whatever super villain is trying to pound him into the ground, and trying to make a go of his relationship with Betty Brant.Hopefully readers unfamiliar with the original Spider-Man will be inspired to go back and check out the Lee and Ditko stories in "The Essential Spider-Man" or "Marvel Masterworks."It will be interesting to see what they think of the originals have read the revisions first. ... Read more

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This is the issue that started it all 20 years ago. The first Continuity Graphic Novel "Bucky O'Hare" Issued as a hard cover paperback graphic novel comic, this Graphic Novel is a hard-to-find collectible. A must have for any fan! ... Read more

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"The Man Called Electro!" ... Read more

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"Rules of the Game" ... Read more

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"Hard Knocks with Shane Shooter" - Payton-Noble High's newest and spunkiest recruit, Jubilee, finds herself caught between her classmates and an L.A. gang rivalry. Can everyone's favorite mutant mallrat handle it in the barrio, or will Jubilee fall prey to South Central's own special blend of hospitality? And what the heck is Aunt Hope doing with all those firearms?32 PGS./ ALL AGES ... Read more

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Inspired by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko! Spider-Man makes a bid to join the Fantastic Four - the hard way! The newest Marvel Age title has our friendly neighborhood webslinger and New York's favorite super-team doing their best to put aside their differences in order to defeat the evil master of disguise - the Chameleon! (Reprints Marvel Age Spider-Man Team Up #1.) ... Read more

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"The Chameleon Strikes!" ... Read more