Fantasy heroes endure. They are embedded in our cultural fabric, dwarfing other literary figures and the mere men and women of history. Achilles and Odysseus, Gilgamesh and Beowulf. King Arthur and Robin Hood, Macbeth and Sherlock Holmes, Conan and Luke Skywalker. They dominate our legends, and tower over popular culture. The stories we tell each other begin and end with fantasy heroes, and the 21st Century is as thoroughly captivated with them as ever. From Batman to Gandalf, Harry Potter to Tyrion Lannister, the heroes of fantasy speak to-and for-whole generations. But what makes a fantasy hero? How do the best writers create them, and bring them to life on the page? In WRITING FANTASY HEROES some of the most successful fantasy writers of our time-including Steven Erikson, Brandon Sanderson, Janet Morris, Cecelia Holland, Orson Scott Card, and Glen Cook-pull back the curtain to reveal the secrets of creating heroes that live and breathe, and steal readers' hearts. Whether you're an aspiring writer or simply a reader who loves great fantasy and strong characters, this book is for you.

This book contains 15 fully peer-reviewed Invited Papers which were presented at the 13th Biennial European Conference on Fracture and is a companion to the CD-ROM http: //www.elsevier.com/locate/isbn/008043701xProceedings.
The organisers of the ECF 13 opted from the very beginning for an application-orientated conference, and consequently, this book contributes to the understanding of fracture phenomena, and disseminates fracture concepts and their application to the solution of engineering problems to practitioners in a wide range of fields.
The fields covered in this book can be broadly classified into: elastic-plastic fracture mechanics, fracture dynamics, fatigue and interactive processes, failure, structural integrity, coatings and materials, with applications to the following industrial sectors: transport, aerospace engineering, civil engineering, pipelines and automotive engineering.

The European Materials Society decided to hold a Symposium entitled "Materials and Processes for Submicron Technologies" in June 16-19, 1998, within the yearly E-MRS Spring Meeting in Strasbourg, France.
The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the results of the advances in microelectronic devices directly relating to the reduction in size of features of the devices down to submicron size. When electronic materials are patterned to these small sizes, their physico-chemical properties show many aspects (interdiffusion, electromigration, etc.), many of these not well known yet. The articles presented in this volume, 28 in number, are representative of the 40 papers accepted for this particular E-MRS Meeting (Symposium N).

The technology involved in lubrication by nanoparticles is a rapidly developing scientific area and one that has been watched with interest for the past ten years. Nanolubrication offers a solution to many problems associated with traditional lubricants that contain sulphur and phosphorus; and though for some time the production of nanoparticles was restricted by the technologies available, today synthesis methods have been improved to such a level that it is possible to produce large quantities relatively cheaply and efficiently.

Nanolubricants develops a new concept of lubrication, based on these nanoparticles, and along with the authors' own research it synthesises the information available on the topic of nanolubrication from existing literature and presents it in a concise form.

Describes the many advantages and potential applications of nanotechnology in the tribological field.

Offers a full review of the state-of-the-art as well as much original research that is yet unpublished.

Includes sections on boundary lubrication by colloidal systems, nanolubricants made of metal dichalcogenides, carbon-based nanolubricants, overbased detergent salts, nanolubricants made of metals and boron-based solid nanolubricants and lubrication additives.

Authored by highly regarded experts in the field with contributions from leading international academics.

Nanolubricants will appeal to postgraduate students, academics and researchers in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and materials science. It should also be of interest to practising engineers with petroleum companies and mechanical manufacturers.

A dark jungle. Angry pirates. Bloodthirsty monsters. Old magic.
"And a captivating woman."
This is the scene of "Tisarian's Treasure," a novella by J.M. Martin, in which the young Doctor Alexandre Mallory has recently escaped the clutches of the fearsome pirate captain, Thadieus Drake, and his hellish crew aboard the "Tatterdemalion." But the pursuit is far from over. Drake and his band of cutthroats are hot on Mallory's heels, and during his flight the good doctor realizes he holds a secret the pirate captain will do anything to attain-the location of a treasure that is much more than jewels and gold, but a hoard of immeasurable power.
Pyr author Jon Sprunk ("Shadow's Son, Shadow's Lure") says, "Martin weaves a breath-taking tale of pirates, treasure, sorcery, and uncommon bravery. Here is a yarn from a true storyteller, rife with traditional fantasy influences. I couldn't put it down."