When he is hijacked by Islamic terrorists, an oil company engineer is forced to investigate a mysterious illness afflicting a small Yemen village ... with shocking results. A stunning debut thriller and first in the addictive, eye-opening Claymore Straker series. ***Shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger*** ***Book of the Year in the TELEGRAPH*** 'Just occasionally, a book comes along to restore your faith in a genre and Paul Hardisty's The Abrupt Physics of Dying does this in spades' The Times 'A stormer of a thriller – vividly written, utterly topical, totally gripping' Peter James 'Remarkably well-written and sophisticated' Literary Review 'A page-turning adventure that grabs you from the first page and won't let go' Edward Wilson ____________________ One man. An oil company. A decision that could cost his life. Claymore Straker is trying to forget a violent past. Working as an oil company engineer in the wilds of Yemen, he is hijacked at gunpoint by Islamic terrorists. Clay has a choice: help uncover the cause of a mysterious sickness afflicting the village of Al Urush, close to the company's oil-processing facility, or watch Abdulkader, his driver and close friend, die. As the country descends into civil war and village children start dying, Clay finds himself caught up in a ruthless struggle between opposing armies, controllers of the country's oil wealth, Yemen's shadowy secret service, and rival terrorist factions. As Clay scrambles to keep his friend alive, he meets Rania, a troubled journalist. Together, they try to uncover the truth about Al Urush. But nothing in this ancient, unforgiving place is as it seems. Accused of a murder he did not commit, put on the CIA's most-wanted list, Clay must come to terms with his past and confront the powerful forces that want him dead. A stunning debut eco-thriller, The Abrupt Physics of Dying will not only open your eyes, but keep them glued to the page until the final, stunning denouement is reached. ____________________ 'Trenchant and engaging' Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald 'A solid, meaty thriller – Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child 'Full of thrills, spills and moral indignation ... an outstanding debut' Jake Kerridge, Telegraph 'Fast-paced and cleverly written, this novel has bestseller written all over it' West Australian 'An exceptional debut, beautifully written, blisteringly authentic, heartstoppingly tense and unusually moving. Definite award material' Paul Johnston 'A thriller of the highest quality, with the potential to one day stand in the company of such luminaries as Bond and Bourne' Live Many Lives 'A big, powerful, sophisticated and page-turning thriller – thought-provoking and prescient' Eve Seymour 'A forceful first novel by a writer not afraid of weighty issues and visibly in love with the beauty of the Yemen and desert landscapes his protagonists travel through' Maxim Jakubowski 'Searing ... at times achieves the level of genuine poetry' Publishers Weekly STARRED review 'A fast-paced action thriller, beautifully written' Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography

Vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker is on the run, with a price on his head. When his lover, Rania, goes missing, he begins a terrifying search with unimaginable consequences... 'Hardisty doesn't put a foot wrong in this forceful, evocative thriller... the author's deep knowledge of the settings never slows down the non-stop action, with distant echoes of a more-moral minded Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne' Maxim Jakubowski 'Remarkably well-written and sophisticated' Literary Review 'A fast-paced action thriller, beautifully written' Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography ____________________ Claymore Straker is a fugitive with a price on his head. Wanted by the CIA for acts of terrorism he did not commit, his best friend has just been murdered and Rania, the woman he loves, has disappeared. Betrayed by those closest to him, he must flee the sanctuary of his safe house in Cornwall and track her down. As his pursuers close in, Clay follows Rania to Istanbul and then to Cyprus, where he is drawn into a violent struggle between the Russian mafia, Greek Cypriot extremists, and Turkish developers cashing in on the tourism boom. As the island of love descends into chaos, and the horrific truth is unveiled, Clay must call on every ounce of skill and endurance to save Rania and put an end to the unimaginable destruction being wrought in the name of profit. Gripping, exhilarating, and above all, frighteningly realistic, The Evolution of Fear is a startling, eye-opening read that demands the question: how much is truth, and how much is fiction? ____________________ Praise for Paul E. Hardisty 'A stormer of a thriller – vividly written, utterly topical, totally gripping' Peter James 'Just occasionally, a book comes along to restore your faith in a genre and Paul Hardisty's The Abrupt Physics of Dying does this in spades' The Times 'Trenchant and engaging' Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald 'A solid, meaty thriller – Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child 'Laces the thrills and spills with enough moral indignation to give the book heft ... excellent' Jake Kerridge, Telegraph 'Fast-paced and cleverly written, this novel has bestseller written all over it' West Australian 'Exceptional ... beautifully written, blisteringly authentic, heart-stoppingly tense and unusually moving. Definite award material' Paul Johnston 'A forceful novel by a writer not afraid of weighty issues' Maxim Jakubowski 'Searing ... at times achieves the level of genuine poetry' Publishers Weekly STARRED review 'A page-turning adventure that grabs you from the first page and won't let go' Edward Wilson

Vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker returns to South Africa to testify to Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, recounting the horrifying events that led to his exile, years earlier ... The addictive, thought-provoking, searingly emotive next instalment in the critically acclaimed Claymore Straker series... 'A gripping, page-turning thriller that is overflowing with substance to go along with Hardisty's atmospheric prose and strong narrative style' Craig Sisterson, Mystery Magazine 'A solid, meaty thriller – Hardisty is a fine writer and Straker is a great lead character' Lee Child 'The author's deep knowledge of the settings never slows down the non-stop action, with distant echoes of a more moral-minded Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne' Maxim Jakubowski ____________________ Fresh from events in Yemen and Cyprus, vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker returns to South Africa, seeking absolution for the sins of his past. Over four days, he testifies to Desmond Tutu's newly established Truth and Reconciliation Commission, recounting the shattering events that led to his dishonourable discharge and exile, fifteen years earlier. It was 1980. The height of the Cold War. Clay is a young paratrooper in the South African Army, fighting in Angola against the Communist insurgency that threatens to topple the White Apartheid regime. On a patrol deep inside Angola, Clay, and his best friend, Eben Barstow, find themselves enmeshed in a tangled conspiracy that threatens everything they have been taught to believe about war, and the sacrifices that they, and their brothers in arms, are expected to make. Witness and unwitting accomplice to an act of shocking brutality, Clay changes allegiance and finds himself labelled a deserter and accused of high treason, setting him on a journey into the dark, twisted heart of institutionalised hatred, from which no one will emerge unscathed... Exploring true events from one of the most hateful chapters in South African history, Reconciliation for the Dead is a shocking, explosive and gripping thriller from one finest writers in contemporary crime fiction. ____________________ Praise for Paul E. Hardisty 'This is a remarkably well-written, sophisticated novel in which the people and places, as well as frequent scenes of violent action, all come alive on the page...' Jessica Mann, Literary Review 'A trenchant and engaging thriller that unravels this mysterious land in cool, precise sentences' Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald 'Laces the thrills and spills with enough moral indignation to give the book heft ... excellent' Jake Kerridge, Telegraph 'A thriller of the highest quality, with the potential to one day stand in the company of such luminaries as Bond and Bourne' Live Many Lives 'A big, powerful, sophisticated and page-turning thriller – thought-provoking and prescient' Eve Seymour 'The writing at times is poetic, at other times filled with tension in a narrative complete with well delineated characters and several shocks. Highly Recommended' Shots Mag 'Gripping and exciting ... the quality of Hardisty's writing and the underlying truth of his plots sets this above many other thrillers' West Australian 'A stormer of a thriller, vividly written, utterly tropical, totally gripping' Peter James 'Searing ... at times achieves the level of genuine poetry' Publishers Weekly STARRED review 'A page-turning adventure that grabs you from the first page and won't let go' Edward Wilson

A young man and his young family set out on a perilous voyage across a devastated planet to uncover the origin of the events that set the world on its course to disaster ... The prescient, deeply shocking prequel to the bestselling, critically acclaimed Climate Emergency thriller, The Forcing. Kweku Ashworth is a child of the cataclysm, born on a sailboat to parents fleeing the devastation in search for a refuge in the Southern Ocean. Growing up in a world forever changed, his only connection to the events that set the planet on its course to disaster were the stories his step-father, long-dead, recorded in his manuscript, The Forcing. But there are huge gaps in the story that his mother, still alive but old and frail, steadfastly refuses to speak of, even thirty years later. When he discovers evidence that his mother has tried to cover up the truth, and then stumbles across an account by someone close to the men who forced the globe into a climate catastrophe, he knows that it is time to find out for himself. Determined to learn what really happened during his mother`s escape from the concentration camp to which she and Kweku ́s father were banished, and their subsequent journey halfway around the world, Kweku and his young family set out on a perilous voyage across a devastated planet. What they find will challenge not only their faith in humanity, but their ability to stay alive. The Descent is the devastating, nerve-shattering prequel to the critically acclaimed thriller The Forcing, a story of survival, hope, and the power of the human spirit in a world torn apart by climate change.

In a near future, where civilisation has collapsed, a government of youth has taken power in North America. All older people deemed responsible for the cataclysmic climate emergency are relocated, but a breakaway group escapes exile to seek freedom ... at devastating cost... 'The dystopian future landscape of The Forcing comes with a heightened realism that grips and shakes you ... provocative and insightful, visceral and terrifying' SciFi Now Book of the Month 'A superbly handled tale of struggle and survival in a maimed world' The Times 'Smart, gripping, and all too plausible ... announces Paul E. Hardisty as the true heir to John Christopher' Tim Glister The jaw-dropping, passionate and provocative climate-emergency thriller from one of the world's leading environmental scientists. ___________ Civilisation is collapsing... Frustrated and angry after years of denial and inaction, in a last-ditch attempt to stave off disaster, a government of youth has taken power in North America, and a policy of institutionalised ageism has been introduced. All those older than the prescribed age are deemed responsible for the current state of the world, and are to be 'relocated', their property and assets confiscated. David Ashworth, known by his friends and students as Teacher, and his wife May, find themselves among the thousands being moved to 'new accommodation' in the abandoned southern deserts – thrown together with a wealthy industrialist and his wife, a high court lawyer, two recent immigrants to America, and a hospital worker. Together, they must come to terms with their new lives in a land rendered unrecognisable. As the terrible truth of their situation is revealed, lured by rumours of a tropical sanctuary where they can live in peace, they plan a perilous escape. But the world outside is more dangerous than they could ever have imagined. And for those who survive, nothing will ever be the same again... _________ 'A compelling, moving story of survival in a dying world ... a novel that might have actually predicted our future' Ewan Morrison 'A bold, beautifully written and imagined novel about an all-too plausible future – Paul Hardisty is a visionary' Luke McCallin 'Hardisty is a fine writer' Lee Child 'An excellent blend of deep suspense, thriller and – to be honest – horror. The message within it is all too plausible, the solution to the problem distinctly chilling' James Oswald 'Fierce, thoughtful, deeply humane and always compelling ... the tension builds from page one and never relents' David Whish-Wilson 'Outstanding! Thrilling and thought provoking. If there's any justice, this book will be HUGE!!!' Michael J Malone 'A clear-eyed reckoning with social and political currents we don't like to examine ... tough, suspenseful and action-packed' Jock Serong 'The book I've been waiting and hoping for...' Paul Waters What readers are saying... 'Stark, gripping, often poignant' 'Riveting and suspenseful' 'A twist I didn't see coming' 'Dark and disturbing' 'I got a real Atwood vibe' 'A masterpiece' 'Powerfully told' 'Full of pace' 'An author at the very top of his craft' 'The biting intensity of a thriller and the majestic world-building of a classic dystopian tale'

An aspect of dying in opera, rarely observed or commented on, is Sudden Unexpected Death. There are many deaths in this melodramatic genre: most follow expected causes like murder, suicide, or old age. This book explores those deaths which occur without obvious natural causes. These are often central to the overall drama of the opera, representing denouements forming the epiphany of the story and the apotheosis for the audience. The book identifies 50 operas where such events occur, exploring the role of the dramatis personae, the circumstances of their dying, and specific themes that emerge. These include a preponderance of females, especially in the 19th century, who die mainly at the end of the operas, often in the context of tragedy. It charts the growing awareness in the medical sciences of the unconscious forces driving human behaviour, including liminal mental states and trances, which influenced these operas and continue to affect human behaviour to the present day. In addition, the changing philosophies that are intertwined with operatic narratives, in particular stemming from Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, are important in the book’s exegesis, as is the special role of Wagner’s compositions. This leads to the exploration of recurrent concepts such as the Liebestod, the ewig Weibliche and redemption itself.

1 Aim and General Description of the Anthology The purpose of this anthology is to introduce the English speaking public to the wide spectrum of texts authored predominently by physicists portraying the ac tual and perceived role of physics in the Nazi state. Up to now no broad and well balanced documentation of German physics during this time has been available in English, despite the significant role physics has played both politically (e. g. , in weaponry planning) and ideologically (e. g. , in the controversy over the value of theoretical ('Jewish') vs. experimental ('Aryan') physics), and even though prominent figures like the scientist-philosopher and emigre Albert Einstein and the controversial nuclear physicist Werner Heisenberg have become household names. This anthology will attempt to bridge this gap by presenting contempo rary documents and eye-witness accounts by the physicists themselves. Authors were chosen to represent the various political opinions and specialties within the physics community, omitting some of the more readily accessible texts by leading physicists (e. g. , Einstein, Heisenberg, Lenard) in favor of those by less well-known but nonetheless important figures (e. g. , Finkelnburg, Max Wien, Ramsauer). In this way we hope not only to circumvent the constricted 'Great Men' approach to history but also to offer a broader picture of the activities and conflicts within the field and the effects of the political forces exerted upon them.

This book presents the latest results on solar-stellar research and the study of solar terrestrial physics. It includes all aspects of solar physics, ranging from the internal structure of the sun and its evolution, to outer corona and solar wind in interplanetary space.